THE FIRST JALSA SALANA UK Written by | Raheel Ahmad, Missionary UK
The Jalsa Salana of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community was initiated by the Promised Messiah(as) in 1891. What we know as the first ever Jalsa Salana of 1891 was in fact a gathering for a specific purpose. The Promised Messiah(as) invited members of his Jamaat to come to Qadian for a consultation on a religious matter: to invite those opponents – who had either published edicts of disbelief against the Promised Messiah(as) or had supported it – to a method of identifying the truth. The Promised Messiah(as) wrote Asmani Faisalah (The Heavenly Decree) in December 1891 and it intended to resolve the disputes between him and his adversaries. The Promised Messiah(as) had been inviting scholars to a discussion on the life and death of Jesus(as) as that was the key difference and the bone of contention of the entire dispute. Yet the only reply he received was from Maulvi Nazeer Husain and his acolyte, Muhammad Hussain Batalwi, who said that Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad(as) was not a Muslim and that they could only hold a discussion if he proved his Islam to them. The Promised Messiah(as) had even gone to Delhi for this very purpose with his
companions in October 1891. Despite all the arrangements at the Jami‘ Masjid of Delhi and an attendance of 5,000 people, Maulvi Nazeer Husain, to save face, declined to discuss the life and death of Jesus(as) and returned to the takfir of the Promised Messiah(as). The Promised Messiah’s book, Asmani Faisalah (The Heavenly Decree)was read out in the first Jalsa by Hazrat Maulvi Abdul Karim Sialkoti(ra) in front of 75 fortunate members who were part of this first historic Jalsa. The book began with the verse, “Allah will not grant the disbelievers a way to prevail against the believers”(Surah al-Nisa, Ch.4: V.142) so as to state that the support and succour of Allah would determine which of the two parties was worthy of being called “the believers”. After mentioning the details of the debate with Maulvi Nazeer Husain, the Promised Messiah(as) presented four ways, as described by the Holy Quran, by which the chosen ones of God could be identified and distinguished from the rest of mankind: • The chosen ones of God receive many glad tidings from Him regarding themselves and their friends
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