Hudhur gave a discourse on thankfulness in his Friday sermon today.

Hudhur said
all praise belongs to Allah, last Sunday the UK Jalsa Salana successfully conclu
ded with His grace. Our heads are bowed to God in gratefulness, indeed, should b
e bowed, for it is with His grace alone that everything concluded in such a fine
manner.
It is established in the very beginning of the Holy Qur’an that true believers sta
rt everything in the name of God. So that God’s help may be with them through out
and they may remember Him. The first verse of the Qur’an is: ‘In the name of Allah…’ thu
s declaring that the great Book is being read in the name of God.
Believers are enjoined to start everything in the name of Allah. The Divine attr
ibutes that are mentioned next are Rahman (Most Gracious) and Raheem (Ever Merci
ful). Hudhur explained that Rahman God is One Who is extremely Kind and Benevole
nt and it is by virtue of His quality of Rahmaniyyat that He bestows His graciou
sness and puts all sorts of arrangements in place for mankind. By virtue of His
Raheemiyyat, in addition to His general benevolence, God’s grace is manifested for
those who are servants of the Gracious God. When a believer supplicates for hel
p and is expectant of Divine succour, God manifests His support and help. Hudhur
said such were the manifestations that we experienced at Jalsa Salana. These we
re borne of God’s Rahmaniyyat as well as Raheemiyyat and they generate thankfulnes
s and it is this gratitude that makes us servants of the Most Appreciating God (
Al Shakur) and we thus receive His beneficence at every juncture. As the Qur’an st
ates: ‘…If you are grateful, I will, surely, bestow more favours on you;’ (14:8).
Hudhur said, with His blessings God removed some of our concerns and concluded t
he Jalsa amidst immense blessings. In order to continue to experience these mani
festations of Divine Rahmaniyyat and Raheemiyyat we need to continue to seek His
beneficence. The Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) said that nothing in the s
piritual or worldly realm can conclude without these two graces. He said if one
pondered one would realise that both these Divine qualities are continually at w
ork. Rahmaniyyat has been in action long before the creation of man. It facilita
tes and provides all the arrangements needed for man’s existence which man cannot
even conceive to attain through his own efforts. Similarly, Raheemiyyat manifest
s itself when man employs his God-given capabilities to accomplish something. Ra
heemiyyat does not allow efforts to go in vain and they bear fruits.
Hudhur said the planning of Jalsa and the hard work put in by the workers draws
the attention of believers to God’s blessings and rather than associate success to
their efforts, the good conclusion of all matters makes them grateful to God. S
uch gratefulness is truly being servants of Al Shakur.
The Qur’an draws attention in many other places that it is the sign of true believ
ers that they are grateful. ‘…Surely, Allah is gracious towards mankind, but most of
them are not thankful…’ (10:61). It is thus God’s grace that He facilitates man’s spiri
tual and worldly progress. When a believer experiences these blessings his or he
r gratefulness is increased. The best form of thankfulness is expressed by obser
ving the prescribed Prayers, to supplicate God and to associate all good to His
grace. Such is the perception of those who begin everything in the name of God.
When a believer attains this insight he/she has no option but to express thankfu
lness by praising and extolling God. Surah Al Fatihah makes it clear that once s
omething is begun in God’s name and His grace is experienced, it should be declare
d five times a day in every unit of Prayer as well as in general prayer that All
praise belongs to Allah, Lord of all the worlds that He facilitates everything.
The Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) explained that God has started the Holy
Qur’an with the Arabic word ‘Hamd’ (praise) in His glory as opposed to words Madh (ap
plaud) or Shukr (thankfulness) because the word Hamd encompasses the other two w
ords.
