He was the eldest son of Sultan Thuwaini bin Said and his wife Sayyida Ghaliya bint Salim Al-Busaidiyah, and acceded to the throne in succession to his father.
Lewis Pelly and Henry Bartle Frere were deeply disappointed by the death of Sultan Thuwaini bin Said in their hopes for a military action against the Wahhabis, and were well aware of Salim's opposing views and refusal to join the ensuing war.
Hence the British Political Resident General in the Gulf at Bushehr, Colonel Lewis Pelly, fiercely opposed the recognition of Salim whom he feared was to stop foreign interference and forge a peace deal with the Wahhabis.
Salim sent two envoys to Bombay, then under British rule, with a letter soliciting the renewal of relations between the British and Muscat Governments and reiterating his assertions regarding his father's death, namely, that he had died as a result of illness after three days of suffering and was quickly buried in accordance to Islamic tradition, to which the Government of India acknowledged the reigning prince as sultan in May 1866.
He made a final bid for the throne in 1875, however by that point, the British had formally recognized his uncle Turki bin Said as the new Sultan.