Friday Sermon
4 November 2022
Blessings of Financial Sacrifice: Tahrik-e-Jadid New Year 2022
After reciting the tashahud, ta‘awuz and Surah al-Fatihah, Hazrat Khalifatul Masih Vaa said:
Today is the first Friday of November and as is customary, the new year for Tahrik-e-Jadid is announced during the first Friday Sermon of November. Also, the blessings which Allah the Almighty has showered [upon the Jamaat] during the previous year are mentioned. As such, I will say a few words in this regard today. First of all, it should be kept in mind that for any task and in order to meet its expenses, funds are required. Expounding upon this, the Promised Messiahas stated on one occasion that every prophet has made appeals for financial contribution for the completion of their objectives. (Malfuzat [1984], Vol. 1, p. 233)
Even in the Holy Quran, the attention of the believers has been drawn towards offering financial sacrifices from various perspectives and in various ways.
Allah the Almighty has clearly stated that for the sacrifices one offers and the wealth they spend for the sake of religion, Allah the Almighty will reward them for it in this world as well as in the hereafter. Allah the Almighty does not remain indebted to anyone. For example, Allah the Almighty has stated at one place in relation to how abundantly He bestows. He says,
مَثَلُ الَّذِیۡنَ یُنۡفِقُوۡنَ اَمۡوَالَہُمۡ فِیۡ سَبِیۡلِ اللّٰہِ کَمَثَلِ حَبَّۃٍ اَنۡۢبَتَتۡ سَبۡعَ سَنَابِلَ فِیۡ کُلِّ سُنۡۢبُلَۃٍ مِّائَۃُ حَبَّۃٍ ؕ وَاللّٰہُ یُضٰعِفُ لِمَنۡ یَّشَآءُ ؕ وَاللّٰہُ وَاسِعٌ عَلِیۡمٌ
“The similitude of those who spend their wealth in the way of Allah is like the similitude of a grain of corn which grows seven ears, in each ear a hundred grains. And Allah multiplies it further for whomsoever He pleases and Allah is Bountiful, All-Knowing. [Surah al-Baqarah, Ch.2: V. 262]”
Hence, this is the example of those believers, who spend in the way of Allah the Almighty. Allah the Almighty does not remain indebted to those who sincerely spend in His way. Rather, Allah the Almighty provides for them in this world as well as in the hereafter. In this era, Allah the Almighty has sent the true servant of the Holy Prophetsa for the propagation of the faith. And those who believe in him have also been entrusted with the task of fulfilling their responsibilities in order to propagate the faith, spread the message of Islam across the world and make the people of this world submit before the One God. If they [the followers of the Promised Messiahas] do so sincerely, they will become recipients of the blessings and favours of Allah the Almighty. In one of the narrations, it is mentioned that the Holy Prophetsa said, “Prayers, fasting and the remembrance of Allah the Almighty return the wealth spent in His way up to 700 times.” (Sunan Abi Dawud, Kitab-ul-Jihad, Hadith 2497)
That is, along with the financial sacrifices one makes, these other aspects are also essential. Hence, in this Hadith, the image of a true believer has been described. A believer should not offer financial sacrifices simply so they can say to Allah the Almighty that “I have sacrificed such an amount of wealth, now increase it 700 times and return it to me in accordance with what You have stated.” Certainly not, in fact, along with this, one will have to elevate the standards of their worship as well. They will have to improve their inner state and continuously remain engaged in the remembrance of Allah the Almighty.
