Friday Sermon
3 November 2023
Faith & Financial Sacrifice: Launch of Tahrik-e-Jadid Year 2023 & Daftar VI
After reciting the tashahhud, ta‘awwuz and Surah al-Fatihah, Hazrat Khalifatul Masih Vaa recited verse 93 of Surah Aal-e-Imran:
لَنۡ تَنَالُوا الۡبِرَّ حَتّٰي تُنۡفِقُوۡا مِمَّا تُحِبُّوۡنَ ۬ؕ وَمَا تُنۡفِقُوۡا مِنۡ شَيۡءٍ فَاِنَّ اللّٰہَ بِہٖ عَلِيۡمٌ
“Never shall you attain to righteousness unless you spend out of that which you love; and whatever you spend, Allah surely knows it well.”
In this verse, Allah the Almighty has made it clear that the loftier ranks of righteousness can only be achieved when you spend out of what you love in the cause of Allah the Almighty, in order to attain His pleasure. Expounding on this, the Promised Messiahas has stated in one instance:
“You can never attain true piety that leads to salvation unless you spend, in the cause of God, the wealth and the things that you hold dear.” (The Victory of Islam, p. 34)
The Promised Messiahas also states: “One should not love one’s wealth. Allah the Almighty states:
لَنۡ تَنَالُوا الۡبِرَّ حَتّٰي تُنۡفِقُوۡا مِمَّا تُحِبُّوۡنَ
“‘Never shall you attain to righteousness unless you spend out of that which you love.’”
The Promised Messiahas then states: “No individual who spends that which is useless and worthless can claim to have done a good deed. The door of virtue is narrow, so bear well in mind that no one can enter it (the door of virtue) by spending things of no value. There is a clear statement in the Quran as follows:
لَنۡ تَنَالُوا الۡبِرَّ حَتّٰي تُنۡفِقُوۡا مِمَّا تُحِبُّوۡنَ
‘Never shall you attain to righteousness unless you spend out of that which you love.’ Meaning that until you spend those things which are most beloved to you and most dear, you cannot attain the rank of being loved and held dear by God. If you do not wish to bear hardship and do not seek to adopt true piety, how can you succeed and triumph? Did the noble companions reach the ranks they achieved for nothing? A person must shoulder many expenses and pains to attain worldly titles and only after this, does a person manage to secure a minor title, which does not even bring about inner satisfaction and comfort (they receive a title that does not give them inner peace, despite which they still strive to attain it). Now reflect, was the title ‘Allah was pleased with them’, being a sign of inner comfort, tranquillity of heart and the Lord’s pleasure, attained easily without effort? The fact is that the pleasure of God Almighty, which is the cause of true happiness, cannot be attained until one bears temporary hardships. God cannot be deceived. Blessed are those who do not care for suffering sustained in order to acquire the pleasure of Allah. For the light of eternal bliss and everlasting comfort are granted to a believer after this temporary hardship.” (Malfuzat [English], Vol. 1, pp. 72-73)
Hence, this is the understanding of spending one’s wealth, which the Promised Messiahas desired to instil within us according to the commandment of Allah the Almighty. This is a great favour of Allah the Almighty on the Jamaat and on every Ahmadi who has understood this matter and offered his money to be spent in the cause of His faith, despite his personal needs. There are many members of the Community who offer their wealth to be spent on religious needs. There are thousands of such examples where people, set aside their personal needs and offer sacrifices for religious needs. Nowadays, we see that the economic state of the world is worsening by the day, particularly that of the developed countries. These days, even the state of these developed countries has not remained the same, where they were at ease and had everything in abundance. The current circumstances of war around the world and the war in Europe between Ukraine and Russia have greatly worsened the circumstances around Europe as well. Nevertheless, this has greatly impacted the economy of the developed countries. Furthermore, the corruption of the politicians in these countries has also worsened the circumstances to a great extent. However, despite this, Ahmadis are excelling in their financial sacrifices. In the eyes of a worldly person, this is difficult to fathom, but those who are firm in their faith know that as a result of these sacrifices made, the favours of Allah the Almighty are witnessed.
As we are aware, the new year of Tahrik-e-Jadid is announced in the first sermon of November. Therefore, I shall present some incidents in relation to Tahrik-e-Jadid.
The Sadr Lajna of the Lahore District wrote to me, “I drew attention towards making contributions to Tahrik-e-Jadid in one meeting. This was a meeting of middle-class people on a middle income.” She says, “I was embarrassed and hesitant to make an appeal to them, for they were already making great sacrifices. In any case, I did so, as I was asked to draw attention to it.” She continues, “My astonishment knew no bounds as I witnessed how the women came forward to present their sacrifices. I was embarrassed over the fact that such people on a relatively low income were coming forward and making sacrifices in a manner which neither we nor any rich person could ever imagine. Hundreds of thousands of rupees were contributed in the form of both money and jewellery.”
Likewise, there is the report of the Wakil-ul-Maal Awwal, which has a long list that spans many pages, of the names of women who presented their jewellery. When Hazrat Musleh-e-Maudra made the announcement of Tahrik-e-Jadid, one of the appeals at the time was regarding the sacrifices of women, that they should not have jewellery, or if they do then only a small amount, and they should sacrifice their wealth instead. I consider it a greater sacrifice to own jewellery and then sacrifice it, as opposed to not having jewellery made at all. It is more difficult to offer something that is already in your possession.
