1a] Is it prescribed for the khateeb to say “Aqoolu qawli haadha wa astaghfir-Allaah (I say these words of mine and I ask Allah for forgiveness)?

1a]
''Friday Prayers'' :
@
because what these words refer to is everything that the khateeb said
in his khutbah, even the verses, hadeeths and reports thatthe khateeb
quoted.
The point is that saying these words is permissibleand there is
nothing wrong with it, and there is no justification for objecting to
it.
We ask Allah to help us tounderstand His religion properly.
And Allah knows best.

1] Is it prescribed for the khateeb to say “Aqoolu qawli haadha wa astaghfir-Allaah (I say these words of mine and I ask Allah for forgiveness)?

1]
''Friday Prayers'' :
@
At the end of the Friday khutbah the khateeb says,"Aqoolu qawli haadha
wa astaghfir-Allaah (I say these words of mine and Iask Allah for
forgiveness). Is there any basis for this in Islam? Is there anything
wrong with that? We prayed in one ofthe mosques and at the end of the
khutbah the khateeb said, "I say these words of mine and I ask Allah
for forgiveness for me and you and for all the Muslims." When the
prayer was over, one of the congregation of the mosque objected to
that and said: "This is an innovation that is said in the khutbah."
Then he said: "It is not only your words, you quoted Qur'aanic verses
and hadeeths, and the words of the Salaf, so how could you say that
these are your words?".
Praise be to Allaah.
There is nothing wrong with the khateeb saying at the end of his
speech, "Aqoolu haadha wa astaghfir-Allaah (I say thisand I ask Allah
for forgiveness)" or "Aqoolu qawli haadha wa astaghfir-Allaah (I say
these words of mine and Iask Allah for forgiveness)",whether this is
the first orsecond Friday khutbah or any other kind of speech. These
are words that are narrated from the Prophet (blessings and peace of
Allah be upon him) and from the khateebs among his Companions (may
Allah be pleased with them).
Ibn Hibbaan (3828) narrated from Ibn 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with
him) that the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) gave
a speech on theday of the conquest of Makkah. He praised and glorified
Allah then he said: "To proceed: O people, Allah has taken away from
you the pride in ancestry of Jaahiliyyah. O people, people are of two
types, the righteous and pious one who is dearto his Lord and the
wretched evildoer who is worthless before his Lord." Then he recited
the verse (interpretation of the meaning): "O mankind! We have created
you from a male and a female, and made you into nations and tribes,
that you may knowone another. Verily, the most honourable of you with
Allaah is that (believer) who has At-Taqwa [i.e. he is one of the
Muttaqoon (the pious.See V.2:2)]. Verily, Allaah isAll-Knowing,
All-Aware" [al-Hujuraat 49:13]. Then he said: "Aqoolu haadha wa
astaghfir-Allaah (I say this and I ask Allah for forgiveness)."
This hadeeth was classed as saheeh by Shu'ayb al-Arna'oot in his
Tahqeeq, and by al-Albaani in al-Silsilah al-Saheehah, 2803. The
biographers narrated thatThaabit ibn Qays ibn Shammaas, the khateeb of
the Ansaar (may Allah be pleased with him) said it in the presence of
the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him). Ibn Ishaaq
said in the report of the delegation of Banu Tameem and their boasting
in front of the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah upon him): The
Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah upon him) said to
Thaabit ibn Qays ibn al-Shammaas, the brotherof Banu al-Haarith ibn
al-Khazraj: Get up and answer the man's speech. Thaabit got up and
said: Praise be to Allah Who created the heavens and the earth and
established His rule therein, and His knowledge encompasses His
Throne; nothing existsbut by His bounty. By His power He made us kings
and chose the best of His creation as a Messenger, who is the most
honourable in lineage, themost sincere in speech, and the noblest in
ancestry, and sent down to him His Book and entrusted him (to guide)
His creation. He was Allah's choice from amongthe worlds. Then He
summoned men to believe in him, and the emigrants (Muhaajireen) from
his people and his kinsmen believed in Allah's Messenger; the most
honourable of men in lineage, the highest in dignity, and the best in
deeds. The first of creationto answer and respond to Allah when the
Messengercalled them were ourselves. We are Allah's helpers and the
assistants of His Messenger, and we will fight men until they believe
in Allah. He who believes in Allah and His Messenger has protected his
life and property from us; and he who disbelieves we will fight for
the sake of Allah unceasingly and killing him will be a small matterto
us. These are my wordsand I seek Allah's forgiveness for myself andthe
believers, both men and women. Peace be upon you.
End quote from al-Seerah al-Nabawiyyah by Ibn Hishaam, 2/562;
al-Seerahby Ibn Katheer, 4/79.
These words were also narrated from Abu Bakr, 'Umar and 'Ali (may
Allah be pleased with them) in their khutbahs, and some contemporary
scholars use them in their khutbahs such as Shaykh Ibn 'Uthaymeen (may
Allah have mercy on him).
As for the objection to thekhateeb mentioning things that are not his
own words, such as verses, hadeeths and reports, this objection is not
valid, because what these words refer to is everything that the
khateeb said in his khutbah,
:->