One will need to avoid vain pursuits and offer financial sacrifices purely for the sake of seeking the pleasure of Allah the Almighty. In return, Allah the Almighty bestows His blessings upon a person in such a manner that it leaves one astonished. At times, Allah the Almighty grants acceptance to even a small action of a person and bestows upon one in a manner that leaves one amazed. This is the special mercy of Allah that He bestows upon a person in this way, through which one can increase in their faith in Allah the Almighty and their faith increases in His words even more than before. However, one should try their utmost not to become elated by the fact that they have sacrificed such and such amount and think that even though they do not perform other acts, Allah will certainly bless them. Even those who make financial sacrifices must look to improve their spiritual conditions. Only then will they become the true recipients of the favours of Allah the Almighty. Allah the Almighty always bestows His blessings upon true believers and countless examples of this are present in the [Ahmadiyya] Community. We do not only present the examples of those before us; indeed, we know the examples of the people of the past and their conviction that Allah the Almighty would bless them but we even find examples today. From among the people of the past, there is an incident of Hazrat Rabiah Basri. How great was her trust in Allah the Almighty. One day, she was in her house when all of a sudden 20 guests came. She only had two pieces of bread in the house. She said to her worker, “Go and give these two pieces of bread to a poor person.” This was an extraordinary example of trust in Allah. The worker was surprised and thought that these pious people are rather heedless; there were guests present in the house and despite there only being two pieces of bread in the house, she was ordered to give those to the poor. A short while later, when she was contemplating this and about to leave – or perhaps she had just returned – she heard a call from outside. An affluent woman had sent someone with 18 pieces of bread with her. Hazrat Rabiah Basri returned the bread, saying that it did not belong to her. Her worker insisted that she should take them and said that Allah the Almighty had sent them, but despite her insistence, Hazrat Rabiah Basri refused to take them and said that they did not belong to her. Soon after, the affluent lady who lived nearby called out to her worker, saying: “Where have you gone to? You were supposed to take 20 pieces of bread to Rabiah Basri’s house, these [18] pieces of bread were not for her. I had sent this for someone else.” Rabiah Basri said: “In place of the two pieces of bread, I asked Allah the Almighty, that He may grant me 10 fold in return. That is why I ought to have received 20 pieces of bread.”
Hazrat Khalifatul Masih Ira mentioned this incident and referred to various verses of the Holy Quran. He stated: “At certain places, there is mention that a person would receive 10 in place of one and in other places, it is mentioned that they would receive 700 in place of one. This return depends on the virtue and the situation at hand.” i.e. on what occasion a person offers a sacrifice and how much they sacrifice, to what extent does the person who offers sacrifice go to.
As stated before, Hazrat Khalifatul Masih Ira mentioned this incident of Rabiah Basri and said: “Allah the Almighty bestows blessings in this way. However, you should not test Allah the Almighty in this way every time.” (Haqaiq-ul-Furqan, Vol. 1, pp. 420-421)
It means that it should not be the case that one decides to do this every time and test Allah the Almighty) Indeed, if you offer sacrifices sincerely for the sake of Allah the Almighty, then certainly He will bestow His blessings.
Thus, those who sacrifice for the religion of Allah and in order to seek His pleasure, are the ones who truly offer a sacrifice. Although the example of Rabiah Basri’s incident seems like a personal one wherein she received some guests, however, people would go to see her for the sake of [learning about] religion.
Nonetheless, in order to complete the purpose of propagating the faith, Allah the Almighty has sent the Ardent Devotee of the Holy Prophetsa and through him, today, Islam is being propagated throughout the world and services to humanity are being carried out.
By the grace of Allah Almighty, every year the Jamaat spends millions of pounds on distributing literature, constructing mosques and mission houses, and other initiatives. The majority of wealth collected from Europe and other developed countries is spent in Africa, India and other poorer countries and this is aside from the expenses they are carrying out within their countries towards these objectives. It is the sheer grace of Allah Almighty that the scope of this work has increased so much that members of the Community are making sacrifices and fulfilling these needs, in spite of the worsening economic circumstances. Today too, Allah the Almighty is showing how He treats such people, i.e., how He blesses those who make sacrifices. Those living in poorer countries and those in developed countries all have their own experiences as they sacrifice their own needs in order to give in the way of Allah.
I shall now present a few accounts that highlight just how Allah the Almighty treats those who make sacrifices and they demonstrate the passion with which these devoted people present their sacrifices. Even new converts who have recently accepted Ahmadiyyat and Islam are automatically drawn towards making financial sacrifices and this is because they have come to understand the true spirit of financial sacrifice.
