The Coat of Armour,
Jaushan e Kabeer
By Saleem Bhimji
It has been mentioned in the book, Balad al-Amin and the Misbah of Kafa`mi, that that Imam `Ali ibn al-Husain Sayyid as-Sajjidin
(prayers be upon him) related from his father, from his grandfather the Prophet of Allah (blessings of Allah be upon him and his
family) that this supplication was taught by the Angel Jibra’il (prayers be upon him) to the Prophet (blessings of Allah be upon him
and his family) during one of the battles.
It was in one of the wars that the Prophet (blessings of Allah be upon him and his family) had taken part in, which he had a very
heavy and expensive coat of armor on to protect himself. It is related that the coat was so heavy that it was hurting the body of the
Prophet (prayers of Allah be upon him and his family). In this state, the Angel Jibra’il (prayers be upon him) came to the Prophet
(blessings of Allah be upon him and his family) and said:
“O’ Muhammad! Your Lord conveys his salutations to you and has said to take this coat of armor (Jawshan) and to recite it, as this is
a protection for you and your Ummah."
At this point, the Angel continued to give the Prophet (blessings