Thus, Ahmadi women have been making sacrifices since the time of this appeal by Hazrat Musleh-e-Maudra and continue to do so today. This is not only in one country, rather, there are also women in Western countries who present their jewellery, and in fact, who donate all of their jewellery. Then, when they have new jewellery made, they are not at ease and also donate that, for just as the Promised Messiahas stated, if you wish to attain eternal and lasting joy, you cannot do so without sacrifice.
Then, there are poor people who deprive themselves in order to give alms. There are many among them whom Allah the Almighty blesses immediately and grants them much more than what they donate in ways that leave them astounded. I shall present incidents of such people, but at the same time, I say to the affluent people that they should learn a lesson from this and increase their level of sacrifice. Hazrat Musleh-e-Maudra stated in one sermon:
“If donations are considered based on one’s daily sustenance, then there are some poor people who, give 45% of their monthly income in alms. However, there are rich people who give only 1.5% [of their income]. In fact, now there are even some poor people who donate 100%, whereas some rich people only donate 1%. Therefore, in one aspect, the 100% of the poor people is much less than the total that the rich people donate, but their level of sacrifice is much loftier.” (Khutbat-e-Mahmud, Vol. 15, p. 443)
Hence, in this regard, those who are well-off should re-evaluate themselves. Bear in mind that Allah the Almighty never keeps a loan, as He has mentioned at another instance in the Holy Quran that He gives 700 times in return, or even more than that. So, in any case, I shall present some examples of those who have made sacrifices, as I mentioned. On the one hand, we learn of their level of faith and passion, and on the other hand, we witness how Allah the Almighty’s grace descends upon them right away.
Guinea-Bissau is a country in Africa. Mahmood Sahib is a motorcycle mechanic from there, and when the missionary encouraged him to donate towards Tahrik-e-Jadid, he took out all the money that was in his pocket, which was 10,000 CFA francs. He was sitting at home and it was then that his daughter-in-law arrived, asking for some money in order to cook food at home. Mahmood Sahib had already made his intention of donating all of the money towards Tahrik-e-Jadid and had given it all, so he told his daughter-in-law to remain patient. His daughter-in-law then returned. Mahmood Jargah Sahib says that he was worrying about how he would give money to his daughter-in-law to cook food, when he received a phone call from a government office that he should come to the office. When he arrived, they told him that he had repaired their motorcycles over the past year and that they hadn’t yet paid him for it, so they gave him a cheque of 198,000 CFA francs. After receiving the cheque, Mahmood Sahib returned home immediately and called his daughter-in-law and the rest of his family, saying, “See the blessings of spending in the way of Allah! My Lord, in return, has granted me an amount which I never ever expected.”
The missionary in Fiji writes, “During my travels, Ashfaq Sahib, a friend in Nadi, listened to my previous sermon about Tahrik-e-Jadid and heard the accounts I presented. These incidents had a profound effect on him that whilst he was travelling and driving his car, he called the Tahrik-e-Jadid secretary, telling him to double his Tahrik-e-Jadid pledge (he has a business), Thereafter, the annual financial report for the business was prepared, and this year, his profit doubled. Upon this, he said, ‘I am certain that this double profit is not due to our hard work or efforts; this was purely the grace of Allah after doubling my promise in donations.’”
The missionary in Moscow writes that Ruslan Kikiyu is from Kyrgyzstan but has been living in Moscow for 14 years. The missionary says that he had been participating in financial sacrifice before as well. Approximately one year ago, when he heard my Friday Sermon on financial sacrifice, he said that he really enjoyed it, after which he said, “I shall also be among these people who make sacrifices.” Thus, he started sending 10% of his daily earnings as financial contribution without fail. Some [of this sacrifice] went towards charity and some towards financial contributions. The missionary says that this is a habit he has maintained for the past year. When the missionary was reposted to a different city, the first question of the Russian Kyrgyzstani brother was, “Will I still be able to give my financial contributions in the same manner as I was before?” So, the Promised Messiahas brought about a revolution in people’s hearts, whereby they worry about offering their financial contributions.
The Amir of Tanzania writes that there is a jamaat there in which Muhammad Sani lives. The company in which he was working incurred losses. Therefore, the owner said that there would be cuts in the paycheques of all employees. He was very pained when he heard this. It was the last month to offer contributions towards Tahrik-e-Jadid. When he was contacted by the mu‘allim [regarding chanda], he did not even bring up the difficulty he was facing; rather, he put his complete trust in Allah the Almighty and fulfilled his pledge. He says that the very next day, the owner of the company called [and said] that there will be no cuts in his paycheque. Thus, there were cuts to the cheques of all of his co-workers, but he received his paycheque in full. He says that this incident took place because of the financial contributions he offered towards Tahrik-e-Jadid.
