35th Jalsa Sālāna Canada 2011 - Lajna Imā`illāh Report

Saadia Amtul Basit & Maliha Shahid

By the Grace of Allāh, the 35^th Annual Convention of Canada was held on July 1-3, 2011 at the International Center in Mississauga, Ontario. The stage was beautifully decorated in silver and black colours. The picture of the House of Ka`bah, and the Holy Qur’ān adorned the stage screen. Two wide movie screens were hoisted on either sides of the stage for all to see.

Strategically placed TV screens were installed in the main hall for every one’s comfortable viewing of the proceedings. The Jalsa Gāh was decorated, all around, with the banners of the sayings and revelations of the Promised Messiah^as. The most prominent banner among all was “Love for All Hatred for None.”

The Jalsa started with the Friday Prayers. The sermon was the recording of Friday sermon of Hadrat Khalīfatul Masīh V^aa from Germany delivered on Friday July 1, 2011, in which he brought the attention of the United States and Canada Jamā`at, towards the objective of Jalsa Sālāna and the responsibilities and obligations of the volunteers and the attendees. The Friday sermon was followed by a brief sermon from Āmīr Jamā`at Canada, Malik Lal Khan sāhib. After the Friday prayer the lunch was served and at 5:00 pm the first session of the Jalsa started from the men side.

The second session of Jalsa Sālāna was also delivered from men side and for the third session, ladies side had their own session, which was held in the afternoon.

Ladies Session:
Saturday, July 2, 2011

This session was presided by the following respected members:

Sāhibzadī Amtul Jamil sāhiba – Daughter of Hadrat Musleh-e-Maū`ūd^ra

Amtul Noor Daud sāhiba – National President Lajna Imā`illāh Canada

Amtul Latif Malik sāhiba – Wife of Āmīr Jamā`at Ahmadīyya Canada

Amtul Hafeez sāhiba – Wife of Missionary In Charge Canada

Mubarika Mian sāhiba – Vice President Lajna Imā`illāh Canada

Amatul Rafiq Zafar sāhiba– In Charge Ta`līm-ul-Qur’ān Classes Lajna’s session started with beautiful recitation of Sūrah Al Ahzab verses 42-49 by Sumaira Roohi sāhiba, followed by English translation by Reena Khalid Sāhiba.

The poem Shaoor day Muhammad^sa kay astanay ka was melodically sung by Naumana Khan sāhiba, followed by its English translation by Fareha Hamid sāhiba.

Speech in Urdu was presented by Amtul Hāfiz Hina Mirzā sāhiba on the topic of “High Moral Standards of the Holy Prophet Muhammad^sa.” It was a very effective attempt to capture this vast and important subject in such a short time, but Hina sāhiba did full justice to the topic. Speech started with the verse:

“And thou dost, surely, possess sublime moral excellences.” (68:5)

This was proven right by Prophet Muhammad^sa’s wife Hadrat `Ā’isha^ra that Prophet Muhammad^sa treated his relations with compassion and forgiveness, helped the needy, revived the forgotten moral values, was hospitable, fought and suffered to stay on the righteous path and helped everyone. (Sahīh Bukhārī)

Hina sāhiba compared Prophet Muhammad^sa’s treatment of his enemies with the present day leaders’. How human rights are being trampled under the feet and what atrocities are being committed by these so called civilised nations. How, on the occasion of Mecca’s conquering, Prophet Muhammad^sa gave general amnesty to one and all, irrespective of the fact that they had committed heinous crimes against him

She gave several examples of his excellent moral behaviour and highlighted the fact that how his companions fought for him and how they protected him from the attacks of his enemies. Now is the time when similar arrows full of venomous allegations are thrown towards the blessed being of Hadrat Muhammad^sa. We have to repulse these attacks with politeness and wisdom as our motto is “Love for All and Hatred for None.”

In the second speech Saadia Mahdī sāhiba spoke on a very time relevant topic: “Living in an Electronic Era and Our Responsibilities.”

This topic was listened to very attentively by all. She said that the arrival of technology in the age and times of Promised Messiah^as points towards two questions: Is this an age of materialism and Godlessness, or is it a threshold of Ahmadīyyat’s successful future?

Prophet Muhammad^sa prophesied that a Messiah will come in latter days to revive and spread Islām; therefore, to make this possible Almighty Allāh  has created sources in which there are no restraints either in time and  legalities, or distance and international borders. Today the enemies of Islām are using the print, satellite and social Medias to attack the pure teachings of Islām. Hence, we can use the same sources to counteract their attacks of Islām and spread its teachings to fulfill and forward the mission of Promised Messiah^as. At the same time we have to be aware of the negative effects of cyber space and to protect ourselves and our future generations from its harmful aspects. Her speech highlighted the importance of technology in spreading Islām, at the same time our responsibilities in using it wisely.

