26 January 1896: The Promised Messiah, Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmadas expressed the intention of writing a commentary on the gospel of Matthew, the first book of the New Testament. An announcement regarding this was published by Zia-ul-Islam Press, Qadian.
26 January 1899: The Promised Messiahas journeyed from Qadian to Dhariwal owing to a court hearing concerning the maintenance of peace.
At about 8:30am, Hazrat Maulvi Nuruddinra got into a yakka (horse cart) with a few friends to catch a train for Dhariwal from Batala. Hazrat Ahmadas left Qadian for Dhariwal at about 11 o’clock in a palki (palanquin) accompanied by Hazrat Saith Abdur Rahmanra (who had come from Madras one day earlier) and others. Arrangements for the stay of the party were made by Chaudhry Nabi Bakhsh Sahib of Batala and Miyan Abdul Aziz Patwari at Leel, a small village near Dhariwal.
On the way, Hazrat Ahmadas was requested by a representative of Rani Ishar Kaur of Khunda (a renowned landholder) to stop there as a guest of the Rani. The request was so earnestly made that it met with acceptance. A multitude followed Huzooras wherever he went. An old man who was suffering from a disease met Huzooras and Huzooras prescribed medicine for him and also prayed for him. Another requested to be initiated into the movement. Others asked questions to be enlightened. People gathered at Khunda from distant places like Jhelum, Lahore, Jalandhar and Kapurthala.
26 January 1940: For centuries, several calendar systems have been introduced and used for timekeeping. A Hijri Shamsi (solar hijra) calendar, prepared under the auspices of Hazrat Musleh-e-Maudra, was first published in Al Fazl and quickly became popular in the Jamaat. In 1939, Hazrat Mirza Bashiruddin Mahmud Ahmadra made a committee to work out the proposed calendar; its members were Hazrat Syed Mir Muhammad Ishaqra, Hazrat Hafiz Mirza Nasir Ahmadrh, Hazrat Maulvi Abul Ata and Maulvi Muhammad Ismail Sahib.
This solar calendar begins from the year of Hijrat-e-Medina (migration of Hazrat Muhammadsa from Mecca to Medina) and each month of this calendar is based on an important event of early Islamic history.
27 January 1899: It was Friday on this day and the Promised Messiahas departed for Dhariwal after the Fajr prayer. The warm rays of the sun had not yet fully appeared on the eastern horizon when the large party headed by its spiritual leader started for the camp of the district magistrate, which was pitched on the canal side at Dhariwal. Hundreds of people came there to have a look at this extraordinary man who showed signs and miracles. The multitude had multiplied into thousands. The hearing of the case began at about 12 o’clock in the tent of the district magistrate. After the court hearing, the next hearing was set for 14 February. Huzooras offered Jumuah prayer thereafter.
28 January 1903: At 4 o’clock in the morning, the Promised Messiahas was blessed with a child named Sahibzadi Amatul Naseer Sahibara.
28 January 1903: Karam Din filed another lawsuit against the Promised Messiahas when Huzooras was absolved from his first lawsuit.
28 January 1944: Hazrat Mirza Bashiruddin Mahmud Ahmad, Khalifatul Masih IIra announced from the blessed and esteemed dais of Masjid Aqsa Qadian that he was the Musleh-e-Maud (Promised Reformer).
29 January 1944: Yaum-e-Musleh-e-Maud (The Day of the Promised Reformer) was celebrated for the first time in the history of Jamaat, in remembrance of an extraordinary sign regarding the truth of the Promised Messiahas being fulfilled.
30 January 1903: The Promised Messiahas saw in a vision that Huzooras had the sceptre of the Tsar. He said that he saw in a dream as if the sceptre of the Tsar of Russia was in his hand and hidden inside it was the barrel of a gun, and thus it served two purposes. Huzooras then saw that the bow of the king who reigned at the time of Avicenna (Bu Ali Sina) was in his hand and he shot an arrow at a tiger. It appeared to Huzooras as if Avicenna and the king were also with him.
31 January 1892: The Promised Messiahas delivered a speech at a general gathering in Lahore, which was conducted in the vicinity of the residence of Munshi Miran Bakhsh Sahib.
31 January 1906: The rules and regulations emerged regarding the establishment of Sadr Anjuman Ahmadiyya.
Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad, Khalifatul Masih V, may Allah strengthen his hand, launched the newly re-designed website of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaat after inspecting the new features of the mobile friendly website on 13 January 2019.
The website has been designed with the Urdu Nastaleeq font and is responsive for desktops, tablets and smart phones. On desktops, you can install the Urdu font once and all the text appears elegantly.
Over one thousand Urdu books are available in the books section, which has been divided by topics and authors. These pages have been decorated with the title covers and brief introductions where available. You can also type and search in Urdu without installing Urdu keyboards. An onscreen keyboard is provided for those who are not familiar with the phonetic keyboard.
Friday Sermon pages have also been enhanced by adding full text in Urdu, and the font size can be adjusted according to one’s needs. Friday Sermons can be found of all Khulafa-e-Ahmadiyyat to date on the website.
