Life Teaches Us

First Khutbah All praise is due to Allah, Who created His creation and placed for them in life lessons and admonitions. We bear witness that there is no deity worthy of worship except Allah alone, and we bear witness that our Prophet Muhammad ﷺ is the Messenger of Allah. May Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him, his family, his Companions, and those who follow his path. To proceed: I advise you, servants of Allah, and myself with the fear of Allah. The Almighty says: ﴿يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا اتَّقُوا اللَّهَ وَلْتَنْظُرْ نَفْسٌ مَا قَدَّمَتْ لِغَدٍ﴾. “O you who have believed, fear Allah. And let every soul look to what it has put forth for tomorrow.”  O believers! Life is among the greatest and noblest of blessings, a gift that necessitates gratitude to its Giver. Allah Almighty has made it full of lessons, perceived by those who reflect and contemplate. Indeed, the Noble Qur’an is replete with accounts from the lives of others, so that we may derive from them benefits that enlighten our insight and revive our hearts. From life, we learn lessons about faith, moral values, and practical skills. Whoever comprehends them and acts upon them, his affairs are praiseworthy, his remembrance among people endures, and his reward with Allah is magnified. So, what do we learn from life, O servants of Allah? We must learn that faith in Allah is a fortified stronghold and an elevated refuge. Whoever takes shelter under its shade will find peace of mind, a strong will, and a good livelihood. Have you not heard the saying of Allah, the Exalted: ﴿مَنْ عَمِلَ صَالِحًا مِنْ ذَكَرٍ أَوْ أُنْثَى وَهُوَ مُؤْمِنٌ فَلَنُحْيِيَنَّهُ حَيَاةً طَيِّبَةً﴾ “Whoever does righteousness, whether male or female, while he is a believer, We will surely cause him to live a good life.” How many a person found the world constricted despite its vastness, but once he held firmly to the boat of faith and was sincere in his reliance upon Allah, the Most Merciful, his hardship was lifted, and his trial was transformed into a blessing. Allah, the Exalted, says: ﴿وَكَذَلِكَ نُنْجِي الْمُؤْمِنِينَ﴾ “And thus, We save the believers.” So let faith in Allah always be your provision, and in times of tribulation your refuge. Increase in the remembrance of your Lord, for among the lessons of life is that the remembrance of Allah purifies the souls and gives life to the hearts. Allah, the Exalted, says: ﴿أَلَا بِذِكْرِ اللَّهِ تَطْمَئِنُّ الْقُلُوبُ﴾ “Indeed, in the remembrance of Allah do hearts find rest.” Through the remembrance of Allah, the heart is illuminated, and the soul finds comfort; whereas through turning away from Him, the breast becomes constricted, and life becomes miserable. Allah, the Exalted, says: ﴿وَمَنْ أَعْرَضَ عَنْ ذِكْرِي فَإِنَّ لَهُ مَعِيشَةً ضَنْكًا﴾ “And whoever turns away from My remembrance indeed, he will have a depressed life.” So, fill your time with the remembrance of Allah, and make it the spring of your hearts. And among the lessons life teaches us is that supplication (duʿāʾ) is the gate of hope and the relief of hearts in times of trial. How many a broken heart has been mended by supplication! How many a sick person has been healed through supplication! How many a distressed soul has had its burden lifted by supplication! So, turn to Allah in duʿāʾ. The Prophet ﷺ said: «إِنَّ رَبَّكُمْ ‌حَيِيٌّ ‌كَرِيمٌ، ‌يَسْتَحْيِي مِنْ عَبْدِهِ إِذَا رَفَعَ يَدَيْهِ إِلَيْهِ أَنْ يَرُدَّهُمَا صِفْرًا». “Indeed, your Lord is Kind and Most Generous, and is too kind to let His slave, if he raises his hands to Him, bring them back empty.” O servants of Allah! Life has taught those who trust in their Lord that provision is in the Hand of Allah. He distributes it among His servants with His wisdom and facilitates its means with His mercy. Allah, the Exalted, says:                 ﴿إِنَّ اللَّهَ هُوَ الرَّزَّاقُ ذُو الْقُوَّةِ الْمَتِينُ﴾ “Indeed, it is Allah who is the [continual] Provider, the Possessor of firm strength.” So be content with His decree, grateful for His blessings, and do not grieve over what has passed you by, nor exult over what has come to you. For what has been written for you will never miss you, and what has not been decreed for you, you will never attain. And life has taught the truthful that truthfulness is a means of salvation. The Prophet ﷺ said: «إِنَّ الصِّدْقَ يَهْدِي إِلَى الْبِرِّ» “Indeed, truthfulness leads to righteousness.” How many a person clung to truthfulness, and Allah saved him, opened for him the gate of safety, and granted him well-being! So, adhere to truthfulness in your words, your deeds, and in all of your conditions. And life has taught the just that fulfilling the rights of others is among the greatest of obligations, and that oppression is layers of darkness. It shuts the doors