All praise is due to Allah. He
compensates for who spend and He is the best of Providers. 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. To Him belongs the dominion of the heavens and the earth and whatever
is within them. And He is over all things competent.
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,
decreed upon you is fasting as it was decreed upon those before you that you
may become righteous." (Al Baqara: 183). He has also said,
"So
give good tidings to My servants who listen to speech and follow the best of it."
(Azzumar: 17-18).
O those who fast,
There has come to us a blessed month; in
it a night which is better than a thousand months. Allah has made it compulsory
upon us to fast by day and voluntary to pray by night. It is a month of
patience, and the reward of patience is Heaven. It is the month of charity,
which underlies mercy. In it the gates of Heavens are opened and the gates of
Hell are closed in a grace from Allah. Whoever gives food to a fasting person
to break his fast shall have his sins forgiven and he will be saved from the
Hellfire. He shall also have the same reward as the fasting person without his
reward being diminished at all.
So be sincere in your worships to win
reward and forgiveness, and rush to do good deeds should you wish to
obtain the highest status. In A Qudsi Hadith, Allah the Sublime
says, "every act of the son of Adam is for him except fasting. It is
done for My sake, and I will give a reward for it."Indeed Allah the
Almighty has chosen you to reach this month out of His Mercy, so seize this
opportunity by engaging in acts of worship and goodness. In this Endeavour, you
are urged to follow the example of your Prophet Muhammad pbuh, who used to
exert him in devotion during this month more than at any other time.
Please be aware that one of the
most important deeds to benefit the individual in his next life is spending in
charity. Allah the Exalted says, "Believe in Allah and His Messenger and
spend out of that in which He has made you successors. For those who have
believed among you and spent, there will be a great reward." (Al
Hadid: 7).
O
those who fast, spending
is what a Muslim gives out in addition to the compulsory alms out of faith that
Allah will recompense him. That is why it is called charity or giving. Allah
says,
"Indeed, the men who practice charity and the women who practice charity
and [they who] have loaned Allah a goodly loan - it will be multiplied for
them, and they will have a noble reward." (Al
Hadid: 18).
Offering charity
is an evidence of the sincerity of a Muslim and a characteristic of the pious.
And there is no fulfilling work for a Muslim than spending in obedience of
Allah, the value of which is only realized late by those who give less.
On this account, Allah the Almighty
says, "and
spend [in the way of Allah] from what We have provided you before death
approaches one of you and he says, "My Lord, if only You would delay me
for a brief term so I would give charity and be among the righteous. But never
will Allah delay a soul when its time has come. And Allah is acquainted with
what you do."
Dear Servants of Allah,
A form of spending that benefits a
Muslim during his lifetime and after his death is placing a Waqf
(endowment) for the sake of Allah. About it, our Prophet Muhammad pbuh said,
"When a
man dies all his good deeds come to an end except three: Ongoing charity
(Sadaqa Jariyah), beneficial knowledge and a righteous son who prays for him."
Indeed many dead persons will have their
ranks raised in return for the endowments they offered during their life in
obedience of Allah. Moreover, they will continue benefitting from the
endowments their progeny will place for them.
The Prophet's Companions, May Allah be
pleased with them, invested in this form of charity. They were seen competing
each other to place their wealth for the sake of Allah, with great hope to win
Paradise.
Some had placed as endowments things
they wished to receive as recompense in the Hereafter. It has been narrated
that a man brought a muzzled she-camel and said, "it is (offered) in the way
of Allah." The Messenger of Allah pbuh said, "For this you will have
seven hundred she-camels on the Day of Judgment all of which will be
muzzled."
There are others who offered an
endowment on behalf of others. The mother of Saad bin Ubada died in his absence.
He said, "O Messenger of Allah, my mother died in my absence; will it be
of any benefit for her if I give Sadaqa on her behalf?" The Prophet pbuh
said, "Yes." Saad said, "I make you a witness that I gave my
garden called Al Makhraf in charity on her behalf."
Their love for Allah was bigger than for
money and other worldly possessions. When the Aya revealed: "never will you attain the
good [reward] until you spend [in the way of Allah] from that which you love."
(Al Imran: 92), Abu Talha got up in front of Allah's Messenger pbuh and said,
"O Messenger of Allah, Allah says in His Book, never will you attain the
good [reward] until you spend [in the way of Allah] from that which you love,'
and verily, the most beloved to me of my property is Beeruha (garden), so I
give it in charity and hope for its reward from Allah. O Apostle of Allah spends
it wherever you like."
Allah's Messenger pbuh appreciated that
and said, "That is perishable wealth that is perishable wealth. I have
heard what you have said; I suggest you to distribute it among your
relatives." Abu Talha said, "I will do so, O Messenger of
Allah." So, Abu Talha distributed it among his relatives and cousins.
All of the Prophet's Companions who were
wealthy had given some endowments as mentioned by Jaber Ibn Abdullah, may
Allah be satisfied with him. He said, "any of the Prophet pbuh's
Companions, who were wealthy enough, had given endowments."
Following in their footprints,
philanthropists in the UAE have taken similar initiatives in obedience of Allah
and for the sake of serving individuals. The foremost of those was the late
Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, may Allah rest his soul in peace. He placed
many endowments and devoted them for charity, seeking Allah's satisfaction.
Not only has his philanthropy work
benefitted humans, but also fauna and flora. May Allah confer His Mercy on him
and reward him for all what he spent and endowments he offered.
Dear
Servants of Allah, you are urged to strive in giving and remember
that the upper hand is better than the lower one (i.e., the spending hand is
better than the receiving hand). This is a call for you to work for the
Hereafter thanks to your endowments and spending. And always remember that this
life is transient while the next is eternal.
With this in mind we seek Allah's favor
to increase His reward to those who spend in charity and endowments, accept
their good deeds and bless them. 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 injunctions: "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 Honored 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 are 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 be aware that some of the outcomes of
endowments is achieving solidarity amongst members of the community,
strengthening their bonds of harmony, love and cooperation, in addition to
solving many human issues amongst themselves.
Indeed, many orphans have been raised and grown up thanks
to endowment money. Many patients, widows, students have also been assisted by
endowments, depending on their needs.
There are many fields of spending in
Waqf, such as sponsoring mosques, their personnel, Fatwa issuance, printing the
holy Quran, Quranic centre’s, printing books and research, as well as assisting
the poor, people with special needs and the elderly, to name but a few. On this
matter Allah the Exalted says, "O you who have believed, bow and prostrate and
worship your Lord and do good - that you may succeed." (Al
Haj: 77).
Dear Muslims,
Allah has blessed us with official
institutions devoted to endowment affairs and the management of its assets in
order to ensure that they are spent in the way that pleases Allah and according
to the donors' requirements. This is done through religious committees. You are
therefore called on to cooperate with them for they can help you through this
process, and ultimately achieve Allah's satisfaction.
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." 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 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 favor to us and all Muslims
to Your Paradise. O Allah guides us to perform good work and give up
misdeeds.
O Allah, makes Iman (faith) beloved to
us and beautifies 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 let us see the Truth as Truth and grant
that we follow it. And let us see Falsehood as Falsehood and grant that we
avoid 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 favor 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 unforgiving, 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, forgives all of the Muslims,
men and women, living and dead, and makes 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.
We pray to Allah, the Most Gracious, to
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 establishes prayer. Indeed,
prayer prohibits immorality and wrongdoing, and the remembrance of Allah is
greater. And Allah knows that which you do." (Al Ankaboot: 45).
