Islamabad, 1 January 2020: It is a dark, cold and foggy end of a winter night. The general public has only just gone to bed after celebrating the start of the new year and a new decade, marked by the arrival of 2020.
But the small village of Tilford is thriving with cars, driving peacefully towards Islamabad. It is time for a predawn prayer called Tahajud – prayers offered in the last hours of the night.
Silently and peacefully, car headlights glimmer along the dark, windy countryside roads, as they head to Islamabad from all directions, where worshippers are to congregate and offer collective prayers to mark the start of the new year.
At Islamabad, the mosque is already full; the very spacious Aiwan-e-Masroor Hall, which usually works as an overflow arrangement, is itself overflowing with the surge of worshippers; a marquee in the grounds is now accommodating the overwhelming zeal of late-night worshippers.
For this Tahajud in the early hours of the new year, a great number of worshippers had arrived in the UK from European countries a day or two earlier. Londoners took up the travel on the same night.
All this made the first morning of the year 2020 full of zealous, enthusiastic and passionate prayers.
After Tahajud, Hazrat Khalifatul Masih V, may Allah strengthen his hand, led the congregation in Fajr prayer at 6:50am.
Having led the Fajr Salat, as Huzooraa left the mosque, he turned to the congregation and said:
“Assalamo Alaikum. Naya saal mubarak ho.” (Peace be upon you all. May the new year be blessed.)
Through these lines, we convey the blessed, prayerful words of Hazrat Amirul Momineen, Khalifatul Masih Vaa to the Ahmadis living across the globe.
While we all feel thankful to Huzooraa for these prayers, let us all remember Huzooraa in our special prayers.
He alone is the flag-bearer of the true Islam in this day and age. He alone is the one chosen by Allah for the immensely heavy task of leading the faithful to paths that lead to Allah the Almighty.
May Allah be his Helper in all his pursuits. May Allah bless Huzoor’saa every day and night with peace, tranquillity and may the Jamaat progress manifold under his blessed leadership. Amin.