All praise is due to Allah, the Most High, the Most Great. He honoured Man with reasoning and urged them to think and deliberate. Exalted is He; He creates whatever He wills and He is over all things competent. I bear witness that there is no deity save Allah, having no associates. I also bear witness that our Master Muhammad is the Servant of Allah and His Messenger. May the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, his pure blessed family and companions, and all those who follow them in righteousness till the Day of Judgment.

I urge you and myself, O Servants of Allah, to be aware that you are asked to obey Him the Almighty, for His obedience is the path to His Paradise. The Most Exalted and High says, "and the home of the Hereafter is best for those who fear Allah; then will you not reason?" (Yusyf: 109).

O Worshipers,

Please know that is fully cognisant of the real worth and capacity of the intellect and the scope of its activity. It is on the basis of this knowledge that it has given a great care to reasoning, giving it a high status and emphasising its value and importance. In an indication to such standing of intellect, it has been mentioned in the holy Quran in around 49 places in which Man was called to think and reflect upon the signs of Allah, the Almighty. The Most Exalted says, "know that Allah gives life to the earth after its lifelessness. We have made clear to you the signs; perhaps you will understand." (Al-Hadid: 17).

Furthermore, Allah, the Most Exalted and Sublime, has praised the people of intellect who view the realities of existence with thoughtful care, draw lesson from them and see in them signs reminding them of their Creator. The Blessed and High says, "indeed, in that are signs for those of intelligence." (Taha: 54). This means these are signs for those of sound and straightforward minds.



In His holy Book, Allah the Almighty always addresses those who reflect on the world around them. For instance, the Most Exalted says, "and it is He who spread the earth and placed therein firmly set mountains and rivers; and from all of the fruits He made therein two mates; He causes the night to cover the day. Indeed in that are signs for a people who give thought." (Ar-Raad: 3).

Allah the Exalted and Sublime calls attention in His holy Book to the signs of the Divine Majesty manifested in the creation. He explains them clearly so that the human mind will contemplate on them and recognise their truth. The Almighty says, "thus do We explain in detail the signs for a people who give thought." (Yunus: 24).

In fact, all Allah's Prophets and Messengers enjoined their people to use reasoning and unleash their thoughts in order to follow the righteous path. For example, Prophet Ibrahim pbuh said to his people, "then will you not use reason?" (Al-Anbiyaa: 67). Similarly, Musa (Moses) pbuh called for reflecting upon the cosmic system as he said, "Lord of the east and the west and that between them, if you were to reason." (Ash-Shuaraa: 28).

In like manner, our Master Muhammad pbuh used to encourage his companions to use their reasoning, contemplate and come up with creative ideas. This was possible through consultation and discussion for the latter is similar to brainstorming where minds get connected and produce ideas. As such, he pbuh used to address his companions saying, "Give me an advice."

The Messenger of Allah pbuh also encouraged his companions to strive in the way of finding appropriate solutions to challenging issues by taking sufficient time to deliberate on them before arriving at a decision. Moreover, he pbuh cemented the concept that when the judge passes a judgement in which he strived and was correct, then he receives two rewards. And when he judges and is mistaken, then he receives one reward. Indeed, these exhortations were aimed at developing a critical mind and put intellect in its true role.



This brings us to advise each other on contemplation and its benefits. We think over things because thinking is a sound means for recognising the truth and differentiating between being on the right path and going astray. Reason is a firm foundation for finding the best solutions for problems, surmounting obstacles and challenges as well as a path towards innovation and scientific inventions.

More to the point, throughout the human history, the examples of ideas that contributed to bringing happiness to societies or turned into a successful project are many. Truly, ideas are a ceaseless fountain and an everlasting spring and one needs only to make good use of the blessing of reason and direct it to all that which is beneficial to themselves, their homeland and humanity on a broader level.

Achieving such noble goals can be possible through thinking out of the box so as to reach to innovation and discover new knowledge in all the different areas of life. There is no doubt the world today is witnessing a tremendous scientific and cultural renaissance that instigates unwavering research and thinking. Such evolution also requires giving much care to intellectual capabilities and creative thinking, developing intellectual skills and talents, the aim being to keep in pace with the rapid development of the age.

O Believers,

Going further into the areas of thinking, Islam teaches us to contemplate upon all our surrounding world and engage in all the disciplines of science and natural phenomena in an unconventional manner. On this account, Allah, the Most Exalted commands His servants to reflect on Allah's Creation for He says, "then do they not look at the camels - how they are created? And at the sky - how it is raised? And at the mountains - how they are erected? And at the earth - how it is spread out?" (Al-Ghashiya: 17-20).

Furthermore, Allah, the Most High, urged human beings to think about themselves and delve into the secrets of their creation. The Almighty says, "so let man observe from what he was created." (At-Tariq: 5). That is to say: observe and consider in a contemplating manner.



Certainly, pondering deeply and consideration will, by Allah's grace, lead to several discoveries of knowledge that may transform into fruitful projects. On this matter, a scholar said, "A man will never ponder deeply except he will understand, and when he understands he will acquire knowledge, and when he knows he will take action."

It is necessary, therefore, for human beings to reflect upon all their life matters, behaviours, actions and the way they manage their household affairs. In this sense, parents should strive to raise their children in a good way, use their resources wisely and avoid to waste them. One should also give much care to their work so as to achieve higher status and improve their performance.

