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Similar Risale‑i Nur, Mafatih al‑Janan, Ziyarat Ashura, Al‑Sahifa al‑Sajjadiyya, Quran | ||
Jawshan Kabeer (Arabic: جوشن الکبیر) is a long Islamic prayer that contains 1000 names and attributes of God. Jawshan means "steel plate" or "mail" and thus the name of the prayer refers to Muhammad’s heavy armor in battle. According to Muslims, God taught the prayer to him as a protection from injuries in war, instead of hard armor. The prayer was written by Ali ibn Husayn Zayn al-Abidin and mentioned in Balad al-Amin.
Contents
History
The Islamic prophet Mohammed used hard and heavy armor for protecting his body in the war. Because of the tightness of his armor, his body was injured. According to Muslims, during the war, the angel Jibra'il (Gabriel) came and brought him a message from God, teaching prayer to Muhammad to protect him from bad events. Jibra'il said: "O’ Muhammad! Your God conveys his salutations to you and has said to take this coat of armor and to recite it as this is a protection for you and your Ummah." The prayer became his armor to protect him against injuries. The name of the prayer was taken from Muhammad’s heavy armor (Jawshan) in the battle.
Text
The context of the prayer was written by Ali ibn Husayn Zayn al-Abidin and came to him from his great grandfather Muhammad by word of mouth. Afterwards, a narrator and faqih of Shia Islam, Ibrahim ibn Ali A’meli Kafa’mi, mentioned the Jawshan Kabir context in book Balad al-Amin.
The Jawshan Kabir prayer contains 100 parts. 25 of these parts start with I entreat You by Your Name. Names of God are recited after the phrase. In all, the supplication comprises 250 names of Allah and 750 attributes of Allah and request from Allah. For this reason, the Jawshan Kabir prayer known as Ism-e-A’ẓam. A same phrase is repeated at the end of each part. The meaning of this sentence is "Praise be to Thee, there is no God but Thee, The Granter of all Succor (Mercy!, Mercy!), Protect us from the Fire, O Lord."
Part of the Jawshan Kabir Prayer
English translation of the part is:
I entreat You by Your Names:
All-Glorified are You; there is no deity but You! Mercy! Mercy! Save us from the Fire!
Recitation
Muslims often read the Jawshan kabir in Laylat al-Qadr in Ramadan but some Hadiths recommend reading it at the beginning of Ramadan. Imam Ali said to his son, Husayn ibn Ali, to memorize and write this supplication on his kafan (burial shroud). Also, there are several hadiths from the prophet Muhammad that state that whoever recites this prayer will receive rewards in the world and Akhirah. Abbas Qumi, author of Mafatih al-Janan, wrote the prayer in his book.