With the grace of God, the UK Jalsa Salana concluded last Sunday amidst immense blessings. Hudhur is receiving letters as well as people are telling him in person of the tremendous beneficence of God that they experienced either by attending the Jalsa personally or through watching it on MTA. May God make the pure results of all these emotions and the pious changes that people have experienced to be enduring. May they always fulfil the wishes and expectations of the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) who said that he was commissioned by God for the purification and reformation of people. May it be so that our emotions are not limited to verbal professing, rather, may they be a source of attaining the basic objective that the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) expected of us and may it all materialise through our practice. If we have been enabled to purify ourselves, we will attain the real objective only if we make it a part of our daily life and continually strive for it. We should ever be mindful of the vast expenditure incurred at Jalsa for our betterment and the efforts of the Khalifatul Masih and the administration of the Jama’at and make all this source of attaining God’s pleasure.
God states in the Qur’an: ‘…If you are grateful, I will, surely, bestow more favours on you;…’ (14:8) Thus clearly declaring that our progress is associated with rightful use of God’s blessings. If this is not so, we will not be giving thanks in a way that is due to us. Real benefit is derived from, and real gratitude lies in, making the Jalsa a source of bringing about pure changes. God’s blessings on the Jama’at are ceaseless. Whenever Hudhur receives his post, he experiences this. Hudhur also experiences this during his tours and Jalsas in other countries where he comes across wondrous encounters. Apart from communal gratitude that we express as a Jama’at, each Ahmadi should also be thankful individually. Hudhur said the best means of this is to strive to search for nearness to God.
Hudhur said the flow of the tremendous blessings of God on the Jama’at was seen last month when Hudhur was in Germany. There, apart from the Jalsa programme, many other very successful programmes took place and thankfulness was being expressed for those events when the UK Jalsa came with all its blessings and then concluded with many more blessings. An Ahmadi who has the perception that having come in the Bai’at of the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) one’s preferences change and happiness is always associated with the success of the Jama’at and indeed pleasure of God, and as such, one ever prostrates to God in gratitude for His beneficence and for providing opportunities of moral and spiritual development. After a few days God will provide us yet another opportunity of spiritual development in the form of the blessed month of Ramadan. If our thankfulness will materialise in bettering our practices and availing full advantage of the opportunities provided, the blessings will shower on us in greater number than before. Hudhur prayed that may we further strengthen the pure changes acquired during Jalsa, during Ramadan. Hudhur said he has been told that this year the number of youngsters offering Tahajjud at Jalsa was greater than previous years. A father told Hudhur that his 15 year old son, who arose for Salat with difficulty, would rise for Tahajjud at Jalsa with just one call. It is fortunate that God is about to provide us with yet another spiritual environment. We should fully avail of it; then alone will we be able to uphold the ceaseless aspect of the theme.
Hudhur said as it is his custom, he would mention the Divine grace and blessings experienced during Jalsa. Explaining, Hudhur said this is not done as a matter of pride and is not a catalogue of the successful organisation by the management and workers. On the contrary this is a way of expressing gratitude to God as well as to show gratitude to one another. It is also in line with the saying of the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be on him) that one who is not grateful to fellow humans is also not grateful to God. Furthermore, highlighting the incidents during Jalsa enhances faith.
Hudhur said parents should be grateful to God for the regular offering of Tahajjud by their children during Jalsa. True thankfulness would be for the parents to enhance their own Nawafil and for those who do not offer Nawafil, to pay attention to them. Hudhur said he had announced on the last day of Jalsa that 96 countries were represented by Ahmadis this year. Each year this number increases. One is ever grateful that the Promised Messiah’s (on whom be peace) words ‘nations have been prepared for this, who will soon join in’ are thus being fulfilled. Those who come to the Jalsa for the first time, be it Ahmadis or outsiders, do not fail to be impressed by the environment and organisation of the Jalsa. Hudhur said we heard the thoughts of some of these guests at Jalsa through their speeches. It is incomprehensible for a non-Ahmadi that not only is the Jalsa organised by volunteers but that these volunteers come from all walks of life and work in different fields in their daily lives. They are astonished to see everyone working with great ease. For example those who prepare food are high ranking officers and government officials; others have businesses of their own. Likewise, people undertake the task of cleaning. In short, people working in each department at Jalsa work selflessly. The drinking water service by children always impresses people a lot. Then, there is the duty of security; performed by men and women workers with smiling faces and cheerfulness. It also impresses the outsiders and improves their views of the Jama’at.