Moreover, one should benefit from gatherings in proposing creative ideas. This way, those ideas can get further discussed and clarified by other minds who may enrich them through their experiences, and ultimately transform them into mature and fruitful ideas that can put into action and implemented in practical life.

With this in mind, let us pray to Allah the Almighty to bless us with righteous thoughts, good speech and beneficial actions.

May Allah guide us all to obey Him and obey His Messenger Muhammad pbuh and obey those He have commanded us to obey in line with His orders: "O you who have believed, obey Allah and obey the Messenger and those in authority among you." (An-Nisaa: 59).

May Allah direct us all to the blessings of the Glorious Quran and the Sunna of His Messenger pbuh.

I say this and ask Allah for forgiveness for me and you, so invoke Him for forgiveness, for He is the Most Forgiving, the Most Merciful.

Second Sermon

All praise is due to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds. I bear witness that there is no deity save Allah, having no associates. I also bear witness that our Master Muhammad is the servant of Allah and His Messenger. May the peace and blessings of Allah be upon ou­­r Master Muhammad, his pure family, companions, and all those who follow them in righteousness till the Day of Judgment.

I urge you, O Servants of Allah, and myself to be aware that you are asked to obey Him, the Most High and Exalted.

O Worshipers,

Please be aware that the most importance source of power in communities is the accountability of its members for the process of development and their commitment to make good use of their mental and scientific capabilities in developing their countries. For this reason, such minds need to be encouraged, trained and honed. Their ideas should also be registered lest they get lost. In fact, taking care of such ideas as well as their owners is a national duty incumbent on all members of the society, each in their capacity.

In this sense, parents, for instance, are responsible to embrace the talents of their children, encourage them to think, innovate and produce good ideas. For their part, teachers are also responsible to pay further attention and care to their students, the aim being to prepare them to be creative in their thinking and become innovators. On another level, managers are also accountable for motivating their subordinates who come with creative ideas and help them to implement such ideas.

This is because the blessing of reason is a gift from Allah, the Most Gracious, and the responsibility of taking care of it lies in our hands. Thus we will be questioned about it on the Day of Judgment.

You are urged, therefore, to always enrich your gatherings with new ideas and thoughts. We should also encourage our daughters and sons to think in a creative way.

That is said, please bear in mind that you are instructed to invoke peace and blessings on the Prophet pbuh. Allah, the Most Sublime, says, "indeed, Allah confers blessing upon the Prophet, and His angels [ask Him to do so]. O you who have believed, ask [Allah to confer] blessing upon him and ask [Allah to grant him] peace." (Al-Ahzab: 56).



On the same matter, the Prophet pbuh said, "For everyone who invokes a blessing on me will receive ten blessings from Allah."

O Allah, please confer Your blessings and grant peace upon our Prophet Muhammad pbuh, his family and all of the companions.

O Lord You have blessed us with a homeland of knowledge, so we seek Your favour to make knowledge our provision, forgiveness amongst our qualities, tolerance our character and giving our culture.

O Allah, please continue blessing us with happiness, tranquillity and welfare. Our Lord, please continue blessing our nation, houses, families and relatives with contentment.

May Allah have mercy on the honourable martyrs of our country and those of the coalition and gather them with the righteous. May Allah make their dwelling with the ones upon whom Allah has bestowed favour of the prophets and the steadfast affirmers of truth, O the Most Gracious the Most Forgiving.

O Allah, please grant the best reward for the families of the martyrs and offer them patience and solace. May Allah grant victory to the soldiers of the Arab Coalition who gathered to restore the rights to their owners. O Lord, please be by their side and guide the Yemeni people to everything that is good. O Allah, make them rally for the word of truth and legitimacy, and bless them with welfare and stability, O the Most Generous.

O Lord, we beseech You to bless all of the Muslim countries and the whole world with stability and peace.

May Allah be pleased with the Rightly Guided Caliphs: Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman and Ali, and all of the noble Companions.

O Allah, we supplicate to You to make patience our way for achieving creativity, seeking knowledge, obtaining higher status and serving our beloved country as well as keeping its flag fluttering high in the sky.

O Allah, we seek Your grace to increase the UAE in delight and beauty and give the best of rewards and recompense to whoever sowed the seeds of goodness and welfare in it. Indeed, You are the Most Merciful of the merciful.



O Allah, please provide women with tranquillity and grant them success and excellence.

May Allah grant success and continued health and care to the UAE President HH Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan. May Allah also ensure success to his Vice-President, trustworthy Crown Prince and his brothers, Their Highnesses the Rulers of the Emirates.

O Allah, please forgive all of the Muslims, men and women, living and dead. May Allah have mercy on Sheikh Zayed, Sheikh Maktoum and the Late UAE Sheikhs. O Lord, forgive and show mercy on them and bless them with Your kindness and satisfaction.

O Allah, we beseech You to teach us knowledge that is beneficial to us and help us benefit from what You have taught us. O Allah, we also implore to You to increase us in knowledge.

We pray to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds, to continue blessing the UAE with stability and welfare and bless its provisions. O Allah, please continue blessing the UAE with safety and security.

O Allah, please grant us wisdom in our speech and in our deeds. O Allah, please make us amongst those who fulfil their promises and are committed to their covenants. Indeed, You are the Possessor of Glory and Honour.

Remember Allah and He will remember you. Be grateful of His benevolence and He will increase His blessings to you.