All praise is due to Allah. All the angels and Messengers fear Him and to Him the worshipers prostrate. Those of knowledge appraise Allah with true appraisal, and His word to a thing when He intends it is but that He say to it, "Be," and it is.  I bear witness that there is no deity save Allah, having no associates. I also bear witness that our Master Muhammad is the Servant of Allah and His Messenger. He was the seal of Prophets and Messengers. May the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, his pure blessed family and companions, and all those who follow them in righteousness till the Day of Judgment.

As to what follows,

I urge you, O servants of Allah, and myself to be aware that you are asked to obey Him the Most Exalted, in line with His orders, "and whoever obeys Allah and His Messenger and fears Allah and is conscious of Him - it is those who are the attainers." (An-Noor: 52).

Dear Muslims,

Allah the Most Exalted praises amongst His servants those who are pious and who fear Him. The Almighty says, "who fear their Lord unseen, while they are of the Hour apprehensive." (Al-Anbiyaa: 49). Indeed, fear of Allah is amongst the best of manners that stems from the human's virtuous nature and reflects one's gratefulness to Allah's great favours. Obedience of Allah is further conducive to make the Muslim committed to good ethics, exalting Allah and avoiding all that which He has prohibited. As a result, one's soul will be purified and his manners will be elevated.

In an indication of its lofty status, the holy Quran associated fear of Allah, the Most Merciful, with one's true belief. In His holy Book, the Almighty says, "but Allah has more right that you should fear Him, if you are [truly] believers." (At-Tawba: 13). Thus, upon the mention of Allah, the believers' hearts become vigilant and full of reverence to Him. Describing them, Allah the Almighty says, "the believers are only those who, when Allah is mentioned, their hearts become fearful, and when His verses are recited to them, it increases them in faith." (Al-Anfal: 2). 

So, their consciousness of Allah, the Most Exalted, makes their hearts so soft and become in full submission at the recitation of His words. The Most Gracious says, "Allah has sent down the best statement: a consistent Book wherein is reiteration. The skins shiver therefrom of those who fear their Lord; then their skins and their hearts relax at the remembrance of Allah." (Az-Zumar: 23). No wonder since their Lord is Free of need, never to be poor; the Exalted in Might Who can never be prevailed over; the Powerful Who cannot be predominated; the One and the Prevailing. With His Competence He created all things and to His Greatness all things are humbled.

All those who appraise Allah with true appraisal do fear Him and are aware of His Supreme Status. Indeed, even the angels are conscious of their Lord and are obedient to His orders. About them, the Almighty says, "they fear their Lord above them, and they do what they are commanded." (An-Nahl: 50). The Most Exalted "knows what is [presently] before them and what will be after them, and they cannot intercede except on behalf of one whom He approves. And they, from fear of Him, are apprehensive." (Al-Anbiyaa: 28).

On the same matter, the Messenger of Allah pbuh similarly described the angels saying, "When Allah decrees some order in the heaven, the angels flutter their wings indicating complete surrender to His saying which sounds like chains being dragged on rock. And when the state of fear disappears, they ask each other, 'What has your Lord ordered?' They say that He has said that which is true and just, and He is the Most High, the Most Great." That is to say: they surrender to His orders and submit to His Glory.

In fact, all of Allah's Creation fear Him, even the firm mountains. This was accentuated in the following Aya, "if We had sent down this Qur'an upon a mountain, you would have seen it humbled and coming apart from fear of Allah. And these examples We present to the people that perhaps they will give thought." (Al-Hashr: 21).

More to the point, the more the human being increased in knowledge about Allah the Almighty and His perfect attributes and powers, the more veneration they would have for Him and the more they would exalted Him. In this regard, the Prophets pbut set an example on fear of Allah as His Lord described him in His holy Book. He says, "[Allah praises] those who convey the messages of Allah and fear Him and do not fear anyone but Allah." (Al-Ahzab: 39). The Messenger of Allah pbuh embodied the true fear of Allah as he said, "By Allah, I am more submissive to Allah and more afraid of Him than you."

