Allah Is Witness Over What You Do

Allah is Witness over what you do

First sermon

Praise be to Allah, the Almighty, the All-Wise. I thank him as is befitting to his Sovereign status and Majesty. I bear witness that there is no deity worthy of worship, except for Him 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, Witness.

I also bear witness that Muhammad is His Servant and Messenger. He is the Imam of the Pious and Commander of the former and later peoples. May the peace and the blessings of Allah be upon him, 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,

Life is one big test as the Aya indicates: "we have certainly created man into hardship." (Al Balad: 4). That is to say, it is decreed that Man has to struggle, but also enjoy some of good things in life. These, however, are as brief and passing as Man's life itself. Allah says, "and what is the life of this world except the enjoyment of delusion." (Al Imran: 185).

He also says, "everyone upon the earth will perish, and there will remain the Face of your Lord, Owner of Majesty and Honour," (Al Rahman: 26-27) to stress further the fact that life has an end and no one should live with the false illusion it is long-lasting. So those who fully recognise this reality look at life as it should be: a passage to the Hereafter.

Allah the Sublime says, "but what is with Allah is better and more lasting for those who have believed and upon their Lord rely." (Al Shura: 36). This means the reward from Him is everlasting and more worthy than the worldly provisions. So let us not cling to the vanishing life at the detriment of the eternal one, and remember that our deeds and speech are recorded. Moreover we should know that we are going to be rewarded according to what we have done, as Allah says, “then shall anyone who has done an atom's weight of good, see it! And anyone who has done an atom's weight of evil, shall see it.” (Al Zalzala: 7-8).

Dear Servants of Allah,

Indeed Allah the Exalted is the All-Witness over what we do and nothing is hidden from Him. On the Day of Judgement, He will remind us of our actions as all is registered in records. He the Almighty says, “On the Day when Allah will resurrect them all and inform them of what they did. Allah had enumerated it, while they forgot it; and Allah is over all things witness.” (Al Mujadila: 6).

Let us therefore reflect upon that Day when we will be summoned to see our deeds and when the Prophet pbuh will come to watch over them. Thinking of this matter had made him shed tears as reported by Abdullah Ibn Masood that he pbuh said to him, “Recite (of the Quran) for me," I said, "Shall I recite it to you although it had been revealed to you?" He said, "I like to hear (the Quran) from others." So I recited Surat Annisaa till I reached: "How (will it be) then when We bring from each nation a witness, and We bring you (O Muhammad) as a witness against these people?" Then he said, "Stop!" And behold, his eyes were overflowing with tears.”

As interpreted by scholars, the Prophet cried because the content of this Aya is so evoking that brings into mind how severe will be the Day of Resurrection. On that day also Prophets will be called upon to witness either for or against their own peoples. Our Master Muhammad pbuh will have his say and the winners will be those who will receive his favourable testimony for being good followers, hence worthy of praise before angels and other peoples.

Dear Believers,

Please be aware that angels record man’s deeds as mentioned in the following: “and indeed, [appointed] over you are keepers, Noble and recording; they know whatever you do.” (Al Infitar: 10-12). That is, they (angels) write down all what you do. Allah the Sublime says in this regard, “When the two receivers receive, seated on the right and on the left. Man does not utter any word except that with him is an observer prepared [to record].” (Qaf:17-18).

In his interpretation of this Aya, al Hasan al Basri, may Allah rest his soul in peace, used to say, “O man, your record is spread open to you with two noble angels that are assigned to you; one is on your right and the other on your left. The first one shall register your good deeds, while the second your misdeeds.

“So do whatever you like, either little or much. When you die your record is folded up and put around your neck in your grave. It will remain thus until you are resurrected. Then you will find your record is spread open and just, for Allah Who has made you accountant towards yourself.”

He the Almighty says, “and We will produce for him on the Day of Resurrection a record which he will encounter spread open. [It will be said], "Read your record. Sufficient is yourself against you this Day as accountant.”(Al Israa: 13-14). That is, you are accountable.

On the same matter, some pious people said, “this is a book; your tongue is its pen, your saliva its ink and your limbs its pages. You are the one who are dictating on your record-keeper. Nothing in it is added or missed and whatever in it you may deny will witness against you”

Dear Muslims,

Please also know that witnesses on the Day of Judgement are many, including your limbs and senses, which Man defends and fights for, as Allah says, “That Day, We will seal over their mouths, and their hands will speak to Us, and their feet will testify about what they used to earn.” (Yaseen: 65).

In the same regard, Anas Ibn Malik, may Allah be satisfied with him, said, “We were in the company of Allah's Messenger that he smiled and said, ‘do you know why I laughed?’ We said, ‘Allah and His Messenger know best.’ Thereupon he said, ‘it was because of the (fact that there came to my mind the) talk which the servant would have with his Lord (on the Day of Judgment).

“He would say, ‘My Lord, have you not guaranteed me protection against injustice?’ He would say, ‘yes.’ Then the servant would say, ‘I do not deem valid any witness against me but my own self, and He would say, ‘Well, enough would he the witness of yourself against you and that of the two angels who had been appointed to record your deeds.

“Then the seal would be set upon his mouth and it would be said to his hands and feet to speak and they would speak of his deeds. Then the mouth would be made free to talk, he would say (to the hands and feet), ‘be away, let there be curse of Allah upon you. It was for your safety that I contended.”

Then Man will be filled with remorse and blame his limbs if he has failed to duly obey Allah. He the Almighty says, “and they will say to their skins, "Why have you testified against us?" They will say, "We were made to speak by Allah, who has made everything speak; and He created you the first time, and to Him you are returned.” (Fussilat: 21).

With this in mind, we ask Allah’s grace to guide us to do what is good in this life, which shall witness for us before our Lord. May Allah help us 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,

I urge you and myself to be mindful of Allah and know that the earth is also a witness over what we do on it. It will pronounce its testimony before Allah as mentioned in this Aya: “that Day, it will report its news.” (Al Zalzala: 4). It was reported by Abu Huraira that the Prophet pbuh recited this Aya and said, “do you know what its news is?' They said, 'Allah and His Messenger know best.' He said, 'Indeed its information is that it will testify against every servant, male and female. It will say that he did such and such, on such and such a day.' He said: 'with this it shall be ordered’.”

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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