Friday Sermon, March 20, 2026: 'Have We not expanded for you your chest'

All praise is due to Allah, the Most Generous, the Most Appreciative, the One who expands the chests and governs all affairs. We bear witness that there is no god but Allah, and we bear witness that our master Muḥammad is the Messenger of Allah. O Allah, send prayers, peace, and blessings upon him, upon his family, his companions, and those who follow his guidance.

To proceed: I counsel you, O servants of Allah, and myself, to have God-consciousness (taqwā). Allah, Exalted is He, says: “Whoever is mindful of Allah, He will make for him ease in his affair” (Qurʾān 65:4).

O believers: We praise Allah on this blessed and noble day for honouring us with the completion of our month and allowing us to reach our Eid, rejoicing in obedience to our Lord, hopeful in His generosity, continuing in His worship, and reflecting upon the chapters of His Qurʾān. Today we pause with Sūrat al-Sharḥ, which contains a reminder of three immense blessings, a promise that lightens the heaviest hardships, and two commands that draw one near to Allah, the Possessor of Majesty and Generosity.

The first of these blessings is what our Lord, Mighty and Majestic, begins the sūrah with: “Have We not expanded for you your chest?” (Qurʾān 94:1).

The expansion of the chest is among the greatest blessings bestowed upon our Prophet (PBUH) and among the highest aims of our religion. So, follow the guidance of your Prophet, your chests will be expanded and your affairs will be made easy.

The second blessing is His saying: “And We removed from you your burden, which had weighed heavily upon your back” (Qurʾān 94:2–3).

Allah removed from His Prophet hardship and constraint. How could it be otherwise, when He is the Most Generous, the Bestower, who, when He commands, also grants assistance?

The third blessing is His saying: “And We raised for you your remembrance” (Qurʾān 94:4).

Allah raised the mention of our Prophet (PBUH), elevated his rank, and made his praise everlasting. How true is the saying: the Divine has joined the name of the Prophet with His own, such that when the caller to prayer proclaims, “I bear witness,” the name of the Prophet is mentioned alongside the name of Allah.

Then in Sūrat al-Sharḥ comes a promise that brings comfort to hearts and gladness to souls, in His saying: “Indeed, with hardship comes ease. Indeed, with hardship comes ease” (Qurʾān 94:5–6).

Yes, ease is always accompanied by hardship, and one hardship will never overcome two eases. So, revive your hearts with hope and fill them with good expectation.

Allah says: “O you who believe, obey Allah and obey the Messenger and those in authority among you” (Qurʾān 4:59). I say these words of mine, and I seek forgiveness from Allah for myself and for you, so seek His forgiveness.

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

O believers: Allah concludes Sūrat al-Sharḥ with two great commands that awaken determination and strengthen resolve. He says: “So, when you are free, then strive. And to your Lord direct your longing” (Qurʾān 94:7–8).

This means that when you finish one matter, turn to another, and when you complete one deed, hasten to the next. The believer moves continually between action and worship, between obligations and voluntary acts, between charity and maintaining family ties, between learning and teaching, between what is required and what is extra, and from one season of goodness to the next.

So, take care, O you who have bid farewell to Ramadan, that your farewell is not also a farewell to fasting, night prayer, remembrance, the Qurʾān, charity, and excellence. Whoever has tasted the sweetness of nearness in Ramadan is deserving of remaining at the door of obedience throughout the rest of the year.

O Allah, send prayers and peace upon our master and Prophet Muḥammad, and upon his family and companions altogether. O Allah, be pleased with Abū Bakr, ʿUmar, ʿUthmān, and ʿAlī, and with all the noble companions.

O Allah, make us believers through You, worshippers devoted to You, people who reflect deeply upon the Qurʾān, spreaders of optimism, and dutiful to our parents; and have mercy upon them as they raised us when we were young, O Most Merciful of the merciful.

O Allah, preserve Shaykh Muḥammad bin Zāyid, the President of the State, with Your protection; guard him with Your gentleness; surround him with Your mercy; envelop him in Your care; and shade him under Your providence. Make his deeds to be in obedience to You, support him with Your help, and prepare for him sound judgment and right guidance in his affairs. Be for him a helper and a support, a guide and one who grants success. Illuminate his insight, grant success to his path, and make his words and actions upright. Bless his life and his work, and make him a key to goodness, a lock against evil, and granted success in every matter. O Allah, grant him success, as well as his deputies, his brothers—the rulers of the Emirates—and his trustworthy Crown Prince, in that which You love and are pleased with. O Allah, have mercy upon Shaykh Zāyid, Shaykh Rāshid, and the rulers of the Emirates who have passed on to Your mercy. Admit them, by Your grace, into the vastness of Your gardens. Envelop the martyrs of the nation in Your mercy and forgiveness, grant them abundant reward, pour upon them from the outpouring of Your bounty, and recompense their families with the best reward that You grant to the patient.

O servants of Allah, remember Allah, the Mighty, the Majestic—He will remember you; and be grateful to Him for His blessings—He will increase you. And establish the prayer.