Ata-ul-Haye Nasir, Al Hakam
3 April 1987 is a special day in the history of Jamaat-e-Ahmadiyya. On this day, after receiving divine guidance from Allah the Almighty, Hazrat Khalifatul Masih IVrh called on Ahmadi parents to devote the lives of their unborn children for the propagation of Islam Ahmadiyyat.
He instructed them to bring them up in such a way that they would grow up to willingly sacrifice everything for the sake of Allah the Almighty. Huzoorrh called this scheme “Tahrik-e-Waqf-e-Nau”.
Initially, the scheme was launched for two years, but this was later extended to four and then the scheme was made permanent, with the added clause that those parents who wished to devote the lives of their children must do it before their birth.
While launching this scheme, Hazrat Khalifatul Masih IVrh stated:
“So, I thought I would persuade the whole Jamaat that before entering the next century, where we are trying to make spiritual offspring, by inviting people towards Allah the Almighty, we should dedicate our unborn children in the path of Allah the Almighty before their birth […]
“‘Maa Fi Batni’, [meaning that] ‘whatever is in my womb’, mothers should pray in this way, and fathers should pray to Allah the Almighty like Abrahamas that may Allah the Almighty choose our children for His cause and make them His servants. And in the coming century, a great army of life devotee children should come in such a way that they are shunning worldly desires and entering this century as the servants of the God of Muhammadsa, the Prophet of Allah. We should be dedicating our infants as a gift in the way of Allah the Almighty.
“And there is a dire need for this dedication because in the next hundred years, Islam will spread everywhere, so millions of trained servants are needed, who will be the servants of the God of Muhammadsa, the Prophet of Allah. Life devotees are needed in huge numbers, from all the fields and from every country.” (Hazrat Mirza Tahir Ahmad, Khalifatul Masih IVrh, Friday Sermon, 3 April 1987)
The base of this heavenly scheme lies in the following verse of the Holy Quran:
اِذۡ قَالَتِ امۡرَاَتُ عِمۡرٰنَ رَبِّ اِنِّیۡ نَذَرۡتُ لَکَ مَا فِیۡ بَطۡنِیۡ مُحَرَّرًا فَتَقَبَّلۡ مِنِّیۡ ۚ اِنَّکَ اَنۡتَ السَّمِیۡعُ الۡعَلِیۡمُ
“[Remember] when [the] woman of Imran said, ‘My Lord, I have vowed to Thee what is in my womb to be dedicated to Thy service. So do accept it of me; verily, Thou alone art All-Hearing, All-Knowing.’” (Surah Al-e-Imran, Ch.3: V.35)
Pondering over the meaning of waqf, we come to know that it means to submit wholly in the cause of Allah the Almighty. This definition of waqf has been beautifully stated in the Holy Quran in the following verse:
قُلۡ اِنَّ صَلَاتِیۡ وَ نُسُکِیۡ وَ مَحۡیَایَ وَ مَمَاتِیۡ لِلہ رَبِّ الۡعٰلَمِیۡنَ
“Say, ‘My Prayer and my sacrifice and my life and my death are [all] for Allah, the Lord of the worlds.’” (Surah al-An‘am, Ch.6: V.163)
The basic requirement of waqf is to give preference to religion over the world and that everything should be sacrificed to propagate the message of Islam. In this regard, the Promised Messiahas stated:
“In every situation, whatever it may be, give precedence to religion. Let not the world itself become your objective; instead, religion ought to be the actual objective that you seek. When this becomes your way, even your worldly engagements will be deemed religious.” (Malfuzat [English], Vol. 3, p. 52)
The Promised Messiahas desired from us that we dedicate our lives in the way of Islam, as he states:
“It is necessary to dedicate your life in the way of Allah the Almighty and in fact, this is Islam and this is the sole purpose of my advent.” (Malfuzat [1988], Vol. 2, p. 138)
He further states:
“The intention of Islam is to make many Abrahams. So each one of you should strive to become Abrahamas. I tell you the truth:
ولی پرست نہ بنو۔ بلکہ ولی بنو
اور پیر پرست نہ بنو۔ بلکہ پیر بنو
‘Do not become a mere follower of a wali [saint], instead become a wali yourself; and do not become a mere follower of a pir [holy person], instead become a pir’”. (Ibid, p. 139)
Hazrat Musleh-e-Maudra stated:
وقف کرنا جاں کا ہے کسبِ کمال
جو ہو صادق وَقف میں ہے بے مثال
چمکیں گے واقِف کبھی مانندِ بدر
آج دنیا کی نظر میں ہیں ہلال
This means, “To devote one’s life is a great act; the one who is truthful in his devotion is unprecedented. One day, the devotees will shine like the full moon, though they are akin to the crescent in the eyes of the world today.”
In this great era of Khilafat-e-Ahmadiyya, every devotee should obey Hazrat Khalifatul Masihaa and get guidance from him at every step of their life. An example of this high spirit of devotion was Maulana Abdul Wahab Adam Sahib (former Amir Jamaat-e-Ahmadiyya Ghana). In the course of his treatment, when he was asked to be taken to the hospital, he said, “I will seek approval from Hazrat Khalifatul Masihaa in this regard. If he permits, only then will I act.”
This is the standard that every life devotee should attain and this is the pathway to follow for the members of Waqf-e-Nau scheme.
Hazrat Khalifatul Masih Vaa has been continuously calling the attention of the members of Waqf-e-Nau scheme towards their responsibilities.
At one instance, he stated:
“Waqifeen-e-Nau should increase their standards of contentment. The quality of their sacrifice should be greatly increased. It should not be thought that if ‘we are financially weak, our siblings would consider us inferior or our parents will not pay attention to us as they are paying to others.’ Firstly, parents should never think that Waqifeen-e-Zindagi are inferior. The status of Waqifeen-e-Zindagi should be very high in their eyes. However, Waqifeen-e-Zindagi should make themselves the most humble and meek persons.
“While Waqifeen-e-Nau should raise the standards of sacrifice, they should also raise the standard of their worship and should enhance the standard of their loyalty. They should use all their abilities and capabilities to fulfil the promise made by themselves and their parents. One should strive to work for the sake of the faith and for its victory. As a result, Allah the Almighty also provides and does not leave anyone without His reward.” (Friday Sermon, 28 October 2016)
During this Friday sermon, Huzooraa further stated:
“As I said, Waqf-e-Nau are very special, but they will have to prove that they are special. What will they need to prove? That they are ahead of others in their relationship with Allah the Almighty, then they will be called ‘special’. If they have fear of God more than others, then they will be called ‘special’. If their standards of worship are a lot higher than others, then they will be called ‘special’. If they offer voluntary prayers along with the obligatory ones, then they will be called ‘special’. If their degree of general conduct is extremely high, then this is a sign of being ‘special’.” (Friday Sermon, 28 October 2016)
Huzooraa mentioned many other qualities also, which should be the hallmark of Waqifeen-e-Nau. This sermon is a must-read sermon for all Waqifeen-e-Nau. May Allah enable all Waqifeen-e-Nau to act upon these words of Hazrat Amirul Momineenaa. Amin