Prophet Ismail and hisMother

When Ismail (alayhis salam) was still a small baby, his father Ibrahim
(alayhis salam) took him and his mother, Hajra, to the site of the
Ka'ba. He gave them some dates and a goat skin full of water and left
them there. At that time no one lived at the Ka'ba, and there was no
water nearby. As Ibrahim (alayhis salam) was walking away, Ismail's
(alayhis salam) mother followed him, asking why she and her son were
being left in sucha desolate place. She askedseveral times but he
would not answer her. Finally, she asked if Allah had ordered him to
do thisand he replied that it was so. Upon hearing this, she accepted
Allah's will and returned to the site where Ibrahim (alayhis salam)
had left her.
As soon as Ibrahim (alayhis salam) was out of sight, he turned and
prayed to Allah to protect and provide for his family which he had
left out in the wilderness:
"O our Lord! I have made some of my offspring to dwell in a valley
without cultivation, by Thy Sacred House; In order, O our Lordthat
they may establish regular prayer ; So fill the hearts of some among
men with love towards them, and feed them with fruits; So that they
may give thanks." (al-Qur'an 14:37)
Ismail (alayhis salam) and his mother lived for some time on the
supply of water and dates, but finally the water began to give out,
and Ismail's (alayhis salam) mother could no longer produce sufficient
milk to nurse herbaby. The baby became agitated and near to death
because of his thirst. The mother could not bear to see her child
suffering, so she ran to the top of nearby Mt. Safa to see if she
could find someone to help her. When she could see no one, she ran
down the mountain and across the valley to Mt. Marwa. Seven times she
ran from one mountain to the other, looking in vain for assistance.
After the seventh time she heard a voice and she called out toit for
help. When she looked she saw an angel digging the earth with his heel
until water flowed forth. That place was the site of Zam-zam. She
carefully made a depression around the place where the water was
flowing, and filled herwaterbag with her hands. Then she was able to
drinkwater and nurse her baby. The angel told her not to be afraid,
that she and her son would be provided for.
Ismail (alayhis salam) and his mother continued to live at the Ka'ba
all by themselves for some time. One day some people of the Jurhum
tribe were passing through the valley. They didn't intend to stop,
because they knew that there had neverbeen any water in that valley.
But they saw a kindof bird which was known to frequent wet spots, so
they followed it to the spring of Zam-zam. There they found Ismail's
mothersitting by the water.
Ismail's (alayhis salam) mother was a very sociable person who
lovedthe company of others, so she readily agreed to their request to
stop there for a while, provided that they did not claim possession
ofthe water. Some of the people of Jurhum decided to settle
permanently by Zam-zam and sent for their families. Ismail (alayhis
salam) grew up with these people and learned to speak Arabic from
them. When he grewup, they urged him to marry one of their women.
You can read about Ismail and his mother in Sahih al-Bukhari IV:582-584.

6a] Turning off the cell phone during the Fridaykhutbah – does this come under the heading of idle action that invalidates the reward of Jumu’ah?

''Friday Prayers'' :-:->
6a]
2. He is enjoined to be quiet and refrain from speaking. It is
haraam for him to speak whilst the imam is delivering the khutbah, and
it is also haraam for him to move, fidget, touch the pebbles, draw
lines on the ground, or anything else of that nature.