The Greater Armour - Jawshan al Kabir

A dua of the Prophet of Islam(pbuh)

There are 100 verses to this supplication, all about God, which i havent yet come across in indian or hadrami circles, but is stressed more in the turkish and shia regions.

Read the arabic and english simultaneously using the first hyperlink or if you dont have time you could simply scroll through the english on the second hyperlink.

I guess these gateways truly deserve the name hyperlink.

The Greater Armour is good especially for those trying to improve their grammar and vocab, weave it together and most fundamentally discover and benefit from an old Islamic treasure.

here is marvellous verse 7

O Forgiver of faults;
O Remover of afflictions;
O End of all hopes;
O Munificent Bestower;
O One Abounding in gifts;
O Provider of His creatures;
O Decreer of their deaths;
O Hearer of complaints;
O Despatcher of armies;
O Freer of captives-
Glory be unto Thee, Thou art without partner or fault!
There is no god but Thee! Mercy, mercy, deliver us from Hell-fire!

If you fancy a hard copy there is an internet shop here. If you are in london ask the folks at Suleynamiye Mosque in Shoreditch, which itself is an example of what heppens when an observant muslim community pools its efforts, ghayr petty politics retains community continuity, standards and contiguity to create something beautiful and organised.

(Shak if you're reading this they sit you down at iftar at tables and serve you good things for your stomach, they dont swarm around on the floor and shovel it in the oily stuff like pigs. Money cant buy this.)

Their method of tarawi is different, as are so many of their great Islamic institutionalised practices (shoe storage, underground parking, foot washing architecture, post fard dhikr..) The tarawi is quick and surah based (25 mins), followed by Quranic recitation.

back to the dua, kinda,

I first bumped into it in Istanbul some time ago in a waqf (pious endowment) right next to an anarchist bookshop(run by a very cute couple) on a side street in Sultan Ahmet. We went inside to have a looksie and had the most wonderful time learning stuff.

This waqf translates Said Nursi books in languages at bizarre as Tamil and Bengali, publishes gorgeous qurans where the names of Allah are highlighted in red and has an indepth english collection Nursis Epistles of Light. They didnt take payment, only donations to their schools and scholarships for worthy students. It reminded me of deep service of the Anjuman Mufidul Islam (funeral rites for poor and unclaimed bodies in Bangladesh), though in a totally different field of activity.

Approaching the middle of ramadan, some things for me have become a little mechanical, so its time to break into and institutionalise some newer better habits. This dua will naturally strengthen its users connection to God in this month in so many ways.