All praise is due to Allah, the One and the Judge. He ordered us to counter the mischief with a better attitude. I bear witness that there is no deity save Allah, having no associates. To Him belongs the dominion of the heavens and the earth and all the praises are due to Him. He is the Omnipotent. 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 family and companions, and all those who follow them in righteousness till the Day of Judgment.

As to what follows,

O servants of Allah, I urge you and myself to be aware that you are asked to obey Him, the All-Just, in line with His orders: "and fear a Day when you will be returned to Allah. Then every soul will be compensated for what it earned, and they will not be treated unjustly." (Al Baqara: 281).

Dear Muslims,

In the following two Ayas, Allah, the Almighty, makes it clear to His servants that goodness and evil are not equal and that evil should be resisted by a superior good. As such, if a person ill-treats us we should forgive him and treat him in kindness. Allah says, "and not equal are the good deed and the bad. Repel [evil] by that [deed] which is better; and thereupon the one whom between you and him is enmity [will become] as though he was a devoted friend. But none is granted it except those who are patient, and none is granted it except one having a great portion [of good]." (Fussilat: 34-35). On the same matter, Umar Ibn al Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him, said, "there is no better punishment for one who has disobeyed Allah with regard to you, than your obeying Allah with regard to him."

Indeed, those who fend off evil with good will find that their enemies become like close friends. This can be achieved by being patient when one feels angry, forbearing when confronted with ignorance, and forgiving when ill-treated. Such behaviours reflect understanding and wisdom and whoever possesses them shall be rewarded with abundant welfare and happiness in this world and in the Hereafter, as evidenced in this Aya: "and prevent evil with good - those will have the good consequence of [this] home." (Ar-Raad: 22).

Glad tidings, therefore, to those who are patient and able to restrain anger, counter mistreatment with kindness and adorn themselves with good words and noble deeds. Verily, those are the true believers who will be rewarded with Paradise as their eternal dwelling, and who are praised by Allah, the Most Sublime, in the following Aya, "and when the ignorant address them [harshly], they say [words of] peace." (Al Furqan: 63). That is: when mistreated by ignorant people, they do not treat them likewise, but rather forgive them and treat them in kindness. In this regard, a poet once said what it meant: if you were tested by him who has no share in the Hereafter, act as if you have never heard him or he had never spoken.

O Worshipers,

The Prophet pubh set an example for the believers in countering the misbehaviour with good conduct, both in words and deeds. In this regard, when Aisha, may Allah be pleased with her, was asked about the Prophet's merits, she said, "Allah's Messenger pbuh neither talked in an insulting manner nor did he ever speak evil intentionally. Nor did he shout in the bazaar. He did not avenge a bad deed with a bad one, but forgave it, and thereafter overlooked it". He pbuh also emphasised that the best of deeds is to be good to those who were evil to you. On this account, it was narrated that Uqba Ibn Nafei, may Allah be pleased with him, said, "when I asked the Prophet pbuh about the best of deeds, he said, 'O Uqba, reconcile with whoever cuts you off, give to whoever deprives you, and turn away from whoever wrongs you." It is, therefore, such a great thing to forgive who mistreats you, excuse people, be amongst those whose goodness is hoped for and people are safe from their evil, as well as those who show mercy to relatives and strangers, maintain connections with those who severed relations with them and forbearing when treated unjustly.

Furthermore, not only the Prophet pbuh was good to people during his life, but he also enjoined them to be good to one another after him. He pbuh said, "so anybody who becomes a ruler of the followers of Muhammad and has the power to harm or benefit people then he should accept the good from the benevolent amongst them (Ansar) and overlook the faults of their wrongdoers." In this Hadith, there is a call for forgiveness and reconciliation in line with Allah's revelation: "and the retribution for an evil act is an evil one like it, but whoever pardons and makes reconciliation, his reward is [due] from Allah." (Ash-Shura: 40). This means, Allah does not allow the reward of the doers of good be lost. Rather, He rewards them abundantly, praises them and expresses His love to and satisfaction with them. The Almighty says, "and who restrain anger and who pardon the people - and Allah loves the doers of good." (Al Imran: 134). That is: those who restrain their anger and forgive others if they ill-treat them, so that their hearts will be free of any hatred or envy.

