Blessings from the Heavens

First Sermon: All praise is due to Allah, who has bestowed upon His servants abundant goodness, sent down upon them blessings, and provided them with pure sustenance. We bear witness that there is no god but Allah alone, and we bear witness that our Prophet Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, may Allah’s peace, blessings, and mercy be upon him, his family, his companions, and all who follow him in righteousness. To proceed: I advise you, servants of Allah, and myself to have taqwa of Allah, for through it blessings descend. Allah, The Lord of all creations said: ﴿وَلَوْ أَنَّ أَهْلَ الْقُرَى آمَنُوا وَاتَّقَوْا لَفَتَحْنَا عَلَيْهِمْ بَرَكَاتٍ مِنَ السَّمَاءِ وَالْأَرْضِ﴾ “And if only the people of the towns had believed and feared Allah, We would have opened for them blessings from the heaven and the earth.” O Believers: We just prayed Salat al-Istisqa (the prayer for rain) , asking our Lord to send down upon us the blessings of the heavens, fully certain that He alone has the power to send water. For the clouds do not pour rain except by His permission, and the downpour descends only by His command, as a mercy from Him alone. He relieves whom He wills among His servants, reviving the earth after its death, bringing forth its blessings, and causing its crops and fruits to grow. Allah the Almighty said: ﴿وَنَزَّلْنَا مِنَ السَّمَاءِ مَاءً مُبَارَكًا فَأَنْبَتْنَا بِهِ جَنَّاتٍ وَحَبَّ الْحَصِيدِ﴾ “And We sent down from the sky blessed water, whereby We caused gardens and grain for harvest to grow.” The measure of the blessings carried by the rain lies in the goodness the earth yields as a result. The Prophet ﷺ said: «لَيْسَتِ السَّنَةُ بِأَنْ لَا تُمْطَرُوا، وَلَكِنِ السَّنَةُ ‌أَنْ ‌تُمْطَرُوا ‌وَتُمْطَرُوا، وَلَا تُنْبِتُ الْأَرْضُ شَيْئًا». “It is not a barren year that you are not rained upon, but the barren year is that you are rained upon, and rained upon again, yet the earth produces nothing.” Here, the true meanings of blessing (barakah) become clear, it is the growth and stability of goodness, the increase of benefit, and the continuance of its effect. Its signs appear when a little becomes sufficient, and a small amount becomes abundant. Because of the importance of blessing and its great significance, Allah commanded His Prophet Noah, peace be upon him, to supplicate with it, as He, the Most High, said: ﴿وَقُلْ رَبِّ أَنْزِلْنِي مُنْزَلًا مُبَارَكًا﴾  “And say: My Lord, let me descend at a blessed descent”  And He, glory be to Him, bestowed blessings upon His prophet Abraham and his descendants, as He said in His Book: ﴿وَبَارَكْنَا عَلَيْهِ وَعَلَى إِسْحَاقَ﴾ “And We blessed him and Isaac”  and He blessed the Messiah, Jesus, son of Mary, peace be upon him, until He said: ﴿وَجَعَلَنِي مُبَارَكًا أَيْنَ مَا كُنْتُ﴾ “And He has made me blessed wherever I am” meaning: beneficial to people wherever I go, and a source of goodness wherever I settle. Strive, servants of Allah, to seek the causes of blessings in your lives: Through the purity of your hearts, the righteousness of your deeds, and the mercy you show one another. Begin your day with your prayer, and turn sincerely to the Book of your Lord, as He says: ﴿فَاقْرَءُوا مَا تَيَسَّرَ مِنْهُ﴾ “Then recite what is easy [for you] of it.”  