All praise is due to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds. He orders His servants to remember Him and promises abundant rewards for those who are devoted to His remembrance. I bear witness that there is no deity save Allah, having no associates. He is the Bestower of favours and sustenance and every tongue is moist with His remembrance. I also bear witness that our Master Muhammad is the Servant of Allah and His Messenger. He is the seal of the Prophets and the Imam of all Messengers. May the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, his pure blessed family 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: "so fear Allah, O you of understanding who have believed. Allah has sent down to you the Quran." (At-Talaq: 10).

Dear Muslims,

We are in the month of Shaaban, a blessed month in which the deeds are taken up to Allah, the Most Gracious. Thus, we supplicate to Allah to bless for us the remaining days of the month and make us among those who will witness the coming Ramadan.

Please know that amongst the best of deeds is Dhikr. About it, the Prophet pbuh said, "saying, 'Glory is to Allah, All praise is due to Allah, There is no deity save Allah, and Allah is the greatest' is more beloved to me than all that the sun has risen over."

For this reason, Allah ordered His Prophets pbut to remember Him frequently. For instance, the Almighty said to Zakariya pbuh, "and remember your Lord much and exalt [Him with praise] in the evening and the morning." (Al-Imran: 41). He also enjoined our Master Muhammad pbuh to do so by saying, "and mention the name of your Lord [in prayer] morning and evening." (Al-Insan: 25).

Similarly, Allah ordered mankind to praise Him much as well for He says, "O you who have believed, remember Allah with much remembrance. And exalt Him morning and afternoon." (Al-Ahzab: 41-42). Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him, said in this regard, "all obligations imposed upon man by Allah are clearly marked and one is exempted from them in the presence of a genuine cause. The only exception is the obligation of Dhikr. Allah has set no specific limits for it and under no circumstances is one allowed to be negligent of it. Allah says, 'remember Allah standing, sitting, or (lying) on your sides.' (An-Nisaa: 103). We are commanded to remember Allah in the morning, during the day, at sea or on land, on travel or at home, in poverty and in prosperity, in sickness or in health, openly and secretly, and, in fact, at all times and in all circumstances."

O you who remember Allah,

Indeed, those who praise Allah frequently are successful. This was stressed by the Prophet pbuh when he said: "the Mufarridun have gone ahead." He pbuh was asked, "who are the Mufarridun?" He pbuh replied, "those men and women who frequently celebrate the remembrance of Allah." This is because the words we say in praising Allah rise up to the Heaven. Allah, the Almighty, says, "to Him ascends good speech, and righteous work raises it." (Fatir: 10). Thus, the record of one's good speech will be raised to the Heaven. 'Good speech' here refers to praising Allah, glorifying Him and mentioning His name.

Such record will continue rising till it reaches the Throne of the Most Gracious where its owner's name will be announced in such a glorious place. The Prophet pub said, "what you mention of glory of Allah, of Tasbih (Exalted is Allah), Takbir (Allah is the Greatest) and Tahmid (All praise is due to Allah), revolves around the Throne, buzzing like bees, reminding of the one who said it. Wouldn't any one of you like to have, or continue to have, something that reminds of him (in the presence of Allah)?"

On another level, when one supplicates to Allah, He will respond to his supplication. The Prophet pub said, "Whoever says, 'there is no deity save Allah, and Allah is the Greatest,' His Lord affirms his statement and says, 'there is no deity save me, and I am the Greatest.' And when he says, 'there is no deity save Allah,' Allah says, 'there is no deity except me and I am Alone.' And when he says, 'there is no deity save Allah, having no associates, 'Allah says,'there is no deity save Me, Alone, I have no partner.' And when he says, 'there is no deity save Allah, to Him belongs the Dominion and all the praises are due to Him,' Allah says, 'there is no deity save Me, to Me belongs all the Dominion, and to Me all the praises are due.' And when he says, 'there is no deity save Allah, and there is neither Might nor Power except with Allah,' Allah says, 'there is no deity save Me, and there is neither might nor power except by Me.'" And he also used to say, "whoever says it in his illness, then dies, the Fire shall not consume him."