Praising God is not simple thankfulness, rather it is a declaration that not onl
y did God provides all the necessary arrangements for mankind with His grace, bu
t also rewards whatever effort is made by man, accepting prayers and bestowing g
race. This grace comes regardless of deficiency in our effort and prayer, reform
ing it all and bestowing the most excellent outcome. Indeed thankfulness of God
is not ordinary thankfulness. He covers our faults, graciously corrects us and e
nhances the standards of our efforts, enhances them to such a degree that mere h
uman endeavour could never attain the results that are achieved. When we praise
God with this viewpoint, He further blesses us. This is something we need to be
ever aware of.
Following praise and thankfulness to God, He also draws our attention to be grat
eful to one another. This kind of thankfulness is the right of any person who ha
s done any favour to us and it is the way of the servants of the Gracious God to
practice it. The Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) said that dues of Allah ca
nnot be discharged without discharging the dues of mankind and the Holy Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allah be on him) said that one who is not grateful to pe
ople is also not grateful to God. He would be extremely grateful to anyone who s
erved him in any small capacity. It was indeed his gratefulness towards the peop
le of Medina that even after the victory of Makkah he chose to live in Medina. T
rue believers should try and follow the great model of the Prophet (peace and bl
essings of Allah be on him).
Hudhur said with the grace of God all Jalsa tasks concluded successfully. While
we are grateful to God for this we are also grateful to all those who worked nig
ht and day for the Jalsa. Many workers started their Waqar e Aml days before Jal
sa and it is still being carried out in cleaning the site. While the marquees ar
e being dismantled by the hire companies themselves, general winding up of the e
ntire Jalsa is a huge task. People who have carried out these tasks deserve to b
e shown gratitude. Jalsa guests should be most grateful to them.
Hudhur said guests from outside the community expressed their special thanks to
those who provided meals, accommodation and transport. Without exception the gue
sts praised the services provided and as before were most impressed that people
belonging to diverse fields in life happily performed ordinary duties. Hudhur sa
id another pleasant aspect of this year is that those who are rather good at cri
ticising, who find something or the other to criticise, have also written commen
ding letters. Hudhur said it is not possible to attain perfection in any task. H
e said he did not object to their fault-finding, but was mentioning it because s
ome people criticise out of habit. In any case this criticism guides the managem
ent into the right direction and is beneficial to them. This year they have writ
ten that they observed as much improvement as was possible. Those who usually co
mplain that people wander around the Jalsa site have said that they noticed a se
nse of seriousness among the attendees this year. They also noticed attention pa
id to worship, prayers and remembrance of God. For this, Hudhur said, the Jalsa
attendees also deserve thanks that they tried to fulfil the objective of Jalsa S
alana. May God make this noticeable change enduring.
Hudhur said the Ahmadiyya Jama’at worldwide keenly watches the UK Jalsa Salana, wi
th the grace of God via MTA and people are quite expectant about the UK and Germ
an Jalsa. Otherwise a great sense of deprivation was felt in Pakistan regarding
Jalsa. Many letters and emails of gratitude are received by MTA and this year th
ey have received so many letters that it is not possible to reply to them all. H
udhur said in addition he too receives many letters sending salaam and thanks to
MTA. Hudhur said MTA is run mainly by volunteers who have worked for it for the
past many years with resolve. They all deserve gratitude; Hudhur said he thanke
d them all on behalf of the Jama’at as well as himself. Hudhur also thanked the ma
ny volunteers working for MTA outside the UK.
Hudhur mentioned the Jama’at website alislam.org and said it too plays a significa
nt part in showing Jalsa programmes. It is also run by a lot of volunteers who d
edicate several hours to the site. It is run from USA. Dr. Nasim Rehmatullah sah
ib, who is in-charge of the site told Hudhur that this year the site was availed
of to such an extent [at UK Jalsa] that the service was effected and people sen
t many messages complaining about the interruptions in service. Hudhur said the
website offers limited service but this year a huge number of people used it. Hu
dhur said the alislam.org team should think about ways to improve the standard s
o that a maximum number of people can avail of the site.
