It really and truly saddens me to state that there was really not much difference between the Darbar held in Dubai on December 13, 2003 and Golden Jubilee Darbar of March 25, 2008.
We must remind ourselves that the Golden Jubilee of our Beloved Imam is a unique, exciting and exhilarating occasion, that is granted to the fortunate, ONCE IN A LIFETIME! Sure, the Jamat was treated to the very costly Abda Parveen and other enjoyments. But amidst all our personal celebrations we must not forget our foremost duty to ensure that on such an occasion our Beloved Imam must be received with pomp, style and splendour, and throughout the Padhramni Mubarak, from the very beginning to the end, Our Beloved Imam must feel, at every moment, the passion and the overflowing happiness as well as the Glory of this unique occasion.
During His Golden Jubilee, Mowlana Sultan Mohamed Shah was weighed in gold!! Surely it is not too much to ask for our Beloved Hazar Imam to atleast be welcomed at the airport and outside the Darbar with Bands, Guards of Honour, Dancers and Streets lined with Jamat waving flags, their faces overflowing with happiness? All of these were missing in Dubai. The majority of Mowla's programme was kept hush-hush, and his arrival and departure from the country and from the Darbar were kept completely low key. This was indeed disappointing. It did not feel like the Golden Jubilee at all, but just a Padhramni Mubarak, like in the past.
Security, and all other issues, could have been overcome on this very special occasion by our leaders, had they really understood the significance of this occasion. No wonder then that there was a world of difference in Mowla's outward happiness between His Darbars in Africa and the Darbar in Dubai.
I beg and I plead with all the Jamats who are as yet to celebrate this occasion with our Beloved Mowla to PLEASE ensure that His visit has an extra level of Grandeur, and that the jamat is involved in His programme as much as possible, not just restricted to the Darbar hall. After all nothing will give Mowla more happiness during His Golden Jubilee than to see His jamat everywhere He goes, smiling and welcoming Him. In general, we do need to learn a lesson or two from the Hindus. Just imagine if the Hindus were aware of Mowla's true identity, and were given the chance to celebrate His Golden Jubilee, what would they not do? Have you seen how they celebrate Diwali, Holi, Janmashthami, etc? We are the chosen, lucky ones to have been granted this invaluable opportunity. So why hide our love and passion behind a enforced cloak of feigned decorum?! Why make such an occasion so lack-luster in warmth and excitement for our Mowla? Why does He have to ask if we were going to rejoice or not? Our happiness, love, excitement and pleasure should be so evident that the Imam should feel like sitting in the Darbar for hours. All this is entirely possible and should be implemented. Surely He deserves it!
THE PASSION WAS MISSING!
Interesting post Xaf - but I don't think its all the physical celebrations that make the Imam truly happy. After all, historically, when murids did get a rare deedar of the Imam it was often low-key (we were in hiding, and in Takiyah most times). Do you mean to say that the Imam was not happy then?
I think the Imam measures how much we appreciate him, by the love we accumulate for him in our hearts, more so than the magnitude of the celebrations we display physically.
I think the Imam measures how much we appreciate him, by the love we accumulate for him in our hearts, more so than the magnitude of the celebrations we display physically.
Mowla'spresentinaphysicalmannersoHemustbelovedlikewise!
The comment of NAR refers and my response is TYPICAL ISMAILI RESPONSE!! The circumstances of the time are different today from what they were in the era you are referring to. The Golden Jubilee is a time to PHYSICALLY express the happiness of the heart to our Mowla. If we did not have the means to do so in a grandiose manner than our Beloved Mowla would graciously understand and accept. But we DO have the means and yet we insist on keeping Mowla's welcome low-key while the Jamat itself is having grand enjoyments.NAR wrote:Interesting post Xaf - but I don't think its all the physical celebrations that make the Imam truly happy. After all, historically, when murids did get a rare deedar of the Imam it was often low-key (we were in hiding, and in Takiyah most times). Do you mean to say that the Imam was not happy then?
I think the Imam measures how much we appreciate him, by the love we accumulate for him in our hearts, more so than the magnitude of the celebrations we display physically.
