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TRIP TO QADIAN

On December 26th 2017 PAAMA President Imam Abdullah Dibba and representatives, Abdul Latif Bennett, Basiyr Rodney, Alhaji Habeeb Shafeek, Daud Ahmad, Lamin Sanyang and Al haji Hassiem Babatu left for Qadian India. The delegation was led by Naib Ameer and Missionary In charge, Azhar Haneef Sahib.
The aim of the trip was twofold. Firstly, to attend Jalsa Salana Qadian. Secondly, MTA was tasked with producing a series of shows which presents the African American Perspective on a variety of topics relating to the Jamaat and the Promised Messiah (as). The result would be 7 episodes of a show entitled ” The Messiah of The Age.“
The programs were originally slated to air on MTA Africa. As Allah would have it however, a day before the shooting. Huzoor (aba), directed that some of the programs air on MTA 1 as well , live, throughout the world. It was an amazing experience.
By far the most important aspects of the trip rests in visiting and praying in the mosques and rooms where the Promised Messiah and his companions had prayed. However humble the room, there was always a sense that you were walking along the path of righteousness.
The whole place seemed other worldly when considering how far we’d traveled and how long this blessed trip was divinely in the making. The dirt roads seemed like moon dust. Every step seemed historic.
There was also a dense fog that descends every night. It was so thick, that you could hardly see 5 feet in front of you, at times. While dark and foggy conditions might seem a cause for apprehension in any place else, in Qadian it renders each step a submission and the walks, a stroll in the clouds.
After Fajr we would walk to the grave of the Promised Messiah (Bahishti Maqbarah) , before returning to our guest quarters. The peace and solemnity of Bahisti Maqabarah placed our lives and t h e challenge before us, in beautiful perspective. Imam Azhar Haneef would offer some so l i l o q u y , before enjoining prayers. We also visited Ludhiana, the place where the first Biat was taken, Hoshiarpur, where Allah revealed the prophecy of the Promised son during the famous 40-day prayer seclusion, as well as The Golden Temple in Amritsar, the holy site for the Sikhs. It was a Spiritual Bootcamp of the highest order.
All who walked those hallowed grounds came back with a new zeal, a new focus and a new mission.

Abdul Latif Bennett