All praise is due to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds. He prescribed fasting for us and enjoined us to stand for prayer during night so that we may attain His forgiveness and enter His Paradise in peace. I bear witness that there is no deity save Allah, having no associates. He is the Bestower of favours and the Most Generous. I also bear witness that our Master Muhammad is the Servant of Allah and His Messenger. He was the best amongst who observed fasting and stood for prayer at night while people were asleep. 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, and haste to perform righteous acts in order to win Allah's forgiveness and be admitted to His Paradise. The Almighty says, "indeed, the righteous will be among gardens and rivers, in a seat of honour near a Sovereign, Perfect in Ability." (Al-Qamar: 54-55).

O Worshipers,

We would like to take the opportunity and congratulate you on the advent of the holy month of Ramadan. On this occasion, we seek Allah's grace to make us amongst those who will witness the coming Ramadan and accept our fasting. Let us also beseech Him to make it for us mercy in its beginning, forgiveness in its middle and liberation from the Hellfire in its ending.

May Allah also grant us success to fast its days and perform night prayers, dedicate its nights in performing acts of obedience and its days in doing acts that may draw us closer to our Lord. By so doing, we may win Allah's Paradise whose gates will be opened in Ramadan as the Messenger of Allah said, "When Ramadan begins, the gates of Paradise are opened."



For this reason, Muslims congratulate each other on the advent of Ramadan. How can we not rejoice its coming while the Prophet pbuh used to give glad tidings to his companions on the advent of the holy month and explain to them its merits?

It was narrated in this regard that Abu Huraira, may Allah be pleased with him, said, "When the Prophet pbuh congratulated us on the occasion of the holy month, he said, 'there has come to you Ramadan, a blessed month, which Allah, the Almighty and Sublime, has enjoined you to fast. In it the gateways of heavens are opened and the gateways of Hell are closed, and every devil is chained up. In it Allah has a night which is better than a thousand months; whoever is deprived of its goodness is indeed deprived."

Thus, let us pray to Allah, the Most Gracious, to deprive us not from the virtues of Ramadan and help us to observe fasting and establish prayer at night.

O Servants of Allah,

As Ramadan is approaching it is beneficial to advise each other on the meaning of fasting. Literally, fasting means: abstention and refraining from doing something. This can be illustrated in this Aya in which Mariam, may Allah be pleased with her, says, "I have vowed to the Most Merciful abstention." (Mariam: 26). That is to say, silence and refraining from speaking to anyone.

Going deeper to its religious meaning, fasting means to abstain from eating and drinking and staying away from all that may invalidate fasting from the break of dawn until sunset, accompanied with a proper intention to fast.

This calls us to ask about the purpose of fasting. The answer is that we observe fasting because it is an obligation ordered by Allah, the Almighty, for it is conducive to strengthen righteousness, cleanse the soul and purify the heart. Allah, the Most Exalted, says, "O you who have believed, decreed upon you is fasting as it was decreed upon those before you that you may become righteous." (Al-Baqara: 183).



Yet, this leads us to ask about the recompense of fasting. Indeed, the rewards of fasting are great and abundant and only Allah, the Most Exalted and Sublime, knows about its extent. The Messenger of Allah pbuh said, "Allah said, 'Every good deed of Adam's son is for him except fasting; it is for Me. and I shall reward (the fasting person) for it'."

Thus, fasting is amongst the best acts of worship and its reward is like no other reward. On this account, it was narrated that Abu Umama, may Allah be pleased with him, said, "I came to the Messenger of Allah pbuh and said, 'Tell me of something that I may take (learn) from you. He said: 'Take to fasting, for there is nothing like it'."

Another virtue of this sacred month is that it is key to Allah's forgiveness and one being admitted to His Paradise. The Prophet pubh said in this regard, "Whoever fasts the month of Ramadan out of sincere Faith (i.e. belief) and hoping for a reward from Allah, then all his past sins will be forgiven." Thus, on the Day of Judgment, the fasting person will meet his Lord with white and pure record. Therein, he will be called to enter Paradise. On this account, our Master Muhammad pbuh said, "There is a gate in Paradise called Ar-Rraiyan, and those who observe fasts will enter through it on the Day of Resurrection and none except them will enter through it. It will be said, 'where are those who used to observe fasts?' They will get up, and none except them will enter through it. After their entry the gate will be closed and nobody will enter through it."

Indeed, it such a gracious reward and a great honour for one to be called by name in front of all the Creation in order to enter Paradise.

O Righteous People,

Having known that, it is time to advise each other on what all things that a fasting Muslim should refrain to do. A fasting Muslim should abstain from all such things that may invalidate his fast as eating, drinking, and lust. We should also protect our senses form indulging in the perception of objects that Allah has made unlawful for us. Thus, all your senses: ears, eyes and tongue must fast with you.

As such, one should keep his eyes down, avoid listening to that which may bring Allah's wrath and prevent his tongue from obscene talk and slander. The Prophet pbuh said, "If one of you is fasting, he should avoid obscene talk and raising his voice in anger, and if somebody should fight or quarrel with him, he should say, 'I am fasting'."

