Islam is a religion that calls for the best manners

All praise is due to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds. To Him belongs the holy names and He possesses the most honourable merits. He created the soul and proportioned it and promised success to those who purify it. I bear witness that there is no deity save Allah, having no associates. For Him is the earth and heavens and all the praises are due to Him. He is the Omnipotent. I also bear witness that our Master Muhammad is the servant of Allah and His Messenger. He is the last of the Prophets, the Imam for the pious and the best pattern to follow in honesty. May the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, his pure family, companions, and all those who follow them in righteousness till the Day of udgment.

As to what follows,
O servants of Allah, I urge you and myself to be aware that you are asked to obey Him, the Almighty, 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: ٥٢).

Dear Muslims,
Please know that Islam is a religion that calls for the best manners, good word of mouth and the civilised treatment amongst people. It urges Muslims to be adorned with the finest characters and the uppermost values. In this regard, our Prophet pbuh said, “indeed, Allah is kind and loves kindness and lofty matters and hates inferior matters.” And amongst the best conducts and the most honourable principles of Islam is honesty. It is a noble value, and whoever embraces such a fine trait shall see his acts of goodness increased. In fact, there are many aspects to honesty, of which: avoiding evil deeds and keeping away from demerits.

Allah’s Messenger pbuh set the best example for us to follow in honesty and self-esteem. On this matter, Jaber bin Abdullah, may Allah be pleased with them, once said, “I was with the Prophet on a

journey, and my camel got tired. The Messenger of Allah met me and prayed for it (the camel) and hit it. Then it started to run like never before. The Prophet pbuh said, ‘sell it to me for one Uwqyah.’ I said, ‘No.’ He said, ‘Sell it to me.’ So I sold it to him for one Uwqiyah. When we reached Al-Medina, I brought the camel to him and asked him for its price, and then I went back. He sent a word to me saying, ‘Do you think I bargained with you to take your camel?’ Take your camel and your Dirhams.” This Hadith shows that the Prophet pbuh used to raise himself above any desire in his companions’ properties for avoiding greed is the most important form of honesty.

Our Master Muhammad pbuh also taught his companions, may Allah be pleased with them, to be honest so they also became unique examples to follow. For instance, Umar ibn al Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him, narrated, “Allah's Messenger pbuh used to give me something but I would say to him, ‘would you give it to a poorer and needier one than me?’ The Prophet pbuh said to me, ‘Take it. If you are given something from this property without asking for it or having greed for it, take it; and if not given, do not run for it.”

For his part, Hakim bin Hizam, may Allah be pleased with him, talked on how the Prophet pbuh used to teach him honesty. He said, “I begged the Messenger of Allah pbuh and he gave me; I begged him again and he gave me. I begged him again and he gave me and said, ‘O Hakim, wealth is pleasant and sweet. He who acquires it with self-contentment, it becomes a source of blessing for him; but it is not blessed for him who seeks it out of greed. He is like one who goes on eating but his hunger is not satisfied. The upper hand is better than the lower one.’ I said to him, ‘O Messenger of Allah, by Him Who sent you with the Truth I will not, after you, ask anyone for anything till I leave this world.” So Abu Bakr, may Allah be pleased with him, would summon Hakim to give his rations, but he would refuse. Then Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, would call him but he would decline to accept anything. Thereupon, Umar said addressing Muslims, “O Muslims, I ask you to bear testimony that I offer Hakim his share of the booty that Allah has assigned for him but he refuses my offer.” So, Hakim did not accept anything

from anyone after the death of the Messenger of Allah pbuh, till he died. With his honesty he attained Allah’s pleasure. Therefore, it is such a valuable and honourable form of honesty that one be nongreedy. Another aspect of honesty is to elude unlawful and suspected gains. This can be achieved through contentment. Self-contentment is an inexhaustible treasure. Through contentment one becomes moderate in what he seeks in his worldly matters and ultimately satisfied. Our Prophet pbuh said, “O people, fear Allah and be moderate in seeking a living, for no soul will die until it has received all its provision, even if it is slow in coming. So fear Allah and be moderate in seeking provision; take that which is permissible and leave that which is forbidden.”

Dear Believers,
Purity is another honourable form of honesty, both physically and spiritually. This is to purify the body from dirt and the soul from faults. And from this perspective, the most essential and superior type of purity is that of the heart. One should purify his heart from hatred and envy in line with the Prophet’s pbuh advocacy. He warned us against those two wicked characters and urged us to clean our hearts from them, describing the remedy for that. He said, “the disease of the nations before you is creeping towards you: Envy and hatred, it is the Haliqah. I do not speak of what cuts the hair, but what severs the religion. By the One in Whose Hand is my soul! You will not enter Paradise until you believe, and you will not believe until you love each other. Shall I tell you about what will strengthen that for you? Spread the peace amongst each other.”

O Worshippers,
Another outstanding form of honesty is loyalty towards one’s work and it has a great effect on the society. There are many dimensions to this most important expression of honesty. For instance, a loyal employee will never do unacceptable actions and will be careful in using the state-owned supplies. A good example on such a great trait is that of Umar bin Abdul Aziz, may Allah have mercy on him. In Umar’s office, he used to have two candles. If he wanted to write Muslims’ affairs, he would use the candle that belonged to the state.

