O my son, establish prayer

First Khutbah All praise is due to Allah, who has illuminated the hearts of the worshippers with prayer, and made it the path to the success of the believers. 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 blessings and peace be upon him, his family, his Companions, and those who follow Him. To proceed: I advise you, servants of Allah, and myself with the taqwa of Allah. The Exalted has said: ﴿وَأَنْ أَقِيمُوا الصَّلَاةَ وَاتَّقُوهُ﴾. “And establish the prayer and fear Him.” O believers: Our khutbah today is about the pillar of worship, the head of acts of obedience, and the choicest of offerings. It is the prayer (Salah), that great obligation which was mentioned in about seventy places in the Quran, and the command for it came explicitly from our Lord, the Most Merciful: ﴿وَأَقِيمُوا الصَّلَاةَ﴾، And establish prayer The prophets were keen to perform it, and they supplicated to Allah to enable their descendants to establish it. Here is Abraham, khalil alrahman, peace be upon him, calling upon his Lord, saying: ﴿رَبِّ اجْعَلْنِي مُقِيمَ الصَّلَاةِ وَمِنْ ذُرِّيَّتِي﴾ My Lord, make me an establisher of prayer, and [many] from my descendants And here is the Prophet Ishmael, peace be upon him, who used to enjoin on his people prayer  ﴿يَأْمُرُ أَهْلَهُ بِالصَّلَاةِ﴾ And there has come to you the story of Luqman the Wise, and his great counsel to his son: ﴿يَا بُنَيَّ أَقِمِ الصَّلَاةَ﴾  O my son, establish prayer And here is the divine command and the Lordly guidance, descending upon our Prophet ﷺ (peace and blessings be upon him) from above the seven heavens, saying to him: ﴿وَأْمُرْ أَهْلَكَ بِالصَّلَاةِ وَاصْطَبِرْ عَلَيْهَا﴾ And enjoin prayer upon your family [and people] and be steadfast therein The Prophet ﷺ (peace and blessings be upon him) continued to obey this divine command, holding fast to it throughout his life, until the final, fragrant seal of the Prophet's ﷺtestaments was: «‌الصَّلَاةَ، ‌الصَّلَاةَ»  The prayer, the prayer  repeating it in the final moments of his life as his soul was departing. What diligence is greater than the diligence of the prophets and the wise in advising their children about prayer! Do you not reach the peak of your happiness, O father, when you see your child standing before his Lord in prayer, reciting the Quran, conversing with his Lord, prostrating and bowing, humble and submissive? How this sight pleases your eye and delights your heart! Is that better, or a child whom you find distracted from prayer and negligent in its duty? Are they equal in comparison?  ﴿هَلْ يَسْتَوِيَانِ مَثَلًا﴾؟ So, instill in your children, O servants of Allah, the love of prayer, so they may feel the sweetness of standing before Allah and reflect upon the words of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him): «‌وَجُعِلَتْ ‌قُرَّةُ ‌عَيْنِي ‌فِي ‌الصَّلَاةِ» And the delight of my eyes was placed in prayer Let them realize that prayer is not merely movements they perform with their bodies, nor a burden they cast off their shoulders. Rather, it is the rope connecting them to their Lord, the path to the tranquility of their hearts, the comfort of their souls, and the repose of their spirits. Have you not heard the words of your Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) to his muezzin Bilal: «يَا بِلَالُ، ‌أَقِمِ ‌الصَّلَاةَ، ‌أَرِحْنَا ‌بِهَا» . O Bilal, call the Iqamah for the prayer, give us rest with it  Prayer is not only a comfort for the soul, but it also instills in our children the values of cleanliness and attentiveness, attachment to mosques and equality, and good reflection on the afterlife. This is in addition to the activity, discipline, responsibility, perseverance, and seriousness it broadcasts in them. It distances them from negligence, carelessness, and heedlessness through their commitment to performing it at its appointed times and their keenness to observe its timings, in accordance with the words of Allah the Almighty: ﴿‌إِنَّ ‌الصَّلاةَ ‌كَانَتْ ‌عَلَى ‌الْمُؤْمِنِينَ ‌كِتَابًا مَوْقُوتًا﴾ Indeed, prayer has been decreed upon the believers a decree of specified times”. When our children's hearts become attached to prayer and their souls blend with it, prayer becomes the pulse of their lives. They organize their activities around its timings, neither procrastinating nor delaying it. It is here that its impact becomes manifest in their behavior and their community. Their attendance at prayer teaches them unity for good and cooperation in righteousness, and it revives the bonds of affection among them. Thus, prayer becomes their key to success. When the call is raised, Come to success, حَيَّ عَلَى الْفَلَاحِ؛ they answer it swiftly, responding to the command of the Lord of the worlds: ﴿حَافِظُوا عَلَى الصَّلَوَاتِ﴾. Guard strictly the prayers . ﴿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 this and I ask Allah's forgiveness for me and for you, so seek His forgiveness. The Second Khutbah All praise is due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our Prophet after whom there is no prophet. O worshippers: Prayer enhances noble values and lofty morals in students. Through it, they regain their energy, their minds become accustomed to concentration, and their souls enjoy tranquility. And Allah increases them in knowledge and success, guidance and achievement. Allah, the Glorified, said: ﴿قَدْ أَفْلَحَ الْمُؤْمِنُونَ * الَّذِينَ هُمْ فِي صَلَاتِهِمْ خَاشِعُونَ﴾. Successful indeed are the believers, who are humbly submissive in their prayer . The Ministry of Education has been keen to reinforce the status of prayer in the souls of our children, allocating time for the performance of the Dhuhr (noon) prayer in school prayer rooms. So, O teachers: encourage students to take maximum advantage of this pioneering national initiative. Teach them to perform their ablution perfectly, to be humble in their prayers, and to maintain them at all their appointed times, for that is better for them in their worldly life and their hereafter. Umar ibn al-Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him, said: إِنَّ أَهَمَّ أَمْرِكُمْ عِنْدِي الصَّلَاةُ، مَنْ حَفِظَهَا وَحَافَظَ عَلَيْهَا، حَفِظَ دِينَهُ، وَمَنْ ضَيَّعَهَا، ‌فَهُوَ ‌لِمَا ‌سِوَاهَا ‌أَضْيَعُ Indeed, the most important of your affairs to me is the prayer. Whoever guards it and is constant in it has guarded his religion, and whoever neglects it will be more neglectful of other things    Teach them the objectives and status of prayer, its benefits and its rulings, and that they should supplicate frequently within it for themselves, their families, their nation, and their leadership. 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 greet him with peace.” (Qur’an 33:56) O Allah, send Your prayers, peace, and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad, 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, increase our children in protection and guidance, success and care. And make us, O Allah, believers in You, worshippers of You, constant in our prayers, and dutiful to our parents. And 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 with Your protection, care for it with Your guardianship, and surround it with Your grace, O Lord of the worlds. O Allah, preserve Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, President of the State. Continue to clothe him in wisdom and sound judgment, and grant him, his deputies, his brothers the rulers of the Emirates, and his trustworthy 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 Gardens, and encompass the nation's martyrs with Your mercy and forgiveness. O Allah, have mercy upon the Muslims, men and women, the living among them and the dead.  O Allah, grant us rain, and do not make us among the despondent. O Allah, send us rain. O Allah, send us rain. O Allah, send us rain. 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 prayer