Huzur cited verse 153 of Surah Al Baqarah. The translation reads:

“Therefore, remember Me, and I will remember you; and be thankful to Me and do not be ungrateful to Me.”

Huzur said Alhamdolillah the Jalsa Salana UK concluded on Sunday with Allah’s grace and blessings. Just as Huzur has said before, the Jalsa Salana UK has acquired a central status and is awaited by Ahmadis all over the world. Those who have the capacity fly in from all over the world to participate in it, do so. Some, who cannot otherwise afford to, save up and come here exclusively to attend the Jalsa. They return home the next day after Jalsa’s conclusion. Some wait for the Friday after Jalsa before they leave. Huzur said he personally knows some who do not have the financial means, especially people from Pakistan, but they still come to seek the prayers of the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) that he made for those who attend Jalsa Salana and to meet with the Khalifa of the time.

Huzur said this year a lot of people had applied for visas to attend the Jalsa and the number who eventually got visas is comparatively low to the number that applied. Those whose applications were rejected are writing in emotional letters. Huzur said the real emotion is of those writing in who do not have the means to travel and who cannot even hope to come next year. Their emotions are so intense that not only is it impossible to convey them, reading them makes one deeply emotional as well. Huzur prayed that may Allah remove the distances.

Huzur said in Pakistan Jalsa used to be attended by people in their hundreds of thousands. It was a most wondrous delight. The Jalsas here remind of the Rabwah Jalsas. InshaAllah those days will come when the vibrancy of Rabwah shall return and Pakistani Ahmadis will also be seen been grateful to God with glory. The blessed model of the victory of Mecca will be in their minds when the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be on him) entered the city on camel-back with his head bowed in profound gratitude of Allah. However, the attainment of such a prostration of gratitude and thankfulness requires that one supplicates and prays to God every day of the year with extreme humility. Huzur said despite the distances and restrictions, through the blessing of MTA the longing of those in Pakistan and other countries where there are restrictions to hold Jalsa was fulfilled to some extent.

The deprived Ahmadis of Pakistan watch the Jalsa on their TV screen. Some create the ambience of Jalsa at home by cooking foods that Langar Khana serves. Their longing is somewhat fulfilled but Huzur said his wish to see them is not fulfilled through watching a screen. However, he said, he sees them through his mind's eye. It is the grace and blessing of Allah that through MTA Ahmadis in every country of the world can participate in the Jalsa. The Ahmadis of Pakistan should in particular turn to God in thankfulness for this. Huzur said he was speaking about Jalsa but cited Pakistan in terms of the sense of deprivation people feel there.

Huzur said the Jalsa was organised most successfully and faxes and letters of congratulation from Ahmadis all over the world are coming in. This Jalsa was most significant and momentous. Huzur said he has received countless letters of ‘Mubarak’ for Jalsa in his daily post and these letters started arriving in April after Huzur attended the Jalsa of Ghana. In particular letters from Pakistan, where Huzur said he cannot go, are deeply emotional. Huzur said as he had mentioned on the concluding Jalsa day that with great blessings of Allah this year the attendance was in excess of 40,000. Although in terms of attendance, among the Jalsas so far of this Khilafat Centenary year, the Jalsa of Ghana was the biggest with a hundred thousand people attending it, but in terms of worldwide representation, the UK Jalsa had people from eighty five countries. Huzur said this is blight for our opponents and should make us further thankful. Huzur said many guests from outside the Community, both from this country and abroad came to the Jalsa and some addressed the Jalsa. Everyone generally praised the organisation of Jalsa and praised the Community. While the Jalsa serves the needs of our spiritual development it is also a means of Tabligh. People praised the speeches made at the Jalsa as enlightening. A scholar from Nigeria said he had heard a lot about the Ahmadis but had a few doubts. However, after seeing the Jalsa he could not help but say that Ahmadis practice true Islam. A delegation from Bulgaria had attended the Jalsa. Theirs is the only European country where Jama’at meets opposition. However, the delegation admitted that whatever they saw and heard at Jalsa was the true and real Islam. Huzur said a couple of guests from an Islamic country had complained that they were not given the opportunity to address the Jalsa. Huzur said the organisers of Jalsa should ensure that if each country is not given the opportunity of an address, there should be some representation of regions of the world.