So that you may receive from its blessings: ﴿كِتَابٌ أَنْزَلْنَاهُ إِلَيْكَ مُبَارَكٌ لِيَدَّبَّرُوا آيَاتِهِ﴾ “[This is] a blessed Book which We have revealed to you, that they might reflect upon its verses.” Pay the zakat on your wealth, and your Lord will bless it for you. Do not neglect it, lest He withhold His blessings and rain from you. The Prophet ﷺ said: «مَا ‌مَنَعَ ‌قَوْمٌ ‌الزَّكَاةَ إِلَّا مَنَعَهُمُ اللَّهُ ‌الْقَطْرَ ‌مِنَ ‌السَّمَاءِ» “No people withhold the zakat of their wealth except that Allah withholds rain from the sky.” Be mindful of your time, and start your work early, so that you may be included in the supplication of your Prophet ﷺ: «اللَّهُمَّ بَارِكْ لِأُمَّتِي فِي بُكُورِهَا» “O Allah, bless my nation in their early mornings.” Be honest and upright in your dealings. Maintain ties of kinship, and spread peace within your homes, so that your families may live in blessing. The Prophet ﷺ said: «إِذَا دَخَلْتَ عَلَى أَهْلِكَ فَسَلِّمْ؛ يَكُونُ بَرَكَةً عَلَيْكَ وَعَلَى أَهْلِ بَيْتِكَ». “When you enter your home, greet your family with peace; it will be a blessing for you and your household.” 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 for forgiveness for me and for you. So seek His forgiveness, indeed, He is the All-Forgiving, the Most Merciful. Second Sermon: All praise is due to Allah, there is no god but Him, and may peace and blessings be upon our Prophet Muhammad, the final Messenger, after whom there is no prophet. To proceed: O believers, supplication (du‘a) is among the greatest causes of receiving blessings. So, turn sincerely to Allah, your Lord, and ask Him to bless all your affairs, following the example of your beloved Prophet ﷺ, who often said: «وَبَارِكْ ‌لَنَا ‌فِيمَا ‌أَعْطَيْتَ». “And bless for us what You have given us.” O Allah, place blessings in our hearts, blessings in our homes, blessings in our time and our lives, and blessings in our deeds. O Allah, bless us in our health and wellbeing, in our wealth and sustenance, in our fathers and mothers. Bless us in our spouses and children, in our families and relatives, in our community and homeland, and bless us, O Allah, in everything You have given us. O Allah, we have raised our hands to You in humility, hoping in Your generosity, so do not turn us away disappointed. O Allah, grant each one of us what he or she desires, and bless what You have provided. O Allah, we ask You for all that is good, in this world and in the Hereafter, the good that we know and the good that we do not know. O Allah, send Your blessings and peace upon our beloved Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and all his companions. O Allah, be pleased with Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman, and Ali, and with all the noble companions. O Allah, make us firm believers in You, devoted worshippers of You, and blessed wherever we may be. Make us dutiful and kind to our parents and have mercy on them as they raised us when we were young, O Most Merciful of the merciful. O Allah, protect the United Arab Emirates with Your protection, care for it under Your guardianship, and surround it with Your divine attention, O Lord of the worlds. O Allah, protect Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, President of the State. Continue to clothe him with wisdom and sound judgment, and grant him, his deputies, his brothers, the Rulers of the Emirates, and his loyal Crown Prince success in all that You love and are pleased with. O Allah, have mercy on Sheikh Zayed, Sheikh Rashid, and all the leaders of the Emirates who have passed away into Your mercy. Admit them, by Your grace, into the vastness of Your Paradise, and encompass the martyrs of the nation with Your mercy and forgiveness. O Allah, have mercy on the Muslim men and women, the believing men and women, those who are living and those who have passed away. O Allah, You who are vast in mercy and great in bounty, send us rain and do not make us among the despairing. O Allah, grant us rain, O Allah, grant us rain, O Allah, grant us rain. O Allah, bless us with the bounties of the sky, and make the earth grow for us from its blessings, O Hearer of supplication. Servants of Allah: remember Allah, the Almighty, the Majestic. He will remember you; and be grateful to Him for His blessings, and He will increase you. And establish the prayer.