Shahzad Malik, Ireland Correspondent
The Waqf-e-Nau department in Ireland held its 6th annual Waqf-e-Nau Ijtema on Sunday, 16 June at Esker Educate Together National School, Dublin for both Waqifeen-e-Nau and Waqifaat-e-Nau.
Preparations for the Ijtema began one month prior to the appointed date. Various departments were formed. A month prior to the Ijtema, the country’s secretary of Waqf-e-Nau presided over two meetings to allocate various tasks to the heads of these departments.
In addition to this, a letter requesting prayers for the success of the Ijtema was sent to Hazrat Khalifatul Masih V, may Allah be his Helper.
In the late afternoon of Saturday, 15 June, many of the departments, along with their teams, diligently worked late into the night to set up the main hall and the classrooms that were going to be utilised throughout the day by both Waqifeen-e-Nau and Waqifaat-e-Nau.
After registration and breakfast, which began at 9:30am, Dr Anwar Malik Sahib, National President of Jamaat Ireland, chaired the opening session that began at 10:30am with the recitation of the Holy Quran by Dr Adnan Ahmad Rana Sahib, followed by its English and Urdu translations. Thereafter Ruhaan Malik recited a few couplets from a nazm of Hazrat Musleh-e-Maudra. This was followed by a clip from Hazrat Khalifatul Masih V’saa recent address at the UK Waqf-e-Nau Ijtema, delivered on Sunday 7 April, wherein Huzoor-e-Anwaraa drew the attention of Waqifeen towards the rights due to Allah and the rights owed to humankind.
The proceedings of this session were also relayed in the Waqifaat area as well. This formal session ended at 11am with silent prayer led by the national president.
For the academic competitions, the Waqifeen-e-Nau were split into 4 groups comprising of ages 5-7, 8-10, 11-15 and 16+. The academic competitions commenced at 11:15 which consisted of tilawat, nazm, English & Urdu speeches and Hifz-e-Quran. As two groups participated in their academic competitions, two groups simultaneously had their academic assessments conducted. The same pattern was used on the Waqifaat side. The academic competitions lasted until 1:15pm and was followed by a group discussion session.
This year, for the first time, a group discussion was held that was conducted by Ibrahim Noonan Sahib, Missionary In-charge Ireland. During this session, topics such as “What does the term Waqf mean?”, “Why was the Waqf-e-Nau scheme launched?”, “Professions for Waqifeen-e-Nau” and others were discussed. Alhamdolillah this session was enjoyed by all Waqifeen and proved beneficial in helping them to further understand the meaning of Waqf. This session finished at 2pm and was followed by Zuhr and Asr prayers and lunch.
At 3:30pm, a question & answer session was held. The panel consisted of Ireland Jamaat’s national president, missionary in-charge and secretary for Waqf-e-Nau. Both the Waqifeen and Waqifaat asked many intriguing questions ranging from a variety of topics. This session was thoroughly enjoyed by all those present and finished at 4:45pm.
The concluding session began at 5:05pm which was again chaired by the national president. After the recitation of the Holy Quran and its English translation, an Urdu nazm was recited.
Thereafter, Rabeeb Mirza Sahib, National Secretary for Waqf-e-Nau presented the Ijtema Report. This was followed by the prize distribution ceremony, which was simultaneously held on the Waqifaat side. After this, the national president delivered the concluding address wherein he quoted excerpts from the recent address of Hazrat Khalifatul Masih Vaa at the UK Waqf-e-Nau Ijtema.
He reminded Waqifeen-e-Nau over the age of 15 to fill their re-confirmation forms and also those who are working to constantly seek guidance from Hazrat Amirul Momineenaa. He called upon all Waqifeen and Waqifaat to purchase the quarterly central Waqf-e-Nau magazines, Ismael and Maryam.
The concluding session ended with silent prayer led by the national president 5:30pm. This was followed by a group photo.
The total attendance, including both the ladies and men’s side, was 102.
Apart from this, the recent Ismael and Maryam magazines, along with the newly published Waqf-e-Nau syllabus, were made available for purchase throughout the Ijtema.