Muhammad Johnson, a local mu’allim from Liberia who was previously a Christian and became a mu’allim after accepting Islam, says, “As a result of our tabligh efforts a few months ago, our Jamaat was established in a village of our county. The people of this village, including its imam, all joined the Community. This is a very small village that has no proper roads leading to it. It was also difficult to reach there due to the rain. With regards to collecting donations for Tahrik-e-Jadid, we overlooked this village on purpose.” They had only just become Ahmadis, and it was very difficult to get there as the journey was dangerous, and it was only a very small village, hence, they would encourage them the following year. He says, “One day, out of the blue, the Imam Abu Bokai Sahib came to the Tubmanburg mission house and upon his arrival, handed a sum of money, saying that it was from 21 members of the Community towards Tahrik-e-Jadid. When asked as to how he had known, as they hadn’t been urged to do so, he replied, ‘I regularly listen to the radio programme of the Community and heard you last week speaking on the radio introducing Tahrik-e-Jadid and highlighting its importance, I then relayed this to the people of my Jamaat. Thereupon, the members made this donation.’” This is how Allah Almighty places it in the hearts of the people and instils the spirit of sacrifice within them.
Amir Sahib of The Gambia writes, “Efforts were made to encourage donations towards Tahrik-e-Jadid in a village where all the members are new converts. Sister Fato, a 77-year-old woman, took out 200 dalasis (which is the currency there) and donated it. She said, ‘This is the only way for anyone to spread the teachings of true Islam Ahmadiyyat, just as it was done in the time of the Holy Prophetsa.’ She said that it was the only amount of money she had left, which she was saving to buy food for her family (it is not the case that she was a wealthy woman). She donated 200 dalasis and said, ‘I am doing so as there is a need for it for the propagation of Islam. I shall sacrifice by going hungry and this is the amount I am donating.’” [Amir Sahib] says, “As this was being said, she received a phone call from her son in Switzerland, and he said that he had sent 12,200 dalasis. Thereupon the woman cried as she announced to those present there as to how Allah the Almighty had just blessed her. She said, ‘I shall donate even more,” and the people were amazed by this. Over six months had passed and her son had not been in contact, nor enquired about his mother, even though things were not going well for her financially. However, on this occasion, it so happened that Allah Almighty brought about the means whereby she received his phone call along with the amount. This profoundly influenced the people to believe that Ahmadiyyat is the true Islam, and they all made an oath to remain firm in Ahmadiyyat until their last breath.”
The local mu’allim of the Jamaat in the Geita region, in the Northwest of Tanzania, writes, “A young man named Abdullah Sahib pledged his allegiance a few months ago. One day he heard about Tahrik-e-Jadid in a Friday sermon. He learnt that it was the final month for its collections, and that every Ahmadi should try to participate in it by donating whatever they could within their means for the sake of attaining blessings. Abdullah Sahib had no money at the time. He promised that by the following evening he would most certainly donate an amount towards Tahrik-e-Jadid. So the next day, he went out in search of work. One man needed manpower to cultivate his land, so he gave Abdullah Sahib the job. He worked with great effort throughout the entire day on the task assigned to him, and in normal circumstances, it would have taken two days to complete, yet he was able to complete it by the evening. He took the money he was given and donated it towards Tahrik-e-Jadid. Relating this incident, he said, ‘Allah Almighty blessed my intentions and it was His sheer grace that I was able to make a financial sacrifice.’” This is how awareness is also being raised.
There is an island called Solomon Island, which is near Australia. The missionary in Australia writes, “During the tour of Solomon Island, aside from the moral training and tabligh programmes, with regards to the ending of the Tahrik-e-Jadid year, the people were also encouraged and their attention was drawn towards participating in it. There is a woman there whose husband is a non-Muslim and they both run a poultry farm. When the Tahrik-e-Jadid secretary visited their home to remind her about making a donation, she was not at home. The children, therefore, donated whatever amount they had. When the woman returned home, her children told her that the Tahrik-e-Jadid secretary had come, so she immediately went to his house and donated 1,000 dollars towards Tahrik-e-Jadid, upon which the secretary said, ‘I have already collected the donations from everyone and sent off the list having filled it, so I can put this down for the next year.’ She replied, ‘No, I have made a promise to God Almighty that I would donate this amount, so count it for this year.’ Thus, upon her request, a new list was prepared and the centre was informed of this late into the night.”
