Voice of British Muslim Women

Danila Jonnud, Hampshire

British weather can do anything so Jalsa UK can fall on the hottest or rainiest days of the year, but this is part of the experience. The drive to Hadeeqatul Mahdi can be by car or shuttle bus, and it’s always exciting to see the yellow signs at the sides of the roads telling everyone that Jalsa Salana is happening and pointing the way to the car park, which is on a big hill overlooking the small city of white marquees.  

Entry to Jalsa involves ‘scanning’, the security system that everyone must pass through with their ID badge and belongings. This could involve, for instance, that one day you walk through carrying a couple of side tables, bunches of flowers, and tablecloths which makes for an interesting experience with the X-Rays. 

The other side of ‘scanning’ is like another world. Thanking the ladies in charge of security – who have probably been there since early morning – you move into a large field with tents in every direction, greeting people who walk by with “Assalam o alaikum” (peace be on you) or even the celebratory “Jalsa Mubarak!” The duty holders can be differentiated by the colourful square badges pinned to the arm of their clothes, detailing their name, duty, and team position. Team leaders are “Nazimas”, her assistant “Naib Nazima” and team members “Muavinas”. 

Over to one side are the biggest marquees for those listening to the programme, the larger one the ‘main marquee’ where those needing translation can buy headsets, and the smaller one for mothers and children, with a pushchair park nearby. On the opposite side, you can see a row of small marquees; one serving tea and refreshing lemonades, another with a variety of books being laid out for sale, and my cousins, stacking CDs at the Audio-Visual stall, selling recordings of past proceedings. Over there, is the hygiene station, where the hygiene team can collect the tools to keep the site clean and nearby, big taps are set up providing fresh water to anyone. Passing by girls on cleaning duty at the wooden toilet blocks, you can see they’re prepared for the tough shift covered in plastic aprons and gloves, but underneath, dressed beautifully in sparkly suits, ready to enjoy Jalsa. 

In an adjoining area is the accommodation site, housing international and UK-based guests. In previous years, I had duty here, with work beginning the day before as that’s when most of the guests would arrive. The team work tirelessly into the night registering them, preparing bedding, and catering to any needs arising in the moment. Many of my family members worked here, my sisters in registration, my mother driving guests in golf buggies across the site. One memorable time, a Nazima had to help push a stuck buggy out of the very muddy ground ending up covered in it herself and relating the experience with lots of laughter the next morning. Incidentally, good humour even in the face of difficulty is a feature of a duty holder, which His Holiness, Mirza Masroor Ahmad (may Allah be his Helper) emphasised as an integral part of working at Jalsa. 

In one address, His Holiness also explained that guests are often shocked at how the site is run primarily by volunteers from our Community. Every type of duty is carried out onsite; in the marquees you can see enthusiastic young children on “water duty” pouring cups for those listening to the programme. The “Ziafat” marquees are where teams of Lajna serve food for the thousands of guests and workers. There are also groups of non-Muslim guests touring the site with Lajna from the outreach team. 

During the early Jalsas in Qadian and Rabwah, the duty of Lajna members was somewhat different. Security consisted of visual checks; translation headsets were not needed as most attendees spoke Urdu; there was no audio-visual department as that, along with ID scanning technology, did not yet exist and there were no departments for hosting non-Muslim guests which have formed more recently. 

Having a duty doesn’t take away from the experience of Jalsa, and the Jalsa memories of me and my family are characterised by the various tasks we have done. Over the past 100 years, as changes have occurred, Lajna members have adapted to every situation and new departments are run with the same dedication as the original ones were. And for many, duty doesn’t end onsite as a lot of workers may have Jalsa guests to look after at home. 

On Sunday evening, after most of the work is completed, we often treat ourselves with a trip to the bazaar for burgers, chips, pakora naan, and an exchange of stories and laughter from the past weekend with other off-duty workers, enjoying the last of the unmatched Jalsa atmosphere.  

And as you leave the site at the end of the final day, the girls still on duty in security will bid farewell with group recitations of Nazm (poems) to mark the end of the three Jalsa days, until the next year.