After tashhud, ta’awwuz and recitation of Sura Al-Fatiha, Huzoor (may Allah strengthen him with His Mighty Help) said that:

By the Grace of Allah, the Exalted, Jalsa Salana [Annual Convention] Australia is starting today and I am being blessed with the opportunity to participate in this Jalsa after seven years. The foundation of this Jalsa Salana was laid almost 123 years ago by the Promised Messiah (as) when the first such Jalsa was held in Qadian, a small town of Punjab, India, and just 75 people participated in it.

Today these Jalsas [Conventions, Gatherings] take place in a large part of the globe. They take place in small and large countries, and in rich and poor countries. There is no continent of the world where this Jalsa is not held. Most certainly these Jalsas were destined to take place in every corner of the Earth and in every country as the Promised Messiah (as) had told us to not think of this Jalsa as being just another ordinary gathering of people but rather he had said that this was a phenomenon that is based purely on the Divine Help, for propagation of Islam. The foundation stone of this movement has been put in place by the Hand of God Himself.

So the holding of these Jalsas in the world is not just for the purpose of gathering people. These Jalsas attest to the truth of the Promised Messiah (as). These Jalsas attest to the truth of the Ahmadiyya Jama’at.

These Jalsas attest, with great majesty, to the fulfilment of the prophecy of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (sa). These Jalsas attest brightly to the fulfillment of the promise made in the verse of the Holy Quran:

And among others from among them who have not yet joined them. He is the Mighty, the Wise. (62:4)

The statement of the Promised Messiah (as) that, “the foundation stone of this movement has been put in place by the Hand of God Himself,” are not mere words. Every day that dawns displays new and wonderful scenes of the Help and Assistance of God in support of the Promised Messiah (as) and establishes the truth of these words that he said.

People ask for proofs to establish the truth of the Promised Messiah (as). If the eyes were not shuttered, and the hearts and minds of the people were not covered with a veil, then the holding of these Jalsas in every nook and corner of the world would be a very great proof.

That very small Jalsa that took place just 123 years ago, in the small little hamlet of Qadian, is today being held in all the continents of the world. It is being held in this continent of the world also and is being held in this country and this great town which is thousands of miles away from Qadian and thousands of men, women and children are participating in it.

And this same Jalsa, almost one month ago, was held with great majesty in the capital city of that country which governed over India for a very long period of time and some officers and priests of which country brought cases in the courts against the Promised Messiah (as). They took the Promised Messiah into the courts of law - but today, the officers and leaders of that country and even the priests of that country could not remain content without declaring that the message of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama’at is the message of gathering people together and that this message is the message of love, affection and brotherhood and that this message needs to spread throughout the world.

Similarly, America, which is considered a superpower in the world, its leaders and government officials too come to our Jalsa, or send their message to our Jalsa and feel obliged to declare that the true message of Islam has been understood and heard by us from the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama’at.

So while these Jalsas provide for Ahmadis a means to advance their knowledge and attain greater and higher spiritual stages - and this should in fact be the result; they also serve to convince the non-Ahmadis of the beauties of Islam and thus make them witness, in a most glorious way, to the fulfillment of the words of the Promised Messiah (as) that this was a phenomenon that is based purely on the Divine Help, for propagation of Islam and for raising to lofty heights the name of Islam and for establishing the fact that the faith of Islam is the highest and most perfect faith.

So, in this day and age, when even the non-Ahmadis declare and affirm the beauties of the Islam presented by the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama’at, which is the true Islam, which is in accord with the teachings presented by the Holy Quran, should an Ahmadi not become even more cognizant and aware of his or her responsibilities? The responsibilities of an Ahmadi increase manifold because of these things.

By participating in this Jalsa try to increase manifold your own level of knowledge, and improve manifold your own practical life by acting on all that you learn, and increase manifold your adherence to the faith.

The Promised Messiah (as) has said with regard to the objectives of the Jalsa that by participating in it you should increase in your taqwa, righteousness and fear of God. This Jalsa should become the means of developing the true fear of God in you. It should cause a softness, kindness and meekness to grow in your heart and cause love to flourish among yourselves and you should become an example of brotherhood for all to see. Establish a lasting example of caring for each other. Develop humility and meekness. Develop a zeal and passion for the service of the faith. Try to establish a living connection with God, the Almighty.

