Under Divine inspiration Huzoor^(as) announced in May 1891 that he was the Promised Mahdi awaited by the Muslims.

Later on the same year the Promised Messiah^(as) decided to hold the first Jalsa Salana. Accordingly the first Annual Conference was held from December 27th to 29th at the Aqsa Mosque in Qadian. Only 75 members attended that year, next year 327 members attended the Jalsa, and the last Jalsa Salana attended by the Promised Messiah^(as) in 1907 there were two thousand participants. The last annual gathering that was held in Rabwah in 1983, more than two hundred thousand attended the blessed meeting.

With a few exceptions it has been held since then every year in many countries of the world like the UK, Germany, India, Canada, & the USA. Over 32,000 members took part in the Jalsa Salana held in Germany in August 2000. The UK Jalsa Salana attracted 22,000 members in July 2000, while 12 thousand members took part in the Canadian Annual Conference in 2003. The attendance of Jalsa Salana held in different parts of the world continues to grow.

The USA Jamaat celebrated its 50th Annual Conference in 1998 in Silver Spring, Maryland. The keynote address was delivered by Hazrat Khalifat al-Masih the Fourth, which was filled with pearls of wisdom.