Jalsa Salana Germany 2021 Concludes With Faith Inspiring Address

On 9th October 2021, The World Head of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, the Fifth Khalifa (Caliph), His Holiness, Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad concluded the 45th Annual Convention (Jalsa Salana) of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community Germany with an inspirational address.

His Holiness presided the concluding session virtually from the Masroor Hall in Islamabad, Tilford whilst more than 8,000 people attended the 2-day Jalsa Salana, at the Mai-Markt in Mannheim, Germany. Attendance had been restricted and the Jalsa Salana was held on a much smaller scale to previous years due to Covid-19. However, those who could not participate, both in Germany and elsewhere, were able to listen live to the faith inspiring concluding address of His Holiness.

During the address, His Holiness spoke in great detail about the immense importance of adopting ‘Taqwa’ (righteousness) and outlined Islamic teachings that are a perquisite for adopting Taqwa.

His Holiness began his address by mentioning that the purpose of the Jalsa Salana ought not to be forgotten, whereby Ahmadi Muslims gather together for the purpose of spiritual reformation

Highlighting that the true purpose of Jalsa is to increase in spirituality, Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad said:

“The objective of the Jalsa is to increase Taqwa in the participants whilst spending time in a spiritual environment. If this is not the case, then organising the Jalsa is a futile pursuit. When the Jalsa Salana takes place and one spends time in a religious and spiritual atmosphere, meeting one’s brothers and sisters and exchanging good and pious ideas, it creates a spiritual and religious rejuvenation. I am hopeful that the Jalsa Germany this year, which was only for two days, was spent fulfilling these objectives.”

Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad further stated:

“Every German Ahmadi Muslim who has taken part in the Jalsa Salana, whether they participated from the Jalsa site or listened to the proceedings from their homes, have acquired spiritual nourishment for the coming year from the Jalsa Salana. Now it is the responsibility of every Ahmadi Muslim to take this spiritual nourishment and make it a permanent feature of their lives. Thus, everyone should try to spend their lives with this in mind. Otherwise we cannot say that we are trying to achieve the objectives for which we attended the Jalsa Salana.”

His Holiness went on to speak about the importance and the conditions of adopting Taqwa in light of the teachings of the Holy Quran and the Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) as explained by the Promised Messiah (peace be upon him).

Highlighting the importance of the subject, His Holiness mentioned that the Promised Messiah (peace be upon him) wrote in a couplet:

“Righteousness is the root of every pious deed”

At this, the Promised Messiah (peace be upon him) was revealed the second verse of the couplet by God Almighty Himself in the following words:

“All is dependent upon this root remaining intact”

Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad said:

“Therefore, we, who claim to have pledged allegiance to the Promised Messiah (peace be upon him), if in truth we wish to discharge our pledge then this root [of righteousness] must be planted within our hearts so that every action of ours bears the sweet fruits of righteousness. Otherwise, our claims are hollow.”

His Holiness mentioned that those who wish to progress in righteousness must excel in their worship of God and fulfil the rights of their Creator, otherwise there is not much that separates human beings from animals, who also eat, drink and sleep but do not worship Allah the Almighty.

Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad quoted the Promised Messiah (peace be upon him) who said:

“There is a dire need for you to understand that the purpose of God creating you is that you may worship Him and become solely devoted to Him and that the world should not become your primary objective. I say this time and again because in my view this is the very purpose for which man has come into the world and it is this very task from which man is far removed… With regard every action that you undertake, be watchful over ensuring that your purpose should be to attain the pleasure of God and that you do not prioritise your own objectives and desires whilst moving away from the wishes of God.”

In light of the words of the Promised Messiah (peace be upon him), Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad said:

“Every one of us should understand the purpose of our creation and should try to fulfil the rights of Allah the Almighty. Safeguard your worship. Do not let the comforts afforded to us in Europe and the developed countries deviate us from the purpose of our creation. If this is happening, God forbid, then we have not fulfilled the rights of our pledge of allegiance to the Promised Messiah (peace be upon him).”    

