Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Quotes: 73 Powerful Sayings by Dubai’s Ruler
🎧 Listen: the podcast version A short audio companion that walks through Sheikh Mohammed’s most powerful quotes and the stories behind them. Quick answerSheikh Mohammed bin Rashid quotes span leadership, success, vision, pride in the UAE, women, youth and happiness, drawn from his books My Vision (
Quick answerSheikh Mohammed bin Rashid quotes span leadership, success, vision, pride in the UAE, women, youth and happiness, drawn from his books My Vision (2006) and Flashes of Thought (2013), his speeches and his posts on X. His best-known line is “Impossible is a word used by some people who fear to dream big.” Copy any quote below in one tap, or use the prompt tool to turn a quote into an AI image.
Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Quotes
This page collects 70+ of the most powerful Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid quotes, grouped by theme with the story behind the notable ones. His words reflect the vision that placed Dubai where it stands today, and they still shape how the UAE thinks about ambition.
Leadership
HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Quotes on Leadership
His leadership quotes reward presence, humility and empowering others over rank. The clearest example is one he turned into policy.
“A leader cannot lead from behind. True leaders do not isolate themselves behind closed doors; reality is best experienced in the field.”
— HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum
The story behind it. In a September 2012 series of posts on X, Sheikh Mohammed argued that leaders belong in the field, not behind closed doors. He made it literal the same month, ordering the doors physically removed from Dubai government offices so officials worked in the open, and adding: “I often tell officials: put citizens at the heart of all your plans; they are the true judge of your success, not me.”
Success & excellence
HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Quotes on Success and Excellence
His success quotes treat effort as the only real advantage. His most-told story, the lion and the gazelle, opens his 2006 book My Vision.
“It does not matter whether you are a lion or a gazelle. When the sun comes up, you had better start running.”
— HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum
The full parable, and where he said it. Sheikh Mohammed opens his 2006 book My Vision: Challenges in the Race for Excellence with an old African proverb:Every morning in Africa, a gazelle wakes up knowing it must run faster than the fastest lion or it will be killed. Every morning a lion wakes up knowing it must outrun the slowest gazelle or it will starve. It does not matter whether you are a lion or a gazelle: when the sun comes up, you had better start running.He then turns the proverb on Dubai, telling interviewers that in the emirate he does not care whether you are a lion or a gazelle, because everyone — resident, business and government — must run to keep pace. It has become his shorthand for the city’s culture of relentless improvement, and the same idea gives his book its title: the race for excellence has no finish line, a line he repeated in his 2021 Golden Jubilee message.
Vision & the future
HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Quotes on Vision and the Future
His vision quotes connect a 1970s desert to spacecraft in Mars orbit, and treat “impossible” as an excuse rather than a fact.
“Over the past 50 years, we started from the desert of our land to the desert of Mars. Our dreams will be even bigger for the next 50 years.”
— HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum
The moment behind it. He posted this in February 2021, on the night the UAE’s Hope Probe entered Mars orbit and made the country the fifth nation, and the first Arab one, to reach the planet. Asked what the mission was really for, he explained: “An Arab official once asked me about the target. I told him: we want to send a message of hope to 350 million Arabs that we are capable of reclaiming our future.” The same fearless streak runs through his most-searched line, “Impossible is a word used by some people who fear to dream big” — the thinking that pushed through the 828-metre Burj Khalifa when outside experts called it a fantasy.
Pride in the UAE
HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Quotes on Pride in the UAE
These are the lines Emiratis save and share on National Day. They put the people, not the projects, at the centre of the story.
“Fifty years ago, we had a dream of building a state, a home, a united people, a homeland for all. What appeared as an unattainable dream has today emerged as a proud, strong homeland, one that is secure and invincible.”
— HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum
When he said it. This is from December 2021, the UAE’s Golden Jubilee marking 50 years since the union. In his National Day messages he returns to the same idea, thanking citizens directly: “You, the people of the UAE, are the foundation of our country. You are the creators of its success.”
Business
HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Quotes on Business and Entrepreneurship
His business quotes read like a founder’s field notes, and Dubai itself is the case study.
Women
HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Quotes on Women
His quotes on women tie directly to UAE policy, not sentiment. Two of them mark real, dated milestones.
“If a woman wanders alone at any hour of the day or night without fear, know that she is in the Emirates.”
— HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum
The milestones behind the words. He wrote the line above in November 2021, after the UAE topped Gallup’s Global Law and Order index with a 95% score for people who feel safe walking alone at night. Three years earlier, on 8 December 2018, the day a presidential decree raised women to 50% of the Federal National Council, he posted: “Women are half of our society: they should be represented as such.”
Youth & happiness
HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Quotes on Youth and Happiness
He treats young people as the country’s main asset and turned happiness into a government mandate, appointing a Minister of State for Happiness in 2016.
Authenticity
Which HH Sheikh Mohammed Quotes Are Authentic — and Which Are Fake?
The most viral Sheikh Mohammed quote online is only half real, so authenticity matters before you share. The famous “my grandfather rode a camel” passage belongs to his father, Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum, who told the camel anecdote around 1988.
