History of Majlis Ansarullah 

Tarikh-e-Ahmadiyyat, Vol. 9

Hazrat Khalifatul Masih II^ra was acutely aware of this important necessity [of having an auxiliary for Ahmadi men over 40 years of age] even at the time of the establishment of Majlis Khuddam-ul-Ahmadiyya. However, Huzoor^ra wished that the voluntary organisation of Majlis Khuddam-ul-Ahmadiyya be first well-established – at least in Qadian – then any new measures be taken in this regard. 

Hence, two to two and a half years later when this Majlis progressed in line with the objectives of Huzoor^ra and the youth proved themselves capable of working voluntarily according to the blessed wishes of Huzoor^ra, he then announced the following on 26 July 1940 (Wafa 1319 HS):

“From today in Qadian, the work carried out by Khuddam-ul-Ahmadiyya shall be compulsory and no longer optional. It shall be necessary for every Ahmadi who is between the ages of 15 to 40 to enrol himself into Khuddam-ul-Ahmadiyya within the next 15 days… Khuddam-ul-Ahmadiyya should organise all children between the ages of 8 to 15 within one month and an organisation by the name of Atfal-ul-Ahmadiyya be created; an apt programme should be produced for them with my consultation.”

 

With this announcement, Huzoor^ra also established a permanent auxiliary for the Ahmadis above the age of forty and named it “Majlis Ansarullah”. He also deemed it compulsory for all those of age residing in Qadian at the time to enrol in it. Maulvi Sher Ali Sahib^ra was nominated as the interim president of the Ansarullah auxiliary. The following were appointed by Huzoor to assist the president:

1. Hazrat Maulvi Abdur Rahim Dard MA^ra

2. Hazrat Chaudhry Fateh Muhammad Siyal MA^ra

3. Hazrat Maulvi Farzand Ali Khan

At this occasion, Hazrat Amirul Momineen gave some elementary guidance regarding Majlis Ansarullah which should be narrated in Huzoor’s^ra own words. Huzoor^ra stated:

“All those men that are above the age of 40 should establish an organisation by the name of Ansarullah and all those residents of Qadian who are above the age of 40 should enrol in it. It shall be compulsory for them to dedicate half an hour daily for the service of their faith. If deemed necessary, then instead of taking half an hour of daily religious service from some individuals, three consecutive days of a month can be dedicated for this purpose. Nevertheless, all children, elderly and youth, without exception, must become organised in Qadian. The temporary president of Majlis Ansarullah shall be Maulvi Sher Ali Sahib, and to discharge the duties of the secretariat, I am appointing Maulvi Abdur Rahim Dard Sahib, Chaudhry Fateh Muhammad Sahib and Khansahib Maulvi Farzand Ali Sahib… And through this auxiliary, apart from other undertakings, it shall be supervised that there be no individual who does not offer congregational prayer in the mosque.” 

 

Fundamental aims and objectives of Majlis Ansarullah and other auxiliaries 

Hazrat Khalifatul Masih II^ra stated:

“I have established Ansarullah, Khuddam-ul-Ahmadiyya and Atfal-ul-Ahmadiyya as three separate auxiliaries so that the spirit of imitating virtuous acts from one another be produced in our community as much as possible. Children imitate children, youth imitate youth and the elderly imitate the elderly. When children, youth and the elderly all witness, according to their respective capacities, that their peers are inclined towards faith, they strive for the propagation of Islam, they are engaged in learning Islamic principles and spreading them in the world and that they excel in discharging of virtuous acts, a desire shall ignite in their hearts that they too should partake in such righteous acts and excel ahead of their peers…

“For the spiritual endurance of the community, I have initiated the schemes of Khuddam-ul-Ahmadiyya, Lajna Imaillah and Ansarullah, and these three are vital… Do not regard these schemes to be ordinary. In this age, such circumstances have emerged that these are fundamentally important. In former times, it was a different state of affairs. In the era of the Holy Prophet^sa, thousands of teachers had emerged through his training who used to teach others of their own accord and other people used to enthusiastically learn. However, the circumstances are as such that until arrangements are made for the independent supervision of people in twos or threes, work cannot be accomplished.”

He further stated:

“The entity of Ansarullah is in its own right extremely important because the value of experience is very important itself. Similarly, the value which ambition and passion hold is vital in its own accord. Khuddam-ul-Ahmadiyya are representatives of ambition and passion, and Ansarullah represent experience and wisdom. Without passion, ambition, experience and wisdom, no nation can ever be prosperous…

“My objective, by founding the Ansarullah and Khuddam-ul-Ahmadiyya auxiliaries, is to complete the four walls of a building. One wall is Ansarullah, the second is Khuddam-ul-Ahmadiyya, the third is Atfal-ul-Ahmadiyya and the fourth is Lajna Imaillah. If these four walls detach themselves from one another, it is inevitable that no building will be able to be stay intact. A building is only complete when its four walls are attached to one another. If they are detached, those four walls do not possess the value of even a single wall because if there is only a single wall, a roof can be placed, after erecting pillars besides it. However, if there are four walls, but all four are built aloof, a roof cannot be placed upon them.”

 

The first pledge of Ansarullah 

At first, there was no pledge of Ansarullah to be reiterated in  Ansarullah meetings. In November 1944, a monthly gathering of the auxiliary took place after the Fajr prayer, under the presidency of Hazrat Maulana Sher Ali Sahib^ra. In this meeting, Hazrat Maulvi Abdur Rahim Dard Sahib^ra, the general secretary, reminded the attendees that Hazrat Khalifatul Masih II^ra took a pledge in relation to the flag hoisting of Ahmadiyyat at the Jubilee celebrations and that Ansarullah should  repeat the same pledge in their meetings. In accordance to this proposal, this pledge was repeated in that very gathering, in the following words:

“I solemnly pledge that I shall strive, to the best of my capabilities and understanding, for the establishment, consolidation and propagation of Islam and Ahmadiyyat until my last breath. With help from Allah the Almighty, I shall present any possible sacrifice for Ahmadiyyat or the true Islam to prevail over all religions and communities and for its standard to never droop down but for it to fly above all other flags.

اَللّٰهُمَّ آمِيْن۔ اَللّٰهُمَّ آمِيْن۔ رَبَّنَا تَقَبَّلْ مِنَّا اِنَّكَ اَنْتَ السَّمِيْعُ الْعَلِيْمُ

[O Allah, Amin. O Allah, Amin. Our Lord, accept this from us; for Thou art All-Hearing, All-Knowing.]

 

First annual Ansarullah Ijtema and address of Hazrat Amirul Momineen^aa

“This is the first annual Ijtema of Majlis Ansarullah. I hope that in this Ijtema, you will strive to establish the foundation for these works [which Huzoor had mentioned when founding the auxiliary] and that Majlis Ansarullah and the external auxiliaries will also understand this responsibility of theirs; without complete alertness and vigilance, national life can never sustain…

“Now I shall inaugurate the congregation with prayer. May Allah enable this Ijtema of Ansarullah and all their efforts to work as a seed through which, in the future, God Almighty grants thousands of more seeds; then those seeds later act as seeds for fruition until God Almighty’s spiritual kingdom is established in the world in like manner as His worldly kingdom is established in the earth. Amin.