‘Have ambitious goals’: Ghana khuddam amila meet Hazrat Khalifatul Masih V

Members of the national amila of Majlis Khuddam-ul-Ahmadiyya Ghana were blessed with the opportunity to meet Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad, Khalifatul Masih V, may Allah be his Helper, in a virtual mulaqat on 12 March 2023.

At the opening of the meeting, Hazrat Amirul Momineen^aa conveyed his salaam and commenced the meeting by leading all those present in silent prayer. Thereafter, Huzoor^aa, addressing the sadr of Majlis Khuddam-ul-Ahmadiyya Ghana, Hanif Bipuah Sahib, asked who was seated to his right, upon which Ibrahim Arko Sahib, the naib sadr in charge of administration, stood up. Hazrat Khalifatul Masih V^aa said, “So you are dealing with the administration of the office?” and further inquired, “Do you have any office here?” and asked where it was. Ibrahim Arko Sahib replied in the affirmative and said the office was located in Osu.

Next, Abdul Wahab Adusei Sahib said he is serving as the naib sadr in charge of the Middle Sector. Hazrat Amirul Momineen^aa asked how many majalis there were in the Ashanti region. Abdul Wahab Adusei Sahib said that there were 43 majalis. Huzoor^aa asked him if he was Adusei Sahib’s son, to which he said yes.

Speaking with Abu Zul Haq Sahib, Hazrat Amirul Momineen^aa asked if he qualified from Jamia Ahmadiyya International or the Mubashir class; Abu Zul Haq Sahib replied that he studied at Jamia International. “I see, so you can speak Urdu?” Huzoor^aa asked. Abu Zul Haq Sahib, while speaking in Urdu, replied in the affirmative. Hazrat Khalifatul Masih V^aa then asked him when he graduated from Jamia Ahmadiyya. Abu Zul Haq Sahib said that he graduated last year, in 2022. Hearing this, Hazrat Amirul Momineen^aa said, “Then you should have been here, with me, for further training.”

Seeing that he was serving as the naib sadr in charge of the Northern Sector, Huzoor^aa asked him whether the Northern Sector comprises the Northern Region, Tamale and Bolgatanga, etc., and whether he was from Wa. Abu Zul Haq Sahib replied in the affirmative. Hazrat Amirul Momineen^aa smiled and said, “This is why you have been given this assignment.”

Seeing Nasir Ahmed Bonsu Sahib, who was the former sadr, Hazrat Amirul Momineen^aa asked if he was Ibrahim Bonsu’s son, to which he replied in the affirmative. Huzoor^aa said, “So now you are an honourary member of the amila.”

Benyameen Entsir Keelson Sahib said that he is serving as the naib sadr of the Southwest Sector. Hazrat Khalifatul Masih V^aa asked him who his father is, to which he replied, Hanid Keelson. “I see, you are Hanid Keelson’s son. […] You are a Fante,” Huzoor^aa said. Hearing this, Benyameen Entsir Keelson Sahib smiled and replied in the affirmative. Hazrat Khalifatul Masih V^aa asked him about his profession, to which he replied that he was working as a quantity surveyor.

Next, Abdul Shakoor Abakah Sahib, serving as the mohtamim umumi, had the chance to introduce himself. Hearing his name, Huzoor^aa asked him if he was from the Central Region and said, “I could recognise from your name you are from the Central Region.” Abdul Shakoor Abakah Sahib answered in the affirmative. Alluding to his duty, Hazrat Khalifatul Masih V^aa asked what his work consisted of. He said that he was responsible for providing security at all Jamaat functions and events. Hazrat Amirul Momineen^aa said, “Also, during Friday prayers, you should also cover your mosque. Ask your respective nazimeen umumi to cover their mosques in their respective areas. During Jumuah prayers, khuddam should be on security duty there at the mosque.”

Next, addressing Irfan Esah Hammond Sahib, serving as motamid, Hazrat Khalifatul Masih V^aa asked where he lived, to which he replied that he lived in Kasoa. Hazrat Amirul Momineen^aa said, “Your headquarter is in Accra, and you are motamid, and motamid should come to the office daily. So, you work online? […] How do you receive the reports? How do you make comments on the reports? How do you pass on these reports to your sadr and different mohtamimeen? And how do you send your remarks and your comments to the various qaideen?” Irfan Esah Hammond Sahib replied that they have a platform and emails designated by which they accomplish their tasks.