Our Mowla is all loving and accepts everything. He is the Epitome of Graciousness!! But as a murid who loves Him I feel hurt to see this lack-luster display of affection for Him. In fact, it is very rude to think that it is okay for Mowla to just be happy because His murids have love in their hearts and there is no need to make such an occasion physically outstanding.
No offense, but one should read and research about what true love and true passion are and how they manifest themselves.
PS: With Mowla's benevolence Kenya is just fine. Thank you.
Well if you are going to take low blows at NAR, then let me tell you that your response is the one that is the TYPICAL ISMAILI RESPONSE.
What makes imam more happy than any physical celebrations is more attendance in Jamatkhana( especially morning Jamatkhana), more unity in the Jamat, more educated youth, a Jamat that has a higher percentage of people who have experienced the light…
This is what makes our imam happy because this is how he finds out the true love of a jamat, not by playing loud dandias and eating non-stop…READ HIS FARMANS TO TELL YOU WHAT HE NEEDS TO BE HAPPY FROM US!
Have you wondered why have there been barely any bhethamnis for the majlises in the past years, espically for bait-ul-khayal and life??? Maybe you should think about why Mowla thinks that we are not at that spiritual level that he can tell us what is the next step to take???
Think about it.
What makes imam more happy than any physical celebrations is more attendance in Jamatkhana( especially morning Jamatkhana), more unity in the Jamat, more educated youth, a Jamat that has a higher percentage of people who have experienced the light…
This is what makes our imam happy because this is how he finds out the true love of a jamat, not by playing loud dandias and eating non-stop…READ HIS FARMANS TO TELL YOU WHAT HE NEEDS TO BE HAPPY FROM US!
Have you wondered why have there been barely any bhethamnis for the majlises in the past years, espically for bait-ul-khayal and life??? Maybe you should think about why Mowla thinks that we are not at that spiritual level that he can tell us what is the next step to take???
Think about it.
Golden Jubilee MUST be celebrated in a GRANDEUR manner... yes Mowla is happy with us for a lot of things... going to J.K. regularly, being generous, kind, tolerant, etc. as per His firmans.... irrespect of how many of us do and don't and prepare or not prepare.... ALL His Darbars MUST BE CELEBRATED with a big VOW.... imagine during is other padhramni visits He has mostly made firmans to the Jamat not to run around / travel from one city/country to another.... but for the Golden Jubliee everybody can go everywhere He goes..... so yes I do agree that we MUST celebrate with a BIG BANG and let the world know who HE IS and what our religion is all about..... but dear brothers and sisters YOU MUST ALL keep doing your homework of regular attendance, ibadat, read farmans, listen to waezis and constantly and consistently educate yourselves about our faith...... when we celebrate this Jubilee we ought to know and understand OUR religion .... if you haven't been doing that regularly it is still not late to start ..... do little by little everyday..... take out tasbihs all the time..... read firmans..... do ibadat even if you can't make to J.K...... because without this foundation you will / may not experience this special ocassion to it's fullest...... so keep doing your prayers.... very very important...... and the rest will take care of itself.... and those in the organizing committee please let us all participate do our VERY BEST both physically and spiritually.....
People are going off tangent...
The question is "When Mowla arrives physically at any destination for His Golden Jubilee Padhramnis, how should He be received??"
That is all I am asking. Period.
That is all I am asking. Period.
Quran records for us that God does not receive blood and meat of sacrifices (particularly in context of on Eid-ul-Adha).
Our physical actions does not matter, no matter how pale or trivial they may seem by someone's benchmark. However, it is least significant in the way of our faith. Our own history is filled with countless instances of murid's love who offered if I may say 'lack luster' mehmani's to Imam. But, Imam expressed outpouring of His mercy and blessing to those who created that true love for Him.
Imam does not meansure our love against $$ value. He is only looking for our heart's purity and nobility of mind. Allah's vicegerant is tuning us to offer "Taqwa" and heart to Almighty Allah. Only those of us is noble to Allah who shows purity and rejoice in the happiness of having Imam and follow the Imam's hidayat to help the humanity. His objective is to do so much for ultra poor - let us focus our prayers and energies in his hidayat.
