All praise is due to Allah Who raised the standing of His Messengers and Prophets and made good reputation close to the hearts of His servants. 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 was the best in reputation amongst people and possessed the purest of hearts. 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, O servants of Allah, and myself to be aware that you are asked to obey Him the Most Exalted, in line with His orders: "and it will be said to those who feared Allah, 'What did your Lord send down?' They will say, '[That which is] good.' For those who do good in this world is good; and the home of the Hereafter is better. And how excellent is the home of the righteous." (An-Nahl: 30).

O Servants of Allah,

Good reputation and praiseworthy manners are amongst the noble values and great objectives that all the Prophet pbut sought out and supplicated to their Lord to grant them. This was mentioned in many places in the holy Quran. For instance, it tells us about the invocation that Prophet Ibrahim pbuh supplicated to Allah saying, "and grant me a reputation of honor among later generations." (Al-Shuaraa: 84).

This means, to grant that people remember me with good words and everlasting praise. As such, Allah, the Most Exalted, answered his supplication and spread a good reputation for him amongst all the people. Similarly, Allah, the Most High, blessed all of His Prophets and Messengers with the best of standing. The Almighty says, "and we made for them a reputation of high honour." (Mariam: 50).



In this sense, our Master Muhammad was known for his virtue and lofty conduct. His noble character stood him out as the most impeccable one ever, to the point that his people called him the Truthful and the Honest. His good reputation made him close to the hearts of people even before he received the Prophecy. Thus, the people of Mecca used to trust him for their properties and trade. They resorted to him in case of any dispute saying, "We have never heard you telling a lie."

After the Prophet pbuh received the Divine Revelation, Allah the Almighty raised his standing in this world and in the Hereafter. On this account, the Most Gracious says, "and raised high for you your repute." (Ash-Sharh: 4). Furthermore, it was narrated that Jaafar Ibn Abu Talib, may Allah be pleased with, said about the Prophet pbuh, "Allah has sent to us from amongst ourselves a Prophet whose lineage, truthfulness, trustworthiness, and integrity were well-known to us."

On the same matter, it was narrated that Heraclius, the Roman king asked Abu Sufian before he embraced Islam about the Prophet pbuh, saying, "Have you ever accused him of telling lies before his claim (to be a Prophet)?" Abu Sufian said, "No!" Thereupon, Heraclius said, "Certainly, a person who does not tell a lie about others could never tell a lie about Allah."

Dear Muslims,

Please know that good character, noble manners and high repute are traits that normally spread widely and are conducive to open people's hearts to their owner. As a result, they will attain acceptance of people who in turn will feel comfortable dealing them. Moreover, they will also see their status raised in the eyes of their Lord.

A good example on such a character is that of Prophet Yusuf (Joseph) pbuh. About him the women said, "Perfect is Allah! We know about him no evil." (Yusuf: 51). That is to say: Perfect is Allah! Yusuf can never be accused as we have never known about him any evil action.

Moreover, there were also such people whose good reputation widely spread amongst the people, as Al Najashi, the King of the land of Ethiopia who was known for his good character and justice. About him, the Messenger of Allah pbuh said, "In the land of Ethiopia there is a king who will not tolerate injustice." For centuries, Al Najahsi's good reputation has testified his noble character.

O Servants of Allah,

This calls for a question on how good reputation of people and communities are established. The answer to this question lies in the following Aya: "indeed, those who have believed and done righteous deeds - the Most Merciful will appoint for them affection." (Mariam: 96). That is to say: Allah will appoint for them affection in the hearts of His servants.

In this Aya, there is an indication to that righteous actions, good manners, lofty behaviour, wise and responsible decisions and kind treatment amongst people are keys to one's high repute. Truly, good reputation is the product of one's deeds and words of mouth as well as constant good behaviour.

Muslims, therefore, should strive in protecting their standing in line with the teachings of our Prophet pbuh who said, "So whoever saves himself from these suspicious things saves his religion and his honour." In other words, he protects himself from bad reputation.

There is no doubt individuals' standing is the foundation for the community's status. For example, good character of the children reflect their parents' good grooming. The same applies to organisations, for the excellence of employees, their commitment to work and their good treatment to customers constitute the image of the organisation for which they work. Thus, people can establish their good traits through their behaviours, words and deeds.

O Believers,



Having known this, it is time to advice each other on the benefits of good reputation for individuals and communities too. In fact, a good character leaves a great positive impact on others' hearts and contributes to building trust in their minds. Thus, a person with good qualities will attain others' acceptance. For example, a merchant of high repute will attract customers with his trustworthiness and honesty, and thereby his business will flourish in this world and he will attain happiness in the Hereafter.

In like manner, a teacher with good reputation will win people's respect and appreciation, and a good committed employee will win customers' satisfaction and they will supplicate for him and mention him with good words. Indeed, those are amongst the glad tidings for such people in this world about the great rewards that are waiting for them on the Day of Judgement, being Paradise as their perpetual dwelling.

An illustration of this can be found in the following Hadith. It was said to the Messenger of Allah pbuh, "What is your opinion about the person who has done good deeds and the people praise him?" He pbuh said, "It is glad tidings for a believer (which he has received in this mortal world)."

Keeping this in mind, let us pray to Allah, the Almighty, to make us amongst those who are good in speech and in deeds and thus earn a good reputation.

May Allah, the Most Exalted, 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 know that high repute has a great importance, yet its importance gets increasingly greater depending on the nature of responsibility associated to it. In this sense, a nation's reputation is, in fact, reliant on the reputation of its sons and daughters. Thus, each individual is considered as an ambassador for their nation's image.

Undoubtedly, the nation's reputation is a trust upon each individual, which can be fulfilled by working diligently and loyally, recognising one's responsibilities, preserving the trust and fulfilling the covenant.

Understanding such responsibility, the UAE founding fathers have built the UAE's good reputation. And, today, it is a duty incumbent on all of us to preserve such standing. This can be achieved by sincerely engaging in boosting its prosperity and fame through being persistent on the most righteous deeds and best words of mouth, in line with Allah's orders: "and speak to people good [words]." (Al-Baqara: 83).

On another level, our nation's pure martyrs and brave soldiers have made a world class reputation for the UAE's Armed Forces who are protecting the nation, preserving its achievements and keeping its flag fluttering high in the sky. As a result, the UAE has attained a distinguished standing on both the regional and international levels in preserving the international stability and security as well as relieving the distressed and helping the victims of wars and natural calamities.

You are urged, therefore, to strive in protecting and promoting the high repute that the UAE has earned. You are also recommended to nurture the culture of maintaining good reputation in the minds and hearts of your daughters and sons.

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.

May Allah please continue blessing the UAE 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 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).