Friday Khutbah: We Made from Water Every Living Thing

This is the official Friday Khutbah (sermon) issued by the General Authority of Islamic Affairs and Endowments (Awqaf) of the UAE for September 18, 2026, delivered across mosques throughout the Emirates. This week's topic: We Made from Water Every Living Thing.

The First Sermon

All praise is due to Allah, whose favour encompasses all His creation, who has lavished His blessings upon them, and who, out of His boundless generosity, has provided them with water. We bear witness that there is no deity worthy of worship except Allah, and we bear witness that our master and Prophet Muḥammad is the Messenger of Allah. May Allah’s peace, blessings, and grace be upon him, his family, his Companions, and all those who follow him.

To proceed: O servants of Allah, I counsel you and myself to remain mindful of Allah. He—Majestic and Exalted is He—says:

يَا أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ اعْبُدُوا رَبَّكُمُ الَّذِي خَلَقَكُمْ وَالَّذِينَ مِنْ قَبْلِكُمْ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَتَّقُونَ* الَّذِي جَعَلَ لَكُمُ الْأَرْضَ فِرَاشًا وَالسَّمَاءَ بِنَاءً وَأَنْزَلَ مِنَ السَّمَاءِ مَاءً فَأَخْرَجَ بِهِ مِنَ الثَّمَرَاتِ رِزْقًا لَكُمْ

“O humanity! Worship your Lord, who created you and those before you, so that you may become mindful of Him; He who made the earth a resting place for you and the sky a canopy, and sent down water from the sky, bringing forth fruits thereby as provision for you.” (Qurʾān 2:21–22)

O believers, our sermon today concerns one of the magnificent blessings of our Lord. Allah has placed it readily within our reach, to the extent that we have grown accustomed to its presence and become heedless of its immense value. Yet our forefathers travelled great distances to obtain it and endured considerable hardship in seeking it. It is the blessing of water—a dazzling sign of Allah’s majesty and power. Blessed is His Name; He says: أَفَرَأَيْتُمُ الْمَاءَ الَّذِي تَشْرَبُونَ* أَأَنْتُمْ أَنْزَلْتُمُوهُ مِنَ الْمُزْنِ أَمْ نَحْنُ الْمُنْزِلُونَ

“Have you considered the water that you drink? Is it you who bring it down from the clouds, or is it We who send it down?” (Qurʾān 56:68–69)

Reflect upon how Allah magnifies Himself by affirming that He alone sends down rain from the sky. How could it be otherwise, when He has made water the foundation of our lives? Has our Lord not said: وَجَعَلْنَا مِنَ الْمَاءِ كُلَّ شَيْءٍ حَيٍّ

“And We made from water every living thing.” (Qurʾān 21:30)

The thread of life upon the earth is bound to water. Through it we quench our thirst: وَأَرْسَلْنَا الرِّيَاحَ لَوَاقِحَ فَأَنْزَلْنَا مِنَ السَّمَاءِ مَاءً فَأَسْقَيْنَاكُمُوهُ وَمَا أَنْتُمْ لَهُ بِخَازِنِينَ

“We sent the winds as fertilisers, then sent down water from the sky and gave it to you to drink. It is not you who hold its reserves.” (Qurʾān 15:22)

With it we purify ourselves for our prayers and provide drink for our livestock: وَأَنْزَلْنَا مِنَ السَّمَاءِ مَاءً طَهُورًا * لِنُحْيِيَ بِهِ بَلْدَةً مَيْتًا وَنُسْقِيَهُ مِمَّا خَلَقْنَا أَنْعَامًا وَأَنَاسِيَّ كَثِيرًا

“We send down purifying water from the sky, so that by it We may revive a lifeless land and give drink to the many livestock and people We created.” (Qurʾān 25:48–49)

Through water our earth becomes green. Allah Most High says: أَلَمْ تَرَ أَنَّ اللَّهَ أَنْزَلَ مِنَ السَّمَاءِ مَاءً فَتُصْبِحُ الْأَرْضُ مُخْضَرَّةً

