THE amir (president) of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama’at Nigeria, Alhaji Abdul Azeez Alatoye, has explained that there will be special prayer sessions for the success of the forthcoming 2023 elections at the 68th edition of the jama’at’s annual conference (Jalsa Salana) which will be held on Friday, 23, through Sunday, 25 December, at the jama’at’s conference ground at Jamiatul Mubashireen, Ilaro, Ogun State.
Alatoye, who disclosed this on Saturday at the jama’at’s headquarters in Ojokoro, Lagos, during a press briefing to announce the annual conference which, he said, is expected to be attended by personalities from various leadership strata of the society, including political, religious, traditional and other leaders.
He said the event be used to, among other things, beg Allah, “Who is the Ultimate Elector,” to decide for the country leaders of His own choosing at all levels of political leadership in the country.
He also said that the conference will feature exhibition, solemnisation of mass nikah (marriage), medical outreach and awards for members of the jama’at who distinguished themselves in academics in the last three years from various institutions of higher learning at home and abroad.
The Ahmadiyya Muslim leader said: “It is noteworthy that this 2022 edition of the Jalsa Salana is coming three years after it was last held in 2019 due to the constraints of Covid-19 pandemic.
“It is interesting to unfold that this three-day religious gathering holding under the guidance of the world head of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad, Khalifatul Masih V (aba), promises to be engaging and impactful, as it will explore the thought-provoking theme ‘Our Paradise is in our God’.
“The rationale behind this God-centered theme is the need of our contemporary time where Nigeria in particular and the entire world in general have been wallowing in pervasive insecurity and lack of true peace and happiness due to humanity’s drifting away from the Ultimate God amid unbridled pursuit of crass materialism in the form of acquisition of all forms of power, fame, wealth, among others.
“In line with the teachings of Islam, it is the belief of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama’at that God is the Absolute Peace and Ultimate Source of peace, security and prosperity. We will be focusing on Allah and His Attributes.
“The logic is that, since Allah is as described, real prosperity and true peace, security and happiness can only be realised through recognition of the centrality of the place of Allah in the destiny of humanity; and through total submission to His Will and commandments and worship of Him to gain nearness to Him and harvest both spiritual and material bounties from Him.
“Clearly, this cannot be realised through ungodly and corrupt means which, sadly, have been characterising world pursuit of crass materialistic interests and goals, as evident in our politics of bitterness and selfishness, pervasive embezzlement of public funds, terrorism and incessant killings, rampant kidnapping for ransom or ritual and other various fraudulent practices, fictitious subsidy and overburden interest affecting all facets of our individual, national and global affairs.”
Alatoye said that to explore and dissect the various important dimensions of this “God-centered theme,” various lectures to be delivered by erudite scholars have been slated for the event.
According to him, the holding of Jalsa Salana is a long tradition within the fold of Ahmadiyya that dates back to December 1892 when the founder of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama’at, Hadhrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, held the first ever annual conference.
“Ever since then, it has become an annual tradition across the over 200 countries and territories where the jama’at has been established,” he said.
