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The Magnificent Progress of the Jama‘at

Inaugural address of the Jalsa Salana, 26 December 1936.

After the recitation of tashahhud, ta‘awudh and Surah Fatihah, Huzoor said:

Let me begin by saying assalamu alaikum to the participants of the jalsa who have come from far afield to be present here today. Before I inaugurate the convention with silent prayer, I wish to remind all those friends present here of certain events [in our history]. Almost 40 years ago, there stood a mud wall on the site where the boys of Madrasa Ahmadiyya now study. It was erected in the time of our ancestors to fortify Qadian. The wall was so wide a cart could be driven on top of it. Eventually, the British broke it into sections and auctioned away the various parts. One such section–a long elongated strip was purchased by the Promised Messiah (as) with the intention of building a guest house.

[Sometime later] a group of people who did not identify themselves as Ahmadis because the jama‘at had not yet assumed this name, collected here with the same aims and aspirations as our own. It may have been 1893, ‘94, or ‘95, I cannot say for certain, but the season was similar to today. The weather, days and months were much as they are now. I cannot recall whether the proceedings were held in our current location or if the mosque2 also hosted them. The precise details are lost to me as I was just a child of seven or eight years. I had no appreciation of the true significance of this meeting. My principle memory is of ducking and diving through the cluster of attendees. At the time I was astonished to see such an assembly of people. A rug was spread out on the part of the wall where the Promised Messiah (as) sat and those friends who had come for the Jalsa Salana were circled around him. Perhaps there were two rugs, but if memory serves me right there was only one and it was used to seat those present. I remember there being anywhere between 100 to 200 people, but the Promised Messiah (as) later published a list which recorded an attendance of 250 participants including children. They had come together in their concern for the way in which Islam was being abased the world over. [They saw that] many from among the descendants of darkness were ardently striving to eliminate the one light which could illumine the entire world. Thus from among a billion or so people, [upwards of ] 200 seasoned individuals, many of whom were crudely dressed and from outside of even the Indian middle-class, joined rank to keep aloft the banner of the Holy Prophet (sas) and protect it from those enemies who endeavour to pull it down. They banded together with the intention of keeping his standard raised even at the cost of their lives and would not allow it to be lowered.

These 200 or 250 weak souls came forward to offer their sacrifice against a sea of over a billion and a quarter people. The same devotion was etched on their faces as was written on the countenances of the companions of the Holy Prophet (sas) who fought in the Battle of Badr. Their spirit was as resolute as those companions who thus addressed the Holy Prophet (sas) [before the hour of battle]:

O’ Prophet (sas) of God! It is true that we are weak while the enemy is strong. But they will have to trample over our dead bodies to get to you.

It was clear from the faces [of those who had collected in Qadian] that they were not alive, but were of the living dead; united by a desire to launch one final struggle to guard the honour of the Holy Prophet (sas) and establish his faith in the world. Those who saw them that day mocked and ridiculed at what they sought to achieve. Again, I cannot recall whether they sat on one rug or two, but they filled an area about the size of this stage. I do not know why, but this rug was moved three times. First from its original place to a second location and then it was moved again somewhere further away. My childhood memories are unclear so I cannot say whether the participants of the jalsa were forced to move on account of the objections of onlookers who said they had no right to lay a rug there or for another reason. Whatever the circumstances, they changed their location several times.

It is said when Joseph (as) was sold into slavery in Egypt an elderly woman tried to purchase him for the price of two balls of cotton. Worldly people listen to this and laugh, while spiritual people are moved to tears. The emotional core of the story resonates in their hearts; when an individual truly values something, they no longer care for what the world might think. In my view Joseph (as) was at that time [considered an ordinary] man whose sublime qualities were hidden from view. That is why his brothers traded him for such a paltry sum. Under these circumstances, it is not fanciful for the old woman to have believed she could buy him in exchange for two balls of cotton, particularly when one considers that cotton was not a commodity local to the region from which the trading caravan [which sought to sell Joseph (as)] came from. Instead, it was imported there from Egypt. So, it is entirely possible cotton commanded a sufficiently high price for the woman in the story to think she could purchase Joseph (as) by it.

The means with which this small group came to Qadian were as sparse as the [cotton balls] featured in the story above, indeed they are an even greater example of the kind of love which causes people to lose their senses and make unimaginable sacrifices. The blood which flowed through the hearts of these few hundred people supplicated before the throne of God. The parents of many who had gathered there could well have been alive; or they themselves could have been parents or grandparents too. But from the moment the world chose to mock them; to cast them aside; from when their kith and kin took them for fools and cut them off, this small band of people were orphaned in their seasoned years in so much as an orphan is one who is alone and without support. The world rejected them and they were orphaned. Then in accordance with the promise of God that the cry of an orphan shakes the throne of heaven, these forsaken souls came together in Qadian and called out to their Lord and the result of their entreaties is what we see here before us today.

God looked upon them from His seat of majesty and said:

I assure those of venerable age who have been abandoned by their children that I will bless them with new offspring from far off places who will be better than those who came before. And I assure those children who have been forsaken by their parents that they will be blessed with new mothers and fathers who will be better than those who watched over them before. I assure those in the prime of their youth, who have been disowned by their brothers that they will be blessed with new siblings who will be better than what they had before.