“Do you not see that Allah sends down water from the sky, and then the earth becomes green?” (Qurʾān 22:63)

Through it trees grow and fruits emerge: وَنَزَّلْنَا مِنَ السَّمَاءِ مَاءً مُبَارَكًا فَأَنْبَتْنَا بِهِ جَنَّاتٍ وَحَبَّ الْحَصِيدِ

“We sent down blessed water from the sky and caused gardens and grain ready for harvest to grow by it.” (Qurʾān 50:9)

Through it food becomes available for human beings and provision is supplied for birds and animals: هُوَ الَّذِي يُرِيكُمْ آيَاتِهِ وَيُنَزِّلُ لَكُمْ مِنَ السَّمَاءِ رِزْقًا

“He is the One who shows you His signs and sends down provision for you from the sky.” (Qurʾān 40:13)

For this reason, people rejoice when Allah sends rain and grieve when it is withheld. Allah Most High says: فَإِذَا أَصَابَ بِهِ مَنْ يَشَاءُ مِنْ عِبَادِهِ إِذَا هُمْ يَسْتَبْشِرُونَ * وَإِنْ كَانُوا مِنْ قَبْلِ أَنْ يُنَزَّلَ عَلَيْهِمْ مِنْ قَبْلِهِ لَمُبْلِسِينَ * فَانْظُرْ إِلَى آثَارِ رَحْمَتِ اللَّهِ كَيْفَ يُحْيِ الْأَرْضَ بَعْدَ مَوْتِهَا

“When He causes it to fall upon whichever of His servants He wills, they immediately rejoice, although before it was sent down upon them they had been in despair. Look, then, at the effects of Allah’s mercy—how He revives the earth after its death.” (Qurʾān 30:48–50)

Will you not, then, be grateful to Allah? Praise Allah for His bounty and obey His command: وَاشْكُرُوا لِلَّهِ إِنْ كُنْتُمْ إِيَّاهُ تَعْبُدُونَ

“Give thanks to Allah, if it is truly Him whom you worship.” (Qurʾān 2:172)

O servants of Allah, part of showing gratitude for the blessing of water is to recognise its value and remain conscious of the magnitude of its benefit. We must use it wisely and refrain from wasting it. Allah Most High says: وَلَا تُسْرِفُوا إِنَّهُ لَا يُحِبُّ الْمُسْرِفِينَ

“Do not be wasteful, for He does not love the wasteful.” (Qurʾān 6:141)

Every drop of water wasted without need is the misuse of a magnificent blessing and a failure to honour a trust that Allah has placed in our hands. Whenever the self inclines towards wasting water, let a person remember someone like himself traversing the desert in search of a single drop, and another digging among rocks in the hope of finding even a small quantity.

Let him pause before the words of Allah Most High: ثُمَّ لَتُسْأَلُنَّ يَوْمَئِذٍ عَنِ النَّعِيمِ

“Then, on that Day, you will surely be questioned about your blessings.” (Qurʾān 102:8)

The scholars have explained that water is among the blessings about which the human being will be questioned on the Day of Resurrection. Al-Ṭabarī mentions this in his commentary on the verse (Tafsīr al-Ṭabarī, 24:585). Have you not heard the words of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ: إِنَّ أَوَّلَ مَا يُسْأَلُ عَنْهُ الْعَبْدُ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ مِنَ النَّعِيمِ أَنْ يُقَالَ لَهُ: أَلَمْ نُصِحَّ لَكَ جِسْمَكَ وَنُرْوِيَكَ مِنَ الْمَاءِ الْبَارِدِ

“The first of the blessings about which the servant will be questioned on the Day of Resurrection will be that it will be said to him: ‘Did We not give you a healthy body and quench you with cool water?’” (Sunan al-Tirmidhī, no. 3358)