During these days of the Jalsa, examine your level of adherence to the Bai’at - the Oath of Allegiance - that you have entered into. While trying to discharge the obligations you owe to Allah, there is need for you to look at the obligations and responsibilities you owe to your fellow human beings also.

The Promised Messiah (as) has said, “what need have I for people who do not take on the responsibility of discharging the dues of the faith truthfully and with a sincere heart?”

So these are very great responsibilities and works that an Ahmadi has to discharge and carry out. The Promised Messiah (as) came with a very great mission. If we are to discharge what is due from us by virtue of having entered into an Oath of Allegiance with him, and fulfill this mission with which he was entrusted, then we will have to ponder on those teachings which he gave to us. We will have to try our utmost to fulfill all those expectations that he had from us.

So we should not think that by just becoming Ahmadis, by just joining this Jama’at the purpose has been fulfilled. After becoming an Ahmadi we have to look out for search and find these things and tasks and expectations that the Promised Messiah (as) had laid out for us.

These three days of the Jalsa, are very spiritually charged days of gathering together, so we need to try hard to benefit from this environment and look for and learn and benefit from the programs and try our utmost to become a true Ahmadi. We have to carry out a self analysis.

At this time I will mention from that list a few things which direct and guide us towards those standards which the Promised Messiah (as) expected from us.

One of the objectives of the Jalsa that he had mentioned was that, “so that those who come develop taqwa, righteousness in their hearts.”

What is taqwa?

The Promised Messiah (as) says about this: Taqwa is not some minor thing. It is with this that one can confront and face all those satans who have taken over a person’s every internal strength and ability.

All these powers and capabilities are satans’ within a person while he is in the state of nafs-e-ammaara, the state of being ruled over by the self that incites to evil.

Nafs-e-ammaara is the state of being in which one is repeatedly taken to evil, the state of being in which instead of obeying and following the dictates and teachings of God Almighty, one’s attention is drawn again and again to the immodesty and shamelessness that Satan has spread in the world. The state in which evil is made to look good and appealing.

The Promised Messiah (as) said this is the Satan that a man must confront that continues to try to mislead and misguide you and take you towards evil.

He said that these human tendencies and powers and abilities that continuously try to deceive a human being, if they are not reformed, they will enslave the human being.

He said that even knowledge and wisdom, when used for evil, become satans. Some people are very proud of their knowledge and wisdom and this very pride itself makes them into satans or this knowledge and wisdom itself becomes satan.

The task of a muttaqee, a righteous person, is to reform all these God-given abilities and powers - in other words the righteous person has to bring all these powers and abilities that God has bestowed upon him into a right state of being. He will have to see to it that they are employed at the right occasion and with justice. And when this happens then this will be the state of taqwa or righteousness.

Then the Promised Messiah (as) says that for our Jama’at, taqwa, righteousness is most particularly needed. Especially when we keep in mind that they have established a connection with such a person, and have entered into a covenant of allegiance [bai’at] with him, who claims to have been raised by God to deliver them from all manner of hatred, malice and idol worship, or total engrossment in the world that they may erstwhile have been afflicted with.

So if after having entered into bai’at [oath of allegiance] no holy reformation takes place, then the intended purpose is not fulfilled for which the bai’at was entered into.

Then at another place while discussing the purpose of the bai’at, the Promised Messiah (as) says, while advising, that the way of taqwa should be adopted because it is only taqwa that can be said to be the sum and essence of shariat [religious code of conduct] and if we would like to convey succinctly what shariat is then we may say that the essence of shariat can only be taqwa.

There are many stages and levels of taqwa. But if, becoming a true and sincere seeker of God, one tries to acquire the preliminary stages through patience and steadfastness then through his treading on the path of rectitude and being desirous of acquiring the truth he is bestowed the higher stages.

Allah, the Exalted, says: innama yataqab-balul-laho minal mut-taqeen; ‘Allah accepts only from the righteous. (5:28)

This is His promise. And He always fulfills His promises. He never breaks His promises. As He has said: in-nallaha laa yukhlayful mee’aad; surely, Allah breaks not His promise.’ (3:10)

The promise to accept the prayer of a muttaqee is conditional on righteousness. So it is the height of folly for a person to desire that his prayers be accepted while he is heedless and wayward.

