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Getting a Good Night’s Sleep

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Getting a Good Night’s Sleep

Samar Hafeez

Clinical Psychologist and Counsellor, India

“And He it is Who has made the night a covering for you, and Who has made sleep for rest, and has made the day for rising up.” (The Holy Quran, Ch.25: V.48)

Sleep is one of those things that should come naturally, and for many it does. However for some individuals, a restless night is a routine. Our bodies require a tranquil “rest and relaxation” period in order to revitalise themselves. To understand more on why sleep is important, think of your body as a factory carrying out vital functions or tasks and as you drift off to sleep, your body begins its night shift work. An adequate amount of sleep is crucial to mental, emotional and physical health. The widespread practice of “burning the candle at both ends” in industrialised societies (meaning overworking yourself) has created so much sleep deprivation that it has now become the norm.

Improper sleep leads to more than just the feeling of being tired or groggy, it actually interferes with one’s cognitive functions which includes impairments of attention, alertness, concentration, reasoning, problem solving and decision making abilities. This places people at risk for automobile and work-related accidents. In children, sleep deprivation can lead to learning disabilities and poor memory.

Recent research has shown that sleep plays a role in “consolidating” memories in the mind; if you don’t get sufficient sleep, you may find it difficult to retreive information learnt from the previous day. 

On the other hand, sleep is an integral part of emotional regulation and a lack of it leaves your emotions unstable and in disarray. One often feels grumpy, irritable, angry and impatient after a poor night’s sleep. Chronic sleep loss can adversely affect life by contributing to the development of health issues such as cardiovascular diseases, type 2 diabetes and obesity. 

In the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, using mice, researchers showed for the first time that the space between brain cells may increase during sleep, allowing the brain to flush out toxins that build up during waking hours. This evidence showed a good night’s sleep may literally clear the mind. 

 

Understanding the sleep cycle

A closer look at sleep shows a good deal of activity occurring throughout the night and understanding what happens during sleep also means understanding the sleep cycle, which consists of two recurring phases: REM (rapid eye movement) and NREM (non-rapid eye movement). In addition to be termed as good quality sleep, these phases are imperative.

NREM sleep typically occupies most of the total sleep each night. There are many health benefits of this such as tissue growth and repair, while energy is restored and essential hormones for growth and development are released.

Most of your dreaming occurs during the REM stage. Dreaming is essential to our minds for processing and consolidating emotions and memories. It is also thought to be vital for learning and developing new skills.

If the REM and NREM cycles are interrupted multiple times throughout the night, either due to snoring, difficulties breathing or waking up frequently through the night, then we miss out on critical body and mind processes. 

How much sleep is required

The amount of sleep each person needs depends on many factors, including age. Infant’s generally need about 16 hours a day, while teenagers need about 9 hours. For most adults, experts generally recommend at least 7-8 hours of uninterrupted sleep per night.

The amount of sleep a person requires also increases if a person has been deprived of sleep in previous days. Getting too little sleep creates a “sleep debt”, and eventually, your body will demand that the debt be repaid. 

It normally takes 10-30 minutes to fall asleep once you climb into bed (this is called sleep latency). If it takes more than this, then your body may be trying to tell you something. The first step here would be to try to improve your sleep hygiene, which brings us to the question, what is sleep hygiene?

While the word “hygiene” conjures up images of brushing teeth, washing hands and grooming hair, but sleep hygiene is different. It is a variety of different practices and behaviours that are necessary to have a good night sleep resulting in full daytime alertness.

Keeping your sleep time “clean” from waking activities will improve your sleep and overall quality of life as well. 