⚠️ The quote to check twice
The “hard times create strong men” lines often bolted onto that passage trace to a 2016 novel, Those Who Remain by G. Michael Hopf, not to any Maktoum ruler. Fact-checks by AAP and Misbar confirm the mix-up, and the man in the viral photo is Sheikh Mohammed, not Sheikh Rashid.
Every quote on this page is tied to his books or verified posts. When in doubt, match a quote to My Vision, Flashes of Thought or his account on X before you attribute it.
His books
Where Can You Read HH Sheikh Mohammed’s Quotes and Books?
Sheikh Mohammed has written three main books, and all three carry the quotes on this page. His speeches and columns sit on his official website, sheikhmohammed.ae.
Frequently Asked Questions About Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Quotes
What are HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid’s most famous quotes?
HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum’s most quoted lines include ‘Impossible is a word used by some people who fear to dream big,’ ‘The race for excellence has no finish line’ and ‘They say the sky is the limit for ambition. We say: the sky is only the beginning.’ They come from his books My Vision and Flashes of Thought and his posts on X, and they centre on leadership, ambition and Dubai’s long-term vision.
What is Sheikh Mohammed’s quote about the impossible?
The quote reads: ‘Impossible is a word used by some people who fear to dream big.’ It is the single most searched Sheikh Mohammed line among UAE residents. He uses it to explain fast-tracked Dubai projects that outside experts once called impossible, among them the 828-metre Burj Khalifa and the Palm Jumeirah. The wider point is that ambition, not resources, sets the ceiling for a nation.
What is Sheikh Mohammed’s lion and gazelle quote?
He opens his 2006 book My Vision with an African parable: every morning a gazelle must outrun the fastest lion or perish, and a lion must outrun the slowest gazelle or starve, so ‘it does not matter whether you are a lion or a gazelle: when the sun comes up, you had better start running.’ Sheikh Mohammed applies it to Dubai, where everyone must run to keep pace. It is now his shorthand for the city’s culture of speed.
What did Sheikh Mohammed say about leadership?
In a September 2012 series of posts on X, HH Sheikh Mohammed said ‘a leader cannot lead from behind’ and that leaders belong in the field. He made it literal by ordering doors removed from Dubai government offices so officials worked in the open. He also said ‘a great leader creates more great leaders and does not reduce the institution to a single person.’ His leadership quotes reward presence, humility and thanking the team.
What is Sheikh Mohammed’s most powerful quote about the UAE?
One of his most shared patriotic lines is from the UAE’s 50th anniversary: ‘Fifty years ago, we had a dream of building a state, a home, a united people, a homeland for all. What appeared as an unattainable dream has today emerged as a proud, strong homeland, one that is secure and invincible.’ On National Day he adds that the people themselves are ‘the foundation of our country’ and ‘the creators of its success.’
What did Sheikh Mohammed say about women?
On 8 December 2018, the day a decree raised women to 50% of the Federal National Council, he posted ‘women are half of our society: they should be represented as such.’ In November 2021, after the UAE topped Gallup’s Global Law and Order index, he added ‘if a woman wanders alone at any hour of the day or night without fear, know that she is in the Emirates.’ In Flashes of Thought he writes that the right environment lets women ‘perform nothing short of miracles.’
How do I turn a Sheikh Mohammed quote into an image?
Use the prompt maker tool near the top of this page. Pick a theme, choose a quote and select a style such as a luxury black and gold poster, a Burj Khalifa wallpaper, a phone wallpaper, an Instagram card or Arabic calligraphy. The tool writes a complete prompt with the quote and style built in, which you copy and paste into an AI image generator like ChatGPT, Gemini or Midjourney to create and download the image.
Which Sheikh Mohammed quotes are fake or misattributed?
The viral ‘my grandfather rode a camel’ passage belongs to his father, Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum, who told the camel anecdote around 1988. The ‘hard times create strong men’ lines often attached to it come from a 2016 novel, Those Who Remain by G. Michael Hopf, and not from any Maktoum ruler. Fact-checks by AAP and Misbar confirm the mix-up. Authentic quotes trace to his books or his verified account on X.
Which books contain Sheikh Mohammed’s quotes?
Sheikh Mohammed has written three main books: My Vision: Challenges in the Race for Excellence (2006), Flashes of Thought (2013), a collection of reflections on leadership and government, and My Story: 50 Memories from 50 Years of Service (2018). All three are available in Arabic and English through UAE bookshops and online retailers. His speeches, columns and daily reflections also sit on his official website, sheikhmohammed.ae, and on his account on X.
Who is HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum?
His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum is Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, a role he has held since 4 January 2006. Born in Dubai in 1949, he is a nabati-style Arabic poet, an endurance rider and the founder of Godolphin, the global horse-racing operation. He writes the books My Vision, Flashes of Thought and My Story, and posts regularly to more than 9.71 million followers on X.
Sources
Sources: sheikhmohammed.ae; My Vision, Flashes of Thought and My Story (HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum); Gallup Global Law and Order 2021; Emirates Woman and What’s On (Motivate Media Group); Gulf News; Bayut; AAP FactCheck and Misbar. Last updated: 3 July 2026.
