All praise is due to Allah, and prayer and peace of Allah be upon the master of all the Messengers.
Concerning Al-Fajr, it is well known that it is the morning. This was said by `Ali, Ibn `Abbas, `Ikrimah, Mujahid and As-Suddi. It has been reported from Masruq and Muhammad bin Ka`b that Al-Fajr refers to the day of Sacrifice (An-Nahr) in particular, and it is the last of the ten nights. `The ten nights' refers to the (first) ten days of Dhul-Hijjah. This was said by Ibn `Abbas, Ibn Zubayr, Mujahid and others among the Salaf and the latter generations. It has been confirmed in Sahih Al-Bukhari from Ibn `Abbas that the Prophet said,
(There are no days in which righteous deeds are more beloved to Allah than these days.) meaning the ten days of Dhul-Hijjah. They said, "Not even fighting Jihad in the way of Allah'' He replied,
(Not even Jihad in the way of Allah; except for a man who goes out (for Jihad) with his self and his wealth, and he does not return with any of that.)
Concerning Allah's statement,
(And by the night when it departs.) Al-`Awfi reported from Ibn `Abbas that he said, "When it goes away.'' `Abdullah bin Zubayr said,
(And by the night when it departs.) "As some parts of it remove other parts of it.'' Mujahid, Abu Al-`Aliyah, Qatadah, and Malik who reported it from Zayd bin Aslam and Ibn Zayd, they all said;
(And by the night when it departs.) "When it moves along.'' Concerning Allah's statement,
(There is indeed in them sufficient proofs for men with Hijr!) meaning, for he who possesses intellect, sound reasoning, understanding and religious discernment. The intellect has only been called Hijr because it prevents the person from doing that which is not befitting of him of actions and statement. From this we see the meaning of Hijr Al-Bayt because it prevents the person performing Tawaf from clinging the wall facing Ash-Sham. Also the term Hijr Al-Yamamah (the cage of the pigeon) is derived from this meaning (i.e., prevention). It is said, "Hajara Al-Hakim so-and-so (The judge passed a judgement preventing so-and-so),'' when his judgement prevents the person from his liberty (i.e., of freely utilizing his wealth). Allah says,
(And they will say: "Hijr Mahjur.'') (25:22) All of these examples are different cases but their meanings are quite similar. The oath that is referred to here is about the times of worship and the acts of worship themselves, such as Hajj, Salah and other acts of worship that Allah's pious, obedient, servants who fear Him and are humble before Him, seeking His Noble Face, perform in order to draw nearer to Him.
If you should love Allah , then follow me,
Say, [O Muhammad], -If you should love Allah , then follow me, [so] Allah will love you and forgive you your sins. And Allah is Forgiving and Merciful.-
This is why we should love the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ
“None of you will have faith till he loves me more than his father, his children and all mankind.” Sahih Al BukhariIn a world where Muslims find themselves struggling to perform good deeds to the extent of the companions and the righteous predecessors, it is reassuring to know that by simply loving the Messenger of Allah, we can be guaranteed his closeness on the day of resurrection. Anas also narrates that:
A man once asked the Prophet ﷺ about the Hour (i.e. Day of Judgment) saying, “When will the Hour be?” The Prophet ﷺ replied, “What have you prepared for it?” The man said, “Nothing, except that I love Allah and His Apostle.” The Prophet ﷺ said, “You will be with those whom you love.” We had never been so glad as we were on hearing that saying of the Prophet (i.e., “You will be with those whom you love.”) Therefore, I love the Prophet, Abu Bakr and `Umar, and I hope that I will be with them because of my love for them though my deeds are not similar to theirs. Sahih Al BukhariOne of the strongest indications of one’s love for the Messenger of Allah is found in one’s obedience to the Messenger. As Imam Shafii would say:
By following in the footsteps of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ you will not only be proving your love for the Messenger but you will also attain the love of Allah, as mentioned in the Quran.لَوْ كانَ حُبُّكَ صَادِقاً لأَطَعْتَهُ, إنَّ الْمُحِبَّ لِمَنْ يُحِبُّ مُطِيعُ
If your love is sincere, you would have obeyed Him.
