The Department of Atfāl in Majlis Khuddāmul Ahmadīyya is to prepare Ahmadī children in a proper manner so that they may be moulded in such a way that they are able to utilize their God gifted abilities towards the progress of the Jamā'at.

While God has emphasized upon the believers to keep themselves away from the fire of His displeasure, He has also made them responsible for their families. Thus, along with self-reformation they must also reform their families and thus fulfill the responsibility of reforming their future generations.

In the world we see that in order for a nation to progress, it is necessary to establish a proper system for training of future generations, so that after they receive adequate training, they can shoulder the system established by their predecessors and become capable of furthering its progress. We have also seen that the best time for the training of a generation is in its childhood. In  this age, the state of heart and mind is clean. Whatever imprints are placed in the heart of a child, they will not be easy to be removed in a later period.

Our Master the Holy Prophet(saw) has said:
“A child is born in the right nature; later his parents make him a Jew or a Christian or a Zoroastrians” (Bukhari Kitābul Jnaiz)

The reason for this is that a child has the nature of understanding and imitating. He will accept anything that the parents or guardian will teach him. Thus, it is the childhood training, in which the foundation of a person's thoughts and character is built. That is why he remembers things learned in childhood more so than those learned later on.

As Holy Prophet(saw) has said:
“A matter learned in childhood like a carving on a rock”

The imprint of this learning remains for a long time and is not easily erased.

Discussing this same topic, the Promised Messiah(as) says:
“Age of childhood is very appropriate for the acquirement of religious knowledge … The memory in childhood is very sharp. A person never has this kind of strong memory in any other period of life. The knowledge of early age is deeply imprinted and deep rooted because growth of faculties in this age. …In brief regarding the method of education, it must be kept in mind that religious education should begin from the start and this was my desire from the start and it still is. May Allah fulfill it.” (Malfoozāt Vol. 1)

Fulfilling the desire of the Promised Messiah(as) , Hadrat Musleh Mau'ūd(ra) has given an organized form for the moral and spiritual training of Ahmadī Children. Alongside other auxiliary organizations, he has given two independent auxiliary organizations for Ahmadī children.

1. For Ahmadī girls, “Nāsiratul Ahmadīyya” whose supervision is under Ahmadī Ladies Organization, “Lajna Imā'illah.”
2. For Ahmadī boys, “Majlis Atfālul Ahmadīyya” whose supervision is under the Ahmadī Youth Organization, “Majlis Khuddāmul Ahmadīyya”

Establishment of Atfālul Ahmadīyya

On April 15, 1938 in Masjid Aqsa, Qādiān, in his Friday Sermon Hadrat Khalīfatul Masīh II(ra) gave the initial order to establish this new auxiliary organization. Accordingly, on April 23, 1938, this organization was opened under Resolution # 17 in the Markaz of Khuddāmul Ahmadīyya.

On July 26, 1938 Hudur announced:
“Within one month, Majlis Khuddāmul Ahmadīyya should establish an organization for youth between the ages of 7-15 and should name the organization Atfālul Ahmadīyya.”

From then on, the educational and moral training of Ahmadī youth took on an organized form and, to this day, by the Grace of Allah, this organization continues to run exceptionally.

In the beginning, Atfālul Ahmadīyya was established in various Halqas of the Jamā'at Markaz in Qādiān. Soon, and very rapidly its branches spread in foreign areas. At the very outset, the program and guidelines of this organization were very brief. However, slowly, the program expanded and started to grow in parallel to the progress of Jamā'at-e-Ahmadīyya.

By the Grace of Allah, today thousands and thousands of young Ahmadī children are receiving beneficial training in Majlis Atfālul Ahmadīyya. Without a doubt, the establishment of Atfālul Ahmadīyya was among the huge achievements of Hadrat Musleh Mau'ūd(ra) . This was a tremendous effort towards the Tarbiyat of the future generations of Jamā'at-e-Ahmadīyya.

Hudur(ra) advised and gave principle guidelines that member of Jamā'at and the office bearers of Majlis Atfālul Ahmadīyya should focus on, for the moral training and welfare of Ahmadī youth. In every step, Hudur(ra) advised the office bearers and the parents on these matters, which became a great source of guidance and inspiration for us.

The programs of the Majlis have always been organized in light of those principle guidelines. Similarly, the guidelines given by Khalīfatul Masīh(atba) and traditions set by Hadrat Musleh Mau'ūd are used to make the new programs.

It is our prayer that Allah Almighty may enable us all to act according to those guidelines and bless all of our efforts as well as produce excellent results of our humble efforts in training the future generations.

RULES & REGULATIONS OF MAJLIS ATFĀLUL AHAMDĪYYA AS PER CONSTITUTION OF MAJLIS KHUDDĀMUL AHMADĪYYA CANADA

• Majlis Atfālul Ahmadīyya shall function under the supervision of Majlis Khuddāmul Ahmadīyya.
• The supreme officer of Majlis Atfālul Ahmadīyya shall be called Muhtamim Atfāl and shall be a member of Majlis-e-'Āmila of Khuddāmul Ahmadīyya Mulk.
• Majlis Atfālul Ahmadīyya Muqāmi shall be subordinate to Qā'id Majlis.
• Every Ahmadī child from 7 to 15 years shall be a member of Majlis Atfālul Ahmadīyya. But, those Atfāl who complete their 15 years of age during the year ending on October 31st shall join Majlis Khuddāmul Ahmadīyya as from the beginning of the New Year, i.e. November 1st.
• Qā'ideen or Zu'ma shall appoint Murabbīyan to supervise and train Majlis Atfālul Ahmadīyya.
• Murabbīyan Atfāl shall be nominated from among the sincere, trustworthy and kind-hearted members of the Jamā'at, preferably from the members of the Ansārullāh.
• Aims and objects of Majlis Atfālul Ahmadīyya shall be the same as those of the Majlis Khuddāmul Ahmadīyya.
• Muhtamim Atfāl shall train Atfālul Ahmadīyya in the Islamic way, for example:
  • He shall impart preliminary knowledge concerning religion, nation and country to Atfāl.
  • He shall make appropriate arrangement of sports and exercises for the sake of physical health of Atfāl.
  • He shall adopt means to safeguard Atfāl from the evils of the environment, and shall exhort to inculcate in them excellent morals.
  • He shall make them abide by the timing of education.
• The rate of subscription of Atfālul Ahmadīyya shall be fixed with the approval of Sadr Majlis.
• The subscription shall be received against receipts issued by Jamā'at.