Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar Kabira (Allah is the greatest - eight successive times).

Allahu Akbar Kabira, wal Hamdu Lillahi Kathira, wa Subahana Allahi Wa Bihamdhi Bukratan wa Asila (Allah is the Most Great indeed, and to Allah goes all the praise. And Glory is to Allah eventide and in the morning.)

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, O servants of Allah, and myself to be aware that you are asked to obey Him the Almighty, in line with His orders: "indeed, he who fears Allah and is patient, then indeed, Allah does not allow to be lost the reward of those who do good." (Yusuf: 90).

Dear Muslims,

We would like to congratulate you on your sacred festival, the blessed Eid Al Adha, asking Allah, the Almighty, to bring it back to you with welfare and happiness. Indeed, this day is amongst the best days in the sight of Allah, the Most Exalted, as the Messenger of Allah pbuh said, "Amongst the greatest days in the sight of Allah, the Glorified and Exalted is He, is the day of sacrifice."

Truly, these days of are seasons for good deeds and time for engaging further in acts of obedience. During them, pilgrims visited the sacred House of Allah and stood on the Mount of Arafat. On this Day, Muslims observed fasting and occupied themselves in acts of worship, and thus, won the greatest and most rewarding recompense of Allah; being Paradise as their perpetual abode. The Messenger of Allah pbuh said in this regard, "There is no day when Allah saves more servants from the punishment of the Hellfire than on the Day of Arafat."

In this same day in the tenth year of Hijra (migration), the Messenger of Allah pbuh delivered the Hujjat Al Wadaa (the Farewell Sermon) in which he made clear the great teachings of Islam and instilled the meanings of kindness and peace. In his farewell speech, the Prophet pbuh also the cemented the values of mercy and compassion, and explained the concepts of moderation, tolerance and peaceful co-existence amongst people.

This can be summarised in his saying: "O people! Your God is one; your father is one (Adam)... Verily the most honoured of you is the most righteous." So, the rights of all people are safeguarded and the only preference of one over the others is by sincere belief and good deeds that are conducive to benefit the nation and the human beings.

Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar, La Illaha Illa Allah. Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar, Wa Lillahil Hamd (Allah is the Greatest three times and there is no deity save Allah. Allah is the Greatest two times and to Allah all the praise is due.)

O Servants of Allah,

Today is a day of celebration, a day in which Muslims reap the fruits of piety and righteous acts. It's a season for performing rites and acts of worship, Dhikr (remembrance of Allah), affection, delight, celebration and opulence. About these days, The Messenger of Allah pbuh said, "These days are days of eating, drinking and Dhikr."

Truly, in this there is an indication to the leniency, tolerance, mercy and easiness of Islam. Setting a role model for humanity, the Prophet pbuh said, "There is flexibility in our religion. Verily, I have been sent with a lenient, upright religion."

That is to say: our religion is one that is straight forward and easy and, thus, loved by Allah, the Most Exalted and High. Indeed, Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, likes to see His servants showing mercy to one another. The Most High says in this regard, "but whoever pardons and makes reconciliation - his reward is [due] from Allah." (Ash-Shur: 40).

This means that Allah the Almighty will never allow to be lost the reward of tolerant and merciful people. This is because with pardoning people's hearts will be purified and brought close to each other. In fact, the real life is full of examples of how tolerance could melt the ice of discord, revive affection and strengthen the bonds of accord amongst people. In return, such tolerant people won the mercy and forgiveness of Allah the Almighty. This was emphasised by the Messenger of Allah pbuh as he said, "Show mercy and you will be shown mercy. Forgive and Allah will forgive you."

Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar, La Illaha Illa Allah. Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar, Wa Lillahil Hamd.

O Eid Celebrators,

Please know that the day of Eid is a precious opportunity for reflecting the values of kindness. As such, one should show gentleness to their parents in line with Allah's orders: "worship Allah and associate nothing with Him, and to parents do good." (Al-Nisaa: 36).

On this great occasion, one should also be good towards their daughters, sons, sisters and brothers. This can be achieved by honouring them through addressing them with pleasant words of mouth and by giving gifts to them. The Prophet pbuh said, "The hand which gives is the upper hand. Start with those for under your guardianship; your mother, your father, your sister, your brother, then the next closest, and the next closet."