Our physical actions does not matter, no matter how pale or trivial they may seem by someone's benchmark. However, it is least significant in the way of our faith. Our own history is filled with countless instances of murid's love who offered if I may say 'lack luster' mehmani's to Imam. But, Imam expressed outpouring of His mercy and blessing to those who created that true love for Him.
Imam does not meansure our love against $$ value. He is only looking for our heart's purity and nobility of mind. Allah's vicegerant is tuning us to offer "Taqwa" and heart to Almighty Allah. Only those of us is noble to Allah who shows purity and rejoice in the happiness of having Imam and follow the Imam's hidayat to help the humanity. His objective is to do so much for ultra poor - let us focus our prayers and energies in his hidayat.
Firstly, I would like to express deep sympathy with Xaf for the frustration she/he has to deal with, not only with the disatisfaction she/he feels but also the way in which nobody has yet understood what exactly she/he is saying...
Correct me if I am wrong, but not once has she/he mentioned anything to do with Spirituality or Presence in Khane or Obeying of Mowla's Firmans. Seems to me that all these knowledgeable people have gone over into the deep-end of irrelevant matters.
Quick Question I would like to post to person above me: Dear Amin, like Xaf has said that Mowla is the Epitome of Grace and he accepts everything because he is so loving and gracious, but does that mean we, as Murids who love him, we as Murids who adore him, we as Murids who cherish him, does that mean that we do not give off our "all" [even in a physical sense] when we can? And please not, I am not talking about circumstances when we "cannot". Are we allowed to take him for granted like that?
Take for instance ~ Parents are all-loving are they not? When they come home from a tiring day at work, they dont ask to be greeted warmly with a warm hug and a warm cup of coffee or tea but wouldnt it be rather wonderful if, all the time, they were met with such a welcome from their children?
Correct me if I am wrong, but not once has she/he mentioned anything to do with Spirituality or Presence in Khane or Obeying of Mowla's Firmans. Seems to me that all these knowledgeable people have gone over into the deep-end of irrelevant matters.
Quick Question I would like to post to person above me: Dear Amin, like Xaf has said that Mowla is the Epitome of Grace and he accepts everything because he is so loving and gracious, but does that mean we, as Murids who love him, we as Murids who adore him, we as Murids who cherish him, does that mean that we do not give off our "all" [even in a physical sense] when we can? And please not, I am not talking about circumstances when we "cannot". Are we allowed to take him for granted like that?
Take for instance ~ Parents are all-loving are they not? When they come home from a tiring day at work, they dont ask to be greeted warmly with a warm hug and a warm cup of coffee or tea but wouldnt it be rather wonderful if, all the time, they were met with such a welcome from their children?
Through Media and other sources we have seen countless welcomings of celebrities and politicians, and how many thousands of people line the street to see the President. And at the airport, you'd typically have a guard of honour, a band playing, etc. And these are just mere people. So how indeed should HIS HIGHNESS THE AGA KHAN, SHAH KARIM, HAZAR IMAM be welcomed? Indeed with much more pomp and galour and festivities. Even, sorry to say, and not to make a competition out of it, but The African Welcomes fell short of what he really deserves. The Pirs have said to [excuse my spelling] "vaadave" him with pearl necklaces, "thaalas" of gold and silver, a carpet made of rose petals, etc.
Thank You
Finally! I have indeed been very sad to read all the other responses. Our Beloved Mowla has agreed graciously to visit all His Jamats PHYSICALLY during His Golden Jubilee Year. We therefore have a physical responsibility to make Him feel as spoilt and as welcomed as possible upon His physical arrival. This is what I was saying was conspicuously missing in Dubai, and the issue of having means or not is moot: It does not take money to have the airport and streets lined with Jamat welcoming Him and waving flags and shouting "Golden Jubilee Mubarak!"; it does not take much money to have little girls to present Him with bouquets of flowers; treasury coffers will not be emptied to have a welcoming band and dancers for Him; it does not take money to arrange a suitable Guard of Honour.
As Salka says, nothing we can do physically can ever match up to His status, but out of love, affection and gratitude we can, and should, at least try to make the Golden Jubilee arrivals and departures of Mowla a little bit out of the ordinary. That is all I was trying to say and thank you Salka for your wonderful words, every one of which rings true and shows your immense love and affection for Our Beloved Mowla.
