Saad Mohammed Al-Qasem AlwahabiRetired fighter pilot, internet and AI entrepreneur

I came into this world in the city of Dammam, Saudi Arabia, in the heart of the Eastern Province, in 1388 AH (1969 CE). Life then was marked by simplicity and clarity, in the reign of His Majesty King Faisal bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, may Allah rest his soul, under whom the Kingdom saw the first flowering of prosperity and the opening of job opportunities. My father, may Allah have mercy on him, worked at Aramco, which gave that era a particular character of stability and hard work.

My family then moved to the city of Taif, then to Riyadh, where I received part of my primary education in the Sultanah neighborhood. After that, we settled in Sarat Abidah, in the Southern Region, in Wadi Al-Wahabah, where my roots and upbringing lie. There I completed primary and intermediate school, then enrolled at King Fahd Secondary School in Sarat Abidah, graduating from the science track.

During intermediate and secondary school I was passionate about the English language, so much so that I tutored some of my fellow students, to help them. The idea took root in my mind that I would become an English teacher, so I went to Riyadh to apply to universities, and I applied to King Saud University.

But the surprise was rejection. The rules at the time held that secondary-school graduates from the science track could only enter scientific majors, and that English literature was reserved for graduates of the arts track. It was a heavy blow by any measure, a dream dissolved in a moment.

Around then, one of my maternal uncles, who was a pilot, saw how upset I was and made a suggestion that changed the course of my life entirely: since my passion was English, and flight courses and training are conducted entirely in English, why not try applying to King Faisal Air Academy? Relief came here from Allah, glory be to Him. I liked the idea, applied, was accepted, and entered the Academy.

After the recruit period, I took an English placement test and passed it, together with only eight of my classmates, out of our 39th course. The Academy had a rule at the time: whoever passed the English test on the first attempt was promoted to the course ahead, saving six months of study and graduating in two and a half years instead of a full three.

For me this was both a challenge and a wonderful achievement. I did join the 38th course, began the preparatory stage in the Education Wing, and completed it successfully, then moved on to the intermediate stage and the real start of the flying phase.

The first stage of flying was on the Cessna 172, with roughly ten sorties scheduled. On the eighth sortie I felt a sharp pain in my stomach, but I bore it and did not tell my instructor. After we landed, there was a semester break, so we left the Academy, and there my appendix ruptured.

I went to the hospital, where they performed an exploratory operation at the site of the pain, suspecting the appendix. They found it had indeed ruptured and removed it, and cleaned the abdominal cavity of the fluid that had spilled from it. The wound had to be left partly open to drain the remaining pus, and that lasted nearly a month.

The break ended, and I had to return to the Academy to complete the ninth and tenth solo flights, with part of the surgical wound still open, though I was living almost normally. Then came the first challenge: the flight surgeon decided I should wait a month or two before flying again, while my classmates had nearly finished their solo flights, and each was starting to learn his fate: would he continue on to the second stage as a pilot, or continue as a technician?

In light of the doctor's decision, the Cadet Wing decided I should return to my original course to gain more time to recover, which meant losing the six months I had earned through my own effort. Here I resolved to press on. I decided to convince the flight surgeon and the Academy commander of my ability and determination not to waste what I had achieved. The attempts and negotiations began, and I asked to be given the chance. The Academy commander ordered that I be given it, thank Allah. I continued, flew solo, and my instructor was delighted with the accomplishment.

Afterward I studied the second intermediate stage and prepared to fly the PC-9, an advanced trainer recently introduced to the Academy, and a turboprop aircraft. I began flying it, and it was a great experience. Here I realized that I had an aptitude and a gift for flying, truly a divine ability and blessing, glory be to Allah.

I excelled at this stage, especially since the aircraft had a well-known difficulty on takeoff and landing that demanded a particular skill from the pilot to avoid any potential danger. I remember that on the last flight, the final test of this stage, I excelled by Allah's grace. The pilot examining me was a Saudi, may Allah remember him well, and he was amazed. He told me it was the first time he had come across a flight of such skill, and I did receive a very high grade on that test, thank Allah.

I then moved on to the Academy's final stage and was appointed with the rank of Squadron Sergeant. I began studying and flying the jet “Strikemaster,” which is the advanced jet training stage. I had flown a number of sorties when, during another break, I fell ill again, this time with an intestinal obstruction caused by the remains of the earlier appendix surgery.

The military hospital decided on a major operation: removing the blocked section of the intestine and reconnecting it. It was a major operation given the limited medical resources of the time, but it was performed successfully, and, like the earlier one, part of it had to be left open to drain the pus.

