All praise is due to Allah Who attributed a special status to the first ten days of Dhul Hijja and multiplied rewards for good deeds done during them. 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. He sought mercy from Allah and His pleasure. 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.

As to what follows,

I urge you and myself, O Servants of Allah, to be aware that you are asked to obey Him the Most Exalted, in line with His orders: "O you who have believed, fear Allah . And let every soul look to what it has put forth for tomorrow - and fear Allah . Indeed, Allah is Acquainted with what you do." (Al-Hashr: 18).

O Worshipers,

With His unmatchable Competence, Allah, the Most Exalted, created days and nights, and by His Wisdom, He preferred some of them over the others. The Exalted is He says, "and your Lord creates what He wills and chooses." (Al-Qasas: 68). As such, the Almighty attributed so special honour to the first ten days of Dhul Hijja that He swore by them in an indication to their great importance, for He says, "by the dawn, and [by] the ten nights." (Al-Fajr: 1-2).

Indeed, the first ten days of Dhul Hijja are the best days of the year as indicated by the Prophet pubh when he said, "The best days in this world are the (first) tend days (of Dhul Hijja)."

This calls for a question on why those first ten days of Dhul Hijja have been given such distinguished standing. The answer to such question is that these ten days have acquired a special status because in them fall the best and most blessed days. In them falls the Day of Arafat, being the ninth day of Dhul Hijja about which the Messenger of Allah pbuh said, "There is no day when Allah saves more servants from the punishment of the Hellfire than on the Day of Arafat."



Another special day that falls in these sacred days is the day of Eid Al Adha, a day that has gracious standing in the eyes of Allah, the Almighty. The Prophet pbuh said in this regard, "The greatest day in Allah's sight is the day of sacrifice."

Furthermore, during these blessed days many good acts of obedience are performed that are not combined in any other days of the year. Those include prayer, fasting, Hajj, Sadaqa (charity) and Dhikr (remembrance of Allah).

O Servants of Allah,

The ways to seize the virtues of the first ten days of Dhul Hijja are many. One way in which a Muslim can achieve this is by performing plenty of good deeds. The Messenger of Allah pbuh emphasised this as said, "There are no days in which righteous deeds are more beloved to Allah than those done on these days." This means the first ten days of Dhul-Hijja.

Indeed, these days are amongst the most superior seasons of acts of obedience. In them, Muslims compete in drawing closer to their Lord by performing righteous deeds, seeking His mercy, aiming to increase their record of good deeds, and pursuing His satisfaction that they may win His Paradise as their perpetual dwelling.

Such gracious rewards can be achieved by engaging ourselves much in acts of worship like praying Nawafil and other acts of obedience. This way, we will be following the commands of Allah the Almighty that were mentioned in this Hadith: "And the most beloved things with which My servant comes nearer to Me, is what I have enjoined upon him; and My servant keeps on coming closer to Me through performing Nawafil (praying or doing extra deeds besides what is obligatory) till I love him."

On their own merits, observing the subscribed acts of worship and Nawafil is conducive to bring us closer to our lord. Yet, during the first ten days of Dhul Hijja, these acts are more greatly rewarded. This is evidenced in the following Hadith. The Prophet pbuh said, "There is no deed more precious in the sight of Allah, nor greater in reward, than a good deed done during the ten days of Sacrifice."

In this sense, prayer is one pillar of Islam and is in the foremost of acts that bring the believer nearer to Allah, the Most Exalted. Thus, if the person's prayer is accepted, all his other acts of worship will be, by Allah's grace accepted. For this reason, Allah the Almighty enjoined us to be diligent in establishing prayer at its prescribed time. The Most High says, "maintain with care the [obligatory] prayers and [in particular] the middle prayer and stand before Allah, devoutly obedient." (Al-Baqara: 238).

In like manner, the Prophet pbuh urged Muslims to perform bowing and prostration perfectly with full submission to Allah the Almighty so as to remain in close relation with their Lord. During the first ten days of Dhul Hijja the rewards for prayers are multiplied, whether the obligatory prayers or the Nawafil.

Another great act of worship that is equally important is fasting. In an indication of its importance, it was narrated that one of the wives of the Prophet pbuh said, "The Messenger of Allah pbuh used to observe fast in the first nine days of Dhul Hijja, Ashuraa and three days of every month, that is, the first Monday (of the month) and Thursday."

Thus, observing fast in the first ten days of Dhul Hijja is recommended, especially on the Day of Arafat. Fasting on this day removes one's sins for the past year and the year that follows it. An illustration of this can be seen in this Hadith in which the Messenger of Allah pbuh said, "Fast the Day of Arafat, for indeed I anticipate that Allah will forgive (the sins) of the year before it, and the year after it."