Definitely, these are the ideal traits because by repelling a bad deed with a good one, hatred will turn into love and enmity into friendship. A good example on this is what once happened with a pious man who was on his way to the mosque when another man insulted him. He went close to him and said, "what is hidden from you from our affairs is greater." Then he asked him, "is there anything that I can help you with?" At that moment, the abusing man felt ashamed. Thereupon, the pious man gave him thousand Dinars and threw his garment on him. The man was then very grateful and left hailing him.

In another instance, a man once insulted one of the same pious man's relatives, so he replied, "if what you said is the truth, then I implore to Allah to forgive me. And if you are telling a lie, may Allah forgive you." Therefore, it is such a great conduct and honourable behaviour that one has to possess when he uses his reason and be considering in his judgment in line with Allah's orders: "repel, by [means of] what is best, [their] evil." (Al Mouminun: 96). By so doing, compassion will prevail amongst people, whether relatives, friends or neighbours. Thus, disputes will be resolved, happiness will spread and hearts get purified from animosity and envy. Indeed, the reward for such purification is no less than Paradise as one's perpetual abode.

In this regard, it was narrated that Anas Ibn Malik, may Allah be pleased with him, said, "we were sitting in the company of the Prophet pbuh when he said, 'soon there will appear before you a person from amongst the dwellers of Paradise.' Soon thereafter, a person from the Ansar (Helpers of Medina) appeared... When the Prophet pbuh got up and left, Abdullah Ibn Amr Ibnu Alass followed the man and stayed with him for three days. Then he said to him, 'I heard the Prophet pbuh say on three occasions about you: 'soon there will appear before you a person from amongst the dwellers of Paradise.' And on each of these three occasions, it was you who appeared. I therefore decided to live with you and see what deeds you do. However, I did not see you doing many good deeds. How, then, have you reached the rank concerning which the Messenger of Allah pbuh said about your being from amongst the dwellers of Paradise?' The man replied, 'I do not do anything more than what you have seen. However, I do not bear any deceit to any Muslim nor do I envy anyone for the good which Allah has given him."

With this in mind, we beseech Allah, the Almighty, to continue blessing us with love and compassion and protect our hearts from the whispers of Satan.

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 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,

O worshipers,

Please be aware that the first thing we should advise each other about is obeying Allah, the Most High, and respond to evil deeds with that which is better. It was narrated that Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with them, said, "repel with forbearance when confronted with ignorance." Indeed, this is such a great and honourable quality that brings about abundant benefits and lots of good impacts. It reflects submission to Allah's instructions and disobedience to Satan who only wants to cause animosity between people as evidenced in this Aya, "and tell My servants to say that which is best. Indeed, Satan induces [dissension] among them. Indeed Satan is ever, to mankind, a clear enemy." (Al Israa: 53).

Please also bear in mind that repelling evil with good is a key element of social coherence. It is conducive to strengthening ties amongst people, allowing them to live in peace and tranquillity. Indeed, those who treat people in good, forgive their mistakes and be humble, Allah will bless them and receive the respect of people, and see their status raised. In this regard, the Prophet pbuh said, "Allah increases the honor of him who forgives, and no one will humble himself for Allah's sake except that Allah raises his status."

Thus, all of us should reconsider always our judgments and take the lead step towards forgiving those who ill-treated us. We should also reconcile conflicts and be the key to spreading goodness amongst people.

That is said, please bear in mind that you are commanded to invoke peace and blessings on the Prophet pbuh. Allah, the Exalted is He says, "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).

O Allah, please confer Your blessings and grant peace upon our Prophet Muhammad pbuh, his family and all his companions.

O Allah, may we ask you to purify our hearts, make true our words and grant us success to be forgiving and doers of 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 Lord, may we ask You to help us with what gets us closer to Paradise and furthers us from Hell. 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).