After reciting the Tashahhud, Ta’wwuz, and Surah Al-Fatihah, Hazrat Khalifatul Masih V (aba) stated: Over the previous few days, Allah the Exalted enabled us to participate in the Jalsa Salana [Annual Gatherings] of Germany and Belgium. Both the gatherings were very blessed by the Grace of Allah the Exalted. Germany Jalsa is well -established and has representation from nay countries; recently including some African nations. Jasla Belgium was held at ths scale after a long time and they are a small community. The participants of the Jalsa in Germany as well as Belgium expressed their positive remarks regarding the Community. They praised the organisation of the Jalsa and its general atmosphere immensely. While participating in the Jalsa, guests observe every worker, officer and in fact every Ahmadi very minutely, to see as to how their conduct is. Even if a teaching is good but the conduct of the followers of that teaching is not good then such a teaching cannot create a positive impact. Thus, all volunteers and participants take part in silent tabligh [preaching] in this way. Our every gathering and convention has a significant impact on the local people of the area regardless of where it is taking place. The ijtema (gathering) of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Youth Association, UK is commencing today. In this regard, I would like to remind the youth to conduct themselves in such a manner that leaves an impeccable impression on the local people. May Allah Almighty bless this gathering and may He remove some of the weather related concerns and worries that they have and bring about good weather. I would like to express my gratitude to the volunteers of both the Conventions in Belgium and Germany. They served the attendees of these conventions according to their means and abilities. In the same manner, all the members of the Community who attended this event should also thank the volunteers. The volunteers should also be grateful to Allah Almighty that He granted them the opportunity to serve. They should also prepare themselves for the future and ponder over their weaknesses and shortcomings and think of ways to improve them for the upcoming years. I would like to direct your attention towards an oversight. This occurred in the men’s Jalsa Gah during a session when a poem was recited. It was in reference to ‘My Home’ or ‘Home’. The way in which this was sung was wrong. The organizers of the Jalsa programme should always make sure that the poems recited during Jalsa sessions are by the Promised Messiah (as) and his Khulafa. Now, I will to present some remarks by guests from which we can see that the blessings of the Convention does not only impact the Ahmadis, rather it affects others as well.
A non-Ahmadi Imam of a Mosque in Bosnia was in attendance for the Convention. After attending the Jalsa, he came to see me and mentioned that he would like to read Baraheen-e-Ahmadiyya and Tadhkirah. I advised him that instead of reading Tadhkirah he should read The Philosophy of the Teachings of Islam and Invitation to Ahmadiyyat. These books would provide him with more of an introduction to Ahmadiyyat, the Promised Messiah’s (as) character, his knowledge and insight, and Allah Almighty’s support for him. Huzoor (aba) read out many faith-inspiring comments from many other guests from Bosnia.
This year a delegation of 56 people from Bulgaria participated in the Jalsa Salana Germany out of which 31 of them were non-Ahmadi guests who also met with me. Many guests commented on the the positive impact of seeing the lining values of respect for parents and women. So, this is a lesson for men as well to not only be respectful with women during the days of the Convention rather, according to the teachings which Allah Almighty bestowed upon us, this respect should always be in their hearts.
A Muslim named Muhammad Yusuf attended the Jalsa. He states, “This is the first time I have attended the Jalsa. The misconceptions that I heard regarding the Jama’at were all removed by the atmosphere of the Jalsa. There was peace everywhere and teachings of the Holy Quran and Hadith were ever present. The message of “Love for All hatred for None” left a deep impact on me. There was tranquillity everywhere. t was during the Jalsa when I decided that I would enter the fold of Ahmadiyyat. I had many personal problems; however, when I attended the Jalsa all my problems began to resolve themselves. Now I will further spread the message of the Jama’at.”
Then there are the impressions of the Latvian delegation. A medical student from Latvia was in attendance. He states, “It is a great honour for me to attend the Germany Jalsa. I feel that this is a gathering of such people who are strong in faith, who are content, affectionate and peaceful.” There is a non-Ahmadi Pakistani in Latvia said that I am not an Ahmadi, I also had the same doubts that Muslims of others sects have. However, after listening to the speeches, seeing the kalima written and offering prayers, I did not see any difference. I really enjoyed the speeches of the Khalifa, especially the final day’s speech. I would like to thank them from the depths of my heart.” Then a Sri Lankan lecturer from the University of Agriculture, Latvia, who attended the Jalsa states, “This Jalsa has given me the teaching of the true Islam and has enlightened me regarding the other sects. It has cleared the difference between Ahmadis and other sects. The best thing that I have learnt is that Ahmadiyya Community is a loving community and I really commend this.” A student from Latvia named Gloria attended for the first time and it was also the first time she participated in any Muslim event. She says, “I really liked everything, the food, the drink and everything else. The people were all well-mannered and the women on duty always met us with a smile of their face.” A woman who came with the Latvian delegation was Anastasia. Regarding my separate address to the non-Muslims she says, “I really enjoyed it. Everything he said was correct”. She then says, “I went to the men’s hall to listen to this address and the rest of the time I spent in the women’s hall. To sit among the men, I felt embarrassed and it felt strange to me to not have a head scarf covering my head.” Hence, this should in itself should give confidence to those girls, as she is saying she felt embarrassed to not be wearing a head scarf or to take it off. Despite being a Christian, she came and said that she felt embarrassment to be sitting amongst the men without a head scarf.
A lawyer from Kosovo expressed his sentiments saying, “To see the organisation of the Jalsa felt like everyone was going about carrying out their duties in obedience to Khilafat. All this obedience was due to the love of that person who is the Khalifa of the Ahmadiyya Community.” There was a physics Professor in the Kosovo delegation, Mr Arbar Sahib, he says, “It was unbelievable to see everyone gathering in one place and all have their needs catered for. I also had the chance to visit the langar (dining area) and I met someone there who had been working for the last twenty-two years in peeling onions, and for the last twenty-two years he has been using the same knife. He told me that the reason why he kept this knife for twenty-two years was that Hazrat Khalifatul Masih IV (rh) used this knife and placed his hand on it.” This left a good impression on him.