The new website also features special pages where all related content is collected on a single page. The first page is about the Holy Quran, featuring translation, commentary, recitation, dars, classes and books about the Quran.
The next page features the books of Hadith and the life of the Holy Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, with related audio/video content. After this, the page about the Promised Messiahas features his claim, arguments in support of his claim, Ruhani Khazain (collection of books of the Promised Messiah) and books about his life.
Other pages include Ahmadiyyat the True Islam, Khilafat, Personalities, Jamaat Magazines and Newspapers in Urdu, Response to Allegations, and History of Ahmadiyyat.
Under Personalities, there are pages about the Companionsra of the Holy Prophetsa, Companionsra of the Promised Messiahas, Khulafa-e-Ahmadiyyat and other prominent personalities. Here, you can find the profile of Hazrat Khalifatul Masih Vaa in Urdu, with his photo, link to his books and faith-inspiring articles detailing his day-to-day activities in Urdu.
Urdu poetry is an important part of the website featuring not only books and selected poems, but also in melodious audio format. You can listen to the Urdu poems individually or add your favourite poems from the collection in a playlist format. For those who cannot read Urdu, this section has been specially designed to display both Urdu and Roman text.
Hazrat Khalifatul Masih Vaa said in his Friday Sermon on 9 October 2015:
“In this age, Ahmadis have the advantage in that where Allah the Almighty has created new facilities and inventions, He has blessed Ahmadis with the facilities of television, internet and websites etc. to use for the propagation of religion. Access to the writings of the Promised Messiahas is easily available and we can reach it whenever we want. We can see it as well as listen to it in different major languages, and can read and listen to the advice and addresses of the Khalifa of the time, which also consists of the Quran, Hadith and writings of the Promised Messiahas.”
May we benefit from these facilities and the latest technology.
If you would like to share your feedback about the new Urdu website, you can send an email to info@alislam.org so it can be further improved.
Mail from India is being received here every fifteen days. Letters from India, four bundles of the Review of Religions (English) and Al Fazl of 5-7 October was delivered on 30 November.
The letters were written between 25 September and 8 October. Hopefully, within a few months, mail will be delivered weekly, Insha-Allah.
No wonder mail will be sent and received by air in future. The governments of France and England are having discussions on establishing a system of air mail. Perhaps this system will develop with the passage of time…
Letter from the Queen
After the announcement of victory (in the first world war), King George V and Queen Mary paid visits around London. Countless people gathered in streets, market places and parks, congratulating the King and Queen with hoorays and cheers. As the city is fairly big, the tour was extended to several days.
There came a day when the tour reached the place of our residence and by chance, I came to know that the royal entourage was going to pass by Star Street. The street was filled with crowds of men and women. I too stepped out with a small flag in my hand and stood outside my house by the street. I waved the flag as the royal car, which was rather small in height, moved steadily passed me and I greeted members of the entourage with Salam. The Queen and Princess Mary were sitting on the side closest to where I stood. Both of them responded to my Salam with a delight on their faces and kept looking at me till the car passed by.
The same evening, I wrote a letter to the Queen, congratulating her on the victory and expressing gratitude for accepting my Salam whilst passing by Star Street. Furthermore, after explaining that the Nabiyullah [Prophet of God] Ahmadas had prophesied the war and prayed for Britain’s victory many years ago, a photograph of the Promised Messiahas was sent to the Queen and another one for the exalted King. This photograph was probably taken in 1903 in which this humble one is seated at the feet of the Promised Messiahas.
It was a moment of great pleasure that the exalted Queen accepted the two photographs and her private secretary informed me about it in a letter dated 19 November 1918. A copy of this royal letter has been sent to be presented before Hazrat Khalifatul Masih.
The two photographs that were sent to the Queen had these words written on them: “This is the photograph of the Prophet of Allah, Hazrat Ahmadas who had prophesied the war beforehand and prayed for the victory of Britain.”
King George V, Queen Mary and children Wiki Commons | The Library of Congress
Congratulations to the prime minister
Similarly, a letter expressing congratulations regarding the establishment of peace and the prophecy about the war was sent to the prime minister of the British Empire. A reply of acknowledgement and thanks was received on 18 November. A copy of this letter has been sent to Hazrat Khalifatul Masih.
Edit the Bible
As referred to by TheTimes, on 6 November 1918, the priest at Zion College, Dean Eli (the priest of the college is called Dean), whilst delivering a speech there stated that some chapters in the Bible ought not to be read out in public until and unless some words were omitted or edited from them. The priest was generally referring to the verses of Psalms, chapters 69, 109 and 137.
Since verses from the book of Psalms are frequently read out as prayers in churches, therefore the priest was of the view that these phrases should be eliminated from the book of prayers. Some phrases are given below for the knowledge of readers:
Psalms 69:22-28:
It is stated while cursing the enemy:
“May the table set before them become a snare; may it become a retribution and a trap. May their eyes be darkened so they cannot see, and their backs be bent forever. Pour out your wrath on them; let your fierce anger overtake them. May their place be deserted; let there be no one to dwell in their tents. For they persecute those you wound and talk about the pain of those you hurt. Charge them with crime upon crime; do not let them share in your salvation. May they be blotted out of the book of life and not be listed with the righteous.”