We also witness just how Allah the Almighty gives back manifold. The missionary of Guinea-Conakry writes that he delivered a Friday sermon in a place called Kafilya, with regards to Tahrik-e-Jadid, drawing attention towards the scheme. He then went to visit houses individually. He met a young man named Muhammad Sylla Sahib and encouraged him to make a donation. There and then he took out 10,000 francs from his pocket and donated it towards Tahrik-e-Jadid, saying, “This is what I have, which I was going to use to buy my lunch and dinner, but today I shall go hungry for the sake of Allah.” Four days after this incident, the missionary received a phone call from this man and he said, “Allah the Almighty has accepted my sacrifice. I sat for an interview for a job as a driver at a mining company. By the grace of Allah, I received a five-year contract with an income of 5.5 million francs a month. So in this way Allah Almighty has given me thousands of times more in return.” He had donated 10,000 francs for the year, and what he received in return for a year was 6,600 times greater. Allah Almighty states that He gives 700 times more, and if He so wills, He can give even more than that. Hence, we have witnessed here how He gives manifold.
Then, the Sadr Lajna in Niger writes, “By the grace of Allah, Lajna Imaillah Niger had the opportunity to hold its first three-day national tarbiyati class and many women participated in it. Their attention was also drawn towards donating to Tahrik-e-Jadid, as there remained only a short time before the end of the year, and they were encouraged to fulfil their promises as soon as possible.” She says, “There and then the women began to present their donations, and despite them being told that they were only being encouraged and that there was still time, they insisted on giving it immediately. Seeing them, other women also came forward and presented financial sacrifices, and in this way, a large amount was received.”
By the grace of Allah the Almighty almost in every part of the world, the women, in light of their numbers, fulfil their promises and do not remain behind anyone. At times, in certain countries, the Khuddam and Ansar need to be reminded that the Lajna members have surpassed them, and so they too should donate accordingly.
The missionary of St. Petersburg, Russia, writes, “A member by the name of Arsaan Baik Sahib lives in one of the Russian states. Upon the announcement of the new year of Tahrik-e-Jadid that I made last year, Arsaan Sahib, who had previously contributed 1000 Rubles to Tahrik-e-Jadid, stated, ‘This year, I pledge to contribute 10,000 Rubles. Furthermore, he said that he was about to start a business. Nonetheless, he fulfilled his pledge of 10,000 Rubles in July.’” The circumstances in Russia are quite difficult as a result of the war in Ukraine, however, he fulfilled his pledge. Apart from that, the value of the Ruble has also fallen considerably. This amount of 10,000 Rubles is equivalent to 178 Euros, however, in light of the circumstances [in Russia], this is a large sum. The missionary further states, “After donating this amount, he said, ‘I will continue to contribute 500 Rubles regularly. (He continued to donate 500 Rubles every single day and said) I am earning a lot because, by the grace of Allah, my business has been very fruitful.” He did all of this despite the dire circumstances there. Following this, he increased the amount to 1000 Rubles and donated this every day.
A mu’allim from Maroua, a city in Southern Cameroon, writes – this, too, is an incident related to how the faith of the poor was strengthened through the blessings of chanda. His name is Abdullah and he is a new convert. He is extremely poor and last year gave half a bucket of cornmeal towards Tahrik-e-Jadid (which is about five kilograms). He states, “As a result, Allah the Almighty has granted me five sacks (350 kilograms, meaning that it increased 70 times over).” He further said, “This year, I was very worried because the prices had increased and the fertilizer was much more expensive, due to which I could not purchase any. I feared that my crop would not have a positive outcome.” Regardless, he says, “I tried as much as I could, and Allah the Almighty blessed it in such a way that this year’s crop had doubled.” He even gave a 70-kilogram sack toward Tahrik-e-Jadid. He further says, “I even tell my family that through the blessings of contributing towards Tahrik-e-Jadid, God Almighty blesses my efforts and crop.”