Highlighting that true peace and comfort lies in adopting righteousness and not in material pursuits, Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad quoted the Promised Messiah (peace be upon him) who said:

“The greatest desire of a person is to attain peace and comfort and for this, Allah the Almighty has created only one pathway, which is the pathway of righteousness and that is the path of the Holy Quran, or in other words it is known as the ‘The Right Path’. No one should think that disbelievers don’t possess wealth – in fact they do so more than others. They remain engrossed in their enjoyment of pleasures. I truly say to you that they seem to be happy in the eyes of the world, in the estimation of the futile materialists and the superficial people, but in truth they are afflicted with a grief and anguish. You have seen their faces, but my eyes are set upon their hearts. They are caught in a fire, chains and shackles… There is a fire that constantly burns within them; if they lose wealth or fail in their plans, they become stricken with grief and are overcome to such a degree that they sometimes break down and lose their minds.”

Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad further quoted the Promised Messiah (peace be upon him), who said:

“Just like an alcoholic yearns for one goblet of wine after another and continues to desire more and has anguish inside him for yet more, so too is the case of a materialistic person who is also caught in a fire. The fire of his desires cannot be put out for even a moment… Whilst a righteous person can attain true happiness even whilst living in a shack which a materialistic person cannot achieve even if he resides in a grand palace.” 

Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad said:

“Thus, we need to honestly assess what we do and how we act in our day-to-day dealings – in our speaking and whilst expressing ourselves, in our exchange of ideas with other people, our interactions in business or how we are in any other forms of interaction. If we are misusing our tongues then we are straying further away from the teachings of Islam and righteousness. Along with fulfilling the rights of Allah the Almighty we must also ascertain what the rights of each other are and to what extent are we fulfilling them?”

 Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad continued:

“We must see to what extent do we live with one another in love and harmony and to what extent are we endeavouring to refrain from arrogance? To what extent are we adopting the path of humility and to what extent are we endeavouring to fulfil our oaths? What are we doing for the establishment of the truth – for it is the establishment of truth alone that can purify us of Shirk (associating partners with Allah). What are our efforts in safeguarding our children and our future generations, so that righteousness may prevail in them and that they too become such that they endeavour to live their lives in accordance with the commands of Allah the Almighty.”

His Holiness explained that the morals and character of a believer should be so lofty that they make him easily identifiable in society.

Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad said:

“Our every word and action should be such that places us on the right path. Our mutual love towards each other should be such that distinguishes us as a true believer from all others. From our domestic issues, to the general relationships that we have in society, we should be the ones who establish the very best examples and they should be apparent. Otherwise peace and comfort can neither be established in the home nor in society.”

During his address, His Holiness shone a guiding light on a number of moral vices.

Speaking particularly about the vice of thinking ill of others, Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad said:

“Allah the Almighty has decreed the thinking ill of others as a great sin because the very peace and harmony of society is destroyed as a result of it. This is why the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) has said that, “Refrain from thinking ill of others for this is a great form of sin”… If one is to ponder over this, they will see that animosities are often borne as a result of thinking ill of others.”

His Holiness explained that the only way an individual can safeguard themselves from the constant onslaught of Satanic influences in life is to turn sincerely to God and endeavour to live one’s life wholly in accordance with the injunctions laid down by Allah.

Elaborating upon this further, Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad said:

“What is the meaning of becoming a man of God? It means that one must become a true ‘Servant of the Gracious God’. A true servant of God must be one who not only fulfils the rights of God but also, whilst acting upon His given commandments, fulfils the rights of His creation. Indeed, when a person endeavours to become a true servant of God then no sin can be committed by him…”

Placing particular importance on the fulfilling of the rights of others, Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad said:

“We must deeply take measure of our own hearts. Does righteousness truly reside in our hearts? Or is it merely a verbal claim? If there is no care or respect in our hearts for others and we do not have the passion for fulfilling the rights of others then our hearts are truly void of righteousness. Even if we perform hundreds of thousands of prayers and acts of worship, if these matters (of care and love for others) are not in our hearts, we cannot truly be deemed as ‘righteous’ in the eyes of Allah.”

Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad continued:

“We must deeply assess our hearts and to ask what is inside them? Do they contain the fear and awe of Allah the Almighty, or are they filled with worldly desires and the desire to attain them through any unlawful means? If our hearts are not completely pure, and we, whilst considering ourselves to be better than others do not fulfil their rights, then we are far removed from righteousness, the consequence of which is that the peace of society will be destroyed.”

Speaking about the vice of arrogance, Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad said:

“Arrogance is a grave ill which one must endeavour to safeguard oneself from. If we look for the causes of one’s arrogance, a major reason is pride. Having a high estimation of oneself, or one’s nationality, or one’s money, or intelligence, or one’s children, be that their abundance or their intelligence, as well as many other things. This sense of pride sows the seed of arrogance and considering oneself to be better than others despite the fact that these things are neither worthy of pride for man in the eyes of Allah the Almighty nor are they any form of standard to determine one’s rank. Allah the Almighty has stated that surely in the eyes of God the most respectable from amongst you is he who is most righteous. So these worldly things in the eyes of God are not the standard by which greatness is measured. So if this is not the measure then what is there to be proud over?”

His Holiness mentioned that only righteousness is the source of greatness in the sight of God.

Highlighting the inherent weakness of man, Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad said:

“When natural disasters occur, then is man able to compete with them? Those who otherwise display arrogance, at that time shriek and cry like small children when they are afflicted by pain and distress. Recently, some parts of Germany were devastated by flooding. I saw many people appearing on television who appeared strong and healthy, people who believed that they were living in great comfort and security, and that nothing can cause any harm to them, those very people were shown by Allah the Almighty that He is in fact the true source of power. Those same people who were at one point able to provide food to other people were themselves lining up begging for a piece of bread. So then what is the source of their pride?… Every Ahmadi Muslim should always keep the instruction of Allah the Almighty in mind that they must instil humility within themselves and that Allah the Almighty states that by doing so, you will attain His love.”

Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad further said:

“A true believer is one who is immensely humble and this humbleness establishes him firmly on righteousness. Such hearts that contain righteousness are in turn the ones that are able to safeguard both themselves and their future generations and they establish peace in society.”

His Holiness also mentioned that another condition for attaining righteousness is to fulfil one’s pledges, which includes fulfilling the pledge of allegiance Ahmadi Muslims have made with the Promised Messiah (peace be upon him).

Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad said:

“The oath of allegiance (Baia’t) is no normal pledge… If we come to fulfil the rights of Bai’at then we will no doubt soon witness a great revolution occurring in the world.”

Calling on Ahmadi Muslims to bring about a lasting spiritual reformation within themselves, Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad said:

“Leave here today with this pledge that you will do your utmost to fulfil your oath of allegiance, that you will seek repentance in accordance with its true requirements and that you will prostrate yourselves completely and utterly towards Allah the Almighty so that we too may be counted amongst those who truly love God.”

Concluding his address, Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad prayed:

“May Allah the Almighty enable us to attain this high level of righteousness. May our words not merely be words, rather may the world bear witness that what Ahmadi Muslims do and what they say are in complete harmony. May the world proclaim that Allah takes precedence in the hearts of all Ahmadi Muslims over all other things and that these are the people who abide by the commandments of Allah the Almighty. Where these matters will display the reality and truth of Islam to others, they will also establish peace and harmony within our own homes and will safeguard our future generations and their Hereafters. May Allah the Almighty enable us to be true Ahmadi Muslims in accordance with the desires and wishes of the Promised Messiah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him).”

https://www.pressahmadiyya.com/press-releases/2021/10/jalsa-salana-germany-2021-concludes-with-faith-inspiring-address/