So it is incumbent upon the members of our Jama’at that, in so far as possible, everyone from among them must tread on the paths of taqwa, righteousness, so that he may taste the immense pleasure of the acceptance of prayer and acquire a share of the increase of faith that results.

Then the Promised Messiah (as) goes on to say that one must make use of one’s God given powers and abilities at all times. He says, so these powers and abilities and strengths that human beings have been given, if he were to make use of them, then he can certainly become a friend of God - a walee, a saintly person.

The Promised Messiah (as) says: I tell you with certainty that this ummat, the followers of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (sa), has been blessed with many people of great powers, abilities and strengths who are filled with the light of God and truth and piety. So no one should declare himself deprived from such powers. Has Allah, the Almighty, published a list from which it must be concluded that we shall not be given any share of these blessings - meaning that some will be given such powers and others not; there is no such list.

The Promised Messiah (as) says God is Most Gracious and His ocean of Grace is very deep which can never be exhausted. And never has the one who is in search of Him ever been disappointed. So you should wake up in the night again and again and pray and seek His Grace. In every one of the formal daily Prayers there are many opportunities to pray; in rukuu while bowing, in qiyam while standing, in qa’ada, while sitting, in sajda while prostrating etc. and this Prayer is offered fives times a day: Fajar, Zohar, Asr, Evening and Isha. Going beyond these there are the Ishraq [voluntary prayer offered after sunrise] and tahajjud [voluntary prayer offered late at night] prayers. These are all opportunities for praying to God.

Then, clarifying that the purpose of the Salat [formal prayers] is in reality to provide opportunities to seek the help of God and pray to God, the Promised Messiah (as) says that, “the real purpose and essence of the Salat is really to seek the help of God and to pray to Him and seeking His help through prayer is in complete accord with the laws and decrees of God.”

“For example it is observed that when a child cries and shows restlessness the mother rushes to nurse the child and feed her milk. The relationship between God and His Servant is of this same nature. But this cannot be understood by everyone. When a person falls down at the threshold of God Almighty, and presents his own circumstances before him with total fear and total hope, and pleads His help for the fulfillment of his wishes, then the Grace of God is moved and such a one is shown Mercy. The milk of Mercy and Grace of God also calls for the sobbing and crying of a servant of God. This is why we must present to Him the eye that is brimming with tears.”

Then the Promised Messiah (as) addresses the concern of some that nothing can be gained by crying and weeping at the threshold of God….and these days atheism and atheistic tendencies have filled the minds of the young with such thoughts.

He says some people think that crying and weeping at the threshold of God results in nothing. He says this is totally wrong and false and untrue. Such people do not believe in God or in His Powers and Mastery. If they had true faith they would not have dared saying such a thing.

Whenever a person presents himself before God Almighty and turns to Him with true repentance - this is a condition, true repentance and this requires that one abide by the commandments of God Almighty - Allah, the Exalted, has always turned to such a one with Grace.

How truly someone has said, “What kind of a lover is this that the beloved has not even bothered to look at his state; O friend, where is the pain and suffering, why is that pain not developing in you, because the one with the cure is present and ready to help and provide the cure. What is lacking is your cry of pain and seeking help.”

The Promised Messiah (as) says that God desires that you should come to Him with a pure heart and the condition only is that you should make yourselves come into accord with Him and that true change that makes one able to present oneself to God, bring about such a change in yourselves. So I say it truly to you that God possesses the most wonderful qualities and powers and He possesses unending Grace and blessings but to see them and to partake of them one must develop the eye of love. If true love exists then God is Most Hearing of the prayers and Helps immensely.

Then drawing our attention to humility and meekness, the Promised Messiah (as) says: It is a condition for those who possess taqwa, righteousness, that they pass their lives in simplicity and meekness. This is a branch of taqwa with which we have to confront unwarranted anger and uncontrollable rage. The last and most bitter stage is saving oneself from this excessive anger and uncontrolled rage and this is so very difficult, even for the very greatest of saintly persons, who have attained to much knowledge of God and are truthful.