Hudhur said this year there were some concerns about security which were removed
by the sheer grace of God. Neither was it an imaginary concern nor was it based
on fear following the events in Pakistan, rather this was genuine concern and a
n incident did take place and the facts tell that there was evil intent on part
of whoever was involved. However, the security was alert and acted on time and t
hus God protected against all evil. All the workers of the security department a
re worthy of gratitude, some of them hardly took any rest. Hudhur said security
and Khidmat e Khalq departments worked very well but due to some misunderstandin
g in one or two incidents people got upset. Hudhur extended apologies to those f
amilies and said that owing to the pressure under which these departments were w
orking Hudhur requested the families to forgive the workers involved and not har
bour any bad feelings. Hudhur said the security volunteers remained exceptionall
y alert and vigilant and fulfilled their responsibilities beyond Hudhur’s expectat
ions. Hudhur said apart from those who give duty at Jalsa, there are UK Khuddam
who have been giving regular duty for the past 26 years, especially around the F
azl Mosque, people have been dedicating their time with fervour to give 24 hour
duty, specifically those belonging to the Fazl Mosque halqa. Hudhur thanked them
and prayed that may God reward them.
Hudhur said this year there were some amazing experiences with reference to secu
rity. A Lajna office-holder has written to Hudhur that she went to the bazaar ar
ea with her colleagues. They had their badges on and had gone there from within
the arena but on the way out the Khadim on duty insisted on checking their bags.
When they explained that they had only come from within the arena and were stay
ing inside, he still insisted he could not allow them through without checking t
heir bags. When he was asked who had instructed him thus, he gave a very simple
answer. He said, ‘Hudhur instructed in his Khutbah that even if the security peopl
e go out they should be checked on return and this instruction is sufficient for
me.’ Hudhur said this reminded him of an incident in Qadian in the days of the Ah
rar mischief when Hadhrat Khalifatul Masih II (may Allah be pleased with him) ha
d said in his Friday Sermon that no one should be allowed entry in the Bahishti
Maqbara without a specific code. One night he went there himself to check and he
was stopped. He gave his name. The person said ‘Hudhur, I have recognised you but
I am commanded by you not to let anyone in without the code, therefore you cann
ot go in.’ Hadhrat Khalifatul Masih II (may Allah be pleased with him) commended t
his. Hudhur said let alone duty-holders, the Khalifa of the time can be stopped
on the instruction of the Khalifa of the time.
Hudhur said sometimes incorrect estimates are made when new arrangements are put
in place. This year the entry points to the ladies arena were limited and women
and children had to endure long queues. Some duty-holders have written to Hudhu
r that women and children stood in queues in the heat for up to two hours withou
t complaining, consoling anxious children. The workers have written to Hudhur th
at they were moved to tears to see them waiting just because they were Ahmadi an
d had come to attend the Jalsa and were being patient because they had come with
religious motivation. Thus although duty holders were moved to tears by this th
ey had to carry on their duty as it was their obligation. Hudhur said the arrang
ements were improved the next day and it was only on Friday that ladies had to w
ait for long. The management is particularly apologising to mothers of young chi
ldren and is also grateful to them. Hudhur said this incident also displayed tha
t the patience and resolve of Ahmadi women is enduring. Had these women shown re
stlessness everything would have fallen into chaos. The entrance was smooth beca
use of the cooperation of the guests. Here again one is inclined to the subject
of praising God that He puts it in hearts that sacrifice is needed for the Jama’at
. Hudhur said outside guests also remarked at the peaceful queues.
Hudhur said the transport arrangements were good as they were last year, Langer
Khana worked extremely well; all departments deserve gratitude. After the Jalsa,
police noted the extraordinary peaceful manner in which everything was conducte
d. The Health and Safety people had made some demands last year. This year not o
nly were our shortcomings removed, rather Health and Safety people said they wou
ld present our exemplary work in their general report.
