Maintaining good work
First sermon
All praise is due to Allah, the Bestower. We extol Him for the blessing of Islam and the strength to fast and pray. I bear witness that there is no deity worthy of worship, except for Allah alone without any partners or peers. I also witness that Muhammad is His Servant and Messenger, of the beautiful character. May the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, his family, his companions, and all those who will follow them in righteousness till the Day of Judgment.
O Servants of Allah, I urge you and myself to be mindful of Allah the Almighty and obey Him, in light of what He says, “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,
We are still on Eid days, being times for celebration to express happiness and gratitude to Allah as He has blessed Muslims to obey and pray to Him. They are also times for Muslims to praise Him and continue engaging in acts of obedience until death, hence be rewarded with Heaven. Allah the Almighty says, “Indeed, those who have said, ‘Our Lord is Allah’ and then remained on a right course- the angels will descend upon them, [saying], ‘Do not fear and do not grieve but receive good tidings of Paradise, which you were promised’.” (Fussilat: 30).
He has also has praised those who keep on prayers when He says, “except the observers of prayer- Those who are constant in their prayer.” (Al Maarij: 22-23). On the same account, His Prophet pbuh said that Allah highly regards the act of maintaining good works and for Him “the most beloved deed… is the most regular and constant even though it were little.”
Our Prophet pbuh was keen to maintain good deeds as reported by Sayida Aisha, may Allah be pleased with her. She said,“when the Apostle of Allah pbuh observed prayer, he liked to keep on observing it, and when sleep or pain overpowered him and made it impossible (for him) to observe prayer in the night, he prayed twelve Rakaas during the day.”
If the Prophet pbuh's Companions heard or learned good sayings and deeds, they would follow suit and observe them. Our Master Muhammad pbuh taught his family how to invoke Allah through expressions of Takbir, Tasbih and Tahmid as Ali, may Allah be pleased with him, said, “I did not leave them (Tasbih) since I heard them from the Messenger of Allah pbuh.”
This was also the case with mothers of the believers and other women believers. They incessantly observe good works. Umm Habiba, may Allah be pleased with her, narrated that the Apostle of Allah said, “Whoever prays four before Adhuhr and four after, Allah makes him prohibited for the Fire.” Thereupon she said, “I did not leave them since I heard them from the Messenger of Allah.”
Bilal Ibn Rabbah, may Allah be pleased with him, used to pray two Rakaas each time after ablution and that granted him Paradise.
Abu Huraira reportedthat Allah's Messenger pbuh said to Bilal, “Bilal, narrate to me which act at the time of morning prayer you did in Islam for which you hope to receive good reward, for I heard during the night the sound of your steps before me in Paradise.”
Bilal said, “I did not do any act in Islam for which I hope to get any benefit but this that when I perform complete ablution during the night or day I observe prayer with that purification what Allah has ordained for me to pray.”
Dear Servants of Allah,
It is by the grace of Him that His servants can maintain the faith gains achieved during Ramadan by fulfilling obligations and other voluntary acts of worships with the goal of getting closer to Him.
In a Qudsi Hadith Allah the Sublime says, “and My servant does not draw near to Me with anything more loved to Me than the religious duties I have obligated upon him. And My servant continues to draw near to me with nafil (supererogatory) deeds until I love him. When I love him, I am his hearing with which he hears, and his sight with which he sees, and his hand with which he strikes, and his foot with which he walks. Were he to ask [something] of Me, I would surely give it to him; and were he to seek refuge with Me, I would surely grant him refuge.”
Among the voluntary worships we used to perform during Ramadan is Qiyam (late night prayers). They are a Sunna Muakkada (a confirmed Sunna) to observe a year long. Abu Umama al Bahili narratedthat the Messenger of Allah said,“hold fast to Qiyam, for it is the practice of the righteous before you, and indeed Qiyam is a means of nearness to Allah, a prevention from sin, an expiation for bad deeds, and a barrier for the body against sins.”
