On 30 May 2021, Majlis Atfal-ul-Ahmadiyya the Gambia were given the opportunity to meet with Hazrat Khalifatul Masih Vaa through a virtual meeting.
The meeting started with a recitation of the Holy Quran by Muhammad Sheriff Colley. Hearing his recitation, Huzooraa asked, “Are you doing hifz? Are you memorising the Holy Quran?” Muhammad Sheriff Colley replied in the affirmative. Next, Muhammad Issa Joof presented the English translation of the recited portion.
A hadith was presented by Masroor Ahmad Tanja in Arabic and its English translation was presented by Ebrahim Alem Nyabally.
An Urdu poem was then recited by Masroor Ahmad Hydara and Hassan Mansoor Ahmad Darboe and its English translation was presented by Bashirudeen Kassama.
Following this, a tifl, Salam Balde, delivered a speech on the importance of Salat. Then, Jahanzaib Ahmad had the opportunity to deliver a speech on the blessings of Khilafat.
After this, whilst addressing Sadr Sahib, Hazrat Amirul Momineenaa said, “There are two Masroors here. When were they born? How old are they?” Both of them replied that they were 14 years of age.
Huzooraa then asked Masroor Ahmad Hydara, “Who gave you this name?” to which he answered that his father and mother named him. Huzooraa then said, “Masha-Allah! So, you are a born Ahmadi?” Masroor Ahmad Hydara replied in the affirmative.
Next, Atfal were given the opportunity to pose questions to Huzooraa.
The first question was how one could establish a relationship with Allah the Almighty.
Hazrat Khalifatul Masihaa answered:
“The best way is that you should always think that whatever you are doing, Allah the Almighty is watching over you. Whatever you do, Allah the Almighty sees. So, when you have this type of mindset that whatever you are doing, Allah Almighty is watching over you, then you will not do bad things and will try to follow everything which Allah says to do. And you try to avoid all those things which Allah says you should not do […]
“You can hide from people, but you cannot hide from Allah. Secondly, as Allah has said that the five daily prayers are obligatory, you have to offer these five daily prayers. So, when you are praying, then you should pray to Allah Almighty, in your sajdas [prostrations] that Allah may make you so strong and staunch that you have a good relationship with Allah […] When your prayers are listened to, then you will develop a strong relationship with Allah in a much better way.
“So, never leave the five daily prayers. And, whilst you are praying, you should pray to Allah the Almighty that he should make this bond stronger than ever before.”
Next, a tifl asked how he could spend his time as a student and what the best time to study was. He then asked how he could be successful in life.
Hazrat Khalifatul Masihaa stated:
“Being a student, you must realise your responsibilities; you have to fix a goal; you should set yourself some target. If you want to be a scientist, then always keep in mind that you have to work hard to become a scientist. If you want to be a doctor, always keep in mind that you will have to work hard, and [the same goes for being an] engineer, lawyer and so on and so forth.
“In this way, you will fix a target for yourself and you will work hard to achieve that target […] Whatever you study in school, you should revise it immediately when you come back home so that you may remember what you studied in school. And if you know what your teacher will teach you the next day, you should also try to read from your book, that ‘this is what we will study tomorrow’. So, in this way, you will have a better grasp and comprehension of that subject and you will understand it in a better way […]
“Work hard, fix your targets, and always remember that you have to achieve your target and for that, you will have to work hard.”
Hazrat Khalifatul Masihaa was asked how he spent the recent Eid. Hearing this, Huzooraa smiled and said:
“After offering the Eid prayer and delivering my Eid sermon, I came to my office and prepared for my next Friday sermon. Then, after delivering the sermon and offering the Jumuah prayer, I came home, had lunch with my family members and I enjoyed that. And then in the evening, I went round to see the children here in Islamabad, spent time with the people living here, then came back and again started my work in the office. This is how I spent my Eid.”
A tifl asked Hazrat Amirul Momineenaa that out of the 124,000 prophets, why is it that only 25 were mentioned in the Holy Quran.
Huzooraa replied:
“The Holy Quran says, ‘We have sent prophets in each and every nation’. The Holy Quran and the Bible have mentioned some important prophets. And these are the prophets whose followers are also present today. This is one reason.
“The Holy Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said – there is a tradition in a hadith – that there were 124,000 prophets. Allah the Almighty says, ‘We have sent prophets in each and every nation’, some of whom are mentioned in the Holy Quran. But the Promised Messiahas has mentioned that Buddha, Krishna and Confucius were also prophets […]
Huzooraa further said:
“Had Allah started giving the details of each and every prophet, the Quran would have been a very big, voluminous book. Now, with these 24-25 prophets, Allah has given us an example that these were prophets, these were their nations, this is how they worked, and this is what happened to their nations – those who disobeyed were destroyed, and those who followed their prophets were saved […] So, Allah has just given us some examples; it is not necessary to give each and every detail.”
