All praise is due to Allah. We praise Him as befitting to His Sublime status and Supreme Dominance. He made His decrees clear to His Creation. 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 grateful 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: "O you who have believed fear Allah and speak words of appropriate justice." (Al Ahzab: 70).

Dear Muslims,

Please know that a Fatwa is a delivery of message from Allah, the Most Sublime, clarifying His decrees and orders. Allah, the Almighty, took the responsibility of answering the questions of those who seek His guidance. Thus, He used to send His answers in the form of Ayas carrying adequate clarifications that meet the petitioners' needs. The Almighty says, "they request from you a [legal] ruling. Say, 'Allah gives you a ruling concerning one having neither descendants nor ascendants [as heirs]." (Al Nisaa: 176). He also says, "and they request from you, [O Muhammad], a [legal] ruling concerning women. Say, 'Allah gives you a ruling about them." (Al Nisaa: 127).

Allah, the Exalted is He, sent His Messenger Muhammad pbuh in order to make clear for people the rulings of His religion, as evidenced in this Aya, "and We have not revealed to you the Book, [O Muhammad], except for you to make clear to them that wherein they have differed and as guidance and mercy for a people who believe." (Al Nahl: 64). That is: to clarify for the people the rulings and teachings revealed in the Book of Allah, both in words and in deeds. As such, the Prophet used to explain the intended meanings of what Allah, the Most High, conveyed in the Quran concerning prayer, Zakat and other worships but were not fully detailed.

Authorised by Allah, the Almighty, the Prophet pbuh was the first to take the responsibility of Iftaa. Indeed, the task of issuing Fatwa is such a demanding work that requires highly knowledgeable people to undertake. Therefore, even the companions, may Allah be pleased with them, who possessed a vast knowledge and outstanding apprehension of Fiqh related matters, used to hesitate in doing so. This was reflected by Abdul Rahman Ibn Abu Laila when he said, "I was able to meet hundred and twenty of the Ansar, from the companions of the Prophet pbuh. Whenever one of them is asked a question, he would refer it to one of his companions to answer instead, who in turn would refer to another one, until the question goes back to the one who was asked first."

Similarly, the Muslim scholars who followed the companions saw Fatwa as a sensitive and important action. So they used to be extremely careful about offering it to the extent that if they were not sure about a matter, they would not dare to talk lest they would cause any harm and bear its burden. It was reported about Malik, may Allah have mercy on him, that when he was asked about a matter it was as if he were standing between Paradise and the Hell-Fire.

Indeed, a Mufti is right to exercise full caution when giving Fatwa because people who will follow their guidance will hold them accountable before Allah for all the fatwas they gave to them. Muftis will be questioned by Allah, the Almighty, about all the verdicts that they have issued during their life. Such a status carries, therefore, great risks and its path is tricky. Abu Hanifa, may his soul rest in peace, said, "were it not for fear from Allah that my knowledge be wasted, I would not have given a Fatwa to any one lest he would be happy and I will bear the burden of the sin."

O Servants of Allah,

A Mufti is responsible for upholding the sacred trust of the religious rulings and shall be accountable for that before Allah on the Day of Judgment. One of the Muslim scholars said in this regard, "the scholar enters between Allah and His creation, so let him look and see how he enters between them." Therefore, a Mufti holds such an elite status and assumes a great responsibility that only specialised scholars can fulfil. This is because scholars are the ones who can derive legal conclusions based on their relevant religious evidences.

A Mufti must meet specific criteria in order to maintain the lofty status of Fatwa and ensure its governance. For a scholar to be qualified enough, he must be judicious, just, careful, wise and insightful. He must build his reasoning on evidences of the circumstances and habits and should have sound knowledge about the culture of each community he is giving Fatwa in. This way they would never confuse that which is lawful with what is unlawful, nor would they see what is right as wrong, and vice versa. Moreover, a Mufti must have strong grasp of Fiqh, its origins, branches and schools. He must base his Ijtihad on comprehensive evidences and be fully equipped with the knowledge needed for interpreting the Ayas based on which the rulings could be derived as well as understand their implications.

