All praise is due to Allah. He bestowed on the believers a great favour by sending to them the last of the Prophets. 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 him the seal of the Messengers. 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: "O you who have believed, fear Allah and believe in His Messenger; He will [then] give you a double portion of His mercy and make for you a light by which you will walk and forgive you; and Allah is Forgiving and Merciful." (Al-Hadid: 28).

O Worshipers,

Allah, the Most Exalted, has attributed a high status to His Prophet Muhammad pbuh and raised high his reputation in the Heavens and the earth. The Almighty says, "and raised high for you your repute." (Ash-Sharh: 4). The standing earned by the Prophet pbuh is so lofty that Allah, the Almighty swears by his life in an indication of honouring him. Allah says, "by your life, [O Muhammad], indeed they were, in their intoxication, wandering blindly." (Al-Hijr: 72). That is: I swear by your life and existence in this world that they have gone far in their wrong doings.

In evidence of the great merits and the lofty status of the Prophet pbuh, in the following Aya, Allah, the Most Exalted, orders the believers to send blessings upon him pbuh more often. To further emphasise this, the Most Gracious starts conferring the blessings upon the Prophet pbuh Himself followed by all the angels, saying, "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).

Some scholarly interpretations said that the blessings come from Allah as mercy, forgiveness from the angels and supplications from the people.

Thus, by asking Allah to invoke blessings upon the Prophet pubh, a Muslim will be praying to Him to bestow His bounties and mercy upon him. Going down to its literary meaning, invocations mean supplications.

Allah, the Almighty, also enjoined His Messenger pbuh to pray for his companions. He says, "and invoke [Allah's blessings] upon them. Indeed, your invocations are reassurance for them. And Allah is Hearing and Knowing." (At-Tawba: 103). That is: supplicate to Allah for them and ask Him to forgive them.

O Servants of Allah,

This gets us to advise each other on how to confer Allah's blessings upon the Prophet pbuh. It was narrated that the companions, may Allah be pleased with them, once asked the Prophet pbuh, "O Messenger of Allah! Tell us how we should invoke blessings on you." The Prophet said, "Say, 'O Allah! Confer your blessings on Muhammad and his family, the same way as You conferred Your blessings on Ibrahim and his family. You are indeed worthy of all praise and Glorious."

There are many ways for one to pray for the Prophet pbuh. For instance, we may say, "O Allah! Please confer your blessings on Muhammad, Your servant and Messenger, the same way as You conferred Your blessings on Ibrahim." Yet, any supplication that is meant to beseech Allah to confer His blessings on the Prophet is correct.

This also leads us to discuss the reason why we should send blessings to the Prophet pbuh. Above all, we do so to adhere to Allah's order: "O you who have believed, ask [Allah to confer] blessing upon him and ask [Allah to grant him] peace." (Al-Ahzab: 56).

Moreover, praying for the Messenger of Allah pbuh is also a way to honour and show respect to him in line with Allah's instructions: "indeed, We have sent you as a witness and a bringer of good tidings and a warner that you [people] may believe in Allah and His Messenger and honour him and respect the Prophet and exalt Allah morning and afternoon." (Al-Farh: 8-9). In interpretation of this Aya, Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him, said that "honour" means to elevate his status and "respect" means to revere him.

Honouring the Messenger of Allah pbuh is also a way for one to achieve success for in the following Aya, Allah, the Most High, praises those who honour the Prophet pbuh as being successful. He says, "so they who have believed in him, honoured him, supported him and followed the light which was sent down with him - it is those who will be the successful." (Al-Araaf: 157).

On another level, we supplicate for the Prophet pbuh to show our love to him and gratitude to his favour. By sending him to mankind, Allah, the Almighty, enlightened their darkness with the light of faith. He says, "Allah has sent down to you the Qur'an. [He sent] a Messenger [Muhammad] reciting to you the distinct verses of Allah that He may bring out those who believe and do righteous deeds from darkness into the light." (At-Talaq: 10-11).

O Invokers of Blessings upon the Prophet Muhammad pbuh,

It is also important to know when one should send blessings to the Prophet pbuh. We are advised to do so at any time, especially on Fridays. He pbuh urged us to be more diligent in praying for him on this day as he said, "One of the best of your days is Friday. So send plenty of Salat upon me on this day, for your Salat will be presented to me."

