How to fulfil the Atfal Pledge
By Tobias Tahir
What is a pledge? A pledge is a promise made by someone to commit themselves to a particular cause or thing. In this case, the Atfal pledge is a promise made by all Atfal to commit themselves to Islam Ahmadiyyat and Khilafat. The words of the pledge are:
“I bear witness that there is none worthy of worship except Allah, He is one and has no partner, and I also bear witness that Muhammad (saw) is His servant and His messenger. I sincerely promise that I shall always be ready to serve my faith Islam, Jamaat e Ahmadiyya Muslima, my nation and country. I shall always tell the truth, will not insult and abuse anybody and I will try my best to obey all instructions given by Hazrat Khalifatul Masih, Insha’Allah.”
Atfal-ul-Ahmadiyya was initiated by Hazrat Musleh Maud (ra) in 1938.
How can we fulfil our Atfal pledge? Well, the main method of fulfilling this pledge has been stressed many times by Hazrat Khalifatul Masih V (aba) and that is to simply offer namaz regularly and properly. This will strengthen your faith and connection with Allah. Another way is by educating yourself with your religion and the history of it such as reading books of the Promised Messiah (as) and the life of the Holy Prophet (saw). As you read more about Islam and Ahmadiyyat, your love and bond with the Khalifat will strengthen massively which aids in obeying his instructions, which is another aspect of the pledge. These instructions include always behaving wherever you are which will set an example for all other Atfal and children to see.
What steps can we take to remember our Atfal pledge everyday of our lives?
1. Pray to Allah that you are able to in act the pledge in your daily life.
2. Recite the pledge every day. This will significantly increase the chances of memorizing it and aid in a deeper understanding of the promise you are making and its importance.
3. If you ever get a chance to fulfil any aspect of the Atfal Pledge, know that this is an opportunity provided by Allah to show how strong your faith is so you should take it without hesitation.
In summary, we should keep the pledge in minds not just for the purpose of fulfilling it, but to also set a certain level of discipline inside of ourselves that radiates as an example to the rest of the world to follow Insha’Allah.
May Allah the Almighty instil in us discipline and obedience to Khilafat so that we may fulfil every aspect of the Atfal Pledge in our lives, Insha’Allah.