In the country of Malawi, there is an elderly woman from the Mangochi District who earns a living by farming. She pledged an amount to Tahrik-e-Jadid but was not able to fulfil it. When reminders were sent out at the end of the year, that if anyone has not fulfilled their pledge then they should do so, she says that she began working much harder and prayed for more work so that she may fulfil her pledge from her earnings. Despite her efforts, she couldn’t find more work. One day, when she returned home after offering the Asr prayers at the mosque, she was informed that her grandson sent her 45,000 Kwachas (which is the currency there) as a gift. There was no limit to her happiness. She immediately went to the mu‘allim and fulfilled her pledge, and she continuously thanked Allah that she was able to fulfil it. Even poor people are anxious to offer their financial contributions.
The Amir of Tanzania says there is a woman named Maryam Sahiba who belongs to the Shinyanga Jamaat. She says that she received a call from the mu‘allim who informed her of her unfulfilled Tahrik-e-Jadid pledge. She says, “I only had 10,000 shillings for my household needs, but I offered the amount in Tahrik-e-Jadid. Then, it was the design of Allah that the very same day, Allah the Almighty caused 100,000 shillings to be repaid to me.” She says that all this was due to the blessing of financial contributions.
There is a new convert from Guinea-Bissau named Uthman Sahib. He suffered many financial hardships in his life. He was never able to succeed in the business ventures that he started. One night, he fell asleep as he was worrying about this, and he says, “I heard a voice that said ‘Uthman, offer your financial contributions regularly.’” That very same morning, Uthman Sahib went to the missionary and told him his dream. Upon hearing this, the missionary told him about Tahrik-e-Jadid and other such forms of financial sacrifice, upon which Uthman Sahib immediately offered a contribution towards Tahrik-e-Jadid, then made a list of all his financial contributions, and began regularly offering them. Uthman Sahib says that since he has begun regularly offering all his financial contributions, Allah the Almighty placed blessings in all of his businesses and resolved all of his personal difficulties. Now it is his firm belief that all of this is due to the blessings of offering contributions for Tahrik-e-Jadid and all his regular financial contributions. This reminds us and other new converts about how Allah the Almighty treats such people. Allah the Almighty is not in need of this [wealth], rather, He does this so that He can bless people.
Kamran Sahib, a missionary in Australia says, “A young man didn’t offer financial contributions for approximately ten years. I sat with him and told him about the blessings of financial sacrifice. After this, he began offering financial contributions and simultaneously offered donations for Tahrik-e-Jadid and Waqf-e-Jadid.” He says, “After a few days, the young man called and began saying that by the grace of Allah the Almighty, he received a promotion at work that he was not expecting at all. He also said that this is only because of his sacrifice for the sake of Allah the Almighty. And now, this person who had been negligent for ten years began saying that he will never be negligent in offering his financial contributions.”
Uthman Sahib lives in the Niamina village of The Gambia. The Tahrik-e-Jadid secretary went to his village and while making an appeal regarding financial contributions, he stated that this is not only a financial initiative, but rather some of its objectives are also to increase knowledge and preach. If you are those who participate in Tahrik-e-Jadid, then do not think that you have offered financial contributions and now your work is done. You have already given it; besides this you should also increase your religious knowledge and enter into the field of preaching.
A few days ago, I took a pledge from khuddam and ansar; if the members of the Community also keep that in mind, then we would excel in the field of tabligh [propagation].
Do not simply make financial sacrifices and think that we have fulfilled our purpose. One of the objectives of Tahrik-e-Jadid was also tabligh, and this was one of the main reasons why it was initiated.
[Uthman Sahib] says, “I was deeply impacted by this, and not only did I decide to take the bai‘at [pledge of allegiance] and enter into the Jamaat (he had not pledged allegiance until then), and it was after learning about the objectives of Tahrik-e-Jadid that I decided to take the pledge of allegiance and enter the Community, after which I pledged and fulfilled my promise of 150 Dalasi to Tahrik-e-Jadid.” He says, “After offering financial sacrifices, I felt a pure reformation within myself, and I am conveying the true message of Islam to both Ahmadis and non-Ahmadis. Furthermore, I am also offering financial contributions regularly.”
A woman from The Gambia writes, “Since offering financial sacrifices, I have felt a pure reformation within myself and my children and have seen that Allah the Almighty is fulfilling all of our needs.” To be pious and sacrifice in the way of Allah the Almighty helps one attain the blessings of Allah the Almighty.
Guinea-Conakry is a country in Africa. The mu‘allim there, Kamara Sahib was visiting a village assigned to him and says, “I was visiting a village to collect financial contributions. I asked the wife of a newly-converted Imam about offering financial contributions, upon which she took out five thousand Guinea francs and, whilst raising her hands to the heavens, said, ‘O Allah, this is all the money I have which I am offering for Your sake. Please accept it.’ And with this, she offered the amount as a financial contribution.” She is a new convert living in a remote part of Africa. The mu‘allim says, “When I returned after completing my visit to the village, the respected lady who offered five thousand Guinean francs as financial contribution very happily informed, ‘Today I have reaped great benefit from the transaction I made with Allah.’ She said, ‘After your departure, Allah the Almighty sent me 80,000 Guinea francs through a relative, which was far greater than the amount I had sacrificed.’”