The priest desires to eliminate these words of Psalms from the Bible. However, in the days of war, particularly the war in which both the parties were Christian, is it not true that both sides wanted this kind of destruction for the opposing side as is the purpose of these prayers? Thus, if our enemy deserves to be destroyed like this owing to a worldly dispute, how can it be inappropriate to pray like this for the one who discomforts a prophet of God without any reason?
Nevertheless, it is more than likely that mistakes occurred in the translation, and the actual phrases of Psalms were altered as the Bible has gone through a series of changes due to which it is not in its actual form, a fact that is acknowledged by Christian scholars as well.
Psalms 109:6-15:
Another prayer for cursing the enemy is:
“Appoint an evil man to oppose him; let an accuser stand at his right hand. When he is tried, let him be found guilty, and may his prayers condemn him. May his days be few; may another take his place of leadership. May his children be fatherless and his wife a widow. May his children be wandering beggars; may they be driven from their ruined homes. May a creditor seize all he has; may strangers plunder the fruits of his labour. May no one extend kindness to him or take pity on his fatherless children. May his descendants be cut off, their names blotted out from the next generation. May the iniquity of his fathers be remembered before the Lord; may the sin of his mother never be blotted out. May their sins always remain before the Lord, that he may cut off the memory of them from the earth.”
Psalms 137:8-9:
“O Daughter of Babylon, doomed to destruction, happy is he who repays you for what you have done to us – he who seizes your infants and dashes them against the rocks.”
اللهم انا نعوذبك من غضبك و سخطك
(O Allah, I seek refuge with You from Your wrath and fury.)
An Arab convert
I happened to come across an Arab scholar here who belongs to Yemen. I presented him several Arabic books of the Promised Messiahas to read and continued preaching over a period of time.
At last, with the blessings of Allah the Almighty, he accepted the true faith. His name is Abdul Rahim bin Qasim. May Allah grant him steadfastness and bring others on the right path through him. Amin.
His request for Bai‘at has been sent in the mail for Hazrat Khalifatul Masih. (It has been delivered – Editor Al Fazl)
Accidents on London roads
London roads are fairly wide. There are separate pathways for cars and pedestrians. Traffic flows smoothly on both sides of roads with dividers in the middle separating the two sides. There are alert policemen where the two roads cross each other. They make sure that vehicles do not crash into each other.
In spite of all the safety measures, road accidents take an average of two lives per day. The details of the report issued by the commissioner, which have been published in the Daily Telegraph of 26 November 1918, are as follows:
In 1914, there were 639 deaths and 25,470 injuries
In 1915, there were 851 deaths and 25,867 injuries
In 1916, there were 833 deaths and 23,091 injuries
In 1917, there were 675 deaths and 18,173 injuries
Tabligh to the allied monarchies and presidents
I deemed it appropriate to write letters of congratulations on the establishment of peace on behalf of Jamaat-e-Ahmadiyya to those monarchies and presidents who were allies of the British Empire in the war and came out victorious in the end. Letters were sent to all of them, along with a copy of the book Tohfat-ul-Mulook (A Gift for the Kings) as a gift. The subject of each letter is almost the same. As a sample, the translation of a letter is as follows:
“To His Majesty, King Albert of Belgium,
“I humbly state that I, being a representative of Jamaat-e-Ahmadiyya (great numbers of which actively participated in the war) in this city, congratulate His Majesty and the Belgian nation from the depths of my heart on the favourable outcome of this war which was established for the allied forces. Hazrat Nabiyullah Ahmadas, resident of Qadian, India had prophesied about the war in 1905 and prayed for Britain’s victory, which was, in fact, in favour of the allied forces. He was God’s chosen one. His prayers were fulfilled in the court of the Omnipotent God and this establishment of peace has presented another sign of his truth.
“I humbly present a book, Tohfat-ul-Mulook (A Gift for the Kings) which was written by Hazrat Mahmud, the present leader of the Ahmadiyya Jamaat.
“Yours obediently, Mufti Muhammad Sadiq MR. AS. MSP. FPC. London. Ahmadi Missionary.”
Below is the list of those rulers who have been sent letters possessing similar subjects with the book (Tohfat-ul-Mulook):
His Majesty Victor Emmanuel III, King of Italy
His Majesty Albert I, King of Belgium
His Majesty Peter I, King of Serbia
His Majesty Yoshihito, Emperor of Japan
Mr Raymond Poincare, President of France
Mr Wilson, President of the USA
Dr Machado, President of Portugal
His Majesty Ferdinand I, King of Romania
His Majesty Nicholas, King of Montenegro
His Majesty Alexander, King of Greece
His Highness Sultan Fawad Pasha of Eygpt
His Majesty King Chao Yu Hua Vajiravudh of Siam
Mr Rodrigues Alves, President of Brazil
Mr Li Yuanhong, President of the Republic of China
General Mario G Menocal, President of Cuba
Hon Daniel Howard, President of Liberia
Dr Ramon M Valdes, President of Panama
Mr Phillipe Sudre Dartiguenave, President of Haiti
I am grateful to Allah the Almighty that He bestowed upon me the opportunity to spread the news of the Promised Messiah’s advent along with the book Tohfat-ul-Mulook to the above mentioned 18 rulers.
