NASIRAT UK NEWSLETTER NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2010

1. NASIRAT UK NEWSLETTER NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2010 Spending in the way of God: Summary of Friday Sermon delivered by Hadhrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad atbaon 5 thNovember 2010 Hazoor started the Friday Sermon by reciting the following Quranic verses: “They who spend their wealth for the cause of Allah, then follow not up what they have spent with taunt or injury, for them is their reward with their Lord, and they shall have no fear, nor shall they grieve.”(2:263) “Those who spend their wealth by night and day, secretly and openly, have their reward with their Lord; on them shall come no fear, nor shall they grieve.”(2:275) Then Hazoor explained that when spending in the way of God, a true believer is always primarily mindful of seeking God’s pleasure. He said it leads to spiritual development and removes domestic problems. Then Hazoor praised the Ahmadis who always sacrifice their wealth in the way of God and ask for nothing in return except His pleasure. Hazoor said that the sacrifices of these people are exactly in line with the description of people aforementioned in the Quranic verses. Then Hazoor said that with the grace of God the 76th year of Tehrike Jadid was immensely blessed and we bid it farewell among these blessings. Hazoor announced the start of the 77th year and prayed that may God bless it even more. He said that the contribution of the Ahmadiyya Community worldwide for the 76th year is £5,468,500. It has increased by £522,000 from the previous year. Then Hazoor announced the positions of countries according to their donations in Tehrike Jadid. In the first place was Pakistan, second was United Kingdom, third was USA, then it was Germany, Canada, India, Indonesia, Australia, an Arab country (that Hazoor did not name), Switzerland and Belgium. Hazoor also said that the U.K Tehrike Jadid contribution has had a very good input from Lajna, with the grace of God their contribution has had an increase of £35,000 and their share in the U.K total is one third. Then Hazoor praised Pakistani Ahmadis that they made huge financial sacrifices despite the persecution faced and the floods which recently devastated the country. Then Hazoor emphasised that the number of the participants in Tehrike Jadid should be increased and new members as well as children should be included in the scheme, regardless of the amount that they are able to contribute. Then Hazoor talked about the number of people who took part in this blessed scheme. He said that the current number of participants is more than 622,000 and there is an increase of 30,000 participants from last year. Hazoor also said that African countries should join this scheme even if they give a few pennies each. Then Hazoor reminded that new born babies and new contributors after 2005 should now be included in Dafter V. Hazoor mentioned that the number of Dafter I, people who joined the scheme 76 years ago was 5,937. Hazoor especially mentioned Lahore Jama’at in Pakistan. He said that the Jama’at of Lahore has given sacrifice of life of the highest order and yet has maintained its distinction of financial sacrifice. In the end Hazoor prayed that may God immensely all those who contributed to Tehrike Jadid and thus participated in the accomplishment of propagation of guidance. He also read a few extracts from the writings of the Promised Messiah (as) about financial sacrifice.

2. New Year Resolutions • Should we make new years resolutions? • Any decision to do something to improve our selves is always good, but when you think about improving your self and your life by doing things like losing weight, taking healthier options, doing more studies etc, just remember that it is equally, if not more important to think about your spiritual health also. • I am sure you have many many ideas, but just in case you do get stuck, here are a few ideas to get you started! • Listening to Huzoor’s Khutba every week • Doing your Namaz on time and regularly • Respecting and obeying your parents • Attending your Nasirat classes regularly • Improving your purdah • Writing to Huzoor regularly Chinese new year The Chinese Lunar New Year is the longest chronological record in history, dating from 2600BC, when the Emperor Huang Ti introduced the first cycle of the zodiac. Like the Western calendar, The Chinese Lunar Calendar is a yearly one, with the start of the lunar year being based on the cycles of the moon. Therefore, because of this cyclical dating, the beginning of the year can fall anywhere between late January and the middle of February. A complete cycle takes 60 years and is made up of five cycles of 12 years each.The Chinese Lunar Calendar names each of the twelve years after an animal. The Chinese believe that Buddha summoned all the animals to come to him before he departed from earth. Only twelve came to bid him farewell and as a reward he named a year after each one in the order they arrived. The Chinese believe the animal ruling the year in which a person is born has a profound influence on personality, saying: "This is the animal that hides in your heart.“ 2011 is the Chinese year of the hair.