Hudhur said we only have God in sight, indeed should only have Him in sight, Him
alone do we praise, Who covers our faults, grants us excellent outcomes and obl
iterates the plans of our enemy. We are grateful to God that He especially helpe
d the workers of all departments to discharge their duties. The attendees of the
Jalsa as well as those who watched it on MTA saw God’s grace showering down on ev
erything. May God ever increase His grace on us and may we fulfil the good expec
tations of the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) who said that the progress an
d change that could be found in his Jama’at could not be found in anyone else in t
he entire world. We have to move onwards in our progress and change and become t
hose who truly praise God so that we may continue to be the recipients of His be
neficence.
Next Hudhur announced the sad passing away of Mustapha Thabit sahib who died yes
terday. He was born in Egypt in 1936 and was a Moosi. He moved to Canada in 1971
. The newspaper Al Fazl has given details of how he took his bai’at. He leaves beh
ind a daughter and a son. He had worked in oil companies and had served as natio
nal Tabligh secretary in Canada. He had a special fervour and enthusiasm for Jam
a’at work and had gathered a lot of material for MTA. He was foremost in financial
giving. Hadhrat Khalifatul Masih IV (may Allah have mercy on him) once said tha
t he gave 70% of his earning. He donated generously towards the printing press a
t the centre. And wrote many books as well as translated a few. He translated th
e first volume of the Five volume Quranic commentary as well as ‘Deebacha’. He made
very good speeches at Jalsa. Hudhur said he first met Thabit sahib in 1983 in Gh
ana. At the time the non-Ahmadis thought that Arabs did not come into Ahmadiyyat
, therefore Hadhrat Khalifatul Masih IV (may Allah have mercy on him) sent him t
o Ghana where he had opportunity to do Tabligh. Later he came to the UK and work
ed in publication and Tasneef. He experienced a trial but did so with sincerity
and loyalty and God rewarded him for this. He had been ill for the past several
months and wrote to Hudhur that he wished to spend the time left near Hudhur. Hi
s residence was in one of the guest houses. When he heard that Hudhur was about
to visit him he quickly dashed to Hudhur first. His illness deteriorated a few d
ays ago when he was hospitalised. He was playing a pivotal role in the Arabic pr
ogramme [on MTA] and truly paid the dues of being a servant of the Promised Mess
iah (on whom be peace). He endured his cancer with great patience and kept on se
rving until such time that he was very ill. May God elevate his station in Parad
ise. Hudhur said his funeral Prayer will be held on Monday after his son and dau
ghter have arrived.

Full text not available.

Urdu pdf
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English Summary by Wakil Ala
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Synopsis: English Urdu UK Jalsa Salana successfully concluded with Allah s gra
ce, Allah s Attributes: Rahman (Most Gracious) and Raheem (Ever Merciful), Promi
sed Messiah (A.S.) said that nothing in the spiritual or worldly realm can concl
ude without these two graces, The best way to thank God is to worship Him the wa
y told by Him, Promised Messiah (A.S.) said that dues of Allah cannot be dischar
ged without discharging the dues of mankind, Holy Prophet (S.A.W.) said that one
who is not grateful to people is also not grateful to God, May God ever increas
e His grace on us and may we fulfil the good expectations of the Promised Messia
h (A.S.), Death of Mustafa Thabit Sahb of Egypt.

About Friday Sermon

The Jumu ah (Friday) prayer is one form of congregational prayer in Islam. It ta
kes place every Friday. Regular attendance at the Jumu ah prayer is enjoined on
all believers. According to a Saying of The Prophet(sa) a congregational prayer
is twenty-five times more blessed than prayer performed alone. (Bukhari)
Friday Sermons in the Quran“O ye who believe! When the call is made for Prayer on
Friday, hasten to the remembrance of Allah, and leave off all business. That is
best for you, if you only knew.” more
Friday Sermons in the Hadith“… (He who) offers the Prayers and listens quietly when
the Imam stands up for sermon, will have his sins forgiven in between the presen
t and the last Friday” (Bukhari)
Related resources
Salat: Friday Prayer
Significance of Friday in Islam
The Online Salaat Guide
Islamic Prayer
Yearly Archive List by Khulafa