A letter of acknowledgment has been received from […], the ambassador of Serbia’s King in London. He writes that they are certain that King Peter would take this letter and the book Tohfat-ul-Malook with great consideration. Praise be to Allah the Almighty!
A request for prayers
I request the respected members of the Jamaat to pray that Allah the Almighty covers our weaknesses through His attributes of kindness, mercy, blessings, compassion, sattari (coverer of flaws) and forgiveness.
May our sins be forgiven. May our mistakes be pardoned. May we fulfill our goals and all our aims be for the pure pleasure of God.
May Allah the Almighty grant us a devoted, truthful and reformatory group of people. May we become the leaders of righteous. May our flaws and errors be forgiven.
برحمتك يا ارحم الراحمين۔ اللهم انصر من نصر دين محمد صلي الله عليه وسلم واجعلنا منهم و اخذل من خذل دين محمد صلي الله عليه و آله وسلم ولا تجعلنا منهم۔ آمين
(O Most Merciful, with Your Mercy; O Allah help those who help the religion of Muhammad, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, and make me one of them; and humiliate those who humiliate the religion of Muhammadsa and do not make me one of them. Amin.)
Wassalam
Humbly yours
Muhammad Sadiq
3 December 1918, London
(Members of the Jamaat can assess from the article of Mufti Sahib that, by the grace and mercy of God, the circle of tabligh is rapidly expanding and there is a growing need for further expenses for this purpose.)
Dar-ul-Qaza, which started its journey 100 years ago in Qadian, has now been established in almost a dozen countries of the world.
In his book, Silsila-e-Ahmadiyya, after mentioning the formation of various departments by Hazrat Musleh-e-Maudra to generate ease in administrative affairs within the Jamaat in 1919, Hazrat Mirza Bashir Ahmad MAra states that Hazrat Musleh-e-Maudra also founded a new organisation of arbitration; that is, he founded an independent department to judge between mutual disputes within the Jamaat in which various people were appointed as adjudicators.
A bench of judges were appointed above these adjudicators to deliver decisions pertaining to appeals and the final and ultimate appeal would be to Hazrat Khalifatul Masihaa himself. In these arbitral tribunals, only disputes relating to civilian rights are brought forth, or disputes that are not regarded to be issues that a nation’s law enforcement would be involved in under the law of the respective country.
The enemies of the Jamaat raised a great hue and cry upon the establishment of Dar-ul-Qaza as if the Jamaat had established a new government within the government and shut the door for people to go to governmental courts.
Through various types of reports, endeavours were made for the government to think ill of the Jamaat. However, those of an understanding nature recognise that this is a profoundly beneficial system, which on one hand violates no law of the state. In fact – as is the purpose of the Panchayati raj (Act) – the government prefers that people decide their affairs amongst themselves. On the other hand, this has emerged as an extremely easy, effective and economical path to resolve internal disputes of members of the Jamaat.
This department of the Jamaat has two defining features. Firstly, all of the cases in Dar-ul-Qaza are resolved according to the Islamic Shariah. Secondly, no fees are charged from those involved. In fact, every case occurs free of cost and the community bears the expenses as this is the very practise of Islam.
To stabilise Dar-ul-Qaza on firm foundations after its establishment, in his era of Khilafat, Hazrat Musleh-e-Maudra listened to disputes in person and penned detailed verdicts, taking out time from his countless engagements. For example, he wrote at one instance alongside his decision, “I have read the record of the case repeatedly and arrived at such a conclusion”. Then, at another instance, he wrote, “I have probed into the record of the case”.
Where this is evidence of the immense affection and tenderness of heart which a true Khalifa holds for his Jamaat, at the same time it also portrays their great heights of justice and fair play. Similarly, the guidelines he delivered in light of the Quran, Sunnah and the teachings of the Promised Messiahas to furnish justice, can undoubtedly act as a beacon to provide the world with the best judicial system.
Al Hakam (Urdu) has preserved a statement of Hazrat Musleh-e-Maudra regarding the system of arbitration, in the issue of 7 January 1919:
“The responsibility of the adjudicators is to deliver verdicts, and of the chief adjudicator is to listen to the appeal. Appeals against all of their decisions can be made to the Khalifa of the time, except those decisions in which the Khalifa is himself belongs to a party. In such a situation, the verdict of the chief adjudicator will be final and decisive.”
He further mentioned:
“There should be adjudicators situated in different areas who have a link with the chief adjudicator. They will have the power to deliver verdicts in respect to those particular disputes regarding which one does not need to be acquainted with matters related to Shariah or matters in which only simple affairs of the Shariah are needed. They will have to take an exam, having educated themselves of the Islamic methods of presenting witnesses, evidence and of simple religious affairs.”
