Friday Khutbah: And They Advised One Another to Compassion
This is the official Friday Khutbah (sermon) issued by the General Authority of Islamic Affairs and Endowments (Awqaf) of the UAE for October 16, 2026, delivered across mosques throughout the Emirates. This week's topic: And They Advised One Another to Compassion.
The First Sermon
All praise is due to Allah, the Most Kind, the Most Merciful, whose mercy embraces all creation. I bear witness that there is no god but Allah, and I bear witness that our Prophet Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah. O Allah, send Your prayers, peace, and blessings upon him, his family, his Companions, and all those who follow him.
To proceed: Servants of Allah, I advise you and myself to be mindful of Allah. He, the Most High, says: ﴿وَاتَّقُوا اللَّهَ لَعَلَّكُمْ تُرْحَمُونَ﴾
“Be mindful of Allah so that you may receive mercy.” (Al-Hujurat: 10)
O believers! One day, your beloved Prophet ﷺ spoke to his Companions about the vastness of your Lord’s mercy. He said: “If you knew the extent of Allah’s mercy, you would rely upon it.”
Indeed, the mercy of our Lord is immense. Has He not said: “My mercy encompasses all things” (Al-A‘raf: 156)? ﴿وَرَحْمَتِي وَسِعَتْ كُلَّ شَيْءٍ﴾
And how could His mercy be anything less than great, when He has “decreed mercy upon Himself” (Al-An‘am: 12) before decreeing it for His creation, and made mercy a foundation of His creation?
﴿كَتَبَ عَلَى نَفْسِهِ الرَّحْمَةَ﴾
Servants of Allah, shall I not show you the ways to attain His mercy and be among those who receive it?Follow the example of the Prophet of Mercy ﷺ, whose heart was the most compassionate and whose words and actions showed the greatest kindness to those near and far. Allah says: “We have sent you only as a mercy to all the worlds.” (Al-Anbiya’: 107)
The people most deserving of your mercy are your fathers and mothers. Show kindness to them in their weakness, just as they showed kindness to you when you were weak. Let them see a smile on your faces and feel the warmth of your love in your hearts. Allah the Almighty says: ﴿وَاخْفِضْ لَهُمَا جَنَاحَ الذُّلِّ مِنَ الرَّحْمَةِ﴾
“And lower to them the wing of humility out of mercy.” (Al-Isra’: 24)
Beware of speaking harshly to them or looking at them with anger, for Allah has forbidden and warned against such behaviour. He says: ﴿فَلَا تَقُلْ لَهُمَا أُفٍّ وَلَا تَنْهَرْهُمَا﴾
“Do not even say to them ‘uff,’ nor scold them.” (Al-Isra’: 23)
Keep the warmth of your married life alive through mercy. Allah said: ﴿وَجَعَلَ بَيْنَكُمْ مَوَدَّةً وَرَحْمَةً﴾
“And He placed between you love and mercy” (Ar-Rum: 21)?
Do not spoil the peace of your marriage with harshness. How many hearts have been broken by a word, and how many homes have been torn apart by cruelty!
Fear Allah with regard to your children. Surround them with your love and embrace them with kindness. Let them find in you a compassionate heart, following the example of your Prophet’s guidance ﷺ.
For no one was “more compassionate towards children than the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.”
Do not make your children victims of family disputes or attempts to settle scores. A father must not treat his children harshly to take revenge on their mother by restricting their financial support or withholding his care from them. Likewise, a mother must not punish her children to get back at their father. It is not an act of mercy to heal your own wounds by hurting your children’s hearts.
Do not withhold your mercy from your brothers, sisters, or other relatives. Keep in touch with them and maintain family ties, for your Prophet ﷺ tells us that Allah, the Almighty, said:
«قَالَ اللَّهُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ: أَنَا الرَّحْمَنُ، وَأَنَا خَلَقْتُ الرَّحِمَ، وَاشْتَقَقْتُ لَهَا مِنَ اسْمِي، فَمَنْ وَصَلَهَا وَصَلْتُهُ، وَمَنْ قَطَعَهَا قَطَعْتُهُ»
“I am the Most Merciful. I created the ties of kinship and derived their name from My Name. Whoever maintains ties of kinship, I maintain ties with him, and whoever severs them, I sever ties with him.”
Servants of Allah, make mercy a way of life and spread it throughout your community. This is a moral, religious, and national duty.
Let employees show mercy to those they serve by meeting their needs and making things easier for them, rather than creating difficulties. Let them also treat those who work under their supervision with kindness, without hurting their feelings or discouraging them.
Let teachers show mercy to their students, considering the abilities of the weaker ones. Such students need more of their teachers’ effort, attention, encouragement, and care. Teachers should not make studying even more difficult for them through harsh treatment.
The Prophet ﷺ said: «إِنَّ اللَّهَ لَمْ يَبْعَثْنِي مُعَنِّتًا وَلَا مُتَعَنِّتًا، وَلَكِنْ بَعَثَنِي مُعَلِّمًا مُيَسِّرًا»
“Allah did not send me to make things difficult for people or to be harsh, but He sent me as a teacher who makes things easy.”
Show mercy to the weak and the orphan. A man once complained to the Prophet ﷺ about the hardness of his heart, and the Prophet said to him: «امْسَحْ رَأْسَ الْيَتِيمِ، وَأَطْعِمِ الْمِسْكِينَ»
“Pat the head of an orphan and feed the poor.”