Use the following practices to get a good night’s sleep:

Make good sleep a priority: Block out 7 hours for a full uninterrupted sleep. Develop sleep promoting slow bedtime routine; do the same things in the same order to cue your body and mind to slow down and relax

Maintain regularity: Set and stick to a bedtime schedule, sleep at the same time every night and wake up at the same time every day to set your circadian rhythm or, in other words, your body’s internal or biological clock. This includes weekends and holidays too

Avoid stimulants: Alcohol, coffee, soft drinks, chocolates and nicotine post sunset should be avoided. These stimulants hamper one’s quality of sleep by decreasing the time spent in deep sleep leading to fragmented sleep and nocturnal restlessness. Try to avoid engaging in tasks that require attention and concentration including studying or any stimulating conversations

Keep it cool: Sleep in a slightly cool room as this helps the temperature in the brain to drop and helps you fall asleep quicker. Most importantly, don’t ever go to bed angry as this will not only feed the mind with racing thoughts, but will negatively affect relationships and cause persistent sleep disturbances.

Melatonin – the sleep hormone: We need darkness in the evening to allow the release of a hormone called melatonin (the chemical of sleep). This hormone prepares you for sleep and is inhibited by bright light. In this modern era, we are severely deprived of darkness, so try to dim lights down in your home an hour before bed; stay away from LED screens as they emit blue light that actually puts breaks on melatonin production and fools the brain into thinking it’s still daytime

Keep your bedroom for sleep only: The room should be a relaxing space, avoid working, studying or eating on the bed

Do not stay in bed awake: If you haven’t fallen asleep within 30 minutes of getting into bed or have woken up and finding difficult to fall asleep, the advice is to get up, go to another room and in a dim light try to meditate. Take in deep belly breaths; don’t use electronics, and definitely no food! Only when you feel sleepy should you return to bed, and that way your brain can actually re-learn the association between the bed being a place of sleep, rather than a place to stay awake

Sleep aiding accessories: Get earplugs, eye masks and sound conditioners. Extraneous noises in the bedroom can disrupt sleep; use whatever you need to create a serene environment. Try to ensure that the noise is consistent like white noise and not variable like a radio or television; the latter can disrupt your sleep rather than help it. There are many sleep trackers in the market to measure your quality of light and deep sleep. Tracking your sleep can give you vital insights into your overall health and well-being

Get a power nap: A short sleep session during the day ideally between 1-3pm, which should last no longer than 30 minutes can help you recharge and improve mood and performance. Any longer than 30 minutes and you run the risk of developing “sleep inertia” – the unpleasant muzzy feeling that takes a considerable amount of time to shake off

 Avoid large meals 2 to 3 hours before bed: Try eating a salad or drinking a protein rich smoothie at night as this keeps your digestive system at ease and helps you fall asleep quicker and keeps acidity and indigestion at bay. Also, avoid consumption of large amounts of water close to bedtime for obvious reasons. Limit yourself to simple healthy and light snacks like nuts or seeds when studying late at night

 Exercise to promote good quality sleep: Exercising during the day fosters sleep at night. Make physical activity a regular part of your life. 15-20 minutes of aerobic exercise such as brisk walking and cycling can positively affect sleep quality, especially in drastically reducing the time you take to fall asleep. However, exercising too close to bedtime may keep you wired and make it difficult to settle down, so always keep a 3 hour gap between your exercise and sleep time. If you are planning to workout in late evenings, more relaxing exercises like yoga with diaphragmatic breathing can help unwind real quick

 Stress: If you find you are stressing over all the things you have to do, write them down in a sleep journal. Your prefrontal cortex is assigned to keep all these things active in your working memory. Writing the racing thoughts down can help alleviate stress to a great extent

 Try magnesium rich foods like fish or fish oil, almonds, bananas, pumpkin seeds, warm milk, cherries or a glass of cherry juice before bed, mushrooms and dark leafy green vegetables in dinner. Magnesium relaxes muscles and eases anxiety around bedtime

 Try a herbal route: Have a cup of chamomile tea 30 minutes before bed. Chamomile is regarded as a mild tranquiliser and sleep inducer as it aids in relaxing muscles and nerves and helps you fall asleep quicker

A few signs of poor sleep hygiene

Frequent sleep disturbances and day time sleepiness are the most telling signs of poor sleep hygiene. In addition, if you are taking too long to fall asleep, you should consider re-evaluating your sleep habits. 

