All praise is due to Allah. He made the Quran a beacon of light for its readers. He also made the prayers a source of comfort for worshippers and the charity a rewarding trade for those who spend in the cause of Allah. 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 kind 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 mankind, worship your Lord, who created you and those before you, that you may become righteous." (Al-Baqara: 21).

Dear Muslims,

Please know that the faithful believers who run a beneficial trade, recite the Quran in days and nights, establish prayers to please their Lord, and spend from their wealth in private and in public shall, by Allah's grace, see their good deeds increased in amounts they could barely imagine. They shall also expect their sins to be forgiven and some of their good deeds be appreciated. The Almighty says, "indeed, those who recite the Book of Allah and establish prayer and spend [in His cause] out of what We have provided them, secretly and publicly, [can] expect a profit that will never perish That He may give them in full their rewards and increase for them of His bounty. Indeed, He is Forgiving and Appreciative." (Fatir, 29-30).

This Aya starts with a reference to reciting the Quran, in an indication to its great standing. Indeed, it is amongst the most rewarded trades and one of the worships that bring us closer to Allah, the Most Exalted. For this reason, in the following Aya, Allah enjoins His Messenger pbuh to recite the Quran; He says, "recite, [O Muhammad], what has been revealed to you of the Book and establish prayer." (Al-Ankaboot: 45).

Allah, the Most High, revealed His holy Quran for us to read it and ponder over its meanings. He says, "[this is] a blessed Book which We have revealed to you, [O Muhammad], that they might reflect upon its verses and that those of understanding would be reminded." (Sad: 29). Indeed, for each letter of the Quran we read, we will attain multiple rewards. This was further stressed by the Prophet pbuh when he said, "whoever recites a letter from the Book of Allah will be credited with a good deed, and a good deed gets a tenfold reward. I do not say that Alif Lam Mim is a letter, but Alif is a letter, Lam is a letter and Mim is a letter."

Furthermore, learning the Quran is better for the believer than possessing treasures and great wealth. The Prophet pbuh said in this regard, "if any one of you goes out in the morning to the mosque and learns two verses of the Book of Allah, the Exalted, it is better for him than two she-camels, and three verses are better for him than three she-camels, and four verses are better for him than four she-camels, and so on than their numbers in camels."

It is, then, such a great thing that we engage in learning the Quran and teaching it to our children. Abdullah ibn Masood, may Allah be pleased with him, said in this regard, "this Quran is the Banquet of Allah. So, learn as much as you can from it. Indeed, understanding comes through learning."

So, when we read the Quran, Allah, the Almighty, will, in fact, witness over our recitation and listen to it as evidenced in this Aya, "and, [O Muhammad], you are not [engaged] in any matter or recite any of the Quran and you [people] do not do any deed except that We are witness over you when you are involved in it." (Yunus: 61). That is: Allah sees you and hears what you read.

Another great virtue of reciting the Quran is that on the Day of Judgment, the one who is devoted to the Quran will be told, "recite and ascend (in ranks) as you used to recite when you were in the world. Your rank will be at the last Ayah you recite."

O Worshipers,

Please also know that observing prayer is one of the strongest and most rewarded acts of worshiping. Allah, the Almighty, ordered us to be steadfast on performing prayers when He says, "maintain with care the [obligatory] prayers and [in particular] the middle prayer and stand before Allah, devoutly obedient." (Al-Baqara: 238). This Aya orders us to perform prayer at its specified time and as required. We must also remain diligent in observing it.

It was the last advice from the Prophet pbuh to his nation. Ali bin Abu Talib, may Allah be pleased with him, narrated that the last of the Prophet's pbuh words were "prayer, prayer!"

The same was echoed by, Abdullah ibn Masood, may Allah be pleased with him when he said, "whoever aspires to meet Allah as a Muslim, let him uphold the habit of attending prayers whenever the call to prayer is given. Allah has shown your Prophet pbuh the way of guidance, and these prayers (in the mosque) are part of that way."

On another note, you should be aware that whoever performs Wudu (ablution) at home well, it will be an expiation for the sins he committed prior to it. The Prophet pbuh said, "whoever performs ablution like my present ablution, all his previous sins would be forgiven and his prayer and walking towards the mosque would have an extra reward."

This Hadith advocates that whoever walks to the mosque Allah will raise their status and increase their credits of good deeds. He pbuh further stressed the same in another Hadith as he said, "he who purified himself in his house, and then he walked to one of the houses of Allah for the sake of performing one of the obligatory acts enjoined by Allah, both his steps (would be significant) as one of them would obliterate his sin and the second one would raise his status."

As such, a believer goes to prayer and stands in the hands of his Creator pure in heart and body. It is indeed such a great honour to pray amongst the worshipers, bowing with them and standing when they do. Therein, Allah will look over the rows of worshipers to find us humbly submissive and devoutly obedient to Him, fully abiding by His orders and following the guidance of His Messenger pbuh.

O Servants of Allah,

Another rewarding trade with Allah, the Almighty, is giving for charity. Allah says, "the example of those who spend their wealth in the way of Allah is like a seed [of grain] which grows seven spikes; in each spike is a hundred grains. And Allah multiplies [His reward] for whom He wills. And Allah is all-Encompassing and Knowing." (Al-Baqara: 261). Thus, he who spends in the way of Allah, the Most Exalted, shall definitely win multiple rewards in the Hereafter and attain abundant provisions and increased wealth in this world. The Almighty says, "but whatever thing you spend [in His cause] - He will compensate it; and He is the best of providers." (Sabaa: 39).

Truly, no one will be equal in piety to those who spend in the cause of Allah except those who are devoted to the Quran. The Prophet pbuh emphasised the same in this Hadith, "not to wish to be the like of except the like of two (persons): a man whom Allah has given the knowledge of the Quran and he recites it during the hours of the night and the hours of the day; and a man whom Allah has given wealth and he spends it (in Allah's cause) during the hours of the night and during the hours of the day."

With this in mind, let us beseech Allah to teach us in the Quran that which we did not know and remind us through it of what we may have forgotten. May Allah grant us success to be amongst those who preserve their prayers and spend from their wealth in His cause.

O Allah, may You 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 know that the 6th of May is a milestone in the history of the UAE. On this day 39 years ago, our armed forces united. And since then, their efficiency has never failed to increase and their performance to enhance. They have grown to become a key force ensuring the stability and peace in the region and safeguarding our religion, homeland and dignity. They further preserve the acquisitions of the UAE and its accomplishments. Allah, the All-High, says, "and prepare against them whatever you are able of power and of steeds of war by which you may terrify the enemy of Allah and your enemy." (Al-Anfal: 60).

On this occasion, we would like to extend our sincere gratitude and express our heartfelt pride to our brave armed forces who are always ready and willing to sacrifice their blood for the sake of their homeland. They stay put to safeguard its borders, protect its land and preserve its achievements with utmost sense of loyalty, devotion and responsibility.

We would like also to pay due tribute to the pure martyrs of our Armed Forces who did not hesitate to offer their pure blood and souls. Allah, the Exalted is He, says, "and the martyrs, with their Lord. For them is their reward and their light." (Al-Hadid: 19).

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 guide us to Your obedience and credit us with multiples of rewards. O Allah, please make us amongst those who are foremost in good deeds, 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.

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.

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.

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).