Huzoor^aa asked him if he visited the national office at least once a week; to which he replied that he was unable to go but added that his naib was attending under his direction. Hazrat Amirul Momineen^aa said, “Train your naib as well.”

Addressing Hadi Keelson Sahib, serving as the naib motamid, Hazrat Khalifatul Masih V^aa asked if he lived in Accra and said, “So you are doing the office work daily?” To this, he replied in the affirmative.

Speaking with AlHassan Attaquayson Sahib, serving as the muavin sadr in charge of jaidad, Hazrat Khalifatul Masih V^aa asked if MKA Ghana has any property, to which he replied in the affirmative and said that they had one at Osu headquarters. Hearing this, Hazrat Amirul Momineen^aa said, “[In] Osu headquarters, you have only been given one room there. That is the property of Jamaat […]. That is not Khuddam-ul-Ahmadiyya’s personal property. Khuddam-ul-Ahmadiyya should also have some personal property; make your own separate office, purchase some land; […] don’t only rely on the Jamaat’s headquarters. You should have your own headquarters.”

Addressing Ahmed Jawaad Hammond Sahib, muavin sadr for Waqf-e-Nau, Hazrat Amirul Momineen^aa asked how many Waqf-e-Nau ijtemas are held every year and the total number of waqifeen-e-nau. Ahmed Jawaad Hammond Sahib replied that they hold one national ijtema every year and said that there were 906 waqifeen-e-nau.

Mustapha Amissah Sahib, serving as the naib sadr in charge of the South-East Sector, reported that the South-East comprises the Greater Accra Region, the Eastern Region and the Volta Region. Huzoor^aa smiled and said, “Most of your amila members are Fantes.” Sadr Sahib replied that they are a huge portion of the tajnid and said that they live close to the Centre.

Addressing Bashiruddin Adam Sahib, mohtamim sehat-e-jismani, Huzoor^aa said, “You are quite a fit person; you look like a mohtamim sehat-e-jismani. What game do you play? Soccer?” Bashiruddin Adam Sahib responded in the affirmative. Hazrat Amirul Momineen^aa asked how many khuddam exercised regularly. Answering, he said that there were 247 khuddam who played sports regularly.

Speaking with Abdul Gafur Saeed Sahib, mohtamim rishta nata, Huzoor^aa asked if he had done the Mubashir course; to which he replied in the affirmative. Hazrat Khalifatul Masih V^aa asked how many matches the department proposes every month and how many of the matches mature. Hazrat Amirul Momineen^aa said, “You should try to make many matches. I have been receiving many letters from Lajna members and khuddam as well saying they want to get married but are not finding good matches for them. So, you should help them.”

Next, Huzoor^aa asked Sarpong Mohammed Sahib, serving as the muhasib, if he checks the accounts and if they are in order; to which he replied in the affirmative. Addressing Abdul Rahman Abdullah, the mohtamim talim, Hazrat Khalifatul Masih V^aa asked if any book was prescribed for Khuddam-ul-Ahmadiyya to read during the year, “There are quite grown-up and educated Khuddam-ul-Ahmadiyya members; you should prescribe some books of the Promised Messiah, on whom be peace, for them to read, or books of the Khulafa to read so that they can have good knowledge [and] better their knowledge,” Hazrat Amirul Momineen^aa said.

Huzoor^aa, speaking to Saqique Koomson Sahib, naib mohtamim talim, said, “You should help your mohtamim talim so that more effort can be made to get more people involved in reading [the prescribed] books.”

Next, Hazrat Khalifatul Masih V^aa asked Saeed bin Usman Sahib, the mohtamim atfal, how many atfal there were in Ghana. Saeed bin Usman Sahib reported that there was a total of 7,650 atfal. Hearing this, Huzoor^aa said that they should make more efforts in updating their Atfal-ul-Ahmadiyya tajnid. Hazrat Amirul Momineen^aa then inquired if any book was prescribed for members of Atfal-ul-Ahmadiyya to read during the year. Saeed bin Usman Sahib said that they are yet to do this. Hearing this, Huzoor^aa said, “How will you increase their religious knowledge then?”

Hazrat Amirul Momineen^aa further said, “You should also prescribe some religious book for Atfal-ul-Ahmadiyya according to their age group so that they can better their religious knowledge.”

