Jalsa Salana
-
Iffat Mirza Rashid, Alton Even someone who is as apathetic towards football as I am cannot ignore the hype and excitement of the football World Cup that comes around every few years. It infiltrates every aspect of English life, from shop window décor, to the adverts we see, to the family and friend meetups which…
-
Journey Through Sound Hala Hadi, Deer Park Childhood has a way of amplifying sound. At eight years old, I would sit in the back of my dad’s car, giggling as a mischievous gust of air slipped past the window and rushed against my ears, while we sped along the motorway. The deep grinding of the…
-
Meher Shazia Chaudhry, Aged 10, Bexley and Greenwich Being an Ahmadi Muslim is a true blessing from Allah, and attending the annual Jalsa Salana is an integral part of this spiritual journey. This year’s Jalsa held a special place in my heart as I had the opportunity to serve on water duty for the first…
-
Fatiha Nadeem, Bradford This year, Jalsa was bound to be different as it was my first Jalsa unaccompanied by my mother or grandmother. In fact, for many, an experience is not the same if the people around are different – as was the case for me. However, I knew it would be different and there…
-
Ayela Noor (aged 15), Fleet As soon as I enter, I am immediately greeted with smiles. Jalsa has a very positive, friendly environment that makes me feel welcome. I start the day walking around the site, and I see people of all different backgrounds, united by one thing. Islam. It’s beautiful and so inspirational to…
-
Bareera Ghaffar, Nottingham Jalsa Salana UK, is an eagerly anticipated three days for Ahmadis across the world. In Hadeeqatul Mahdi, The Garden of the Mahdi, men, women and children gather in their numbers across the country and across the world, to feel the spiritual brotherhood that envelopes all, and to hear, listen and reflect on…
-
Saira Iffat Bhatti, Slough The air shifts. Something stirs. A thousand steps quicken without a word, As though the earth itself knows that something sacred is near. They’ve come from motorways and meadows, Pushing buggies, carrying toddlers, Draped in cultures and colours. Hearts alight with one shared hope: to catch a glimpse. To hear the…
-
On the first day of Jalsa, Ayesha Naseem Mirza and Iffat Mirza Rashid discuss the core purpose of Jalsa Salana, an opportunity to be in the presence of His Holiness Khalifatul Masih V (may Allah be his Helper), and to surround ourselves with discourses regarding high moral values. For many Jalsa Salana, and the international…
-
Rameen Masood, Leicester ‘It is He Who has made the earth for you a cradle, and has caused pathways for you to run through it; and Who sends down rain from the sky, and thereby We bring forth various kinds of vegetation.’ (20:54) [1] There is something profoundly humbling about the image of the earth…
-
Nooresahar Ahmad, Hampshire I have a distinct memory of a particularly rainy Jalsa that I attended when I was about 14. That year, I was doing water duty, and one of my major tasks was delivering a red cart loaded with water bottles at different tents around the site. I wore tall pink wellington boots…
Voice of British Muslim Women 