Understanding the UAE is impossible without understanding the life of Sheikh Zayed and his deep religious faith, his vision, his determination and hard work, his generosity at home and abroad, and the way in which he devoted his life to the service of his people and the creation of a better world. At the time Sheikh Zayed was born, the emirate was poor and undeveloped, with an economy based primarily on fishing and pearl diving and on simple agriculture in scattered oases inland.
Life, even for members of the ruling family, was simple. Education was generally confined to lessons in reading and writing, along with instruction in Islam from the local preacher.
Transport was by camel or boat, and the harshness of the arid climate meant that survival itself was often a major concern. He later recalled with pleasure his experience of desert life and his initiation into the sport of falconry, which became a lifelong passion. The job involved administering six villages and an adjacent desert region. In the late s and early s, Sheikh Zayed established his clear vision of what he wished to achieve for the people of Al Ain, and as someone who led by example.
Despite few government revenues, Sheikh Zayed succeeded in bringing progress to Al Ain, establishing basic administration, personally funding the first modern school in the emirate and coaxing relatives and friends to contribute towards small-scale development. He revised local water ownership rights to ensure a more equitable distribution, which led to agricultural development and re-establishment of the oasis as the predominant market center.
His city planning in Al Ain helped ensure that today, the city is one of the greenest in Arabia. His years in Al Ain had given him valuable experience in government and time to develop a vision of progress. With the export of the first cargo of Abu Dhabi crude in , he could rely on oil revenues in the service of the people, and a massive construction program for schools, housing, hospitals and roads was underway. In the British announced their intention of withdrawing from the Arabian Gulf by the end of Sheikh Zayed, with the late Ruler of Dubai, Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum, took the lead in calling for a federation that would include not only the seven emirates that made up the Trucial States, but also Qatar and Bahrain.
