Huzur said with the grace of God it is just two days ago that he returned from his tour of Germany. Due to the early arrival of Ramadan this year, the German Jalsa had to be scheduled early as well. In this way the engagements of the German Jalsa started on the heels of the UK Jalsa. Huzur said after the conclusion of the UK Jalsa, it is traditional for meetings with the various guests to ensue. Many delegates from around the world are in attendance as well as our missionaries, representatives and members of the Community and meetings are held with all of them. In this way, Huzur said, his Jalsa is extended by many days. This year, due to the early German Jalsa, the engagements in UK continued until the day of travel. Huzur said it is a great blessing of God that neither of the two Jalsas nor the post-Jalsa engagements were arduous for him.
Huzur said the rest of the Ahmadis also experienced the continuity in the Jalsa atmosphere due to the two Jalsas held close together. Someone wrote to Huzur that as they watched the proceedings at home, creating the ambiance by cooking similar food etc., such was the continuity that it seemed as if the UK Jalsa had not quite finished. Huzur said if this feeling of continuity is missing then one is not truly benefitting from the objectives of Jalsa. The purpose of a believer’s life is to seek God’s pleasure through worship and bringing pious changes in oneself. The objective for which the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) initiated the Jalsa Salana was to gather in one place and aspire to train our thoughts on this principle and then to ruminate on the spiritual gains all year around. Huzur said we should not savour the continuity only because of the closeness of the UK and the German Jalsas, rather this continuity has to be maintained till the next Jalsa. When this is attained one may consider one has achieved one’s purpose.
Huzur said the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be on him) also enjoined continuity when he mentioned that the time between each of the five daily Prayers prevents one from sin, just as one Friday Prayer prevents one from sin till the next Friday Prayer and one Ramadan till the next Ramadan provides atonement. Huzur said InshaAllah Ramadan starts in two days time to maintain our spirituality. While at Jalsa we enjoy spiritual food while partaking material food during Ramadan the material food has to forgone and only spiritual sustenance is sought. We try and specifically focus and try with our God-given ability to attain His pleasure. May God enable us so.
We are fortunate that by initiating the Jalsa Salana the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) has provided us with an additional ‘training camp’ where attention is drawn to all kinds of virtues. Attention is drawn to reformation. Huzur said soon after the conclusion of Jalsa he receives letters from sincere people who, having reflected on themselves, have tried hard and brought about pious changes. They write seeking Huzur’s prayers most heart-wrenchingly that they may remain steadfast. Huzur said this is a distinct beauty of the Community of the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) who thought very highly of his followers. His assumption about his Community was so good that it should shake us into thinking and indeed taking practical steps to better ourselves. Huzur said the other benefit of the Jalsa is that having heard and seen the tremendous blessings of God on the Community, feelings of thankfulness are generated. May God always enable us to be grateful. Huzur said traditionally, he always speaks about the Jalsas that he graces. This he does in thankfulness to God as well as to express his thanks to the volunteer men and women. Huzur said the volunteers also wish to hear about the Jalsa. This is not at all because they look for praise. They work extremely selflessly and devotedly and the passion with which they work is not done for any worldly returns. It would be grossly unfair to presume so. The volunteers do not simply look out for any praise, rather, they are always eager to be informed of any critique. Indeed, they keep a ‘Red Book’ for this very purpose. It is due to their connection to the Khalifa of the time that they wish to hear his views. If they are praised, they are thankful and if there is critique even then they are thankful to have the blessing of Khilafat. They are grateful to be shown the high standards that a Khalifa of the time guides them to. May God take the connection of Khilafat and the Community from strength to strength.
