On 6 March 2021, Australia Ansarullah’s national amila, along with nazimeen-e-ala, were blessed with the opportunity of meeting Hazrat Amirul Momineen, Khalifatul Masih V, may Allah be his Helper, in a virtual mulaqat.
Members gathered in the Khilafat Hall at the Baitul Huda Mosque complex, which also serves as the national headquarters of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaat in Australia.
After conveying salaam, Hazrat Khalifatul Masihaa asked about the Covid-19 restrictions in Australia. The Sadr, Abdul Jamil Mubbashar Sahib, replied that Covid-19 had died down and was under control to a certain extent. He added that government restrictions were slowly being eased and it was no longer a requirement to wear facemasks.
Huzooraa then led everyone in dua, after which the amila members had the opportunity to introduce themselves and the work assigned to them.
The first to present his report was Qaid Umumi, Sagheer Mohammad Sahib. Whilst addressing him, Hazrat Khalifatul Masihaa asked how many majalis there were and how many sent their reports regularly. Qaid Umumi stated that there were a total of 28 majalis, of which 100% sent reports regularly.
Hearing this, Huzooraa said, “Very good!” and asked if any comments were made on the reports. Sagheer Sahib explained that they made sure they reviewed each and every report and also made comments on them, which was then shared with all qaids.
Hazrat Amirul Momineenaa asked where he was from, to which he responded that he was originally from Fiji, but grew up in Australia. Hearing this, Huzooraa said, “This is why your Urdu is flawless.”
Speaking with Romeo Istafa Hassan Khan Sahib, Naib Sadr Saf-e-daum, Hazrat Khalifatul Masihaa asked what the tajnid was for Saf-e-daum Ansar and if any special programme was made for the year. Romeo Sahib said that there were 521 Saf-e-dom Ansar and added that they had planned to hold an annual meeting on a national level to reinforce the roles and responsibilities of Saf-e-daum Ansar.
Huzooraa asked about the responsibilities and roles of Saf-e-daum Ansar members. Khan Sahib said that the responsibilities of Saf-e-daum Ansar members were to ensure they offered Salat, were regular in tabligh and were good fathers, husbands and role models.
Hearing this, Hazrat Amirul Momineenaa smiled and said, “That should be the role and duty of every true Ahmadi.”
Huzooraa further asked if any programme was made in relation to physical health, to which the Naib Sadr Saf-e-daum answered in the affirmative and that 97 ansar members used bicycles.
Huzooraa asked him if he had a bicycle and if he was able to cycle 20 miles in a week. Answering Hazrat Khalifatul Masihaa, he replied that he, his wife and son all had a bicycle and he cycled twice a week and covered five kilometres; to which, Huzooraa said, “So, even I do more than you.” Huzooraa added, “Encourage other Ansar as well to buy and use bicycles. At least for short distances, they should use bicycles instead of their cars or motorbikes or something else. So, you should also play your role to keep the environment clean by using bicycles.”
Subsequently, upon addressing Abdul Majeed Zahid Sahib, Naib Sadr Awal & Qaid Tarbiyat, Huzooraa asked about the tarbiyat plan. Naib Sadr Awal said that their Ansar’s tajnid was 843 and 83% of them were regular in offering prayers, therefore the aim was to focus more on this.
Hazrat Amirul Momineenaa said:
“Tell the Ansar that it is essential to at least offer the five daily prayers and for those who can, to offer Namaz in congregation. If there is no Namaz centre or mosque nearby, they should arrange to pray in congregation at home. In this way, the wives and children will also offer Namaz with them and the new generation will then adopt the habit of praying.”
Huzooraa added, “Ansar should develop the habit of regularly reciting the Holy Quran. They should also ensure that their children are also offering Namaz and reading the Holy Quran. Similarly, they should arrange for an extract from the books of the Promised Messiahas to be read at home … Ansar should pay special attention towards their children’s tarbiyat so that they may be able to look after the new generations. If Ansarullah do not fulfil this duty, then after a few years, difficulties will arise.”
Next to present his report and duties was Chaudhry Rafique Ahmad Ghumman Sahib, Naib Sadr. He said that his role consisted of various tasks assigned by the sadr and that he tried to fulfil his duties to the best of his ability.
Speaking with Rashid Khan Sahib, Qaid Tabligh, Huzooraa asked about the target they had set for this year. Rashid Sahib replied that after reviewing, they had set their target at 28 bai‘ats, one bai‘at per majlis. Upon this, Hazrat Amirul Momineenaa stated that they should have a more ambitious target. Huzooraa said, “Your target should at least be 100.”
Hazrat Amirul Momineenaa explained that if the target was ambitious, it would then help motivate others to work more diligently.
Rashid Sahib was then asked how they were carrying out their tabligh duties – whether it was through one-to-one sittings, distributing leaflets, door to door or through events and gatherings – to which he said that this year, due to Covid-19, tabligh was conducted online.
Following this, whilst addressing Mujeeb ur Rahman Sanori Sahib, Qaid Talim-ul-Quran & Waqf-e-Arzi, Huzooraa said, “With age, people tend to get older; however, you seem to be getting younger.”
Huzooraa then asked about his duties, to which Mujeeb Sahib said they were holding Quran classes but due to Covid-19, they were unable to do Waqf-e-Arzi. He added that amila members had submitted their requests to perform Waqf-e-Arzi.
Hazrat Amirul Momineenaa said that Waqf-e-Arzi could be done virtually: “At times, through online means, you can teach people the Holy Quran and Qaida Yassarnal-Quran. You should make efforts in this.”
