The
subject which I have chosen to address you for my opening speech of
this (Mauritius) Jalsa Salana for the year 2019 is: The
benefits and blessings you derive when you attend the Jalsa Salana. When you come and participate in the Jalsa Salana which was first
instituted by the Promised Messiah Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (as), it
is a means to remind you that you need to reduce your love for this
world and increase your love for Islam, and whereby this will create
an extraordinary love for Allah in the hearts of all people who are
present, and it is also a reminder that this love needs to be
increased day by day till it becomes like a fire which burns in your
heart and in your whole body.
When
you participate in the Jalsa Salana [marking your presence in the
gathering and listening to the speeches etc.], you develop a taste
[feel] and an extraordinary love develops in you for the Holy Prophet
(pbuh) as well as for Hazrat Massih Ma’ud (as). And when you mark
your presence in the Jalsa Salana in a continual way, you shall be
cut from all mundane influences and shall become wholly for Allah.
When you become for Allah (swt) only, when you prepare yourselves for
your life after death, this in fact also represents a [good]
preparation for you to leave behind all the pleasures of this world. When you participate in the Jalsa Salana and you listen to the
speeches, then your body [i.e. the congregation as one body] and your
soul shall be rid from all weakness and fatigue. Your physical body
and your soul will remain in a wakeful state and you will receive
such an extraordinary determination which transforms you into stable
and very talented people.
When
you are following the programmes of the Jalsa Salana, you take a deep
plunge in this spiritual bath, whereby all negative thoughts, doubts
which you may have had go away and by the grace of Allah, Allah
through His own will creates such provisions for you to reinforce
your faith as well as your certitude. The Jalsa Salana also
represents such a gathering wherein you derive pleasure of ardour and
motivation; such ardour and motivation which are created during the
days of the Jalsa Salana whereby you realise that this indeed is not
in any way a mundane assembly/ meeting because all its programmes are
linked with the subject of Tawheed
(unity of Allah), and you realise also that you need to attach
yourselves to Allah solely by following the example and advice of our
beloved prophet (pbuh). If we do not create a firm relation with the
perfect model which Hazrat Muhammad (pbuh) represents, then we shall
not be able to acquire this divine love. These two things go hand in
hand. Without the love for the prophet of Allah (pbuh) – so as not
to say zero love, but even a minimal love – thus, the love of Allah
on your person will also be minimal. There shall be much breach in
this love.
When
you listen to all those great discourses, on how to develop your
relations with Allah and the Prophet of Allah (pbuh), and when you
shall learn truthful facts/ verities [on religion], then all this
shall contribute to lead you to the right path, the path of truth and
whereby this will reinforce you and your faith will increase. Not
only that, but also your certitude also will increase and you will
acquire a complete trust in Allah (swt).
What
is again very important is that in the Jalsa Salana you get the
opportunity to increase and share your knowledge with others, and at
the same time, by this sharing your spiritual knowledge shall
increase and you not only benefit from duahs,
but participants also benefit from very special duahs
which have great, extraordinary effects [in your lives] and then you
get the desire to pray for your own person as well as for all
believers and for your enemies as well. From my personal experience,
I tell you that you get such great opportunities to invoke Allah
because when people pray during the Jalsa [Salana], when you put all
your feelings in the prayers you make and ask of Allah with such deep
feelings, then the result thereof shall also be extraordinary.
It
is unfortunate to say that there are such people who come in the
Jalsa [Salana] and they think that it is a mundane Jalsa only and
they attend it only when it is time to eat and drink. And when they
have eaten their food, they leave, that is to say, they do not stay
to listen to the speeches and participate and to derive its spiritual
benefits and advantages. There are many who think in these lines,
especially here in Mauritius where you see that many people attend
the Jalsa on its last day only, at the last hour when the last speech
is being delivered and then they remain when food [especially the
special dish, the meat or chicken briani]
is being served, including drinks such as pepsi
are distributed. When they finish eating, they push away their plates
and leave them on that very spot and they go away. They leave this
work on a small group of people, the poor people who come [in a
spirit of faith and service to humanity] to clean the place, stacking
away the dirty plates and all those people’s litter, as if the
latter have brought and left their servants behind them to do all
their works, to clean the place after them. I know very well of this
situation because we witnessed this in the Jamaat Ahmadiyya in
Mauritius. The rich, who think that they belong to great families, with their ties and coats sit down thinking that others have to serve them and give them all that they need, and there are among them those who do not have a special thought for those poor people who are working day and night for the Jalsa. They do not look after those people to see whether after the programmes they are still working, or if they have eaten or not. There are such kinds of imbeciles who seek their own benefits, and they fill buckets with food [briani] to bring back home, and there are some who even take the Jamaat’s dishes to put food to bring back home and they don’t bother to return it to Jamaat quarters later on. They just don’t care whether the poor workers of the Jamaat, those who have worked day and night - more than a week - for the Jalsa Salana have eaten or not. For those greedy people, all they care is to take that food in large quantity back home and they don’t even give a helping hand for the good running of the Jalsa Salana! You must have an idea how much work there is when the Jalsa Salana ends. Only a small group of poor people, of low-rank or middle-class families will stay to lend a helping hand to clean the dishes and large cooking pots [i.e. the Briani Degs] and will sweep everywhere. There is no discipline in such arrangements. Those who think highly of themselves think that they just have to come and attend the Jalsa Salana, smartly dressed and they only have to eat and drink and leave all the works to those poor families, as if they have contracted servants to cook and serve them!
