Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President of the UAE, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, has set out seven rules for life in Dubai. In a message to the emirate’s community, residents, visitors and supporters, he said the aim was to keep Dubai’s experience inspiring and exceptional, and ensure the city remains the best experience for people and the most beautiful place to live.
The message appeared in his book *The Messages*, in which he described Dubai as a home for the world, humanity and life. He said what had been achieved there had helped create a beautiful city and a model experience for the world. He linked the continuation of this experience to establishing a system of meanings and principles governing the conduct of individuals and institutions, rather than relying solely on construction and material achievements.
Individual responsibility is the foundation of life in Dubai
The first rule addressed responsibility under the heading, “Life is responsibility, and responsibility is life.” Mohammed bin Rashid said the greatness sought for Dubai came at a price in the form of responsibility, which begins within every individual. It includes the employee’s responsibility for their duties, the leader’s for their team, the parent’s for their family, the individual’s for their city, the person’s for their word and the trader’s for their honesty.
He added that responsibility extended to the teacher towards their students, the doctor towards their visitors, the older person towards the younger person and the younger person towards the older person. At its forefront was the government’s responsibility towards every individual, including their comfort, security, rights and happiness. He stressed that everyone was responsible, and that society lived a balanced and dignified life when each person carried out their responsibility properly.
Respect for people is a measure of civilisation
The second rule was based on respect as an appreciation of human worth. He stressed that respect for people was the foundation, spirit and essence of civilisation, and included respect for their religion, values, culture, time, feelings and life. He added that every person had their own identity, dignity and rights, calling for respect for everyone, appreciation of women and workers, reverence for older people and fairness towards those who disagreed with us.
He said an ideal city was not measured by its buildings and construction, but by the extent to which it respected human dignity. He linked the quality of life in the city to the way members of its community treated one another, preserving rights and dignity and making respect a daily practice rather than merely a theoretical value. Mohammed bin Rashid made excellence the focus of the third rule, describing it as the finest message that could be presented to the world.
Daily excellence creates the city’s quality
He explained that the accumulation of excellence created the city’s beauty and cleanliness, and the quality of its facilities, parks, buildings, services and experiences. It also affected the people living there and the image they presented of it.
He added that the world read Dubai through the excellence of its airport employees, road workers, engineers at its facilities and companies delivering services. He said excellence earned its practitioner the world’s respect and appreciation, and meant being fully human in one’s tasks, jobs and duties, putting one’s spirit into the work rather than performing it mechanically.
He stressed that excellence was a daily, cumulative and detailed practice, but that it built strength and civilisation just as millions of drops form a river. By contrast, he warned that small acts of disorder also accumulated and could lead to the collapse of achievements and gains. He described Dubai as a culture embedded in the members of its community and a spirit visible in its working methods and the quality of its achievements, with every small act of excellence serving as a building block in the construction of civilisation.
Humility raises ambition and preserves balance
The fourth rule addressed humility under the heading, “We rise through our humility.” Mohammed bin Rashid said humility with people raised a person’s standing among them; humility before achievement raised the ceiling of ambition; humility before knowledge increased passion; and humility before truth corrected the balance and established justice.
He described humility as greatness, civilisation and refinement, and as freedom from the ego and arrogance that threaten the civilisational development of nations. He said Dubai knew its true size and modest beginnings, adding: “We started from nothing and God honoured us.”
He added that acknowledging how much one did not know reinforced the need for continuous learning, and that the road remained long despite what had been achieved. This made humility a motivation to continue working rather than a diminishing of the value of achievement. He devoted the fifth rule to optimism as a way of life, stressing the belief that what was to come would be more beautiful and the future better because work and hope never stopped.
He said every challenge could become an opportunity, and every crisis represented a test of creativity, a refinement of skills and a renewal of energy. The energy of young people, the experiences of others and future changes also offered broad opportunities for learning and progress. He added that “the impossible is a point of view”, and that experience had shown there was no impossible task with determination and faith.
He explained that optimism enabled people to imagine achievements before they happened, including their details, beauty and effects, and gave them the insight to see the future they believed in and worked towards. He described Dubai’s community as optimistic and confident in its abilities: it did not stop, hesitate or wait for others, but took the initiative in shaping its future.
The sixth rule was based on the idea that goodness was both the path and the way forward. He described Dubai’s community as one that loved doing good, offered assistance and supported others, and did not hesitate to stand by a friend or brother or help those in need. He stressed that doing good was a source of happiness, helping others was a virtue, meeting people’s needs was a blessing and mercy, and blessings carried a responsibility for the community to be a bridge to goodness and a source of hope for people.
He explained that goodness was not fleeting charity, but a continuing message that included a kind word, a smile, removing harm from the road, guiding the lost and encouraging young people. He added that life was full of forms of goodness, and that societies which lost these meanings lost an essential part of the meaning of life. The seventh rule concerned loyalty to the nation that embraces and protects its people.
Mohammed bin Rashid said loyalty meant respecting the constitution and laws, preserving achievements, valuing the flag and embracing the values of sincerity, justice, honesty, integrity, respect, excellence and responsibility. He stressed that the nation was not merely geography or symbols, but a beating heart, a living spirit and values by which people lived, alongside sacrifices made to protect its security and safety, institutions, achievements, reputation and standing.
He described serving the nation as the noblest task and greatest profession, saying there was no greater force than a people who loved their nation, believed in it and lived for it. He concluded his message by stressing that society’s life was based not on the building but on the meaning, and that constructing buildings and designing urban environments were not the real miracle.
He said the deepest achievement lay in building a society founded on great meanings, principles and values, as these were the foundation that preserved Dubai’s experience and ensured its continuation.