Vanity, conceit, egotism and self admiration are born out of uncontrollable anger and rage. Arrogance and conceit are produced by anger and rage. This anger and rage come into being when one prefers one’s self over another. One begins to think oneself something. I do not desire that the members of my Jama’at should consider one another smaller or bigger in importance or begin to develop arrogant attitudes between themselves or begin to look down upon each other - meaning begin to think some from among themselves as being lower than others. Allah knows who is higher in rank and who is of lower rank. Such thinking is a kind of mocking which is filled with scorn and contempt. The fear is that this derision and contempt may begin to grow like a seed and become the cause of destruction of such a person.

If this scorn and derision is kept in the heart then the danger is that as a seed planted in the soil begins to sprout and grow and become a plant and eventually grows into a tree similarly this derision and contempt will grow and become the cause of the cause of the man’s destruction.

The Promised Messiah (as) says some people meet people of high rank with great respect and humility and good manners. When they meet such people they show high morals and great respect. But the Promised Messiah (as) says the big person is the one who listens to the words of a poor one with humility and meekness and cheer and encourage such a one and hold the words of such a one in high regard and esteem and not utter any disparaging words which would cause pain.

Allah, the Exalted, says: wa la tanabazoo bil alqaab baysal ismul fosooqo ba’dal eeman. Wa man-lam yatub fa oolaa’e’ka homuz zalaymoon; And defame not your own people, nor call one another by nicknames. Bad indeed is evil reputation after the profession of belief; and those who repent not are the wrongdoers. (49:12)

The Promised Messiah (as) counsels us not to taunt one another because this is the behaviour of those who are evildoers, those who have forgotten their faith and have gone far away from the faith. The one who taunts another will not pass from this world till he himself does not face similar taunt and injury. Do not belittle your brethren.

When you all drink from the same fountain who knows which will have the good fortune to drink more than the rest. We are all the servants of God and all of us will be blessed by Him and who knows who will be bestowed more than the rest. No one can acquire high rank based on some worldly formulas. In the sight of God the most honored is he who is the most righteous:

Inna akramakum indallahay atqaakum in-nallaha aleemun khabeer…..; Verily, the most honourable among you, in the sight of Allah, is he who is the most righteous among you. Surely, Allah is All-knowing, All-Aware. (49:14)

Then on another occasion while counseling the members of the Jama’at the Promised Messiah (as) said that Allah cares for none except the virtuous persons. Develop brotherhood and love among yourselves and leave off the ways of beastliness and dissention. Avoid every type of ridicule and making fun of people altogether. Because ridicule takes the heart of a person away from truth and takes him into totally unknown regions. Deal with each other respectfully. Every one of you should give preference to the need for comfort of your brother over your own self.

This is a very big thing.

Develop a true reconciliation with Allah, the Exalted. There is no war going on with Allah, the Exalted, so true reconciliation with God is that one should act on His commandments and the obligations on one with regard to His worship should be fully discharged and the rights of His creatures should be fulfilled.

And come back into His obedience. The wrath of Allah, the Exalted, is descending upon the Earth and only those are safe from it who, repenting totally from all their sins, come into His presence. You must remember that if you devote yourself to the fulfillment of God’s words and will begin to work in support of His Religion then God will remove all obstacles from the way and you will become successful.

Have you not observed that the farmer weeds out the worthless plants from the soil and throws them away in order to safeguard the plants that matter and thus insure that his land is filled with productive and fruitful trees and plants and he works to safeguard these and tries his utmost to save them from any and every harm. But those trees or plants that do not bear fruit and begin to wither and decay, the farmer does not care for them as to whether any animal comes and eats them or some woodcutter comes and takes them and throws them into the furnace.

So similarly you also must remember that if you are written down in the sight of Allah, the Exalted, as truthful, then the opposition of no one will cause you any pain but if you do not reform your own condition and do not enter into a true oath of obedience with God then remember that Allah cares for no one.

Thousands of sheep and goats are slaughtered daily but no one shows them the slightest mercy but if a single human being is killed how much questioning and inquiry takes place. So if you will make yourselves like the beasts, useless and heedless then yours will be the similar fate. It should be the case that you should become the beloved of God so that no calamity or pestilence should have the power to lay its hands upon you because nothing comes to transpire on Earth till it is permitted by God.

