The Community of Knowledge

The First Khutbah All praise is due to Allah, the All-Knowing, the All-Wise, who has elevated the rank of teachers and learners. We bear witness that there is no god but Allah, the Manifest Truth, and we bear witness that our prophet Muhammad is His trustworthy Messenger. May Allah’s peace, blessings, and mercy be upon him, his family, his companions, and those who follow them. To proceed: I advise you, servants of Allah, and myself, to have taqwa of Allah, for it is the key to knowledge and the path to understanding. Allah, the Exalted, says: ﴿وَاتَّقُوا اللَّهَ وَيُعَلِّمُكُمُ اللَّهُ﴾. “And fear Allah, and Allah will teach you.” O Believers: Allah, Blessed and Exalted, says in the very first verses revealed to the heart of The Prophet: ﴿اقْرَأْ بِاسْمِ رَبِّكَ الَّذِي خَلَقَ * خَلَقَ الْإِنْسَانَ مِنْ عَلَقٍ * اقْرَأْ وَرَبُّكَ الْأَكْرَمُ * الَّذِي عَلَّمَ بِالْقَلَمِ * عَلَّمَ الْإِنْسَانَ مَا لَمْ يَعْلَمْ﴾ “Read in the name of your Lord who created * Created man from a clinging clot * Read, and your Lord is the Most Generous * Who taught by the pen * Taught man that which he knew not.” Indeed, these five verses declare the dawn of a flourishing era founded upon knowledge and learning, for the building of a complete civilization, through the cooperation of all members of society, each from his own place and position. It is a great responsibility and a mighty duty, inherited from the Prophets by the scholars and teachers, professors and instructors, those who shape conscious generations in the factories of thought and education, where minds are molded, souls are refined, potentials are developed, and skills are polished, until our society becomes a community of knowledge, recording the greatest achievements in both the present and the future. Allah the Almighty says: ﴿قُلْ هَلْ يَسْتَوِي الَّذِينَ يَعْلَمُونَ وَالَّذِينَ لَا يَعْلَمُونَ﴾. “Say, are those who know equal to those who do not know?”  Indeed, knowledge is purity and clarity, diligence and generosity; it is for societies a light and illumination, excellence and growth. In this age, Allah has blessed us with an integrated system of sciences and knowledge, and has opened for us doors of rapid advancements, making the acquisition of knowledge a necessity rather than an option, and the mastery of its skills a key to attaining leadership, rightfully and deservedly. Competing in it is a path to strength and protection, to progress and elevation. Allah the Exalted says: ﴿يَرْفَعِ اللَّهُ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا مِنْكُمْ وَالَّذِينَ أُوتُوا الْعِلْمَ دَرَجَاتٍ﴾. “Allah will raise those who have believed among you and those who were given knowledge, by degrees.” Servants of Allah: A community of knowledge is one in which roles are integrated, and efforts are combined, so that all become partners in shaping the future: the teacher guides, the student strives, and the family supports. So, O noble teacher, when you approach your students, recall the saying of Allah: ﴿إِنَّ اللَّهَ يَأْمُرُكُمْ أَنْ تُؤدُّوا الْأَمَانَاتِ إِلَى أَهْلِهَا﴾ “Indeed, Allah commands you to render trusts to whom they are due.” These students are entrusted in your hands: You safeguard their minds from deviation, protect their values from alteration, refine their intellectual convictions, and preserve their sound natural disposition. This is a profound responsibility, the trust of instilling knowledge and values and, ultimately, of building the nation. Therefore, O teacher, be proficient in your subject, diligent in preparing your lessons, renewing your methods, diversifying your approaches, and excelling in your performance. For your Prophet ﷺ said: «إِنَّ اللَّهَ يُحِبُّ إِذَا عَمِلَ أَحَدُكُمْ عَمَلًا أَنْ يُتْقِنَهُ» “Indeed, Allah loves that when any one of you does a deed, he perfects it.” Teach your students through your conduct and be a role model for them in your character, for action speaks louder than a thousand words, and the language of behavior is truer than the language of speech. Strive also to kindle in your students the spirit of scientific inquiry, to stir their thirst for knowledge, and to ignite the flame of their ambition and passion, so that they may acquire critical thinking skills and develop strong scholarly personalities. And O fathers and mothers: Welcome the new school year with supplication for your children, as in the prayer: ﴿وَأَصْلِحْ لِي فِي ذُرِّيَّتِي﴾ “And make righteous for me my offspring.” For your supplication opens the locks of closed doors for them, eases difficulties before them, and with the Most Merciful it is near and answered. Be the best supporters for them in their studies, by monitoring their academic progress, maintaining communication with their schools, and helping them achieve their goals. Allah the Almighty says: ﴿يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا أَطِيعُوا اللَّهَ وَأَطِيعُوا الرَّسُولَ وَأُولِي الْأَمْرِ مِنْكُمْ﴾ “O you who have believed, obey Allah and obey the Messenger and those in authority among you.”   