Mahasha Khushhal Chand, the editor of the Arya Gazette wrote in an issue dated 19 May 1921, “Ahmadi’s possess their own judiciary and are not required to go to any governmental court for cases”.
After Hazrat Musleh-e-Maudra, Hazrat Mirza Nasir Ahmadrh supervised this department and in 1966, said affectionately:
“In his final few years, Hazrat Musleh-e-Maud, Khalifatul Masih IIra could not hear the appeals against the decisions of the Qaza board due to his illness. This was why the verdicts of the board used to be decisive, but now appeals in respect to every verdict of the board can be made to me, even if the duration for the appeal has elapsed, of which only I shall make the final decision.”
During the era of the third Khilafat, the launch of Qaza was brought into effect for the first time in the United Kingdom – aside from Qadian and Rabwah – and Hazrat Sir Chaudhry Muhammad Zafrulla Khanra was appointed the first Sadr Qaza Board of the UK. Afterwards, the names of those who served as Sadr Qaza Board are Anwar Kahlon Sahib, Aftab Khan Sahib, Dr Hamidullah Khan Sahib etc. whereas this service is presently entrusted to Dr Zahid Khan Sahib.
In the era of the fourth Khilafat, Dar-ul-Qaza also gained the attention, affection and guidance of the Khalifa of the time. In this era, Qaza was established in Canada, Denmark, Germany and the USA.
Many people have partaken in serving in Dar-ul-Qaza, preserving its records and conveying the verdicts and instructions of the Khulafa of Ahmadiyyat to the forthcoming generations. A few names shall be presented for prayers.
Maulana Bakhsh Sahib, assistant of Hazrat Musleh-e-Maudra – He was entrusted with the responsibility of presenting cases. After the hearing of a case, he would present the decision in written form, in light of guidance from Huzoorra. After Huzoorra signed the copy, he would deliver the decision to both parties and send a record to the Qaza department. Huzoorra had also appointed him as a special adjudicator to research into some issues.
Hazrat Maulvi Sher Alira, Hazrat Mir Muhammad Ishaqra, Maulvi Fazluddin Sahib, Maulvi Abdur Rahman Jatt Fazil Sahib, Maulvi Jalaluddin Shams Sahib, Mirza Abdul Haq Sahib, Sheikh Bashir Ahmad Sahib, Chaudhry Mushtaq Ahmad Sahib, Khalil Ahmad Nasir Sahib, Maulvi Abul Ata Sahib Jalandhri, Chaudhry Abdur Rahman Sahib Advocate, Muhammad Ahmed Jalil Sahib, Maulana Nazir Ahmad Mubasher Sahib, Hazrat Sheikh Muhammad Ahmad Mazhar Sahib, Syed Mir Mahmood Ahmad Nasir Sahib, Syed Mir Masud Ahmad Sahib, Syed Qasim Shah Sahib, Syed Qamar Suleiman Sahib, Syed Khalid Ahmed Shah Sahib, Syed Mahmood Ahmed Shah Sahib, Mirza Fazl Ahmad Sahib, Syed Jalid Ahmad Sahib, Syed Mir Mahmood Ahmad Sahib, Maulana Dost Muhammad Shahid Sahib, Munir Ahmad Arif Sahib, Chaudhry Rashiduddin Sahib, Agha Saifullah Sahib, Mirza Khurshid Ahmad Sahib, Quraishi Nur-ul-Haq Tanvir Sahib, Chaudhry Arshad Ahmad Virk Sahib, Waqar Ahmad Khan Sahib, Sardar Muhammad Rana Sahib, Maulvi Tajuddin Sahib and Rashid Ahmed Chughtai Sahib.
In the present age, on the other hand, Hafiz Rashed Javed Sahib Nazim Dar-ul-Qaza Rabwah, Chaudhry Naseer Ahmad Sahib Naib Nazim Dar-ul-Qaza Rabwah, Danish Ahmad Khan Sahib Naib Nazim Dar-ul-Qaza Rabwah and Malik Naseer Ahmad Azhar Sahib central adjudicator are also gaining the opportunity to partake in this valuable service.
Under the present administrative structure of Dar-ul-Qaza, after the hearing of family and trade disputes respectively by the preliminary adjudicators, higher adjudicators and by the board, the matter is presented to Hazrat Khalifatul Masih.
In this manner, justice is being delivered to Ahmadis around the world. A brief overview of Dar-ul-Qaza shall now be presented in accordance to countries aside from Pakistan.
India: After the partition of the continent in 1947, Dar-ul-Qaza Qadian formally commenced their duties once again. The current Nazim is Zainuddin Hamid Sahib who has been appointed since 2007.
Canada: In 1983, its formal launch was brought into effect.
USA: Its establishment was in 1984 and the first Sadr of the Qaza board was Sahibzada Mirza Muzaffar Ahmad Sahib.
Germany: It was formally launched in 1990 and the first Sadr of the Qaza board was Masud Ahmed Dehlvi Sahib.
Denmark: It was established in 1999.
