LAHORE, Dec 7: The four-day annual congregation of the Tableeghi Jamaat concluded at Raiwind, 30kms from here on Sunday, calling upon the Muslims all over the world to spread the message of Islam with dedication and complete devotion braving the odd and hostile environment against Islam.

About one million people attended the grand prayer (dua), which continued for about half an hour and was led by one of the central Tableeghi Jamaat amirs. The congregation included hundreds of thousands of people who drove from Lahore and its suburbs on Sunday morning to join the grand prayer.

During four days of the congregation about a dozen ulema from Pakistan, India and Bangladesh and some foreign preachers delivered their sermons reminding the faithful of their duty to spread the message of Islam during their preaching campaigns within Pakistan and abroad.

Thousands of people of all ages volunteered themselves to join tableeghi teams inspired by the fervent appeals made by the ulema in their sermons.

The main theme of the sermons was that unless the Muslims come out leaving their comforts at their homes and brave the difficulties in the way of their tableeghi journeys within the country and abroad they cannot succeed in their mission.

They reminded them of the hardships and difficulties the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) and his companions confronted in this mission to take the message of Islam to every nook and corner of the world. Had they not undertaken arduous journeys inviting the non-Muslims to study the teachings of the Holy Quran and the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) it was not possible to spread the message of Islam to the distant lands of Asia and Africa.

It was their dawah given in all sincerity and hard work, which had become a source of inspiration for the non-Muslims to accept the message of Islam. They said the day the Muslims had given up the missionary spirit and engaged themselves in the pursuit of worldly and material gains the process of dissemination of Islamic message to the world stopped and the Muslim society stagnated.

Before offering the grand prayer and concluding the congregation, special lectures were arranged for various groups of students, ulema and foreign delegates for whom interpreters were provided. A general lecture was given to the people who had volunteered themselves to join the preaching teams explaining to them the methodology of dawahs.

Each team, headed by an experienced preacher called amir, would guide them how to proceed. The people offered themselves for periods from 40 days to one year, mostly three chillas of 40 days each, which means a period of four months. Before the teams started leaving on their missionary tour the volunteers shook hands with Tableeghi Jamaat amir Maulana Zubairul Hasan, who gave them blessing and prayed for their success.

As soon as the grand prayer concluded the congregation dispersed and the people rushed to board their respective buses, trucks, wagons and cars parked in the fields and roadsides far away from the venue of the congregation.

Although elaborate arrangements had been made by the city district government of Lahore and local authorities of Raiwind to control the vehicular traffic, yet heavy traffic jams occurred before the vehicles reached the main Raiwind-Lahore road.