Another mu‘allim from Guinea-Conakry, Jalu Sahib says, “During ashrah Tahrik-e-Jadid, a mu‘allim went to the Kontaya village to collect financial contributions. A new convert, Sheikhu Sahib, had pledged to offer 3,000 Guinean francs in Tahrik-e-Jadid. When he was reminded about fulfilling this pledge, he said, ‘Today, all I have to fulfil my household expenses is 30,000 francs, but I will offer it for the sake of Allah; may He accept it.’ The next day, he ecstatically called saying, ‘Allah has accepted my sacrifice! It had only been a few hours since I offered the financial contribution when my son sent me 300,000 Guinea francs to take care of the household expenses.’ He said, ‘Through this incident, Allah the Almighty really strengthened my faith. The financial contributions which the Jamaat collects from us is spent in the way of Allah. I will continue offering sacrifices in the same way.’” He also became reassured that whatever was bestowed by Allah the Almighty was also spent in the right way and it did not go to waste.
Baiga Maitzov from Kazakhstan regularly takes part in offering financial contributions. He says, “I was let go from my job in June and my employers paid me whatever my salary was meant to be.” He says, “Now I am on pension. A few months after being let go from my job, I had to purchase some expensive medicines along with other things due to an illness, but because of not having the financial means, I would always be worried. The next day, as I was walking down the street, it occurred to me to check my credit card. I knew that my credit card would be empty and there was no money in it. Regardless, I decided to check. When I checked, I was utterly astonished because there was 190,000 in my card in the local currency. I was shocked and was thanking Allah the Almighty a great deal. Without informing me, the company that I had been let go from had transferred the amount into my account.” He says that he called the company to find out why they had done this, and he learned that the owner of the company had sent this amount as a gift, because of his trustworthiness and truthfulness. He says, “This all happened because I was regular in offering contributions for Tahrik-e-Jadid and Waqf-e-Jadid.”
Bhakra Sahib from Malaysia says, “The following is my personal experience; between 2016 and 2017 I pledged 1,000 Ringgit for Tahrik-e-Jadid. During that time, due to my financial circumstances, I was unable to fulfil this pledge. It was a very difficult time, and my business was being impacted. I was very worried and hoped to be able to offer my pledge in full, however, I couldn’t even save anything. I simply prayed to Allah the Almighty that if my intention is true and if the Community is indeed truthful, then surely Allah the Almighty would create ease. When there were only two days left to fulfil the pledges, I happened to receive 1,000 Ringgits from my business. Without even thinking about it, I went to the finance secretary’s home and gave him 1,000 Ringgit. Ever since that incident, I have firm faith in this Jamaat, that if our objectives are sincerely for the Jamaat and for the progress of Islam, then Allah the Almighty certainly creates extraordinary ease.” This is the unified mentality that Ahmadis living in every country of the world have. Despite there being a distance of thousands of miles between them, Allah the Almighty strengthens their faith in this way and makes the truthfulness of this Jamaat apparent to them.
There is a person from Germany who says, “Due to the financial situation of my firm not being good, the duration of my work became shortened, as a result of which my income also decreased. Whilst listening to faith-inspiring incidents during a Tahrik-e-Jadid seminar, I promised in my heart to Allah the Almighty that I would give 500 more euros.” In this regard, he says that he also wrote letters to me for prayers, and he also prayed for himself. Allah the Almighty bestowed His grace, and after the fulfilment of the first pledge for Tahrik-e-Jadid, he was able to offer an extra 600 euros. After a few days, he received a call from a firm saying that if he wished to leave the first one and work for their firm (this was a different firm), then his salary would be 1,000 euros more than the previous firm. After some contemplation, he decided to work for the new firm. The owner of this firm said that since he had left his previous firm, he would receive a bonus for the first three months in three instalments of 2,000 euros. He would also be off of work on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. In this way, Allah the Almighty bestowed His blessings and as a result of sacrificing more for Tahrik-e-Jadid, not only did his salary increase he was also able to regularly offer the Friday prayer.
The missionary in Ivory Coast writes, “An appeal for Tahrik-e-Jadid was made in the Yaollesso village. An elderly gentleman who was very poor – and according to our estimation, we thought that if he were to offer two hundred or three hundred francs, it would be a large amount – got up and went home. Not only did he come back himself with money to offer financial contributions, but he also brought his son along with him so that he could also offer financial contributions. He offered 2,000 francs which for him was a very large amount. His son also offered 500 francs.” This is the passion of sacrificing one’s wealth for the religion of Allah the Almighty.
Senegal is another African country. The mu‘allim says that Muhammad Anjai is a poor but sincere man. His wife was ill. The medicines prescribed by doctors were 15,000 CFA francs, an amount which he did not have. He went to one of his friends to get a loan which he gave. Meanwhile, he arrived at the mission house as it was time for prayers. He mentioned his wife’s condition to the mu‘allim. He had not yet gone into any details and had only just mentioned it when the mu‘allim started mentioning what he had to say first regarding the ashrah Tahrik-e-Jadid, saying that he should sacrifice in the way of God, and Allah the Almighty would create ease.
