All praise is due to Allah Who made smiling an act close to the soul, a means of pleasing the heart and a soothing message to the mind. 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 most amongst people to smile. 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: "O you who have believed, fear Allah and speak words of appropriate justice." (Al-Ahzab: 70).

O Believers,

The Messenger of Allah pbuh said, "Your smiling in the face of your brother (Muslim) is an act of charity." This means smiling when others look at you is regarded as a good deed for which a Muslim will attain the same reward received for spending in charity. Truly, meeting people with a smile and a cheerful face is a prophetic quality that imparts affection to the hearts.

This is because smile reflects purity of soul, expansion of the breast, and beauty of the spirit. It is also an expression of happiness and a means of spreading love amongst people as a result of the acceptance that a smiling person attains from others.

Having so many positive effects, smiling was part of the guidance of all the Prophets and Messengers pbut. For instance, the holy Quran tells in the story of Prophet Suleiman (Solomon) pbuh how he smiled upon hearing an ant warning its colony from his army. About him, Allah the Almighty says, "until, when they came upon the valley of the ants, an ant said, "O ants, enter your dwellings that you not be crushed by Solomon and his soldiers while they perceive not. So [Solomon] smiled, amused at her speech." (An-Naml: 18-19).

In like manner, the Messenger of Allah Muhammad pbuh always smiled and met people with pleasing face. On this account, it was narrated that Abdullah Ibn Al Harith, may Allah be pleased with him, said, "I never came across a person who smiled as much as the Messenger of Allah pubh."

The Prophet pbuh used to smile so as to reveal a glad tiding that he was given. In this regard, it was narrated that Anas Ibn Malik, may Allah be pleased with him, said, "One day while the Messenger of Allah pbuh was sitting amongst us he took a nap. He then raised his head smiling. We said, 'What makes you smile, O Messenger of Allah?' He said, A Sura has just been revealed to me, and then recited: 'In the name of Allah, the Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful. Indeed, We have granted you, [O Muhammad], Al Kawthar. So pray to your Lord and sacrifice [to Him alone]. Indeed, your enemy is the one cut off.' Then he pbuh said, 'Do you know what Al Kauthar is?' We said, 'Allah and His Messenger know best.' The Prophet pbuh said, 'It (Al Kauthar) is a canal which my Lord, the Exalted and Glorious has promised me."

Moreover, the smile on the face of the Prophet pbuh was part of his character till the very last minutes of his life. About such kind demeanour, Anas, may Allah be pleased with him, narrated, "The Muslims were offering the Fajr prayer on Monday - the day of the Prophet's demise. When the people aligned (in rows) for the prayer, the Prophet pbuh lifted the curtain of his house and started looking at us and was standing at that time. His face was (glittering) like a page of the Quran and he smiled cheerfully."

O Servants of Allah,

This calls for a question on why human beings should smile. The answer is a person smiles out of optimism and positivity, seeking to achieve success and elevate their status as well as wishing to share their feeling with others. For this reason, the Messenger of Allah pbuh had the most charming smile amongst people.

Indeed, genuine smile is the fastest method of communication that can send out a message to others, winning their hearts and affection. It is the most sincere expression that may draw one closer to people. Thus, a smile has a positive impact on the community. In fact, life is full of people who were in disagreement and yet became friends because of a smile.

The power of smile can also be seen in family's life as many families restored their happy and stable life thanks to cheerfulness and smiling faces of their members. Trade also is an arena where smile can have positive impact on the growth of business when the business owner treats customers gently and meet them with a smile.

Truly, a smile sends out a signal of love and sharing. This is why a scholar said, "When you are with people (in a gathering), you should smile often and meet them with a cheerful face."

Dear Muslims,

It is also good to know that smiles perceived as honest serve as a signal of trustworthiness and reflect good intentions. It is amongst the righteous actions that should not be belittled as our Master Muhammad pbuh said, "Do not consider any act of goodness as being insignificant even if it is meeting your brother with a cheerful face."

This means to meet others with a smile because one who does so will, by Allah's favour, see his chest expanded and attain acceptance and affection of others. In this sense, a family whose members treat one another gently and affectionately will definitely be a happy one, something that will be reflected in the smile on their faces. So, you will see the children smiling in the face of their parents, grandparents, brothers and sisters. The husband smiles in his wife's face and she does the same. Ultimately, this is conducive to making the family a happy one that is shaded under the shade of love, sympathy and mercy.



From this perspective, Islam has urged Muslims to meet each other with cheerful faces, this being a simple way of following the example of our Master Muhammad pbuh. Indeed, he pbuh has set a role model in his kind and pleasant character. He smiled often when meeting with his companions, seeking to impart delight to their hearts. About him, Jareer Ibn Abdullah, may Allah be pleased with him, said, "Since I embraced Islam, the Messenger of Allah pbuh has never looked at me except with a smile (on his face)."

Thus, one should show cheerfulness when meeting one's friends and relatives or when passing by one's neighbour. In like manner, an employee should smile in the face of his colleagues and customers, the manager in the face of their subordinates, and the teacher in the face of their students. As a matter of fact, there are so many students who excelled, achieved lofty status and served their nation and community, thanks to the cheerfulness of their teachers.

All this is a form of charity and good actions that increase the rewards of their doers. Those will, by Allah's grace, see their standing raised by degrees, draw closer to the people in their surroundings and cherish tranquillity, comfort and peace of mind.

Furthermore, a society whose members are kind and smile often is a civilised one where everyone treats others nicely, politely and with courtesy. Those are traits of the well-mannered people. It was report that Abdullah Ibn Al Mubarak has described good conducts saying, "It is a smiling face, doing your best in what is good, and refraining from causing harm (to others)."

Having this in mind, We pray to Allah, the Most Exalted and Sublime, to 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 smile is amongst the best of deeds and noblest of manners. Moreover, the greatest smile that is abundantly rewarded and most loved by Allah the Almighty is the one that touches the hearts of people with happiness. It is the smile that helps in drawing a smile on the face of workers, orphans, widows and the needy people by extending a helping hand to them and treating them in kindness.

You are urged, therefore to ensure to smile often and teach your sons and daughters to be cheerful and kind. Smile begets smile, so smile and draw smiles on the faces of others!

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 and tolerance our character.

May Allah make the UAE a country of knowledge and civilisation, and a nation of building, prosperity, cleanliness 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, all of the Companions, and all those follow them in righteousness till the Day of Judgment.

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).