Hudhur said this year a delegation from Turkey attended the Jalsa. It comprised of university professors as well as experts of Hadith and Mysticism. They were very impressed by the Jalsa. Some of them appeared astonished by what they saw and seemed speechless by the impact. People still fear the society at large so they may not have the courage to accept Ahmadiyyat, but it is hoped they will be able to respond to our detractors. It is a great blessing of God that He erases the doubts of the outsiders through Jalsa. Hudhur said whoever met him from the outsiders as well as Ahmadis, was very grateful to the Jalsa workers, so Hudhur relayed their sentiments to all those who worked at Jalsa. Hudhur said these feelings are expressed in letters as well as via telephone. People are also very grateful to MTA. Hudhur said he would present those messages of thankfulness which have been prepared thus far. The majority of these are from the Arabic-speaking world.
A lady from Yemen said that she was very pleased to meet the Ahmadis and correct her misconceptions. She said it was right and proper to express thanks for the very good hospitality.
A new convert who had taken Bai’at on 11 May wrote that he saw the proceedings on TV and found the organisation to be excellent with no lapse evident from any of the workers. He said had he known earlier, he would have tried to attend the Jalsa but will InshaAllah come next year.
A resident of Kababir wrote that he watched the Jalsa with a sense of great pride and delight. The whole organisation and 30,000-odd people attending it in calm and composed manner appeared as a beehive which dispenses only pure honey. He found the efforts by the young MTA Al Arabia volunteers praiseworthy and wrote that Hudhur’s concluding address established the love of the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be on him) in hearts as it roused the human spirit.
Someone wrote from Moldova that seeing the link of hands in the hand of the Khalifatul Masih at the time of International Bai’at the surge of emotions was so powerful that he repeated the words of Bai’at with tear-filled eyes and yearned that he too was present at Jalsa. He praised and thanked the MTA workers in particular for transmitting the Jalsa to those who could not be there, and found the efforts of the Arab desk to be particularly commendable.
An Ahmadi from Syria sent his and his family’s felicitations on the success of Jalsa with prayers that may the Arab world avail of MTA and may they accept the Imam of the age so that Jalsa can be held in the Arab countries and he can attend it.
A lady wrote that watching the successful organisation and proceedings of Jalsa, she felt great pride in being part of the Community. She wrote to Hudhur that she renewed her Bai’at and promised that she would try to put all the conditions of Bai’at in practice. She asked for prayers that may she be able to attend the Jalsa next year.
An Ahmadi lady from Syria sent her congratulations on Jalsa and said it was unfortunate that she did not get a visa to come to Jalsa. She wrote that this has increased her eagerness and ardour to attend the Jalsa all the more. Other women of the world may wish for different and worldly things but her happiness lies in being in the august company of Hudhur. She longs for the day when she can be at Hadiqatul Mahdi and soak up the spiritual ambience and feel elated. She expressed thanks for the spiritual sustenance of Jalsa and said that she fully availed of Hudhur’s addresses.
An Ahmadi from UAE sent heartfelt congratulations on Jalsa and wrote that no doubt the Jalsa came as a means to enhance piety and embolden courage. He likened the Jalsa to a declaration to those who want to extinguish God’s light with the breaths of their mouths and said that God will accomplish His light no matter what.
An Arab Ahmadi lady sent congratulations on the extraordinarily successful Jalsa. She expressed thanks that God granted her the capacity to attend the magnificent Jalsa and asked for prayers that may she always act upon all of Hudhur’s valuable pronouncements. She also wished for the Arabs to be able to serve as selflessly and steadfastly as Pakistani brothers did. Hudhur added this was merely her own humility because Arabs too are serving most assiduously and humbly at whatever juncture they have been appointed work.
Someone from Egypt writes that he and his associates were very impressed by the Jalsa. The concluding address by Hudhur strengthened faith on the concept of finality of Prophethood. The hospitality was amazing and excellent courtesy could be seen all around. It felt that one was in the company of angels.
