Dr Asim Mumtaz, Nazim English Reporting, National Ijtema Majlis Ansarullah UK 2021
Following a gap of almost two years, the 38th Ijtema of Majlis Ansarullah UK was held on 11 and 12 September 2021 in a hybrid format. This included both an in-person gathering of Ansar at the Baitul Futuh mosque, as well as online streaming via the Majlis Ansarullah UK YouTube channel; this format ensured maximum participation.
This year’s Ijtema was very special as Hazrat Khalifatul Masih Vaa delivered the concluding address virtually from Islamabad, UK. This was a unique opportunity for the Majlis to greatly benefit from Huzoor’s faith-inspiring words.
Over the two days, 1,570 ansar from across the UK attended the Ijtema, in addition to approximately 8,000 views via YouTube. The selected theme for this year’s Ijtema was taqwa (righteousness).
Following the approval by Huzooraa for the Ijtema to proceed, the Majlis began planning in June 2021. The organisation committee was led by Nazim-e-Ala, Faheem Anwar Sahib, with the support of 10 Naib Nazimeen-e-Ala, covering all aspects of the Ijtema preparations.
The organisational team included many of the London regions providing Ansar to undertake various duties such as registration, making food arrangements, cleaning, etc.
A comprehensive plan was put in place to ensure the safety of all participants at the Ijtema, with clear safety guidelines relating to Covid-19, with full guidance given by Huzooraa.
Due to the impact of the pandemic, the Ijtema was held over two days, as opposed to three days as in prior years.
The event began on 11 September with congregational Tahajud and Fajr prayers followed by dars.
The inaugural session commenced with the flag hoisting, followed by silent prayer led by Amir Jamaat-e-Ahmadiyya UK, Rafiq Ahmad Hayat Sahib. This was immediately followed by a recitation from the Holy Quran, and the Ansar pledge by Sadr Majlis Ansarullah UK, Dr Chaudhry Ijaz Ur Rehman Sahib.
Amir Sahib Jamaat UK delivered the inaugural address.
Later, academic competitions were held in the mosque area and sports competitions were held in the field next to the Baitul Futuh mosque.
In the main ijtema hall, three informative and interactive workshops had been arranged. The first workshop was about how to take up cycling, and this was delivered by Mirza Mahmood Ahmad Sahib, Chairman of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Elders Cycling Club (AMEA) and Tariq Noor Sahib.
The next workshop was about the importance of making a will, delivered by Imran Ali Sahib. Imran Sahib described what a will was and carefully explained the conditions for a valid will.
The final workshop was entitled “Your Health Matters” presented by Dr Hammad Khan Sahib, Consultant Paediatrician, and Dr Mahmood Sahib, Cardiology Registrar. This was an interactive session, where Dr Mahmood Sahib initially fielded some questions to the audience, such as what the average life expectancy of a person was. There was a good discussion where the panellists provided very helpful points on health and well-being.
The second session of the first day was chaired by Dr Sir Iftikhar Ahmad Ayaz Sahib, KBE. Following a recitation from the Holy Quran and nazm, Raja Burhan Ahmad Sahib, Qaid Talim, spoke on the importance of reading books.
Asif Mahmood Basit Sahib, Director Programming of MTA International, then spoke on “How to protect our next generation from the negative effects of social media”.
The next speech was in Urdu on the topic of the importance of Wasiyyat, which was presented by Fazal Ur Rehman Nasir Sahib, Qaid Tarbiyat, who presented a number of faith-inspiring extracts from the Promised Messiah’s book Al Wasiyyat, explaining the purpose and importance of establishing this scheme.
During the third session, Sadr Majlis Ansarullah UK, Dr Chaudhry Ijaz Ur Rehman Sahib, delivered some introductory remarks about the “Charity Walk for Peace”.
This was then followed by an interesting panel discussion which was held with the executive members from the Charity Walk for Peace. The discussion panel included Zaheer Jatoi Sahib (Chairman Charity Walk for Peace), Rafi Ahmed Bhatti Sahib and Azhar Mannan Sahib. The panel discussion was chaired by Khalil Yousuf Sahib, who ensured a lively discussion.
The final session of the day was a poetry session in the Urdu language. This was a specially designed programme in which poetry and literature were discussed and some selected poems were recited to the ansar present.
On 12 September, the day commenced with Tahajud, Fajr prayer and dars.
The fourth session of the Ijtema was chaired by Sadr Majlis Ansarullah UK and began with a recitation from the Holy Quran, followed by a nazm.
The first speech was given by Ataul Mujeeb Rashed Sahib, Missionary-in-Charge UK, on the topic of “Responsibilities of Ansarullah in the upbringing of children”.
The next speech was on the “Blessings of Khilafat” delivered by Akhlaq Anjum Sahib.
Sadr Sahib Majlis Ansarullah UK, Dr Chaudhry Ijaz Ur Rehman Sahib, then delivered his address in which he mentioned the efforts of Majlis Ansarullah UK during the pandemic.
A fifth session was held in which a panel discussion was arranged to discuss the progress and background of the Masroor Eye Institute which is being completed in Burkina Faso, West Africa. The background of the project was explained through a short video, which covered the history of the project from the initial target set by Hazrat Khalifatul Masih Vaa in 2016, and the various developmental stages to its present state.
The panel was comprised of Dr Chaudhry Ijaz Ur Rehman Sahib, Dr Imran Masood Sahib, Consultant Ophthalmic Surgeon, and Sahibzada Mirza Waqas Ahmad Sahib, one of the leads on this project. The panel discussion was chaired by Dr Kalim Sadiq Sahib.
After a short break, the final session began. The Majlis was very blessed by the virtual presence of Huzooraa from the new MTA studio in Islamabad, UK. Huzooraa graciously chaired the concluding session, which commenced with a recitation from the Holy Quran. Then, Huzooraa led the members in the Ansar pledge and this was followed by a nazm.
Sadr Majlis Ansarullah UK presented a brief Ijtema report.
Huzooraa then delivered his concluding address to the Ansar.
Huzooraa concluded his address announcing the inauguration of the new MTA studio in which he was delivering the address at Islamabad, Tilford and then concluded the Ijtema with a silent prayer.