Fear Allah with regard to those who serve you or work for you. Pay them their wages in full and protect their dignity.
Let your mercy extend to the birds and animals around you, for “there is a reward for showing kindness to every living creature.” «فِي كُلِّ كَبِدٍ رَطْبَةٍ أَجْرٌ»
Keep in mind the words of your Prophet ﷺ: “Those who show mercy will be shown mercy by the Most Merciful. Show mercy to those on earth, and the One above the heavens will show mercy to you.”
«الرَّاحِمُونَ يَرْحَمُهُمُ الرَّحْمَنُ، ارْحَمُوا مَنْ فِي الْأَرْضِ، يَرْحَمْكُمْ مَنْ فِي السَّمَاءِ»
He will show you mercy through His kindness in what He decrees, His goodness and countless blessings, and His pardon and forgiveness.
Blessed is the heart filled with mercy, one that draws close to those in need, treats the weak and the poor with compassion, comforts them, eases their suffering, and extends a helping and caring hand to them.
How wretched is the heart filled with cruelty, one that wrongs the weak and hurts the feelings of those in need! Do they not know that Allah’s mercy is near to those who make compassion their way of life and kindness their constant practice? Allah the Almighty says: “Indeed, Allah’s mercy is close to those who do good.” (Al-A‘raf: 56) ﴿إِنَّ رَحْمَتَ اللَّهِ قَرِيبٌ مِنَ الْمُحْسِنِينَ﴾
So, make mercy the hallmark of your character, and act upon the command of your Lord: “O you who believe, obey Allah, obey the Messenger, and those in authority among you.” (An-Nisa’: 59)
﴿يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا أَطِيعُوا اللَّهَ وَأَطِيعُوا الرَّسُولَ وَأُولِي الْأَمْرِ مِنْكُمْ﴾
I say these words, and I seek Allah’s forgiveness for myself and for you.
All praise is due to Allah, besides whom there is no god. May peace and blessings be upon our Prophet Muhammad, after whom there is no prophet.
To proceed: O believers! Whoever wishes to receive the mercy of his Lord in this life and the Hereafter should make mercy the heartbeat of his heart and let it guide his words and actions.
Mercy is the foundation of what makes us truly human. It frees the heart from hatred and resentment, removes harshness from society, and spreads love among people.
The greatness of a civilization is measured by the mercy in the hearts of its people. Therefore, our Lord, the Almighty, has made encouraging one another to show mercy in all its forms, and spreading and strengthening it throughout society, among the qualities of the people of the right.
The Lord of all worlds says: “And then being among those who believed and advised one another to patience and advised one another to compassion. Those are the companions of the right.” (Al-Balad: 17–18) ﴿ثُمَّ كَانَ مِنَ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَتَوَاصَوْا بِالصَّبْرِ وَتَوَاصَوْا بِالْمَرْحَمَةِ * أُولَئِكَ أَصْحَابُ الْمَيْمَنَةِ﴾
That is, those who attain Paradise with their Lord.
Our Prophet ﷺ said: “By the One in Whose Hand is my soul, you will not enter Paradise until you show mercy to one another.”
They said, “O Messenger of Allah, all of us are merciful.” He replied: “It is not the mercy that one of you shows to another, but mercy to all people; mercy to all people.” «وَالَّذِي نَفْسِي بِيَدِهِ، لَا تَدْخُلُوا الْجَنَّةَ حَتَّى تَرَاحَمُوا». قَالُوا: يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ، كُلُّنَا رَحِيمٌ. قَالَ: «إِنَّهُ لَيْسَ بِرَحْمَةِ أَحَدِكُمْ، وَلَكِنْ رَحْمَةُ الْعَامَّةِ، رَحْمَةُ الْعَامَّةِ»
How wonderful it would be to strengthen this value in our lives, and in the lives of our children, our families, and our schools, so that the bonds within our society grow stronger. No life has ever been made happy by cruelty, nor have hearts been enriched by harshness. Rather, souls thrive through mercy, and life flourishes through love and kindness.
O Allah, send Your prayers, peace, and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad, 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, we ask You for the deeds that bring Your mercy, the firm resolve to seek Your forgiveness, protection from every sin, a share in every good deed, success in attaining Paradise, and salvation from the Fire.
O Allah, guide us to the best of character, for no one can guide us to it except You.
O Allah, continue to bless the United Arab Emirates with strength, victory, stability, prosperity, goodness, and well-being.
O Allah, protect Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, President of the UAE, and bless his life and his work. Guide him, his deputies, his fellow Rulers of the Emirates, and his trusted Crown Prince to all that You love and are pleased with.
O Allah, have mercy on Sheikh Zayed, Sheikh Rashid, and the Rulers of the Emirates who have passed away, and admit them, through Your grace, into the vast gardens of Paradise.
O Allah, encompass the martyrs of our nation with Your mercy and forgiveness.
O Allah, have mercy on all Muslim men and women, those who are alive and those who have passed away.
O Allah, send down rain upon us, and do not let us be among those who lose hope. O Allah, grant us rain! O Allah, grant us rain! O Allah, grant us rain!
Servants of Allah, remember Allah, the Most Great and Glorious, and He will remember you. Give thanks to Him for His blessings, and He will increase them for you. And establish the prayer.
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