The delegation from Georgia which consisted of 38 members attended the Jalsa in Germany. Two of them were bishops, two were Muftis, leaders of Sunni and Shi’a groups and the rest were non-Ahmadi guests. A non-Ahmadi member of this delegation, who is an Imam of a mosque, Mr Janbul says “I will always remember one phrase that it is our duty to help mankind. The religion of Islam is peace and peace only. Coming here we have learnt of the true teachings of Islam.” There were many similar faith-inspiring comments by other guests from Georgia.
A priest of the Protestant Church in Hungary also attended the Jalsa. Apart from his religious duties he is very active in welfare work. He says, “I am a Christian but attending your Jalsa I felt a new lease of spirituality and I return refreshed. Mr Awarga Sahib of Hungary, who works in the refugee camp office, says, “The Jalsa is an occasion similar to when a person witnesses something extraordinary they become awestruck and are left trembling inside.” Mrs Elona, a director of the financial department of refugee camps says, “The Jalsa is such an event which cleanses one from within and leaves you feeling light.” Among the Hungary delegation was Mrs Wafa Sahiba, a Syrian medical doctor, attended this Jalsa. She was very enthusiastic on the second day when she listened to the address to the women in the women’s marquee. During the visit to Jamia and said that every verse was appropriate and fitting and pointing to the verse written on the building in Jamia, she said look how this is written in the right place. The verse is [Arabic - ‘And the earth will shine with the light of her Lord’]
From Macedonia, eighty-three people participated and fifty of those travelled 2000km by bus, over 34 hours to attend. The rest of them attended by other modes of transport. 21 of these attendees were Ahmadis, 29 non-Ahmadi Muslims and 14 Christians. Among these guests was the mayor of one of the major cities. Six journalists of four different news channels also attended and recorded over the three days of Jalsa.
A delegation from Lithuania comprising of 50 people, 40 of whom were non-Ahmadis and 10 Ahmadis, were in attendance. One of the guests from Lithuania said, “I am an author, Gairooni Maas and have come here to learn about Islam. After coming here I have felt a sense of joy and contentment in my heart and I wish to express my sincere wishes to you all and the whole community.”
A non-Ahmadi guest from Tajikistan, Raheem Sahib, who is a politician, said, “I shall forever cherish my memories of the Jalsa and meeting the Khalifa.” A lecturer from a university in Tajikistan said, “For the first time I have witnessed such an exemplary hospitality and mutual cooperation. The Ahmadiyya community enjoys a lot of freedom here and the address of the Khlaifa of the time to the ladies provided the real solution to today’s issues.”
The mayor of M’bour, a large city of Senegal, was also in attendance. He attended the Jalsa as a representative of the Khalifa of a very prominent sect of Senegal called Mureed. He also presented me a gift on the stage. He said, “Although I have done the Bai’at of my Khalifa, however never before have I witnessed the scenes of the Bai’at which I have witnessed here.”
On the third day of the Jalsa, the Bai’at ceremony took place and there were 42 members who for the first time took part in the Bai’at to enter the community. With the wide-spread media coverage, the message of Islam & Ahmadiyyat reached out to 62,857,000 people. Then through MTA Africa, the various channels of Africa aired programmes on the Jalsa. The Review of Religions has also started a new online programme which reached approximately 2 million people – 1.98 million were reached out to. There are countless impressions of people and some of the reports published by the newspapers and media have included such details which portray the true image of Islam. May God Almighty make this positive impact of the Jalsa an everlasting one.
After the Friday Prayer I will offer a few funeral prayers in absentia.
The first funeral prayer is of Syed Hasnat Ahmad Sahib of Canada, who passed away on 27th August at the age of 92. To Allah we belong and to Him shall we return. He was a faithful and loyal member, who had great passion for the Community. The deceased was a Moosi. In 1982, he presented a program on the Jamaat on Canadian TV channel called Rogers without taking a fee. Hence, for the first time in the world, on 12th December 1982, the pictures of the Promised Messiah (as) and the Khulafah of Ahmadiyyat were presented on Canadian Television. He has also written an introduction to the books of the Promised Messiah (as) and compiled it, which is a great scholarly achievement on his part. May Allah the Almighty elevate his status and shower his mercy and forgiveness upon him.
The second funeral prayer is of Mubarikah Shaukat Sahiba, who was the wife of Hafiz Qudratullah Sahib, former missionary of Holland and Indonesia. She passed away on 8th September at the age of 94. To Allah we belong and to Him shall we return. She was a pious and saintly individual who would readily offer prayers and supplications. She was regular in offering the tahajjud [pre-dawn voluntary] prayers and would actively offer her services for her faith. She had a strong bond with Khilafat. Along with Hafiz Sahib and the rest of the family, she had the opportunity to give all the expenditure needed in the printing of the Holy Quran by the Jamaat in Ketala Language. They also had the opportunity to pay all the expenditure towards a mosque in Indonesia.
The third funeral is of Chaudhry Khalid Saifullah Sahib, who was the Naib Ameer [National Vice-President] of Australia Jamaat. He passed away on 16th September at the age of 87. To Allah we belong and to Him shall we return. He had an extraordinary level of loyalty and obedience to Khilafat. He has rendered many other notable services and led a complete life. He was a learned individual and his articles would often be published in the magazines and periodicals of the Jamaat, however, he had a simple nature and would always smile and had an agreeable personality. May Allah the Almighty elevate his status and grant Him forgiveness.