As
the Khalifatullah of the Jamaat Ul Sahih Al Islam, National and
International, I don’t want that this is repeated in our Jalsa
Salana preparations and organisation in the various countries holding
Jalsa Salana in their land, be it for one, two or even three days.
All Amirs
and Naib Amir
and the Sadrs
and the Naib Sadrs
must monitor this well and see to it that all members [regardless of
their ranks in society] participate also in the cleaning after the
proceedings of the Jalsa Salana. All need to lend a helping hand to
wash and clean the dishes, and keep the place of the Jalsa Salana
clean; do not pile on a selective group of people, as if it is only
them who have to do this work. Be you rich or poor, all must put your
hands at work because all of you are believers and all of you are
equal in the eyes of Allah. You should never stack works on anyone;
you should contribute in this work also.
[I
think] [It would be best] that before holding the Jalsa Salana, the
Amir must
convoke a committee in which all members of the committee must
attend, all Sadrs,
from the gents and ladies sides also, so as to broach the subject of
the Jalsa [Salana] and its programmes, the discipline which there
should be therein and the works [distribution of works] which there
shall be before, during and after the Jalsa [Salana] – all this is
very important.
I know this very well as I personally went through
this. For two weeks I worked very hard for the Jalsa Salana, leaving
my home very early [at around 04.00-04.30am] while there is no fixed
time to return back home [i.e. returning home very late at night]. At
that moment, I used to observe all those who used to only issue order
and who did nothing. They piled their works on me and after the
Jalsa, in the central Amila,
it is those people who would talk a lot as if they have done all the
works, and on top of that – wastage of money – they organise a
special diner “Jalsa [Salana] Party” for all those who have
supposedly worked for the days [and nights] of the Jalsa [Salana],
during its initial preparation days to its end, and when you see who
are invited, it is always those same big families, those who did
nothing, and if there are a few poor families who are invited, you
will find them serving those pompous men in a “Jalsa
[Salana] Party” which should have
been in their own honour. Lots of money wasted in the different menus
to receive the so-called helpers of the Jalsa Salana, exactly like
those politicians.
Allah
(swt) has made me gone through all these situations before He raised
me with a Jamaat which shall [Insha-Allah]
be different from those people, and wherein shall be understanding,
harmony, not judging people according to ranks or family positions in
society, in terms of rich and poor, and if there comes a situation
when this happens, then reports of it should be immediately sent to
me. We are a pure Jamaat, guided by the Holy Spirit, head high and
hands clean. When I say, heads high and hands clean, this is because
in Jalsa Salana proceedings I know how many frauds there are. I have
witnessed all this, and especially concerning those who are in charge
of such and such departments/ works, there are shenanigans. It is
then that they present forward a long list of expenses whereby Jamaat
had to disburse money and they take that money. Others do the work
while they are doing nothing except giving orders. We should beware
of such corrupted acts, and this should not happen in the Jamaat Ul
Sahih Al Islam.
The
Jalsa Salana is also an opportunity for one and all to meet,
especially to meet the new members of the Jamaat, and it is an ideal
moment to increase your love and brotherhood/ sisterhood for the new
members and to receive them well. It is also a moment when you get to
meet your family members whom you do not see often. In the Jalsa
Salana, always remain smiling and show sympathy for your brothers and
sisters. You should increase your love and friendship for your
brothers and sisters. You need to increase your love and friendship
among your brothers and sisters in the Jamaat Ul Sahih Al Islam. I
will stop my speech here; I hope that you have all understood my
message.
May
Allah bless this Jalsa Salana and all spiritual functions in the
Jamaat Ul Sahih Al Islam, and may Allah increase your spiritual
knowledge so that you may help/ serve the cause of Allah and humanity
in the best way which exists. Insha-Allah,
Ameen.
----Opening Speech of the 2019 Mauritius Jalsa Salana by Imam- Jamaat Ul Sahih Al Islam Hazrat Khalifatullah Munir A. Azim (atba) on 01 November 2019~ 04 Rabi’ul Awwal 1441 AH.