H.E. Prof. Dr. Koutoub Moustapha Sano, Secretary General of the Academy, delivered the sermon of Friday, the 27th of Dhul Qi‘dah For the year 1444 AH, corresponding to June 16, 2023 AD, at the Mosque of Al Maktoum College for Higher Education in Dundee, Scotland. The title of the sermon was citizenship, integrity and its impact on behavior.

He paved the way for his sermon with what is known as alBayan in English, which is a lecture that precedes the Friday sermon, and he devoted it to talk about citizenship its concept, reality, and importance, where he emphasized that belonging to the homelands and loyalty to the homelands is a religious duty upon every Muslim that must be respected and observed. Indeed, it is considered as one of the duties that God has imposed on every individual, just as we must be loyal to our religion and our people, so we must be loyal to our homelands and our rulers. In fact there is no differentiation between the homelands, and that the existence of the homelands is a divine law that He wanted on the day He created people from male and female and made them into peoples and tribes in order to get to know each other. This is due to the fact that the existence of peoples and tribes is a clear and sure statement of the existence of different homelands and countries. Therefore, a Muslim should be proud of his country, loving it by defending it, protecting it, advancing it, and staying away from everything that offends it such as acts of vandalism, outrageous behavior, and flagrant violations of laws and legislation. He pointed out that the love of the homeland is translated through respect for its constitution, laws, legislations, traditions and values. This would be an expression of gratitude and thankfulness for providing him and his family the security and decent life. He concluded his statement by inviting British Muslims to love their kingdom, and to thank it and their rulers for what it has provided for them: safety and security, stability, and decent living, and they should be proud of belonging to it, defending it, and advancing it. He called on Muslims residing in this good kingdom to respect its laws and legislations, and to refrain from all forms of violence and aggression is to preserve the reputation of Islam and the status of Islam.. The true Muslim is the one who adheres to the teachings of his religion that were imposed; he must obey his Lord, obey His Messenger, and obey rulers.

As for the Friday sermon, His Excellency devoted it to talking about righteousness and its importance to Muslim in this era. The Messenger, may God’s prayers and peace be upon him and his family, was asked about the most important behaviour which could enable the Muslim to enter the Paradis. He stressed the hadith of the great companion Sufyan bin Abdullah Al-Thaqafi, he said: I said: O Messenger of God, tell me something about Islam that I will not ask anyone about after you. He said:Say: I believe in God, then be upright.

What is required of belief in God is belief in His angels, His messengers, His Books, the Last Day, and destiny, its good and its bad while uprightness is adherence to all that God and His Messenger commanded of prayers, zakat, fasting, Hajj, and honoring one‘s parents. Honoring the guest, benevolence to the neighbor, relief to the needy, mastery of work, creativity, innovation, and other things. Forms of good deeds, as righteousness requires staying away from everything forbidden by God and His Messenger, may God bless him and grant him peace And his family and peace from polytheism, lying, cheating, arrogance, injustice, aggression, disobedience, laziness, theft, usury, and adultery and other prohibitions.. His Excellency made it clear that uprightness in saying and doing is the key to Paradise, and one of the reasons of the tranquility and stability, rather it is the glad tidings that a person feels when he is in a state of death, the credibility of what he says ((Indeed, those who said our Lord is God and then became steadfast, the angels descend upon them: Fear not, nor grieve, and give glad tidings. In the paradise that you were promising we are the first of you in this worldly life and in the hereafter. And you will have therein whatever you claim)) Fussilat: 30-31

He concluded his sermon by stressing that one of the most important fruits of righteousness is that it brings pleasure and comfort to its owner. With regard to his heirs, including spouses, children and loved ones, when he parted from this world, this is because God promised to guarantee them, care for them and protect them. .

The sermon was well received, and accepted by the worshipers.