Australia: In 2007, its launch was brought into effect.
Mauritius: It was established in 2013.
Indonesia: It was launched in 2014.
The expansion and stability which Dar-ul-Qaza department has gained through the supervision, guidance and attention of Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad, Khalifatul Masih Vaa and for this organisation to have reached a milestone of 100 years in his blessed era is surely a blessing among the many blessings of this era.
Jamaat-e-Ahmadiyya Malaysia successfully held their 33rd Jalsa Salana from 21 to 23 December 2018. The theme was The Holy Prophet Muhammadsa as Rahmatun-lil-Alamin (Mercy for Mankind).
The Jalsa was inaugurated by Amir Jamaate-Ahmadiyya Malaysia, Saripudin Bujing Sahib. During his opening address, he read out a special message and prayer from Hazrat Amirul Momineen, Khalifatul Masih Vaa for the success of this Jalsa.
The total attendance for this year’s Jalsa was 5,084 comprising of guests from Malaysia, Pakistan, Indonesia, Singapore, Cambodia and Germany. The continent of Africa was represented by guests from Nigeria and Benin.
The Jalsa was filled with various discourses delivered by missionaries from Malaysia, Indonesia and Cambodia, all of which increased the spirituality of the participants.
A number of invited guests were also present who were deeply touched by the efforts carried out by the Jamaat to spread the message of love and peace. They were also impressed with the flawless organisation of the Jalsa, the orderly manner of the whole programme as well as the high standard of cleanliness throughout the 3-day event.
Quite a number of the participants were of the view that the standard of Jalsa this year was on par with other countries such as the UK.
Over all the Jalsa was very successful and the guests were all satisfied as was the desire of the Promised Messiahas.
Lajna Imaillah Canada had the privilege of holding the Women’s Health Symposium on Saturday, 12 January 2019, which took place in Aiwan-e-Tahir, on the premises of Baitul Islam Mosque, Toronto.
The event was organised and arranged by the department of Sehat-e-Jismani (physical wellbeing) Canada.
The organisers started planning the symposium three months in advance by setting up the agenda, topics, layout of the event, gifts and much more.
By the grace of Allah the Almighty, the programme started at 2:30pm with the recitation of the Holy Quran by Sunbal Mohammad Sahiba. National Secretary Sehat-e-Jismani Shahida Khan Sahiba then delivered the opening address of the symposium.
The first presentation titled In Harm’s Way was given by Dr Noreen Sohail Sahiba who talked about substance abuse. She explained substance abuse, what legal and illegal drugs are, what are the causes and risks related to substance abuses, how youth are especially vulnerable to it, health issues and complications associated with it, the impact of legalisation of marijuana and how to steer clear from it.
Next on the agenda was an interactive quiz. The main topic was the use of cannabis – its facts, its legalisation, its health effects and various myths and facts related to it. Whoever wanted to participate raised their hands and answered the questions and received small prizes.
The game was followed by physical exercise which comprised of a small yoga session conducted by Dayna Gallaway and Emma Gallaway, two yoga instructors. They taught various positions and explained that yoga does not have to be a physical process, rather it can also be a mental process during which one relaxes and focuses on breathing.
The second presentation titled Destroy What Destroys You was delivered by Dr Maham Faiez Sahiba in which she talked about addictions. She mentioned the Hadith of the Holy Prophet Muhammadsa where he is reported to have said: “If a large amount of anything causes intoxication, even a small amount of it is forbidden.”
Drugs, video games or anything else that becomes a problem should be avoided at all costs, she said. She went on to explain the symptoms of an addiction, how to recognise it in someone, how to help them as a parent and how to get professional help. She concluded her presentation by advising to all that in order to be safe from the ills of society, the first and foremost thing to do is to be patient, pray to Allah the Almighty and attach ones children to the Jamaat and Khilafat.
The last presentation was delivered by Sergeant Alice Tsang from York Regional Police on Social Media and Cyberbullying. She gave an insightful presentation on internet safety and responsibility.
The concluding remarks were delivered by Sadr Lajna Imaillah Canada Amatul Salam Malik Sahiba. She explained that Islam forbade the use of intoxicants because they have a direct effect on our physical, mental and spiritual health. In order to increase spirituality, we need to keep a close connection with God, His prophets and the Khulafa.
She further emphasised the importance of building a good relationship with our children and to be good role models for them. In the present day, social media and the internet play a pivotal part in our lives, which is why it is crucial to keep with the times so that parents can better guide their children.
National President Lajna Imaillah Canada then concluded the symposium with dua.
Participants were then invited to visit various health related booths that were set up. The booths included:
Snack booths
Healthy eating education booth
Blood pressure and blood sugar booths
Osteoporosis booth
Addiction education booth
Games booth
Booth dedicated for seniors
Marijuana education booth
More than 850 members participated in the event, including eight non-Ahmadi guests. Members were given refreshments at the end of the programme.
On Sunday, 13 January 2019, the local chapter of Majlis Khuddam-ul-Ahmadiyya Nairobi held their Jalsa Sirat-un-Nabi at their local mosque in the Nairobi headquarters.