The hospital notified the Academy of its report, and I was due to return after the sick leave to resume my duties as squadron commander and to fly. But once again my classmates had gone a long way ahead, and the flight surgeon decided I should wait for full recovery, fearing the wound might open during maneuvers against gravity, which can reach nine times my body weight.

Here was the second challenge: I had to convince the doctor and the commander that the first chance had been granted and I had excelled in it, that they should trust me and give me a second chance, and that I was ready and determined to go on, especially as we were hearing at that time about preparations for the Second Gulf War and the liberation of Kuwait. I was eager and determined to take part, to give my life if need be in the service of my religion, my homeland and my king, fulfilling what I would swear at the graduation ceremony.

And by Allah's grace I did manage to convince them. They were truly the best of colleagues: the commander, the doctor, my squadron commander, the squadron cadets, my classmates. Indeed the whole Academy rallied with me, and I could not let them down. Thank Allah, I continued flying and leading the squadron, and I sometimes flew twice a day, an exceptional condition that demands high physical and mental fitness.

Time passed quickly and graduation was at the door. I was still flying, so much so that my last flight and final test were on graduation day itself. I went straight from the aircraft to my room to swap my flight “overalls” for my graduation uniform, then to my squadron to take up my sword and lead the parade.

I joined the parade formation and the graduation ceremony began. I was utterly exhausted. At the end of the parade, my classmates lined up to stand before the graduation podium and the patron of the ceremony. The announcer began calling out the names of the top performers to step forward, greet the patron and receive their awards. Rumors were flying about who would win the Aviation Award, the most important one.

Then my name was called, and I hadn't noticed it, had one of my classmates beside me not alerted me. He nudged me with his hand and said: “Say ‘Yes, sir.’ You're first. Say ‘Yes, sir!’” I snapped to attention and said “Yes, sir” after a moment of silence that had fallen over the ceremony. I stepped forward and received the Aviation Award, the “Aviation Falcon” prize, and the dream came true.

As if my Lord had prompted me, I turned my gaze to my father amid the great crowd, raising his shemagh high in joy and pride, almost flying with delight and elation. Praise and thanks be to Allah. It is a feeling beyond description, and the tongue is powerless to express it.

I was posted to King Fahd Air Base in Taif as a fighter pilot lieutenant on the F-5, along with a group of colleagues, just as the crisis of the invasion of Kuwait ignited in August 1990 and the Air Force went on alert for Operation Desert Shield.

I continued studying the aircraft and training in earnest as a fighter on the arts of flying and combat, and we completed the six months required for me to be operationally ready to take part in any air war. And indeed, my colleagues urged me, as the most senior among them and the first in flying, to send a cable to the Air Force commander about our desire to take part in the war to liberate Kuwait.

And indeed our request was granted, and we were directed to go to Qassim and form an air detachment, made up of tents, so that we could be close to the targets and take part. By Allah's grace it was done, Kuwait was liberated, and we returned to Taif and carried on with training for the advanced stages: leading two aircraft as “element lead,” then “flight lead” for four aircraft and more, which I completed successfully.

It was Allah's will that I was involved in a car accident, after which it was decided that I be seconded for a year, temporarily, to headquarters in Riyadh, in the Operations Division, in the newly established Organization and Armament Department, as an organization and armament officer, while completing treatment, since the damage had been done and was concentrated in the face. The treatment took a long time, but I was afterwards confirmed in service.

With my colleagues I took the reins of reorganizing the Air Force. We were a small number of officers and non-commissioned officers, and the department was still being established. We worked day and night to deliver what was required. It was not easy, since I had no experience in organization and structural design, but through reading and self-study we managed to get a long way, earning the approval of the Air Force commander, his deputy and the Minister of Defense.

Another officer and I were sent on assignment to the United States to study manpower organization. It was a difficult and exciting challenge, which I passed with distinction, thank Allah. I returned to headquarters and we completed the task, prepared the final draft of the organization, and took on the review with the Ministry of Finance and the finance specialists at headquarters to request the budget required and have it approved, which the Minister approved.

We earned letters of thanks and appreciation from the senior leadership, though the credit is not ours, for it was our duty. I was promoted to the rank of Major. And here, based on the new organization, I felt it was my place to make room for those who would carry on the journey.

In the year 2000 I decided to move into business, and I had to choose a field that suited my abilities, my inclinations and my love of challenges and adventure. That era was the era of the dot-com and internet revolution, and I realized it would have a major role in serving humanity.