of success upon a person. And how can the oppressor ever prosper? Allah, the Exalted, says: ﴿وَاللَّهُ لَا يَهْدِي الْقَوْمَ الظَّالِمِينَ﴾ “And Allah does not guide the wrongdoing people.” So, beware of oppression, for its outcome is grievous. Allah, the Exalted, says: ﴿وَاللَّهُ لَا يُحِبُّ الظَّالِمِينَ﴾ “And Allah does not love the wrongdoers.” And among the lessons we learn in life is that a good word leaves behind a lasting effect and yields sweet fruits. The Prophet ﷺ said:  «وَالْكَلِمَةُ ‌الطَّيِّبَةُ ‌صَدَقَةٌ» “A good word is charity.” Indeed, a kind word brings happiness to hearts, motivates a person, extinguishes the fire of conflict, and spreads the light of love and harmony. So, adorn your tongues with good words and beautify your gatherings with them. Allah, the Exalted, 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 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! Life teaches us that whoever studies the lives of others adds to his own life many lifetimes. And this is not surprising, for reflecting upon the experiences of those before us is a sound Qur’anic method. Allah, the Exalted, says: ﴿لَقَدْ كَانَ فِي قَصَصِهِمْ عِبْرَةٌ لِأُوْلِي الْأَلْبَابِ﴾ “There was certainly in their stories a lesson for those of understanding.” So, draw from the experiences of your elders, for they are the teachers of life. They have absorbed its lessons, endured its trials, and been refined by its experiences. Its circumstances have taught them, and its situations have shaped them. Indeed, the lessons of life are sufficient as a teacher, especially when they come from a wise and outstanding leader. In such cases, they provide nourishment of wisdom and distilled guidance from experience, by which travellers on the path may be directed, and those who reflect may take heed. Allah, the Exalted, has honoured us in the United Arab Emirates with a wise leadership that summarizes for us the lessons of life and gathers its experiences. His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, may Allah protect him, has presented to us his book “Life Has Taught Me”, containing valuable experiences across various fields. Among the points His Highness emphasized in this book is that: “The homeland is one great team, and the great team is a homeland for the innovators. It is a supreme value that rises and elevates through our actions and sacrifices. We are all responsible, and each of us can contribute to creating higher and nobler values for our homeland. People may come and go, but the homeland remains. We give to it without expecting anything in return, just as it has always given to us without expectation. The homeland comes first, the homeland comes last, and the homeland endures forever”. So, O servants of Allah, learn from your experiences and from the experiences of others. Do not withhold your knowledge from others; share it generously with them, for, Religion is sincere advice. «‌الدِّينُ ‌النَّصِيحَةُ» Pass on your experiences to your children and teach them to benefit from the experiences of others, so that these become values that guide them through their lives. Thus, they will be among those who reflect and contemplate; those who see in every day a lesson, in every difficulty an opportunity, “وَفِي كُلِّ صُعُوبَةٍ فُرْصَةً”  and at every juncture, a teaching. O Allah, send Your peace and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad, the Seal of the Messengers, and upon his family, his Companions, and those who follow them. O Allah, be pleased with Abū Bakr, ʿUmar, ʿUthmān, and ʿAlī, and with all the noble Companions. O Allah, make us firm in faith in You, devoted in worship to You, learners from the lessons of life, and benefitting from its experiences. Make us dutiful to our parents and have mercy on them as they raised us when we were small, O Most Merciful of the merciful. O Allah, preserve the United Arab Emirates with Your protection, encompass it with Your care, and guard it with Your providence, O Lord of the worlds. O Allah, preserve Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, the President of the State. Grant him continued wisdom and sound judgment, and grant success to him, his deputies, his brothers, the rulers of the Emirates, and his trustworthy Crown Prince in all that You love and are pleased with.  O Allah, have mercy on Sheikh Zayed, Sheikh Rashid, and the rest of the leaders of the Emirates who have passed into Your mercy. Admit them, by Your grace, into the vastness of Your gardens, and envelop the martyrs of the nation with Your mercy and forgiveness. O Allah, have mercy upon the Muslim men and women, the living among them and the dead. Servants of Allah: Remember Allah, the Almighty, the Majestic, He will remember you. Be grateful to Him for His blessings, and He will increase you. And establish the prayer.