Remembering Tausug Heroes This National Heroes Day

 صلاة الأبطال: على النبي ﷺ وعلى المجاهدين والأولياء في صُولُو

(Salawāt upon the Heroes: Upon the Prophet ﷺ and the Mujāhidīn and Awliyāʾ of Sulu)

اللَّهُمَّ صَلِّ وَسَلِّمْ وَبَارِكْ عَلَى سَيِّدِنَا وَمَوْلَانَا مُحَمَّدٍ، النَّبِيِّ الْكَرِيمِ، وَالرَّسُولِ الْعَظِيمِ، مِفْتَاحِ بَابِ رَحْمَتِكَ، وَخَاتَمِ دَائِرَةِ نُبُوَّتِكَ، وَشَفِيعِ الْأُمَّةِ يَوْمَ الْحَسْرَةِ، وَعَلَى آلِهِ وَصَحْبِهِ أَجْمَعِينَ، وَصَلِّ وَسَلِّمْ وَبَارِكْ عَلَى أَرْوَاحِ الْمُجَاهِدِينَ وَالْأَبْطَالِ مِنْ أَهْلِ سُولُو وَالتَّوْسُوغْ الَّذِينَ دَفَعُوا عَنْ دِينِكَ وَحَمَلُوا رَايَةَ لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ فَمِنْهُمْ مَنْ قَضَى نَحْبَهُ وَمِنْهُمْ مَنْ يَنْتَظِرُ وَمَا بَدَّلُوا تَبْدِيلًا، وَاجْمَعْنَا بِهِمْ فِي دَرَجَاتِ الْمُجَاهِدِينَ وَأَكْرِمْهُمْ فِي الْبَرْزَخِ وَالْآخِرَةِ وَارْفَعْ ذِكْرَهُمُ الْخَفِيَّ وَالْمَطْوِيَّ وَاجْعَلْ أَجْرَهُمْ دَائِمًا إِلَى يَوْمِ الدِّينِ، وَصَلِّ وَسَلِّمْ وَبَارِكْ عَلَى كُلِّ وَلِيٍّ وَعَارِفٍ بِاللَّهِ فِي الْفِلِيبِّينْ خَاصَّةً فِي بِلَادِ الْعَارِفْ بِاللَّهِ سُولُو الَّذِينَ نَشَرُوا نُورَ التَّوْحِيدِ وَأَقَامُوا سُنَّةَ الْحَبِيبِ الْمُصْطَفَى ﷺ وَحَفِظُوا أَهْلَ الْإِيمَانِ فِي زَمَنِ الْفِتَنِ وَالِابْتِلَاءَاتِ، وَاجْعَلْنَا فِي سِلْسِلَتِهِمْ وَأَلْحِقْنَا بِهِمْ مَعَ الْأَصْفِيَاءِ وَالْمُقَرَّبِينَ وَارْزُقْنَا صِدْقَ الْجِهَادِ وَصِدْقَ الْعُبُودِيَّةِ، وَصَلِّ وَسَلِّمْ وَبَارِكْ عَلَيْهِمْ وَعَلَى كُلِّ مَنْ سَيَكُونُ بَعْدَهُمْ مِنْ أَبْطَالٍ وَمُجَاهِدِينَ وَأَوْلِيَاءَكَ الصَّالِحِينَ إِلَى يَوْمِ الْقِيَامَةِ، وَصَلِّ اللَّهُمَّ وَسَلِّمْ عَلَى سَيِّدِنَا مُحَمَّدٍ النُّورِ الْمُطْلَقِ وَسِرِّ السَّارِي فِي كُلِّ الْخَلَائِقِ وَعَلَى آلِهِ وَصَحْبِهِ أَجْمَعِينَ عَدَدَ مَا أَحَاطَ بِهِ عِلْمُكَ وَجَرَى بِهِ قَلَمُكَ إِلَى يَوْمِ الدِّينِ.