Nevertheless, he explained his constraining circumstances and said, “I will make my contributions in two to four days. At present, I am constrained. I have taken a loan to purchase medicine for my wife.” Thereupon, they left the mission house. After a few minutes had passed, he returned and said, “As I left the mission house, it occurred to me that the mu‘allim had encouraged me to contribute, yet I made no contribution upon this encouragement. Due to this, my heart became distraught. Could you write a receipt for 5,000 CFA francs on my behalf for the Tahrik-e-Jadid scheme? I will only purchase the necessary medication.” After saying this, he took his receipt and left. After leaving the mission house, he had not yet reached the pharmacy when he received a phone call. The caller said, “I want to have a bed constructed, and so I am transferring 5,000 CFA francs to you through a credit bank order. When your wife has recovered, you can build my bed, and I will pay you the remaining amount then.” He continues, “Instead of going to the pharmacy, he returned to the mission house once again and informed the mu‘allim of what had happened. He then said, “Through the blessings of financial sacrifice, God Almighty bestowed His special grace upon me and granted me funds beyond my needs.”
Once more, the mu‘allim from Senegal writes, “A sincere member, Wagan Sahib, had pledged 10,000 CFA francs toward the Tahrik-e-Jadid scheme. He was told that the Tahrik-e-Jadid year was coming to an end, and he had some unpaid amount remaining. He replied, ‘At present, I do not have any funds. However, do not worry! I will pay the amount before the year ends, even if I have to sell my own clothes.’” This was the level of his passion. The mu‘allim says, “A few days later, he came to my house himself and asked me to accept his contributions saying, ‘I was very worried about this, however, just today, I could not believe that my daughter sent me some money. Thus, I came, first and foremost, to give my contribution.’” There are such sincere people in the Jamaat; they do not care for worldly things.
The Amir of Niger writes, “There is a local mu‘allim here whose wife is a housewife and has no income. The local mu‘allim would pay on her behalf for Tahrik-e-Jadid. When his wife found out, she said, ‘This year, I will pay my pledge myself. Note down 8,000 CFA francs as my pledge. Her husband, the mu‘allim, questioned as to how she would fulfil her pledge, but she responded by saying, ‘I am certain that Allah the Almighty will accept my sacrifice.’ It so happened that after a few days, a woman from the neighbourhood came to her and asked her if she could sew clothes for her. The woman also paid her 3,000 CFA francs in advance, which she immediately paid towards her pledge for Tahrik-e-Jadid. Following this, she saw her work flourish to the extent that she easily fulfilled her pledge.” When Hazrat Musleh-e-Maudra started this scheme, women wrote to him about his instruction to contribute five to ten rupees. They said that they could not pay this lump sum at once, however, they requested to be allowed to pay one to two rupees gradually and reach the full sum in a month. The passion exhibited at that time still exists today. In fact, this passion resides in those who are sitting thousands of miles away. They can hear the direct words of the Caliph of the time, however, some of them cannot understand the language. Despite this, they excel in their sincerity.
A mu‘allim of Senegal writes, “In the local chapter of Tambacounda, Saeedi Sahib owns a herd of sheep. He called to inquire about exactly what Tahrik-e-Jadid is.” He had heard that Ahmadis should contribute toward Tahrik-e-Jadid. The mu‘allim explained the details of the Tahrik-e-Jadid scheme to him and told him that they were passing through the ashrah [10 days of focus] for Tahrik-e-Jadid. He told the mu‘allim that his father was a wealthy man, however, he was neglectful in paying Zakat and spending in the cause of Allah. Nevertheless, he entertained and hosted Muslim clerics. After the demise of his father, he inherited many animals, however, he also did not get the opportunity to spend in the cause of Allah. When the mu‘allim drew his attention toward Zakat and other modes of financial sacrifice, he gave one cow and two sheep and dedicated one sheep especially for Tahrik-e-Jadid. Seven days later, he had a dream in which he saw a peculiar disease spreading amongst the animals which caused water to ooze from their bodies, resulting in death. Because he also owned a large herd of animals, he became worried in the dream and prayed, ‘O God, safeguard my animals.’ Upon this, he heard a loud voice in his dream proclaiming that his animals would be safe because of [his contributions to] the Tahrik-e-Jadid scheme. Then, he saw a paper with the words ‘In the name of Allah, the Gracious the Merciful’ inscribed on a line, and his name was also written. Upon this, he woke up. He called the mu‘allim and relayed his dream to him. The mu‘allim told him to read the line at the very top of his receipt and he would find ‘In the name of Allah, the Gracious the Merciful’ written on it, and he would also find his name written underneath it. Apart from that, there was nothing else to read except the amount paid under Tahrik-e-Jadid. He said, “When I saw the receipt in context to my dream, this incident became a means of increasing my faith.” Allah the Almighty has strange, extraordinary ways of giving guidance.
The mu‘allim in Shinyanga, Tanzania writes, “An elderly new convert of the Jamaat by the name of Ramadan Sahib pledged an exemplary sum toward Tahrik-e-Jadid. He earned a living by farming. Due to a drought, many farmers did not yield a satisfactory harvest. Ramadan Sahib said that he was constantly worried about how he would be able to fulfil his pledge for Tahrik-e-Jadid. He said, ‘I was lost in my thoughts about this when I got a phone call from a relative who had not contacted me in a long time. He called to say that he was sending me some money so that I could buy some food and supplies for my home.’ When that elderly man received the money, he went straight to the finance secretary to fulfil his pledge and paid in surplus. He said, ‘This is all owing to the fact that my Allah helped me to pay my pledge in full.’”