It is normal to have an occasional sleepless night, but if you find that it’s becoming a routine, then you should consider seeing a therapist to sort out deeper reasons behind sleepless nights. 

You may be having conflicts that you are unaware of, which might be preventing you from sleeping peacefully. The therapist can help you develop a plan to address its causes and thereby help you accomplish a good night’s sleep every night.

Is the Past Our Future?

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Is the Past Our Future?
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Man’s cognisance is yearning to move back towards the peaceful and serene environment of the past, away from the technomania of modern times. 

The difficulties of the modern era seem to play with the sentiments and liberty of the masses, as in Congo, a day after the presidential elections on 31 December 2018, there was an internet blackout. Voters were full of doubts regarding the results. The government accused Radio France Internationale (RFI) of adding fuel to the fire and thus turned it off on 2 January 2019.

Somehow, somewhere, people are longing to live in a less complex society than the one carved out of mechanisation, mass expansion and the breakdown of joint family households. The latest illustration of cognition swaying towards conservatism, away from the modern liberalist ideologies is that of the newly elected president Jair Bolsonaro of Brazil, as he is said to be an admirer of Brazil’s military dictatorship of 1964-85 and has a conservative mindset.

Following the same anti-modern wave of humanity, governments of advanced countries are presently promoting climate friendly practices by encouraging builders to construct new structures to zero-carbon standards. The public sector buildings in the European Union are to be constructed to nearly zero-carbon standards from 1 January 2019. Every other structure will follow in January 2021. Governments of eight other countries are being persuaded to present a comparative strategy. Wooden houses are being promoted to counter the problem of carbon emissions as cement manufacturing is responsible for 6% of carbon emissions, while steelmaking accounts for another 8%. We might soon find ourselves living in houses similar to those of our early ancestors.

Looking at the bigger picture, the way minds are being strongly influenced by the thought of moving back in time, there arises a possibility that people might start to ponder more on the need for religion, and, in return, come back from the fantasies of materialism into the domain of peace and ultimately in the merciful arms of God. 

Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmadaa, the worldwide head of Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaat and the fifth successor of the Promised Messiahas, emphasising the need for religion in the concluding address of Jalsa Salana UK 2014, stated:

“Scientific devices and inventions such as chemical weapons lead to widespread devastation and nothing else. Stretching the figure as much as possible he [Steve Wells, a critic] has reached the figure of 25 million deaths, which he attributes to religion. Did the death toll of just the Second World War alone not cross his mind? It was the scientific machinery, equipment and inventions that resulted in approximately 60 to 70 million deaths, including innocent women and children. Entire cities were reduced to piles of ashes. Was this a religious war?

“Religion does not kill, it only warns and admonishes people that they must establish peace and security – at least this is the teaching of our religion. Its every injunction is laced with sentiments of love and compassion for all mankind. The Quran has informed us that every prophet brought the same message, which is that cruelty, injustice, oppression and persecution should be eliminated. The prophets admonished people to, instead, adopt love and sympathy for one another, or otherwise face God’s punishment. God says in the Quran that He is slow to punish people and is not hasty in unfurling His wrath. Even when punishment is meted out, it is for the purpose of bringing about reformation.”

Ahmadi Teams in International Basketball Tournament

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Ahmadi Teams in International Basketball Tournament
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Umar Akbar

Missionary AMJ Belize

The Ahmadiyya Basketball League Belize participated in the Copa International Basketball Tournament in Chetumal, Mexico. The tournament was held from Friday, 7 December to Sunday, 9 December 2018. 

Two teams were selected to represent Belize in the under-18 category (U18) and open category. Apart from Mexico, the tournament had teams from Belize, Colombia and Guatemala. This presents an excellent opportunity to build contacts in different parts of Mexico as well as other countries. 