The Jamat has a spiritual responsibility ALWAYS but for the Golden Jubilee the Imam has to be cossetted and spoilt to the best of our ability in a physical way too. And if we have missed out on this, then we should at least show regret rather than become defensive, and promise to correct and implement this during all future Golden Jubilee visits.
Once again, from the bottom of my heart, kudos to you Salka! And thank you Positive too for your support as well.
As Salka says, nothing we can do physically can ever match up to His status, but out of love, affection and gratitude we can, and should, at least try to make the Golden Jubilee arrivals and departures of Mowla a little bit out of the ordinary. That is all I was trying to say and thank you Salka for your wonderful words, every one of which rings true and shows your immense love and affection for Our Beloved Mowla.
The Jamat has a spiritual responsibility ALWAYS but for the Golden Jubilee the Imam has to be cossetted and spoilt to the best of our ability in a physical way too. And if we have missed out on this, then we should at least show regret rather than become defensive, and promise to correct and implement this during all future Golden Jubilee visits.
Once again, from the bottom of my heart, kudos to you Salka! And thank you Positive too for your support as well.
The generosity is missing. I remember the Nairobi Jubilee August 2007. We were about 150 people at the Airport when Hazar Imam came, the Council President did not allow us to go inside the Airport to welcome Hazar Imam while the Airport security was telling us we could go inside.
Compare with the generosity of the Tanzania Council few days later that took 5,000 Ismailis by bus to the airport to welcome Hazar Imam and even got about 2.000 Ismailis completely inside the airport tarmac. If you look at the official video you can see the difference in the hapiness of the Imam.
Generosity is the key.
Compare with the generosity of the Tanzania Council few days later that took 5,000 Ismailis by bus to the airport to welcome Hazar Imam and even got about 2.000 Ismailis completely inside the airport tarmac. If you look at the official video you can see the difference in the hapiness of the Imam.
Generosity is the key.
And we got the other 3000 lined up to the road leading to the hiway and gave them flags and allAdmin wrote:The generosity is missing. I remember the Nairobi Jubilee August 2007. We were about 150 people at the Airport when Hazar Imam came, the Council President did not allow us to go inside the Airport to welcome Hazar Imam while the Airport security was telling us we could go inside.
Compare with the generosity of the Tanzania Council few days later that took 5,000 Ismailis by bus to the airport to welcome Hazar Imam and even got about 2.000 Ismailis completely inside the airport tarmac. If you look at the official video you can see the difference in the hapiness of the Imam.
Generosity is the key.
...Tanzania was also the only place where Nishad-e-Imamah was played upon Hazar Imam's disembarkment from the plane by the Military band..the tanzanian national anthem was not played at all.
Shams
Xaf,
Do you think the Imam would tell Jamati Leaders how I should be received, bands, guard of honour etc? I hightly doubt so. So thank you to the leadership from Dubai so far, for ruining what is suppose to be a Golden Jubilee era and memories for us Ismailies.
I was present in Tanzania, and shukar the Jamat was ALLOWED everywhere the Imam went. In Zanzibar, I recall jamati members from ANY place in the world were lined up almost 2 inches behind the red carpet to receive the Imam.
A memory a murid would never forget in his life.
To the leadership and Council of Tanzania we are truly grateful for accepting us with your hearts.
Do you think the Imam would tell Jamati Leaders how I should be received, bands, guard of honour etc? I hightly doubt so. So thank you to the leadership from Dubai so far, for ruining what is suppose to be a Golden Jubilee era and memories for us Ismailies.
I was present in Tanzania, and shukar the Jamat was ALLOWED everywhere the Imam went. In Zanzibar, I recall jamati members from ANY place in the world were lined up almost 2 inches behind the red carpet to receive the Imam.
A memory a murid would never forget in his life.
To the leadership and Council of Tanzania we are truly grateful for accepting us with your hearts.