Remove every trace of dissention and discord from among yourselves for it is now time that you leave off these small things and involve yourselves in great and important tasks. This is my will and testament to you and I ask that you remember it as such and never should it be that you should employ harshness and ferocity but rather you should make use of meekness and high morals and humility to make everyone understand.

Then drawing the attention of the Jama’at to high morals, the Promised Messiah (as) said:

So it is necessary for the members of our Jama’at that they should advance in high morals because it is known that showing steadfastness is greater than showing miracles. They must remember that if someone treats them roughly they should do their best to respond with leniency and civility. Harshness and use of force or aggression for revenge should not come to mind even. This is the standard that we present to the world for establishing peace. And the world does indeed like this. But our own practical examples need to be like this also.

The Promised Messiah (as) says that man has his own ego or self to deal with. And there are three types of this: ammarah, lawwama and mutmainnah. In the stage of ammarah - the self that inclines one to evil, a man cannot fully control himself and his urges, as I have said already, and he soon goes out of control and any kind of measure and falls below the stage of good morals. But when he reaches the stage of lawwama he can control himself and his heart accuses him again and again and reminds him that he has been guilty of committing an evil.

The Promised Messiah (as) says I remember a saying which Saadi has written in his Bostan [Bostan is a book of poetry by the Persian poet Saadi, completed in 1257] that a saintly man was bitten by a dog and when he arrived at home and they saw that a dog had bitten him. There a young, simple girl asked him why he had not bitten the dog back? He replied that a human being cannot act like a dog.

This is what a man should do...when any mischief maker abuses him it is incumbent upon a believer that he should try to ignore it and move on in a dignified manner or else the just mentioned example of a man acting like a dog would apply.

The beloveds of God have been abused very much and they have been put to trial in very extreme ways but they were always told to avoid and ignore the ignorant ones: a’riz anail jahayleen, turn away from the ignorant. (7:200)

The Most Perfect Man, our Prophet Muhammad (sa) also was made to suffer some very severe difficulties and torments and he had to hear abuse and taunts and suffer injury but what did this Personification of Highest Morals do in response? He prayed for his persecutors and because Allah, the Exalted, had promised that if he would avoid and ignore the ignorant ones, Allah would insure his honor and safety and security and these street vagabonds would not be able to assail him. So this is exactly what came about and his opponents could do no harm to his honor and respect and they themselves fell upon his feet having been disgraced and dishonored or they suffered destruction in front of his eyes.

So it is this stage of lawwama which enables a man to reform himself in this to and fro struggle. It is a daily observation that if a mischiefmaker hurls abuse at someone or creates some mischief, the extent to which such a one is avoided and ignored to that extent you will be able to safeguard your honor and respect. And to the extent that you decide to enter into a tussle with him you will suffer destruction and get in exchange disgrace and dishonor.

When one reaches the stage of Mutmainnah, the soul at rest, a man becomes involved in the doing of good and the spreading of charity. He disassociates himself totally from the world and all that is beside Allah. He is seen walking in the world and meeting people of the world but in reality he is not in this world. Where he is, is another world and the heavens and earth of that world is different.

And it is to bring into being this new earth and heavens that the Promised Messiah (as) came into the world. So if, from among us, every one becomes such as can keep control over his own self, then while we will be advancing in love and affection in and among our personal contacts, there we shall be opening up many new avenues of tabligh [conveying the message of Islam] and outreach also.

I am sorry to have to say that some people start fighting with each other over small trivial matters and such things happen even at Jalsas and all such things are responsible for harming the holiness and sanctity of the Jalsas. I have received complaints of such things from here also. That people left the Jalsa and started quarreling in the parking lot over personal issues and business dealings and family disputes and thus they harmed the sanctity of the Jalsa. And as soon as they stepped out they forgot what they had come to do and what they are leaving having done.

So we must remember always that we are not just required to show patience and self- control in the presence of outsiders as the Promised Messiah (as) has asked us but the Holy Quran tells us to show these qualities between ourselves too. The Holy Quran says: ruhama-o baynahum, tender among themselves (48:30)

That you must spread love and tenderness among yourselves also. And do so more than before. And do so more than the others. Great stress has been laid on this. From this point of view also every one of us must continue to analyze ourselves constantly.

