The merits of maintaining acts of righteousness First sermon All praise is due to Allah. I extol Him as is befitting to His glorious sovereignty and status, and I bear witness that there is no deity worthy of worship, except for Allah alone without any partners or peers. He neither begets nor is born, nor is there to Him any equivalent. He enjoins upon us to continue observing prayers and other acts of worships diligently. I also bear witness that Muhammad is His trustworthy Servant and Messenger. He prayed to his Lord thankfully until came to him certainty (death). 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,O you who have believed, fear Allah. And let every soul look to what it has put forth for tomorrow - and fear Allah. Indeed, Allah is Acquainted with what you do. (Al Hashr: 18). Dear Muslims, The fortunate amongst us are those who seek their Lord and turn to Him. So the best way to communicate with Allah requires of us performing such dearest acts to Him like continuous devotion and obedience to Him and doing all good deeds. In so doing, we are following the right path leading us closer to Paradise and ensuring for us peace in life and after death. The Exalted is He says in this regard, 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. We were your allies in the worldly life and in the Hereafter. And you will have therein whatever your souls desire, and you will have therein whatever you request. (Fussilat: 30-31). Maintaining acts of righteousness is a virtue that our Prophet pbuh used to advise people to commit themselves to. It is narrated on the authority of Sufyan ibn Abdulla al Thaqafi that he said, I asked the Messenger of Allah pbuh to tell me about Islam a thing which might dispense with the necessity of my asking anybody after you. He pbuh remarked: say I affirm my faith in Allah and then remain steadfast to it. In another Hadith, Saiyda Aisha, may Allah be pleased with her, reported Allahs Messenger pbuh as saying, the acts most pleasing to Allah are those which are done continuously, even if they are small. Dear Servants of Allah, Please be aware that one of the signs of accepting a good deed is doing further good deeds afterwards. This is evidenced in the following verse: and Allah increases those who were guided, in guidance. (Maryam: 76). This means guidance leads to guidance as good leads to good. Therefore please remain keen in engaging in acts of obedience and seek Allahs reward. Also increase your good deeds for this brings glow to your face, gives strength to your body, blesses your provision and makes people love you. And above all, your enduring good deeds have a far-reaching impact that benefits the whole society. Dear Muslims, Indeed, good work is the believers reliable provision and roadway to Paradise. Allah the Almighty prefers continuous good deeds and reward them more than He does for the discontinuous ones. Our Prophet pbuh would persevere in his work as reported by Saiyda Aisha, may Allah be pleased with her. She said that when he pbuh decided upon any act, he continued to do it. So anyone who would like to increase his good deeds and make them enduring should trust in Allah and pray to Him for success. In the Quran Shuaib pbuh was quoted as saying, and my success is not but through Allah. Upon Him I have relied, and to Him I return. (Hud: 88). The supplication our Master Muhammad pbuh used to say frequently was: “O Changer of the hearts, make my heart firm upon Your religion. And whoever amongst you has done some work; you should pray to Allah for acceptance. This is because one cannot depend solely on what he did, but rather on seeking his Lords mercy. The Prophet pbuh said, none of you will be saved by his actions? Not even you, Messenger of Allah? they asked. Not even me, he replied, unless Allah covers me with mercy from Him. But act correctly and wisely and worship in the morning and evening and during part of the night. Keep to a middle path and you will arrive. Dear Servants of Allah, Keep on good work by, for example, fasting some days as recommended by our Prophet pbuh. On this matter, he used to tell his Companions to fast three days each month. Abu Huraira, may Allah be pleased with him, reported that my friend (the Prophet pbuh) has instructed me to do three things: three fasts during every month, two rakahs of the forenoon prayer, and observing Witr prayer before going to bed. So stand up for night prayer even if it is small and know that it is an honour for the believer. In this regard, it was narrated that the Prophet pbuh said, “Angel Jibreel came to me and said, ‘O Mohammed,...learn that the honour of the believer is to pray at night, and his dignity is to avoid asking people’.” Put forth alms for yourselves so that you get protection on the Last Day. Our Prophet pbuh said, everyone is under the auspices of alms (on the Day of Judgment) to be decided among men or he said, defined punishment among men. You are also required to keep your tongue moist with Dhikr and recitation of Quran so that you live happily in this life and win the next. Our Guide Muhammad pbuh said, cling to reciting the Quran and the remembrance of Allah, for indeed it is light for you in the life of this world and it is preserved for you in the heavens. Knowing this, do good work for yourselves and be generous to others so you can earn reward. Allah the Almighty says, and do good - that you may succeed. (Al Hajj: 77). Having this in mind, may Allah helps us always to continue obeying You, win Your satisfaction and follow the guidance of Your Messenger Muhammad pbuh. May Allah also help us to obey those You have decreed on us to obey in compliance with Your instructions: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 the Sunna of His Messenger pbuh and benefit us all in whatever is in them. 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, obey Allah as it ought to be and know that prayer in congregation is one of the acts of righteousness a Muslim should observe. They are described as the ways of guidance. On the narration of Abdullah ibn Masud that the Prophet pbuh said, whoever would like to meet Allah tomorrow (i.e. on the Day of Judgment) as a Muslim, let him preserve these five (daily) prayers when the call for them is given, for they are part of the ways of guidance, and Allah prescribed the ways of guidance to your Prophet... There is no man who purifies himself and does it well, and comes to the mosque and prays there, but for every step that he takes, Allah raises him in status one degree thereby, and takes away one of his sins. 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. 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. 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, 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 success and continued good health to our leader HH Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan. May Allah also ensure success to his Deputy, HH Sheikh Mohammad bin Rashid Al Maktoum, 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 to our parents, relatives and whoever has done a favour to us. 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 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 Note: The English translation of the Quran and Hadith is an interpretation of their meanings, and does not have the status of their original Arabic texts. -- أَشْهَدُ أن لا إلٰهَ إلَّا الله وَحْدَة لَا شَرِيْكَ له وَأشْهَدُ أنَّ مُحَمَّدً أعَبْدُه وَرَسُوْلُه {I bear witness that (there is) no god except Allah; One is He, no partner hath He, and I bear witness that Muhammad (Sall-Allahu Alayhi wa Sallam) is His Servant and Messenger}
Posted on: Sun, 10 Aug 2014 11:27:09 +0000
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