Another highly rewarded act of worship is Sadaqa (almsgiving), about which the Prophet pbuh said, "Charity is a proof." That is: an evidence of true belief and sincere wish to draw closer to the Most Merciful. The reward for giving in charity during these days is also multiplied.



Moreover, occupying ourselves in supplications during these sacred days is also recommended. Muslims are urged to invoke Allah, the Most Beneficent, humbly and sincerely from their hearts so that they may see their supplications answered by Allah's grace. Allah, the Most Exalted, says, "call upon Me; I will respond to you." (Ghafir: 60).

These are some of the great deeds that each Muslims can perform during the first ten days of Dhul Hijja. In addition to these, Dhikr (remembrance of Allah) is one of the best good deeds. Dhikr rises to Allah, the Most Merciful, for He says, "to Him ascends good speech, and righteous work raises it." (Fatir: 10).

On the same matter, the Messenger of Allah pbuh said, "What you mention of glory of Allah, of Tasbih (Exalted is Allah), Takbir (Allah is the Greatest) and Tahmid (All praise is due to Allah), revolves around the Throne, buzzing like bees, reminding of the one who said it. Wouldn't any one of you like to continue to have something that reminds of him (in the presence of Allah)?"

So, such Tasbih, Tahmid and Takbir will continue rising till they reaches the Throne of the Most Merciful where their owner's name will be announced in such a glorious place. This is illustrated in the following Aya: "so remember Me; I will remember you." (Al-Baqara: 152).

For this reason, the Messenger of Allah pbuh advocated us to celebrate the remembrance of Allah much during these blessed days. He pbuh said, "No days are superior to Allah and no good deeds done on other days are more beloved to Him than those done in these (first) ten days (of Dhul Hijja). So, engage yourselves in Tahlil, Takbir and Tahmid much during them." Indeed, the words uttered in the remembrance of Allah are the lasting good deeds and the seeds of Paradise.

With this in mind, let us pray to Allah the Almighty to grant us success to seize the benefits of the first ten days of Dhul Hijja and multiply our rewards during them. May Allah accept our good deeds and make us amongst those who are grateful to His favours.



O Allah, we implore to You to guide us all to obey You and obey Your Messenger Muhammad pbuh and obey those You have commanded us to obey in line with Your 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 know that the first ten days of Dhul Hijja are days of merits and multiple rewards. To benefit from these merits, one should engage further in acts of worship and obedience. Amongst such highly rewarded acts are all kinds of acts of goodness and kindness towards others as well as striving in extending help to others and touching their hearts with happiness.

These are amongst the most beloved deeds in the sight of Allah, the Most Beneficent, as illustrated by the Messenger of Allah pbuh in this Hadith: "The most beloved deed in the sight of Allah is to bring happiness to the heart of a Muslim."



You are urged, therefore, to seize the opportunity during these glorious days and engage yourselves further in all acts of righteousness. You are also advised to teach your daughters and sons how to invest their time in performing acts of goodness.

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 tolerance and love, so we seek Your favour to make forgiveness amongst our qualities, tolerance our character and giving our culture.

O Allah, please continue blessing the UAE with knowledge, civilisation, prosperity, high standing and beauty.

O Allah, we supplicate to You to provide for us the love of reading, attachment to books and passion for seeking knowledge.

O Allah, please make our tongues wet with Your remembrance, busy with uttering Your praise and kind to Your Creation.

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, may we ask You for all that is good, in this world and in the Hereafter. O Allah, we seek Your favour to admit us, our parents, whoever has done a favour to us and all Muslims to Your Paradise.

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 our parents, relatives and whoever has done a favour to us.

O Allah, make this gathering one of compassion, and our dispersion after it one that is infallible. O Allah, do not let anyone amongst us be deprived or desperate.

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.

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.

O Servants of Allah "indeed, Allah orders justice and good conduct and giving to relatives and forbids immorality and bad conduct and oppression. He admonishes you that perhaps you will be reminded." (An-Nahl: 90).

Remember Allah and He will remember you. Be grateful of His benevolence and He will increase His blessings to you. Allah says, "and establish prayer. Indeed, prayer prohibits immorality and wrongdoing, and the remembrance of Allah is greater. And Allah knows that which you do." (Al-Ankaboot: 45).



Official announcement from Awqaf

To be delivered after Friday prayer 25/8/2017

O Servants of Allah,

The UAE Red Crescent Authority carries out several projects with charitable purposes. Amongst such projects is the Eid clothing initiative and the sacrifices campaign it launched under the motto "Their Happiness Makes our Eid".

Therefore, by joining our hands and cooperating with the Red Crescent Authority, we can contribute to helping the less fortunate people around the world and providing for their needs.

That is said, we beseech Allah to confer His blessings and grant peace upon our Prophet Muhammad pbuh.