All praise is due to Allah. I praise Him, a praise that is befitting for 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. He made purity half of faith and urged Muslims to maintain the cleanliness of their surrounding environment and body. 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 High and Exalted, in line with His orders: "Indeed, Allah is with those who fear Him and those who are doers of good." (An-Nahl: 128).

O Worshipers,

Islam has put great emphasis on cleanliness, both outer cleanliness and internal purification of the heart. In evidence of this, Allah, the Most Exalted, linked between those two kinds of purity, for He says, "Indeed, Allah loves those who are constantly repentant and loves those who purify themselves." (Al-Baqara: 222). In the same regard, the Prophet pbuh said, "Purity is half of faith."

Thus, in this Hadith, the Prophet pbuh illustrates that by being clean, one will fulfil half of the demands of faith. This is because faith purifies the inner soul, Wudu (ablution) removes sins, and water cleanse cloths and body. The Prophet pbuh further combined between these elements of purity in another Hadith as he said, "If there was a river at the door of anyone of you and he took a bath in it five times a day would there be any dirt left on him?" They said, "Not a trace of dirt would be left." Thereupon, the Prophet pbuh said, "That is the example of the five prayers with which Allah blots out (annuls) evil deeds."

Truly, the relationship between the servant and their Lord is conducive to purify their hearts. The Messenger of Allah pbuh promised Paradise as an eternal dwelling for those who maintain the purity of their hearts from envy, enmity and other negative attributes.

It was narrated in this regard that the Prophet pbuh once said to his companions, "A man from amongst the dwellers of Paradise will appear before you now." So, when the same noble companion was asked about the reason that made him from the people of Paradise, he said, "I have no feeling of hatred towards any Muslim and do not feel jealous from anybody for a blessing granted to them by Allah." Then, it was said to him, "Nothing made you reach that rank except this."

So, congratulations for those who keep their hearts pure and their breasts sound.

Dear Muslims,

Islam urged for the physical cleanliness and made it a key requirement for prayer, one of Islam's pillars. Allah, the Almighty, says, "O you who have believed, when you rise to [perform] prayer, wash your faces and your forearms to the elbows and wipe over your heads and wash your feet to the ankles." (Al-Maida: 6).

Thus, Allah, the Most Exalted, enjoined upon us to wash the apparent limbs of our body for these are more vulnerable to infection. In fact, inseparable from prayers in Islam is Taharah. A Muslim is required to make ablution (wudu) five times a day to look his best before prayer. This way, one will be spirited, clean and pure all the day. As a result, they will draw closer to their Lord and He will bestow His love upon them. Allah, the Almighty, says, "men who love to purify themselves; and Allah loves those who purify themselves." (At-Tawba: 108).

O Servants of Allah,

The aspects of the great care given by the Prophet pbuh to one's cleanliness are many. One of them is washing hands after having a meal. It was a tradition of the Prophet pbuh to wash his hand after eating. On this account, it was narrated that He pbuh was invited for a meal and he accepted the invitation. After he finished eating, he washed his hands.

Scholars said, "It is advisable to wash hands before and after eating."

Another aspect of one's cleanliness that the Prophet pbuh urged for is washing hands before going to bed. He pbuh said, "If anyone goes to bed with a grease on his hand and he does wash it, then he can blame only himself if some trouble comes to him."

Truly, washing hands and cleaning them from any dirt is a civilised behaviour. Furthermore, going to bed purified after performing Wudu is of great benefit to the Muslim and is amongst the traditions that the Prophet pbuh urged for, as he said, "Purify these bodies, may Allah purify you, for there is no servant of Allah who spends the night in a state of purification except an angel spends the night with him, in the garment which is closest to his body [and] he does not turn over at any time during the night except that the angel says, 'O Allah! Forgive Your servant for he went to sleep in a state of purification.'"

Thus, whoever goes to sleep after purifying themselves, they will be accompanied with an angle to seek Allah's forgiveness for them.

Equally important, taking care of the body's hygiene and purity is advised at all times, especially before establishing Friday prayer or praying in congregation. In this regard, Allah, the Almighty, enjoined upon us to choose the cleanest, most beautiful and appropriate clothes to stand in His hands. The Most Exalted says, "O children of Adam, take your adornment at every masjid." (Al-Aaraf: 31). In this Aya, taking adornment means cleanliness of body and clothes. This is also required during Eid and other joyful events.

Dear Muslims,

Please know that Islam put emphasis on taking adornment so that Muslims would be clean and presentable, and, thus, appealing for others to deal with them. Indeed, Allah, the Most Graceful, likes His servants to look good. It was narrated in this regard that a man said to the Prophet pubh, "I like for my clothes to be nice, and my sandals to be nice?" So he pbuh said, "Indeed Allah is beautiful and loves beauty."

More to the point, from Allah's favours upon people is that He ordained them to wear clothes in order to make their outer appearance more beautiful. It also called on Muslims to be pious, piety being an adornment to their inner souls. The Most Exalted says, "O children of Adam, We have bestowed upon you clothing to conceal your private parts and as adornment. But the clothing of righteousness - that is best. That is from the signs of Allah that perhaps they will remember." (Al-Aaraf: 26).

Furthermore, applying perfume is also an important part of adornment. Our Master Muhammad pbuh advised Muslims to apply perfume, especially during assemblies so that they always smell good. He pbuh said, "Anyone who takes a bath on Friday and cleans himself as much as he can and puts oil (on his hair) or applies a touch of perfume; and then proceeds for the prayer and does not force his way between two persons (assembled in the mosque for the Friday prayer), and prays as much as is written for him and remains quiet when the Imam delivers the Khutba, all his sins in between the present and the last Friday will be forgiven."

It is really such a great reward for those who keep themselves clean, make sure they smell nice and listen attentively to the Khateeb.

With this in mind, we seek Allah's grace to make us amongst those who are pure and maintain their hygiene.

May Allah 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.

As to what follows,

Please be aware, O Worshipers, that the most important thing we should advise each other about is obeying Allah, the Most Exalted and Sublime, and maintain the purity of our hearts, the soundness of our breasts and the cleanliness of our bodies and clothes. Not only the purity of man himself is important, but also the purity of the society in general. As such, one should maintain the cleanliness of the surrounding environment, streets, gardens, schools and other public areas.

In fact, keeping the streets clean is a right and removing all that may cause harm to people out of the way is considered as an act of charity. The Prophet pbuh said, "To remove a harmful thing from the way is Sadaqa (charity)."

Thus, from a religious perspective, and to show loyalty to one's nation, it is a duty incumbent on all of us to keep the cleanliness of the public and private utilities as well as the environment in general. This way, we will help in maintaining a healthy community whose members are happy, capable of giving and devoted to contributing to the development and prosperity of their country.

Indeed, purity and cleanliness have a great effect on individuals and societies. Therefore, we are urged to observe both outer cleanliness and internal purification of the heart. It is also our duty to nurture such culture in the minds and hearts of our little ones.

That is said, please bear in mind that you are instructed to invoke peace and blessings on the Prophet pbuh who said, "for everyone who invokes a blessing on me will receive ten blessings from Allah."

May Allah, the Lord of the Worlds, adorn us with the adornment of faith and make us amongst His repentant and pure servants.

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 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, we seek Your grace 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 the 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 Allah, we implore you to send upon us wealthy rain and make us not amongst those who are desperate. O Allah, relieve us! O Allah, relieve us! O Allah, relieve us! O Lord, provide us from the blessings of the sky a beneficial rain and make our crops grow.

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).