These are the standards of sacrifice exemplified by even such people who are newcomers. The opponents have sought tirelessly to bring an end to the Community. At the same time, Allah the Almighty has imbued the hearts of new converts with the spirit of sacrifice for the Jamaat and continues to provide for them. Can our opponents blow out this light that has been kindled by Allah the Almighty Himself? They can try as hard as they like, but they will be met with failure and disappointment. The Community, on the other hand, will continue to progress by making exemplary sacrifices in all corners of the world. Hazrat Musleh-e-Maudra launched Tahrik-e-Jadid for the very reason that severe opposition had erupted against the Jamaat from all directions to the extent that even government officials were supporting the enemies. It was the purpose of the Tahrik-e-Jadid scheme to grow the Jamaat by propagating its message, and for the flag of Islam to be raised in all countries of the world by the Ahmadiyya Jamaat. Thus, these people who are striving to become exemplary in faith, conviction and sacrifice have entered the fold of Islam through the Ahmadiyya Jamaat. There are countless incidents, however it is not possible to mention them all at this time. I will now speak briefly on the Tahrik-e-Jadid scheme itself and about its historical background.
As I have mentioned earlier, opposition and disturbances arose from all sides against the Community, particularly by the Ahrar movement, which exhausted all its efforts and claimed it would wipe Ahmadiyyat from the face of the earth. They claimed that they would remove every trace of Qadian and raze it to the ground. They even schemed to desecrate the grave of the Promised Messiahas and other holy sites. It was clear to see that the government was also siding with the opponents, even though it was the British rule at the time. Instead of bringing an end to the disorder, they would support them. It was in light of these circumstances that Hazrat Musleh-e-Maudra outlined a programme before the Community and established this scheme in which attention was also drawn towards financial sacrifices. This was in 1934. Hazrat Musleh-e-Maudra initially delivered some sermons in November wherein he gave an introduction and the context behind launching this scheme. He had only briefly introduced this and had not gone into details, however, the sincere members of the Jamaat began to write to him, expressing their willingness to offer every kind of sacrifice upon which Hazrat Musleh-e-Maudra expressed his happiness. Hazrat Musleh-e-Maudra stated, “I am mentioning the details so that the Jamaat is ready to offer sacrifices because, at times, the period of sacrifices is prolonged, and women and children should also be ready to offer sacrifices. It is not the duty of only the men, but the women must also understand their responsibilities.”
In other words, this was not obligatory upon everyone at the time, however, the members of the Jamaat demonstrated such extraordinary levels of sincerity and loyalty. (Khutbat-e-Mahmud, Vol. 15, p. 411)
In any case, Hazrat Musleh-e-Maudra officially announced a fund in 1934 and stated, “We have to respond to the evil ploys of the opponents. Not by creating disorder like them, but rather through tabligh [propagation]. In fact, the only reason the opponents have had an opportunity to do this is because we have not done true justice in our tabligh. The diligent manner in which we ought to have planned has not happened. The efforts which ought to have been made in order to spread the message of Ahmadiyyat to the corners of the world have not happened. We have not done true justice in this regard as we ought to have done.”
At the time, Hazrat Musleh-e-Maudra devised a programme in which the attention of the members was drawn towards their reformation and to elevate the standard of their sacrifices. He also drew their attention towards financial sacrifice to raise 27,000 rupees in a period of three years. However, Allah the Almighty, out of His grace, enabled the members of this Jamaat who were filled with sincerity and loyalty, to hearken to the call of the Khalifa of the time and raise 100,000 rupees within a year. In view of the financial situation of the Jamaat, this was a huge sacrifice. At the time, people would present sacrifices of a few annas [1/4 of a rupee]. The immense level of sacrifice shown by the members at the time was granted such acceptance by Allah the Almighty, that this not only opened new avenues of tabligh in an extraordinary manner, and these sacrifices were not just limited to those people, rather such examples are evident even today as I have just narrated through these incidents. In any case, they not only sacrificed their wealth but also dedicated their lives [for the cause of Islam]. They travelled to far-off lands in order to preach and some of them were even imprisoned and had to endure extreme hardships as a result. Initially, Hazrat Musleh-e-Maudra extended this scheme for another ten years. From an initial period of three years, he extended it to ten years. After the completion of ten years, and upon witnessing its fruitful results and upon the desire of those who wished to offer sacrifices, he made this a permanent scheme. (Khutbat-e-Mahmud, Vol. 25, pp. 699-700, Vol. 18, p. 591)
The wondrous signs of Allah the Almighty’s support and succour which we are witnessing today are a result of the sacrifices offered by the earlier members, which Allah the Almighty accepted. In fact, some of those who have newly joined have been inspired through their dreams to participate in this scheme, just as I mentioned in the earlier accounts that were narrated.
The progenies of those early members who offered sacrifices should remember those sacrifices of their elders and not only strive to instil this spirit of sacrifice in their children but they should also offer as many sacrifices as they can owing to the blessings they have been bestowed with.