Another prominent gain in Ramadan is reading the holy Quran. So congratulations to those who have made it their lifelong companion and aid to ascend higher stations in Paradise. Abdullah Ibn Amr reported that the Prophet pbuh said, “it shall be said,(meaning to the one who memorised the Quran) ‘Recite, and rise up, recite (melodiously) as you would recite in the world. For indeed your rank shall be at the last Aya you recited’.”
O Servants of Allah,
Strive in acts of worships and do good that you may succeed. May Allah let us be among His virtuous servants and help us to obey Him and those He has ordained upon us to obey in compliance with His orders: “O you who believe! Obey Allah, and obey the Messenger, and those charged with authority among you.”(Annisaa: 59).
May Allah direct us all to the blessings of the Glorious Quran and benefit us all in whatever is in it of the Ayas and the Wise Dhikr. I say this and ask Allah the Great, the Most Honoured for forgiveness for me, you and all the Muslims for every sin, so invoke Him for forgiveness, for He is the Most Forgiving, Most Merciful.
Second sermon
Praise be to Allah. I bear witness that there is no deity but Him, having no associates. I also bear witness that our Master Muhammad is His Servant and Messenger, may the peace and the blessings of Allah be upon our Prophet Muhammad, his pure family, his companions and all those who will follow them in righteousness till the Day of Judgment.
O Servants of Allah, please obey Allah as it should be by observing Him in private and in public and know that it is recommended to fast Nafil (voluntary) after Ramadan following the example of the Prophet pbuh. He advised us to fast Mondays, Thursdays and 13th, 14th and 15th of each month. Abu Dharr narrated that the Messenger of Allah said,“O Abu Dharr, when you fast three days out of a month, then fast the thirteenth, fourteenth, and fifteenth.”
He pbuh also urged us to fast six days in Shawwal. In this regard, He said, “whoever fasts during the month of Ramadan and then follows it with six days of Shawwal will be (rewarded) as if he had fasted the entire year.”
Dear Servants of Allah,
Bear in mind that you are asked to offer prayer and greetings upon our most noble Prophet pbuh for Allah says, “Indeed, Allah and His angels sends blessing upon the Prophet. O you who have believed, ask [Allah to confer] blessing upon him and ask [Allah to grant him] peace.” (Al Ahzab: 56).
On the same matter, the Prophet pbuh said, “for everyone who invokes a blessing on me will receive ten blessings from Allah.” He also said, “nothing turns back the Decree except supplication.”
May the peace and the blessings of Allah be upon our Master Muhammad pbuh, his family and all his Companions. May Allah be pleased with the Rightly Guided Caliphs: Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman and Ali, and all those who will follow them in righteousness till the Day of Judgment.
We pray to Allah, the Most Gracious, to preserve the UAE from all temptations, both apparent and hidden, and continue blessing the UAE and all Muslim countries with safety and security.
O Allah, 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.
O Allah guide us to perform good work and give up misdeeds. O Allah, make Iman (faith) beloved to us and beautify it in our hearts, and make us hate disbelief, immorality and disobedience. O Allah, I seek from You guidance, virtue, purification of the soul and being self-sufficient.
O Allah, show us the essence of truth and grant us the will to follow it. May Allah also mend our intentions, grant that our spouses and our offspring be a joy to our eyes and make success be an ally to us.
O Allah, we seek Your favour to raise our status, increase our good deeds, remove from us our misdeeds and cause us to die with the righteous. O Allah, we implore You at this instant not to let a sin unforgiven, a distress unrelieved, an illness unhealed or a handicapped without relief, a dead without mercy or a debt unsettled. 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.
May Allah grant our leader HH Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan and his Deputy, HH Sheikh Mohammad bin Rashid Al Maktoum, success and provide strength and assistance to his brothers, Their Highness The Rulers of the Emirates, and his trustworthy Crown Prince HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.
O Allah, forgive all of the Muslims, men and women, living and dead, and make blessings follow us and them. May Allah have mercy on Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Maktoum and all their brothers, the Late UAE Sheikhs. O Lord, forgive and show mercy, You are the Ever Merciful and there is no strength or power save with Allah, the High, the Great.
O servants of Allah, remember Allah and He will remember you. Be grateful for His benevolence He will increase His blessings to you. Allah, the Most High, 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).
Translation
Mostapha El Mouloudi
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