Voice of British Muslim Women

Rabah Nasir, Worcester Park

Our beloved Huzoor, His Holiness Mirza Masroor Ahmad, our current Khalifa and worldwide spiritual head of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, often ends the letters he writes to us with the prayer: ‘May Allah Almighty enhance your spiritual wellbeing’. This perfectly summarises how important it is to take care of and value our spirituality. Though amidst of all worldly distractions, taking care of it and making sure of its progress can be difficult. Fortunately, we are members of Lajna Imaillah, the Ahmadiyya Muslim women’s auxiliary organisation, which ensures that one’s spirituality is always taking the upright route if one is willing to make the effort. Being a part of Lajna does mean that you are old enough to know to take care of it, however facilitating its progress is engulfed by all the wonderful events, which I have encountered and experienced throughout my Lajna life.

When I was 15 and my time as a member of Nasirat was ending, I was anxious about moving and joining the older and wiser members of the community. I thought that I was not ready nor was I knowledgeable enough to be able to participate in their conversations. What I wasn’t aware of was that classes catered for student Lajna were held every fortnight. I found them to be so useful to help my religious insight whilst being in my comfort zone among my peers. It was a place where knowledge was exchanged without the fear of being wrong. Everyone was in similar if not the same boat of trying to ease into the transition from being a member of Nasirat to Lajna. I can really say that having those sisters with similar core values, is really a key part of being sheltered from the outside noises and helps protect a person’s spirituality. Fortunate are we though, that our realm of sisters is not just confided to a class but is spread all over the globe. 

Beyond books and attending events, a system that I have found always deepened my faith very naturally were the Ijtema competitions held every year – varying from speech competitions to the recitation of the Holy Qur’an and poems. Starting at Nasirat and now all the way to Lajna, what started with wanting to get the first prize to actually appreciate the processes of researching of what I would say in my speech, my awareness of my faith automatically increased. One year I remember the theme was about The Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and about his many qualities and the specific quality I was to work on was ‘Messenger of Peace’. To be able to summarise this heavy topic in 5 minutes required a lot of reading and understanding of Islam, which upon realisation is actually the core reason for holding such competitions. On 6 November 2022, Huzoor (may Allah be his Helper) said to Lajna Imaillah Belgium “make your programmes in a way that they are religious, and they also cater for the needs of such girls” [1]. Indicating that programmes are made so that learning important historical events can be made interesting and enjoyable for younger and older girls.

As a commemoration of this centurion year, 2022, Lajna members from all over the UK pledged to plant 100,000 trees. Despite the crispy cold air and frozen hands, I remember feeling so proud of how, on our local level, many Lajna members, of all ages, came out to plant a small seed in this grand scheme.  I think planting 100,000 trees across the country is such a beautiful metaphor to mark 100 years of Lajna Imaillah. Regardless of the weather conditions, age, or not knowing one another, members of Lajna Imaillah come together to help plant and grow the institution that is Lajna Imaillah and ultimately seek a greater spiritual connection with Almighty, Allah. No words in this day and age can perfectly embody the importance of spirituality than what His Holiness’ (may Allah be his Helper) said at the end of his address to ladies at Jalsa Salana United Kingdom 2022; that this world would become paradise on earth if every Ahmadi woman promised that she was going to bring about a spiritual revolution within herself as well as in the world.

Reference List:

1. http://www.youtube.com. (n.d.). This Week With Huzoor – 11 November 2022. [online] Available at: https://youtu.be/apHb8fDH-SM [Accessed 16 Nov. 2022].