Hazrat Khalifatul Masih V^aa added, “In this world, everybody is indulged, too much, in worldly affairs and worldly things, and there are so many programmes that are being shown on television and there is some other material available nowadays on [the] internet and everywhere that can destroy the lives of youngsters. So, just to keep them streamlined, we shall make more effort for their training for their tarbiyat.”

Huzoor^aa, whilst addressing Sadique Nkrumah Sahib, naib mohtamim atfal, said, “You will have to work hard, as I have said.”

Alluding to the last six months, Hazrat Amirul Momineen^aa asked Yusuf Ishaque Sahib, mohtamim waqar-e-amal, about the work conducted by the department. Huzoor^aa asked if they had done any waqar-e-amal, apart from the preparation of Jalsa Salana. Yusuf Ishaque Sahib reported that they also did another waqar-e-amal in addition to the Jalsa one. Then, speaking with Ibrahim Quansan, the naib mohtamim waqar-e-amal, Hazrat Khalifatul Masih V^aa inquired as to his job; to which he replied that he was a government employee.

Addressing Salim Amad Keelson, the secretary for Tahrik-e-Jadid, Hazrat Amirul Momineen^aa asked how much the participation of khuddam in Tahrik-e-Jadid was. He reported that he was recently given this responsibility and said the data he had with him was what he had collected for the new year.

Huzoor^aa addressed the amila and said, “Khuddamul Ahmadiyya should [contribute] at least 33% of the total amount realised by the Jamaat towards Tahrik-e-Jadid.”

Huzoor^aa, alluding to how the share of contributions by the three auxiliary organisations, said, the contributions should be divided as follows: “33% Khuddam-ul-Ahmadiyya, 33% Lajna Imaillah, 33% Ansarullah; then this is how you can help the Jamaat by collecting chanda Tahrik-e-Jadid and Waqf-e-Jadid as well.”

Next, Ahmed Kobina Benyarko Sahib, mohtamim maal, had the opportunity to introduce himself. Hazrat Amirul Momineen^aa asked him how much Khuddam-ul-Ahmadiyya’s annual budget was and how many Khuddam were earning members. The mohtamim informed Huzoor^aa about the budget and the number of khuddam who are earning members. Commenting on the current condition in Ghana, Huzoor^aa said, “Now the conditions in Ghana are much, much better [compared to] what they used to be in the past; the ‘past’ means during my time [in Ghana].” Huzoor^aa added, “I hope, at the very least, you reach 2.5 million. […] Allah help you.”

Huzoor^aa, addressing Abdul Wahab Suleman Sahib, the secretary tajnid, said, “You have to make more effort to update your tajnid. According to my own feeling, if I am correct, your tajnid is only up to 10% of the total number of Khuddam-ul-Ahmadiyya, because the bai‘ats and the reports that I get from the Jamaat show that at least the number of khuddam should not be less than 200,000. You should coordinate with the Jamaat and ask them where those people are. If they are hidden, if the number is hidden somewhere, then unearth them. […] You will have to go to the remote areas to towns and villages. […]”

Abdul Wahab Suleman Sahib said that this month they were doing the tajnid verification, upon which Huzoor^aa prayed for its success.

Huzoor^aa asked Abdul Razak Batong Suleman Sahib, serving as the naib mohtamim tajnid, who his father was; to which he replied that his father was Suleman Alhassan Sahib.

Addressing Abdul Malik Hammond Sahib, who serves as the mohtamim umur-e-tulaba, Huzoor^aa asked how many students were currently studying at university. Abdul Malik Hammond Sahib reported that 253 students were studying at university. Advising him about his department, Hazrat Khalifatul Masih V^aa said “You will have to work hard to update your records.”

Hazrat Khalifatul Masih V^aa asked Naeem Rahman Dzekaton Sahib, serving as the naib mohtamim umur-e-tulaba, if he was a student or if he was working; he replied that he recently completed his studies at the university. Hearing this, Huzoor^aa asked what he studied, to which he responded that he completed his bachelor’s degree in history.

