Bordon, Hampshire: On 8 September 2019, the concluding session of the UK Majlis Khuddam-ul-Ahmadiyya Ijtema was graced with the presence of Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad, Amirul Momineenaa.
Huzoor’s entourage arrived at 15:15 BST, after which Hazrat Amirul Momineenaa hoisted the Majlis Khuddam-ul-Ahmadiyya flag and led all attendees in dua.
Following silent prayer, Khuddam-ul-Ahmadiyya UK amila members, Atfal-ul-Ahmadiyya UK amila members, qaideen and various departments who helped organise the Ijtema were fortunate to have group photos with Huzooraa.
Hazrat Khalifatul Masih Vaa then led the congregation in Zuhr and Asr prayers in the main Ijtema marquee.
At around 15:50 BST, the concluding session of the 2019 Majlis Khuddam-ul-Ahmadiyya UK Ijtema commenced with the recitation of the Holy Quran, chapter 59, verses 23-25 by Sadiq Ayub Sahib, followed by its translation read out by Tawqeer Mirza Sahib.
Hazrat Amirul Momineenaa then instructed all Khuddam, Atfal and guests to stand up to take the Khuddam pledge, which Huzooraa read out and the gathering repeated behind their Imamaa.
After the pledge, Hafeez Ahmad Sahib recited an Urdu poem written by the Promised Messiahas, the translation of which was read out by Athar Ahmad Sahib.
Sadr Majlis Khuddam-ul-Ahmadiyya UK, Abdul Quddus Arif Sahib then read out a short report of the Ijtema. He said that the theme of the Ijtema was “The Existence of Allah the Almighty”. Some of the highlights included Jumuah behind Huzoor in Masjid Mubarak, various exhibitions by the tabligh department, Al Fazl International, The Review of Religions and Al Hakam, Atfal masterchef competition and many other competitions and features. 6,192 was the total attendance of this year’s Ijtema.
A short video presentation was then played for Huzooraa, summarising the three-day event.
Huzooraa then graciously distributed awards to the regions and qiadats that had performed extraordinarily in the past year, both to Atfal and Khuddam.
Thereafter, Huzooraa addressed the congregation. After Tashahud, Ta‘awuz and the recitation of Surah al-Fatihah, Hazrat Amirul Momineenaa said that with the grace of Allah, this year’s Ijtema was drawing to a close.
Huzooraa said that he was confident that the attendees would have tried to enhance their spiritual and moral standards, rather than just spending all of their time in sports and games.
Taking part in sports, Huzooraa said, is important as physical fitness enables a person to perform their responsibilities to Allah and their fellow creation. At every Ijtema, however, one’s primary purpose should be to enhance their spiritual standards.
Huzooraa said that the majority of Ahmadi youth study very hard, but the same effort is not being put into attaining religious knowledge. The main purpose of events such as Jalsas and Ijtemas is to evaluate oneself and increase religious knowledge and enhance spiritual conditions.
While attending the Ijtema, one should focus on the foremost requirement of strengthening our bond with Allah the Almighty.
Hazrat Musleh-e-Maudra famously said, “Nations cannot be reformed without the reformation of the youth.”
With regard to this, Hazrat Khalifatul Masih Vaa said:
“These enlightened words have not only become the main slogan of Majlis Khuddam-ul-Ahmadiyya, but have also become the basis of its activities and schemes.”
It is not enough, Huzooraa said, to just have these printed on clothing or badges; we should try to understand the depth of wisdom behind these profound words. The reason Hazrat Musleh-e-Maudra assigned these words to Majlis Khuddam-ul-Ahmadiyya was to remind the youth that secular education is not enough, rather they should focus on enhancing their spirituality too.
Every moment of prayer should be cherished and enjoyed as we get to open our hearts before our Lord, as opposed to considering prayer a necessity and thus superficially fulfilling the requirement of faith.
Having knowledge of Islam’s teachings will draw us nearer to Allah the Almighty and through this, we can fulfil our actual purpose.
The success of our Jamaat and Islam is paired with the success of our youth.
Huzooraa said that as the world drifts away from religion, our role and responsibility of conveying the truth should not be underestimated. Ahmadi youth should wholeheartedly accept this challenge. Through this, we will be fulfilling our purpose and the purpose for which Allah created this world. If we are successful, we will be the recipients of Allah’s rewards and will reap the benefits in our worldly endeavours. Materially and spiritually, we will be blessed by Allah as we desired to act according to the teachings of Islam.
