Prince Naif bin Abdulaziz Al Saud

Prince Naif bin Abdulaziz Al Saud was a Saudi prince who headed the Ministry of Interior; Royal Decree No. (A/62), issued on 30 Rabi' al-Awwal 1430 AH, corresponding to 27 March 2009, appointed him Second Deputy Prime Minister alongside his ministry, and directed that the competent authorities be notified to approve and implement it.[1]

At that stage Prince Naif bin Abdulaziz combined the Ministry of Interior with the chairmanship of the National Committee for Narcotics Control, and from that position he directed the Kingdom's drug-prevention policy.[2]

He chaired the Supreme Council of Media and for years led the course of Saudi media, establishing its approach, drawing up its media policy and defining the responsibilities of its press institutions, media outlets, administrative references and executive regulations.[5]

On 20 Muharram 1430 AH, corresponding to 17 January 2009, Prince Naif bin Abdulaziz approved the establishment of a chair at Imam Muhammad bin Saud Islamic University for drug prevention, named the Prince Naif Chair for Drug Prevention, funded personally by him and linked in research to the National Committee for Narcotics Control.[2]

On 12 Jumada al-Ula 1429 AH, corresponding to 17 May 2008, King Saud University launched the activities of the Prince Naif bin Abdulaziz Chair for Intellectual Security Studies, in the presence of the Speaker of the Shura Council and the adviser to the Minister of Interior.[3]

The chair works as a research body concerned with studying the thought that threatens the safety and stability of society, monitoring the phenomena affecting intellectual security, and contributing to addressing deviant ideas following the approach of moderation and centrism.[3]

Prince Naif bin Abdulaziz established the Naif bin Abdulaziz Al Saud International Prize for the Prophetic Sunnah and Contemporary Islamic Studies and the Prince Naif bin Abdulaziz Al Saud Appreciation Prize for Service to the Prophetic Sunnah; the Minister of Islamic Affairs on 11 Rajab 1437 AH, corresponding to 18 April 2016, praised the continuity of his care for the Prophetic Sunnah through what he established and sponsored during his life.[4]

The Prince Naif bin Abdulaziz Al Saud Competition for Memorisation of the Prophetic Hadith continued after his death, and its closing ceremony for the eleventh round was held in the Madinah region on 11 Rajab 1437 AH, corresponding to 18 April 2016, and the prize associated with it became three prizes.[4]

Prince Naif bin Abdulaziz followed the path of his father King Abdulaziz bin Abdulrahman Al Saud in the love of good: he supported charitable societies, Qur'an memorisation associations, orphan care and the societies concerned with building mosques, took an interest in knowledge and scholars, printed and disseminated scholarly books, and extended assistance to various countries.[5]

Sheikh Saleh bin Abdullah bin Humaid testified at the sessions of the "Naif Values" exhibition in 2017 that Prince Naif linked human values to the Qur'an and the Sunnah, busied himself with intellectual protection, and contributed to helping the poor and the weak and supporting the families of martyrs of duty morally and financially.[5]

His son Prince Saud bin Naif described him in the lecture "My Father Prince Naif bin Abdulaziz" at King Abdulaziz University on 15 May 2017 as having been "strong without violence, and gentle without weakness": kind in company, tender-hearted and compassionate towards young and old, listening to everyone who spoke with him without interruption, and keen to perform charitable deeds without announcing them.[6]

On 25 Dhu al-Hijjah 1442 AH, corresponding to 4 August 2021, King Abdulaziz Foundation received the private library of Prince Naif bin Abdulaziz, comprising more than 2,500 titles in 3,000 volumes on exegesis, the Prophetic biography, security affairs, the history of the Kingdom and its literature, scholarly periodicals and albums of official photographs, after his sons chose the Foundation to preserve it and make it available to researchers.[7]

The Prince Naif Institute for Research and Consultancy Services at Imam Muhammad bin Saud Islamic University issued three documentary books recording the national sentiments and the local and international echoes surrounding his personality after his death, received by the Governor of the Eastern Province on 17 Jumada al-Akhirah 1435 AH, corresponding to 17 April 2014.[8]

The Prince Naif bin Abdulaziz Hajj Campaign, dedicated to beneficiaries of the programmes of the Mohammed bin Naif Centre for Counselling and Care and their families, set out on 7 Dhu al-Hijjah 1434 AH, corresponding to 12 October 2013, in three groups from the Riyadh region, Jeddah and Taif, with 500 beneficiaries and their families taking part, while about 600 beneficiaries and their families benefited from the campaigns of the 1432 and 1433 AH Hajj seasons.[9]

Q: Who is Prince Naif bin Abdulaziz Al Saud? A: He was a Saudi prince who headed the Ministry of Interior, was appointed Second Deputy Prime Minister on 27 March 2009, and chaired the National Committee for Narcotics Control and the Supreme Council of Media.

Q: What positions did he combine alongside the Ministry of Interior? A: The chairmanship of the National Committee for Narcotics Control, and the chairmanship of the Supreme Council of Media and the leadership of the course of Saudi media.

Q: What academic chairs were established in his name? A: The Prince Naif Chair for Drug Prevention at Imam Muhammad bin Saud Islamic University, and the Prince Naif bin Abdulaziz Chair for Intellectual Security Studies at King Saud University.

Q: What was his role in caring for the Prophetic Sunnah? A: He established an international prize for the Prophetic Sunnah and an appreciation prize for service to it, and the Prince Naif bin Abdulaziz Al Saud Competition for Memorisation of the Prophetic Hadith continued after his death, its closing ceremony for the eleventh round being held in Madinah in 2016.

Q: What is the most prominent documentary legacy he left? A: His private library comprised more than 2,500 titles in 3,000 volumes, deposited with King Abdulaziz Foundation in 2021, and the Prince Naif Institute for Research and Consultancy Services issued three documentary books about his personality.