All praise is due to Allah, Bestower of bounties and blessings, the Grantor of unlimited favours. 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 High, in line with his orders: "and fear a Day when you will be returned to Allah. Then every soul will be compensated for what it earned, and they will not be treated unjustly." (Al-Baqara: 281).

O Believers,

One of the best manners and finest qualities that Islam calls for is treating one another in kindness and graciousness. Allah, the Almighty, says, "and do not forget graciousness between you. Indeed Allah, of whatever you do, is Seeing." (Al-Baqara: 237). That is to say, in your dealings with others, do not forget to show gratitude towards their graciousness.

Indeed, recognising others' good deeds and appreciating them is such an elite merit that will be remembered by those who are true-hearted. In this sense, the blessings of Allah, the Almighty, on us are innumerable, which we have to acknowledge and appreciate. Allah, the Most Gracious, created us, guided us to the right path and protected us. By duly thanking Allah, the most Generous, we in fact express our gratitude to Him in return for His kind favours.

On this account, all the Prophets pbut set the best role model for believers in praising Allah and being grateful to Him. They were the most amongst people to remember their Lord's bounties and thank Him, the Most Exalted, for His generous bounties. For instance, the Prophet Dawood (David) and his son Suleiman pbut thanked Allah much for His graciousness. About them, Allah, the Most Sublime says, "and We had certainly given to David and Solomon knowledge, and they said, "Praise [is due] to Allah, who has favoured us over many of His believing servants." (An-Naml: 15). Seeing the abundant favours of Allah upon him, Prophet Suleiman said, "he said, 'This is from the favour of my Lord." (An-Naml: 40).

Furthermore, our Master Mohammad pbuh taught us to remember Allah's bounties upon us and thank Him for His generous blessings. He used to thank Allah, the Most Exalted, saying, "All praise is due to Allah Who fed us, provided us drink, sufficed us and provided us with shelter."

It such a beautiful thing to praise Allah and appreciate the favours He conferred upon mankind. This can be done by obeying Allah and being steadfast on performing the act of worship He prescribed for us. Truly, such is the way towards attaining Allah's satisfaction, preserving His bounties and winning His Paradise as eternal dwelling.

In like manner, we should also remember the great favours of the Prophet pbuh on us. By sending him to us, Allah, the Most Provider, blessed us with guidance to His path. He pbuh further instilled in our hearts the values of mercy and love towards each other. Thus, we should show gratitude towards Allah and His Messenger pbuh as Allah, the Most Generous, says, "certainly did Allah confer [great] favour upon the believers when He sent among them a Messenger from themselves, reciting to them His verses and purifying them and teaching them the Book and wisdom, although they had been before in manifest error." (Al Imran: 164).

Indeed, it is a duty on man to praise the bounties bestowed upon them and appreciate the favours granted to them as much as could be. It is, therefore, a right for the Prophet pbuh on us to show gratitude to him by loving him, adhering to his advocacies, following his Sunna in what we do and what we say, and invoke peace and blessings upon him.

One of ways of being grateful is to acknowledge the favours of our homeland. Under its sky we find shade and on its land we cherish the blessings of stability and peace. In return for such magnificent blessings, we show our gratitude to our beloved nation.

This can be achieved by dedicating ourselves for pursuing the advancement of our nation in all fields, each in their position, and in protecting it and safeguarding its frontiers. By the same token, we need to raise its status, sacrifice ourselves in its way and do all that it takes to maintain its glory and honourable image.

O Servants of Allah,

There has certainly been for us in the Messenger of Allah pbuh an excellent pattern to emulate in showing appreciation for others in return for their kindness. For instance, he used to remember the favours of Abu Bakr As-Siddiq to him, saying, "The person who has favoured me most of all both with his wealth and company, is Abu Bakr."

Similarly, he pbuh acknowledged the support of his wife Khadijah, may Allah be pleased with her. He said, "She believed me when all others disbelieved, she trusted me when other people called me a liar, she comforted me with her property when people deprived me, and Allah granted me with her children while He deprived me of children from my other wives."

