On Forming Alliances in Righteousness

All praise is due to Allah, the All-Knowing, the All-Wise. He bestowed upon us the favour of Islam and enjoined us to cooperate and form alliances to deter the aggressors. 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 him, his pure family, companions, and all those who follow them in righteousness till the Day of Judgment.

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 indeed this, your religion, is one religion, and I am your Lord, so fear Me.” (Al Mouminun: 52).

Dear Muslims,
Please know that Allah, the Most Exalted, made mankind upon the earth a successive authority so as to establish justice and spread peace. He urged us to cooperate with one another to achieve such great and noble goals; prevailing welfare and safety and deterring aggression. The Most High says, “and cooperate in righteousness and piety, but do not cooperate in sin and aggression.” (Al Ma’ida: 2). In this Aya, Allah, the Most Sublime, calls for cooperation in righteousness and couples it with piety. This is because through piety one can win Allah’s pleasure and through righteousness he can gain people’s satisfaction. And those who succeed to attain both of gains will definitely achieve happiness and be a helpful hand in spreading welfare. On this account, one of the ways through which Muslims can cooperate in righteousness and piety is by being in a row as though they are a single structure joined firmly in combating the enemy. Therefore, there is no doubt that it is a blessing for people to be able to form alliances to address problems, surmount challenges, deter the oppressor and help the oppressed. A good example on this matter is the coalition which was created by the Quraish tribes and was witnessed by the Prophet pbuh before being blessed with the prophecy. The coalition, which was named “Hilf Al Fudoul” (League of Virtuousness), was concluded in the house of Abdullah bin Jada’an and, thereupon, its members committed themselves to supporting the rights of all those oppressed in Mecca and deterring their oppressor.  Hailing such alliance, the Prophet pbuh said, “I witnessed a confederacy in the house of Abdullah bin Jada’an. It was more

appealing to me than herds of cattle. Even now in the period of Islam I would respond positively to attending such a meeting if I were invited.” Indeed, “Hilf Al Fudoul” was one of the best and most noble coalitions that were ever formed amongst the Arabs.

Furthermore, the Messenger of Allah pbuh used to praise any form of alliance established in the way of returning the rights to their legitimate owners. In this regard, he said, “any alliance established in the Jahiliyya (pre-Islam), Islam only increases its strength.” In interpretation of this Hadith, Al Qurtubi said, “Islam strengthens any alliance that was committed to supporting the rights of the oppressed. Nevertheless, it dissolved all other alliances that had been established with the aim of oppressing people and attacking them.”

It is also good to highlight that the Prophet pbuh never hesitated to support the oppressed people regardless of their religion or race. On the same matter, it was narrated that once a man came to Mecca complaining that Abu Jahl had bought some camels from him without paying him back. When the man asked the people of Quraish to help him, they referred him to the Prophet pbuh. The Prophet brought him to Abu Jahl’s house and asked him to give the man’s money back that he owed him. Abu Jahl immediately came back with the money. Then, the man went back to the Majlis of Quraish and said, “May Allah grant him (the Messenger) a good reward. I have got what was owed to me.”

O Servants of Allah,
Please also know that amongst the duties of a Muslim towards his Muslim brother is to support him and defend his rights. The Prophet pbuh said, “a Muslim is a brother of another Muslim. So he should not oppress him nor should he hand him over (to his enemies).” That is: a Muslim should not hand over his Muslim brother to those who may cause him harm, but he should defend him and protect his rights. Thus, amongst the best and most important aspects of cooperation in righteousness is to form alliances in order to support the oppressed and relieve those in distress. In doing so, we will fulfill our duty in safeguarding their rights and preserving the interest of all people guided in this with the Prophet pbuh as he said, “a faithful believer to a faithful believer is like the bricks of a wall, enforcing each other.”

Dear Muslims,
No doubt, there are abundant benefits that can be attained through rallying around each other and cooperating in righteousness. This is, for example, a means for achieving victory, strength, happiness and glory in this world and the Hereafter, because, in so doing, we will be advising each other to truth in line with the Almighty’s orders: “by time, indeed, mankind is in loss, except for those who have believed and done righteous deeds and advised each other to truth and advised each other to patience.” (Al Asr: 1-3).