A tifl asked who he should please, to please Allah.
Hazrat Amirul Momineenaa stated:
“Allah the Almighty says to invoke durood upon the Holy Prophetsa. If you say durood:
اَللّٰہُمَّ صَلِّ عَلٰى مُحَمَّدٍ وَعَلَى اٰلِ مُحَمَّدٍ کَمَا صَلَّیْتَ عَلٰى اِبْرَاہِیْمَ وَعَلٰى اٰلِ اِبْرَاہِیْمَ اِنَّکَ حَمِیْدٌ مَّجِیْدٌ
اَللّٰہُمَّ بَارِکْ عَلٰى مُحَمَّدٍ وَّعَلٰى اٰلِ مُحَمَّدٍ کَمَا بَارَکْتَ عَلٰى اِبْرَاہِیْمَ وَعَلٰى اٰلِ اِبْرَاہِیْمَ اِنَّکَ حَمِیْدٌ مَجِیْدٌ
“then Allah will be happy and will listen to your prayers. So, Allah says that ‘whatever is written in the Holy Quran, these are My commandments; and whatever the Holy Prophetsa has done, that is his sunnah. So, if you want to please Me, follow the sunnah of the Holy Prophetsa.’
“And, as prophesied by the Holy Prophetsa, in the Latter Days, the reformer of the age would come. So Allah says, ‘If you want to please Me, then you must accept that reformer as well’, who was the true servant of the Holy Prophetsa and whose advent was foretold in the Holy Quran as well.
“If you accept the Promised Messiahas and follow his teachings, that will also please Allah. Then, after that, [we must follow] the system which has been given to us by Allah, after the demise of the Promised Messiahas, that is Khilafat. If you are attached to Khilafat, you will become one strong community and then there will be unity. When there is unity, then Allah will be pleased […]”
Upon being asked how one can strengthen and increase one’s faith, Hazrat Amirul Momineenaa said:
“It is only Allah the Almighty who can give you strength […] Always seek Allah’s help in strengthening your faith and offer the five daily prayers; pray to Allah in your sajdas that, ‘O Allah, strengthen my faith and let it never be that I lose my faith in any way.’ In your five daily prayers, you should pray for this […]
“Then, also try to read and understand the Holy Quran and note the commandments given in the Holy Quran, all the injunctions given in the Holy Quran, all the instructions given in the Holy Quran for a true believer to follow. And try to avoid all those things which we are told to avoid. In this way, we can strengthen our faith. But the main thing is to pray to Allah that He always makes you strong and staunch in your faith.”
Hazrat Amirul Momineenaa then quoted the following prayers:
رَبَّنَا لَا تُزِغۡ قُلُوۡبَنَا بَعۡدَ اِذۡ ہَدَیۡتَنَا وَ ہَبۡ لَنَا مِنۡ لَّدُنۡکَ رَحۡمَۃً ۚ اِنَّکَ اَنۡتَ الۡوَہَّابُ
“Our Lord, let not our hearts become perverse after Thou hast guided us; and bestow on us mercy from Thyself; surely, Thou alone art the Bestower.” (Surah Al-e-Imran, Ch.3: V.9)
رَبَّنَاۤ اَفۡرِغۡ عَلَیۡنَا صَبۡرًا وَّ ثَبِّتۡ اَقۡدَامَنَا وَ انۡصُرۡنَا عَلَی الۡقَوۡمِ الۡکٰفِرِیۡنَ
“O our Lord, pour forth steadfastness upon us, and make our steps firm, and help us against the disbelieving people.” (Surah al-Baqarah, Ch.2: V.251)
Huzooraa said:
“You should also pray that Allah gives you strength and makes you patient, strong and steadfast. The only way is to pray to Allah the Almighty that He gives you the strength.”
Next, a tifl asked Hazrat Amirul Momineenaa if it was permissible to celebrate birthdays as children.
Huzooraa said:
“As Ahmadi children, yes, you can celebrate your birthday in your houses. There is no need to spend money on inviting people to your birthday. You can sit together with your family members and prepare some sweet and enjoy it – some cake, some pastry, make a feast even and enjoy it. But to invite so many people and celebrate it in a lavish way, is not permissible.
“We never celebrate the birthday of the Holy Prophetsa […] so if we don’t celebrate the birthday of the Holy Prophetsa, what is the need to celebrate our own birthdays. But just to enjoy it, to remember that today is your birthday, you can sit together with your family members and your mother can prepare some good food for you – even cake or pastry, or something like that, or some other sweet, or whichever food you like; you can enjoy it at home.