The event started at 11am with recitation of the Holy Quran by Mualim Nasir Hadji Sahib followed by Khuddam Pledge by Tahir Ahmad Machengo Sahib, Qaid Nairobi Majlis. A qaseeda (Arabic poem) written by Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmadas in praise of Holy Prophet Muhammadsa was recited by Asman Libuyi Sahib and translated into Swahili (the local language).
Qaid Sahib then welcomed members and reminded them to adhere to the pledge of Khuddam and to practice it.
The first speech for the event was by Athar Ahmad Bhatti sahib titled, The Holy Prophet’ssa Simple Life. This was followed by another qaseeda written by Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmadas in praise of the Holy Prophetsa recited by Shabbir Chanzu Sahib and Asman Libuyi Sahib.
A second speech by Maulana Sheikh Asif Toheed was delivered on The Holy Prophet’ssa Connection with his Companionsra. The event adjourned with silent prayer by Sheikh Basharat Malik Sahib.
Lajna Imaillah Mexico held their first national Ijtema in Merida on 30 December 2018.
A total of 68 women and children were present at the Ijtema, and of this number, 90% were Mexican, while the rest included Lajna from Pakistan, Canada, USA and Belize.
The Ijtema started with the recitation of the Holy Quran and translation of the verses in Spanish. After this, an Urdu poem of the Promised Messiahas was recited and the Spanish translation was presented after.
Following this, a lecture was given by Amir Sahib Guatemala on the importance of Lajna Imaillah and Majlis Khuddam-ul-Ahmadiyya, which was listened to attentively by Lajna through loudspeakers. Therafter, all Lajna members wrote letters to Hazrat Khalifatul Masihaa, and for many of the Lajna, this was the first time they were writing a letter to Huzooraa. These letters will be personally presented to Huzooraa by a missionary of Mexico, Insha-Allah.
Competitions at the Ijtema consisted of tilawat, memorisation of the Quran, memorisation of prayers, speech competition and memorisation of Salat with Spanish translation.
A total of 28 Mexican Lajna members participated in these competitions for the first time ever. After the completion of the competitions, Zuhr and Asr prayers were offered followed by lunch.
Before the concluding session, Lajna and children enjoyed extracurricular activities such as Chinese whispers, obstacle race, three-legged race and other recreational activities.
The Ijtema concluded with an awards ceremony, questions and answers and dua.
Almost everyone feels down from time to time; getting a bad grade, having an argument with a dear one, not achieving a positive appraisal at work, disagreements with siblings and many other life instances that pose a demand or pressure on you can make you feel sad.
Most times, these negative thoughts and feelings last for a couple of days and fade away. They usually don’t seem to disrupt or extensively impair your day-to-day activities, and most of us feel fine after we have had a healthy constructive conversation or a good laugh with a family member, colleague or friend.
However, if you suffer from depression, these negative thoughts and feelings seem to be leeched onto you, sucking the fun out of your life. The negativity does not seem to improve or subside and may carry on for months perhaps years and definitely causes significant distress or impairment in social, occupational and other important areas of functioning.
Depression is more than just sadness; it has been called the world’s number one public mental health problem. Some people experience a few symptoms and some experience many.
The severity of symptoms also vary in individuals over time. Some of these signs and symptoms include feeling a markedly diminished interest or pleasure in almost all activities, feeling gloomy, guilty, melancholic, worthless and hopelessness most of the day, almost everyday; negative thinking, significant weight loss when not dieting or weight gain (i.e. a change of more than 5% of body weight in a month), decreased or increased appetite, insomnia (sleeplessness) or hypersomnia (excessive sleepiness) nearly every day, psychomotor agitation or retardation (i.e. restlessness or sluggishness), inability to concentrate, recurrent thoughts of death and suicidal ideations, or suicide attempts.
The presence of five or more of the above symptoms over a 2-week period and representing a negative change from previous functioning will indicate the onset of this mental condition.
Depression is a heterogeneous problem which has numerous risk factors including a combination of genetic, environmental and psychosocial factors. It can appear at any age, but the likelihood of onset in adolescence is a lot higher.
Major life changes, trauma, sexual abuse, chronic stress and substance abuse, pregnancy, chronic physical illnesses like cancer, stroke and diabetes can be among causes. For many individuals, life influences and “how” they interpret it appears to be the most important cause. In this article, we will be mainly looking into the cognitive reactions related to depression.
You feel the way you think
Depression is an illness that mostly results from thoughts that are distorted subsequently in some way and every bad feeling is the result of negative thinking. Illogical pessimistic attitudes play a central role in the development and continuation of all depressive symptoms.
Over 30 years of research confirms that people with depression tend to have more negative thoughts leading to being depressed. These thoughts are the most frequently overlooked symptoms of depression. These cognitions contain the key to relief and are therefore the most important symptom.
Emotions and actions result entirely from the way you interpret things. It is an obvious neurological fact that before you can experience any event, you must process it with your mind and give it a meaning, before you can feel or react to it.