Thus, a fasting Muslim should refrain from idle talk and false statements as advised by the Messenger of Allah pbuh when said, "Whoever does not give up forged speech and evil actions, Allah is not in need of his leaving his food and drink (i.e. Allah will not accept his fasting.)" This is because such qualities are inconsistent with the wisdom behind and goals of observing fast, namely refining the manners and adapting senses to the straight path in obedience to Allah's orders.

In the same regard, Jabir bin Abdullah, may Allah be pleased with him, said, "When you are fasting, all your senses: ears, eyes and tongue must fast with you... and do not let your fasting day be like any normal day."

More to the point, Ramadan, dear worshipers, is a season of virtues and worship. So, on this occasion, it is beneficial to advise each other on the acts of worship that are most advisable in this holy month. In Ramadan, a fasting Muslim is advisable to engage much in acts of goodness and obedience, the foremost of which are: observing prayers at their prescribed times and keeping ties of kinship. Those are amongst the acts that please Allah, the Almighty, and are key to winning His Paradise.

On this matter, it was narrated that a man said to the Prophet pbuh, "O Messenger of Allah! Inform me of a deed that will make me enter Paradise." Thereupon, the Prophet pbuh informed him of many deeds and of them, he mentioned: "Establish prayer, observe Zakat and maintain the ties of kinship."

Furthermore, a fasting Muslim is also recommended to show diligence in reciting the holy Quran, for Ramadan is the month Quran and the first Ayas of the holy Book were revealed in it. Allah, the Most Exalted, says, "the month of Ramadhan [is that] in which was revealed the Quran, a guidance for the people and clear proofs of guidance and criterion." (Al-Baqara: 185).

So, Muslims are advised to recite the Book of Allah and contemplate on its verses so that they will, by Allah's favour, see their status raised in degrees and be admitted in the highest ranks of Heaven. They are further recommended to draw nearer to their Lord by spending in charity much, especially by offering Iftar meals for fasting people. On the merits of such good deed, the Prophet pbuh said, "Whoever provides the food for a fasting person to break his fast with, then for him is the same reward as his (the fasting person's), without anything being diminished from the reward of the latter."

With this in mind, let us pray to Allah, the Almighty, to bring Ramadan for us with blessings and piety, safety and faith. May Allah make us amongst those whose fasting and night prayers are accepted. Indeed, You are the Lord of the Worlds.

O Allah, we seek Your grace to make us in Ramadan amongst those are successful and the winners of Your Paradise.

O Allah, please 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 amongst 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 Sublime and Exalted.

O Worshipers,

Please know that Ramadan is a great blessing that Allah, the Almighty, bestowed upon us. We should, therefore, seize the opportunity of the holy month and dedicate our time to performing good deeds, such as remembering Allah frequently and striving to attend religious lessons.

In Ramadan, several scientific lectures are conducted, gatherings and Ramadanic Majlises are held, and preaching and Fatwa programmes are increased, the aim being to enrich the fasting people's time with beneficial knowledge.

In light of this spirit, HH the UAE President, may Allah protect him, hosts an elite group of scholars from all over the world annually in order to promote the Ramadanic spirit and the sincere faith. The reason is that in the gatherings of Dhikr, people remember Allah much, invoke peace and blessings on His Messenger pbuh abundantly, and raise their hands with supplications and invocations to the Most Beneficent.

Moreover, such assemblies of Dhikr are attended by the angels and Allah's mercy descends to them. The Messenger of Allah pbuh said, "Allah has mobile (squads) of angels, who have no other work (to attend to but) to follow the assemblies of Dhikr and when they find such assemblies in which there is Dhikr (of Allah) they sit in them and some of them surround the others with their wings... And when they disperse (after the assembly of Dhikr is adjourned) they go upward to the heaven and Allah, the Exalted and Glorious, asks them although He is best Knowing about them: 'Where have you come from?' They say: We come from Your servants upon the earth who had been exalting You (reciting Praise be to Allah), Glorifying You (saying Allahu Akabr) and praising You (saying al-Hamdu Lillah) and supplicating to You. He would say, 'What do they ask Me for?' They would say, 'They ask for your Paradise, seek Your protection from the Hellfire and ask for Your forgiveness.' He would say, 'I grant pardon to them, and confer upon them what they ask for and grant them protection against which they seek protection'."

You are, therefore, urged to strive to seize the virtues of the holy month of Ramadan, promote the value of fasting its days and nurture its ethics in the minds and hearts of your sons and daughters.

That is said, please bear in mind that you are instructed to invoke peace and blessings on the Prophet pbuh. He pbuh said: "For every one 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 Allah, may we ask You to grant us success in performing acts of goodness and Ihsan (charity) in Ramadan. O Allah, please makes us amongst the people of Quran and accept our fasting, for You are the Generous and the Bestower of favours.

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, for You are the Most Generous.

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 remembranc