Nauman A Hadi, Mohtamim Isha‘at MKA UK
In light of instructions of Hazrat Khalifatul Masih Vaa, Majlis Khuddam-ul-Ahmadiyya UK held a historic event on Khilafat on 11 June 2022. The official title for the first-ever Khilafat Day programme of this type by MKA UK was Khilafat: A Divine Sanctuary of Peace. The programme intended to educate khuddam on the blessings, status and significance of Khilafat-e-Ahmadiyya and to answer questions that khuddam might have.
The event took place nationwide across nine hubs, with a central hub in Islamabad, UK, which would host a live stream for a worldwide audience. Planning began weeks in advance with a committee being formulated for this. The aim was for khuddam to attend their regional gatherings with their own agendas for the day, and to get khuddam connected to the main hub in Islamabad for key sessions. The key sessions were broadcast live on Youtube for everyone watching, with short studio-based discussions also a part of the live stream in an outdoor studio. An exhibition was also set up near the stage with quotes and photos of the Promised Messiahas and his Khulafa.
The YouTube live stream from the Islamabad studio commenced at 3pm with hundreds of viewers tuning in to watch. The first interview was with sadr Majlis Khuddam-ul-Ahmadiyya UK who explained the background of the event and how it came to fruition. This was followed by an interview with Dr Aziz Hafeez Sahib (Chairman Humanity First) and Abid Khan Sahib (Press Secretary) who shared some inspirational accounts of the blessings of Khilafat.
At 3:30 pm, the formal opening session began with the recitation of the Holy Quran. This was followed by an inspiring video which was enjoyed by all khuddam along with clips about Khilafat-e-Ahmadiyya. Following this, Usman Butt Sahib (Muavin Sadr MKA UK) delivered an inspiring talk highlighting the great blessings that the Jamaat had attained through the system of Khilafat. A spoken word style poem was read out by Hazeem Arif Sahib, a student of Jamia Ahmadiyya UK.
One of the highlights of the event was the Khilafat pledge that Hazrat Khalifatul Masih Vaa instructed khuddam to recite. The wording of the Khilafat Centenary Pledge from 2008 was altered slightly, with the instructions of Huzooraa, to say “After witnessing 114 years of Khilafat”. This pledge was made in the opening session.
This moving session was followed by a discussion panel led by Attique-ur-Rehman Sahib, Mohtamim Tarbiyat. Talks and discussions regarding one’s relationship with Khilafat were held with panellists including Yousaf Aftab, Dr Aziz Hafeez (Humanity First UK) as well as Dr Anas Rana (Naib Sadr MKA UK).
After these two sessions, the regions then broke out into their own agendas across the country and would now only rejoin for the closing session. The YouTube live continued to showcase more discussions and videos. Amir Jamaat UK, Rafiq Hayat Sahib was part of a discussion on stage where he narrated several incidents about Khilafat, especially relating to the move of the markaz from London to Islamabad.
After Asr prayers, the Scotland delegation of khuddam, which had travelled from Scotland to be part of the Islamabad hub for this event, had the opportunity to say salaam to Hazrat Khalifatul Masih Vaa. Khuddam and atfal had gathered at the Mubarak Mosque gate and as Huzooraa proceeded from the mosque, he lovingly called everyone forward. Huzooraa, seeing the number of atfal exceeding the khuddam, stated that it looked like there were more atfal. The entire occasion was recorded on camera and played on the live stream.
Following Asr, a question and answer session was held on stage at the central hub in Islamabad entitled National Amila Unplugged. The panellists and audience held an interesting discussion about their experiences growing up with Khilafat and how it had shaped their lives to this very day.
At 7:30 pm, the concluding session began with a recitation from the Holy Quran. This session was chaired by Sadr Ansarullah Pakistan and Sadr Khuddam-ul-Ahmadiyya UK. Sadr Sahib Ansarullah Pakistan presented an emotional and inspirational address about his experiences with Khilafat-e-Ahmadiyya throughout life. Following his address he led all those in attendance and watching in silent prayer to formally conclude the day.
The event was attended by thousands across the country with the number of viewers of the live stream reaching 10,000. The entire event can be viewed on Majlis Khuddam-ul-Ahmadiyya UK’s YouTube channel.