The following is list of some cognitive distortions (ways in which our mind convinces us of something that is not really true) that form the basis of our depressive state:
All-or-nothing thinking: In this cognitive distortion, we see things in black or white categories. For instance, if your performance falls short of perfect, you see yourself as a total failure. There is no middle ground in this type of thinking
Overgeneralisation: In this mind trap, you see a single negative event as a never ending pattern of defeat
Mental filter: You pick out a single negative detail about an issue or situation and dwell on it
Disqualifying the positive: You don’t believe in positive experiences and insist that they “don’t count” for some reason or the other
Jumping to conclusions: Without definite facts that convincingly support ones conclusion, you jump to negative conclusions
Magnification (catastrophising) and minimisation: Also called “binocular trick” because you are either exaggerating things or belittling them. It usually occurs when you look into your own imperfections and mistakes and exaggerate their importance and minimise your good points
Emotional reasoning: You assume that if you are feeling negative, then that must be the way things are: “I feel it, therefore it must be true.” One usual side-effect of emotional reasoning is procrastination
“Should” statements: You try to motivate yourself by telling yourself you should be doing something, but overtime these statements can cause you to feel pressured and demotivated
Labelling and mislabelling: This is a more serious form of overgeneralisation. When making a mistake, you attach a negative label to yourself, such as feeling like “a loser”. This is similar when someone else upsets or annoys you and then you attach a negative label to them
Personalisation: This is when you start to blame yourself for everything and take responsibility of others’ mistakes and failures, when there is no absolute need to
Treatments
For milder forms of depression, I would request the reader to mindfully and thoughtfully identify their thoughts and respective feelings and reactions. Jot down these thoughts in a diary, using a “triple column technique”. In the left column, write down the negative thoughts that drift in your mind; in the middle column, identify your distortions and in the right hand column, write down more realistic interpretations or rational responses to the specific distortions.
This daily written exercise will accelerate your personal growth and shall hopefully provide some substantial emotional relief.
Also try practicing meditation, which in the best form would be spiritual closeness to God Almighty through offering the daily prayers (Salat) with sincerity and hope. Spiritually inclined individuals forgive and forget any negative or cruel event quickly, thereby saving themselves from chronic stress, which can be one of the causes of depression.
It is very important and crucial that you practice positive self-talk daily and surround yourself with people who encourage and motivate you.
Keeping a gratitude journal or a record of all positive, rewarding and pleasant experiences of life can help. Reading or recalling it every night before going to bed can increase thankfulness and joy.
Including moderate exercises at least six days a week has a great positive and beneficial affect in mental health. Exploring nature and getting some fresh air often can feel rewarding. Do what you like to do more often and try to get more sunshine as production of vitamin D in the body reduces depressive symptoms.
Do not isolate yourself for long periods and do activities that make you feel better.
When depression is moderate to severe, it can be crippling and can seize your ability to think and reason clearly. In these cases I would recommend you see a mental healthcare professional for an entire mental status examination as soon as possible.
Fortunately, you don’t have to live with depression; you can always show it a way out. Even the most severe cases are treatable with help from medications and psychotherapy.
If you know anyone with depression, please offer emotional support which involves patience, understanding, affection, empathy and encouragement. Engage the depressed person in conversation and listen carefully. Invite him or her for walks or outings. Do not ignore signs of depressions; if a person engages in any suicidal ideations or attempts, immediately seek help on behalf of that person.
The most crucial thing is to offer hope! This eradicates almost every existing problem.
(Please always consult a doctor or specialist to diagnose health conditions and follow the advised plan of a qualified doctor.)
Majlis Khuddam-ul-Ahmadiyya Nigeria, Ondo District organised a youth peace symposium and an awards ceremony on 7 January 2019.
The symposium, with the theme Peaceful Coexistence: A Veritable Tool for Economic and Social-Cultural Development, was held at the Adegbemile Cultural Centre in Akure, Ondo State.
The guest lecturer, Mualim Muhammad Waiz Apooyin in his lecture condemned the pitiable condition of society in relation to the disunity, nepotistic rivalry, sociocultural enmity and lack of peaceful coexistence among the culturally diverse and multi-ethnic Nigerian society. However, he urged policymakers and most importantly all Nigerians at large to foster the much-craved national cohesion which would usher peaceful coexistence and ultimately culminate into a glorious economic and sociocultural development.
Ondo State Governor Arakunrin Oluwarotimi Akeredolu represented by his Senior Special Assistant on Infrastructure Engineering Aminu Abdul Rahman thanked the members of Majlis Khuddam-ul-Ahmadiyya for the award and stressed his administration’s commitment to the welfare of the Muslim community in the state. He noted that a large number of people in the state were Muslims and therefore enjoined their continuous support for his administration.
Highlights of the event included a presentation of awards to Sadr Majlis Khuddam-ul-Ahmadiyya Nigeria Saeed Aina, Executive Governor of Ondo State Arakunrin Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, and former Qaideen in the state Uthman Malik and Mushood Jimoh who contributed immensely to the development of Majlis Khuddam-ul-Ahmadiyya activities in the state.
