Alhamdolillah, once again UK Jalsa Salana has concluded with all its blessings and while further highlighting the subject of thankfulness. Everyone experienced God’s grace, those present at Jalsa and those who watched it on MTA around the world and indeed via internet streaming. Over a hundred thousand people watched Jalsa proceedings via internet streaming. It is an immense blessing of God that we can avail modern technology to watch and listen to Jalsa all over the world.

Post-Jalsa Ahmadis are writing in to Huzoor congratulating him about the Jalsa and also giving their impressions. Most of them write that although they are afar they felt as if they directly participated in Jalsa (via MTA) and now that it is over, they feel sad.

The Ahmadi world, its sincerity and loyalty is amazing and this is something the outsiders also feel. Some guests gave their impressions of Jalsa on stage which were heard by everyone that how God has established our kudos. Although we are a community weak in worldly terms, but because we are stringed in the cord of Khilafat and are thus united, influential leaders say that they are proud to attend our Jalsa. Some of our guests did not have the chance to speak on stage and some gave their message but did not fully express their feelings. These were feelings devoid of any pretence.

In his comments the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Benin thanked the youth and the children whom he saw serving Jalsa guests day and night. He remarked that everyone served with a smile and nothing unpleasant happened in such a large gathering of people. He felt the standard of discipline was very high and he was taking away feelings of sincerity and spirituality from the Jalsa, feelings which were the distinction of Ahmadis. He also praised the high standard of Jalsa speeches. Later, after arriving back home in Benin, he gave a press conference at the airport which was covered by the national press. In it he said that the Ahmadiyya community had erected a town on its land where every necessity was provided. Adults and children served the guests and promptly provided whatever was needed. He said he saw no one speak during the addresses of Hazrat Khalifatul Masih and felt it was a wondrous experience which he would never forget. When the Jalsa concluded there was no jostling, if anyone stepped on another’s foot they would apologise; people apologised for minor things. He said if his country could progress it would be because of the service of the Ahmadiyya Community. He appealed to the people of Benin to stop opposing the Jama’at and urged them to learn Islam from the Jama’at. He said the Ahmadiyya Khalifa had only one wish and that was to have peace in the world. He said he saw Ahmadis love their Khalifa and their Khalifa love them, he said he saw Ahmadis shed tears overwhelmed by their love of their Khalifa.

A lady from Burkina Faso, who is the president of the higher authority commission for print and electronic media in her county and had held other high offices in the past said that this was her first Jalsa Salana. She said that she has represented her country at the UN in the past but here at Jalsa 80 countries were represented and she felt they all appeared as one with no discrimination of colour or race. Rather each Ahmadi, irrespective of his background, appeared to be a lover of their Khalifa and each person appeared committed to God. Everyone was a guest and a host at the same time. Relating her experience of time spent with Ahmadi ladies, she said that all the arrangements, like photography, camera work etc. were handled by women themselves and it demonstrated that Purdah does not diminish women’s independence. If anyone does not believe this, they should visit the Ahmadis. She was amazed to find the modest size of the office of Hazrat Khalifatul Masih given the global appeal he holds. She felt she had not seen such reverence even for heads of states as during Huzoor’s address people sat and listened with great attentiveness.

The interior minister of Sierra Leone said that as he has held offices in different departments in the past, he has attended many a great conference but felt he had never attended a conference like the Jalsa.

A lady guest from Sierra Leone said that the Jalsa was very well organised and all its departments worked extremely well. She felt Jalsa was an excellent way to remove cultural differences and she also appreciated all the speeches. She felt Jalsa attendees had self-less love for each other and the guests were also honoured very well. She felt all Jalsa workers served with a smile which reflected the Ahmadiyya motto of love for all hatred for none.

A judge of the Supreme Court from the Ivory Coast was also a Jalsa guest. He is a religious person who read the Qur’an every day and made arrangements for Fajr Salat at his hotel during Jalsa days. The poem of the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) recited in the inaugural session of Jalsa moved him to tears and touched his heart. At the end of Jalsa this guest said he felt he was cut off from the outside world for three days and experienced spiritual delight instead. Now that Jalsa had finished he felt he had returned to the world and was contacting his family and friends by telephone.

A guest from Congo, who was an advisor to the former president and is himself going to be a future candidate for presidency, came to Jalsa on the second day. He said he did not know about the Ahmadiyya Community for long but after attending the Jalsa felt that whatever he had seen and heard of our opponents was baseless. He also said that world leaders had no option but to listen to what Hazrat Khalifatul Masih had to say. He was astonished when informed that Jalsa was organised purely by volunteers and said that this was beyond his imagination. He also commented that he saw no police presence at the huge gathering and was impressed that Ahmadis holding high offices did ordinary jobs at Jalsa and slept on the floor. Commenting on Huzoor’s second day address he said he had attended many great conventions but felt that politicians needed to present their point of view honestly. He also commented on how serenely Huzoor stood and gave his address for two hours while the audience listened silently. Such was the silence during Huzoor’s address that when Huzoor took momentary break in his address this guest felt as if there was no one else around. Indeed, all eyes were fixed to the dais from where Huzoor gave his address. He commented he had never seen such obedience before.