In like manner, the Messenger of Alalh pbuh enjoined us to pray for him after each call for prayer that we many attain Allah's rewards, blessing, forgiveness and mercy. He said, "Whenever you hear the call for prayer, say what the Muezzin is saying then invoke a blessing on me. Indeed, for everyone who invokes a blessing on me will receive ten blessings from Allah."

Thus, whoever supplicates for the Prophet pbuh after each Adhan then beseechs Allah to grant him Al-Wasilah, which is the highest rank in Paradise, he will, by Allah's favour, win His mercy and be assured of the Prophet's pbuh intercession for him on the Day of Judgment.

Yet, those who do not send blessings upon the Prophet pbuh are described as misers and would lose the rewards promised in return of doing so. The Prophet pbuh said in this regard, "The miser is the one in whose presence I am mentioned but he does not supplicate for me."

It was narrated that Abu Huraira, may Allah be pleased with him, said that the Prophet pbuh once climbed up on the Minbar and then said, 'Amin, Amin, Amin.' It was said to him, "O Messenger of Allah! Why did you say Amin?" He pbuh said, "Jibril came to me and said, '(O Muhammad) he is doomed who grows up while both his parents, or one of them, are still alive, and they do not cause him to enter Paradise.' So I said 'Amin'. Then Jibril said, 'he is doomed who sees the month of Ramadan come and go and he has not been forgiven.' So I said 'Amin.' Then he said, 'he is doomed who hears you mentioned and does not invoke blessings upon you.' So I said 'Amin'."

Bearing this in mind, let us implore to Allah to make us amongst those who confer blessings upon the Prophet Muhammad pbuh. May Allah also grant us his intercession on the Day of Judgment.

O Allah, we beseech 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 Servants of Allah, that the first thing we should advise each other about is obeying Allah and be diligent in supplicating to Him for His Messenger pbuh. The Prophet pbuh said, "Indeed, for everyone who invokes a blessing on me will receive ten blessings from Allah and will have ten of his bad deeds forgiven."

Furthermore, those who send blessings upon the Prophet pbuh more often the angels will supplicate for them as evidenced in this Hadith, "Whoever sends peace and blessings upon me the angels keep on asking for Allah's Blessing and Forgiveness for him as long as he is doing so. So, let a servant of Allah do a little of that or a lot."

Amongst the other virtues of supplicating to Allah for the Prophet pbuh is that whoever does so, Allah will alleviate his worries and forgive him his sins. It was narrated that Ubay ibn Kaab, may Allah be pleased with him, said, "I asked the Prophet pbuh: 'O Messenger of Allah, I frequently invoke Allah to bless you. How much of my supplications should I devote to you?' He said, 'you may devote as much as you wish.' When I suggested a quarter, he said, 'do whatever you wish, but it will be better for you if you increase it.' I suggested half, and he said, 'do whatever you wish, but it will be better for you if you increase.' I suggested two-thirds, and he said, 'do whatever you wish but it will be better for you if you increase it.' I said, 'shall I devote all my supplications invoking Allah to bless you?' He said, 'then you will be freed from your worries and your sins will be forgiven."

Glad tidings, then, for those who pray for the Prophet pbuh and see, by Allah's favour, their concerns eased and sins forgiven.

Therefore, let us think and decide whether or not we are amongst those who are devoted to supplicating to Allah to confer His blessings upon the Prophet pbuh.

That is said, we beseech Allah to confer upon our Master and Prophet Muhammad pbuh as much of His blessings as His knowledge has encompassed, His pen has written and His Book has recorded. May Allah, reward him on our behalf the best of rewards that He has ever granted to a Prophet on behalf of his nation.

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, 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.

May Allah accept from all those who pay Zakat, compensate for them and bless their provisions.

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 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).

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Notification from Awqaf

To be delivered after Friday prayer 15/7/2016

Dear Muslims,

Please know that Islam forbids drug abuse due to its grave impacts on the individual and the community too. Use of drugs can impair the brain, weaken the memory system and reduces one's ability to concentrate. It also causes mental and neurological disorders, social diseases and undesirable behaviours. Moreover, taking drugs may lead the users to break the law, affect their faith and honesty and impair them from interacting with their community.

It is, therefore, incumbent on us to join efforts in promoting awareness of the serious impacts of drugs. It is also our duty to strive to provide treatment for those who are addicted to drugs and reintegrate them within the community. Indeed, Islam orders us to help such people and give them support to go back on the safe track.

That is said, we beseech Allah to confer His blessings and grant peace upon our Prophet Muhammad pbuh, his family and all of the companions.