In like manner, the scholars are mindful of Allah the Almighty and fear Him as it ought to be. This is because they contemplate on the greatness of His Creation and the beauty of His inventions. As they ponder upon the creation of the heavens and the earth, fear of Allah becomes greater in their hearts. The Most Exalted says, "only those fear Allah, from among His servants, who have knowledge. Indeed, Allah is Exalted in Might and Forgiving." (Fatir: 28). One of the predecessors said, "To fear Allah is sufficient a knowledge for a man."

This means, the scholars and those of knowledge are the most fearful of Allah amongst people. In this sense, one of the causes of fearing Allah the Almighty is attaining knowledge because knowing Allah more makes the Muslim more watchful of Him. Moreover, reflecting on the universe and its creation, as well as recitation of the Quran are amongst the other reasons for fearing Allah. The Messenger of Allah pbuh said in this regard, "Among the people who recite the Quran with the most beautiful voices is the man who, when you hear him, you think that he fears Allah."

O Worshipers,

Please know that amongst the great merits of being conscious of Allah is that it is conducive to guide Muslims to perfect their acts and be devoted to good deeds. In evidence of this, the Most Exalted says, "indeed, they who are apprehensive from fear of their Lord. And they who believe in the signs of their Lord. And they who do not associate anything with their Lord. And they who give what they give while their hearts are fearful because they will be returning to their Lord. It is those who hasten to good deeds, and they outstrip [others] therein." (Al-Muminoon: 57-61).

The reason for this is that their hearts are so filled with faith in their Lord that they humbly submitted to Him and their senses raced for performing acts of worship and obedience, striving to do whatever He enjoined upon them to do as well as to be kind to His Creation. On this account, Al Hasan Al Basri said, "The believer combines good deeds and apprehension." Thus, being heedful of Allah will, definitely, urge the Muslim to seek perfection in all their affairs. Thus, as a result of fear of Allah the Almighty one will be dutiful towards his parents, maintain good ties of kinship, perfect his work and treat others with leniency, mercy and honesty.

An illustration of this can be seen in the following Hadith by the Prophet pbuh about three persons who were traveling, and suddenly it started raining, and they took shelter in a cave. The entrance of the cave got closed while they were inside. They said to each other, 'O you! Nothing can save you except the truth, so each of you should ask Allah's Help by referring to such a deed as he thinks he did sincerely (i.e. just for gaining Allah's Pleasure).' So one of them mentioned his fulfillment of the trust and giving to the labourer his rights. The he said, "O Allah! If you consider that I did that for fear of You, then please remove the rock." The rock shifted a bit from the mouth of the cave.

So, from this we learn that trustworthiness and giving the labourers their full rights as and when they are due are part and parcel of fearing Allah the Almighty for which the believer will attain a great recompense.

The second man mentioned his dutifulness towards his parents and then said, "O Allah! If you consider that I did that for fear of You, then please remove the rock." The rock shifted a bit from the mouth of the cave. This indicates that treating parents with kindness and showing patience with them is part of Allah's obedience and will be rewarded abundantly by Him.

For his part, the third man talked about how he controlled his desires and avoided what Allah has prohibited, relieving thereby his cousin and fearing Allah with regards to her. Then he said, "O Allah! If you consider that I did that for fear of You, then please remove the rock." So Allah saved them and they came out (of the cave).

This story shows how those three men watched their Lord and avoided performing the acts that He has prohibited, showed kindness towards parents, respected ties of kinship and fulfilled their trusts out of fear of Allah. They realised that Allah the Almighty is ever watching over them, hearing what they say, knowing their status and seeing what they do. Undoubtedly, the Most Exalted, knows that which is concealed and that which is declared. The Most Knowing says, "He knows that which deceives the eyes and what the breasts conceal." (Ghafir; 19).

With this in mind, let us pray to Allah the Almighty to grant us success to fear Him seen and unseen.

May Allah guide us all to obey Him and obey His Messenger Muhammad pbuh and obey those He have commanded us to obey in line with His orders: "O you who have believed, obey Allah and obey the Messenger and those in authority amongst you." (An-Nisaa: 59).