Then delivering the good news to those who had joined his Jama’at and try to act on his teachings, the Promised Messiah (as) said that Allah, the Exalted, has said in the Holy Quran: wa ja-e-lul-lazeenat tabaooka fauqal lazeena kafaroo elaa yaumil qiyama, and will place those who follow thee above those who disbelieve, until the Day of Resurrection; (3:56)

The Promised Messiah (as) says this comforting promise was made to the Messiah born in Nazareth, meaning it was made with Jesus (as). But I give you the glad tidings that Allah, the Exalted, has made the same promise in the same words with the Ibn-e-Maryam who came in the name of Jesus the Messiah.

So now you may ponder and think over whether those who, by establishing a link and connection with me, wish to benefit from this great promise be such as are dwelling in the state of ammarah, the self that incites to evil and are journeying on the road that takes to evil and heedlessness? No, certainly not.

Those who esteem this promise of Allah, the Exalted, truly; and do not consider my words to be mere storytelling and no more - they should remember and hear with their hearts, and I again address these people and say to those who have a link with me and that connection is not any ordinary thing but rather is a very strong and unbreakable connection and is such a connection that is not confined to just my own self but reaches that Being Who has made me reach to this holy personage who brought into the world the spirit of justice and truth. I tell you truly that if the effect of these things were simply to reach to me then I would have had no worry or preoccupation nor would I have cared. But the matter does not end here.

The fact is that the effect of such behavior reaches up to the Holy Personage of the Prophet Muhammad (sa) and right up to the Holy Being of God Himself. So this being the case, listen carefully and pay attention that if you wish to partake of this good news and desire that it should be fulfilled in your favor too, and if you verily thirst for such great success as to prevail over those who disbelieve till the day of Judgement, then I say only that you will not attain such success till you do not pass through the stage of lawwama and arrive at the pinnacle of the stage of mutmainna - the soul at rest.

I do not say anything beyond this that you have a connection and a link with a person who has been raised by Allah. So listen to his words with the ears of your hearts and become ready and willing to act on his teachings wholeheartedly so that you do not become like those people who, after accepting, fall into the filth of denial and become the purchasers of lasting punishment and torment.

Then the Promised Messiah (as) says that to desire that one should be reformed and to ask for the strength to be able to carry out such a reformation, is the way of faith. It is written in the ahadith [the sayings of the Holy Prophet] that the one who raises his hands in prayer with full certainty, Allah, the Exalted, does not reject the prayers of such a one. So pray to God and ask from Him and ask with full faith and certainty and a truthful heart.

My advice to you again is this that showing, practicing and displaying good morals is in fact tantamount to showing one’s own ‘karamat,’ one’s own highest spiritual and miraculous stature.

If someone says that I do not wish to become seen as a miraculous, saintly person, he should beware that Satan is trying to deceive him. By ‘karamat,’ is not meant self absorption and self admiration or conceit and egotism and arrogance. Through karamat, through seeing high level of righteousness and saintliness people become aware of the truth of Islam and its reality and they are guided.

I again say to you that self admiration and arrogance are not even meant by ‘karamat’ and showing of high morals. This is just a doubt sown by Satan. Look, these tens of millions of Muslims who can be seen in various parts of the Earth, were they made Muslims by use of the sword and force? No, this is totally wrong and false. It was the miraculous pull of Islam that brought them to accept Islam.

There are many types and varieties of karamaat. and one of these is the display of high morals which prevails and is supreme in every field. If you display good morals then this itself becomes a ‘karamat,’ a miracle in itself. Those people who embraced Islam did so only by observing the miracles of righteous truthful people and were affected by it. They saw Islam as a lofty structure and were not swayed by the sword. Very great orientalists and researchers have had to admit the truth of this statement that the spirit of truth manifest in Islam is such a powerful thing that compels people of other nations to join and embrace Islam.

So if your actions will be in accord with the teachings of Islam. if our every word and deed will be in accord with the dictates of the Holy Quran, and will be in the shape and form that the Promised Messiah (as) desires of us, then this will become a great means of conveying the message of Islam Ahmadiyyat to the world. Just by the coming here of a few Pakistanis or Fijians will not cause the message of Islam Ahmadiyyat to spread. To convey the message to the local people also you will have to make your actions and deeds such as will draw the attention of the people towards us and this also is a great objective of the Jalsa.

