Voice of British Muslim Women

Ayesha Naseem, Blackburn 

Annual events of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community bring a great sense of excitement and joy for the Community members. This is extra noticeable this year as events slowly return to their normal scale after two years of Covid restrictions. As for the Ijtema or the Annual Gathering of Lajna Imaillah UK – the women’s auxiliary organisation of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, it is a weekend for Ahmadi women from across the country to come together and be spiritually refreshed.  

Just like any large-scale event, the preparation and planning for the annual Ijtema begins months ahead;o not only are the attendees benefitting and learning from the content and the activities during the gathering itself, but those also who are preparing and delivering speeches, addresses, and presentations. The entire process allows every single person involved to return home after learning something new or after revising something they had known already.  

Alongside the learning experience, the Ijtema also allows personal development of participants. Be it on a local, regional, or a national level, participants of all age groups get to prepare and participate in competitions of recitation of the Holy Quran, speeches, and different quizzes. Moreover, the entire gathering is run by women of the Community themselves who are responsible for ensuring the security and wellbeing of everyone attending. Through all this, members gain invaluable skills that they can then utilise in their daily life, be it at home, during their education or in the workplace.  

On one Ijtema, the fifth Caliph/Khalifa and current worldwide head of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, His Holiness, Mirza Masroor Ahmad (may Allah be his Helper) said:  

“From an administrative perspective, this Ijtema has been organised and run by women from start to end, and they will have made a programme that is attuned to the needs and preferences of our ladies and girls. Hence, this Ijtema is a collective and practical demonstration of the great status bestowed upon women by Islam.” [1] 

From its organisation and administration to the activities that will take place at the Ijtema itself, Ahmadi women are at the centre of it all. And for Ahmadi women, their commitment to their faith and Ahmadiyya Caliphate or Khilafat, is at the heart of the annual Ijtema. It is their opportunity to show the world that Islam not only empowers them, but also provides them with guidance to reach the maximum potential.  

Addressing the concluding session of the Lajna Imaillah Ijtema in 2017, His Holiness Mirza Masroor Ahmad (may Allah be his Helper) said:  

“In this era, there is an urgent need for our women to portray Islam’s true teachings and to spread them far and wide. Without any fear or complex, you must propagate Islam by practicing its teachings. If anyone claims that Islam does not give women freedom or that they are oppressed by men, it is your duty to show the world that Islam has given you true freedom, true liberty, and true enlightenment!” [2]  

Another huge benefit of the annual Ijtema is the reaffirmation of the unity between the members of the Community. Each auxiliary organisation gets to hold their own gathering independently and the fact that these Ijtemas take place after Jalsa Salana – the Community’s national annual convention, there is already a strong sense of Community. These annual gatherings rejuvenate this unity which is seen nowhere else in the world. It is instilled in the hearts of Community members for each other by Allah the Almighty and its display in annual gatherings reflects and proves Islamic teachings of love and kindness.  

As for the Ijtema, serving as a gathering to facilitate our spiritual refreshment and progress, the blessed words of the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) offer great wisdom, he writes:  

“We cannot find the Ever Living and Self-Subsisting God through our own devices. The only straight path for the achievement of this purpose is that we should first devote our lives, together with all our faculties, to the cause of God Almighty, and should then occupy ourselves with supplication for meeting Him, and should thus find God through God Himself.” [3]  

As Ahmadi Muslim women unite for the national Ijtema, they will be joining with the aspiration to reap its spiritual benefits and to progress and develop in a way that brings us closer to God Almighty.  

References 

[1] https://www.reviewofreligions.org/13446/womens-rights-and-equality/  

[2] Ibid.   

[3] The Promised Messiah (as), The Philosophy of the Teachings of Islam, p. 108.