On Eid Al Fitr

First Sermon

Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar Kabira  (Allah is the Greatest eight successive times and Allah is the Greatest indeed).

wal Hamdu Lillahi Kathira, wa Subahana Allahi Wa Bihamdhi Bukratan wa Asila (Allah is the Most Great indeed, and to Allah goes all the praise. And Glory is to Allah eventide and in the morning.)

I bear witness that there is no deity save Allah, having no associates. He bestowed upon us His abundant favours and increased us from His great bounty. 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 blessed family and companions, plenty and abundant blessings.

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 the open and in secret and be grateful to Him for the enormous favours he endowed upon you. The Almighty says, “then fear Allah; perhaps you will be grateful.” (Al Imran: 123).

Dear Muslims,

Today is, indeed, a happy Eid day; a day for Takbir (saying Allah is the Greatest), Tahlil (saying there is no deity save Allah) and Tahmid (praising Allah). In this day, Muslims rejoice the multiplied rewards and blessed favours they receive from Allah the Almighty. So, praise be to Allah the Almighty for making it easy for us to perform acts of obedience and complete acts of worship in line with His revelation: “Allah intends for you ease and does not intend for you hardship and [wants] for you to complete the period and to glorify Allah for that [to] which He has guided you; and perhaps you will be grateful.” (Al-Baqara: 185). 

Thus, let us be grateful to Allah, the Most Exalted, for granting us success to observe fasting and stand for prayer at night, adhering to His orders. And on this blessed day, we have come to offer the Eid prayer in obedience to Allah the Almighty, celebrating His remembrance and saying, “Our Lord, indeed we have heard a caller calling to faith, [saying], ‘Believe in your Lord,’ and we have believed. Our Lord, so forgive us our sins and remove from us our misdeeds and cause us to die with the righteous.” (Al Imran: 193). Moreover, following the guidance of Allah’s Messenger pbuh, we are celebrating Takbir in appreciation for Allah’s favour Who guided us and thank Him for the bounties He has endowed upon us.

By being thankful to Allah the Almighty, we acknowledge His bounties, use them in performing acts of obedience, praise Him as befitting to His Supreme Status, and celebrate the mention of such bounties. Indeed, reporting favours and being grateful to their endower is part of the guidance of the Prophets pbut who were sent by Allah, the Most Exalted, to remind people of the favours that their Lord has granted to them. The Almighty has enjoined upon our Master Muhammad to speak about His bounty for He says, “but as for the favour of your Lord, report [it].” (Ad-Dhuha: 11). This means, mention the favours that Allah has bestowed upon you by thanking Him.

Adhering to the orders of his Lord, the Messenger of Allah pbuh used to report the favours that which Allah has conferred upon him and urged Muslims to do so. He pbuh said, “Pointing out the favours of Allah is gratitude.” He pbuh also said, “Shouldn’t I be a thankful servant (of Allah)?”   

In like manner, in this delightful Eid day we remember the innumerable favours that Allah has given to us, His honouring to us by approving for us Islam as religion and making us Muslims in response to the supplication of Prophet Ibrahim pbuh who said, “our Lord, and make us Muslims [in submission] to You and from our descendants a Muslim nation [in submission] to You.” (Al-Baqara: 128).

We are also thankful to the Almighty for sending to us our Prophet Muhammad as mercy for the worlds. The Exalted is He says, “certainly did Allah confer [great] favour upon the believers when He sent among them a Messenger from themselves, reciting to them His verses and purifying them and teaching them the Book and wisdom.” (Al Imran: 164). We praise Allah the Almighty for revealing the holy Quran to the Prophet pbuh in line with His orders: “[All] praise is [due] to Allah, who has sent down upon His Servant the Book and has not made therein any deviance.” (Al-Kahf: 1).

Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar, La Ilaha Illallah, Allahu Akbar, Wa Lillahil-Hamd. (Allah is the Greatest three successive times, there is no deity save Allah and Allah is the Greatest and to Allah all praise is due).

O Grateful Worshipers who rejoice Allah’s generous bounties,

On this day, you are really adhering to Allah’s orders by being grateful to Him, for He says, “O you who have believed, remember the favour of Allah upon you.” So, let us praise Allah Who conferred upon us, from amongst His servants, innumerable favours. Of such favours harmony, consolidation and affection among each other stand out. These are, truly, great favours. The Exalted is He says, “and hold firmly to the rope of Allah all together and do not become divided. And remember the favour of Allah upon you - when you were enemies and He brought your hearts together.” (Al Imran: 103).

Amongst the other bounties that Allah the Almighty has bestowed upon us is that we are cherishing tranquillity, welfare, happiness and joy in our beloved homeland. This is truly a great favour that Prophet Ibrahim pbuh prayed to his Lord to confer upon his people. So he said, “my Lord, make this a secure city and provide its people with fruits - whoever of them believes in Allah and the Last Day.”  (Al-Baqara: 126).