The initial members who took part in Tahrik-e-Jadid were 5,000, and they were the Mujahid of Daftar Awwal [first register] of Tahrik-e-Jadid. Hazrat Khalifatul Masih IVrh drew particular attention of their progenies to continue on their sacrifices till the Day of Judgement and thus to continue making contributions on their behalf. (Khutbat-e-Tahir, Vol. 4, p. 865)
When I announced the fifth Daftar [register], I again drew attention to this, and now, by the grace of Allah the Almighty, all of their accounts are still active. When a period of ten years elapsed for those members in the first Daftar, Hazrat Khalifatul Masih IIra announced the second Daftar, and thus, the newcomers were added to this Daftar, and he also stated that this Daftar would continue for a period of 19 years and that after every 19 years, a new Daftar would be announced. (Khutbat-e-Mahmud, Vol. 25, p. 731-732)
And so in accordance with this instruction, the third Daftar was announced by Hazrat Khalifatul Masih IIIrh. According to the 19-year rule, this was actually meant to be announced in 1964 however, due to the illness of Hazrat Khalifatul Masih IIIra, he was not able to announce it. Therefore, Hazrat Khalifatul Masih IIIrh stated that although he was announcing the commencement of the new Daftar, however, it would be attributed to Hazrat Musleh-e-Maudra and that Allah the Almighty would also allow him to partake of its blessings. The formal announcement of this Daftar was therefore done in 1966, however, Hazrat Khalifatul Masih IIIrh stated that its time period would start from November 1965. (Khutbat-e-Nasir, Vol. 1, p. 228)
Then, in 1985, the fourth Daftar was announced by Hazrat Khalifatul Masih IVrh. (Khutbat-e-Tahir, Vol. 4, p. 870)
This Daftar remained established for a period of 19 years. In 2004, when this period came to an end, I then announced the fifth Daftar and now as the 19-year period again comes to an end, I announce the start of the sixth Daftar. Now, those who newly enter the Jamaat, any new-born, or anyone who was not part of a previous Daftar, will be included in this sixth Daftar. The local Community administrations should all implement according to this.
When Hazrat Musleh-e-Maudra announced the start of the second Daftar, he stated, “Following this, the third, fourth, and fifth Daftar will subsequently continue on, and we will continue to offer sacrifices for the sake of our faith. The day we abandon to strive and struggle for the sake of our faith, and the day such people emerge who will say, ‘The era of the first Daftar has gone, as has the third, fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh, after all how much longer are we going to continue to make such sacrifices, it has come to an end.’” Hazrat Museh-e-Maudra stated, “This would in fact be a declaration of those people as if to say that their spirituality has diminished and their faith has gone weak. We, however, are hopeful that these different eras of Tahrik-e-Jadid are limitless. Just like the stars in the skies cannot be counted, the different eras of Tahrik-e-Jadid will also be countless. Just as Allah the Almighty had stated to Prophet Abrahamas that he will be granted such a vast progeny will be innumerable and his progeny indeed played a great role in the service of faith, so too is the case of Tahrik-e-Jadid. The era of Tahrik-e-Jadid is not based on the number of people, rather, it is a collection of sacrifices offered for the sake of faith, thus, these eras are also limitless and will serve as an immensely strong foundation for Islam and Ahmadiyyat.” (Khutbat-e-Mahmud, Vol. 27, p. 65)
Thus, every Ahmadi ought to analyse their own levels of sacrifice by keeping this in mind. I have just presented a few examples of how Allah the Almighty blesses those who make sacrifices. It is Allah’s testimony through His practical support that this is a divine scheme.
With regards to Tahrik-e-Jadid, Hazrat Musleh-e-Maudra linked Tahrik-e-Jadid with the system of Al-Wasiyyat – I am explaining this in my own words – he said on one occasion that it serves as a precursor, as through this, the scheme of Al-Wasiyyat will be strengthened. This will firmly instil the habit of offering financial sacrifices. This is a precursor, i.e. something that will come first and make an announcement, just like a vanguard. It [Tahrik-e-Jadid] will continue to make an announcement that an extraordinary system will follow behind and that is called the institution of Al-Wasiyyat. Thus, in 2005 when I made an appeal for members to join the Wasiyyat scheme, I mentioned that the system of Al-Wasiyyat is intrinsically linked to the institution of Khilafat. Now, it is only through the Al-Wasiyyat scheme that the levels of sacrifice will increase. But initially, in order to develop the habit of offering sacrifices, one must participate in the Tahrik-e-Jadid scheme. Therefore, everyone must be mindful in this regard. May Allah the Almighty grant the affluent members of the Jamaat to give thought to this. By the grace of Allah the Almighty, there are members who are well-earning and pay great attention to this, but there is a need for more people to give financial contributions according to their means. As I mentioned before, the poor have excelled greatly in offering sacrifices, but the rich must pay more attention to this.
I will now present the figures for the previous year. But first, I would like to mention the fruits of Tahrik-e-Jadid that we can see for ourselves. Initially, we were confined to Qadian, or the Jamaat was small and limited to within India. However, now, across 220 countries, the number of mosques is over 9,300, there are more than 3,400 mission houses, and there are dozens of mosques and mission houses that are under construction. The total number of missionaries and mu‘allimin worldwide is close to 5,000, and this number is increasing. By the grace of Allah the Almighty, translations of the Holy Quran are being carried out; to date, it has been translated into 77 languages. Literature is being published and is being translated into various languages, there are countless activities taking place. All this is taking place through Tahrik-e-Jadid. Although money from other schemes has been used, Tahrik-e-Jadid plays a vital role.
