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Jaaliya tu'l Akdaar wa's Sayf u'l Battar
Of: Mawlana Diya ud-Deen Khalid al-Baghdadi
QaddasAllahu Sirrahu'l'Azeez
An Appreciation by Siddiq Osman Noormuhammad
ASMA ALLAH, ASMA U'N NABI AND ASMA AHL BADR
Mawlana Diya ud-Deen Khalid al-Baghdadi al- ' Uthmani (1192-1242 A.H; 1778-1826 C.E) has written a gem of a kitab (book) called Jaaliya tu'l Akdaar Wa's Sayf u'l Battaar Fi's-Salaati 'ala'l Mukhtaar (A Community With Meagre Means But With The Sword That Slays In The Invocation of Blessings On The Chosen One). Any Muslim would be proud to possess it as his choice collection of classics.
The distinctive feature of this incomparable treasure is that it has salawaat (blessings) and salaams (salutations) on our beloved Prophet Sayyidina wa Mawlana Hadrat Muhammad al-Mustafa Sallallahu 'alaihi wa Sallam, spiritually strengthened with three mighty fortresses. These are:
- Asma u’l Husna, the Most Beautiful Names of Allah Sub’hanahu wa Ta'ala
- Asma u’n Nabi, the blessed names of the Holy Prophet Muhammad, Sallallahu 'alaihi wa Sallam, with his attributes of praise
- Asma Ahl Badr, the blessed names of his 313 companions or sahaba, Rady Allahu 'Anhum who fought together with him against the 1000 mushrikeen (polytheists) of Makkah in the Battle of Badr.
The awliya (saints) and the saleheen (the pious) who write these books of salawaat on the Holy Prophet Muhammad Sallallahu 'alaihi wa Sallam inevitably include Asma Allah u’l Husna in their salawaat as they are very near and dear to them. And why not? Asma u'l Husna surely lead us to paradise as we learn from the following blessed Hadith Shareef:
Hadrat Abu Hurairah Rady Allahu 'Anhu reported the Beloved Prophet Sallallahu 'alaihi wa Sallam as saying: "Allah Most High has ninety nine names. He who retains them in his memory will enter paradise". (Tirmidhi and Bayhaqi)
At this juncture, let us make the niyyah (intention) of memorizing the Asma Allah u'l Husna if we have not already done so.
Each of the Asma Allah u’l Husna in the kitab is to be recited three times except Yaa Allah (O Allah, 100 times), Yaa Latif (O The Most Gentle, 21 times), Yaa Wadud (O The Loving One, 22 times) and Yaa Sabur (O The Patient One, 7 times).
Asma Allah u’l Husna have both Jamaal (Majestic Beauty) and Jalaal (Awe-inspiring Majesty) but Asma Ahl Badr are very jalaali while salawaat are pure jamaal so the Jalaal (Awe-inspiring Majesty) of Asma Ahl Badr is cooled off with the Jamaal (Majestic Beauty) of salawaat on the Holy Prophet Sallallahu 'alaihi wa Sallam.
And the title of the kitab is fitting. The blessed Prophet Muhammad Sallallahu 'alaihi wa Sallam and his sahaba (companions) were a community with meagre means ( Jaaliya tu’l Akdaar ) but they wielded the sword that cut ( Wa’s Sayf u’l Battaar ) against an army three times larger and many times better equipped, because they had the help of Allah Sub’hanahu wa Ta'ala.
The kitab begins with As-Salaatu Ibrahimiyyah. Then come the most Beautiful Names of Allah Sub’hanahu wa Ta'ala. Yaa Allah (O Allah) is to be recited 100 times, followed by Yaa Rahman (O Most Beneficent One), Yaa Raheem (O Most Merciful), and Yaa Malik (O Sovereign Lord), each to be recited 3 times. As-Salaatu Ibrahimiyyah is repeated, followed by invoking Allah with His Most Beautiful Names of Yaa Quddus (O Most Holy One), Yaa Salaam (O Bestower of peace), Yaa Mu’min (O The Granter of Security) and Yaa Muhaymin (O The Protector). Then start the names of the sahaba (companions) who fought in the battle of Badr, in alphabetical order. First are mentioned all the sahaba whose names start with the letter alif. These are interspersed with Asma Allah u’l Husna and 29 salawaat (blessings), each of which begins with " Wa bi Fadlillahumma Salli wa Sallim wa Baarik 'Alaa Sayyidina Muhammad " (And with the Grace of Allah's blessings, peace and favours on Sayyidina Muhammad). The kitab ends with du'a (invocation) for maghfira (forgiveness of sins) and eternal bliss in paradise.
The Khulafa ar-Raashideen al-Mahdiyyeen, the four rightly-guided Khalifas of the Holy Prophet Muhammad Sallallahu 'alaihi wa Sallam, that is, Sayyidina Abu Bakr Siddiq Rady Allahu 'Anhu , Sayyidina 'Umar Farooq Rady Allahu 'Anhu, Sayyidina ' Uthman Dhu'n-Nurain Rady Allahu 'Anhu and Sayyidina ' Ali al-Murtada Rady Allahu 'Anhu are all mentioned. Among the other great sahaba mentioned are Hadrat Talha ibn ' Ubaidillah Rady Allahu Anhu, Hadrat Zubair ibn ' Awwaam Rady Allahu 'Anhu, Hadrat ' Abdirrahman ibn ' Awf Rady Allahu 'Anhu, Hadrat Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqaas Rady Allahu 'Anhu, Hadrat Sa'eed ibn Zaid Rady Allahu 'Anhu and Hadrat Abi ' Ubaida ' Aamir ibn al-Jarraah Rady Allahu 'Anhu. Together with the four Khulafa ar-Rashideen, they are called the Asharatu’l Mubash-shara, the ten who were given glad tidings of paradise by the Holy Prophet Muhammad, Sallallahu 'alaihi wa Sallam.
It is true that Sayyidina ' Uthman Rady Allahu 'Anhu was not physically present in the Battle of Badr but even so, Mawlana al-Baghdadi has included his name because the beloved Prophet Muhammad Sallallahu 'alayhi wa Sallam had himself instructed him to remain behind to take care of his wife Sayyidatina Ruqayya, who was the daughter of the beloved Prophet himself, as she was seriously ill in Madina. Her condition was indeed so serious that immediately after the Muslims returned from Badr, she passed away.