It is, really, such a vast success and a great honour that one's name gets mentioned in the Higher Heavens and that our speech gets affirmed by Allah, the Almighty. So, glad tidings to those who are devoted to the remembrance of Their Lord.

O you who remember Allah,

It is of Allah's grace upon mankind that He made His remembrance easy for us. The Almighty made His remembrance light on our tongues and permitted us to mention it as much as we can and whenever we get the chance to do so; in the day and night. Our Prophet pbuh has also taught us the appropriate supplications for every occasion and reciting these will, by Allah's grace, bring us great blessings and benefits.

For instance, if one mentions Allah's name when he enters his house, his family will cherish peace and tranquillity. This is because the remembrance of Allah is the best means to expel the devil. The Prophet pbuh said, "if a person mentions the Name of Allah upon entering his house or eating, Satan says (addressing his followers), 'you will find nowhere to spend the night and no dinner.' But if he enters without mentioning the Name of Allah, Satan says, 'you have found (a place) to spend the night in,' and if he does not mention the Name of Allah at the time of eating as well, Satan says: 'you have got your lodgings for the night and your supper."

Truly, the Messenger of Allah pbuh told the truth when he said, "the example of the house in which remembrance of Allah is made and the house in which Allah is not remembered, is that of a living creature compared to a dead one."

It is likewise good to mention Allah's name whenever one leaves home. By so doing, Allah will guide us to all that is good, keep us away from all that brings us distress and protect us from the evils of others. The Prophet pbuh said, "when a man goes out of his house and says, 'in the name of Allah, I trust in Allah; there is neither might nor power but with Allah,' the following will be said to him at that time, "you are guided, defended and protected." The devils will go far from him and another devil will say, "how can you deal with a man who has been guided, defended and protected?"

Moreover, reciting Ayat Al-Kursi before going to bed is one way to attain tranquillity all night long and be under the Care and Protection of Allah. This was indicated by the Prophet pbuh as he said, "when you go to your bed, recite Ayat Al-Kursi, for then there will be a guard from Allah who will protect you all night long, and Satan will not be able to come near you till dawn."

Amongst the other benefits of this Aya is that reciting it after each prayer is a cause for being admitted to Paradise. About it, the Prophet pbuh said, "whoever recites Ayat Al-Kursi immediately after each prescribed prayer, there will be nothing standing between him and his entering Paradise except death."

With this in mind, we beseech Allah to grant us success to be constant on remembering His Name and appreciating His bounties.

O Allah, please admit us to Your Paradise and 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 you are asked to obey Allah as it ought to be, be steadfast on obeying Him and remembering His Name at all times. A man once said to the Prophet pbuh, "O Messenger of Allah, indeed, the legislated acts of Islam have become too much for me, so inform me of a thing that I should stick to." He pbuh said, "let not your tongue cease to be moist with the remembrance of Allah." Indeed, the remembrance of Allah is an act through which one's sins will be forgiven and his record cleansed. The Prophet pbuh said, "whoever says, 'glory be to Allah and praise is due to Him' one hundred times a day, will be forgiven all his sins even if they were as much as the foam of the sea."

Truly, remembrance of Allah imparts tranquillity and peace to the mind and the soul. Through it, one's sorrows get eased, happiness touches his heart and thereby it becomes assured. Allah, the Almighty, says, "those who have believed and whose hearts are assured by the remembrance of Allah. Unquestionably, by the remembrance of Allah hearts are assured." (Ar-Raad: 28).

Ultimately, those who remember Allah frequently will win His Paradise on the Day of Resurrection and see their status raised by degrees. Allah, the All-High says, "and the men who remember Allah often and the women who do so - for them Allah has prepared forgiveness and a great reward." (Al-Ahzab: 35).

Bearing this in mind, let us think and decide if we are amongst those who are devoted to Allah's remembrance at all times and who teach their children to remember their Creator in order to get shield under His protection.

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.

O Allah, we seek your grace to make amongst those who remember You much and are grateful for Your blessings. O Allah, please also make us amongst the dwellers of Your Paradise, O Lord of the Worlds.

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 and make their sustenance blessed.

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).