Huzooraa went on to give the noble example of the Holy Prophet’ssa Companionsra to Khuddam and Atfal:
“For quite some time, I have been mentioning the blessed companions of the Holy Prophetsa in my Friday Sermons. They were the esteemed group of people for whom history bears witness that they not only pledged to give precedence to faith over all worldly matters, but more importantly, they fulfilled that pledge in the most astonishing fashion. They spared no effort to discharge their oath and gave every possible sacrifice for the sake of their faith. As a result, Allah the Almighty enabled them to excel in spiritual and moral terms and to play an outstanding role in the spread of Islam.
“At the same time, he also blessed them in worldly terms, so that those who worshipped Him day and night and were truly obedient to the Holy Prophetsa of Islam saw their trade and businesses thrive to the extent that some even became millionaires in today’s terminology. However, such wealth never took them away from their faith or corrupted them in any way, rather it led them towards even greater sacrifices for the cause of Islam.”
Giving guidance to Khuddam and Atfal, Huzooraa said:
“Hence, you should always keep in view to prioritise your faith and you should continually evaluate your efforts to spiritually and morally better yourselves. This is imperative, not only for your own benefit, but also for the benefit of your nation.
“Each Khadim should serve as a means of pride for their country and be amongnst those who take their people toward peace and prosperity.”
Huzooraa said that the tragic reality of today is that the majority of the world has forgotten their Creator. Every Khadim should attempt to bring their nation back towards God Almighty and for this, Khuddam must set the highest standards of piety and righteousness. Khuddam must lead by example.
When seeking forgiveness for previous mistakes, Khuddam must be remorseful over their sins before they seek forgiveness.
Huzooraa said that many people would ask him how they can know if each of our sins have been forgiven, however, Huzooraa said that if a person piously seeks forgiveness and shows remorse, their sins are forgiven.
Conversely, if a person offers Istighfar but repeatedly commits that sin, it cannot be said that they are sincere in seeking forgiveness. Apart from Istighfar, Huzooraa said that we should offer the prayer:
اِھْدِنَا الصِّرَاطَ الْمُسْتَقِیْم
“Guide us on the right path.”
Having accepted the Promised Messiahas, everyone – man, woman and child – should offer this prayer repeatedly to stay rightly guided.
There are so many distractions and temptations in the world that can take us away from our actual purpose, for example, immoral and indecent television programmes and films. These serve to weaken the moral fabric of society.
The same is the case of social media and many videos and posts promote immorality. Then there are video games that also serve this purpose; to take us away from spirituality and morality. If Khuddam are falling prey to this, they should realise that they are succumbing to Satan and helping him in his cause of working against Allah the Almighty.
It is not an exaggeration to suggest that in this era, more than ever before, society is engulfed by satanic influences. Today, pornography, drugs, online gaming, gambling, immoral and inappropriate programmes, nightclubbing and many other things are among those that are entirely harmful and taking youth away from God Almighty. Regrettably, some of our youth are being drawn towards such worldly allures.
Such youth neglect to offer Istighfar, forget that they have accepted the Imam of the age and that they have accepted the Holy Prophetsa.
Addressing the youth drifting away from religion and members of the Jamaat in general, Huzooraa said:
“It is a source of deep regret for me that there are members of our Jamaat who have more interest in keeping updated with the latest films and social media posts than they have in studying the Holy Quran, offering Salat and seeking to perform righteous deeds. Though our Jamaat makes a lot of effort towards fulfilling the needs of others through khidmat-e-khalq – service to humanity, charities – the truth remains that the majority of the work is being done by a minority of our members.
“There are many who remain idle and fail to sacrifice their time and wealth for the benefit of mankind. Similarly, we cannot claim that a majority of Ahmadis are offering their prayers with the devotion and spirit that is required, nor are they studying the Holy Quran deeply or seeking to act upon its instructions. Ultimately, we cannot claim that the majority of our youth are those who are truly giving precedence to their faith over all worldly matters.
“How then can we hope to reform our nations if we are failing to reform ourselves? This is the stark truth and so, until each and every one of us reflects upon our actions and seeks the help of Allah and repents before Him, we can never be truly successful or fulfil the real objectives of our lives.”
Huzooraa then went on to say that, in this regard, some people say that if Allah desires us to be better, then He should better us Himself. However, this is wrong and ignorant. Human beings have free will and they should learn to make their choices wisely.