May Allah direct us all to the blessings of the Glorious Quran and the Sunna of His Messenger pbuh.

I say this and ask Allah for forgiveness for me and you, so invoke Him for forgiveness, for He is the Most Forgiving, the Most Merciful.

All praise is due to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds. I bear witness that there is no deity save Allah, having no associates. I also bear witness that our Master Muhammad is the servant of Allah and His Messenger. May the peace and blessings of Allah be upon ou­­r Master Muhammad, his pure family, companions, and all those who follow them in righteousness till the Day of Judgment.

I urge you, O Servants of Allah, and myself to be aware that you are asked to obey Him, the Most Exalted and Sublime.

O Worshipers,

Please be aware that Allah the Most High has enjoined upon lour Master Muhammad pbuh to give glad tidings to those who fear their Lord that they shall attain His forgiveness and generous rewards. The Almighty says, "you can only warn one who follows the message and fears the Most Merciful unseen. So give him good tidings of forgiveness and noble reward." (Yasin: 11). Indeed, being mindful of Allah the Almighty is a cause for one to be forgiven his misdeeds and admitted to Paradise as his perpetual abode. Allah, the Most Beneficent, says, "but as for he who feared the position of his Lord and prevented the soul from [unlawful] inclination, then indeed, Paradise will be [his] refuge." (An-Naziaat: 40-41).

Congratulations, therefore, for those who are watchful of Allah in all their actions for "their reward with Allah will be gardens of perpetual residence beneath which rivers flow, wherein they will abide forever, Allah being pleased with them and they with Him. That is for whoever has feared his Lord." (Al-Bayyina: 8).

You are, thus, urged to develop fear of Allah the Almighty in your heart and nurture it in the minds and hearts of your daughters and sons. This way, you will be amongst those who are observant of their Lord and obedient to His commands.

That is said, please bear in mind that you are instructed to invoke peace and blessings on the Prophet pbuh. Allah, the Most Sublime, 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).

On the same matter, the Prophet pbuh said, "For everyone who invokes a blessing on me will receive ten blessings from Allah."

O Allah, please confer Your blessings and grant peace upon our Prophet Muhammad pbuh, his family and all of the companions.

May Allah be pleased with the Rightly Guided Caliphs: Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman and Ali, and all of the noble Companions.

May Allah have mercy on the honourable martyrs of our country and those of the coalition and gather them with the righteous. May Allah make their dwelling with the ones upon whom Allah has bestowed favour of the prophets. O Allah, please grant the best reward for the families of the martyrs and offer them patience and solace. May Allah grant victory to the soldiers of the Arab Coalition who gathered to restore the rights to their owners. O Lord, please be by their side and guide the Yemeni people to everything that is good.

O Lord, we beseech You to bless all of the Muslim countries and the whole world with stability and peace.

O Allah, we implore to You to increase the UAE in delight and beauty and give the best of rewards and recompense to whoever sowed the seeds of goodness and welfare in it. Indeed, You are the Most Merciful of the merciful.

May Allah grant success and continued health and care to the UAE President HH Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan. May Allah also ensure success to his Vice-President, trustworthy Crown Prince and his brothers, Their Highnesses the Rulers of the Emirates.

O Allah, please forgive all of the Muslims, men and women, living and dead. May Allah have mercy on Sheikh Zayed, Sheikh Maktoum and the Late UAE Sheikhs. O Lord, forgive and show mercy on them and bless them with Your kindness and satisfaction.

We pray to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds, to continue blessing the UAE with stability and welfare and bless its provisions. O Allah, please continue blessing the UAE with safety and security.

O Allah, we seek Your favour to send us wealthy rain and make us not amongst those who are despondent. O Allah, relieve us! O Allah, relieve us! O Allah, relieve us! O Allah, give us from the blessings of the sky and grow for us from the blessings of the earth.

Remember Allah and He will remember you. Be grateful of His benevolence and He will increase His blessings to you.

Reference/Source: https://www.awqaf.gov.ae/en/