I say these words of mine, and I ask Allah’s forgiveness for me and for you, so seek His forgiveness, for indeed He is the Most Forgiving, the Most Merciful. Second Khutbah All praise is due to Allah, and may peace and blessings be upon our Prophet Muhammad, after whom there is no prophet. To proceed: O believers, the student is the central focus of the educational process, he is the intended goal and the cherished hope. For his sake schools and universities have been established, and the best teachers, male and female, have been appointed. So, O intelligent student, every morning as you go to your school, keep in mind that you stand before a precious opportunity: the opportunity to learn something new, to accomplish something different. It is your chance to elevate your mind and your ambition, and to draw nearer to your purpose and your goal. Be mindful that you are treading a path that leads to Paradise, in accordance with the saying of the Prophet ﷺ: «مَنْ سَلَكَ طَرِيقًا يَلْتَمِسُ فِيهِ عِلْمًا؛ سَهَّلَ اللَّهُ لَهُ بِهِ طَرِيقًا إِلَى الْجَنَّةِ، وَإنَّ ‌الْمَلَائِكَةَ ‌لَتَضَعُ ‌أَجْنِحَتَهَا ‌لِطَالِبِ ‌الْعِلْمِ، رِضًا بِمَا يَصْنَعُ» “Whoever follows a path seeking knowledge, Allah will make easy for him a path to Paradise. Indeed, the angels lower their wings in approval of the seeker of knowledge, pleased with what he does.” If you hold this intention in your heart, you will be rewarded for every step you take and blessed in every piece of knowledge you gain, from all branches of knowledge, whether human sciences or natural sciences. Strive to keep pace with artificial intelligence, and benefit from the knowledge it provides, while upholding academic integrity, awareness, and responsibility. Be an exemplary model to follow, in your school and your community, with your teachers and your peers, committed to school regulations, caring for your national identity, taking pride in your Arabic language, and preserving your societal values.   And you who are responsible for ensuring the success of educating the young, directors and administrators: Invest, with efficiency and sincerity, in what our blessed nation has provided: an integrated educational environment that combines the latest technological tools with the finest teaching methods, in order to graduate a generation of scholars and thinkers, experts and innovators, those who will contribute to the building of their homeland and the development of their society. } إِنَّ اللَّهَ وَمَلَائِكَتَهُ يُصَلُّونَ عَلَى النَّبِيِّ ۚ يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا صَلُّوا عَلَيْهِ وَسَلِّمُوا تَسْلِيمًا { Indeed, Allah and His angels send blessings upon the Prophet. O you who have believed, send blessings upon him and salute him with worthy salutation. (Al-Aḥzāb: 56) O Allah, send Your peace, blessings, and mercy upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family, his companions, and those who follow them. O Allah, be pleased with all the noble Companions. O Allah, make us believers in You, worshippers of You, seekers of beneficial knowledge, contributors to the progress of our society, and dutiful to our parents. Have mercy on them as they raised us when we were young, O Most Merciful of the merciful. O Allah, preserve the United Arab Emirates, care for it with Your protection, and envelop it with Your providence, O Lord of the worlds. O Allah, preserve Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, President of the State; grant him continued wisdom and sound judgment, guide him, his deputies, his brothers, the rulers of the Emirates, and his trustworthy Crown Prince to all that You love and are pleased with. O Allah, have mercy on Sheikh Zayed, Sheikh Rashid, and the other Sheikhs of the Emirates who have passed on to Your mercy. Admit them, by Your grace, into the vastness of Your gardens, and encompass the martyrs of the nation with Your mercy and forgiveness. O Allah, have mercy on the Muslims, men and women, the living among them and the deceased. Servants of Allah: Remember Allah, the Almighty, the Majestic, and He will remember you. Be grateful to Him for His blessings, and He will increase you. And establish the prayer.