Asif M Basit
Jalsa Salana UK – for its character of being the Markazi Jalsa – is undoubtedly seen as the highlight of the global calendar of Jamaat-e-Ahmadiyya. But over time, Jalsa Salana Germany has developed into an event of similar importance by, first and foremost, the blessed presence of Hazrat Khalifatul Masihaa.
Delegations from many parts of the world, forty-thousand plus attendance, worldwide broadcast of all sessions through MTA have all added to building this character of Jalsa Germany. By the grace of Allah, we are witnessing another Jalsa Salana in Germany that is being graced with the blessed presence of Hazrat Khalifatul Masih Vaa.
What do these Jalsas give us? It would be very natural if someone from outside the Jamaat asked or even a young member of the Jamaat for that matter. So, without going into academic and bookish debates, let’s rewind our imaginations about 127 years back to a small town in the Indian Punjab.
In this small town called Qadian lived a man who claimed that he was commissioned by God to bring the world back to the true teachings of Islam. For the solitude that he had spent most of his life in, he had no one with him when it all started. He decided to write a book to refute the allegations lodged against Islam. He had the urge, the motivation, the capability and the inspiration but lacked one of the basic ingredients to publish it: the huge amount of funds required to get it to the press.
He launched a subcontinent-wide fundraising campaign but was met with disappointment at the indifference that the Muslim leaders showed towards the defence of Islam. He somehow managed to raise a just enough amount of money to be able to get the book out, albeit in a smaller run than he had planned. Being thankful to Allah, he would later reminisce those days of struggle when he was the author, the copy-editor, the proof-reader, the publisher and the distributor of the great work called Barahin-e-Ahmadiyya.
This person who stood alone amidst ridicule, mockery and opposition was told that he would never succeed in his mission and would remain alone as he was in those early, destitute days.
In the early days of his mission, he was told by his opponents, that had mushroomed from within his own co-religionists as well as from without, that his message would not even reach the outskirts of Qadian, not to mention the corners of the earth as he had claimed.
He was declared a kafir by his opponents – ironically so for his efforts of reviving Islam – announcing to the world that this man was a heretic and had nothing to do with Islam. He was told that his name would die with him.
Then came a time when a group of people – educated, liberal, moderate and progressive in their outlook – left the Jamaat saying that the day was not far when Qadian will be left in ruins and no one would know that there ever existed a town with that name.
Now let’s come back to the Jalsa Salana and just very briefly see what Jalsa tells us. Let’s first go to the book shop in the Jalsa Gah and see how many books we can see there. Thousands upon thousands of titles on the catalogue and hundreds of them physically laid out on tables and counters. All these books are now being published in hundreds of languages by the Jamaat that Allah blessed that man with; the man who had to fundraise campaigns to write one single book which he authored, proof-read, published and distributed all by himself. The titles of these books that his Jamaat publishes are in thousands and the quantity altogether is undoubtedly in millions.
Let’s go back into the main Jalsa Gah and see what happened to the man who was told that he would live alone and die alone. Now in the Jalsa Gah, in Germany alone, we see more than forty-thousand followers of this man assembled under one roof, on one hand. This is just a specimen reflecting the millions of followers that Allah the Almighty has blessed him with.
Let’s listen to the speeches being delivered. The themes of these speeches in Jalsa Salana are woven around the true teachings of Islam, as taught to us in the modern day by this holy man. The same is the case with all Jalsas that happen in hundreds of countries worldwide.
So did his message die within the parameters of Qadian as his opponents had predicted? Of course it didn’t. It reached the corners of the earth as he was told by his Lord and Master, Allah the Almighty.
Let’s go to www.mta.tv and watch videos of Jalsas that are held in UK, USA, Germany, Canada, Ghana, India, Bangladesh, Switzerland, Australia, Japan, Scandinavia, Mauritius and many other countries of the world. Isn’t it a great sign to witness? Qadian was meant to be brought down to ruins, as this holy man’s opponents had suggested. On the contrary, we see that the seed sown in Qadian has grown into a tree with branches reaching out to the “corners of the earth”, in every sense of the phrase.
His message was to die with his own death, as his opponents had wishfully foreseen. Did it? Let’s go to the scene of Bai‘at and witness what the truth his. We see his Khalifa, his successor, his vicegerent, taking the oath of initiation from the millions that have fallen in love with the great man who had started his journey alone. This man, Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad Qadiani, may Allah bless his soul, left behind the institution called Khilafat as his successor; a blessing that will always lead the Jamaat of this great man who brought about a revolution in the world.
He was declared a heretic and out of the fold of Islam. Let’s go to the session in Jalsa Germany where his successor, Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmadaa, is addressing the German guests. He is speaking to them about the peaceful, harmonious and loving teachings of Islam; the teachings that guarantee to bring about love, peace and harmony to the global society. Those who declared Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmadas and his followers as heretics are not even known to the world, while his message remains to be the only reasonable, acceptable, practicable and promising voice of Islam.
His Khalifa, Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmadaa, is welcomed by world leaders as the sole spokesman of Islam.