These are short and brief incidents, yet they are of utmost importance for Ahmadis who are poor. Amir Sahib of The Gambia writes that a member, Pathe Sisay lives in a village and took the pledge of allegiance in 2014 recounted, “I was unemployed before I entered the fold of Ahmadiyyat. I tried many times to find employment, but I remained unsuccessful.” He continues, “When I entered the fold of Ahmadiyyat, I began to participate actively in chanda and propagating the message of Islam.” Now, he has two jobs, whereas before, not only was he unemployed, but he did not have a place to live. He has now also built a house for himself made of a solid structure. People claim that the Jamaat provided him with financial aid. In response, he says, “The Jamaat did not give me financial aid. Instead, Allah the Almighty has helped me through the blessings of chanda.”
Amir Sahib of Indonesia writes, “There is an Ahmadi here who owns a factory and has been struggling. Last year, when inspiring accounts with respect to Tahrik-e-Jadid were shared and the new year was announced, it had a great and deep impact on him. At the time, he immediately pledged double the amount he had from the previous year and fulfilled that as well. Just one week after that, Allah the Almighty rewarded him and his sales started to rise. Similarly, a company that had previously ceased its dealings returned for business and requested large purchases. He says that this year, his company’s income has increased manifold from the previous years.”
Farhad Sahib, a missionary in Germany, writes, “A lady in Wiesbaden was made redundant from her job. She no longer had any income. She had also sponsored her husband to come to Germany but could no longer do so and expressed her concern to her brother. Her brother responded by saying that the only solution now was to pray and partake in chanda and make a financial sacrifice. She gave chanda from the money she received after selling her jewellery. Just four days later, she received a message from her employer saying that she would be permanently employed and that her [monthly] salary would be 2000 Euros which would allow her to sponsor her husband.”
The Wakil-ul-Maal Sahib in India writes, “There is an individual here who is at the forefront in contributing towards Tahrik-e-Jadid. When he was encouraged to increase his contributions, he asked how much he should increase. He was told that he should make an increase based on his income and circumstances, however, he was insistent to the administration, rather to the missionary or representative from headquarters that they should give him an amount. Therefore, the representative said that he should increase his contributions by 1,000,000 rupees. He had already contributed 500,000 rupees. Nevertheless, he increased his pledge and also fulfilled it. He says, ‘I have a property for which I could not complete the registration. I thought that I would face a great loss as a result of it, however, a few days after increasing my contributions, it worked out for me. The matter had been pending for some time, however, Allah the Almighty saved me from any loss.’” Thus, Allah the Almighty does not remain indebted to anyone, neither the affluent, nor the poor; He rewards everyone based on their circumstances.
Once again, the Wakil-ul-Maal Sahib from India writes, “In Kashmir, there is a doctor who is a professor at the Sher-e-Kashmir University. After making contributions and fulfilling his pledge, he said, ‘I have been promoted as the Professor-cum-Chief Scientist in agronomy and my salary has also increased extraordinarily.’ Upon this, he increased his contributions toward Tahrik-e-Jadid.”
A lady from Mauritius writes, “Last year, after hearing about the accounts of relatives in respect to Tahrik-e-Jadid, my husband said to me that we should pledge to contribute an amount that is slightly difficult to fulfil. Thus, we made a pledge of 75,000 rupees (these are Mauritian rupees). At the time, my husband worked for a medical company. In the past three years, there had been an insignificant increase in his salary, however, after pledging this amount, he received a job offer from a private hospital. At the same time, my husband had also gifted 1000 [rupees] to his mother. My husband said that with regard to the interview, he had a feeling that he would get the job and his salary would be close to what he had pledged to sacrifice [for Tahrik-e-Jadid]. After the interview, he was hired and was offered a salary of 76,000 rupees (whereas he had pledged 75,000). He said that Allah the Almighty even returned the 1000 rupees that he gave to his mother.”
A missionary in Bangladesh writes, “An individual here faced a great loss during the Coronavirus pandemic. He also had outstanding amounts in his chanda. When a reminder for Tahrik-e-Jadid was sent, he gave 11,500 takas from his wife’s savings box, but that was only half of the outstanding amount.” Nonetheless, he says, “At the end of the month, his wife informed us that we could come and collect the remaining amount. When our team went there, they contributed three times the amount that they had pledged and also paid their outstanding amounts in obligatory contributions. They informed us that God had fulfilled a long-awaited need; for a long time, they had been searching for a plot of land for a property. When they started to partake in chanda, God miraculously enabled them to purchase a plot of land for constructing their property. Their income increased, they were able to give chanda and Allah the Almighty enabled them to build their property.”