By the Grace of Allah, both teams were very successful throughout the tournament and won the championships in their respective age categories. The open team was very dominant and won all of their games by a good margin to win the championship. The U18 team had tougher competition but managed to remain undefeated in pool play and gained the number one seed. After a convincing victory against the Chiapas Tornados in the semi-finals, our team narrowly won the championship game against a well-coached and well-equipped Yucatan Cardenales team. 

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Prior to departing for the tournament, for the first time, we were interviewed by all three major television stations. Upon our return, all three major television stations – Channel 7, Channel 5 and Love TV – as well as two newspapers – The Reporter and Amandala – covered the story. 

Channel 7, Belize’s main news channel, aired a detailed report praising the Jamaat for its efforts with at-risk youth. These interviews, as well as scores and updates, were also broadcast on various radio stations. We have also been invited to appear on a few more talk shows to discuss the victory, as well as the upcoming 5th season of the Ahmadiyya Basketball League, Insha-Allah.

Humanity First Kosovo Donates 100 Food Packages to Families in Need

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Humanity First Kosovo Donates 100 Food Packages to Families in Need
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 Shkelqim Bytyqi

Kosovo Correspondent

On 19 and 20 December, the humanitarian aid action from Humanity First continued its services in the municipality of Pristina. 

This foundation distributed food supplies to 100 families in severe economic conditions during the two days. The cooperation of Humanity First, the municipality of Prishtina and the directorate for social welfare, which is directed by Mrs Valbona Osmani, aid was distributed in several locations of Prishtina such as Kodra e Trimave, Qafë, Bregu i Diellit and Hajvali.

On 19 December, aid was distributed to the Kodra e Trimave neighborhood for 60 families. The joy could be seen on the faces of the families as well as their children.

On 20 December, aid was distributed to the neighborhoods of Qafa, Bregu i Diellit and Hajvali. A family living in difficult conditions in Hajvali heartily thanked Humanity First by saying, “May God reward you as you came to our help in these cold winter and snowy days.”

The food packs included oil, flour, sugar, salt, pasta, rice, soup, tuna and marmalade. What is worth mentioning is that food products were chosen to be all local, so that alongside helping families in need, the Kosovo business market was also given custom.

The representative of Humanity First in Kosovo thanked the municipality of Prishtina and the volunteers who helped in those bitter days for their cooperation and promised that this assistance would continue and would extend to all Kosovo municipalities in the months to come.

Letters to the Editor – Tsunami and Manifestation of Divine Help

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Letters to the Editor – Tsunami and Manifestation of Divine Help

Harpan Aziz Ahmad

Missionary, Indonesia

On the evening of Saturday, 22 December 2018, as widely reported, a Tsunami swept the Sunda Strait area. It left a huge mark on the area not least because it destroyed houses and hotels, killing many, injuring others with people still missing. 

A viral video shows a band performing in the area suddenly being struck by a huge wave and everything being wiped off in just a matter of seconds.

We were part of that scene. On 20 December, along with 200 participants, we travelled to Carita beach to hold a sequence of tarbiyat sessions, named Religious Moral Training Course (KPA) for Atfal, Nasirat, Khuddam and Lajna in Wira Carita Hotel to spend their school holidays. 

When the Tsunami struck, we were having a “togetherness” event. This event was deliberately arranged on the last night of the programme and became a farewell night for participants, committees and mentors.

Generally, to make it more impressive, this event is usually set outdoors. However, the plans changed at the last minute and the committee chose the hotel hall for that programme. 

It was indeed a blessing of Allah that plans changed to hold the event indoors as we would later realise. We can only imagine what would have happened if the programme had been organised outdoors. Even though our hotel was not affected directly by the Tsunami like other hotels, it certainly brought about an extreme panicked situation due to the chaos that ensued that night.

We were, Alhamdolillah, safe and followed the programme quietly and comfortably, at least until our regional missionary whispered, “Call all missionaries to go out, now!”

With a gesture, we called one another and walked out, while asking ourselves what had happened.

“The Anak Krakatau mountain has erupted. The sea water levels are rising and some buildings along the coastline have been damaged. Pray that the Almighty God protects us!” 

