All praise is due to Allah the Righteous the All-Forgiving. He is the possessor of great bounty. He apportions His Mercy amongst His obedient servants. 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 was the best of those who performed Hajj and Umrah, remembered Allah and were grateful for His favours. 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 take provisions, but indeed, the best provision is fear of Allah. And fear Me, O you of understanding." (Al-Baqara: 197).

O Worshipers,

These days, we are witnessing blessed days and nights, being the first ten days of Dhul Hijja. Allah, the Most Exalted, swore by them in an indication to their great importance, as He says, "by the dawn, and [by] the ten nights, and [by] the even [number] and the odd, and [by] the night when it passes, is there [not] in [all] that an oath [sufficient] for one of perception?" (Al-Fajr: 1-5).

Allah, the Almighty, gave oath by the first ten days of Dhul Hijja because they fall in a sacred month and in them falls the blessed Day of Arafah. Therefore, during these days, the best acts of worship are recommended, including prayer, fast, Hajj, almsgiving, sacrifices and Dhikr (remembrance of Allah). The Most Sublime, says, "and mention the name of Allah on known days." (Al-Hajj: 28).

In these days, Allah multiplies His rewards for the believers who perform good deeds. The Prophet pbuh said in this regard, "no good deeds done on other days are superior to those done on these (first ten days of Dhul-Hijjah)."



About them, one of the righteous scholars also said, "Allah, the Almighty, has made Hajj to His sacred House so dear to the hearts of the believers so that they always long for performing it. And since not all people are capable of performing Hajj, Allah made the ten days of Dhul Hijja a season of worship for those who go for Hajj and those who do not. Thus, whoever is unable to perform Hajj, he can do a good deed during those days while in his house."

O Servants of Allah,

The first ten days of Dhul Hijja are a great opportunity for attaining Allah's forgiveness and winning rewards equal to those granted for performing Hajj. The ultimate goal of performing Hajj is returning after Hajj free of all sins. Our Master Muhammad pbuh said in this regard, "Whoever performs Hajj for Allah's pleasure and does not have sexual relations with his wife, and does not do evil or sins then he will be forgiven all his previous sins."

Such gracious reward can also be achieved by seizing the opportunity during these ten days and engaging ourselves in acts of worship that are conducive to bring us closer to our lord and are equal to Hajj in rewards. These include performing all the prescribed worships as mentioned in this Qudsi Hadith, "and the most beloved things with which My servant comes nearer to Me, is what I have enjoined upon him."

Therefore, whoever is diligent on establishing the prayer on its prescribed time will, by Allah's favour, attain a reward that is equal to the reward granted for performing Hajj. This was highlighted by the Messenger of Allah pbuh when he said, "Whoever goes out from his house after performing ablution to establish the prescribed prayer in congregation, then his reward will be like that of one who goes for Hajj after wearing ihram (robe worn by pilgrims)."

In this context, performing two Rakaas prior to the Fajr prayer is better than all that is in the world as the Prophet pbuh said, "The two Rakaas at dawn are better than all the world and whatever is in it."

After these two Rakaas, it is good to go to mosque to observe the prayer in congregation. In this sense, one is urged to be a good performer of the prayer, knowing its conditions and the recommended acts relative to it. On this account the Prophet pbuh said, "When the time for a prescribed prayer is due and a Muslim performs its ablution and its acts of bowing and prostration properly, this prayer will be expiation for his past sins, so long as he does not commit major sins, and this applies for lifetime."

Another virtue of performing the prayer in congregation is that when the worshiper says "Amin" after the Imam, he will, by Allah's grace, be purified from his sins. The Prophet pbuh said, "Say 'Amin' when the Imam says it and if the 'Amin' of any one of you coincides with that of the angels then all his past sins will be forgiven."

Furthermore, if anyone extols Allah after every prayer thirty three times, praises Allah thirty three times, declares His Greatness thirty three times, ninety nine times in all, "and says to complete a hundred, 'I bear witness that there is no deity save Allah, having no associates. To Him belongs all the Dominion and all praise is due to Him. He is the Omnipotent,' then his sins will be forgiven even if these are as abundant as the foam of the sea."

Another highly rewarded act of worship is attending lessons at mosque seeking beneficial knowledge. The Messenger of Allah pbuh said in this regard, "Whoever goes to the mosque not seeking except to learn or teach what is good will attain the reward of a pilgrim who completed his Hajj."

Indeed, such righteous deeds are gracious ones to be performed during these blessed days of Dhul Hijja for Allah, the Almighty, multiplies His rewards for them.

Dear Muslims,

Amongst the other good deeds that draw us closer to our Lord during these days is being grateful to Him, the Almighty, for His bounties and generous favours. Thanking Allah, the Most Exalted, is another cause of effacing one's sins. The Prophet pbuh said, "If anyone eats food and then says, 'All praise is due to Allah Who has fed me with this food and provided me with it through no might and power on my part,' he will be forgiven his past and future sins. If anyone puts on a garment and says, 'All praise is due to Allah Who has clothed me with this and provided me with it through no might and power on my part,' he will be forgiven his past and future sins."



Another good deed that is equally important for atoning sins and winning Allah's forgiveness is almsgiving and helping the needy. The Messenger of Allah pbuh said, "Whoever gives a thing in charity for his health, Allah will forgive him his sins."

In the same regard, it was narrated that Al Hasan Al Basri said, "Going to fulfil the need of your brother is better for you than performing Hajj after Hajj."

Truly, gracious are the favours that Allah, the Almighty, has bestowed upon us.

With this in mind, let us beseech Allah to forgive us our sins and expiate our misdeeds. O Allah, we implore to you to forgive pilgrims and whomever the pilgrims supplicate to You to forgive.

O Allah, we pray 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 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 High, and know that the Messenger of Allah pbuh urged for performing good deeds during these sacred days and nights and seizing the opportunity to engage in all actions that brings Allah's satisfaction.



Allah, the Most Gracious, swore by these days for they are glorious ones. Thus, we should honour them by performing as many acts of obedience as possible. For instance, one should recite the Quran much, remember Allah much, say Tahlil and Tahmid, invoke prayers and blessings upon the Prophet pbuh, pray Nawafil, give for charity, honour ties of kinship and help others. Indeed, any act of goodness towards others is recommended during these blessed days for Allah, the Most Sublime says, "so whoever does an atom's weight of good will see it." (Az-Zalzala: 7).

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.

We seek the favour of Allah, the Lord of the Worlds, to make our days full of goodness and grant us success to do all that which is good.

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 also 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 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 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.

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).