Huzur said he thanked the German volunteer workers, they had indeed tried their utmost in serving the guests of the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace). Huzur said they have achieved a level of maturity in discharging their respective Jalsa duties and one would be hard pressed to fault find. Indeed, nothing can operate with perfection but the volunteers make an effort as much as human endeavour allows. The entire organisation is done without any formal training for any of the tasks that they do. Huzur said, just as he had said about the UK Jalsa, the volunteers from all walks of life take on varied responsibilities at Jalsa. Watching them work one’s heart is filled with praise of God and thankfulness. Attendees of Jalsa should also be grateful to them. Huzur said this year the German Jama’at worked extremely hard in a short time. For the pre-Jalsa work they always turned up in greater numbers than expected. Huzur said a few days before the German Jalsa, due to some reasons, he made some changes in the higher management and had changed the Officer Jalsa Salana. Huzur said any previous critiques were paid heed to and the good points of the UK Jalsa were kept in view. Huzur said a believer adopts whatever is good, rather than criticise and be jealous. Be it individual or communal, if instead of admiring something and learning from it, there is jealousy, it would be devoid of blessings. A believer always helps the other believer and learns from the other believer and if sees a drawback, then he tries to cover it. Huzur said full efforts were made in Germany regarding the instructions that he had given after the UK Jalsa about the residential tent area. The volunteer worker, both men and women, majority of whom were young, had proved through their diligence that whoever the Khalifa of the time appoints as the Officer Jalsa, they would work with him and they would so all this to attain the pleasure of God. Huzur said he once again thanked all the men, women, girls and boys who worked at the German Jalsa. MTA Germany also worked very hard and fully cooperated with the MTA team that had gone from London.
Huzur said each year he mentions some young men from Germany who work under the department of Langer (food/catering). These are three brothers who work very assiduously. They have invented a machine that washes the huge pots. This year they had further improved the machine and had computerised it. May God reward them and enhance their ability. This year they had two technicians working along with them.
Huzur said people like to hear about those aspects of Huzur’s travels that are not shown on MTA. Huzur said for everyone the journey to Jalsa is a journey to attain God’s pleasure. God gives glad-tidings to people who make such journey. In the Holy Qur’an in verse 112 of Surah Taubah it is stated: ‘They are the ones who turn to God in repentance, who worship Him, who praise Him, who go about in the land serving Him, who bow down to God, who prostrate themselves in prayer, who enjoin good and forbid evil, and who watch the limits set by Allah. And give glad tidings to those who believe.’ (9:112). Huzur said God blesses any journey that is taken for Him in line with all that the verse states.
Huzur said en route Germany, they stopped over at Belgium for one night. There is no mosque in Belgium but there is a mission house and two small halls that are used for Prayers. The mission house is in a town outside Brussels. The mayor of the town came to see Huzur and said that personally he had no problem with the building of a mosque. He said although the local people and members of the local council do not see the Jama’at in a negative light and have no opposition to their gatherings etc. they are against the building of a mosque. Huzur said he has now instructed the Jama’at to look in Brussels for this purpose. Huzur said may God fulfill his wish to have a mosque in every European country in the next five to six years. He said the lady MP from Belgium who had attended the UK Jalsa has agreed to help with the mosque. She is indeed most impressed with the Community. She was present to receive Huzur at this trip. May God open her heart further to accept Ahmadiyyat. She advised Huzur on how to conduct Tabligh to the Moroccan and Algerian communities in Belgium. Huzur said it seems that in heart she is an Ahmadi but has not openly said so. Huzur said he met a person of Indonesian origin who has lived in Belgium for decades and whose wife is Belgian. He attended UK Jalsa and had come into Ahmadiyyat just a few days earlier. He told Huzur that he did not believe in the existence of God but after reading our books and talking to our missionary he believed. After this he had no option but to accept Ahmadiyyat. Huzur also met a Moroccan young woman who has accepted Ahmadiyyat. She raised some ‘traditional’ objections that had come from her parents. Huzur also met a young man who became a doctor last year. Our missionary told Huzur that he was close to accepting Ahmadiyyat but had not done bai’at. To this, the young man said he had indeed done his bai’at when he watched the UK Jalsa. Later, did a bai’at on Huzur’s hand.
Huzur said everyone saw that with the grace of God the German Jalsa was successful. Huzur said his and the Ameer sahib’s estimate was that this year the attendance number would be less than last year as that had been the Centenary Jalsa. However, with God’s grace, estimations notwithstanding, the attendance was in excess of 32,000. Huzur said the spiritual and the academic gains made at the Jalsa should become part and parcel of our lives. In doing so, may we adopt all the virtues the aforementioned verse states.