A new Ahmadi lady from Egypt wrote that with God’s grace she was able to attend the Jalsa at Hadiqatul Mahdi. However, she and her husband could not physically participate in the International Bai’at because her husband could not obtain the requisite entry card to the enclosure. As she had young children with her, she had to go in the ‘mother and child’ marquee but there was no space in there, so she saw the proceedings on the screen while standing outside. All the while she prayed for Hudhur and the Jama’at. She realised she had learnt the lesson of obedience from the administration of the Jama’at; therefore without saying a word, she took her children and went outside. She feels sincere prayers for those who organise control and order within the Jama’at and was taken by the cheerfulness of each duty-holder. She asked for prayers that may she be able to attend Jalsa each year. She said now that they have experienced Jalsa, she feels they cannot miss attending it.
An Ahmadi from Morocco sent his congratulations on the Jalsa and prayed for the day when Jalsa can take place in Mecca and the International Bai’at is experienced from there.
Hudhur said this year many people from USA attended Jalsa, including more than thirty indigenous Americans. During mulaqat they were overwhelmed with emotion, exuding ineffable sentiments towards Khilafat and the Jama’at. They were brimming with love for Khilafat, love for the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be on him) and love for the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) simply to attain the love of God. Hudhur prayed that may God enhance their faith and may the revolutionary change that has been generated in the American, Arab and other Ahmadis by attending the Jalsa show them the paths to nearness of God.
Ahmadis the world over are extremely grateful for the role that MTA has played in ‘uniting’ the world of Ahmadiyyat. This year MTA broadcast various programmes during Jalsa breaks. The new young presenters were also greatly liked by the world of Ahmadiyyat. Our programmes are to inform the world of the realities and are free from pretence, indeed they should be so. Whereas other TV channels take the route of cosmetics, contrive and falsity. Today, with the grace of God, MTA is a channel that is free of these absurdities around the clock. Our presenters are also free from pretence and exude sincerity. When the world sees this sincerity on the screen, it is praised. May God reward all those who presented the programmes, those who participated in the programmes and those who prepared and produced the programmes. Hudhur said he thanked all of them on his behalf and on behalf of the entire world of Ahmadiyyat. May God continue to increase all the men and ladies who work in MTA in their sincerity and devotion.
Hudhur said it is the duty of every believer that when he or she hears praise, he or she should further turn to God with increased humility and gratitude. God would then enhance their capacities further. Hudhur said this year Waqfe Nau members were appointed some important duties at Jalsa which they undertook with great sense of responsibility and sincerity and Hudhur has had good reports from their in-charge. May God give them an enduring spirit of their Waqf (devotion).
Hudhur said someone wrote to him after the German Jalsa that they were quite impressed by the way the ladies hall was silent without the need of any duty-holders advising people to maintain silence. Hudhur said he has received a similar letter from USA saying that they have noticed that unlike the UK Jalsa, duty-holders do not stand with placards/signs advising people to observe silence and that such discipline should also be demonstrated in the UK. Hudhur said he did not take particular note of this letter as he felt the writer had exaggerated the weaknesses of UK Lajna. However, Hudhur said he was pleased that at Jalsa, at least during his address there were no duty-holders with placards/signs and in spite of this the level of silence was very good and the address was heard with rapt attention. Hudhur said he has also found out that generally speaking the Jalsa proceedings were listened to in silence in the Lajna marquee and there was no disturbance of any kind. As such the Lajna workers should be grateful to the attendees and the thankfulness of the attendees would be to demonstrate an even better level of order and make it a part of their daily life. They should try and mould their homes according to the teaching of God and His Messenger (peace and blessings of Allah be on him). This alone would make them truly thankful.
A visiting mayor of a city in Sweden told Hudhur that a duty-holder took him to a high vantage point at Hadiqatul Mahdi where the entire ‘Jalsa village’ could be seen. He told the guest in an emotional tone that it takes them two weeks to erect the infrastructure and after the Jalsa, they clear it all in one week and all that remains is farmland. Hudhur said indeed the workers at Jalsa put their emotions in their work. In any case, it is our obligation to only populate a place within the limits allowed. This happens every year that infrastructure is raised and then taken down. Workers undertake the task of building, maintaining and then winding up everything most diligently. May God reward them.
The Jalsa attendees should give thanks to God for being enabled to attend the Jalsa as well as be grateful to the workers and the workers should be grateful to God for being enabled to serve. May God enable everyone to understand this subject and to continually turn to Him. The real objective of the Jalsa is to inculcate pious changes in oneself. May God enable us to do this and be those who fulfil the wishes of the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace).