All praise is due to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds. I praise Him, the Most Exalted, a praise that is befitting to His Sublime Countenance and Supreme Status. 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 fear Allah and know that Allah is with those who fear Him." (Al-Baqara: 194).

O Worshipers,

Please know that mutual respect amongst all members of the community is the foundation for building social relationships. The culture of respect is the basis for communication and interaction amongst people. This is because all people are honoured by Allah for the Exalted is He, says, "and We have certainly honoured the children of Adam." (Al-Israa: 70).

Furthermore, treating others with reverence is an aspect of civilisation and reflects high standards of morality. Respect is a cornerstone in building nations. In fact, the history has seen several civilisations and nations that stood out with the quality of respect amongst their people as well as the high esteem they showed towards others.

As a culture, respect in Islam has many tents. It begins with respecting Allah, the Almighty, and glorifying His commandments as well as showing reverence to His Messenger pbuh, following his guidance and taking example of his ethics. On this account, Allah, the Most Exalted, says, "that you [people] may believe in Allah and His Messenger and honour him and respect the Prophet and exalt Allah morning and afternoon." (Al-Fat'h: 9).

Another aspect of respect that Islam places emphasis on is respecting laws and regulations. This is because laws has been laid down to protect the public's interests, preserve properties and safeguard souls and achievements. One such law that we should abide by is the traffic law. By obeying road rules, we ensure safe driving away from dangerous risks and terrifying others. Our Master Muhammad pbuh emphasised this when he said, "There should be no injury nor return of injury."

O Servants of Allah,

Amongst the other traits of the culture of respect in societies is paying due respect to the elderly people and taking good care of them. The Messenger of Allah pbuh said in this regard, "He is not from my Umma (i.e., not a true Muslim) who does not respect the elder amongst us, who shows no mercy to our younger ones or does not recognise the right of our scholars."

So, Islam attributes a special status to the elderly and orders us to treat them with respect. Honouring the old-aged is even associated with exalting Allah, the Most High. The Messenger of Allah pbuh said, "Part of glorifying Allah is to show honour to a grey-haired Muslim."

Indeed, honouring the elderly people is one of the best acts of worship for they are source of blessings as the Prophet pbuh said what it meant, "Indeed, blessing comes with your elderly people." As such, showing respect to the white-haired can be done by honouring their status wherever they may be, listening to what they have to say and avoiding interrupting them while they speak.

Truly, the Prophet pbuh set the best role model in this regard. It was narrated that when two people came to him for advice on some matter, he would let the elder amongst them start the conversation, saying, "Let the elder begin, let the elder begin." Thus, the elder should speak first in respect and appreciation of their status as well as for the younger ones to benefit from the elders' knowledge and experiences.

Dear Muslims,

Please also know that part of the culture of respect is to show reverence to woman and honour her standing. In fact, Woman enjoys a very special status in Islam. Our religion urged us to take care of women and treat them kindly no matter what kinship relationship associate us with them.

Thus, the woman as a mother should be obeyed and served. Allah, the Most Gracious, associated His satisfaction to the satisfaction of the mother. In like manner, the Messenger of Allah pbuh stressed the special status of mother. So, when a man asked him once, "Who amongst the people deserves the best treatment from me? He pbuh said, "Your mother." The man asked, "Then who (is the next one)?" The Prophet pbuh said, "Again, it is your mother." The man asked again, "Then who (is the next one)?" The Prophet pbuh said, "Again, it is your mother." The man asked, "Then who (is the next one)?" Thereupon, the Prophet pbuh said, "Then, it is your father."

Without a doubt, this Hadith illustrates the utmost degrees of kindness and respect that is attributed to mother.

On another level, as a daughter, woman has also received a special status in Islam for the Messenger of Allah pbuh gave glad tidings of entering Paradise to those who look after their daughters and provide for them. He pbuh said, "Whoever raises two girls then I and he will be in Paradise like these two." And he indicated with his two fingers.

More to the point, respecting all people regardless of their nationality, race or religion is part of the guidance of the Messenger of Allah pbuh. As evidence on this, it was narrated that once a funeral procession passed in front of the Prophet pbuh and he stood up. When he was told that it was the coffin of a Jew, he pbuh said, "Is it not a living being (soul)?"

With this in mind, let us pray to Allah the Almighty to help us promote the culture of respect amongst us.

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 bear in mind that nurturing the culture of respect in the minds and souls of your daughters and sons is a responsibility that lies with you. Such culture gets instilled in children in their early years as they see their family members treating one another with due respect. This way, the home will become an abode of peace and reverence.

Furthermore, school is another social institution that bear the responsibility in cementing the culture of respect in the minds of the children. This can be achieved when the students recognise the status of the teacher and show high esteem to them as well as treat each other with respect.

Another important element in enrooting the culture of respect deep in our children is setting a good role model for them. As a result, they would grow up influenced with all the real life examples that they would see, recognising that whoever respects others, he will be respected by them, drawing on the saying: "as you sow, so will you reap."

This can be summarised in the following Hadith in which the Prophet pbuh said "Whoever wishes to be taken away from the Hellfire and be admitted to Paradise, then he should die believing in Allah and the Last Day, and he should do to people what he wants to be done to him." Undoubtedly, this is an important principle urging people to treat others the way they like to be treated.

On the same matter, an old word of wisdom also said, "Respect and you will be respected."

Having known this, you are urged, Dear Worshipers, to foster the culture of respect in the minds and souls of our daughters and sons. You should also promote the culture of respect in the community.

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.

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.

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).