Taj,Taj69 wrote:Xaf,
Do you think the Imam would tell Jamati Leaders how I should be received, bands, guard of honour etc? I hightly doubt so. So thank you to the leadership from Dubai so far, for ruining what is suppose to be a Golden Jubilee era and memories for us Ismailies.
I was present in Tanzania, and shukar the Jamat was ALLOWED everywhere the Imam went. In Zanzibar, I recall jamati members from ANY place in the world were lined up almost 2 inches behind the red carpet to receive the Imam.
A memory a murid would never forget in his life.
To the leadership and Council of Tanzania we are truly grateful for accepting us with your hearts.
I will say this..for the most part - it was truly a pleasure serving the global jamat...yes..there were a few loons (notice my use of the word loons) amongst the global jamat..but for the most part...volunteering in east africa was one of the most fulfilling experiences of my life.
Shams
Yup..we'll always end up with the Ugly Americans and the Ugly Canadians..but they're still our brothers and sistersTaj69 wrote:Brother Shams,
It was truly remarkable. Politics are politics for any jamati institution, but that aside -- I was very impressed with the way the Tanzania Jamat received us, from the airport to our departure.
Inshallah, if that happend in Canada -- wow I would have a heart attack
.And if you rode in the busses you probably ran across me and my sister
Shams
or if you came thru the dar airportShamsB wrote:Yup..we'll always end up with the Ugly Americans and the Ugly Canadians..but they're still our brothers and sistersTaj69 wrote:Brother Shams,
It was truly remarkable. Politics are politics for any jamati institution, but that aside -- I was very impressed with the way the Tanzania Jamat received us, from the airport to our departure.
Inshallah, if that happend in Canada -- wow I would have a heart attack
And if you rode in the busses you probably ran across me and my sister
Shams
The one person that truly touched me was the Mukhisaheb of Reunion Island - as he was leaving...he came back from inside to say Thank you and Khanavadan - extended an open invitation to all of us to visit Reunion - said this darbar was something that he would cherish for the rest of his life.Taj69 wrote:Saheb ji salamaat. Your inspiration on this forum is a great source of strength we can all be proud of.
Please do continue your postings.
If anyone here is from Reunion - please pass on my regards to him.
Shams
Heartiest Congratulations to the USA Jamat for an outstanding Golden Jubilee Celebration! What a beautiful reception our Beloved Mowla was accorded in Austin and in Atlanta at the airports. Many congratulations to all those involved in carrying this out. It truly gladdened my heart. I wish similar receptions could have been accorded to Him in Los Angeles and Chicago.
Our Beloved Mowla was indeed very very happy. His smiles were reaching His eyes. But why would He not be? The arrangements made by the US Jamat were fantastic. Indeed they were very generous as well as cordial and courteous at all times. But especially so in Chicago. We arrived at midnight and volunteers were still there at the airport. They guided us cordially and arranged for a shuttle to our hotel. The next day, at registration, the volunteers showed no irritation whatsoever at our having come so late to pick up the cards. Thereafter volunteers urged us to have refreshments before entering the Darbar hall. That was very kind of them. The refreshments were plentiful and delicious too, and volunteers kept on insisting that we take more and more. Generous snack bags were provided at the entrance to the Darbar hall and volunteers guided us courteously towards our seating area, wherein we were free to seat ourselves wherever we wanted. Upon minutes before Mowla's arrival, all the volunteers went and sat behind the jamat and not infront by the runners, as has happened in several other countries. This humility is admirable. After the Darbar, the volunteers rushed to get the snacks out and went around inviting the jamat to fortify themselves before attending the jamatkhana ceremonies. Later on, dinner was served in a smooth and organised manner and all volunteers were courteous, cordial and served portions with generosity.
As we stepped outside the Rosemont Convention Centre, we were shocked to see that the volunteers had lined up a fleet of taxi cabs for the jamat's use. In other places, it has been a nightmare getting to our hotel from the Darbar hall as there have been no arrangements for taxis and/or shuttles. This was indeed very very considerate of them. Those who attended all four Darbars like we did, will bear testimony that Mowla cracked the most jokes and was the most smiley in Chicago. This shows how happy Mowla becomes when the jamat is well looked after by the volunteers and there is generosity and consideration in arrangements.
