21. The Prophet’s Guidance in His Sermons
**    When the Prophet (Peace be upon him) gave a sermon his eyes would redden and his voice would become louder. His anger would increase to a point as if he was warning an army and would say:
   "[The Last Hour will come] to you by morning or evening."
He would also say: "I and the Hour have been sent like these two", and join his index and middle fingers.

And he would say: "Indeed, the best of speech is the Book of Allah and the best guidance is the guidance of Muhammad, and the worst matters [in religion] are the newly devised ones, and every innovation is misguidance.

**    He (Peace be upon him) would always begin a sermon with praise of Allah.

**    He (Peace be upon him) would teach his companions the sermon for need:
“Praise be to Allah, we praise Him, seek His help and ask His   forgiveness. We seek refuge in Allah from the evil of ourselves and from our misdeeds. He whom Allah guides, none can misguide and he whom Allah leaves astray, none can guide him. I testify that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is His servant and messenger."
 
   Then he (Peace be upon him) would recite these three verses:
   "O you who have believed, fear Allah as He should be  feared and do not die except as Muslims".

"O mankind, fear your Lord, who created you from one soul and created from it its mate and dispersed from both of them many men and women. And fear Allah, in whose name you ask one another, and [fear Him regarding] the wombs. Indeed Allah is ever over you, an Observer".

"O you who have believed, fear Allah and speak words of appropriate justice. He will [then] amend for you your deeds and forgive you your sins. And whoever obeys Allah and His Messenger has certainly attained a great attainment".

He (Peace be upon him) used to teach his companions the istikhaarah (seeking a decision from Allah) in all matters just as he used to teach them a surah of the Qur'an.

He (Peace be upon him) said:
    "When one of you intends something, let him pray two rak`ahs other than the obligatory prayer and then say: "Allaahumma innee astakheeruka bi`ilmika wa astaqdiruka biqudratika wa as'aluka min fadhlikal-`atheem. Fa'innaka taqdiru wa la aqdiru wa ta`lamu wa la a`lamu wa anta `allaamul-ghuyoob. Allaahumma in kunta ta`lamu anna haadhal amra - (mentioning it by name) - khayrun lee fee deenee wa ma`aashee wa `aaqibati amree, faqdurhu lee wa yassirhu lee, thumma baarik lee feeh. Wa in kunta ta`lamu anna haadhal-amra sharrun lee fee deenee wa ma'aashee wa `aaqibati 'amree, fasrifhu `annee wasrifnee `anhu waqdur lee al-khayra haythu kaana, thumm ardhinee bih."

(O Allah, I ask Your choice by Your knowledge and Your decree by Your ability, and I ask of You from Your great favour. For You are able and I am not able, and You know and I do not know, and You are the Knower of the unseen. O Allah, if You have known that this matter [naming it here] is good for me in my religion, my livelihood and the end result of my affair, then decree it for me, make it easy for me and then bless it for me, And if You have known that this matter is bad for me in my religion, my livelihood and the end result of my affair, then avert it from me and dissuade me from it, and decree for me good wherever it may be; then make me content with it.)