There is a teacher in Burkina Faso who writes, “I had the opportunity to purchase a car. Upon this, the other teachers said that as teachers, they could not afford to purchase a car and that the Jamaat had surely given me financial aid.” He continues, “I responded by saying that the Jamaat did not give me financial aid, but Allah the Almighty blessed my wealth due to the blessings of chanda.” He further states, ‘From my days as a student, I had made it a habit to give chanda and Allah the Almighty has always rewarded me for it.”
A member from Osnabrück, Germany, writes, “There was an event held on the topic of Tahrik-e-Jadid.” He says, “I brought 500 Euros to contribute as an additional amount, but I was told that the receipt book had been filled.” He says, “I went back and gave the amount as wages for labour (he gave the amount to those he had employed).” That night, he saw me in a dream. He said, “You were telling me (I was saying to him) that you need 5000 Euros. I understood that this was referring to contributions for Tahrik-e-Jadid. I told my wife about the dream and she said that we will increase our contributions toward Tahrik-e-Jadid by 5000 Euros.’ He also says: ‘Sometime after this, an amount of more than 22,000 was deposited into my account for Corona Help which was something beyond our imagination.’
A Lajna member from Canada says:
“I was facing financial difficulty and was very concerned as to how I would be able to fulfil my promise [for Tahrik-e-Jadid] and was also praying for this as well. My intentions were virtuous, however, I could not see any hope and I continued to pray. One evening, my daughter was searching for her birth certificate and found an old purse.”
She says, “Before going to the USA (they had travelled to the USA eight years ago), I had kept some money to spend there and whatever had been leftover from that, I had put it in this purse and had completely forgotten about it. When I took the money out, it was exactly the amount I needed to pay my chanda.”
Thus, Allah the Almighty also helps in this way as well.
The president of Guinea Conakry writes:
“There is a very poor Ahmadi lady, who sells very basic items in order to get by. During the period when members were being especially encouraged to contribute to Tahrik-e-Jadid, they also visited her house and reminded her about Tahrik-e-Jadid. Upon this, she said, ‘I am very concerned due to my very meagre income. I took a loan in order to start my business and my income is almost next to nothing and I cannot even repay my loan.’ In any case, they explained to her [the importance of Tahrik-e-Jadid] and also told her to pray. The lady donated 20,000 CFA towards the chanda. This was a very large amount for this lady, who was struggling due to her circumstances. A few days later, when one of our missionaries went to see her again for some other matter, she said in a passionate manner and filled with joy that ‘Allah the Almighty had resolved all my difficulties. My small business has started to flourish and I have also repaid my loan. This is all due to the financial sacrifice I made.’”
Farid Ibrahimov from Tatarstan, Russia, says, “In the summer of last year, something rather strange happened with my phone. After receiving money in my online account from my passengers, the sermon of the Khalifa of the time regarding financial contributions began to play on my smartphone by itself. This did not just happen once, in fact, whenever a large amount would be transferred to my account, an incident like this would occur. From this, I learnt that by giving proof of His existence, Allah the Almighty is reminding me that it is a matter of great honour for me to be part of the Jamaat of the Promised Messiahas and have the opportunity to offer financial sacrifices.”
Thus, it so happens that a sermon comes on by itself or some form of message is received on the phone and in this way, it serves as a reminder for the person to pay their chanda.
A very devout lady from Tanzania says that upon returning from Jalsa, she realised that some of her chanda for Tahrik-e-Jadid was yet to be paid. She could not think of any way how she would be able to pay it. Someone had taken a loan from her and she was hopeful that they would return it and through that, she would be able to pay her chanda. However, the person was neither responding and nor answering her call. She was unwell and due to her medications, her expenses were continuously increasing by the day. She was very worried as she also had to pay for her children’s school fees. She told her children to also pray and as she was saying this, the sound of the Azan appeared and her child said that they should go for Salat and ask God. (Through this, Allah the Almighty also strengthens the faith of the children as well.) The child said, “We do not have any money and Allah the Almighty may accept our prayer and may influence his heart and thus he repays us.” Subsequently, both mother and son performed the ablution and fervently prayed before Allah the Almighty. Allah works in such ways that even before they had finished their prayer, the phone started to ring and the person calling was the one who had borrowed money from them. The person calling said that he was standing outside the door in order to return the money. He then said that he was standing at the bus stop waiting for a wagon, when he heard the Azan and along with this, he felt as if someone was also saying that he should first repay the loan he had taken. And so, he said he had come to return the money. The mother and the child heard this entire incident and their hearts were filled with praise for Allah the Almighty. They expressed their gratitude to Allah the Almighty and the child stated, “we offered our prayer and Allah the Almighty also returned our money.” They then used that money to fulfil their various needs.
