Following the successful conclusion of the war with the Yemen, Ibn Saud performed the
Hajj. While circumambulating the Holy Ka'aba in the center of the Grand Mosque in Makkah, accompanied by many thousands of fellow pilgrims, Ibn Saud was attacked by three knife-wielding Yemenis. Ibn Saud was saved by the prompt and courageous action of his son, Crown Prince Saud bin Abdul Aziz, who interposed himself between his father and the Yemeni assailants, receiving a wound in the shoulder. The royal guards opened fire and the would-be assassins (Yemeni soldiers who had fought the Saudi forces the previous year) were shot dead.
Imam Yahya, concerned that he might be thought to be implicated in the plot, immediately sent a message to Ibn Saud deploring the assassination attempt and declaring his joy and relief that Ibn Saud had survived it.
