“You are the beginning of life and the most beautiful thing in it…”

image gallery
nav left 1 of 10 nav right
image gallery
image gallery
image gallery
image gallery
image gallery

Sheikh Mohammed

On leadership

It is easy to rule through fear, but it takes a rare leader to rule through love.

HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Vice President of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai has dedicated this year’s Accession Day celebrations (held on January 4 each year to mark the Sheikh’s accession to the throne) to his wife, Sheikha Hind bint Maktoum, who he refers to as “my companion, my support and my backer”.

In a touching post on social media, he went to say “Sheikha Hind is one of the most compassionate, generous and charitable people. She is the pillar of my home, the foundation of my family and my greatest supporter throughout my career.”

“My biggest wish, Hind, is that God protects you, makes you happy, and keeps love between us. You are the beginning of life and the most beautiful thing in it, and you are the spirit of Dubai, its pulse, and its joy.”

“I call on everyone to be loyal to those who deserve loyalty… loyalty to our companion on the path… and our support in this life… The best of people is the best to his family, as our noble Prophet says.”

No stranger to the world of poetic verse, Sheikh Mohammed has of course published books and authored many memorable quotes during his visionary stewardship of Dubai. We’ve assembled some of our favourites in the picture gallery here, extracted from his book Flashes of Wisdom, which is available in Arabic in English in most major bookshops now and on BooksArabia.com from Dhs40.

Images: What’s On archive