Ikram Jaan Sahib from Saint Petersburg says, “I always pray to be financially well-off so that I can help those in need and particularly so that I can pay towards the various chandas. This prayer is always fulfilled in miraculous ways. Last time, I was short of 3,000 Rubles and it was the last day to pay the chanda. Whilst at work, two people came to me suddenly and one of them gave me 1,000 Rubles and the other gave 2,000 Rubles. This has never happened to me before because normally I receive around 300 to 500 Rubles from work. Now, I always give my extra income in the way of Allah the Almighty.”
These are just a few accounts which I have presented which highlight how Allah the Almighty treats those people who offer financial sacrifice in a sincere manner.
Now, I shall announce the commencement of the new year of Tahrik-e-Jadid. The 88th year has come to an end on 31 October and the 89th year has now started on 1 November. This year, the members of the Jamaat have presented a total financial sacrifice of 16.4 million pounds towards the financial scheme of Tahrik-e-Jadid, alhamdulillah. By the grace of Allah the Almighty, despite the increasingly deteriorating economic situation of the world, there is an increase of 1.1 million pounds from the previous year’s collection. Just like the previous year, Germany Jamaat has stood first amongst all the jamaats of the world by the grace of Allah the Almighty. Pakistan has also made a great sacrifice, but since their economic circumstances are not good, they have fallen behind in their position, but only due to the drop in the value of their currency, however, in terms of their level of sacrifice, they have continued to make progress.
Although Germany is first, with regards to their local currency, they have had less collection [from before]. And if UK and USA continue with the progress they are making, they could go ahead of them. Similarly, there has been significant progress by Canada, Australia, India and Ghana.
Some of the other jamaats that have made a notable effort are Holland, France, Sweden, Georgia, Norway, Belgium, Burma, Malaysia, New Zealand, Bangladesh, Kiribati, Kazakhstan, Tatarstan, Philippines and a jamaat from the Middle East.
In terms of the total collection among the jamaats in Africa, the notable jamaats are Ghana, Mauritius (this is also part of Africa), Nigeria, Burkina Faso, Tanzania, Gambia, Liberia, Uganda, Sierra Leone and Benin.
In terms of contribution per capita, USA is first, then UK and Australia.
By the grace of Allah the Almighty, the total number of people who have participated is 1,596,000. The notable jamaats from among Africa who had an increase in participation are Nigeria, Guinea Bissau, Congo Brazzaville, Guinea Conakry, Tanzania, Congo Kinshasa, Gambia, Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Niger, Senegal and Burkina Faso.
The contributions from the members of Daftar Awwal are still being paid by the grace of Allah.
The first 10 jamaats of Germany are as follows: Rödermark, Rodgau, Mahdi-Abad, Nieda, Köln, Flörsheim, Neuss, Pinneberg, Osnabrück and Friedberg.
The position of the local Amarats is as follows: Hamburg, Frankfurt, Gross-Gerau, Wiesbaden, Dietzenbach, Riedstadt, Mörfelden, Rüsselsheim, Darmstadt and Mannheim.
In terms of the total collection in Pakistan, Lahore is first followed by Rabwah and then Karachi.
The position of the top ten districts [in Pakistan] is as follows: Sialkot, Islamabad, Gujranwala, Gujrat, Umerkot, Hyderabad, Mirpur Khas, Sargodha, Quetta and Lodhran.
The areas of Umerkot and Mirpur Khas were recently affected by floods and rain. By the grace of Allah the Almighty people in these areas have offered great sacrifices.
