Ahmadiyyat: the Revival of Islam

Ayesha Naseem, Blackburn

In the pre-Islamic society, women lived in atrocious conditions. It was the advent of Islam, the Holy Qur’an, and the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be on him) that ensured the fundamental rights of women and provided them with the honour and respect that they deserved in society.

However, as the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be on him) prophesied, after the early glorious years of Islam, the conditions of Muslims deteriorated. The Prophet had said there would be mosques but no sincere worship, people would recite and memorise the Holy Qur’an but would not act on its commandments, sadly this came to pass. It was no surprise that as a result the status of women in the Muslim society was also neglected, and the culture of patriarchy became prevalent.

Islam, however, is a religion of hope. As we find in another prophecy of the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be on him), that when Muslims would reach such a weak state and when Islam’s existence would be in danger, Allah the Almighty would bring the Promised Messiah of the age, so he could revive Islam and its universal teachings.

Indeed, with the revival of Islam with Ahmadiyyat, also came the revival of the rights that Islam had granted Muslim women. With Lajna Ima’illah – literally meaning community of servants of Allah the Almighty – a women-only auxiliary organisation was established in 1922 by His Holiness Mirza Bashir-ud-Deen Mahmood Ahmad (may Allah be pleased with him), the second Caliph and Successor to the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace).

We step into the month of June which marks half of the year, and also represents the transition point between spring and the arrival of summer. Symbolic for hope – this ‘half-point’ of the calendar year can help us reflect and be grateful for all the good and the many blessings we have in our lives. Lajna Ima’illah is one such blessing for Ahmadi Muslim women.

In a time when women in the West were struggling to gain basic human rights, in a remote village of India, the Second Caliph of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community united Ahmadi Muslim women under one organisation. Lajna Ima’illah assumed the responsibility of not only educating the women and helping them recognise their true potential and their status ensured for them by God Almighty but also of defending Islam and working towards its progress.

Instilling true belief in the Oneness of Allah the Almighty, fulfilling His rights and the rights of His Creation are the main objectives of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community. With Lajna Ima’illah, Ahmadi women get the space to improve their spirituality and worship, increase their secular and religious knowledge, bond in sisterhood and in effect try and achieve the first two purposes of Islam Ahmadiyyat. Fulfilling the rights of God Almighty’s Creation essentially means service to humanity – an objective that Ahmadis, collectively as a Community and also among their respective auxiliary organisations have always striven to fulfil and inculcate in their daily lives.

Lajna Ima’illah, for example, have contributed towards the building of mosques, schools, water facilities, hospitals, and much more. To mark their centenary, Lajna UK pledged to build Aisha Maternity Hospital in Sierra Leone – by the Grace of Allah the Almighty its construction is well underway. The motive to build this hospital came from the fact that Sierra Leone has the highest levels of maternal mortality in the world. It is estimated that for every 100,000 live births, 1,360 mothers die because of complications during or after childbirth. The death rate in Sierra Leone is equivalent to 8 maternal deaths a day. Lajna UK have also pledged to plant 100,000 trees this year to mark the centenary of the organisation. A project aimed to help create a sustainable environment in the UK has taken off across the country.

This determination to serve and to progress comes from the empowerment that Lajna Ima’illah find in Islamic teachings and in the constant ray of guidance that it receives from the institution of Khilafat (Caliphate) and the Khalifa (Caliph) of the time.

Ultimately, the purpose is to work towards creating a society and world where “the spiritual flowers presented by the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community are everlasting.” [1]

References:

[1] https://www.alislam.org/press-release/new-ahmadiyya-mosque-opened-in-aachen-germany-by-head-of-ahmadiyya-muslim-community/