“I am a waqifa-e-nau.” For most of my childhood, these words simply described who I was. I knew I was a waqifa (i.e. female devotee). I attended classes, ijtemas and Jamaat programmes. I wore my identity with pride and understood that before I was even born, my parents had made a promise that my life would be dedicated to the service of Islam.
What does waqf mean?
But as I grew older, those words began to take on a deeper meaning. I started to realise that being a waqifa was more than an identity I had grown up with; it was a promise that invited me to reflect on how I wanted to live my life. And so I began asking myself a question that I could no longer answer simply: What does it actually mean to give your life to Allah?
Does it mean spending your life in a particular profession? Serving the Jamaat whenever you are needed? Teaching others? Sacrificing your time? Giving up certain ambitions? Or does waqf mean something much deeper? As time passed, I understood that being a waqifa-e-nau is not simply a title written beside my name. It is a pledge – and a pledge made to Allah is not something we should carry lightly.
Before we can understand what it means to serve Islam, serve the Jamaat and follow Khilafat’s guidance, we must first understand something much more fundamental: We are servants of Allah first. Allah has given us everything – our ability to breathe; our families; our health; our education; our homes; our friendships; our opportunities. Even the next moment of our lives has been granted to us by Allah.
We make plans for tomorrow as though tomorrow belongs to us but none of us know if tomorrow will come. We spend years working toward success. But everything can change in an instant. The wealth or position we spent years accumulating can be lost. Yet Allah remains. So perhaps the first question of a waqf is not, “What can I give Allah?” but rather, “How can I live the life Allah has given me in a way that pleases Him?”
Remaining connected to Allah
This is where waqf begins: recognising who we belong to. It begins with understanding that every blessing we have has been entrusted to us by Allah. And it begins with us asking ourselves how we can use those blessings in a way that finds Allah’s pleasure.
Hazrat Khalifatul Masih V (aa), in his address at the National Waqifat-e-Nau Ijtema on 6 April 2019, reminded waqifat-e-nau that the foremost obligation of every Muslim is to fulfil the rights of Allah. This is such an important reminder because sometimes we can become so focused on getting things done that we forget who we are doing them for.
Thus, a waqifa’s life should begin with Allah and she must remain connected to Him through every stage of her life. Our responsibility is not simply to keep ourselves busy with service. It is also to ensure that our service comes from a heart that is connected to Allah. Without sincerity, even service can become routine; but when our hearts are turned towards Him, even the smallest act can become an act of worship.
Serving the Jamaat
One responsibility I have come to value when it comes to being a waqifa is serving the Jamaat. Over the years, I have been blessed to serve in different capacities at my local jamaat. Through these experiences, I have learned that true Jamaat service is not measured by the position we hold or the recognition we receive, but by our willingness to step forward wherever we are needed and to give our time, energy and abilities for the sake of Allah.
I should mention that serving as Nasirat Secretary brought happiness to my heart because I began to see these young girls not simply as children attending classes but as the future of our Jamaat. The girls we teach today will one day become Lajna, wives, mothers, teachers and leaders. The confidence we instill in them, the prayers we teach them and the love for Islam we nurture in their hearts today can help shape the women they become tomorrow.
Examples for future generations
As waqifat-nau, we are also responsible for becoming examples. During a virtual mulaqat with Waqifat-e-Nau members of Lajna Imaillah from Bangladesh on 31 January 2021, Hazrat Khalifatul Masih V (aa) explained to a young girl that a waqifa should be recognised through her good deeds and by the character she demonstrates.
This reminder has stayed with me because it makes waqf feel so beautiful. Our responsibility as waqifat-e-nau also extends beyond the Jamaat. We are ambassadors of Islam and sometimes tabligh (preaching) begins simply through the way we present ourselves and live our faith.
For example, people ask me why I wear a hijab or why I dress the way I do. To me, the answer is simple: Islam teaches us that our bodies are precious and worth protecting. Purdah and modesty are meant to protect our dignity and help us maintain boundaries, protecting ourselves from unwanted attention and the pressures of the world. Thus, these are not burdens I carry but blessings that bring me closer to Allah and give direction to my life.
Giving out in the way of Allah
One of the most beautiful ways we can do this is through sadaqah, i.e. voluntary charity given for the sake of Allah. Personally, I have found it helpful to stop holding on to things that I no longer need. For example, whenever I have clothes that I no longer wear, I try to donate them to people who may need them more than I do.