Having prayed, we immediately went out of the hall and watched the panic; people crying for help, ambulance sirens and vehicles going back and forth honking one another. This created an even more terrifying image of the situation.  

Some of us tried to get close to the road to see the condition of the sea with waves being thrown at the stall we visited in the afternoon.

Whether the aftershocks would cause the ocean waves to reach us was what strongly and quickly haunted our thoughts.

We sought to attempt various options like obtaining valid information and finding evacuation routes. Under Allah’s benign protection and care, we were safe that night. 

Morning came, but the anxiety still remained.

On the one side, negotiations with bus drivers seemed really long and arduous. There was no chance of evacuating the participants before midday. The roads were blocked off, covered by debris and fallen buildings. Thinking that the aftershocks were yet to come was their reason for not picking us up from the hotel. Alas, we were isolated and misinformed.

However, the Almighty God was always with us. While hoping for any bus or public transportation to come and take us, He came along with His succour. 

At 4:35pm, buses from Mobile Brigade Corps (Brimob) came in one-by-one to our hotel. On whose instructions they came, we did not know yet. We evacuated with three bus units to Pandenglang Resort Police Office. Our journey felt very special with patrol cars guarding us. 

What is good in our sight is not always good in His Sight. What is easy in our sight is not always easy without His blessed intervention.

Our God always has His own ways.

(Translated by Hafizurrahman, Indonesia Correspondent)

Parliament of the World’s Religions Toronto 2018  

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Parliament of the World’s Religions Toronto 2018  
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Imtiaz Ahmed Sra,

Missionary, Vaughan, Canada

The parliament of the world religions is an organisation which was created to “cultivate harmony among the world’s religious and spiritual communities”.

The first Parliament of the World’s Religions (PWR) took place in the city of Chicago in 1893 and was attended by almost 7,000 people. Scholars from different religions presented the teachings of their respective faith. Muhammad Alexander Russell Webb represented Islam in the First PWR.  He was an Anglo-American who had accepted Islam by reading the works of the Promised Messiahas and through detailed correspondence with him.  

The Promised Messiahas had conveyed the message of Islam to many in Europe and America. His message was printed in the Theosophist, a publication of the Theosophical Society, in September of 1886. Being a member of the society, the message also reached Alexander Russell Webb, a journalist with Missouri Republican Party. Mr Webb had been searching for the truth in religion and began correspondence with the Promised Messiahas. He accepted Islam and wrote to the Promised Messiahas in 1887, “It occurred to me that I might, through your aid, assist in spreading the truth here.” (Shahna-e-Haqq, Ruhani Khazain , Vol. 2, pp. 439-443) 

After accepting Islam, Muhammad Alexander Russell Webb started preaching the message of Islam in the United States and later in India. In the series of lectures he delivered, one of them, Influence of Islam on Social Conditions, was delivered at the first PWR Conference in 1893.

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Alexander Russell Webb

After a break of one hundred years, the PWR resumed in 1993 and was held at its birthplace, Chicago. 

Seven PWRs have been held since its inception: 

1. 11-16 September 1893 in Chicago, USA with a total attendance of 7,000 

2. 28 August-5 September 1993 in Chicago, USA with a total attendance of 8,000

3. 1-8 December 1999 in Cape Town, South Africa with a total attendance of 7,000

4. 7-13 July 2004 in Barcelona, Spain with a total attendance of 9,000

5. 3-9 December 2009 in Melbourne, Australia with an attendance of 6,500

6. 15-19 October 2015 in Salt Lake City, USA with an attendance of 10,359

7. 1-7 November 2018 in Toronto, Canada with a total attendance of 8,000

This year, by the grace of Allah, the 7th conference of Parliament of the World’s Religions was held in Toronto (see www.parliamentofreligions.org). The Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaat Canada was an early supporter of hosting this event in Toronto. 