After the speech, Tallat Bhatti sāhiba beautifully recited a poem of Promised Messiah^as, Phir chale aate hain yaro zalzala anay kay din. The poem was very relevant due to recent global environmental disasters. This was followed by its English translation by Subiha Sumbul sāhiba.

With all the recent earthquakes and tsunamis, Maliha Shahid sāhiba’s speech on the topic of “Natural Disasters or Divine Warnings?” addressed the questions that seemed to be on everyone’s mind. Since the last decades, these natural disasters have increased exponentially. What occurred less than 100 times in 1975 has occurred almost 1000 times just in the last year alone! According to Islām, there is no doubt that all disasters and misfortunes are caused by natural laws, or man’s effect on it. Though climate change may play a part, sometimes these very natural means are employed to serve as punishment or a warning lesson for humanity.

Using Qur’ānic verses, stories of Prophet Noah^as and Prophet Lot^as, as well as the prophecies made by the Promised Messiah^as, the speech emphasized that the most important feature of a divine punishment is that it has been foretold by a prophet. When people reject prophets and the messages that they bring, they distance themselves from God. We need to re-establish a connection with God, His Messengers and enter the ark of the Promised Messiah^as, so that we may be saved from any impending torment.

The speech was followed by a short speech of a new convert to Ahmadīyyat. Claire Clement, a devout Baptist all her life, was shaken by onslaught of tragedies in her family, losing all hope and faith in God, until a friend who was a new convert to Ahmadīyyat introduced her to Islām, Ahmadīyyat.  He gave her a copy of Holy Qur’ān and other books on Islām. This kindled within her a bonding with Allāh and Holy Prophet^sa, lifting her from deep despondency and thus began her journey into becoming a devout Ahmadī Muslim. She signed her Bai`at form on September 19, 2009, and today she reads Holy Qur’ān daily and is able to communicate with Allāh, the Almighty through her five daily prayers.

This was followed by a beautiful chorus poem, recited by a group of Basic group of Lajna, Yeh Jalsa hamara yeh din barkaton kay.

After the poem the Academic Awards ceremony took place. Awards are given to the Academic achievers in school, college and universities. This year, the awards were presented to academic achievers from grade 12 and higher education. Sāhibzadī Amtul Jamil sāhiba gave awards to 33 qualifiers. This year top two females received an additional special award of $500 which was contributed by Fauzia Ahmad sāhiba in the memory of her late parents Munir and Nasim Ahmed sāhib. The female qualifiers are: Aimen Shayan Bangash and Mubaraka Anum.

The final speech of ladies session was the Address of Amtul Noor Daud sāhiba, National President Lajna Imā`illāh Canada on the topic of “Domestic Harmony-Creating Paradise on Earth.”

She began her speech with the recitation of Sūrah Al-Nisā` verse 2:

“O ye people! Fear your Lord, Who created you from a single soul and created there from its mate, and from them twain spread many men and women; and fear Allāh, in Whose name you appeal to one another, and fear Him particularly respecting ties of relationship. Verily, Allāh watches over you.”

In explaining this verse she covered all aspects of a married life and stressed the importance of Taqwā in maintaining a good relationship.  She said that strengthening relationships with prayers, respecting each other’s relatives, focusing and valuing each other’s good qualities, forgiveness, humbleness, friendliness and loyalty with each other can guarantee a successful married life.

She started by explaining the reason behind marital breakup, followed by some of the common practices of Mother-in-laws and Daughter-in-laws. She then explained the roles and responsibilities of a husband and a wife, the do’s and don’ts for a mother-in-law, and daughter-in-law.

When explaining the attributes of a good wife, she mentioned that she should be understanding, should win his heart, earn his admiration and respect and close the door to every possible conflict.

Sadr sāhiba ended her speech on this prayer from Sūrah Al-Furqān verse 75:

“Our Lord, grant us of our wives and children the delight of our eyes, and make us a model for the righteous.”

After the speech a documentary on Tāhir Hall was relayed, provided from men side.

The session ended with Sāhibzadī Amtul Jamil sāhiba leading the congregation in silent prayers.

Alhamdulillāh, the session was a success and enjoyed and commended by all.

This article was published in Nov-Dec 2011 issue of Ahmadiyya Gazette Canada