Huzur said one highlight of the German Jalsa was that ten European countries were represented there. Some of this representation was by Ahmadis, some non Ahmadi Muslims and some non Muslims. A communal meeting had been arranged for them to meet with Huzur. However, Huzur felt he should meet them all separately. Huzur said they all expressed amazement at the arrangement of the Jalsa and each one of them said that now that they have been introduced with the Community they will keep in touch. They were astonished how such a huge crowd was managed/controlled. Huzur said as they were worldly people they did not realize that God Himself manages the multitudes. They found the peaceful and affectionate atmosphere extraordinary and were amazed at the way everyone was served food with ease. They also found the sense of sacrifice for each other amazing. Huzur said thus is the silent Tabligh that each person attending the Jalsa does. Where big arguments and proofs do not work, such a practical example does.
Huzur said in spite of the huge opposition of the Mufti of Bulgaria a large number of people from there attended the Jalsa. This shows that the opposition has increased people’s curiosity and many of the visitors were Christians. A father and daughter wanted to meet Huzur separately. The father told Huzur that he had also attended last Jalsa accompanied by his son. The son who worked in the Bulgarian secret service was dismissed from his job soon after his return to the country. It was cited that as he had attended the Ahmadiyya Jalsa he had rebellious tendency. Huzur said he told him to tell his son to be careful but the father replied that his son saw truth in Ahmadiyyat and felt they were persecuted, so he would support them. Huzur said may God open their hearts soon, the family seem very close to Ahmadiyyat. They are on friendly terms with the only Ahmadi family in Bulgaria. The daughter helps with translating our literature and in the process has picked up Urdu. Huzur said as he spoke to her father [in Urdu] via the missionary sahib, the daughter kept nodding her head as she understood what Huzur was saying. Huzur said it made him think that those who have not even done their bai’at are learning Urdu, whereas those whose parents’ language it is are forgetting it. Huzur said the delegations had many journalists as well and they were introduced to the Community. Huzur said he informed them of all the humanitarian services we do and they promised to write about it.
After the Jalsa, Huzur met with the Germans as well. Two ladies did their bai’at, one was indigenous German and the other of Egyptian origin. The German lady was overwhelmed with emotion and kept bursting into tears. Huzur said the new Ahmadi lady said that she will soon leave her current job where there is sale of pig meat and alcohol. Huzur said he told her that if she was not directly involved with the sale of these products there would be no restrictions but otherwise no chanda (financial contribution) could be accepted from her earnings. A German and a Hungarian man also did bai’at in an emotional atmosphere.
Huzur said he wished to clarify that during the UK Jalsa he had mentioned Lithuania among the new countries where Ahmadiyyat has blossomed. This was received with some criticism that Lithuania had joined during the period of Hadhrat Khalifatul Masih IV (may God have mercy on him). Huzur said Lithuania had first joined Ahmadiyyat in 1992 but after some opposition those who had accepted Ahmadiyyat withdrew. We had to have our missionary taken out of the country. In 1995 Hadhrat Khalifatul Masih IV (may God have mercy on him) struck off Lithuania from the list of the countries with Ahmadiyyat. The task to take Ahmadiyyat there was given to German Jama’at. Now, after fourteen years, Ahmadiyyat has been introduced there once again. A Lithuanian lady has accepted Ahmadiyyat.
Huzur said in two days Ramadan will begin and we should maintain the continuity of the spiritual ambiance. We should focus greatly on prayers during this time, may God continue to facilitate our spiritual development and may He make the changes we bring about permanent due to the special ambiance. May He enable us to comprehend this point and pray for ourselves that may this Ramadan be the source to bring about a permanent pious change in us. Huzur urged to pray for the Pakistani Ahmadis. He said onset of Ramadan heightens the persecution in Pakistan. He said prayers should be made for all the places that face opposition that may God keep each Ahmadi there in His refuge. May this Ramadan bring countless blessings for the Community and may we benefit from it in the real sense.