Hafizurrahman, Indonesia Correspondent
Muhammad Nurdin Sahib reports the following:
Nabil, Erik, Falah and Fazal, all in their 20s, not totally experienced, but here they are on the Jalsa Salana podium providing information, reading out prayer requests and also organising all the departments to ensure a successful Jalsa Salana.
It was their first experience to stand on the Jalsa Salana podium and they probably never imagined that at the end of this year, they would be in the situation in which thousands of eyes attending the Jalsa would be looking at them attentively along with MTA International’s cameras.
This scene in fact was new for everyone. It can sometimes be difficult to hand over the baton of service to the youth, who are younger, fresher and more innovative. Our founding father, Mr Soekarno once announced, “Give me 10 youths, and I will shake the world.”
This year’s Jalsa Salana in Jakarta has opened everyone’s mind that the spirit and inspiration of our young generations were truly unlimited. Why? To gather about 1,331 Ahmadis in Al-Hidayah Mosque, Kebayoran Lama and organise the whole Jalsa Salana was no piece of cake.
Obviously, some doubted how the youth could possibly organise a whole Jalsa. How sure were they to guarantee the comfort of all participants? How confident were they to create this Jalsa more different and more unique than the previous ones?
Alhamdolillah, it was merely through the grace of the Almighty God showered upon them that the youths, who were led by Wahyudi Prasetya, a khadim from Kebayoran achieved this difficult task. Teams were led by Khuddam who ensured a successful Jalsa Salana was organised. The creative team was led by Arif Rahman Hakim, a khadim from Kebayoran, who added new features that would enhance the Jalsa Salana.
For example, the huge department of accommodation was led by Budiman Amiyuddin, a khadim from Kebayoran and his team, who served to make sure all the facilities for accommodation were available for Jalsa guests. Other teams were flooded with youngsters who were serving in departments such as decoration, audio and video, electricity and the water department.
We saw many people, not only from various cities in Indonesia such as Aceh, Papua, Kalimantan, but also from around the world – Ghana, Nigeria, UAE, Pakistan, India, Cambodia, Tuvalu, the Netherlands, Australia and also the UK – expressing “Jalsa Mubarak”.
Everyone here knows that it is nearly impossible to hold a programme in Al-Hidayah Mosque for a thousand Ahmadis! However, a new scheme was initiated this year. The walls separating the basement were removed and the basement was transformed into a huge hall which would function as the Jalsa Gah for ladies with children.
The priority was to make children comfortable during the Jalsa. As you came through the separate men and women registrations, the students from the Ahmadiyya Muslim Student Associations, both boys and girls respectively, seemed very engaged in their duties. Other students were seen serving in the security of the Jalsa Gah.
In front of our mosque is an elementary school which, by the grace of God and due to our good relationship with the teachers and school management, permitted us to use the area of the school as a parking lot and bazaar. During the coffee break, participants would take a seat in the school area to sip a cup of coffee while having meetings and greeting fellow Ahmadis.
The zeal to serve the guests of the Promised Messiah, peace be upon him, in the eyes of the youth was sensational. They wanted the event of the Promised Messiahas to succeed. Eventually, participants were spiritually uplifted due to the Jalsa as a result of collective prayers, listening to speeches and engaging in an atmosphere of spirituality.
This was more valuable and fruitful than just having a long-weekend holiday at the end of the year, from 27-30 December 2019. Our Jalsa proved the quote of Hazrat Musleh-e-Maud, may Allah be pleased with him, “Nations cannot be reformed without the reformation of the youth” to be true.
We should give them the trust to take part in this true Jihad. Surely, then we will witness how remarkable and extraordinary they could be in their sacrifice. Insha-Allah, we will meet next time at Jalsa Salana Jakarta.