Different people spend new year’s eve indulging in different types of activities according to their cultures and traditions. Some people spend hundreds and thousands of euros to buy fireworks and that’s why we see the sky lit up with a variety of colors during the new year. Another group of people prefer drinking alcohol, wine to celebrate the start of a new year. However there is another group of people, a community known as the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaat having its presence in more than 200 countries led by His Holiness Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmed the 5th Caliph of the Promised Messiah (May Allah’s blessings be on him). This jamaat does not indulge in worldly festivities, on the contrary they mark the new year remembering their Creator, worshipping Him and serving His creation.
This article will narrate how the Ahmadiyya members, specifically living in Almere, welcomed the new year 2023. However, it should be kept in mind that the Ahmadiyya members all over the world bode farewell to the past year and welcomed the new one in more or less the same manner according to the guidance of their beloved imaam and Khalifa Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmed. In the last few days of 2022, members of Ahmadiyya Jamaat in Almere along with their missionary visited an old house in Almere where they met around 90 residents and shared sweets with them. The old people were happy to receive visitors as it cherished old memories of celebrating new year among near and dear ones. Around 150 presents were handed out during this visit and the smiles on the faces of the residents was invaluable.
In the early hours of 1st January 2023 the Ahmadiyya Jamaat got together at the Almere mosque where they started the new year offering congregational prayers and later having breakfast together. The purpose of this get together was multifold. On the one hand they sought forgiveness from Allah for their past mistakes and on the other hand they prayed to Him to guide them on the righteous path. More than 85 members of the Jamaat including women and children were present on this occasion. This highlights the importance for the members of the jamaat to mark the new year worshipping Allah. They abandoned sleep in order to join these prayers.
After the prayers and the breakfast there was another very important work remaining that has already become a sort of tradition for the Ahmadiyya jamaat. Throughout the Netherlands and also in other countries, auxiliaries of this jamaat stroll through different areas of their cities and clean the garbage left behind after the night of fireworks. The term commonly used for this type of volunteering activity is waqar e amal, that literally means dignity of work. Following its tradition, the Ahmadiyya Jamaat Almere in collaboration with the gemeente Almere shortlisted three areas of Almere, namely Poort, Stad and Buiten where more than 30 members took it upon them to clean the streets. Personnel from the gemeente also joined the endeavor and were full of admiration for the members of the jamaat. The whole night people were lighting fireworks for their own amusement and the next morning members of the jamaat were busy cleaning other people’s mess up so that the residents don’t face problems when they step out of their homes. This is the essence of the Ahmadiyya jamaat following Allah, true Islam and serving humanity that separates it from the rest of the worldly and religious organizations.
