After reciting the Tashahhud, Ta’awwuz, and Surah Al-Fatihah, Hazrat Khalifatul Masih V (aba) recited verse 273 of Surah al-Baqarah and then stated:
The translation is as follows: “It is not thy responsibility to make them follow the right path; but Allah guides whomsoever He pleases. And whatever of wealth you spend, it is for yourselves, while you spend not but to seek the favour of Allah. And whatever of wealth you spend, it shall be paid back to you in full and you shall not be wronged.”
This verse clarifies that guidance is granted by God and we must pray for true guidance and whatever we spend in the cause of Allah the Exalted from the best portion of our wealth is for our own benefit. Allah the Exalted does not keep anything in debt, rather, He returns manifold. When a farmer throws seeds onto a field, an ignorant person may say, “What has he done! He has wasted all the grains.” However, a wise person knows that these seeds that have been thrown onto the field can yield thousands or even millions of grains. Thus, the pure wealth that is spent in the cause of Allah the Exalted with a pure intention, can yield thousands of folds in return, and indeed it does. Ahmadis, old and new experience this all the time and this helps them to adhere to their faith.
Allah the Exalted has characterised true believers as this that they spend in the cause of Allah the Exalted in order to seek His favour, they attain His pleasure and witness the blessings of Allah the Exalted as to how He accepts their sacrifice and provides for them in return and this fact further increases them in faith. Hence, Allah the Exalted states “I do not keep a loan. If you spend out of your pure wealth in order to seek My favour and for the sake of My faith and upon My command, then I will also provide for you in return.” The condition is that the wealth should be pure. Hence, people living in the developed countries should be particularly mindful of the fact that they should earn a pure livelihood. Fraudulent claim of social benefits and tax-evasion are unlawful ways of earning money, these involve making false statements and Ahmadis must understand that all these are sins and such earnings are not pure. Earnings through unlawful means or by occupations forbidden by God are also impure. Allah the Exalted does not accept financial sacrifice made of impure wealth.
Hazrat Khalifatul Masih V (aba), then narrated many faith-inspiring examples from all over the world, including young, old, men and women, who made immense sacrifice for the cause of faith to make contributions to the blessed scheme of Tehrik-e-Jadid and announced the start of the new year of Tehrik-e-Jadid. Paying Chanda improved people’s financial status, helped them get better paid jobs, their businesses flourished, and people received money from sources, which they could even not imagine. When Allah the Exalted blesses these people, they made an even greater sacrifice for the cause of faith.
In the beginning, when Hazrat Musleh Maud (ra) initiated Tehrik-e-Jadid, he shared the criteria for donations by the poor. He stated: “If someone has eggs, they should donate it, if anyone has some money, they should offer that.” Even today, we observe how people spend in the way of Allah for His sake and to attain his pleasure. A missionary from Guinea Bissau writes: “There is a fifty-year-old Ahmadi woman who resides in a very remote area called Kapokoray. She is quite poor and has no source of income. Some time ago, the members in that area were encouraged to participate in Tehrik-e-Jadid. She made a pledge saying: “I do not have anything except for a small chicken. I will raise it then sell it and contribute whatever is received from it towards Tehrik-e-Jadid.” After some time, there was an epidemic among the chickens in that area, and her chicken also fell ill. Her relatives advised her to slaughter her chicken before it dies. However, she stated; “I will not do this.” She prayed: “O Allah! I have nothing in my possession other than this chicken. So, I implore your help. Please save its life.” She says: “When I woke up the next day the chicken had recovered fully. I raised it for twenty days and handed it over to the Mu’alim as my contribution.” People claim that they cannot witness any signs [in support of the Promised Messiah (as)]. If one’s relation with Allah Almighty is true and one’s intention is sincere, then God Almighty will show them signs. It is these small signs that become a source of increasing people in their faith.
Another example of offering sacrifice with such sincerity and devotion is from Benin. The missionary of the Lokossa region writes, “A flood had swept through most of the areas in the Lokossa region and all the roads leading into the area were blocked as a result. The local missionary travelled to flood-affected area with the help of the local police. When he saw them, the local President sahib began to cry and explained that he was crying with delight that now he will be able to fulfil his promise to God and pay Chanda on time. He was not at all bothered about loss of land and harvest that resulted from the flooding.
Children learning the importance of sincerity and sacrifice is another transformation witnessed among the followers of the Promised Messiah (as), which he instilled within us. Hazrat Khalifatul Masih V (aba) gave the magnificent examples of two pre-teen children, who took jobs to raise funds for Chanda. One of them went to the woods to collect firewood. This sort of sacrifice in which one has to work or go to the jungle to collect wood and then sell it, is a concept which the children here are unable to relate to as the conditions here are better. Undoubtedly there are excellent examples of sacrifice here as well; there are some children who gave their entire pocket money or that they were saving money to buy something, but instead they gave away that amount. Nonetheless, we find examples of sincerity and loyalty everywhere, each sacrificing according to their own situations. May Allah the Almighty continue to increase them in their sincerity and loyalty.