Allāhumma ṣalli wa sallim wa bārik ʿalā Sayyidinā wa Mawlānā Muḥammad, an-nabiyyi ’l-karīm, wa ’r-rasūli ’l-ʿaẓīm, miftāḥi bābi raḥmatik, wa khātami dāʾirati nubuwwatik, wa shafīʿi ’l-ummah yawma ’l-ḥasrah, wa ʿalā ālihi wa ṣaḥbihi ajmaʿīn. Allāhumma ṣalli wa sallim wa bārik ʿalā arwāḥi ’l-mujāhidīn wa ’l-abṭāl min ahl Sūlū wa ’t-Tawsūg, alla dhīna dafaʿū ʿan dīnik, wa ḥamalū rāyata lā ilāha illā Allāh, faminhum man qaḍā naḥbahu wa minhum man yantaẓir, wa mā baddalū tabdīlā, wajmaʿnā bihim fī darajāti ’l-mujāhidīn, wa akrimhum fī ’l-barzakh wa ’l-ākhirah, warfaʿ dhikrahum al-khafiyya wa ’l-maṭwiyya, wajʿal ajrahum dāʾiman ilā yawmi ’d-dīn.

Allāhumma ṣalli wa sallim wa bārik ʿalā kulli walīyyin wa ʿārifin billāh fī ’l-Filipīn, khāṣṣatan fī bilādi ’l-ʿārif billāh Sūlū, alla dhīna nasharū nūra ’t-tawḥīd, wa aqāmū sunnata ’l-ḥabīb al-muṣṭafā ṣallallāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam, wa ḥafiẓū ahla ’l-īmān fī zamāni ’l-fitan wa ’l-ibtīlāʾāt. Allāhumma ’jʿalnā fī silsilatihim, wa alḥiqnā bihim maʿa ’l-aṣfiyāʾ wa ’l-muqarrabīn, wa ’rzuqnā ṣidqa ’l-jihād wa ṣidqa ’l-ʿubūdiyyah.

Allāhumma ṣalli wa sallim wa bārik ʿalayhim wa ʿalā kulli man sayakūnu baʿdahum min abṭāl wa mujāhidīn wa awliyāʾika ’ṣ-ṣāliḥīn ilā yawmi ’l-qiyāmah, wa ṣalli ’llāhumma wa sallim ʿalā Sayyidinā Muḥammadin an-nūri ’l-muṭlaq, wa ’s-sirri ’s-sārī fī kulli ’l-khalāʾiq, wa ʿalā ālihi wa ṣaḥbihi ajmaʿīn, ʿadada mā aḥāṭa bihi ʿilmuk, wa jarā bihi qalamuk, ilā yawmi ’d-dīn.

Translation:

O Allah, send Your prayers, peace, and blessings upon our Master and Patron Muhammad, the noble Prophet, the mighty Messenger, the key to the door of Your Mercy, the seal of the circle of Your Prophethood, and the intercessor of the Ummah on the Day of Distress, and upon his family and all his companions. O Allah, send prayers, peace, and blessings upon the souls of the mujahidin and heroes from among the people of Sulu and the Tausug, those who defended Your religion and carried the banner of “Lā ilāha illā Allāh.” Among them are those who have fulfilled their covenant and among them are those still waiting, and they did not waver in their resolve. Unite us with them in the ranks of the mujahidin, honor them in the barzakh and in the Hereafter, raise their hidden and forgotten mention, and make their reward enduring until the Day of Judgment.

