Ways of Seeking Allah – Financial Sacrifice – Waqfe Jadid 2020
After reciting the Tashahhud, Ta’awwuz, and Surah Al-Fatihah, Hazrat Khalifatul Masih V (aba) stated:
In his magnum opus, The Philosophy of the Teachings of Islam, the Promised Messiah (as) has mentioned eight means of finding and recognising God Almighty and strengthening one’s faith in Him. These means are also necessary to fulfil the purpose of man’s creation. About these means, the Promised Messiah (as) states: “The fifth means of achieving the purpose of life appointed by God Almighty, is striving in His cause; that is to say, we should seek God by spending our wealth in His cause, and by employing all our faculties in furthering His cause, …; as it is said: Strive in His way with your wealth and your lives and with all your faculties; and Whatever We have bestowed upon you of intelligence and knowledge and understanding and art, employ it in Our cause. We surely guide along Our ways those who strive after Us.”
Then, the Promised Messiah (as) said on one occasion: “It is not possible for you to love wealth as well as to love Allah. You can love only one of them. Fortunate is he who loves Allah. If any of you loves Him and spends his wealth in His cause, I am certain that his wealth will increase more than that of others, ….”
The Promised Messiah (as) further stated: “It should be so that every member, every individual of our Community pledges that they shall [regularly] give a certain amount of chandah. Whosoever makes this pledge for the sake of Allah the Exalted, Allah will in turn bless his wealth.”
By the Grace of Allah, there are hundreds of thousands of such sincere members of our community, who strive to increase in financial sacrifices in order to gain the love of Allah the Exalted. To make financial sacrifice is relatively easy for those who have the means, but there are heart-warming tales of those, who are destitute and still go hungry to be able to make contribution to the system of financial contribution of the Jama’at.
One is astonished by seeing the sacrifices of some. Allah the Exalted has blessed the Promised Messiah (as) with such individuals, who were ever ready to make every sacrifice in order to acquire the love of God. As the new year for Waqf-e-Jadid will be announced today, these incidents will generally be in relation to Waqf-e-Jadid.
Hazrat Khalifatul Masih V (aba) recounted many incidences about how people made every effort to excel in making financial contribution for the cause of faith; they sold family jewels, and their sole possessions such as seeds for the harvest for the next season and a meagre bucket of maize to gain the pleasure of God Almighty. Those who made such sacrifices saw that their harvest miraculously doubled, their businesses yielded unbelievable profits and they experienced that when they gave their only food for the cause of God, replenished this with much more than what they gave away. Those, who gave away the money that they have saved for medical treatment, miraculously received medical help from their employee; those who gave their last penny to buy food, received money from miraculous sources and those who gave chanda cutting their business expenses had so such trade that they had to turn people away . Hazrat Khalifatul Masih V (aba) gave the example of a destitute person, who pledges that he would not drink tea and give the money that he would save in Chanda.
Hazrat Khalifatul Masih V (aba) stressed that even a small amount given with sincerity is accepted by Allah the Exalted in such a manner that He returns it manifold and this subsequently, becomes a means for them to gain the nearness of Allah the Exalted and to strengthen their faith in Him. These miraculous ways of getting income from unexpected sources are not mere coincidence. This is how God Almighty treats those who place their trust in Him, so as to strengthen their faith, and it also serves as a proof to the truthfulness of the Promised Messiah (as). According to a tradition of the Holy Prophet (sa), the people who sacrifice in the way of God Almighty are those who are deemed worthy of envy.
Hazrat Khalifatul Masih V (aba) then announced the beginning of the new year for the Waqf-e-Jadid scheme. By the Grace of Allah the Almighty, the 62nd year of Waqf-e-Jadid came to an end on 31st December [2019]. During the course of the year, the members of the Jamaat were able to make a total sacrifice of £9.643 million, which is an increase of £500,000 from the previous year. In terms of the overall contribution, the UK stood first, followed by Pakistan, Germany, USA, Canada, India, Australia, Indonesia and two Jamaats in the Middle East.
In terms of the total contribution of countries in Africa, the positions are as follows: Ghana is 1st, Nigeria is 2nd, Burkina Faso is 3rd, Tanzania is 4th, Benin is 5th, The Gambia is 6th, Kenya is 7th, Mali is 8th, Sierra Leone is 9th and Congo-Kinshasa is 10th.
By the grace of Allah the Almighty, the total number of members that participated in the Waqf-e-Jadid scheme was 1.821 million, which is an increase of 89,000 participants. The countries which have made a notable effort in relation to increasing the number of participants are: Cameroon stood 1st, then Senegal, Sierra Leone, Nigeria, Burkina Faso, Indonesia and there are other Jamaats as well.
In terms of total collection, the ten large Jamaats of the UK are: Islamabad is 1st, Aldershot is 2nd, Worcester park is 3rd, then Birmingham South, Masjid Fazl, Putney, Gillingham, New Malden, Birmingham West and Hounslow North. The first five regions are: Baitul Futuh Region is 1st, then Masjid Fazl Region, Midlands Region, Islamabad Region, and Baitul Ihsan Region.
The first ten Jamaats for Daftar Atfal are as follows: Aldershot is 1st, then Roehampton, Putney, Islamabad, Mitcham Park, Cheam, Leamington spa, Worcester park, Raynes park, Surbiton.
The positions of the Jamaats in Pakistan for the collection from adults are as follows: Lahore is 1st, Rabwah is 2nd and Karachi is 3rd. The currency of Pakistan has devalued significantly and owing to this they have fallen in the rankings. If the value of the currency of Pakistan was the same as it was last year, they would have stood 1st again, therefore considering this the UK have not performed extraordinarily.
