After reciting Tashahhud, Ta‘awwuz and Surah al-Fatihah, His Holiness, Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad(aba) said that he will present a report of the various bounties of Allah Almighty upon the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community throughout the year.
Establishment of Mosques & Mission Houses
His Holiness(aba) said that this year, aside from Pakistan, the number of new Jama‘ats established throughout the world was 403. Furthermore, Ahmadiyyat was established for the first time in 829 places.
His Holiness(aba) presented various examples of Ahmadiyyat being established in new places. For example, a missionary from Tanzania wrote that three local missionaries went to a town to spread the message of Ahmadiyyat, as a result of which 60 people accepted Ahmadiyyat. The local Imam there called the Ahmadiyya Missionary and asked him to send the local missionary back, so that he may speak to him in hopes of having him desist spreading the message of Ahmadiyyat. However, the result of this conversation was that 30 more people joined Ahmadiyyat. Now, most people have left that Sunni Imam and only a few people go to visit him.
The missionary from Sao Tome that the message of Ahmadiyyat was being spread to a village. There was a Christian man there who saw that a village had accepted Ahmadiyyat, and after doing so, he saw a revolutionary change in their moral character. He said that all Christians should leave Christianity and accept Ahmadiyyat, upon which he himself joined the Community.
His Holiness(aba) said that during the year, the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community was able to establish a total of 211 new mosques, of which 135 were newly built and 76 buildings were converted into mosques.
His Holiness(aba) highlighted the establishment of various mosques throughout the world, such as in Sao Tome, Belize and Zion (USA).
His Holiness(aba) presented various incidents associated with the establishment of mosques. For example, the Amir of Liberia writes that a mosque was being built and the local missionary was helping with the construction. A non-Ahmadi Imam passed by and asked who this mosque belonged to. The Imam was informed that this was the mosque of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community. He was surprised to hear this as he had heard negative things about Ahmadis, and was very impressed to see the local missionary himself working to help those building the mosque. He invited the local missionary to come to his village, the result of which was that the four local Imams, along with 410 locals entered into the fold of Ahmadiyyat.
His Holiness(aba) said that during the year, 123 new mission houses were established in different parts of the world.
New Book Publications
His Holiness(aba) said that the Raqeem Press is doing great work in Africa. With regards to the Raqeem Press in Farnham UK, the number of publications printed from there over the course of the year is 315,000.
His Holiness(aba) said that during the year, the translation of the Holy Qur’an in English has been revised. Four more books of the Promised Messiah(as) have been translated into English. The third volume of Malfuzat was also translated into English. A book of the First Caliph(ra) is being translated and will be published this year.
His Holiness(aba) said that Ruhani Khaza’in has been republished in an excellent and beautiful manner. His Holiness(aba) presented some incidents of those who accepted Ahmadiyyat after reading the books of the Promised Messiah(as). For example, a person from Australia read The Philosophy of the Teachings of Islam in one day, and was thoroughly impressed by the various aspects covered by the Promised Messiah(as). In fact, he finished reading the book in one day, and as a result accepted Ahmadiyyat.
Similarly, the former Vice-Speaker of the Assembly was presented The British Government and Jihad as a gift. He said that the manner in which the founder of Ahmadiyyat has presented the concept of Jihad is something that should be adopted by all Muslims.
Publications, Libraries, Exhibitions & Book Fairs
His Holiness(aba) said that during the year, according to a report from 92 countries 384 different books, pamphlets and other publications were published in 39 languages of which 3,688,000 copies were printed.
His Holiness(aba) said that the number of books and literature sent to various countries 75,745. 591 central libraries were established in 90 different countries. 1,970 various exhibitions were held which were attended by about 175,000 people. Similarly, the number of stalls set up at books stalls and book fairs was 2,747. His Holiness(aba) presented various faith inspiring incidents related to book stalls.
His Holiness(aba) said that in 103 countries a total of 6,984,000 leaflets were distributed as a result of which the message of Ahmadiyyat reached more than 16,800,000 people.
His Holiness(aba) presented various faith inspiring incidents related to the distribution of pamphlets and leaflets. For example, in Burkina Faso, permission was sought to visit schools and colleges in order to relay the true message of Islam and distribute literature. In one college, the Muslims stopped them from distributing literature. But Allah Almighty made it so that in two nearby schools, six professors were moved to attend the Jalsa Salana and thereafter accepted Ahmadiyyat.
Translations Completed
His Holiness(aba) detailed the work in translations and publications being done by the various language desks of the Community, such as the Arabic Desk, Russian Desk, French Desk, Bengali Desk, Chinese Desk, Indonesian Desk, Turkish Desk, Swahili Desk and Spanish Desk.
Progress in Press and Media
His Holiness(aba) said that the Press and Media Department is also doing good work. They had 102 articles published in the press over the year. An estimated number of 2 million people were reached through their efforts.
Progress in the Alislam Website
His Holiness(aba) said that the Alislam website has developed a new Qur’an browser, a new version of which is launching at the Jalsa Salana. There are a total of 316 books on the website and over a thousand Urdu books available on the website. Furthemore, various audio books have also been added to the website.
Progress in MTA
His Holiness(aba) said that by the grace of Allah, 8 MTA channels are operating 24 hours a day. There are translations available in 17 different languages. A studio has also been established in Ghana where a digital channel was launched. There are two MTA Africa channels, with a total of 11 branches throughout Africa.
