ABSTRACT
Ibn Saud successfully blended the royalties of oil wealth with puritanical Islam in a holy alliance that had been forged between Al Saud and Al-Sheikh to transform the region into modern Saudi Arabia. Though the legitimacy of the regime, based on hereditary succession, is questioned by both Islamic theology and Islamic jurisprudence, Al Saud has used Islamic ideology in securing, sustaining and legitimising its own authority, both within the Islamic world as well as globally. Sunni Ulema as well as the Fuqaha have traditionally supported the political institutions in power. The discovery and commercial use of oil in the nineteenth century in the Arabian Peninsula proved to be the game changer in almost all spheres in and around the region, including geostrategy, foreign relations, diplomacy, economy, religion as well as in the social and political areas. The massive flow of oil wealth, which started after World War II, helped Ibn Saud to fortify a comprehensive monarchical state with welfare mantle.
