We arrived at Baitur Rahman at 9pm and it was one of the most electrifying moments of the entire tour. There were around 2,000 Ahmadis there to welcome Hazur‐Aqdas and the love and passion which they displayed was something I will not forget.
The naaray were not just loud but were heartfelt; the tears were not manufactured but were pure bursts of emotion and the beauty of the Nazms were not just in the melodious tunes but because those who recited them meant every single word.
When I saw this welcome it occurred to me that whilst Hazur had been in the USA for four days, many of the Ahmadis could not believe it until they had seen it with their own eyes. Upon finally seeing that the Khalifa really was amongst them released such a loving and emotional reaction.
It was only the second tour of the United States made by Hazur‐Aqdas since he became Khalifa in 2003 and it was clear that the local Ahmadis held a desperate longing for their beloved Imam to be amongst them.
After a break for twenty minutes, Hazur‐Aqdas came to the Mosque to lead the Maghreb and Isha prayers. The Mosque and its surrounding halls were packed. Throughout Namaz I felt extremely hot and was sweating a great deal. I kept thinking perhaps it was only me who felt so hot but then as Namaz ended I saw the faces of the other Ahmadis nearby and all were fanning themselves or wiping sweat away from their foreheads.
It turned out that there was a problem with the AC. Given the warm temperature and the fact that the Mosque was packed, the temperature inside the Mosque had become extremely hot. The problems with the AC lasted a couple of days and during that time I used to think of Hazur‐Aqdas wearing a Paghri and Achkan and how hot he must feel. Thankfully the problem was resolved after a couple of days just in time for Jumma.
There are a number of different houses and properties on the Baitur Rahman site and so after dinner, I was shown to the room where I was staying. It was at the home of Mukhtar Mali Sahib and was the same house where Hazur‐Aqdas stayed during his visit in 2008. Abdul Majid Tahir Sahib was also staying in the house as well as many members of the USA Jamaat.
Before going to sleep I asked Mukthar Sahib what time Fajr was and he replied 4.40am and so I set my alarm accordingly and went to sleep. Sometime later I woke up myself and checked the clock and it was 5am! My alarm had either not worked or I had slept through it. I jumped up and did Wudhu but by the time I was ready I saw that people had started coming back from the Mosque already and that I had missed Fajr. And so I offered Fajr Salaat in my room on my own. But for the rest of the day I felt very guilty and upset, that whilst I was fortunate enough to accompany Hazur‐Aqdas, yet I had not woken up on time for Fajr. I resolved to make sure that it would not happen again and so for the rest of the tour I set a number of alarms to make sure I was up in good time and Masha’Allah I did not have this problem again.