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The Life and Purpose of Ahmadiyyat

Inaugural address of the Jalsa Salana, 26 December 1938.

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

I begin by saying assalamu alaikum to all our friends who have gathered here today and particularly those whom I have not had the chance to meet with yet. I thank God Almighty, Who through His grace and bounty, has enabled us to congregate again in this town so that we may glorify His name and manifest the greatness of His faith. He has chosen [Qadian] as the seat of the propagation of Islam. I pray that our convention is purged of every type of conceit, pretence, hypocrisy, cowardice, frailty, pride and arrogance. May God engage our hearts and minds with such thoughts, intentions, schemes and endeavours as accord with His will and as are worthy of His pleasure. The length of the jalsa site has been extended by 40 feet as compared to the previous year. Overall, it is several thousand square feet larger than last time. Notwithstanding past attendance figures, I do not feel that this increase is excessive. Rather, it fits our needs exactly.

The world in all its enmity seeks after various ways to destroy the jama‘at. [Our opponents] plot and intrigue at every turn to weaken us. Yet our God is All-Powerful () and Almighty (); day-by-day He causes us to flourish and prosper and the designs, calumnies and accusations of our enemies are reduced to little more than dust.2 Their ill-thoughts, invectives and impure allegations are sufficient to show that abuse is the final refuge of the thwarted. The victorious armies of our followers will march on with smiles etched across their faces. We must pay no heed to the adversities we face. Instead, we ought to continue to fulfil our responsibilities with patience and steadfastness. The task ahead is so great that in our present condition it appears to be insurmountable.

Our mission is to unseat the empires, religions, civilisations and economic structures of the world and establish in their stead the system, [habits and culture] which the Holy Prophet (sas) brought with him. Against these circumstances, it is only natural and right for governments and other religious institutions to oppose us, because they see that God has decreed their end at our hands and we, a community whom the world denigrates and disdains, have come forward with this edict. Therefore, it can hardly come as a surprise when our enemies malign us, are aggravated by our beliefs and determine themselves to bring us harm. But we must remain focused on one thing and that is the objectives God has placed in front of us and pursue them with rigour. Every moment of our lives, all our strength and means ought to be spent in this struggle so that the Kingdom of God may be established on earth just as it is in heaven. The first Messiah (as) came with the same intent, but alas, his followers founded a sovereignty of their own greed and avarice rather than establishing the Kingdom of God. This matter repeats itself in the current age. The onus is now on us to discharge this responsibility with more honesty than the followers of the previous Messiah (as). Then will we be able to say to God Almighty:

Our Lord! Only through Your grace were we able to bear the burden You placed on our frail shoulders and achieve our goals. The world opposed us, and caused us to suffer at its hands. Yet we did not care for this in the least and fulfilled the task assigned to us. We come to You with wounded hearts so that You may tend to them with the ointment of Your love and have us drink from the cup of Your nearness.

[Always remember that] if we succeed in our aims, our opponents will be brought low, all the hurdles in our way will be removed and when we come before God Almighty, He will come towards us with tenderness and say:

Come forth My loved ones! The world thought nothing of you and brought you much distress; it sought to wipe away your very name; come forth now and sit by My side. Those who belittled you and caused you to suffer will be evicted from My court; they will be consigned to humility and degradation.

Do not lose heart or be consumed by unease. Strive in the way of the Lord with the fullness of your passions. Let us unite in prayer and call on God Almighty to bless our efforts and intentions and afford us the opportunity to offer our services for His faith. Let us also pray God unties the knots which bind the hearts of those who are righteous but have not yet accepted Ahmadiyyat. Let Him enable us to deliver His divine water to the farthermost places so that those who hanker for the truth are able to assuage their spiritual thirst; may He allow us to take the message of Islam to the corners of the earth; may He help us spread the teachings of the Promised Messiah (as) and establish the greatness of our beloved master, the Holy Prophet (sas). Our Lord, Let this be Your will. Our Lord, overlook our faults and weaknesses and cast Your sight over our intentions and shower us with Your blessings.

Here I wish to say a few brief words. Today the Zuhr and Asr prayers will be combined and offered in Masjid Nur, after which I will announce two nikahs. I have on previous occasions said there would be no nikah ceremonies at the jalsa, but the Holy Qur’an speaks of certain exceptions. The Qur’an says that the wealthy have no share in the zakat except for those who are employed in connection to it.3 Our entire family is engaged in the arrangements of the jalsa, therefore taking this verse as my precedent I feel it is not improper to spare some time for this purpose. Hence, I will perform two nikahs. The first is that of my son, Mubarik Ahmad, with the daughter of my sister and Nawwab Abdullah Khan. The second is that of my daughter Amtul Qayyum with Mirza Muzzafar Ahmad the son of Mian Bashir Ahmad. Amtul Qayyum’s mother was my late wife Amtul Hayyi. I will perform these nikahs in a brief ceremony after the Zuhr prayer.

Finally, I call on all friends to pray God blesses the jalsa with every type of favour. May He keep guard and look after all the participants as well as those who are involved in its arrangements. May God safeguard the homes of those who have come here and let all of us take away such treasures as will help us on the Day of Judgement and be a means to success in this world also.

(Alfazl, 28 December 1938)