From a mere attendance of 75 at the first ever Jalsa in Qadian to the unparalleled turnout of more than 30,000 in current years in the UK; the convention of Jalsa Salana has exceeded all expectations and achieved unbeatable milestones in the past 125 years. This tremendous progress is truly the product of the divine help from Allah the almighty and the bountiful blessings of Khilafat. Today many of us are accustomed to the various Jalsas that take place around the world but let us take a journey back to where it all began.
In May 1891 in a remote and unknown town in India called Qadian, under Divine inspiration Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad(as) announced that he was the Promised Messiah and Imam Mahdi awaited by all Muslims. Later on the same year the Promised Messiah(as) decided to hold the first Jalsa Salana and from then on the divine conventions of Jalsa Salana’s began.
After the partition, the community grew in size and number and Jalsa Salanas continued to be held in the town of Rabwah. These steadily increased in size and influence as even more Ahmadi Muslims gathered with the shared purpose to enhance their spiritual knowledge and to reaffirm their dedication to their Khalifa. In 1984, Ordinance XX was introduced by the government of Pakistan which denied Ahmadi Muslims the right to practice their faith. Due to these circumstances, the fourth Khalifa Hazrat Mirza Tahir Ahmad(ra) left Pakistan and migrated to the United Kingdom, moving the headquarters to Fazl Mosque London. The last Jalsa Salana held in Rabwah, in 1983, saw nearly 250,000 faithful Ahmadi Muslims attending and seeing one last time the face of their Khalifa in Pakistan.
Meanwhile, under the guidance of Khilafat the community was spreading across the world. Countries such as Nigeria, Burkina Faso, Uganda, Germany, Switzerland, Canada, United States of America, Fiji, Bangladesh, Australia, Singapore and many more held their own separate Jalsas and are continuing to do so every year.