Another benefit is that by means of such alliance and cooperation, Allah, the Exalted is He, will thwart the aggression of the aggressors for He says, “but if they intend to deceive you - then sufficient for you is Allah. It is He who supported you with His help and with the believers.” (Al Anfal: 62). Indeed, by joining hands in righteousness, people will be protected against the evil and become invulnerable to the criminals as well as the falsehood will be bound to depart. Thus, one of our priorities as Muslims is to form alliances with the aim of spreading safety because Islam has been sent to guide people to the path of happiness and give glad tidings to those who did good that they will be rewarded with Paradise, dwelling therein eternally. Allah, the Most Gracious, says, “for them who have done good is the best [reward] and extra. No darkness will cover their faces, nor humiliation. Those are companions of Paradise; they will abide therein eternally.” (Yunus: 26).

Verily, the best blessing that the dwellers of Paradise rejoice is the opportunity to look upon the face of Allah, the Most Generous. Yet, those who have been corruptors, transgressed the limits of others and did the things prohibited by Allah were warned by Him with a severe punishment. The Exalted is He says, “indeed, whoever comes to his Lord as a criminal - indeed, for him is Hell; he will neither die therein nor live.” (Taha: 74).

O Worshippers,
Please bear in mind that it is a duty of a Muslim also to take part in bringing welfare and peace to the community and help the ruler in protecting the rights of the oppressed and deterring the oppressor. On the same matter, it was reported that Al Baraa bin Azib, may Allah be pleased with them, said, “Allah's Messenger pbuh ordered us to do seven things,” of which he mentioned “to help the oppressed.” Additionally, a Muslim should also decline all deeds that may distort the image of the religion, such as violence and extremism, and adopt tolerance and moderation as a way of life. By so doing, he will be following in footsteps of the Prophet pbuh, who was known for his kindness and mercy. In this regard, the Most High says, “there has
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certainly come to you a Messenger from among yourselves. Grievous to him is what you suffer; [he is] concerned over you and to the believers is kind and merciful.” (At-Tawba: 128). Truly, there is nothing better than following the guidance of our Master Muhammad by adopting the principles of moderation and justice because these are the path towards safety and righteousness.


With this in mind, we pray to Allah the Exalted to protect the UAE, preserve our unity and help us adhere to the truth. O Allah, please guide us all to obey You and obey Your Messenger Muhammad pbuh and obey those You have commanded us to obey in line with Your orders: "O you who have believed, obey Allah and obey the Messenger and those in authority among 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, 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 partners. I also bear witness that our Master Muhammad is Allah's servant and His chosen Messenger. May the peace and blessings of Allah be upon our Master Muhammad, his pure family, honest and loyal companions and all those who follow them in righteousness till the Day of Judgment.

O Servants of Allah,
Please know that the first thing we should advise each other about is obeying Allah, the Glorious, and thanking Him for bestowing upon us the blessings of unity, coalition, harmony and synergy. Indeed, the formation of the Islamic coalition reflects an insightful vision of the leaders who established it to be an impenetrable fort in the face of the sinful terrorist and extremist groups that threaten the stability of all the countries alike, having no moral deterrent and ignoring all the principles of truth and justice. Therefore, such alliance was a legitimate and realistic need that should be met in order to protect the existence of the nation in the present time and preserve its capabilities in the future. In this regard, it was narrated that the Prophet pbuh said, “Help your brother, whether he is an oppressor or he is an oppressed one.” People asked, “O Allah's Messenger! It is all right to help him if he is oppressed, but how should we help him if he is an oppressor?” The Prophet pbuh said, “by preventing him from oppressing others.”


From this perspective, the Islamic coalition that comprises the majority of the Islamic countries is a leading unprecedented move in our contemporary age and a turning point to the recent happenings. It was formed with a goal to deter the criminals and the emerging traitors as well as to wipe out the extremist groups and empower justice and the true religion. Amongst the coalition members, the UAE was one of the first countries to highlight the need for concerted efforts and collaboration to eliminate the extremists in their hideouts in line with the true principles of Islam that totally oppose all kinds of extremism. That is said, please bear in mind that you are commanded to invoke peace and blessings on the Prophet pbuh for he 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 Lord, we beseech you to unite Muslims in righteousness and piety and guide them to all that pleases You. O Allah, please join their rows and make in their hands keys to the doors of good and happiness, O the Responsive to Your servants supplications.

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: 90).

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: 45).

Edited and revised by Mostapha El Mouloudi
Note: The English translation of the Quran and Hadith is an
interpretation of their meanings and does not have the status of their
original Arabic texts.
http://awqaf.ae/Uploads/Friday_Speach/25-12-2015-en.pdf

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