The steering committee of PWR extended a warm invitation to the Worldwide Head of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaat, Hazrat Khalifatul Masih Vaa to speak at the conference as the keynote speaker, stating: “As the leader of a tradition that was faithfully present at the first-ever Parliament in 1893 – and the leader of a faith committed to inclusion and cooperation, ‘Love for All and Hatred for None’ – we believe that you are the perfect person to help us celebrate our history and our future.”

Hazrat Amirul Momineenaa sent his regrets for not being able to attend and wished success to the conference.

After receiving this response, the PWR invited the Jamaat in Canada to speak at a separate session of conference. Lal Khan Malik Sahib, Amir Jamaat Canada instructed me as missionary Vaughan Jamaat to speak at this session on the topic of Pathway to Peace, an international campaign being held by the Jamaat. 

In this speech, nine fundamentals of peace were presented as explained by Hazrat Khalifatul Masih Vaa. The session was attended by guests who came from different parts of the world, some from as far as Japan. Hazrat Amirul Momineen’saa book World Crisis and the Pathway to Peace was also introduced during the session. The attendees expressed an appreciation for the Jamaat’s endeavours in trying to achieve world peace.   

Since its inception in 1893, this is the first time that the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaat has participated in a conference organised by PWR. Allah the Exalted granted an opportunity to the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaat Canada to be part of this conference and share the peaceful message of Islam Ahmadiyyat. Alhamdolillah.

A month after the conclusion of the PWR Toronto, Hon Lieutenant Governor of Ontario Elizabeth Dowdeswell hosted a reception in honour of the Steering Committee of PWR. I had the opportunity to attend this reception and, by the grace of Allah, introduced the Hon Lieutenant Governor of Ontario to the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaat and its peaceful endeavours of the Jamaat.

11-17 January

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11-17 January

11 January 1899: The Promised Messiahas was again in Gurdaspur for the hearing of his case with Maulvi Muhammad Hussain Batalvi. On this day, Hazrat Ahmadas was represented by Mr W Browne, Sheikh Fazl Din Sahib, Sheikh Ali Ahmad Sahib and Khwaja Kamaluddin Sahib. Mr Browne admitted that his client had issued some books and pamphlets. At the end of the hearing, a list of 58 defense witnesses was presented to the court on behalf of Huzooras, but the district magistrate wanted to know the purpose for which each witness was to be produced. Counsels on both sides wanted a postponement at this stage, so the magistrate ordered that the case should be heard at Dhariwal on 27 January.

12 January 1878: The Promised Messiahas had subscribed to the following local papers and read them regularly: Safir of Amritsar; Agni Hotri magazine, Hindu Bandu and Manshur-e-Muhammadi. Hazrat Ahmadas would sometimes send articles to Manshur-e-Muhammadi to be published. On this day, this newspaper published an Urdu poem written by Huzooras from Qadian.

12 January 1889: Hazrat Mirza Bashiruddin Mahmud Ahmadra was born to Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmadas and Hazrat Nusrat Jehan Begumra on this day in Qadian, the same year in which the Promised Messiahas established the Ahmadiyya Jamaat in Islam by accepting the allegiance of his disciples. This blessed child was destined to be the promised son, mentioned in scriptures. 

12 January 1904: The Promised Messiahas started his journey towards Gurdaspur from Qadian for the court hearing of the case with Karam Din. On 15 January, due to his ill health, he had to apply for sick leave from court, and after approval from the concerned authorities, he immediately commenced his journey back for Qadian.

13 January 1892: An Englishman came to Qadian from Madras and accepted Islam at the hands of the Promised Messiahas. He was the son of a government officer. This was within a year of publication of his book Izala-e-Auham. 

15 January 1901: On this day, the Promised Messiahas issued an announcement in which he declared his intention to start a monthly magazine in English to convey the spiritual truth to the English-speaking peoples of the world as revealed to him. Its primary object was stated to be the publishing of his own articles in support of Islam. It was to be edited by Maulvi Muhammad Ali Sahib and Khwaja Kamaluddin Sahib. This magazine is known today as the Review of Religions.