With the grace of Allah the Almighty, I will announce the new year for Tahrik-e-Jadid. On 31 October, the 89th year of Tahrik-e-Jadid ended and now we have entered into the 90th year. By the grace and blessings of Allah, the Ahmadiyya Community worldwide had the opportunity to present a sacrifice totalling £17.2 million, Alhamdulillah [all praise belongs to Allah]. Despite the economic situation of the world, this is an increase of £749,000 from last year. From all the chapters in the world, this year again Germany is in 1st place, they have maintained this distinction. The currency exchange has been severely impacted owing to the economic situation, and in Pakistan as well, but overall every person on a local level has increased the amount they have sacrificed. Aside from Pakistan, the top ten positions are as follows: as I mentioned, overall, Germany is in 1st place – they excelled beyond everyone – followed by the UK, Canada has risen to 3rd place, the USA has dropped to 4th, a country in the Middle East is 5th, 6th is India, 7th is Australia, 8th is Indonesia, 9th again is a country in the Middle East, and in 10th place is Ghana. The currency there [in Ghana] has also devalued greatly, but despite this they maintained their 10th place this year as well.
The smaller jamaats who have made notable contributions include: Ireland, Mauritius, Holland, Malaysia, Singapore, New Zealand, Kazakhstan, Georgia etc.
The notable positions for the countries in Africa are as follows: Ghana, Mauritius, Nigeria, Burkina Faso, Tanzania, Gambia, Uganda, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Benin.
The total number of participants is more than 1,637,000 and those countries who made considerable progress in this regard are: Guinea Conakry, Jamaica, Kyrgyzstan, Zambia, Nepal, Ghana, Kenya, Tanzania, Congo Kinshasa, Congo Brazzaville, Nigeria, Senegal, Ivory Coast, and a country in the Middle East.
The first ten chapters of Germany are: Rödermark, Rodgau, Kiel, Osnabrück, Pinneberg, Neuss, Nidda, Köln, Mahdi-Abad and Flörsheim.
The position of the Amarats is as follows: 1st is Hamburg, then Frankfurt, Gross-Gerau, Wiesbaden, Dietzenbach, Riedstadt, Russelheim, Mörfelden, Waldrof, Darmstadt and Mannheim.
The top five regions in the UK are as follows: Bait-ul-Futuh, Islamabad, Midlands, Fazl Mosque and Bait-ul-Ihsan.
The top 10 positions of the larger chapters of the UK are as follows: Farnham, Worcester Park, South Cheam, Islamabad, Walsall, Ash, Gillingham, Aldershot South, Ewell, and Bradford North.
The position of the smaller chapters of the UK is as follows: Spen Valley, Swansea, North Hampton, North Wales, Newport.
The positions of the Amarats in Canada are as follows: Vaughan, Calgary, Peace Village, Vancouver Mississauga, and then Toronto.
The positions of the smaller chapters of Canada are as follows: Hamilton Mountain, Ottawa East, Bradford East, Hamilton West, Montreal West, Winnipeg, Regina, Lloydminster, Abbotsford.
The positions of the chapters in the USA are as follows: 1st is Maryland, North Virginia, Los Angeles, Seattle, Chicago, Silicon Valley, Detroit, Houston, Oshkosh, North Jersey, South Virginia, Central Jersey and Dallas.
In terms of the overall collection in Pakistan, it is as follows: Lahore is 1st, 2nd is Rabwah and 3rd is Karachi.
The districts [in Pakistan] are as follows: 1st is Faisalabad, followed by Gujranwala, Gujrat, Umerkot, Hyderabad, Mirpur Khas, Lodhran, Bahawalpur, Kotli Azad Kashmir and Jhelum.
In terms of the overall collection, [the positions of] the local chapters in Pakistan are as follows: Amarat Township Lahore, Amarat Allamah Iqbal Town Lahore, Amarat Dar-ul-Zikr Lahore, Amarat Azizabad Karachi, Amarat Mughalpura Lahore, Multan, Amarat Baitul Fazal Faisalabad, Gujranwala, Quetta, Peshawar.
The positions of the smaller chapters are as follows: Khokhar Gharbi, Chawinda, Kot Sharifabad, Bashirabad Sindh, Kharian, Hayatabad, Pindi Bhago, Dar al-Fazl Kunri, Nawazabad farm, Khairpur.
The top ten provinces in India are as follows: Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Telangana, Jammu Kashmir, Odessa, Punjab, Bengal, Delhi and Maharashtra.
In terms of total contribution, the top ten chapters are as follows: Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, Qadian, Hyderabad, Calicut, Manjeri, Melapalayam, Bangalore, Kolkata, Karulai and Kerang.
The top ten chapters of Australia are as follows: Melbourne Long Warren, Melbourne Berwick, Marsden Park, Penrith, Perth, Adelaide West, Castle Hill, Brisbane Logan East, Parramatta and Melbourne Clyde. These were the ten chapters.
May Allah the Almighty greatly bless the wealth and progeny of all those who presented sacrifices and may they offer sacrifices even more than before.
Always remember the Palestinians in your prayers, do not forget them. Women and children are being oppressed to the extreme. May Allah the Almighty swiftly grant them relief from this.
(Official Urdu transcript published in the Daily Al Fazl International, 24 November 2023, pp. 2-8. Translated by The Review of Religions.)