There is something so meaningful about taking something that we have been blessed with and allowing it to become a source of comfort, dignity, or happiness for someone else. I have always tried to keep one thought in my mind: If I am willing to spend my money on the things of this world, why would I hesitate to spend it in the way of Allah?
Allah the Almighty is the One who blessed us with that wealth in the first place, and when we give for His sake, we trust that He will reward us in ways far greater than what we have given. And perhaps this is one of the greatest beauties of sacrifice: when we give sincerely, we are not becoming poorer in the sight of Allah. We are becoming richer in faith, richer in gratitude and richer in our ability to care for others.
Attachment to Khilafat
I have also come to understand that our attachment to Khilafat is one of the most important responsibilities we carry as waqifat-e-nau. We cannot guide others if we are not willing to be guided ourselves. It is easy to say that we love Khilafat, but true attachment is reflected in how we respond to the guidance of our Khalifa and how sincerely we try to bring that guidance into our own lives.
It means making time to listen to the Friday Sermons and other addresses of Hazrat Khalifatul Masih (aa), but more importantly, it means taking a moment afterwards to reflect and ask ourselves: “What change do I need to make?” It also means nurturing a personal connection with Huzoor (aa). Writing letters to Huzoor (aa), sharing our prayers, concerns, hopes and asking for his prayers can help us develop a relationship with Khilafat that feels personal and sincere. Even when we cannot meet him, we can still turn towards him through our letters and prayers and seek his guidance.
Seeking knowledge
As women, our waqf will also continue to take different forms throughout our lives. One responsibility I have increasingly come to appreciate is the importance of seeking knowledge. After all, how can we teach, guide and nurture others if we have not first taken the time to learn ourselves?
Recently, I had the opportunity to attend Aisha Academy online for two weeks where I studied The Philosophy of the Teachings of Islam by the Promised Messiah (as) and went deeper into the meaning and commentary of Surah al-Fatihah. This experience reminded me that gaining religious knowledge is itself a form of waqf. The more we learn, the more we can share with those around us and pass that knowledge on to our own children one day.
Hazrat Khalifatul Masih V (aa) has repeatedly emphasised that the moral training and upbringing of children begins within the home, and that mothers have a particularly important role in nurturing the next generation by teaching children to pray, speak the truth, encouraging them to greet, nurturing kindness, modesty and helping them develop a sincere love for Allah and Khilafat.
Creating a home as a waqifa
Perhaps one of the greatest responsibilities we have as women is to keep learning so that we can keep teaching and to create homes where faith is not simply taught through words, but lived through our actions.
As mentioned before, marriage has also given me another beautiful understanding of waqf. At the age of 22, I was blessed to marry a waqf-e-zindagi (life devotee) who was training to become a missionary. Since our marriage, I have experienced another dimension of learning, sacrifice and service. We read together, learn together and encourage one another in our faith.
Hazrat Khalifatul Masih V (aa) once stated that the wife of a missionary is also like a missionary – she should also show her best example in all aspects of life. (Friday Sermon, 13 January 2017; Khutbat-e-Masroor, Vol. 15, p. 27) This has made me realise that as a wife of a missionary, I too have a responsibility to serve Allah by supporting my husband’s work and contributing to the tarbiyat of others. That could mean talking to people in the outside world about the true Islam and encouraging women about purdah and modesty.
And when it comes to supporting my husband, it means reminding each other to pray, waking each other up for Salat, helping him with his work, encouraging one another in our faith and discussing ways we can serve Allah. In this way, our waqf has become intertwined and I have learned that sometimes fulfiling my own waqf means helping another person fulfil theirs while striving to serve Allah together. I had prayed for a spouse who would help me grow closer to Allah and looking back, I feel deeply grateful for the way Allah answered that prayer through Khilafat’s prayers.
Conclusion
I hope we never forget the weight and beauty of the promise that has been made for us. We should be proud of the responsibility Allah has entrusted to us; not because we are better than anyone else but because we have been given a beautiful responsibility to serve Allah and become examples for others. Let our purdah, our Salat, our modesty, our kindness, our honesty and our character speak for us.
Let the younger girls look at us and see women who are proud of their faith, confident in their identity and sincere in their service. Let us be women who do not simply carry the promise of waqf but honour it with the way we live. And when one day we stand before Allah, may we be able to say with sincerity: “O Allah, You gave me this life and I tried my best to give it back to You.”