For verily the lover for the one he loves, obeys him.
Say, [O Muhammad], “If you should love Allah, then follow me, [so] Allah will love you and forgive you your sins. And Allah is Forgiving and Merciful.” Quran 3:31May Allah make us sincere in our love for the Prophet ﷺ and make us of those who follow his footsteps
First Sermon
All praise is due to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds. He honoured us by sending from amongst us the Master of the Messengers and placed his love deep in the hearts of the believers. I bear witness that there is no deity save Allah, having no associates. I also bear witness that our Master and Prophet Muhammad is the Servant of Allah and His Messenger. He pbuh loved from the deeds the best, from the manners the most honourable and from the matters the noblest. May the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, his family and companions, and all those who follow them in righteousness till the Day of Judgment.
As to what follows,
I urge you and myself, O Servants of Allah, 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-Hadeed: 28).
Dear Muslims,
The Prophet pbuh has set the best role model for all mankind in all his virtues and characteristics. In following his example, lies the secret of Allah’s love, mercy and forgiveness for us. Allah the Most Exalted says, “say, [O Muhammad], ‘If you should love Allah, then follow me, [so] Allah will love you and forgive you your sins. And Allah is Forgiving and Merciful.” (Al Imran: 31). By following the Sunna of the Prophet Muhammad pbuh, one also demonstrates their love to him, which in turn reflects one’s true faith. The Messenger of Allah pbuh said, “None of you will have faith till he loves me more than his father, his children and the whole of mankind.”
More to the point, to best show our love to the Prophet pbuh, we should love all that which he pbuh loved, be it deeds, speech or manners that are beneficial to others and are conducive to please Allah the Almighty and draw us nearer to Him,. So, one should light their hearts with the beacon of the Prophet’s guidance and follow his pattern and traditions. Allah, the Exalted is He, has ordered Muslims to take the example of the Prophet pbuh for He says, “there has certainly been for you in the Messenger of Allah an excellent pattern for anyone whose hope is in Allah and the Last Day and [who] remembers Allah often.” (Al-Ahzab: 21).
O Servants of Allah,
It is good then to advise each other on the deeds that our Master Muhammad pbuh loved most. To start with, prayer was one of the most beloved acts of worship to the Messenger of Allah pbuh. It was so dear to his heart so he pbuh said, “And my comfort has been provided in prayer.” Amongst the aspects of his love of prayer is that he pbuh used not to only show diligence in observing the obligatory ones, but also in performing the Nawafil (additional voluntary prayers) regularly. It was narrated in this regard that Aisha, may Allah be pleased with her, said, “The prayer most beloved to the Messenger of Allah pbuh was that which he did regularly.”
In this sense, amongst the Rawatib prayers (Sunna prayers associated with obligatory prayers) that the Prophet pbuh performed regularly was the two Fajr Rukaa’s, with which he pbuh used to start his day and draw closer to his Lord. About them, the Prophet pbuh said, “Indeed, they are dearer to me that the whole world.” Other Nawafil prayers that were also so dear to the Prophet pbuh that he performed them regularly were the four Rakaa’s before the Dhuhr (noon) prayer. On this account, it was narrated that Abdullah Ibn Al Saeb, may Allah be pleased with him, reported that the Messenger of Allah pbuh always performed four Rakaa’s before Dhuhr prayer and would say, “It is an hour in which the gates of the heavens are opened, and I love that a righteous deed should be raised up for me in it.
On another level, fasting, an act of worship that extends throughout the whole day, is another act of obedience that the Prophet was dedicated to performing. Thus, he fasted every Monday and Thursday regularly because during these two days deeds are raised and presented to Allah the Almighty. The Prophet pbuh said, “and I like that my deeds are presented (to Allah) when I am fasting.”