His Holiness(aba) said that there are many who enter the fold of Ahmadiyyat by watching MTA. A person from Cameroon had been watching MTA for quite some time on YouTube, and upon inquiring more about the Community, he entered into the fold of Ahmadiyyat. Similarly, a minister from The Gambia greatly appreciated the efforts of MTA and the message that it spreads. He said that in his free time, all he watches is MTA. A youngster from Sierra Leone watched the various peace conferences on MTA and was greatly moved by the message of peace presented by the Ahmadiyya Community. As a result, he later accepted Ahmadiyyat.
Message Spread Via Radio
His Holiness(aba) said that the Community has a total of 27 radio stations in various different countries, which also help in conveying the message of Islam Ahmadiyyat. A new Turkish radio station has also been established. During the year, the Community was able to spread its message through 5,078 TV programmes, 1,878 hours of programming were broadcasted on various channels. Similarly, it is estimated that through television and radio, the message of Ahmadiyyat reached more than approximately 330,000,000 people. His Holiness(aba) presented various incidents of acceptance of Ahmadiyyat as a result of radio programmes.
Progress in the Waqf-e-Nau Department & Makhzan-e-Tasaweer
His Holiness(aba) said that by the grace of Allah, the number of Waqf-e-Nau in the world now is 75,522 of which 44,697 are boys and 30,825 are girls. There were 2,856 new Waqf-e-Nau this year.
His Holiness(aba) said that Makhzan-e-Tasaweer is doing good work in recording the pictorial history of the Ahmadiyya Community.
Progress in The Review of Religions
His Holiness(aba) said that The Review of Religions has now been established for 119 years. It is published in English every month, in German every other month, and quarterly in French and Spanish. It prints about 197,000 copies annually over the four different languages. The website was visited more than 250,000 times. Through its Instagram, Twitter and Facebook accounts, million people were reached. The YouTube channel has 87,000 subscribers with over 2 million views over the year. They are also publishing various translations of the Second Caliph. They also conducted the God Summit, which garnered positive feedback.
Progress in Various Other Departments
His Holiness(aba) said Al-Fazal International is published twice a week and is continuing to grow.
His Holiness(aba) said that Al-Hakam is published weekly and is widely being read through social media.
His Holiness(aba) said that 2,021 different newspapers published 3,276 articles and papers written by Jama‘at members, which reached 330,000,000 people
His Holiness(aba) said that the Ahmadiyya Archive and Research Center is doing an excellent job in gathering historical information and material of the Community.
His Holiness(aba) said that IAAAE (International Association of Ahmadi Architects and Engineers) is doing great work particularly in Africa, with projects such as water for life and other initiatives.
His Holiness(aba) said that under the Nusrat Jahan scheme, 37 hospitals have been established in 12 countries, and 594 schools in 11 countries.
His Holiness(aba) highlighted the various different initiatives and work being done by Humanity First, including free operations and clinics, charity walks and much more. His Holiness(aba) prayed that they may continue to do great work.
New Converts
His Holiness(aba) said that a total of 6,765 Jama‘ats held a total of 30,755 classes for new converts, in which 118,000 new converts participated. Aside from that, over 1,000 Imams were trained for spreading the true message of Islam.
His Holiness(aba) said that during the year communication and connections were limited due to the pandemic. Despite this, over the course of the year 125,221 new converts from across the world joined the fold of Ahmadiyyat which is an increase of more than 13,000 from the previous year.
His Holiness(aba) presented many inspirational stories of new converts. For example, a youngster from Mexico had been studying about Ahmadiyyat for quite some time. At one point, he had become an atheist. But after studying and some investigation, all of his doubts were removed by Islam, and he joined the fold of Ahmadiyyat.
His Holiness(aba) said that a person from Kyrgyzstan knew an Ahmadi since his childhood. One day, he asked his friend why he didn’t go to the same mosque as him. Later, his friend went to him, and explained the true message of Islam to him, and as a result he accepted the Promised Messiah(as) and joined the fold of Ahmadiyyat.
His Holiness(aba) said that a lady from Algeria said that because of a relative, she began watching MTA. Later she became acquitted with the Community’s great work in defending Islam and helping humanity which greatly impressed her. She also recalled the various narrations of the Promised Messiah(as) regarding the rising of a true community amidst an era of darkness, and she also saw the fulfillment of various signs. As a result, after praying, she accepted Ahmadiyyat.
His Holiness(aba) presented various incidents of those who accepted Ahmadiyyat after seeing dreams and visions. For example, a person from Cameroon watched MTA regularly. Once he was watching the Friday Sermon. He later attended some events and took home some pamphlets. He prayed to be shown the truth, and then one night, he was shown a dream in which the Promised Messiah(as) told him to join the true Islam Ahmadiyyat.
His Holiness(aba) said that opposition to the Community also leads to people accepting Ahmadiyyat. For example, a lady from Mexico had been going through various hardships for quite some time. As such she began searching for God and made some Muslim friends online. She found the local Ahmadiyya mosque, but was advised by her non-Ahmadi friends not to visit this mosque and began saying things against the Community. However she found this to be a very lowly things to do, as a result of which she investigated further and later joinged the Ahmadiiya Muslim Community.
His Holiness(aba) said that there are also incidents of acceptance of prayer. For example, a family was being preached to by the missionary there for three months. The wife said that her household had been going through many hardships over the past 10 years, but the previous three months had been very peaceful. A letter for prayers was written to His Holiness(aba), and when the response was read out to them, they accepted Ahmadiyyat.
His Holiness(aba) quoted the Promised Messiah(as) who said to his opponents that they must fear God and desist from their evil ways. Had they been truthful, then any one of their prayers would have been successful against him. However, the opposite occurs and they continue to dwindle.
His Holiness(aba) prayed that may the opponents and the rest of the world realise and accept the truthfulness of the Promised Messiah(as).
Summary prepared by The Review of Religions