In terms of the highest contribution amongst the local jamaats in Pakistan, they are as follows: Amarat Township Lahore, Amarat Dar-ul-Zikr Lahore, Amarat Model Town Lahore, Amarat Mughalpura Lahore, Amarat Allamah Iqbal Town Lahore, Amarat Baitul Fazal Faisalabad, Amarat Azizabad Karachi, Amarat Delhi Gate Lahore, Amarat Karimnagar Faisalabad and then Amarat Sadr Karachi.
The top five regions in UK are as follows: Bait-ul-Futuh, Islamabad, Fazl Mosque, Midlands and Bait-ul-Ihsan.
The top 10 positions of the larger jamaats of the UK, in terms of the total collection, are as follows: Farnham, South Cheam, Islamabad, Worcester Park, Walsall, Gillingham, Fazl Mosque, Ewell, Aldershot South and Putney.
The position of the smaller jamaats of the UK in terms of their total collection is as follows: Spen Valley, Keighley, North Wales, Northampton and Swansea.
The top 10 positions of the jamaats of the USA, in terms of the total collection, are as follows: Maryland, followed by Los Angeles, North Virginia, Detroit, Silicon Valley, Chicago, Seattle, Oshkosh, South Virginia, Atlanta, Georgia, North Jersey and York.
In terms of the total contribution, the positions of the local amarats in Canada are as follows: Vaughan, Peace Village, Calgary, Vancouver and then Toronto.
In terms of the total contribution, the top ten jamaats of India are as follows: Coimbatore (Tamil Nadu), Qadian, Hyderabad, Karulai, Pathapiriyam, Calicut, Bangalore, Melapalayam, Kolkata and Kerang.
The top ten provinces [in India] in terms of their total contribution are as follows: Kerala is first, followed by Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Jammu Kashmir, Telangana, Odisha, Punjab, Bengal, Delhi, Maharashtra.
The top ten jamaats of Australia are as follows:
Castle Hill, Melbourne Long Warren, Melbourne Berwick, Marsden Park, Penrith, Parramatta, Adelaide West, ACT Canberra and Brisbane Logan East.
These were the positions. May Allah the Almighty greatly bless all those who have offered financial sacrifices and also bless their wealth.
The UK jamaat has prepared a new website, which is about the history of the Ahmadiyya Jamaat in UK. Work on researching and collating the history was being done for many years and now a website has been prepared which includes research articles in relation to the efforts of the Promised Messiahas in propagating the message of Islam to the West. The history of the Ahmadiyya Jamaat in UK is generally considered to have started in 1913, when Chaudhry Fateh Muhammad Sayal Sahib came here. However, the message of the Promised Messiahas had already reached UK and other European countries from the moment he announced he was the Mujaddid [reformer]. The Promised Messiahas published 8,000 copies of an announcement in English in order to inform people of his claim. These were distributed amongst the well-known and highly respected priests in India and England. They were also sent to various societies and religious leaders and this message was sent to as many places as it was possible to send in those days. For example, a politician in the UK, Charles Bradlaugh, who was an atheist, received the message of the Promised Messiahas in 1885. This has been mentioned in the newspaper, Cork Constitution of 8 June 1885. Similarly, one of the founding members of The Theosophist Society, Henry Steel Olcott, received this message in 1886, which he mentioned in the September issue of his journal, The Theosophist in 1886.
A timeline of the blessed era of the Promised Messiahas has also been published on the website, which includes various facts about the propagation of Islam in the West. Also, another timeline has been prepared under the title of Pioneer Missionaries which includes the early missionaries of the community, among whom were also companions of the Promised Messiahas and it includes their introduction and information about their missionary efforts in the UK. There is also detailed research, along with references, on the prophecy of the Promised Messiahas regarding Piggott. There are some further research articles based on the history [of the UK jamaat] through which the youth will be able to clearly learn about the true objective of why they and their forefathers had come to the UK. The address of this website is history.ahmadiyya.uk. Although the website has started, they want to formally inaugurate it today. May Allah the Almighty enable this to be a source of benefit for our members and also the non-Ahmadis.
(Official Urdu transcript published in Al Fazl International, 25 November 2022, pp. 5-10. Translated by The Review of Religions.)