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.

6] 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'' :-:->
6]
During the Friday khutbah, some brothers' cell phones ring whilst
thekhateeb is delivering the khutbah on the minbar, and some of them
have musical tones that are similar to the tunes of promiscuous songs.
Thosewhose cell phones ring turn them off during the khutbah. Is this
regarded as coming under the heading of idle action to which the
Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) referred in his
hadeeth? Does this mean that there is no Jumu'ah for the one who
engages in idle action, and that thereward of Jumu'ah becomes like the
reward for Zuhr only? We hope you can clarify this matter.
Praise be to Allaah.
Firstly:
Using musical tunes as thering tones for cell phones is an evil action
and is haraam, because the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be
upon him) forbade all musical instruments. See the answer to question
no. 47407 .
The one who forgets to turn off his cell phone during the Friday
khutbahhas to turn it off if it rings,even if the ring tone is
permissible, because leaving it disturbs the khateeb and other
worshippers, and distractsthem from the obligation of listening to the
khateeb.
We hope that switching itoff does not come under the heading of idle
talk that is forbidden during the Friday khutbah, whichis referred to
in the question. This is mentioned in the words of the Prophet (peace
andblessings of Allaah be upon him), "but whoever touches the pebbles
has engaged in an idle action." Narrated by Muslim (857).
The hadeeth applies to the one who fiddles with something that
distracts him from listening to the khutbah, such as a cell phone, a
carpet and so on.
Al-Haafiz Ibn Hajar, in Fathal-Baari, commentary on hadeeth no (934),
narrated that the majorityof scholars said that the one who needs to
enjoin something good or forbid something bad at the time of the
khutbah may do so by gesturing.
Al-Nawawi said in Sharh Saheeh Muslim:
This hadeeth indicates that all kinds of speech are haraam during the
khutbah. … Rather the way to do it if one wants to tell someone else
not to speak is by gesturing to him to be quiet, if he will understand
it. End quote.
Based on this, then a slight movement that is done for a good reason
is acceptable and is not idle action, and there is nothing wrong with
doing it during the Friday khutbah.
Secondly:
The meaning of the Prophet's words, "There isno Jumu'ah for him",
concerning the one who engages in idle action during the Friday
khutbah, is that it will be recorded for him as Zuhr, and he will be
deprived ofthe reward for Jumu'ah prayer.
It was narrated from 'Abd-Allaah ibn 'Amr ibn al-'Aas (may Allaah be
pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be
upon him) said: "If a person engages in idle action or steps over
people's necks, it will be Zuhr for him." Narrated byAbu Dawood (347);
classed as hasan by al-Albaani in Saheeh Abi Dawood.
Al-Haafiz Ibn Hajar (may Allaah have mercy on him) said:
Al-Nadr ibn Shameel said: "you engaged in idle action" means: you lost
something of your reward; and it was said: you invalidated the
virtueof your Jumu'ah. And it was said: Your Jumu'ah became Zuhr.
I [Ibn Hajar] said: The comments of the scholars of [Arabic] language
are close in meaning, and the latter view is supported by what Abu
Dawood andIbn Khuzaymah narrated from 'Abd-Allaah ibn 'Amr in a
marfoo' hadeeth: "If aperson engages in idle action or steps over
people's necks, it will be Zuhr for him." Ibn Wahb –one of the
narrators – said: What it means is: Hisprayer is still valid but he is
deprived of the virtue of Jumu'ah. End quote.
Fath al-Baari (2/414).
Badr al-Deen al-'Ayni (may Allaah have mercy on him) said:
The words "it will be Zuhr for him" mean: his Jumu'ah will be Zuhr for
him, in the sense that the virtue that he would haveattained from
Jumu'ah will not be attained, because he failed to fulfil the
condition of this virtue. End quote.
Sharh Sunan Abi Dawood (2/169).
What those who come to Jumu'ah prayer should do is respect the symbols
of Allaah, which includes keeping the physical faculties still and
refraining from fidgeting, and keeping the tongue still and refraining
from talking, otherwise he has sinned and his Jumu'ah has become Zuhr.
Shaykh Saalih al-Fawzaan (may Allaah preserve him)said:
Undoubtedly the Muslim is enjoined during the khutbah to listen and
pay attention, and stop moving. He is enjoined to do two things:
1. Be silent and still, and refrain from moving or fidgeting.
:->