Whoever reflects upon the life of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ will recognise how sparingly he used water. Anas ibn Mālik—may Allah be pleased with him—reported:

كَانَ النَّبِيُّ ﷺ يَتَوَضَّأُ بِالْمُدِّ وَيَغْتَسِلُ بِالصَّاعِ إِلَى خَمْسَةِ أَمْدَادٍ

“The Prophet ﷺ would perform ablution with one mudd of water and bathe with one ṣāʿ, up to five mudds.” (Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī and Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim)

A mudd is approximately the quantity held by two average cupped hands, equivalent to roughly half a litre. If this was the Prophet’s ﷺ moderation when purifying himself for worship, how much more mindful should we be in other uses of water?

Follow the example of your Messenger ﷺ in every circumstance. Use water responsibly in all your activities, for it is a blessing preserved through wise management and depleted through extravagance and waste. Be an example in this regard to your children, and act in accordance with the words of your Lord: “O you who believe! Obey Allah, obey the Messenger, and those entrusted with authority among you.” (Qurʾān 4:59) I say these words of mine and seek Allah’s forgiveness for myself and for you. Seek His forgiveness, for He is the Most Forgiving, the Most Merciful.

The Second Sermon

All praise is due to Allah alone, and may prayers and peace be upon the one after whom there is no prophet.

To proceed: O believers, water is a blessing for which we must give thanks, a trust that we must preserve, and a future resource that we must protect for our children and the generations to come.

Arising from this civilisational awareness, and under the direction of His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, President of the State—may Allah preserve him—the Mohamed bin Zayed Water Initiative was launched. Its purpose is to raise awareness of the challenge of water scarcity, accelerate innovation in finding solutions, and open wider horizons for the sustainable management of water.

From this vision emerged the Water Pioneers Programme, which seeks to develop a generation of young Emiratis who combine knowledge with skill, connect learning with practical action, and unite thought with innovation. In this way, they may contribute to devising sustainable solutions for water and building a future of greater prosperity and development.

This programme has produced global partnerships that expand cooperation among minds, expertise, and experience, transforming innovation into a lasting contribution to the flourishing of life. This forms part of the cultivation and responsible development of the earth with which Allah Most High has entrusted us. He says: هُوَ أَنْشَأَكُمْ مِنَ الْأَرْضِ وَاسْتَعْمَرَكُمْ فِيهَا

“He brought you into being from the earth and entrusted you with its cultivation.” (Qurʾān 11:61)

Knowledge that guides, innovation that builds, and human capabilities that are cultivated and elevated are all part of faithfully carrying the trust of developing the earth and sincerely fulfilling our duty towards our homeland and humanity.

O Allah, send Your peace, blessings, and grace upon our master and Prophet Muḥammad, and upon his family and Companions. O Allah, be pleased with Abū Bakr, ʿUmar, ʿUthmān, and ʿAlī, and with all the noble Companions.

O Allah, preserve for us the blessing of water, security, and prosperity. Bless us in Your favours, increase us from Your bounty, and perpetuate Your generosity and goodness towards us. Assist us in remembering You and giving thanks to You, O Lord of all worlds.

O Allah, perpetuate the honour, victory, stability, prosperity, goodness, and well-being of the United Arab Emirates.

O Allah, preserve Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, President of the State, through Your protection. Be his aid and support, and bless his life and his work.

O Allah, grant success to him, his deputies, his brothers the Rulers of the Emirates, and his trustworthy Crown Prince in all that You love and that pleases You.

O Allah, have mercy upon Sheikh Zayed, Sheikh Rashid, and the Sheikhs of the Emirates who have passed into Your mercy, and admit them by Your grace into the spacious gardens of Your Paradise. Encompass the martyrs of the nation in Your mercy and forgiveness.

O Allah, have mercy upon the Muslim men and women, those who are living and those who have passed away.

O servants of Allah, remember Allah, the Magnificent, the Majestic, and He will remember you. Give thanks to Him for His blessings, and He will increase you. Establish the prayer.