A guest of North African origin from Belgium came to Jalsa and rather than stay in the guest marquee he ate with everyone else in the general dining marquee. Later, he took Bai’at.

Another guest from Belgium who is a member of Niger community came to see why so many people from Niger are coming into the fold of Ahmadiyyat. He had come with a critical outlook. He saw the Jalsa proceedings and also spoke with Ahmadis in the evening and also briefly spoke to Huzoor. He later said he saw nothing un-Islamic in the entire Jalsa and was very impressed by the sincerity and love of all Jalsa workers.

Sadr of Tajikistan Jama’at also attended the Jalsa and said that he could not express what his eyes saw and the only words that came to him were: ‘True miracle’. He commented that hearts of people attending Jalsa were filled with love for the Khalifa and the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace). He said he did not see any flaw in the entire organisation of Jalsa. He felt sure that those who attended Jalsa would return home with pure changes.

An Ahmadi lady from Tatarstan who attended Jalsa felt very grateful to God for the opportunity and was also thankful to Hazrat Khalifatul Masih and all those who worked tirelessly during Jalsa. She said everyone greeted guests with a smile. She had seen Jalsa previously on MTA and experiencing it in person she felt very strongly that she had come into a spiritual world where peace and love reigned. She said she felt very fortunate to be an Ahmadi. She was so influenced by her Jalsa experience that she now plans to bring her children and mother next year, InshaAllah.

A guest from Turkmenistan said that it was his good fortune to be able to attend Jalsa. He said it was difficult to express in words what he felt but briefly said that Jalsa had refreshed his knowledge of Islam and had increased his remembrance of the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be on him) and enhanced his love for his brothers and sisters as taught by the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace).

A young man from Chile who attended the Jalsa said that it had been a source of spiritual joy for him. His father was a Muslim and whatever he had taught him in childhood, the young man had forgotten. An Ahmadi missionary gave him a pamphlet to read following which he took Bai’at. He said attending Jalsa had enhanced his faith considerably and he was returning home with the enthusiasm to do Tabligh.

A new Ahmadi from Panama came to Jalsa and said he had learnt a lot from it. He said the sense of brotherhood he saw at Jalsa cannot be seen anywhere else in the Muslim world. Speaking to people from various countries during Jalsa enhanced his faith. He said he promised that he would do Tabligh once back in Panama. He felt that although there were 30,000 odd bodies at Jalsa, their hearts beat as one.

A Christian guest from Guatemala was very impressed by the love and affection he experienced at Jalsa and said that he had not seen it anywhere else. He said the picture of Islam that the Ahmadiyya Community presented was different.

A Japanese lady guest who is a university professor in her home country was very pleased to attend Jalsa and was very impressed with the Jalsa environment. She also commented on the selfless service of Ahmadis in the wake of the Japanese tsunami.

A Muslim MP from Guyana, who is a veteran parliamentarian came to Jalsa and was very impressed by its arrangements.

A lady guest from Belgium came to Jalsa as she was interested in the Jama’at. She attended all the programmes of Jalsa and became acquainted with European Ahmadi ladies. Her stay was at the Jamia where she saw Tahajjud Salat being offered and wanted to join in but could not as she did not know how. A new Ahmadi told her how to perform wudhu and offer Salat upon which she joined the congregation. She had worn jeans and shirt on the first day but was influenced by the attire of ladies in the Jalsa Gah. She asked the wife of missionary from Belgium that she wished to wear clothes like the other ladies. Clothes were bought from the Jalsa bazaar for her which she then wore. The addresses of Hazrat Khalifatul Masih had a profound effect on her and she decided to become a Muslim and took Bai’at. She also met with Huzoor while wearing very modest clothes.

The spiritual ambience of Jalsa Salana affects Ahmadis and outsiders and there is no option for the pure-natured to accept Islam after seeing its beauty. It is unfortunate that our opponents have never quite understood the Hadith which relates to take greetings (salaam) to the Messiah and Mahdi even if one has to crawl over glaciers to do so. Most often the hospitality of children, elderly and the young has a very good effect on guests. This fervour to serve the guests is silent Tabligh. Children offering drinking water at Jalsa, youngsters serving food, others cheerfully and politely marshalling cars in the car parks, young men and women courteously doing their task at the scanning areas all this effects the guests!

