Despite the mixed results of the rehabilitation campaign and the difficulties that some of his disciples encountered, Rida remained devoted to King 'Abd al-Aziz until the very end. For all his occasional faults, the Saudi ruler was, in the eyes of Rida, the best available Muslim statesman, and his kingdom offered the best prospect of becoming the political arm of the balanced reform movement. Rida knew firsthand the diϲculty of putting reformist ideas into practice: it required money as well as political support.