Belief
in the Last Day
All
praise is due to Allah, Lord of the worlds, the Sovereign of the Day of
Recompense. I exalt Him as is befitting
to His Majesty and Virtues. I bear witness there is no deity worthy of worship
save Him Alone, having no partners. He is the most just of judges and is the
swiftest of accountants.
I
also certify that Muhammad is the Servant of Allah and His Messenger. He was
the best friend and companion, 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.
As
to what follows, I urge you and myself to be ever conscious of Allah and do
construct our lives in accordance to what He has ordered us as He says, “O
mankind, fear your Lord and fear a Day when no father will avail his son, nor
will a son avail his father at all. Indeed, the promise of Allah is truth, so
let not the worldly life delude you and be not deceived about Allah by the
Deceiver.” (Luqman: 33).
Dear
Muslims,
One
day while the Prophet pbuh was sitting in the company of some people, (The
angel) Jibreel came and asked, "What is faith?" Allah's Apostle
replied, 'Faith is to believe in Allah, His angels, (the) meeting with Him, His
Apostles, and to believe in Resurrection."
Believing
in the Last Day is indeed an article of Iman (faith) as Allah the most Exalted
says, “O you who have believed, believe in Allah and His Messenger and the
Book that He sent down upon His Messenger and the Scripture which He sent down
before. And whoever disbelieves in Allah, His angels, His books, His
messengers, and the Last Day has certainly gone far astray.” (Annisaa:
136). Variations of its name include the Day of Resurrection, Gathering,
Judgment and Reckoning.
Believing
in it prompts us to elevate our morality and seek sincere connection with
others. As Muslims, we think on the outcome of our deeds as we believe we are
going to stand in front of Allah for questioning with regard to what preceded
of our sins and what will follow.
That
is why Allah the most Exalted asked us to recite in every prayer the following
verse: “Sovereign of the Day of Recompense.” (Al Fatiha: 4).
In
the same regard a poet said, what means, a person will one day reap what he
sows and he will be judged according to how he judges others.
On
the Last Day, the utmost Divine justice shall prevail when Allah is questioning
His Creation; no one’s deeds shall go in vain and the righteous and the
unrighteous cannot be treated equally. Allah the most High says, “Or do
those who commit evils think We will make them like those who have believed and
done righteous deeds - [make them] equal in their life and their death? Evil is
that which they judge.” (Al Jathiya: 21).
Dear
Servants of Allah,
Because
of the importance of this day, a glimpse into it was described in the holy
Quran as a reminder to us. Allah, may Glory be to him, says, “O mankind,
fear your Lord. Indeed, the convulsion of the [final] Hour is a terrible thing.
On the Day you see it every nursing mother will be distracted from that [child]
she was nursing, and every pregnant woman will abort her pregnancy, and you
will see the people [appearing] intoxicated while they are not intoxicated; but
the punishment of Allah is severe.” (Al Haj: 1-2).
He
also says, “But when there comes the Deafening Blast on the Day a man will
flee from his brother and his mother and his father and his wife and his
children. For every man, that Day, will be a matter adequate for him.”
(Abasa: 33-37).
For
his part, our Prophet pbuh described the situation of people on that particular
day, saying, “Allah will bring a believer near Him and shelter him with His
Screen and ask him: Did you commit such-and-such sins? He will say: Yes, my
Lord. Allah will keep on asking him till he will confess all his sins and will
think that he is ruined. Allah will say: 'I did screen your sins in the world
and I forgive them for you today', and then he will be given the book of his
good deeds. Regarding infidels and hypocrites (their evil acts will be exposed
publicly) and the witnesses will say: These are the people who lied against
their Lord. Behold! The Curse of Allah is upon the wrongdoers.”
Dear
Muslims,
The
Last Day and the judgment that awaits everyone should serve as a wake-up call
to hearts and minds to do good deeds. Practically, this must prompt people to
engage in good actions. For example, children must treat their parents nicely,
neighbours deal nicely with each other, employees discharge their
responsibilities with honesty, workers perform their job perfectly, employers
fulfill the rights of their dependent workers, the older show sympathy towards
the younger, and the rich feed the poor.
All
of this is for winning Allah’s satisfaction and for fear of the tribulation of
that Day. Indeed Allah has promised the pious salvation in the Hereafter as
recompense in return for their good actions and speech.
He
the Almighty says, “And they give food in spite of love for it to the needy,
the orphan, and the captive, [Saying], "We feed you only for the
countenance of Allah. We wish not from you reward or gratitude. Indeed, We fear
from our Lord a Day austere and distressful." So Allah will protect them
from the evil of that Day and give them radiance and happiness.” (Al Insan:
8-11).
Truly,
it is the Day of Judgment when the hearts will fearfully turn about and the
distress will heighten. But true believers will always ready themselves to it
because they trust that it is inevitable. Thus they will pray and supplicate to
their Creator and give Zakat and charity. Standing in awe for meeting their
Lord, they keep away from sins, holding a mixed feeling of fear and hope for a
day when no worship or actions are accepted anymore.
Allah
the most exalted says, “[Are] men whom neither commerce nor sale distracts
from the remembrance of Allah and performance of prayer and giving of zakah.
They fear a Day in which the hearts and eyes will [fearfully] turn about.”
(Annur: 37).
Indeed,
glad tidings to whoever repents and gets ready to the Day of Reckoning by
devoting himself wholly to acts of kindness and charity so the latter will
testify for him when standing in front of Allah.
With
this in mind, we ask Allah to make us among those who listen and follow the
best of what they listen to. May Allah also protect us all and help us to obey
Him, His Prophet Muhammad pbuh, and those He has ordained upon us to obey
pursuant to His injunctions: "O ye 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 Ayat 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 family, his companions and all those who will follow them in
righteousness till the Day of Judgment.
As
to what follows, please obey Allah as you are ordered to do, and be aware that
survival can be attained by following the teachings of Islam, purifying the
heart from hatred and sin residues, acquiring good manner and being nice to
people. In this regard, Allah the most High says, “The Day when there will
not benefit [anyone] wealth or children, but only one who comes to Allah with a
sound heart.” (Ashuaraa: 88-89).
On the same matter, Ali Ibn Abu Talib said, “this
world is ending while the Hereafter is approaching. Each of them has its own
sons and daughters. And be those of the Hereafter (i.e., working for the second
life) and not of this world, for today there is work (that can be accepted) but
there is no (immediate) judgment, but tomorrow there is (immediate) judgment
yet no actions (that can be accepted).
Dear Muslims,
Allah has asked you to abide by an order He has been
the first to undertake, then His angels, for 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).
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.
O Allah, we seek Your favour to bless us with
beneficial knowledge, let our hearts be full of Your gratitude and keep our
tongue moist with Your remembrance. May Allah bless us with good provision,
accepted work, well-being in mind and body and blessed living life and progeny.
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 guide us to know what is good, make us benefit
from what we have learnt, and increase our knowledge.
O Allah, Give us piety and purify our souls. You are
the Master and the Lord of souls. O Sustainer, amend 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 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.
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 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).
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