So advancing and making progress in taqwa, and the display of high morals, growing and developing a living connection with Allah, the Exalted,

attention to prayers and involvement in salat - these are the things that will be of benefit to the members of the Jama’at both individually and collectively and will enable every such member who tries to attain these qualities to be a part of the success and progress of the Jama’at.

During these days of the Jalsa and in this environment of the Jalsa keep analyzing yourselves. Every Ahmadi needs to take stock of himself or herself self and make an assessment as to how far we are trying to fulfill these expectations and standards which the Promised Messiah (as) has laid forth. And every ahmadi needs to make an effort that by acting on these directions we become the inheritors of the prayers that the promised Messiah (as) has made for the members of his Jama’’at.

Devote a lot of time during these days to prayers and render thanks to Allah, the Exalted, that by bestowing this opportunity on us to participate in this Jalsa, He has blessed us with another opportunity to reform ourselves.

Pray that we are not included among those people who do not partake of the Grace of God but rather we should become among those who are bestowed the Grace of Allah, the Exalted. May Allah bless all of us with the ability to fully benefit from these blessed days and that we may become the inheritors of the prayers of the Promised Messiah (as).

After the formal Prayers I shall lead a funeral prayer in absentia of Respected Sahibzadi Amtul Rashid Begum Sahiba who was the daughter of Hazrat Musleh Maood (ra) and Hazrat Sayeda Amtul Hayy Begum Sahiba and the wife of Respected Abdur Rahim Sahib.

She passed away on September 30, 2013 in Maryland at the age of 95 years. Inna lil-laay wa inna elaihay rajayoon, ‘Surely, to Allah we belong and to Him shall we return.’ (2:157)

She was the grand daughter of the Promised Messiah (as), the daughter, as I said, of Hazrat Musleh Maood (ra) and the sister of Hazrat Khalifatul Masih III and IV and my maternal aunt. So she was related to all the Khulafa from Hazrat Khalifatul Masih I to today.

She had a very loving relationship with me before also but when Hazrat Khalifatul Masih IV made me Ameer and Nazir-e-A’la, a new level of respect was added to love in this relationship and after Khilafat a wonderful new color was added. I was amazed.

She was a most compassionate lady possessing the very highest of morals. May Allah bestow upon her lofty stations in Paradise.

The girls of the Jama’at who belong to the Nasiratul Ahmadiyya auxilliary are under a debt of gratitude to her. This organization came into being in 1939 and this is recorded in the History of Ahmadiyyat and its first President/Caretaker was Respected Ustani Maimoonah Sahiba and the Secretary was Amtul Rasheed Sahiba. She was the one who had urged or suggested this. She says that when I was taking religious studies classes I thought that just as Lajna is set up to provide for the teaching and training of ladies, a similar organizations should be set up for the girls. She expressed these thoughts to the wives of Malik Saifur Rahman Sahib and Hafiz Bashir ud Din Obaidullah Sahib and others in her religious studies class and thus they set up a girls organization which was named Nasiratul Ahmadiyya by permission of Hazrat Khalifatul Masih II (ra).

Everyone has expressed that she possessed a very simple temperament and devoted herself to serving the poor. She was exceptional in her hospitality, especially during the days of Jalsa she would give her whole house for the guests and the whole family would itself move into a store...and sometimes, in fact, put up tents and move into those and leave the whole house for the guests. She would go to extreme lengths to serve the guests and this was an extraordinary trait of hers. Her hospitality extended alike to rich and poor.

She took great care of the poor. She would deal with them cheerfully. Many children whom she reared and brought up have attested that we were treated just like her own son or daughter and sent us for education to good schools and kept us well in the home and got for us good clothes and took due care for their food and drink.

She arranged for the marriage of many orphan girls.

In any case I have seen very few who can equal her in her regard for the poor. If she undertook the responsibility to take of some orphan or poor person in the family then she took care of them like her own children.

May Allah elevate her station in Paradise. And treat her with forgiveness and Mercy. Her children, three daughters and one son, Dr Zaheerud Din Mansoor are all in America. May Allah enable these children also to walk in the footsteps of their father and mother and bless them with the ability to do righteous deeds.