Jalsa Salana UK 2014 and Hospitality

With the grace of God UK Jalsa Salana begins next Friday. Quite a lot of preparation has taken place at the Jalsa Gah or the site where Jalsa will be held, Hadiqatul Mahdi, and guests have also started arriving. May God protect all those travelling to Jalsa to seek its blessings and make their journey easy and bring them safely! With the worsening global situation one is concerned for travellers. Our prayer is that not just Ahmadis but every person in the world is in peace and may they attain the relief for which the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) was sent in this age.

Our Jalsa arrangements are carried out on voluntary basis and with reference to this a week prior to Jalsa Hazrat Khalifatul Masih draws attention to relevant matters as indeed he did today. Hospitality matters are not only relevant for Jalsa volunteers but also for every person who is accommodating Jalsa guests in his home. In fact a true believer should respect and regard guests in normal situations as well, but today the focus will be on Jalsa hospitality.

Jalsa guests come purely for religious reasons as indeed attendance of Jalsa should be only for religious purposes. Due to this the significance of these guests is that much greater especially because the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) has drawn our attention to the fact that Jalsa Salana is purely for religious purposes. People do not come to Jalsa for personal interests or for worldly delights and if anyone does so, they negate their spiritual reward. Jalsa guests are of course those who gather for the sake of God and in affirmation of a system that the Imam of the age established. Particularly so those who come to the UK Jalsa do so with specific focus and at times by spending more than they can afford so that they may attain its blessings. Love of Khilafat motivates them about meeting the Khalifa of the time. When Huzoor observes love of Khilafat in the eyes of Jalsa guests, new Ahmadis as well as long-term Ahmadis, from different countries, he thanks God because their love is owing to God’s grace and is not something that can be possibly generated through human efforts.

This is merely by virtue of the advent of the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) whom God sent to establish a way once again to disseminate the true teaching of Islam to the world and the message of love and peace to be taken to the world and the world be told that peace of the world lies in true Islam alone. Nowadays many countries are also represented in the German Jalsa Salana in a large number so that they may meet the Khalifa of the time. A large majority of people come to the UK Jalsa specifically to benefit from the spiritual atmosphere of Jalsa and to be recipients of the prayers of the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) and also meet the Khalifa of the time. This fervour cannot be found in any worldly relation and conditions of Bai’at draw attention to this matter!

The guests coming to UK Jalsa have a special station and significance and by virtue of this the significance of those serving them is also enhanced. Members of the Jama’at offer their services appreciating this significance. High ranking people in worldly terms and high earners are given the task of cooking large pots of food, make bread and other various jobs, even cleaning of toilets which they do happily because this service makes them the recipients of prayers. Their service also becomes a source of Tabligh for people outside the Jama’at. Even children who serve drinking water to guests are a source of silent Tabligh. Their service tells the world that we are not those who create disorder; we facilitate physical as well as spiritual water to the world. Fortunate are those who offer their services on a voluntary basis to serve guests at Jalsa Salana and thus seek God’s pleasure.

The Holy Qur’an states special significance of hospitality. It mentions the hospitality of Hazrat Ibr