All praise is due to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds. He urges His servants to perform good deeds and speak the best of speech. 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.

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).

Dear Muslims,

Please know that this life is but a race field leading to the next life. Thus, in this world people should race and compete in performing righteous deeds. Allah, the Most Exalted says, "so race to [all that is] good." (Al-Baqara: 148). From this perspective, Muslims show diligence on attaining higher status in the fields of good actions until they set a role model for other righteous people. As such, they always supplicate to their Lord to grant them success and help them to pioneer in acts of goodness. So, amongst the supplications they invoke to Allah, the Most Merciful, is "and make us an example for the righteous." (Al-Furqan: 74).

Following the guidance of the Prophet pbuh, his companions, may Allah be pleased with them, strived to outstrip others in good deeds. Thus, they always sought his advocacy on the best of acts. So, one would ask him, "Who amongst people is the most beloved to Allah?" Another would ask, "Who is the most generous amongst people?" Others would ask, "Who is the best amongst people?"

Each of the companions wanted to offer the best of deeds so as to draw closer to Allah, the Most High, and attain the best of status in His eyes. Answering their queries, the Messenger of Allah pbuh used to say, "The best amongst you are those who live longer and are the best in deeds."

O Righteous People,

The doorways to righteous deeds are many. For instance good manners are conducive to raise the status of the believer in this life and the next. The one who possesses a good character becomes amongst the best and most noble of people. This was illustrated by the Prophet pbuh as he said, "The best amongst you in Islam are those who have the best manners and character."

In this sense, to possess a good character and become amongst the best of people one should purify their heart. This can be illustrated in the following Hadith. It was narrated that the Prophet pbuh was asked, "Who amongst people is the best?" He pbuh said, "A believer who is pure of heart and sincere in speech." It was said to him, "but what is pure of heart?' He pbuh said: "It is (the heart) that is pious and pure, with no sin, injustice, rancour or envy in it."

Furthermore, amongst the best of righteous deeds is learning the holy Quran and adhering to its teachings. Indeed, the holy Quran purifies the heart and refines the soul. As a result, the person who knows the Quran will attain the standing of the best of people. The Messenger of Allah pbuh said in this regard, "The best amongst you (Muslims) are those who learn the Quran and teach it."

This is because the holy Quran contains the words of Allah, the Almighty, and it is above everything else. Thus, not only those who learn the Quran will, by Allah's favour, attain His rewards, but also those who gives instructions to teach the Quran or contribute with their efforts or wealth in disseminating the sciences of the Quran amongst people. Undoubtedly, this is a great field for racing in all that is good.

O Believers,



It is also good to know that the best and truest of manners are those reflected in treating one's family members. As a matter of fact, people at home tend to be themselves and act naturally. Thus, those who treat their family members kindly are amongst the best of people in character. For this reason, the Messenger of Allah pbuh said, "The most perfect of the believers in faith, is the one with the best character amongst them. And the best of you are those who are best to your women."

In like manner, the best of women are those who strive in honouring their husbands, touching thereby the hearts of their family members with happiness and maintaining the family's stability. On this account, it was narrated that the Prophet pbuh was asked, "Who amongst women is best?" The Prophet pbuh said, "The one who makes him (her husband) happy when he looks at her, obeys him when he commands her, and she does not go against his wishes with regard to herself nor his wealth."

On another level, amongst the best of people are those who treat their neighbours and friends in kindness. This was emphasised by the Prophet pbuh as he said, "The companion who is the best to Allah is the one who is best to his companions. And the neighbour that is the best to Allah is the one who is best to his neighbour."

To attain such status of being the best of neighbours and company, one should do good to others and safeguard their rights. The Prophet pbuh said in this regard, "The best of you is the one whose goodness is hoped for, and people are safe from his evil." That is to say: He is used to do righteous actions and his good character is reflected in his deeds, so people always expect that which is good from him.

Other criteria according to which Allah, the Almighty, measures superiority of His servants include treating people kindly, paying off debts to their creditors on time, and giving rights to their owners undiminished and without unjustified delay. The Messenger of Allah pbuh said, "The best amongst you is he who pays back his debt in the finest way."



Moreover, amongst the other good actions that a Muslim should hasten to perform is feeding the poor and spreading the greetings of peace amongst people. The Messenger of Allah pbuh said, "The best amongst you is the one who provide food for the poor and return the greeting."

A Muslim should, therefore, race to do the best of actions and be persistent in what they do.

With this in mind, we pray to Allah, the Almighty, to make us amongst the best of people and guide us to the best acts of worship, the best dealings and the best of manners.

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

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 striving in doing righteous actions and racing in doing so is amongst the greatest objectives of Islam. For this reason, the Prophet pbuh supplicated to Allah, the Almighty, saying, "O Allah! Indeed, I ask You for (achievement of) good actions."



Allah, The Most Exalted in Might, has opened for us wide doors for achieving good actions. For instance, a good word of mouth is a good deed and so is offering food for the hungry and mending relations amongst disputed people. Hastening to extend a helping hand to others, striving to do all that in the best interest of society and making easy the affairs of people are also amongst the righteous deeds.

Truly, the best of people are those who nurture the love for performing good deeds in the minds and hearts of their daughters and sons. By so doing, those will be seeking the best and most beneficial of actions to people. In return, they will attain the satisfaction of Allah, the Most Exalted, for He appreciates good deeds and rewards them abundantly.

An illustration of this can be seen in the following Aya: "indeed, those who have believed and done righteous deeds - indeed, We will not allow to be lost the reward of any who did well in deeds." (Al-Kahf: 30).

Knowing this, you are urged, dear worshipers, to work diligently towards being amongst the best of people by doing the best of deeds. You are also recommended to teach your daughters and sons to follow such righteous path.

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.

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

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).