I will now mention some details of the sacrifice God Almighty enabled the followers of the Promised Messiah (as) to present and the manner in which they have offered these sacrifices shows that it would not have been possible without the support and succour of God Almighty. By the grace of Allah, on 31st October, the 85th year of Tehreek-e-Jadid came to a close and the 86th year has begun. In this [previous] year, £13.6 million was offered in way of the Tehreek-e-Jadid Scheme and by the grace of Allah, this amount is an increase of £802,000 from the previous year. This year, the currency of Pakistan has devalued significantly owing to the political and economic problems. Subsequently, they were unable to retain their usual position and thus, overall Germany stood 1st, Pakistan stood 2nd, UK was 3rd. Outside of Pakistan, Germany was 1st, after Pakistan UK was 2nd, then USA, Canada, India, then a country in the Middle East, Indonesia, Australia, Ghana, then another country in the Middle East.
By the grace of Allah the Almighty, despite the dire situation in Pakistan – and in fact the economic situation of the entire world has worsened – the collection in terms of local currency has increased.
In terms of the contribution per person, the first three countries are as follows: Switzerland is 1st, followed by USA, Singapore, UK is 4th, Sweden is 5th and then the remaining positions.
In terms of overall contribution, the outstanding Jamaats from Africa are: Ghana is 1st, Nigeria, Burkina Faso, Tanzania, Gambia, Benin.
By the grace of Allah, the number of participants this year is over 1,827,000, and 112,000 people participated in the scheme for the first time. From the countries of Africa that had significant increase in members who contributed are: Niger, Sierra Leone, Nigeria, Cameroon, Benin, Senegal, Guinea Bissau, Ivory Coast, Tanzania, Guinea Conakry.
Among the large Jamaats, in terms of increasing their total contributors are: Bangladesh, Canada, Malaysia, India, Indonesia, Germany, UK, USA and Australia.
According to the Central records, by the grace of God Almighty, the accounts of those belonging to Daftar Awwal are total 5,927. Thirty-six of those are still alive and pay the chanda themselves and as for those that have passed away, their heirs and sincere members of the Jamaat are continuing them.
Germany stood 1st, the first ten Jamaats are: Rödermark, Neuss, Pinneberg, Mehdi-Abad, Aansaberg (it is written in Urdu, perhaps it is not read in this way), Kiel, Flörsheim, Weingarten and Koeln.
The first ten local Jamaats in Germany are: Hamburg, Frankfurt, Gross-Gerau, Moerfelden, Dietzenbach, Wiesbaden, Riedstadt, Darmstadt, Mannheim and Azalsheim.
In Pakistan, with respect to total contribution to Tehreek-e-Jadid Scheme, the standings are: Lahore is 1st, Rabwah 2nd, 3rd is Karachi. The ten districts with the most contribution are: Islamabad is 1st, Sialkot, Faisalabad, Gujranwala, Umerkot, Hyderabad, Mirpur Khas, Qasur, Toba Tek Singh and Mirpur Azad Kashmir.
The first five regions in the UK are: Baitul Futuh Region, Masjid Fazl, Midlands, Baitul Ihsan and Islamabad.
In terms of overall contribution, the ten large Jamaats of the UK are: Masjid Fazl, Worcester Park, Islamabad, Aldershot, Putney, New Malden, Gillingham, Birmingham West, Glasgow and Scunthorpe.
In terms of smaller Jamaats: Swansea is 1st, Spen Valley, Keighley, North Wales and Northampton.
In terms of total contribution among the USA Jamaats is as follows: Silver Spring, Los Angeles, Silicon Valley, Seattle, Central Virginia, Detroit, Chicago, Oshkosh, Houston, Georgia South and Virginia.
Total contribution from Local Amarats in Canada is as follows: Calgary is 1st, Peace Village, Vancouver, Mississauga and Saskatoon.
The five small jamaats are: Edmonton West is 1st, Durham, Bradford, Hamilton and Ottawa West
The ten Jama’ats in India for their total contribution are: Karelia, Qadian, Pathapiriyam, Hyderabad, Kuombitor, Pengari, Bangalore, Calicut, Calcutta and Yad Gir.
The ten provinces of India are: Kerala, Carnatic, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Jammu Kashmir, Odissa, Punjab, Bengal, Delhi and Utter Pradesh.
The economic and political situation of Kashmir is very dire but the Jamaats there have sacrificed a lot.
The first ten Jama’ats in Australia for total contribution are as follows: Castle Hill, Melbourne, Berwick, Melbourne Long Warren, ACT Canberra, Marsden Park, Adelaide South, Penrith, Monteith Parramatta, Adelaide West
May Allah the Almighty greatly bless the wealth and progeny of all those who offered sacrifice.