Huzur said two objections were raised by the guests; one that they were not given the chance to address and the other that the programme did not start on time. Whereas Huzur said he knows the programme generally started on time. Huzur said he told them that in a situation where such an extensive organisational arrangement had been made on a temporary basis if a few minutes delay was caused it should be overlooked. At times, the serving of food on such a massive scale is slightly delayed or there are delays in people arriving. Also, at times the speakers take more than their allocated time and as they are our guests we cannot stop them, this delays the programme. Huzur said he extended apologies for any delay caused but the person persisted and as everyone else was praising he said that he has attended many huge conferences but they always start on time. Huzur said he told him that there is no denying that proceedings should start on time, however, the conferences he was alluding to are held in self-contained venues and are also not attended by so many diverse groups of people. Rather these are attended by a limited number of academic types. However, they acknowledged that the discipline of the Jama’at, the level of obedience and said the mutual love was exemplary. They told Huzur that his programmes started on time and his discourses were exactly in line with the teachings of Islam and were most excellent. Huzur said at least this person acknowledged that we have a sense of obedience and our environment is spiritual. Huzur said this should be sufficient for them and their religious leaders that this leadership [Khilafat] is guiding the people on the right path. They should take this message to their religious leaders. They have no choice but to admit that the Community has Khilafat which they are deprived of and because of this they cannot attain the unity for which they are trying. Huzur said if they did not directly criticise Huzur, it was not due to his personal greatness but was owing to the fact that Allah has promised to establish the dignity of Khilafat. Huzur said he had related the criticism raised by some because we should aim for excellence in our arrangements. Generally speaking people greatly praised the Jalsa.

A delegate from Uganda greatly praised Huzur’s address to the ladies on Women’s Rights in Islam. She said it was the first time she had heard the subject explained the way Huzur had elucidated it. Huzur said the lady was probably a Christian. A Kazak lady political leader guest also praised the address and said that she prayed the whole world comes under the banner of Ahmadiyya. Huzur said Ahmadis only raise the banner which was raised by the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be on him) and it is indeed the task of Ahmadis to bring the world under the banner of the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be on him). Huzur said an Ahmadi wrote to him that the delight on the faces of the little children serving drinking water is remarkable when a drink is accepted from them. A guest from Ivory Coast said the same about the young people serving hot and cold drinks. He said if whatever they offered was not accepted they looked very disappointed therefore one ended up accepting whatever they offered which lighted up their faces. Huzur said such are the Ahmadi children who serve the guests with all their heart and find delight in doing so. All the Ahmadis giving duty at Jalsa found delight in serving the guests of the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) and each one of them wished to serve the guests because that is the commandment of Allah and His Messenger (peace and blessings of Allah be on him). Huzur said the mothers who have raised children who find heart-felt delight in serving guests deserve to be congratulated. One of the guests told Huzur that at one point a lot of slogans were being raised and the atmosphere was charged with fervour but as soon as Huzur asked the audience to be quiet, immediately there was pin drop silence. He said he had never seen such a spectacle before. Huzur said indeed such a display cannot be seen anywhere from apart the Community of the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace). Huzur said it is Allah Who turns hearts and Who inclines them to be sincere to the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) and later on his Khulafa. Huzur read a brief extract from the writing of the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) to further expound the subject.