Lajna organised their arrangements themselves in every department and did very well, remaining occupied in serving guests. While these matters attract prayers of Ahmadis for all the workers, they inform the others of the realities of Ahmadiyyat and charm them.

Hazrat Khalifatul Masih thanked all the men and women Jalsa workers and said that this year they served in an excellent and courteous manner. Car parking department worked in a very good way, most courteously and cheerfully. They offered drinking water due to hot weather. Guests commented that such courtesy made them forget all the tiredness of the journey they had made. May God always make them serve with such civility! The standard of service of the Tabshir department was also very good. Waqfe Nau young men and women worked very well. However, workers should self-assess and improve on any deficiencies that they realise. The Arab delegation, including 110 people from Kababir, was served in a much better way than last year. Arab Desk and their Naib secretary Tabligh organised this task and he and his team did very well. In general impressions guests have praised the pictorial exhibition a lot. Ahmadis also appreciated the exhibition as it was very educational in historical terms. Langar Khana also worked better than last year and roti was generally liked as well as other food.

However, one person has complained about the food that it was stale and smelled unpleasant. Hazrat Khalifatul Masih said from what others are writing him and his own experience did not find the food stale. It is possible that this person was served stale food. However, Huzoor said he knows this person does not like work done by anyone else but himself and had written that while on kitchen duty in Germany he was once told by Hazrat Khalifatul Masih IV (may Allah have mercy on him) that as long as he was working in the kitchen, he had no concerns. Hazrat Khalifatul Masih said even if he was told this, after hearing what this person has now said, Hazrat Khalifatul Masih IV (may Allah have mercy on him) would have said that he took his words back. Self-praise should be abandoned. Work is always done as a team effort in the Jama’at rather than individually. God has now provided hundreds of good workers who demonstrate humility rather than self-aggrandisement and who fear God. Hazrat Khalifatul Masih said, ‘In any case, I require such humble workers and I also pray for such workers.’

There have been a few complaints, that Khuddamul Ahmadiyya felt themselves, that the security department was a little strict and a young boy was perhaps hurt when pushed back. While it is important for the duty-holders to be alert and vigilant, especially for security duty, they also need to keep their nerves in control, otherwise security duty cannot be given. Khuddam should have a country-wide survey for next year and look for young men who have strong nerves and can also maintain alertness so that they are useful in emergencies.

Another complaint which is right in some ways is that MTA marquees were positioned between the men’s marquee and the women’s marquee which could have been a hindrance in an emergency evacuation situation. Therefore, there should be open walkways on both sides of the Jalsa Gah. Another benefit of this would be better air circulation when, at times, due to hot weather doors have to be opened. MTA marquees can be moved around.

A lady attending Jalsa from Germany said that the organisation was very good, cleanliness was maintained, however instead of the tradition water vessel (Lota) jugs were provided in toilets. She has offered to provide Lotas for the toilets and Hazrat Khalifatul Masih said UK Jama’at would probably be happy to accept her offer. Similarly, paper towels and large bins should be generously provided. Another complaint is that as soon as Jalsa finished, water supply to the toilets stopped. Jalsa management should be mindful of this in future.

Apart from these minor matters everyone attending Jalsa has said that the organisation was much better than previous years and was of a high standard. For this the management and the workers deserved to be thanked. May God reward them all!

Prayers should be made for Pakistani Ahmadis. Tomorrow is 7 September and our opponents commemorate the day by taking out rallies etc. where abusive language is used for the Jama’at and the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace). This year they plan to extend their events over a week, under the banner of Khatm e Nabauwat [Finality of Prohethood]. May God swiftly chastise those who are using God’s beloved, ‘mercy for all the worlds’ for their wrongful objectives.

Next Hazrat Khalifatul Masih announced that he would lead one present funeral and two funerals in absentia.

The present funeral was for Adam Yusuf Sahib, who died of cancer on 3 September at the age of 84. He hailed from Ghana and was extremely keen on Tabligh. Hundreds came into the fold of Ahmadiyyat due to his Tabligh efforts in Ghana, so much so that he was called ‘Yusuf Preacher’. He was a pious person who was greatly connected to Khilafat. He was a Moosi.

The two funerals in absentia were of two recent martyrs from Karachi, Pakistan.

Dr Syed Tahir Ahmad Sahib was martyred on 31 August in his clinic by assailants posing as patients who fled after shooting him. He was rushed to hospital but passed away en route.

Malik Ajaz Ahmad Sahib was martyred on 4 September as he left for work in the morning. He was on a motor bike when unknown persons fired at him and then fled on motor bikes. May God elevate the status of the deceased!