Jalsa Salana Holland 2019
After reciting the Tashahhud, Ta’awwuz, and Surah Al-Fatihah, Hazrat Khalifatul Masih V (aba) stated:
Today, by the grace of Allah the Almighty, the Jalsa Salana [annual convention] of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community in Holland is starting and I am very pleased to be here. I am also pleased that the number of Ahmadis in Holland has increased, and our community has built a beautiful mosque in Almere. InShaAllah Ta’ala [God willing], its inauguration will take place next week. Always remember that building mosques can only be of any benefit, if the true objective of mosque building is sought.
Many of you have emigrated from Pakistan as you were deprived of your religious freedom; you were unable to worship God, unable to have conferences and training meetings and laws prohibited you from offering Salat. As a result of this religious persecution, you sought asylum in this country. Here, you enjoy religious freedom and your financial circumstances have improved. So, every Ahmadi who has attained religious freedom here, should be extremely grateful to God and should make every possible effort to fulfil their pledge of Bai’at. If the love of Allah and His Prophet does not exude from our every action and if we have not developed pious changes in ourselves, then what is the point of attaining this religious freedom? The true benefit of this religious freedom will be attained when we will do justice to our Bai’at, oath of allegiance, when we will develop a true comprehension of the teachings of the Promised Messiah (as) and we will give precedence to our faith over this material world.
The Promised Messiah (as) clearly explained that the objective of Bai’at is to forsake the love of this world, so that the love of God and His Prophet would prevail. It is not enough to merely express the pledge of allegiance by words; this should be supported by actions.
One of the conditions of Bai’at is to make the word of God and the sayings of the Holy Prophet (sa) the guiding principle in every aspect of one’s life. Every word of Allah the Almighty and of His Messenger (sa) can only be made the guiding principle in one’s life, when a person develops the true love for them. This is not an easy matter; it requires a determined and concerted effort to give precedence to our worship over our worldly business. We will need to forsake anything that prevents us from gaining nearness of God Almighty, be it our job or our business. If our ego, our worldly respect and fame, as well as, our selfish motives are stopping us from fulfilling the rights of others, then this is against the commandment of God Almighty. Allah the Almighty has also commanded us to fulfil the rights of His creation and by disobeying this, we are not fulfilling the objective of being in the Jama’at of the Promised Messiah (as).
The Promised Messiah (as) states, “you should develop a state of detachment from the world within yourself”. This does not mean that we need to forsake this world. This means that we engage in the business of this world while our every deed is in accordance with the commandments of Allah the Almighty and His chosen Prophet (sa). The commitments of this world should not distract us from our religious obligations, and we are happy to forsake anything that detracts us from the path of God Almighty. This Jalsa is like a training camp to improve our spiritual condition by progressing in faith, conviction and divine insight. The more we develop a true appreciation of the attributes and qualities of God Almighty, the more we will excel in our love for Him. The love of Allah the Almighty demands us to act according to His commandments and engage in virtuous deeds. Remember, true faith demands, as the Promised Messiah (as) stated, that one should not commit a good deed to attain something in return. Good deeds should be performed purely with the intention that our God has commanded us to carry out virtuous deeds. Thus, true virtue is that, which is done without any selfish or ulterior motive. Therefore, keeping this principle in mind, we should treat one another with kindness and seek to fulfil each other’s rights.
At times, wealth and opulence can become a hindrance in performing the acts of virtue because one ends up giving precedence to one’s financial priorities over the worship of God. Beware, this is not true love of God Almighty. What is required of us is to offer our worship whilst wholly immersed in the love of God. When one frees oneself from worldly desires, God Almighty then grants them provisions from where one could not even imagine. Remember, true affluence comes with Taqwa (God-fearing righteousness). God never forsakes His true servant to beg others, rather if one becomes truly devoted to God Almighty and adopts true righteousness, God Almighty continues to grant His blessings and mercy for seven generations and safeguards them.
Today, it is our responsibility to increase in our love for God Almighty; give preference to our love for God Almighty and the Holy Prophet (sa) overall worldly comforts, whilst bringing about a pure change within ourselves. We should also seek to bring our societies closer to God Almighty. Today the people of this world deny the existence of God Almighty and each year a significant portion of people are abandoning their faith.
We should instil the love of God Almighty within our hearts and enlighten the world about the existence of God Almighty. It is only then that we will be truly doing justice to our Bai’at with the Promised Messiah (as). It is not enough to merely instil the love of God Almighty and His Prophet (sa) in our hearts, in fact our duty is far greater than this. We must also strive to our utmost to instil the love of God Almighty and His Prophet (sa) in our children and our future progenies as well. After having taken the Bai’at of the Promised Messiah (as), it is now also our duty to further his mission. May God Almighty grant us the opportunity to do so. During these days of the Jalsa, may we be enabled to increase the standard of our worship. May we continue to increase in our love for God Almighty and His Prophet (sa) and may the worldly desires and pleasures never overcome us. However, also remember that none of this is possible without the blessings of God Almighty. Therefore, continue to especially pray so that you may also become the recipients of His blessings and for this one must greatly focus their attention. May God Almighty grant us the opportunity to do so.