Huzur said one aspect that attracted media at this Jalsa was the arrival of one hundred young men on bicycles from Germany to commemorate one hundred years of Khilafat. Indeed the initiation in arriving at Jalsa on bicycles was taken by Africa although the sacrifice displayed in Europe is also great. Huzur said he felt he needed to clarify this because one day during Jalsa he saw a discussion on MTA alluding that this was the first time so many people had arrived on bicycles to Jalsa. Huzur said in Pakistan Hadhrat Khalifatul Masih III (may Allah have mercy on him) motivated and inspired people to arrive for Jalsa on bicycles. Huzur said it would be good if Khuddam carried this on. It addresses the issue of high price of petrol and is also an exercise.

Relating a personal experience Huzur said when he was studying at Faisalabad, once the day after the completion of Jalsa he arrived at the Rabwah bus station to catch a bus for Faisalabad. Those who experienced Rabwah Jalsa would know the post-Jalsa rush at the bus station. Huzur said he waited thirty minutes for the bus and then returned home, took out his cycle and rode to Faisalabad rather than wait several hours for the bus to arrive. Huzur said at the Ghana Jalsa three hundred people had arrived from Burkina Faso on bicycles. Although Ameer sahib Germany is very protective towards his bikers saying they had to cycle on very busy roads, the bikers of Burkina Faso also accomplished a feat when they rode on broken roads on broken bicycles in intense heat and with little food available. Huzur said on a worldwide scale the Burkina Faso young men come first with regards arriving at Jalsa on bicycles. Huzur said now that this travelling on bicycles has been initiated it should be kept up. It opens avenues of Tabligh, the media covers such events and the Community is introduced to the world. Huzur prayed that may Allah increase the German bicycle riders in their sincerity.

Some people remarked that if the loyalty and sincerity seen among Ahmadis could be inculcated in nations, it would bring about revolutions. Huzur said he wished to say that all this also generates much envy. Therefore we should always seek Allah’s refuge. Huzur said Jalsa is run by volunteers comprising of some forty departments. Among these there are officers, nazims, and naib nazims and indeed mauwins. A large portion of the work is handled by the muawins which includes young girls, boys and youngsters. Some of the departments that help run Jalsa are evident and then there are departments like Translation. At the Jalsa translation service was available for 2,500 people. Huzur drew the attention of Waqfe Nau youngsters, especially girls, to participate in the translation work as this requirement will increase in future. Huzur said among the men there were 3,500 duty holders and among ladies 1,800 and each one of them performed their duty with pleasure. The guest should pray for them all. There were 110 duty holders for MTA. In thankfulness Ahmadis around the world should pray for them, may Allah reward them that they facilitated the Jalsa proceedings to be shown around the world.

Huzur said the workers/volunteers should also be grateful that Allah enabled them to serve the guests of the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace). The Jalsa attendees should be grateful that they were enabled to gather for the sake of Allah and the duty-holders should be grateful that they were enabled to serve for the sake of Allah. Those who attended Jalsa should try and put in practice all that they learnt at the Jalsa and the workers should pray that Allah enables them to develop their piety; all this in line of the verse that was recited at the beginning.

Huzur said in this materialistic age Satan waylays everywhere. Jalsa provides a means of spiritual sustenance and all Ahmadis, not just those present here, are affected by this. It is not possible that the outsiders are influenced by the Jalsa and the followers of the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) are not. Indeed they are, faxes and letters arrive expressing this. Everyone has said about this Jalsa that it had a distinct ambience. This should make us even more thankful, only then would we be fulfilling the objectives of the initiation of the Jalsa Salana.

Huzur said in our thankfulness we should continue to seek refuge from Satan. Each Ahmadi should always keep in mind that as true servants of the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be on him) we should bring pure and pious changes in our practices and raise his banner all over the world. We should have the following prayer of the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be on him) always in view: ‘O my Lord, make me one who is grateful to You, who remembers You, who fears You, who obeys You perfectly and who is humble in Your presence.’

Huzur said may Allah enable us to make this prayer a special part of our prayers and see it being fulfilled in our persons.