On the same matter, in an indication to the great status of stability, Allah the Almighty has mentioned in His Book this favour which He has endowed upon the people of Sabaa for He says, “there was for [the tribe of] Sabaa in their dwelling place a sign: two [fields of] gardens on the right and on the left. [They were told], ‘Eat from the provisions of your Lord and be grateful to Him. A good land [have you], and a forgiving Lord.” (Sabaa: 15). Similarly, Allah the Almighty speaks of the favour of welfare that He has conferred upon (the tribe of) Quraish for He says, “Who has fed them, [saving them] from hunger and made them safe, [saving them] from fear.” (Quraish: 4).

Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar, La Ilaha Illa Allah, Allahu Akbar, Wa Lillahil-Hamd.

O Happy People,

Reciprocating the kindness of Allah the Almighty and showing gratitude to Him for His favours is an act of worship that is incumbent on each one of us and an order enjoined by Him. The Most Sublime says, “and be grateful for the favour of Allah, if it is [indeed] Him that you worship.” (An-Nahl: 114). Showing thankfulness to Allah the Almighty has many great rewards, for it is a cause of preserving the bounties and increasing Allah’s favours. The Almighty says, “and [remember] when your Lord proclaimed, ‘If you are grateful, I will surely increase you [in favour].” (Ibrahim: 7).

In this sense, the means of showing gratitude for Allah’s favours and celebrating their mention are many. One way is by nurturing in the souls and minds of our children the value of appreciating Allah’s bounties, recognising their great value and maintaining them. As such, we should raise them on such noble principles as devoting themselves for the best interest of the nation, protecting its achievements and properties, cooperating among each other in performing acts of kindness and serving their families and community. This way, their gratitude will be embodied in action and not only in words, something that Allah the Almighty has ordered Dawood (David) pbuh and his family to do, for He says, “work, O family of David, in gratitude.” (Sabaa: 13).

So, praise is due to Allah, the Lord of the Heavens and the Earth, the Lord of the Worlds. To Allah all praise is due as befitting to His Sublime Countenance and Supreme Status.

With this in mind, we seek Allah’s favour to render our Eid a happy one, and to grant that we succeed to be thankful to His bounties.

May Allah guide us all to obey Him and obey His trustworthy Messenger Muhammad 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: 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.

Second Sermon

Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar, (Allah is the Greatest six successive times). Allah is the Greatest indeed, and to Allah goes all the praise. And Glory is to Allah eventide and in the morning.

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 and all of his companions.

I urge you, O Servants of Allah, and myself to be aware that you are asked to obey Him, the Most Exalted and Sublime, and to draw nearer to Him by thanking Him and appreciating His favours. The Almighty has prescribed Eid days for us as a season of good deeds and performing acts of obedience. Eid is also an opportunity to visit one another, strengthen our bonds and draw closer to Allah by being dutiful to our parents, maintaining ties of kinship, visiting family and neighbours. So doing, one will be translating thankfulness to Allah the Almighty into deeds, adhering to His orders and following the guidance of His Messenger Muhammad pbuh.

In fact, such gratitude can be mirrored during Eid days more than in any other times. This is because Eid days are amongst the indicators of the civilisation of nations and one of the means of knowing their cultures. Eid is further an occasion for us to reinforce our values of truthfulness of speech, pure intent, commitment to promises, preservation of good ties and fulfilment of covenants. Other noble qualities that are emphasised in such occasion include humbleness and love of people; a love that is conducive to make us safeguard their rights and strive to touch their hearts with happiness. The aim is to allow them to live in peace and rejoice tranquillity and harmony.

On this account, it was narrated that Ammar Ibn Yasir, may Allah be pleased with him, said, “There are three qualities, whoever possesses them he has completed his faith: Show a sincere justice even against oneself, spending in Allah’s cause (charity) out of the little one has, and send greetings of peace to the whole world.”

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.

O Allah, we seek Your grace to make us amongst those who remember you much and are steadfast on performing acts of worship. O Allah, please forgive us all.

O Allah, we seek refuge in Your perfect words from the evil of that which descend from the sky and from the evil of that which ascends in it, and from the evil of what is created in the earth and the evil of that which comes out of it. O Allah we seek refuge in You from the trials of the night and the day, and from the visitations of the night and day, except for one that knocks with good. Indeed, You are the Most Merciful.

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

May Allah grant success and continued health and care to all of us, Muslims and all the world.

O Allah, please forgive all of the Muslims, men and women, living and dead.

O Lord, forgive and show mercy on them and bless them with Your kindness and satisfaction. O Lord, forgive and show mercy on our parents, relatives and whoever has done a favour to us.

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

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.

O Allah: we turn to Your name through which nothing is harmed in the earth and the heavens. That we not be afflicted through disease or calamity. Or that disease or epidemic may befall us, O Allah: hear this supplication. We ask you Allah for constancy of wellbeing. For ourselves and for all of the people around us. Save us from the evil of epidemics and diseases.

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

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

Eid Mubarak