This paper will identify and assess the moral and legal –and essentially religious-based-- considerations for the acquisition and potential use of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) in the current Islamic context in Saudi Arabia. The emphasis of this study is on Saudi Arabia, given the latter's importance in the region and the Islamic world and the current interest of this issue --in particular of nuclear weapons-- in policy discourse in that country. The preliminary thesis of the study is that the Saudi policymakers have elicited and encouraged legitimacy from religious quarters as part of preparing the political environment as they consider a potential nuclear option for the country. The moral foundation is an important intangible factor for a working understanding of the practical and psychological background of attitudes and of the decisionmaking background in Saudi Arabia. The intent of focusing on moral theory is to weigh the effect of the interplay between moral considerations and the more practically-oriented Realpolitik decisions with which policymakers must deal. The research will concentrate on the moral basis for such issues as acquisition, legitimate authority, appropriate employment, determination of legitimate targets, and proportionality with respect to WMD and the interaction with decisionmaking. Key fatwas-s and other religious writings --which rely on the Qur'an and Sunna, Islamic law, and Islamic history-- will serve as the research base for this study. In addition, this study will utilize writings by and published interviews with figures associated with the mainstream religious community in Saudi Arabia, as these writings elucidate, amplify, and popularize what at times may be a more abstract and scholarly argumentation of the ideas found in the formal fatwa-s. Moreover, these ideas, when conveyed by the mass media, are likely to reach a larger audience than would than would otherwise be the case.