O You Who Love the Prophet pbuh,
Please know that the Messenger of Allah pbuh also loved to recite the holy Quran much and contemplate on its verses. There are Suras to which he pbuh attributed special status and liked to recite more than others. One such Sura is Surat Al Fat’h, about which he pbuh said, “Tonight a Sura has been revealed to me, and it is dearer to me than that on which the sun rises (i.e. the world)” Then he recited: “indeed, We have given you, [O Muhammad], a clear conquest.” (Al-Fat’h: 1). The reason for such special status is that this Sura has brought glad tidings for him of forgiveness and for the believers of attaining great attainments, pleasure and Paradise.
Furthermore, another act of obedience that was dear to the Messenger of Allah pbuh is listening to the holy Quran recitation. An illustration of this can be seen in the following story when the Prophet pbuh said to Abdullah Ibn Masood, may Allah be pleased with him, “Recite (the Quran) to me.” Abdullah said, “Shall I recite (the Quran) to you while it has been revealed to you?” He pbuh said, “I like to hear it from others.” Ibn Masood said, “So I recited Surat-An-Nisaa (The Women), but when I recited the Verse: ‘so how [will it be] when We bring from every nation a witness and we bring you, [O Muhammad] against these [people] as a witness?’ He pbuh said, ‘Enough for the present,’ I looked at him and behold! His eyes were overflowing with tears.”
Indeed, listening to the recitation of the holy Quran is a great act of worship that is conducive to help the believer reflect on its Ayas and understand their meanings. It is also a cause of receiving the mercy of Allah, the Most Merciful, for He says, “so when the Quran is recited, then listen to it and pay attention that you may receive mercy.” (Al-Aaraf: 204). On the same matter, Al-Laith Ibn Saad said, “Mercy does not come quicker to anyone than to the one who listens to the Quran.”
Truly, Quran recitation is the greatest form of Dhikr (remembrance of Allah) and the Prophet pbuh liked to remember Allah the Almighty in all his conditions and at all his times, with a special status to the Dhikr he used to recite after the Fajr and Asr prayers. From the Dhikr that he pbuh liked most is this one: “All the praises are for Allah. All the glories are for Allah. And none has the right to be worshipped but Allah, And Allah is Greatest.” About it, he pbuh said “It is dearer to me than that on which the sun rises (i.e. the world).”
O Followers on Footprints of the Prophet pbuh,
Please also know that the Messenger of Allah pbuh also loved good manners and the well-mannered people. He pbuh said, “The most beloved to me amongst you is the one who has the best character and manners.” In this context, amongst the dearest qualities to the Prophet pbuh was attending to the people’s needs. To this, he pbuh said, “To take a step towards fulfilling the need of a brother (Muslim) is dearer to me than performing Itikaf (staying in a mosque) in this mosque (i.e. Medina mosque) for one month.”
Another quality that was dear to the Prophet pbuh is truthfulness, for it contributes to strengthening trust amongst people. For this reason, the Prophet pbuh did like of the speech that which is truest. He pbuh accentuated this as he said, “the most beloved statement to me is the true one.” Furthermore, he pbuh liked the quality of forbearance and deliberateness, in the sense of resorting to reason and investigating the truth in order to avoid committing mistakes. As such, he pbuh once said to one of his companions, “You have two characteristics that Allah and His Messenger like: Forbearance and deliberateness.”
The Messenger of Allah pbuh did love the moral character, yet he also liked to take care of his good appearance, nice smell, and to adorn himself.
Bearing this in mind, let us implore to Allah the Almighty to make us amongst those who love the Prophet pbuh and follow his guidance.
May Allah guide us all to obey Him and obey His Messenger Muhammad pbuh and obey those He have commanded us to obey in line with His 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. He is an ally to the righteous. 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 ou r Master Muhammad, his pure family, companions, and all those who follow them in righteousness till the Day of Judgment.
I urge you, O Servants of Allah, and myself to be aware that you are asked to obey Him, the Most High and Exalted.