However, if he wanted to write his own personal letters, he would use the candle which he had bought from his own money.

A loyal employee will also be committed to his work and will never accept a bribe or a gift that was given for an unlawful purpose. On this account, it was related that Sulayman ibn Yasar said that the Messenger of Allah pbuh used to send Abdullah ibn Rawaha to Khaybar, to assess the division of the fruit crop between him and the Jews of Khaybar. The Jews collected for Abdullah pieces of their women's jewellery and said to him, “this is yours. Go light on us and don’t be exact in the division!” Thereupon, Abdullah ibn Rawaha said, “what you have offered as a bribe is forbidden. We will not touch it.” They said, “This is (i.e. justice) what supports the heavens and the earth.”

One other field where honesty is a necessity is trading. An honest and trustworthy merchant will never sell things that cause harm to people; neither will he be tempted to earn excessive profits. He will take example of the righteous people and honest merchants so that he may attain the reward of which the Prophet pbuh gave glad tidings as he said, “the trustworthy, honest Muslim merchant will be with the martyrs on the Day of Judgment.”

Indeed, honesty has many aspects that extend to all walks of life. Let us, therefore, implore Allah, the Sublime, to purify our hearts and souls and grant us success to be amongst His honest servants. May Allah guide us all to obey Him and obey His Messenger Muhammad pbuh and obey those He has commanded us to obey in line with His orders: “O you who have believed, obey Allah and obey the Messenger and those in authority among you” (An-Nisaa: ٥٩). 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, 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
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Master Muhammad, his pure family, companions, and all those who follow them in righteousness till the Day of Judgment.

Dear Muslims,
Please know that the first thing we should advise each other about is obeying Allah, the Almighty, and being honest. It is the duty of a Muslim to purify his soul, heart and innermost state of being. As such, we must be honest in what we say and beware of backbiting and indecency. One must avoid uncertainties for it raises doubts about him. Verily, honesty is a protection to one’s affairs and brings about abundant benefits, the foremost of which is the pleasure of Allah, the Most Exalted. Through honesty, one learns selfcontentment which is the path to success in this world and in the Hereafter alike. The Prophet pbuh said, “He has succeeded who accepted Islam, was provided with sufficient provisions and Allah made him content by what He has bestowed on him.”

Verily, honesty brings about satisfaction and richness of the soul. The Prophet pbuh said, “Richness does not lie in the abundance of (worldly) goods, but it is the richness of soul.” This means that richness doesn’t mean having a great amount of property, but rather being self-content and not much concerned about wealth.

Another benefit of honesty is that it fosters self-esteem and dignity. A society that is characterised with honesty and integrity will definitely see trust prevailing amongst its members who shall, ultimately, rejoice welfare. Allah will also provide them with His care and abundant bounties. The Exalted is He says, “eat from the provisions of your Lord and be grateful to Him. A good land [have you], and a forgiving Lord.” (Sabaa: ١٥). Thus, it is such a bless that one be adorned with honesty in words, actions and ethics so as to attain Allah’s Paradise.

That is said, please bear in mind that you are commanded to invoke peace and blessings on the Prophet pbuh. The Messenger of Allah 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 his companions.

O Allah, we beseech you to grant us success to be honest in words and deeds. O Allah, please beautify us with the adornment of selfcontentment and faithfulness, O the Lord of the Worlds.

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 and the steadfast affirmers of truth, O the Most Gracious the Most Forgiving.

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 Allah, make them rally for the word of truth and legitimacy, and bless them with welfare and stability, O the Most Generous.

O Lord of the Worlds, please forgive us all our sins for no one forgives sins but You. Please guide us to the best of manners for none can guide to the best of them but You. O Allah, please protect us from bad manners for none can protect against them but You, O Lord of the Worlds.

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

O Lord, 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, 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 our parents, relatives and whoever has done a favour to us.

O Allah, we pray to You to grant Your forgiveness and reward to who built this mosque and to his or her parents as well as to anyone who gave to this mosque. O Allah, we also supplicate to You to forgive whoever built a mosque where Your name is remembered.

O Allah, make this gathering one of compassion, and our dispersion after it one that is infallible. O Allah, do not let anyone amongst us be deprived or desperate.

We pray to Allah, the Most Gracious, to protect the UAE against any of temptations, both apparent and hidden, and continue blessing the UAE with safety and security.

O Allah, we implore you to send upon us wealthy rain and make us not amongst those who are desperate. O Allah, relieve us! O Allah, relieve us! O Allah, relieve us! O Lord, provide us from the blessings of the sky a beneficial rain and make our crops grow.

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.

O Servants of Allah “indeed, Allah orders justice and good conduct and giving to relatives and forbids immorality and bad conduct and oppression. He admonishes you that perhaps you will be reminded.” (An-Nahl: ٩٠).

Remember Allah and He will remember you. Be grateful of His benevolence and He will increase His blessings to you. Allah 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: ٤٥).

Translation:
Edited and revised by Mostapha El Mouloudi
Note: The English translation of the Quran and Hadith is an
interpretation of their m