“But there is no need to invite fellow students, no. That is just a waste of time and money. Instead, if you have enough money, you can give some amount to charity so that poor people can also enjoy some food from your money. There are quite a number of poor people in the world who are even deprived of daily food; they are hunger-stricken; they are suffering. So instead of spending money on something which is just useless, you should help the poor people so that they can at least eat food and enjoy their life.
“Also, you should celebrate your birthday by offering two nafl. Pray to Allah the Almighty [express your gratitude] that Allah has blessed you with this life and blessed you with so many things. So you should thank Allah for this and also seek His Help and pray to Allah that He always gives you strength in the future so that you can be a good asset for the Jamaat and your nation.”
A tifl asked how one can further strengthen and increase his love for Huzooraa and be dedicated to the institution of Khilafat.
Hazrat Amirul Momineenaa said:
“If you are following the commandments of Allah and following the instructions of the Khalifa of the time, then that means that you love the institution of Khilafat. The main thing is that you should love the institution of Khilafat. Once you are determined to love the institution of Khilafat and you try your level best to save the institution of Khilafat, then that means you love the Khalifa of the time.
“Also, follow the instructions given to you by the Khalifa of the time because the Khalifa of the time always gives instructions according to the teachings of Holy Quran and the sunnah of the Holy Prophetsa and the teachings of the Promised Messiahas” which are an explanation of the true teachings of Islam.
A young tifl asked Hazrat Amirul Momineenaa which prayer he likes and recited the most.
Hazrat Khalifatul Masihaa said:
“There are quite a number of prayers which I like. I like the prayer:
رَبِّ اِنِّیۡ لِمَاۤ اَنۡزَلۡتَ اِلَیَّ مِنۡ خَیۡرٍ فَقِیۡرٌ
“O Allah, whatever blessing you bestow on me, I am in need of that.” (Surah al-Qasas, Ch.28: V.58)
So, there are quite a number of prayers.
رَبِّ ہَبۡ لِیۡ حُکۡمًا وَّ اَلۡحِقۡنِیۡ بِالصّٰلِحِیۡنَ
وَ اجۡعَلۡ لِّیۡ لِسَانَ صِدۡقٍ فِی الۡاٰخِرِیۡنَ
“My Lord, bestow wisdom on me and join me with the righteous; And give me a true and lasting reputation among posterity.” (Surah al-Shu‘ara, Ch.26: V.84-85)
“[…] there are so many prayers which I like and recite. [I recite] Durood Sharif and istighfar as well. Istighfar is the main thing which a person should recite and I also try to give more emphasis on doing istighfar.”
A tifl stated that he usually gets angry quickly and requested Huzooraa to pray for him. Huzooraa responded:
“When you get angry, you should drink cold water […] You should also recite istighfar.”
He further asked how one can become regular in prayer. Huzooraa said:
“Always remember that Allah Almighty has stated that Salat is obligatory.”
Following this, a tifl expressed his desire for Hazrat Khalifatul Masihaa to visit the Gambia soon.
Huzooraa said:
“Okay then; pray for it; pray that Allah the Almighty enables me to visit the Gambia as early as possible. I also want to visit [the] Gambia. I don’t know if you are more anxious [about] my visit or I am more anxious than you. We should both pray. When Allah accepts our prayers, then I will visit the Gambia, insha-Allah. Then I will see you there personally.”
A tifl asked Hazrat Khalifatul Masihaa what the exemplary qualities of a tifl should be and secondly, he also expressed his desire to serve the Jamaat and sought guidance as to how he could serve.
Huzooraa said:
“An exemplary tifl should be very well behaved, obeying his parents, working hard in his studies, offering the five daily prayers, reciting the Holy Quran daily and listening to the sermons I deliver on MTA. They should not waste time gossiping or playing games that are useless – you can play football, but not video games. Do not watch bad programmes on the television; try to increase your religious knowledge.”
Answering the second question, Hazrat Khalifatul Masihaa said:
“As I have already said, you should a make a target […]”. Huzooraa then asked him what he wanted to do in the future. In response, the young tifl said he wanted to become a banker.
Huzooraa said:
“So, if you want to be a banker, that is okay. You will have to work hard and be honest; when you become a banker, then try to be honest with your work and serve the people. It should not be that you only try to earn money and try to make yourself rich only. Your main purpose should be to serve the people of your nation […]”.
With this, Hazrat Khalifatul Masihaa said the time was over and said:
“It was good meeting your Atfal-ul-Ahmadiyya. I don’t know whether they enjoyed it or not, but I enjoyed sitting with them.”
Sadr Sahib replied in the affirmative and said that the Atfal expressed that they also enjoyed the meeting.
Hazrat Khalifatul Masihaa conveyed his salaam and the meeting came to a close.
(Report prepared by Al Hakam)