Some people question the involvement of the Jamaat in their personal lives and issues. Huzooraa responded to this by saying:
“Some things are indeed personal in nature, however, where a personal matter interferes with our religious duties, it becomes an issue for the Jamaat because as Ahmadis, we have all pledged to give precedence to faith over all worldly matters. If an Ahmadi violates the demands of his faith, they are breaking their pledge and so it becomes the duty of the Jamaat, whether at a Jamaat level or through the auxiliaries, to take action by trying to guide him back towards the right path.
“Therefore, always remembers, if you weaken in your faith or become embroiled in immoral or vain acts, the Jamaat’s nizam [system] will seek to guide you and to explain the importance of reformation.
“Without a doubt, Majlis Khuddam-ul-Ahmadiyya will and should constantly remind the Khuddam and Atfal about the importance of offering Salat and coming to the mosque. It is their duty to make it clear to every Khadim that failure to offer these basic duties will take them away from their faith.
“Such matters do not remain personal but are a matter of concern to the Jamaat because if Ahmadis are not fulfilling the rights of Allah and are not prioritising their faith over worldly matters, then they are not only hurting themselves, but also the Jamaat and the wider society.
“Where an individual weakens, it weakens the collective and this is the core point underpinning the slogan that ‘Nations cannot be reformed without the reformation of the youth.’”
Huzooraa said that if we succumb to temptations of the world, the slogans of Khuddam will be hollow slogans.
Some things may remain personal, however, there are some aspects that the Jamaat will have to intervene in. Everyone has the freedom to work in their respective fields and earn money, so long that it is in keeping with the law and the Islamic values. Consuming or selling alcohol is prohibited. No person can be forced to marry without their consent. Man should not marry to fulfil his sexual desires. In these areas, the Jamaat provides constant guidance.
In chapter 12, verse 54 of the Holy Quran, it is said that Prophet Josephas said:
وَ مَا اُبَرِّئُ نَفْسِیْ ۔ اِنَّ النَّفْسَ لَاَمَّارَةٌ بِالسُّوْءِ اِلَّا مَا رَحِمَ رَبِّیْ۔ اِنَّ رَبِّیْ غَفُوْرٌ رَّحِیْمٌ
“And I do not absolve myself of weakness; for, the soul is surely prone to enjoin evil, save that whereon my Lord has mercy. Surely, my Lord is Most-Forgiving, Merciful.”
From this, one can understand that even a person who was destined to be a prophet affirmed that without the help of Allah, it was not possible to be saved from satanic temptations.
If even prophets require Allah’s help to be saved, then what about ordinary people? It is the foremost duty of those who accept the Promised Messiahas that they should adhere to all this.
Speaking about those who break their pledges, Huzooraa said:
“Do not be under the illusion that failing to fulfil one’s pledge is a small matter; rather in the Holy Quran, Allah the Almighty has said that each person will be held accountable for their pledges. At the very minimum, every person should be honest and courageous and free from hypocrisy.
“Thus, if a person does not want to follow the teachings of Islam or does not want the Jamaat to guide him, then openly declare that he is not a member of the Jamaat.
“On the other hand, once you have taken Bai‘at and pledged to give precedence to your faith over all worldly matters, you must seek to fulfil its demands to the best of your abilities. You must offer Istighfar as much as possible so that you can be saved from the so-called freedom of the modern world, which are actually shackles that serve only to pull mankind away from the path of true prosperity.
“Each of you should pray that you are served from modern-day vices and that you remain pure of mind and all immoral thoughts and desires. Be ever determined to fulfil your pledge, most especially the fundamental pledge to give precedence to your religion over all other things.
“Be amongst those Khuddam who truly understand that they have been given the duty to reform their nations and for this, they must first reform themselves. Be amongst those Khuddam who are determined to unite the whole world in a firm belief in the unity and oneness of God Almighty and those who play their role in bringing mankind together under the glorious of the Holy Prophet Muhammadsa. These are the values that must be instilled within us and it is to embed these values that we hold Jalsas and Itemas.
“It is my ardent and heartfelt prayer that the members of Majlis Khuddam-ul-Ahmadiyya and Majlis Atfal-ul-Ahmadiyya are those who cherish and protect their Islamic values and realise that their every success will be based upon staying true to their core identities as Ahmadi Muslims. Otherwise your pledge and claim will be rendered hollow and will be grounded in hypocrisy and hypocrisy is a vice that is not only hated by religious people, but also by other worldly people.”
Towards the end, Huzooraa prayed for all participants to attain the highest moral and spiritual standards.
Thereafter, Huzooraa led the congregation in dua, after which some Khuddam sang choral poems before Huzoor’saa departure.