O Worshipers,
Please be aware that pardoning and tolerance were part of the character of the Messenger of Allah pbuh and he always had a tendency to leave the door open for them. A good example on this is the one when Jibril (Gabriel) came to him asking him to choose between either punishing the disbelievers who caused him harm or keeping the door of repentance and mercy open for them. He pbuh said, “Rather, the door of repentance and mercy.” So, he pardoned them and then he invoked Allah the Almighty for them.
Moreover, the Messenger of Allah pbuh used to praise any kind of alliance established in the way of supporting the rights of the oppressed and returning the rights to their legitimate owners. A good example on this matter is the coalition that was called by the Quraish tribes, and was named “Hilf Al Fudoul” (League of the Virtuous). Hailing such alliance, the Prophet pbuh said, “I witnessed a confederacy in the house of Abdullah bin Jadaan. It was more appealing to me than herds of cattle. Even now in the period of Islam I would respond positively to attending such a meeting if I were invited.”
Indeed, “Hilf Al Fudoul” was one of the best and most noble coalitions that were ever formed amongst the Arabs. Under the league the tribes committed to help the oppressed and cooperate in good and righteousness so as for the communities to live in peace and harmony. Such noble values are the ones that Islam has called for and are beloved to Allah the Almighty and His Messenger pbuh who said, “The religion most beloved to Allah is the tolerant Hanifiya (Islam).”
Let us, then, renew our love to our Master Muhammad pbuh by loving that which he loved and striving to adhere to his Sunna. This way, we may attain his love and, thus, his company in Paradise. He pbuh said, “Everyone will be with those whom he loves.”
That is said, please bear in mind that you are instructed to invoke peace and blessings on the Prophet pbuh. Allah, the Most Sublime, 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 of the companions.
May Allah be pleased with the Rightly Guided Caliphs: Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman and Ali, and all of the noble Companions.
O Allah, no one can withholds the abundance that You have granted. None can bring closer that which You have taken away and no one can set apart that which you have brought closer. O Allah, none can grant that which You have withheld, nor can anyone withhold that which You have granted. So, we seek Your favour to grant us abundance from Your blessings, mercy, bounties and provision. O Allah, may we ask You for gardens wherein is enduring pleasure.
Our Lord, we implore to You to make faith dear to us and beautify it in our hearts. O Allah, please increase us in faith, assurance, support and success, love and consolidation.
O Allah, we pray to You to forgive our parents and bless our offspring. O Allah, please continue blessing us with happiness with our families and in our homeland, and make us amongst those who are dutiful for their parents and kind to their kith and kin.
May Allah grant success to the UAE President HH Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan and guide him to all that is good. O Allah, we also seek Your favour to grant him continued health and care. 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. We pray to Allah to show mercy on late Sheikh Zayed, Sheikh Maktoum and the late UAE Sheikhs. O Lord, grant them abundant mercy and bless them with Your kindness and satisfaction. O Allah, please admit them to Paradise, being given bounties therein without account. O Lord, forgive and show mercy on our parents, relatives and whoever has done a favour to us.
We pray to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds, to continue blessing the UAE with stability and welfare and increase it in bounties, knowledge, civilisation, happiness, beauty and tolerance. O Allah, please continue blessing the UAE with happiness and security.
May Allah have mercy on the honourable martyrs of our nation and gather them with the ones upon whom Allah has bestowed favour of the prophets. May Allah make the dwelling of the martyrs, their families, parents and relatives with the righteous. Indeed, You are ever responding to the supplications.
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.
O Lord, we beseech You to bless all of the Muslim countries and the whole world with stability and peace.
O Allah, we seek Your favour to send us wealthy rain and make us not amongst those who are despondent. O Allah, relieve us! O Allah, relieve us! O Allah, relieve us with a wealthy, healthy and sufficient rain! O Allah, give us from the blessings of the sky and grow for us from the blessings of the earth.
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 Allah, admit us to Your Paradise with the righteous. Indeed, You are Exalted in Might and Forgiving.
O Servants of Allah: Remember Allah and He will remember you. Be grateful of His benevolence and He will increase His blessings to you
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