Another requirement for a scholar to be authorised to give Fatwa is that other scholars must testify his competence to do so. Imam Malik, may Allah rest his soul in peace, said, "I did not sit to give Fatwa, before seventy of the Madinah scholars first witnessed to my competence in doing so." Imam Al Shafei, may Allah have mercy on him, also said in this regard, "it is not allowed for anyone to give a Shariah explanation (fatwa), except one who knows the Holy Quran completely including what verses are abrogated and by which verses they were abrogated, and which verses resemble each other in the Quran and whether a chapter was revealed in Makkah or Madina. He must know the entire corpus of the Hadith of the Prophet... He must know the Arabic language... Additionally, if a person has all such attributes combined in him, he must also be just. Then and only then he may speak on what is permitted (halal) and what is forbidden (haram). Otherwise, he can speak about and of knowledge, but he has no right to issue a fatwa."

Dear Muslims,

It is also important to know that one of the negative aspects of giving Fatwa is the presence of a group of unqualified people who delve into this matter with no suitable knowledge. As a result, they invent falsehood about Allah. Indeed, lost are those people and they shall be doomed to failure. The Exalted is He says, "and do not say about what your tongues assert of untruth, "This is lawful and this is unlawful," to invent falsehood about Allah. Indeed, those who invent falsehood about Allah will not succeed." (Al Nahl: 116).

Undoubtedly, those who venture to give Fatwa without proper basis is the same of those who venture to enter into the fire. This is because he who gives Fatwa without being armed with a sound knowledge and certainty will be definitely unfair and shall commit an act of transgression. This was stressed by Allah, the Almighty, in this Aya: "and indeed do many lead [others] astray through their [own] inclinations without knowledge. Indeed, your Lord - He is most knowing of the transgressors." (Al Anaam: 119).

Issuing religious edicts by such unguided and ignorant groups would surely lead to bloodsheds, assaults and corruption. They would claim apostasy against people with no accurate reference to the Quran and Sunna and without seeking the opinion of the people of knowledge amongst them.

Moreover, those who deviate from the right path without knowledge and those who misguide them are both equally sinful. They were described by Allah, the Most High, here, "that they may bear their own burdens in full on the Day of Resurrection and some of the burdens of those whom they misguide without knowledge. Unquestionably, evil is that which they bear." (Al Nahl: 25). This means that they bear the sins of those whom they misguide without their sins being diminished. The Prophet pbuh also said in this regard, "and he who called (people) to error, he shall have to carry (the burden) of its sin, like those who committed it, without their sins being diminished in any respect."

With this in mind, we implore to Allah to give us Fiqh in our religious matters, grant us useful knowledge and guide us to do good deeds.

O Allah, may You guide us all to obey You and obey Your truthful and honest 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,

O worshipers,

Please be aware that the first thing we should advise each other about is obeying Allah, the Most Gracious, and preserve the sublime status of Fatwa. Thus, we should value Fatwa as much as it is worth and entrust the mission of Fatwa issuance to the people of knowledge and Fiqh amongst us. Those are the people of the message whom Allah ordered us to follow and seek their opinion regarding our matters. He says, "so ask the people of the message if you do not know." (Al Nahl: 48).

An equally important point to mention is that for every individual's question an answer that suits their specific conditions. This is normally referred to as taking into account the circumstances of the questioner, which is something that only a specialised Mufti can do. A competent Mufti will talk to Fatwa seekers in order to understand the situation they are in and, thus, give them the appropriate rulings. From this perspective, the UAE's wise leadership works on controlling Fatwa issuance and enhancing the Fatwa reference in the country. To this end, specialised Fatwa entities were established to answer people's religious queries through an elite staff who possesses sound knowledge in religious sciences and Fiqh. Communication channels and smart services were made available as well in order to facilitate the delivery of accurate and precise Fatwas to people.

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.

O Lord, we pray to you to make us amongst those who exalt Your religion and adorn themselves with piety and righteousness, 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).