My Feelings About Joining Jalsa Salana UK from Home

Duresameen Ahmad, UK

Since I have 2 young children, I will not be attending Jalsa this year due to the restrictions due to the pandemic. Although I understand that this is for health and safety purposes, my heart and soul are in Hadeeqatul Mahdi in these days of Jalsa. It is in these situations that you realize Allah’s immense blessings; one of the big ones is MTA; through this I get to capture a fraction of the Jalsa feeling. Creating an atmosphere at home for myself and my children to experience the feeling of spiritual rejuvenation virtually is something I did last year during lockdown as well.

One way I try to create the Jalsa atmosphere at home is by putting up a small tent for my daughters, where they sit, play and listen to the Jalsa proceedings whilst eating Dal and Aloo Gosht. They drink tea during the speeches while sitting in front of the TV. They enthusiastically repeat the slogans raised in between the sessions and tears flow down everyone’s eyes during beloved Huzoor’s (aba) inspirational speeches. Then we pray together at the time of Salat. My whole family is attending the Jalsa this year, so feeling left out is normal, but I know how important it is for me to be there for my children and talk about Jalsa at home. This is also a form of sacrifice and I can only pray that we witness those Jalsa days again soon, Insha’Allah (God-willing).

One thing I will really miss is praying behind Huzoor (aba) in congregation, which reminds me of our true purpose as Ahmadi Muslims: the worship of our Creator. I am amongst those who stay at the Jalsa site every year in the marquee with my children so I will miss that too, especially waking up for Fajr prayer and then going for breakfast, getting ready for the day, meeting family and friends. Jalsa Salana has always been the highlight of previous years. I pray that all those who are attending keep safe and healthy. I pray that Allah may give our beloved Huzoor (aba) strength and good health as our spiritual father in these Jalsa days and forever after. My heart is with all those who cannot attend Jalsa. I know how much Jalsa means to us Ahmadis.