Those gathered here today are the result of the cries and supplications once made by a small band of believers in this very place; those whom the worldly rejected and disowned; and those whom the world looked at with disdain. God blessed them and watered a magnificent tree with their tears of which you are the fruit. How magnificent was the seed from which this first tree grew and blossomed. Today a whole orchard is alive from these 250 seeds. My brothers! If we prepare ourselves to strive in the cause of Islam with the same sincerity and devotion as those [who came before us], then think how many more seeds there will be by which Islam can spread anew.

Let each one of us dedicate ourselves to God with the intention that we will become the seeds by which a worldly heaven can be manifested on earth. Instead, of leaving the world with nothing, let our end give birth to such trees as bear better fruit than us or at least of the same kind. Today the 200 or so seeds of the past are now in the hundreds of thousands. If you too steel yourselves for such sacrifices, then your seeds will give birth to millions more.

[Remember] this can only be achieved through the grace of God. Unless human beings are attended to by His favour and bounty, neither the spirit of giving nor feelings of love can fill their hearts. [Similarly], no good can come from our efforts and our physical actions cannot bear the finest fruits. Let us come together to prostrate before God and entreat Him to purify our hearts with His mercy and grace. Let Him inspire in us the courage of sacrifice so that when we submit to Him our [meagre] offerings—which are themselves only from His grace—He will not turn them away but rather accept them from His benevolence and love. May He accept from us ourselves, our kith, kin, near ones and friends for the preservation of the orchard of the Holy Prophet (sas) and make the garden of Islam verdant.

There are many cuckoos, crows and beasts which devour and ruin the fruit of the garden of the Holy Prophet (sas). May God protect Islam from such peril. Today, idolatry and disbelief hold sway in the world. May God enable us through His blessings to once again raise the banner of divine unity; may idolatry be vanquished from the world and may those who worship idols gather under the standard of divine unity. May God open the hearts of those nations and peoples who attribute a son to God; who sculpt idols out of stone and consider them His like; who in their ignorance hold up the messengers of God as His equals; and who worship celestial bodies like the sun, moon, planets and stars. May God open their hearts and draw them to that true God Whose greatness was revealed to the world by the Holy Prophet (sas). May He motivate the hearts of disbelievers with faith and conviction. May God have mercy on those who call themselves philosophers and intellectuals and who have nothing to do with religion and bless them with the light of true knowledge, so that whereas today, they turn people away from His religion, tomorrow they may draw them towards it. May God put an end to all those conflicts which are fought in the name of religion, nationhood, sectarianism and politics and through this change the circumstances of humanity for the better. May He make this earth a heaven just as the one He has prepared for us in the hereafter.

This is what God values and desires to see established in the world. Although we count ourselves as soldiers of God, we lack the power and capacity for this endeavour. In these dire times we must call out to our Lord and say:

We are Your helpers and servants to whom You have entrusted a task. We are ready for all that You may ask of us, so long as Your help is with us. Our Lord! We do not have the strength and capacity [to fulfil this undertaking]—so assist us in this for we are overcome by the weight of its load. If You do not give us Your support, this small community will be vanquished and there will be none left to extol Your name on the face of the earth. Have mercy on us and overlook our weaknesses so that we may profit by the circumstances You have presented before us and enter the service of Your faith without fear of our enemies or consideration for any recompense and reward. May everything be hidden from our sight except Allah; may we strive to establish Your glory on the earth; may the manifestation of Your attributes be our principle goal; may we be immersed in You and may You permeate our hearts; may You be our only goal and objective. Our Lord! Fulfil our entreaties.

With these supplicatory words I inaugurate this year’s jalsa. I will now take my leave. As I said yesterday all participants should spend their time listening to the various speeches and lectures which will be delivered during the course of the convention. Do not aimlessly wander around and admonish your friends to do the same. It used to be that on account of the many people in attendance, the proceedings [of the jalsa] could not be heard by all. Therefore, a degree of allowance could be made [if some attendees did not listen]. But today, by the grace of God, the use of loudspeaker systems means everyone is able to hear the convention. In the past there were difficulties in conveying the proceedings to all the participants, whereas today loudspeakers are able to carry sound for many miles. In my estimation this is a sign of the truth of the Promised Messiah (as), for the Holy Prophet (sas) prophesied the Promised Messiah would bring success to Islam through printing and publication3 and this is also intimated in the Holy Qur’an4. In order to establish the truth of this sign, God disseminated the written books [of the Promised Messiah (as)] to the people, helped us establish printing presses, and now through such technologies as the loudspeaker and the wireless, He has allowed our voice to be communicated. If God so wills, a time will come when wireless sets will be found in every mosque and the Friday sermon delivered in Qadian will be conveyed around the globe; people will listen to it and offer their own prayers afterwards. Even in an event attended by hundreds of thousands, loudspeakers are sufficient to convey the proceedings to everyone. Those who are gathered here should take advantage of this and listen to all the addresses. With this I say assalamu alaikum to all our friends and take my leave.

(Alfazl, 29 December 1936)