All in all, the US Darbars were fabulous but Chicago was definitely the icing on the cake! Congratulations and Deedar Mubarak to all!
Our Beloved Mowla was indeed very very happy. His smiles were reaching His eyes. But why would He not be? The arrangements made by the US Jamat were fantastic. Indeed they were very generous as well as cordial and courteous at all times. But especially so in Chicago. We arrived at midnight and volunteers were still there at the airport. They guided us cordially and arranged for a shuttle to our hotel. The next day, at registration, the volunteers showed no irritation whatsoever at our having come so late to pick up the cards. Thereafter volunteers urged us to have refreshments before entering the Darbar hall. That was very kind of them. The refreshments were plentiful and delicious too, and volunteers kept on insisting that we take more and more. Generous snack bags were provided at the entrance to the Darbar hall and volunteers guided us courteously towards our seating area, wherein we were free to seat ourselves wherever we wanted. Upon minutes before Mowla's arrival, all the volunteers went and sat behind the jamat and not infront by the runners, as has happened in several other countries. This humility is admirable. After the Darbar, the volunteers rushed to get the snacks out and went around inviting the jamat to fortify themselves before attending the jamatkhana ceremonies. Later on, dinner was served in a smooth and organised manner and all volunteers were courteous, cordial and served portions with generosity.
As we stepped outside the Rosemont Convention Centre, we were shocked to see that the volunteers had lined up a fleet of taxi cabs for the jamat's use. In other places, it has been a nightmare getting to our hotel from the Darbar hall as there have been no arrangements for taxis and/or shuttles. This was indeed very very considerate of them. Those who attended all four Darbars like we did, will bear testimony that Mowla cracked the most jokes and was the most smiley in Chicago. This shows how happy Mowla becomes when the jamat is well looked after by the volunteers and there is generosity and consideration in arrangements.
All in all, the US Darbars were fabulous but Chicago was definitely the icing on the cake! Congratulations and Deedar Mubarak to all!
Told you - Chicago!!xaf wrote:Heartiest Congratulations to the USA Jamat for an outstanding Golden Jubilee Celebration! What a beautiful reception our Beloved Mowla was accorded in Austin and in Atlanta at the airports. Many congratulations to all those involved in carrying this out. It truly gladdened my heart. I wish similar receptions could have been accorded to Him in Los Angeles and Chicago.
Our Beloved Mowla was indeed very very happy. His smiles were reaching His eyes. But why would He not be? The arrangements made by the US Jamat were fantastic. Indeed they were very generous as well as cordial and courteous at all times. But especially so in Chicago. We arrived at midnight and volunteers were still there at the airport. They guided us cordially and arranged for a shuttle to our hotel. The next day, at registration, the volunteers showed no irritation whatsoever at our having come so late to pick up the cards. Thereafter volunteers urged us to have refreshments before entering the Darbar hall. That was very kind of them. The refreshments were plentiful and delicious too, and volunteers kept on insisting that we take more and more. Generous snack bags were provided at the entrance to the Darbar hall and volunteers guided us courteously towards our seating area, wherein we were free to seat ourselves wherever we wanted. Upon minutes before Mowla's arrival, all the volunteers went and sat behind the jamat and not infront by the runners, as has happened in several other countries. This humility is admirable. After the Darbar, the volunteers rushed to get the snacks out and went around inviting the jamat to fortify themselves before attending the jamatkhana ceremonies. Later on, dinner was served in a smooth and organised manner and all volunteers were courteous, cordial and served portions with generosity.
As we stepped outside the Rosemont Convention Centre, we were shocked to see that the volunteers had lined up a fleet of taxi cabs for the jamat's use. In other places, it has been a nightmare getting to our hotel from the Darbar hall as there have been no arrangements for taxis and/or shuttles. This was indeed very very considerate of them. Those who attended all four Darbars like we did, will bear testimony that Mowla cracked the most jokes and was the most smiley in Chicago. This shows how happy Mowla becomes when the jamat is well looked after by the volunteers and there is generosity and consideration in arrangements.
All in all, the US Darbars were fabulous but Chicago was definitely the icing on the cake! Congratulations and Deedar Mubarak to all!
Shams