Verily, in this there is a great lesson to be drawn by husbands, wives, family members, relatives, neighbours, friends and all the members of the community at large. We should learn from the Prophet pbuh to remember others' good deeds, thank them for their favours and pay them back with better ones. This is conducive to promote love and compassion amongst all members of the community.

One way to appreciate our parents' favours to us is by supplicating to Allah for them, obeying them, treating them in kindness, being humble to them and talking to them in leniency out of respect to their status. Good treatment of parents also entails avoiding sitting before they do, speaking or doing something before them.



Furthermore, gratefulness towards one's parents is one of the most important acts of obedience to Allah, the Most Exalted. In this regard, it was narrated that Abdullah Ibn Masood, may Allah be pleased with him, said, "I asked the Prophet pbuh 'O Messenger of Allah! Which deed is loved most by Allah?' He replied, 'To offer prayers at their early (very first) stated times.' I asked, 'What is the next (in goodness)?' The Prophet pbuh said, 'To be good and dutiful to one's parents."

Thankfulness is a virtue that one should also establish towards one's relatives and kin. This can be possible through maintaining good bonds with them, showing amicability towards them, visiting them, treating them nicely and supporting them at their good times and those of distress. Allah, the Most Compassionate, says, "and give the relative his right." (Al-Israa: 26).

Another member of the community that is worthy of our appreciation is the teacher. Teachers play a great role in the structure of social development. Thus, we should remember their favours to us by showing due respect to them, obeying them and treating them in a way that is consistent with the status that Allah, the Most Exalted, attributed to the people of knowledge. He says, "Allah will raise those who have believed among you and those who were given knowledge, by degrees. And Allah is Acquainted with what you do." (Al-Mujadila: 11).

More on the topic, it is equally important to be grateful to whoever has done favour to us in our life. We can express our thanks to them by talking about them in good to our relatives, friends, colleagues and neighbours. It is a right to them on us to remember whatever good they have done to us, something which is also conducive to encourage them to further accomplish acts of kindness.

With this in mind, let us beseech Allah, the Almighty, to make us amongst those who show gratitude towards people for their favours to us. May Allah help us to remember their good deeds and show appreciation to them.

O Allah, we implore to You to 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 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 Lords 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 providing, and remember the favour of the UAE noble martyrs who sacrificed their pure souls in the way of their Lord and homeland. They offered their lives so as to preserve the glorious status of their nation and keep its flag fluttering high in the sky.

The Prophet pbuh attributed the martyrdom honour to whoever dies in the way of Allah while defending their home, family or property as he said, "Whoever is killed while protecting his property then he is a martyr. Whoever is killed while protecting his family then he is a martyr. Whoever is killed while protecting his religion then he is a martyr, and whoever is killed while protecting his blood then he is a martyr."

Because their status is high, they are depicted as alive with their Lord, enjoying His bounties upon them as mentioned in the following Ayas: "rather, they are alive with their Lord, receiving provision, rejoicing in what Allah has bestowed upon them of His bounty." (Al Imrarn: 169-170).

Indeed, the UAE leadership and people take pride in their armed forces, pay tribute to them and highly value the sacrifices of their martyrs. To commemorate the martyrs, honour their noble status and appreciate their sublime giving, UAE's wise leadership dedicated a day to recognise the martyrs of the nation who answered the call of duty, thereby becoming a source of pride to it and setting the finest example for the generations to come.

Furthermore, celebrating their memory and honouring their sacrifices, the UAE established the Martyrs' Families' Affairs Office to take full care of the martyrs' families and children, fulfil their needs and promote their welfare.

That is said, please bear in mind that you are instructed to invoke peace and blessings on the Prophet pbuh. The Messenger of Allah 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.

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 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, may we ask You for all that is good, in this world and in the Hereafter. 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, we pray to You to grant Your forgiveness and reward to who built this mosque and to his or her parents as well as to anyone who gave to this mosque.

O Allah, we also supplicate to You to forgive whoever built a mosque where Your name is remembered or donated a Waqf that goes for the best interest of Your servants or the benefit of their offspring.

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 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).