Furthermore, amongst the other people one should treat in goodness are his neighbours. Indeed, the relationship between neighbours is criteria according to which good neighbourliness can be distinguished from the bad one. On this account, it was narrated that a man said to the Messenger of Allah pbuh, "How can I know when I have done well and when I have done something bad?" The Prophet pbuh said, "If you hear your neighbours saying that you have done well, then you have done well, and if you hear them saying that you have done something bad, then you have done something bad."

More to the point, in a broader view, the approach of kind treatment extends to encompass all the people. This was illustrated by Allah, the Almighty, for He says, "and speak to people good [words]." (Al-Baqara: 83). Thus, one should show kindness towards others both in words and in deeds, treat the members of their community in lenient and tolerant manner, and spend in charity to help the needy, the widows and the less fortunate people. Allah, the Most Exalted says, "who spend [in the cause of Allah] during ease and hardship and who restrain anger and who pardon the people - and Allah loves the doers of good." (Al Imran: 134).

As a recompense for their kindness, Allah the, Most Gracious, will increase his bounties upon them (and We will increase the doers of good [in goodness and reward].) (Al-Baqara: 58). Thus, on the Day of Judgement, Allah the Almighty will recompense those who have earned the good records with the blessing of being in His presence.

Truly, excellent is the reward of the doers of good, for the Exalted is He says, "for them who have done good is the best [reward] and extra. No darkness will cover their faces, nor humiliation. Those are companions of Paradise; they will abide therein eternally." (Yunus: 26).

With this in mind, let us beseech Allah, the Most Exalted to make our Eid a happy one and guide us all to the best of deeds and the sweetest of words.

May Allah guide us all obey him 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

Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar, (Allah is the greatest - six successive times).

Allah is the Most Great indeed, and to Allah goes all the praise. With His Grace all the righteous actions are accomplished. 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, and to strive to draw closer to your Lord in this great day by slaughtering your sacrifices. This is to show gratitude to and to Exalt Him the Almighty for the innumerable favours He bestowed upon you. The Most High says, "their meat will not reach Allah, nor will their blood, but what reaches Him is piety from you. Thus have We subjected them to you that you may glorify Allah for that [to] which He has guided you; and give good tidings to the doers of good." (Al-Hajj: 37).

As far as the ethics of slaughtering the sacrifices is concerned, it is encouraged for the owner of the sacrifice to attend to its slaughter and recite Takbir (saying Allahu Akbar). They are also advised to eat from their meat and give away part of them to the poor as a means of help to them. They should also gift part to the family, and relatives in order to maintain the ties of kinship. While doing this, one should have sincere intent, hoping for Allah's rewards.

On this matter, the Prophet pbuh said, "a human does no action from the actions on the day of Nahr (sacrifice) more beloved to Allah then spilling blood (i.e. the slaughtered animal). On the Day of judgement, it will appear with its horns, and hair, and hooves, and indeed the blood will be accepted by Allah from where it is received before it even falls upon earth, so let your heart delight in it."

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 Allah, we seek Your favour to bless for us this day and make it a witness for us (on the Day of Judgment). O Allah, we implore to You to grant us peace of mind, good living and acceptance of our good deeds.

O Lord, we pray to You to accept from us our prayer, Zakat, Takbir and sacrifices. O Allah, please accept from the pilgrims their pilgrimage, protect them and grant for them to return to homeland with safety and success.

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

May Allah increase us in happiness, tranquillity and delight. O Allah, please contine blessing our beloved homeland, homes, families and relatives with happiness.

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, all of the Companions, and all those follow them in righteousness till the Day of Judgment.

May Allah make patience our path while srtiving to innovate, seek knowledge and high status, serve our nation and keep its flag fluttering high in the sky.

O Allah, we ask You to bless the UAE in its nature and increase it in delight and beauty. O Allah, we supplicate to You to write good deeds in the record of whoever sowed the seeds of welfare in the UAE. Indeed, You are the Most Merciful of the merciful.

O Lord, please provide women with tranquillity, success and high standing.

May Allah guide the UAE President HH Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan to all that is good and protect him under Your care. O Allah, please also grant him continued health and wellbeing. 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.

We pray to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds, to protect the UAE against any of temptations, both apparent and hidden, and continue blessing the UAE with safety and security.

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

Our Lord, give us in this world that which is good and in the Hereafter that which is good, and save us from the torment of the Fire.

We wish you all many happy returns of the occasion.