The positions of the districts of Pakistan for the collection from adults are as follows: Islamabad, Sialkot, Rawalpindi, Gujranwala, Multan, Umerkot, Hyderabad, Dera Ghazi Khan, Mirpur Khas and Peshawar.
The first ten Jamaats in terms of collection are as follows: Islamabad, Township Lahore, Defence Lahore, Darul Zikr Lahore, Gulshan Iqbal Karachi, Samana Bagh Lahore, Rawalpindi, Azizabad Karachi, Gulsham Jami Karachi and Delhi Gate Lahore. Although they are faced with all sorts of difficulties, yet by the grace of Allah, people there have sacrificed large amounts.
The three large Jamaats in Pakistan for the collection of Daftar Atfal are as follows: Lahore is 1st, Karachi is 2nd and Rabwah is 3rd and the positions of the districts are as follows: Sialkot is 1st, Gujranwala is 2nd, then Sargodha, Hyderabad, Dera Ghazi Khan, Sheikhupura, Mirpur Khaas, Umerkot, Okara and Peshawar.
In terms of total contribution, the first five local Jamaats, Amaraat of Germany are: Hamburg stood 1st, then Frankfurt, Dietzenbach, Gross-Gerau, Wiesbaden. The positions of first ten Jamaats for the collection from adults are as follows: Neuss, Rödermark, Nieda, Mahdi-Abad, Flörsheim, Friedburg, Bensheim, Langen, Koblenz, Hanau and Pinneberg
The first five regions for Daftar Atfal are as follows: Hessen Sud Ost, Hessen Mitte, Towinz, South Rhein, Landcorz, the Germans ought to rectify the names of these places themselves.
The positions of the first ten Jamaats in USA for their total contribution are as follows: Maryland, Silicon Valley, Los Angeles, Houston, Central Virginia, Seattle, Detroit, South Virginia, Chicago and North Virginia.
The positions of the Amarat’s in Canada for their total contribution is as follows: Vaughan, Calgary, Peace Village, Vancouver, Mississauga.
The position of the large Jamaats [in Canada] are as follows: Durham, Bradford, Edmonton West, Milton West, Hamilton Mountain, Ottowa East, Ottowa West, Airedrie, Winnipeg and Abbotsford
The five notable Amarat for Daftar Atfal are as follows: Vogan – this should be Vaughan, but in Urdu they have written it as Vogan, Calgary, Peace Village, Western, Brampton West.
The five notable Jamaats for Daftar Atfal are as follows: Durham, Bradford, Milton West and Airdire, Hamilton Mountain.
The positions for the provinces in India are as follows: Kerala is 1st, Jammu Kashmir stood 2nd despite the difficult circumstances there, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Odisha, Punjab, West Bengal, Delhi and Uttar Pradesh.
The positions of the Jamaats in terms of contribution are as follows: Pathapiriyam, Qadian, Hyderabad, Calicut, Bangalore, Kyobator, Kolkata, Karulai, Pengadi
The overall positions of the first ten Jamaats in Australia are as follows: Melbourne Long [Warren], Castle Hill, Melbourne Berwick, Marsden Park, Adelaide South, MT Druitt, Penrith, Black Town, Canberra and Perth.
The position of the Jamaats in Australia for the collection from Atfal are as follows: Melbourne Long Warren, Adelaide South, Melbourne Berwick, MT Druitt, Penrith, Logan East, Perth, Marsden Park, Castle Hill and Logan West.
The position of the Jamaats in Australia for the collection from adults are as follows: Castle Hill, Melbourne Long Warren, Marsden Park, Melbourne Berwick, MT Druitt, Black Town, Adelaide South, Penrith, Canberra and Perth. Even in Australia these days, the [bush] fires have caused a lot of destruction, may Allah Almighty have mercy on them and may the people there recognise their creator. Despite all this, the Ahmadis there are offering great sacrifices. May God Almighty greatly bless the wealth and progeny of all those around the world who offered sacrifices.
As mentioned earlier, the economic conditions of Pakistan are worsening as a result of which their currency has devalued significantly. Hence, they have fallen behind in the rankings [for Waqf-e-Jadid]. Despite all of this, they have not allowed their sacrifices to diminish. Similarly, the political situation in Pakistan is also unstable and this has a bearing on the economic conditions. Furthermore, in that region, the tensions are heightening between India and Pakistan. In the context of the overall situation in the world, it is as if the world itself is calling out for its own destruction. The Middle East is also falling into further disarray. There is a growing possibility of war erupting between the USA, Iran and Israel. There is no unity among the Muslim countries. Thus, we ought to pray profusely to save the world from catastrophe and for mankind to turn towards God Almighty. May God Almighty shower His blessings and grant them wisdom and understanding.
As we enter the new year, storm clouds continue to gather ahead. Thus, in order to make this year a blessed one, we should pray to God Almighty, that may He halt governments, who only want to prove their superiority over others, from taking the world towards destruction. May these governments not annihilate mankind having succumbed to their egos and in pursuit of their vested interests. May God Almighty grant them wisdom. Thus, this true new year greetings place a great responsibility upon every Ahmadi, be they a man, woman or child and we must utilise all of our strengths, faculties and capabilities and strive to our utmost to achieve this. Through our prayers, we must form a special relationship with God Almighty and only then can we receive the blessings of this year. May God Almighty enable us to do so.