15 January 1903: The Promised Messiah’sas Arabic book (with Persian translation) Mawahibur-Rahman (Bounty of God) came out on this day from Zia-ul-Islam Press, Qadian. 

The editor of an Egyptian journal, Al-Liwa, Mustafa Kamil Pasha criticised the action of the Promised Messiahas in directing his followers not to get themselves inoculated against the plague. The paper argued that such a course of action was against the teachings of the Holy Quran, which says: “And cast not yourselves into ruin with your own hands” (Surah al-Baqarah: V. 196). The attack was made out of sheer ignorance without taking into consideration why the Promised Messiahas had urged his followers against the vaccinations and, therefore, such an attack warranted a full-fledged reply from the Promised Messiahas in Arabic.

15 January 1903: The Promised Messiahas started his famous journey towards Jhelum at 3 o’clock on this day from Qadian. Huzooras travelled to attend a court hearing of a lawsuit by Karam Din, but it gave a blessed and historic opportunity to the countless people, who, otherwise, could not especially travel to see him in Qadian. He reached Lahore through Batala. At the railway stations, throngs of people gathered to welcome him; they asked him questions and enjoyed his company.

MKA Kenya Tarbiyati Class 2018

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MKA Kenya Tarbiyati Class 2018

Tahir Ahmad

Kenya Correspondent

Majlis Khuddam-ul-Ahmadiyya Kenya successfully completed their national Tarbiyati Class that was held in Ahmadiyya Muslim Mission Nairobi Headquarters. 

The six-day class began on Monday, 10 December and ended on Sunday, 16 December 2018 and was targeted for both Khuddam and Atfal. Eight out of twelve regions countrywide were represented. 

Khuddam were classed into two different classes: basic and advanced classes. Teaching material was from the Mini Qaideen Handbook, a book prepared by MKA Kenya. Topics covered included: nizam (administrative system), introduction to Khuddam-ul-Ahmadiyya, basic guidelines for qaideen, etimad, Shura, talim, tarbiyat, tajnid, finance, tabligh, Atfal, Tahrik-e-Jadid and other departments. 

A lot of emphasis was put on prayer and in this regard, all prayers were offered on time, including Tahajud. Both auxiliary groups were given oral and written tests to assess their understanding. 

The closing and prize-giving session for the Tarbiyati Class was presided by Amir and Missionary In-charge, Tariq Mahmood Zafar Sahib. In his speech, Amir Sahib repeatedly advised Khuddam and Atfal alike to make good use of social media gadgets to acquire knowledge of Islam Ahmadiyyat. He advised to be constant in writing letters to Hazrat Khalifatul Masihaa seeking his prayers and to listen to Huzoor’s Friday Sermon and other MTA programmes. A total of 58 Khuddam and Atfal attended the event. 

The Blessings of Walking to the Mosque

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The Blessings of Walking to the Mosque

Hazrat Buraydah ibn al-Hasib, Allah be pleased with him, narrates that the Holy Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said:

“Give good tidings to those who walk to the mosques in darkness for having a perfect light on the Day of Judgment.”

(Sunan Abi Dawud, Kitab al-Salat)

Repentance is an Essential Component of the Oath of Allegiance

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Repentance is an Essential Component of the Oath of Allegiance
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Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad a.s.

This is the reality of repentance (which has been mentioned above). But why is repentance an integral part of swearing allegiance to a spiritual guide? The fact of the matter is that man is given to negligence. When an individual takes the oath of allegiance at the hand of one upon whom Allah the Exalted has bestowed this transformed state, the same divine grace and light – that exists in this transformed individual – begins to emerge in the individual just as a graft changes the properties of a tree. The condition, however, is that one should possess a true relationship with this person as though they were a branch attached to his very being; not a lifeless branch. The greater a person’s affinity with this spiritual leader, the better.

(Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmadas, Malfuzat, Vol. 1, p 4)

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Al Hakam is a weekly English newspaper for members of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaat around the world. Its aim is to provide Ahmadis with content regarding the beliefs of the true Islam, reintroduced to the world by Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad of Qadian, peace be on him.

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