Huzooraa asked Mujeeb Sahib if all Ansar knew how to recite the Holy Quran and then said:
“Just yesterday, I mentioned [Al Hajj Dr Nana Mustafa] Boateng Sahib of Ghana who passed away. At the age of 48, he studied the Qaida Yassarnal-Quran again to help correct his pronunciation [of the Holy Quran]. Thus, there is no shame in this as it is God’s word. What is wrong with learning it?”
Huzooraa then asked Chaudhry Nemat Ali Sahib, Qaid Talim about the plans for this year. Chaudhry Sahib said that they had prescribed the first four volumes of Barahin-e-Ahmadiyya for Ansar to read. Last year, he said, they had prescribed the books Ijaz-e-Ahmadi and Naseem-e-Dawat. They also held exams for this and around 34% sat the exams.
Hazrat Amirul Momineenaa enquired as to what plan they had made to encourage others to sit the exam.
Whilst offering guidance and to help encourage others to study the books and sit the exam, Huzooraa said:
“They may sit the exam with the book in hand. The main thing is that they read the book.”
Whilst speaking with qaid isar, Huzooraa noticed that he had no beard and said, “If you do not have any skin disorder that makes it difficult to keep a beard, then you should grow a beard.”
Hazrat Khalifatul Masihaa then asked about his tasks and duties as qaid isar, to which he replied that their activities consisted of helping out in various charity programmes and food drives.
Qaiser Ahmed Sahib, Qaid Ishaat, was asked by Hazrat Amirul Momineenaa if any magazine or organ was printed regularly. He responded that they printed a quarterly Ansar magazine and also a bulletin, which was printed fortnightly.
Turning to Mahmud Shah Sahib, Qaid Tarbiyat for New Converts, Huzooraa asked how many new converts there were and what was done to keep a bond with them. Huzooraa emphasised the importance of keeping good ties with new converts.
Addressing Mahmud ur Rehman Sahib, Hazrat Khalifatul Masihaa asked about the tajnid and enquired as to how it was collected. Mahmud Sahib said the total tajnid was 843 and that every year, in November, they would collect a list from Majlis Khuddam-ul-Ahmadiyya of those members entering Ansarullah and would update the tajnid by 15 December.
Shajar Ahmad Sahib, Qaid Sehat-e-Jismani, was asked if he did any sports to remain healthy, to which he replied that he played football and badminton.
Hazrat Khalifatul Masihaa then addressed a muawin sadr and asked if he had any special assignments given by Sadr Sahib. The muawin said his assignment was to work with other charity organisations. Huzooraa then lovingly said to him, “Being a nasir, you should also keep a beard; that will be better and I think it will suit you.”
Huzooraa then advised all nazimeen-e-ala that they “should set a good example in their regions.”
Speaking with Waseem Ahmad Sahib, Naib Qaid Isar, Hazrat Amirul Momineenaa asked about Waqar-e-amal and enquired if they had planted any trees. Huzooraa paid emphasis on starting a nationwide drive to plant trees as there were many bushfires in the forests of Australia. Huzooraa said, “At least 10,000 – 15,000 trees should be planted.”
Feisal Ahmedi, Naib Qaid Isar informed Huzooraa that he followed the directives of qaid isar and helped out with waqar-e-amal for national events.
Naib Qaid Sehat-e-Jismani, Muhammad Salman Yousaf Sahib, whilst speaking with Huzooraa, said that their plan was to ensure that all Ansar were active in service to Jamaat.
Sadr Sahib then said that there were a few questions and matters they wished to seek Huzoor’saa guidance on. Hazrat Khalifatul Masihaa very graciously accepted his request.
Sadr Sahib observed that though the Jamaat had offices such as rishta nata and various tarbiyat related departments, the rate of divorce and similar tarbiyat issues remained. He asked what role Majlis Ansarullah could play to help reduce these issues.
Hazrat Amirul Momineenaa said:
“The fact is that this issue is not just related to you [Majlis Ansarullah] alone. This is a universal matter. If you listen to my sermons and other speeches, especially those addressed to Lajna, you will see that I have talked on this issue. I have also explained this to Khuddam-ul-Ahmadiyya and Ansar too […]
“More people are starting to incline towards materialism; patience is being discarded. Mistakes are being made by both men and women. They pledge to give precedence to religion over the world, yet don’t bear in mind the saying of the Holy Prophetsa: to look for a suitable match, one must give precedence to faith and not materialism, beauty or wealth. If they were to take this into consideration, there would be less problems.”
Another nasir asked Hazrat Khalifatul Masihaa as to why, even though the Promised Messiahas had appeared, the world was not turning towards his message.
Hazrat Amirul Momineenaa said that those who failed to listen to the previous messengers were ultimately punished by God.
“The world is engulfed in materialism. The Promised Messiahas has written that if people do not take heed, punishments will continue to afflict mankind. He also stated that it was not absolutely vital to accept Islam and Ahmadiyyat for divine punishment to be averted. If mankind refrains from indulging in obscenity and sin, even then shall God’s mercy descend and man will be saved.”
Huzooraa added, “Recently, I wrote letters to world leaders in which I told them, alluding to the writings of the Promised Messiahas, that if they did not pay heed, God’s punishment would become manifest.”
Huzooraa said, “Our duty is to spread and propagate the message of Islam. It is up to God to guide people. We should proceed with our work with perseverance and in this way, we should fulfil our obligations.”
With this, Hazrat Khalifatul Masihaa conveyed salaam to all amila members and the meeting drew to a close.
(Report prepared by Al Hakam)