Addressing Abdul Wahab Ibrahim Sahib, the mohtamim khidmat-e-khalq, Huzoor^aa asked, “Are you doing any khidmat [service] for the poor people?” To this, Abdul Wahab Ibrahim Sahib replied in the affirmative. Hazrat Amirul Momineen^aa then asked how many poor people were helped by Khuddam-ul-Ahmadiyya during the last six months and how many sick people were visited by Khuddam-ul-Ahmadiyya. Abdul Wahab Ibrahim Sahib reported that they had visited 116 people who were sick. Hearing this figure, Huzoor^aa said, “Even if you had asked your amila members; national amila members [i.e.,] mulk amila members and respective local amila members [to do this], the numbers could have gone much, much higher than this.”

Hazrat Amirul Momineen^aa said to Tahir Ahmed Abakah, mohtamim khidmat-e-khalq of the Southern Sector, “You should also do the same thing as I have said.”

Huzoor^aa, addressing the mohtamim ishaat, Fadl Rahman Essel Sahib, asked, “Do you have any Khuddam-ul-Ahmadiyya organ that is being printed every month or on a quarterly basis?” He replied that they were currently collecting content and articles. Hearing this, Huzoor^aa said, “Try to make it regular.”

Malek Appiah Affum, additional mohtamim ishaat, reported that he was in charge of the Majlis Khuddamul Ahmadiyya Ghana’s website. Huzoor^aa asked how many khuddam visit the Khuddam website. He replied that he had not checked recently; however, he recalled that around 23 would visit daily.

Ayyatur-Rahman Abdullah Sahib, serving as the mohtamim tabligh, was next to report. Hazrat Amirul Momineen^aa asked, “What is your tabligh target this year, 5,000?” Upon this, the secretary replied that they had set a target of 100. Hearing this, Hazrat Khalifatul Masih V^aa said, “The target of 100 bai‘ats should be given to the national amila [alone]. And if you give the target to the mulk [i.e. national] amila and then to the amilas of majalis, it should go at least up to 1,000. […] Try to make some ambitious goals, then you can succeed.”

Huzoor^aa asked Naseem Ahmad Nyame Sahib, serving as mohtamim tarbiyat of the Northern Sector, how many khuddam offer their five daily prayers in congregation. Upon hearing his response, Hazrat Amirul Momineen^aa said, “It’s too small. Salat is obligatory.” Huzoor^aa asked if the rest were at least praying regularly or if they were missing the prayers. Naseem Ahmad Nyame Sahib said that some were praying regularly but not reporting on the assessment platform.

Huzoor^aa said, “Keep on telling them, from time to time, that salat is an obligatory thing and they should offer it regularly and better to offer it in congregation. […]” Hazrat Amirul Momineen^aa further emphasised the importance of reading and understanding the Holy Quran.

Huzoor^aa asked Fareed Kolevi Sahib what his portfolio was. In response, he said that he was serving as qaid ilaqa of the Eastern Region. Hearing this, Huzoor^aa said, “Masha-Allah!”

Abdullah Sheriff Sahib, serving as qaid ilaqa of the Upper-East Region, was next to report. Speaking with him, Huzoor^aa said, that the qaideen Ilaqa should also follow the same guidance given to the mohtamim. “As qaideen Ilaqa, they should work on all of these issues. This is how they can be helpful to the central majlis-e-amila and Khuddam-ul-Ahmadiyya,” Huzoor^aa said.

Next to introduce themselves was Mahmood Ennin Sahib, qaid ilaqa of the Ashanti Region; Iddris Yusham Sahib, qaid ilaqa of the Upper-West Region Wa; Ahmed Atibire Atinga Sahib, qaid ilaqa of the Northern Region; Ahmed Mensah Sahib, qaid ilaqa of the Greater Accra Region; Qamal Bin Osman Sahib, qaid ilaqa of Brong Ahafo; Abdul Salam Inkoom Sahib, qaid ilaqa of the Volta Region; Mustapha Abban Sahib, qaid ilaqa of the Western Region and Jamil Rahman Sahib, qaid ilaqa of the Central Region.

In the end, addressing Sadr Sahib, Hazrat Amirul Momineen^aa said, “Whatever I wanted to say, I have already told you during my introduction with your mohtamimeen and now I have given you a brief sketch of your work so you [should] work on it. If you work on it, I think, insha-Allah, your majlis will flourish, insha-Allah! Allah the Almighty help you, Allah the Almighty bless you.”

Hazrat Amirul Momineen^aa then conveyed his salaam to all members, and the mulaqat came to a successful end.

(Report prepared by Al Hakam)