It happened that the first GITEX exhibition was being held in Riyadh, and I chose a leading Canadian company and signed with them for the commercial franchise rights for internet business. I trained on the requirements in Toronto, Canada, completed the course and training successfully, and returned to Riyadh to establish the first company dedicated to internet business.

The challenge then was scarce resources, and the task of persuading a market of the importance of a field that was entirely new to it, so I took on the mission of education and awareness for both the public and private sectors. By Allah's grace I was able to complete many contracts and agreements in both.

New technologies crossed my path, among them fingerprint biometrics. I made good use of it, applying it in both sectors, especially the government sector, and what was needed was done with the Ministry of Interior and Customs to apply it at all international ports of entry. It was a quantum leap in this field.

Then another opportunity crossed my path, to manufacture and distribute household electrical appliances, so I founded a company for that vital field. Then another distribution idea came along, with Sony and local suppliers, so I founded another company and worked in that field.

I kept working in this field until the COVID crisis in 2020 swept through everything, the green and the dry alike. In 2022, I made the decision to exit and cut my losses, leaving the market with the least possible damage, and praise be to Allah in every circumstance.

What happened after COVID was not confined to me alone. The pandemic hit major companies before mine, and countries, governments and economies were affected in every direction. From my exit from the market in 2022 until mid-2026, I lived through these four years something like a complete reset: disorientation, and radical changes in systems, markets and the global economy. I had to become adept at maneuvering and make decisions before the direction of that maneuvering itself became clear to me, leaving the matter to the arrangement of Allah Almighty.

In the second half of 2026, after years of patience and reliance on Him, of praising and thanking Him always for what He decreed, and of thinking well of Him, relief came suddenly and without warning. At dawn one day, I felt a strange energy and a completely clear mind, and a clear vision of what I had to do. And I then remembered the words of Allah Almighty: ﴿وَبَشِّرِ الصَّابِرِينَ * الَّذِينَ إِذَا أَصَابَتْهُم مُّصِيبَةٌ قَالُوا إِنَّا لِلَّهِ وَإِنَّا إِلَيْهِ رَاجِعُونَ * أُولَٰئِكَ عَلَيْهِمْ صَلَوَاتٌ مِّن رَّبِّهِمْ وَرَحْمَةٌ وَأُولَٰئِكَ هُمُ الْمُهْتَدُونَ﴾ [Al-Baqarah: 155–157]
“Give glad tidings to the steadfast, who say, when a misfortune striketh them: Lo! we are Allah's and lo! unto Him we are returning. Such are they on whom are blessings from their Lord, and mercy. Such are the rightly guided.” (Quran 2:155–157, trans. Marmaduke Pickthall). So I was certain that what Allah had decreed for me He had made good, and I ask Him, glorified and exalted, to make every decree He decrees for me and for you a good one.

Wise ideas and decisions began to flow, and I regained my strength, drive and resolve as I know them, and I became the “Saad” I know once more. I decided to return to my true field, the one I had long been passionate about: consulting in internet business, and specifically artificial intelligence, which I had actually begun following around 2004, but I had stayed restrained, watching constantly without taking serious steps to begin. This time it was different: I began to learn, read and train myself, and within a short period of no more than two months I was handling it again with my own abilities as I know them.

And I began in earnest with this personal site of mine, as a window for reflection and to document a digital legacy of my story, to be the foundation for the consulting I will provide and the execution of my coming projects, projects I believe should draw on my capabilities, my talents and my way of thinking, always grounded in creativity and mastery, backed by a strong intuition that reads what lies beyond the present moment. Since I don't like constraints, and lean toward being free to carry out what I am convinced of with my abilities and passion, this passion will be, if Allah wills, my aid in serving people first, out of my sincere love of doing good, and my sincerity and dedication to mastering what I do across all technical fields.

And I see in the tremendous progress in artificial intelligence a weapon I must learn to use well, like a sword in the hand of a knight, for what serves my direction and pleases Allah, glory be to Him, certain that the road is hard and full of challenges, in an age when a whole generation may lose its true compass and its firm foundation: mindfulness of Allah and fear of Him in everything.

The journey toward this new destination has begun, and we are now about to take off, having completed all necessary procedures, properly and prudently, before departure. I praise Allah with a good and blessed praise for His guidance and fine planning, asking Him for success and right guidance for me, for you, and for all Muslims, in what He loves and is pleased with. See you, if Allah wills, in good health after we land. The journey is long, and we will fly you through all of its details. Welcome, with a welcome worthy of your gracious presence. Do not forget us in your sincere prayers, and in Allah we place our trust.