Secretary Khidmat-e-Khalq, PAAMA, UK
On 27 February 2022, members of the UK’s Pan-African Ahmadiyya Muslim Association (PAAMA UK) – men and women – met with Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad, Khalifatul Masih Vaa, through a virtual meeting. Below are some impressions of the participants:
Tommy Kallon Sahib, President PAAMA UK, said:
“By the grace of Allah, PAAMA UK had our first ever mulaqat with Huzooraa. As can be imagined, leading up to the event we were very apprehensive that all the planning and preparation we had done should fall into place and the event should run smoothly. I could sense that everyone, particularly my humble self, was very tense, especially the few minutes just before Huzoor’s arrival in the studio in Islamabad. I can honestly say that within just a few moments of his arrival and even before the session formally started with tilawat, Huzooraa was virtually able to put everyone at ease with his kindness, graciousness and especially humour. Everyone I spoke to afterwards pretty much said the same. Huzooraa seemed to be especially beaming and jovial, and simply radiated joy, love and affection. […]
“Normally, after an event especially one with the august presence of Huzoor-e-Aqdas, may Allah be his helper, the overriding sentiment is relief more than anything else when it is all done but this mulaqat, from my perspective, went so much better than I had anticipated and all the attendees who travelled from as far afield as Scotland and the South West went back home with our hearts aglow and full of gratitude to Allah the Almighty and to the beloved Huzooraa. The only wish we had at the end was that Huzooraa had more time so that the mulaqat could have lasted longer and we could enjoy the company and kindness of our beloved Huzooraa a bit longer.
“For many of us this was the first time we were meeting face to face after more than two years, so again this mulaqat was blessed for us in another way that the magnetism of Khilafat brought the PAAMA family together for the first time again after so long. Seeing your brethren again after a long separation and being blessed with the eminent presence of Huzooraa virtually amongst us made it a truly memorable and remarkable day and one that would be etched on our minds forever.
“It remains our humble and earnest prayer that Allah continuously bestows his infinite and exceptional grace, mercy, protection and blessings upon our beloved Huzooraa.”
Ahmed Owusu Konadu Sahib, Vice President PAAMA UK, said:
“Due to Covid-19, we normally don’t drive for longer distances. But for the historic PAAMA UK mulaqat with beloved Huzooraa, the whole family were excited because due to the pandemic, we haven’t had mulaqat for two years now. […] As always, it was a very blessed session with beloved Huzooraa but what I enjoyed most was the very insightful and wonderful answers given by beloved Huzooraa, which opened another dimension that I didn’t even know before. Also, throughout beloved Huzooraa relaxed all the nerves with his graceful humour. May Allah continue to bless our beloved spiritual father and be his Helper always and enable me and my family to be among the first to listen and obey the guidance of Hazrat Khalifatul Masihaa always. Allahumma Amin.”
Nooruddeen Jahangeer Khan Sahib, Vice President PAAMA UK, said:
“By the grace of Allah, I had the blessed opportunity to participate in the first-ever PAAMA UK mulaqat with beloved Huzooraa.
“Being part of the organising team, it is natural that I felt nervous in the build-up to the event, in hope that we didn’t encounter any major issues during the programme. […]
“Seeing beloved Huzooraa brought back lots of loving memories for me personally, as it feels like an eternity since I last had a chance to be in the presence of His Holiness and speak to him.
“During this mulaqat, one overriding feeling I had was that His Holiness was very much at ease and happy to see the African brothers and sisters. I noticed how he was even repeating some of the words during the taranas in praise of the Holy Prophetsa. The loving way in which he answered the questions was a joy to behold and I could hear the entire room enjoy the answers.
“All of this brought a sense of ease to me and removed the worries I had before the mulaqat began.
“I am so grateful to have had this experience and it reinvigorates one in their passion to continue serving Khilafat and acting upon the instructions of our beloved Huzooraa.”
Hakeem Mensah Sahib, General Secretary PAAMA UK, said:
“My impression is that this mulaqat enabled us to once again, celebrate our unity, sisterhood and brotherhood as PAAMA family through Khilafat and that is something we shouldn’t take for granted. […]
“When we have one to one mulaqat with Huzooraa, we enjoy the blessing of the physical presence with him; however, the virtual mulaqat offers the blessing of spending a longer time with Huzooraa.”
Amatul Mujeeb Owusu-Konadu Sahiba said:
“I really enjoyed the mulaqat with beloved Huzooraa, even though virtual I felt a strong connection with Huzooraa and my heart was filled with emotions and joy praying at the same time for the grace of Allah.”
Ganiyat Sodique Sahiba commented:
“It was an interesting mulaqat and I felt so blessed to be in the presence of our beloved Huzooraa. It was a very engaging programme and the time went so fast, I was hoping to have more of his presence. Being in Huzoor’s presence is something I love and wish to have more of such events. Likewise based on some of the answers from beloved Huzooraa, I picked a lot of things that I can go home and reflect on with my family, especially with my spouse. I hope to have more of these sessions and learn more from our beloved Huzooraa, more knowledge that can help me navigate my personal life and that of my family.”
Hiera Adams Sahiba said:
“I think Huzoor’s remarks were amazing and inspiring.”
Faiza Arjaoui Sahiba said:
“The event was absolutely amazing and it was so nice to see everybody and of course being in Huzoor’s presence was outstanding and it seems like Huzooraa enjoyed himself as well and enjoyed the questions. It was very relaxing, really informal and I am so happy to be here. Jazakallah to the organisers, it was amazing.”
Abida Quansah Sahiba said:
“I really enjoyed the event. It was informative and engaging. I liked the humorous elements of Huzoor’s talking, he was really able to keep us glued to his answers. They were very concise but yet elaborative.”
Suhailah Yanful Sahiba said:
“I thought the event was informative and engaging, and Huzooraa was able to really create a casual and relaxed atmosphere for us all.”
Amtul Hafeez Mensah Sahiba said:
“I found this mulaqat very enriching and Huzooraa provided great insight for numerous topics and I felt like it was conveyed perfectly with humorous elements.”
Asifa Jamil Nabulya Sahiba said:
“It was really interesting mulaqat and I felt really honoured to have our beloved Huzooraa answering our questions and talking to us.”
Sheenaz Sahiba said:
“I felt it was a very emotional event seeing our beloved Huzooraa and his in-depth answers were very much needed. It was lovely to see all my PAAMA sisters again.”