O Allah, send prayers, peace, and blessings upon every wali (saint) and ʿārif billāh (knower of God) in the Philippines, especially in the land of the knowers of Allah, Sulu, those who spread the light of tawḥīd, established the Sunnah of the Beloved Mustafa ﷺ, and safeguarded the people of faith in times of trials and tribulations. O Allah, make us part of their chain, join us with them among the pure and the near ones, and grant us sincerity in jihād and sincerity in servitude. O Allah, send prayers, peace, and blessings upon them and upon all who will come after them from among the heroes, mujahidin, and Your righteous awliyāʾ until the Day of Resurrection. And O Allah, send prayers and peace upon our Master Muhammad, the Absolute Light, the secret flowing through all creation, and upon his family and companions, as numerous as what Your Knowledge encompasses and what Your Pen has inscribed, until the Day of Judgment.

Asthe country honors its heroes this August 25, it is fitting to remember the Tausug leaders who carried Sulu through some of its hardest years. Panglima Bandahala, Maharaja Bairulla, and Panglima Hassan each stood out in their own ways. Their lives tell of courage, diplomacy, and leadership in the face of foreign rule.

Maharaja Bairulla
Najeeb Saleeby (1908) described Maharaja Bairulla as “one of the wisest and best chiefs of Sulu” (p. 131). He ruled the fertile lands around Kambing near Tu’tu’ Bay, where the soil was among the best cultivated in the island. His reputation was built on prosperity and good governance, not legend. American officers echoed the same respect, calling “Barulla [Maharaja Bairulla]” a strong and friendly chief, admired even by those sent to occupy Sulu (Report of the United States Philippine Commission, 1904, p. 501).

Panglima Bandahala
Panglima Bandahala’s name appears repeatedly in colonial records. He served as municipal president of Luuk and Tandu and, in 1924, signed a petition with fellow Sulu leaders calling for Philippine independence. In that petition, they rejected separation from Luzon and the Visayas, calling instead for a united and independent Philippines (United States Senate, Committee on Territories and Insular Affairs, 1930, pp. 526–528). Another letter in the same hearings named Bandahala as president of Look-Tando[Luuk-Tanduh] district with 18,038 followers and as a veteran warrior of the sultan (pp. 527–528).

Official reports also mark his influence on the ground. The War Department (1907) recorded him as head of Karongdong[Karungdung] (p. 371). The Governor General’s report (1922) credited him with arranging the surrender of the Luuk band of “Siu” after direct mediation (p. 66). An Italian reference later summarized him as the sultan’s army leader, municipal president, and peace emissary (Stato islamico, 2024).

Historical records state that during the First Battle of Bud Dajo, the Americans asked Datu Jolkarnain, Datu Kalbi, and Panglima Bandahala of Patikul to persuade the Tausug fighters to leave the mountain, and the three stayed for three days and three nights urging their fellow datus and followers to come down. Yet oral accounts preserved in the Caluang family recall that Panglima Bandahala wished to remain and fight alongside his Tausug brothers, and that he descended only after his comrades pleaded with him not to stay, out of deep respect and concern for his life.

Panglima Bandahala also dealt directly with Americans. In 1939, a Survey Graphic article described Mrs. Spencer’s peace voyage aboard the Peril, accompanied by three prominent Moros:Maharaja Absara, Hadji Usman, and Panglima Bandahala, who joined the ship to demonstrate good faith (Survey Graphic, 1939, p. 510).

His legacy lived on through his son, Panglima Caluang. A souvenir publication listed Caluang Bandahala as vice mayor of Luuk in 1937, alongside Mayor Ulangkaya Ladja (Sulu: In its true light, 1937, p. 72). During World War II, a field report recorded Panglima Caluang staying in Luuk with the wounded after a sea fight off Lugus (Velasquez, n.d., p. 26).

That legacy carried further through Capt. Kalingalan Caluang, son of Panglima Caluang and grandson of Panglima Bandahala. Kalingalan was among the “Fighting 21 of Sulu” during World War II. After the war, he trained and enthroned Sultan Jainal Abirin through the giba ceremony. Later, he continued the struggle for Moro self-determination, founding Ansarul Islam before the Moro National Liberation Front separated under Nur Misuari. Historian Nasser Lucman (2000) listed him among the original founders of the Islamic resistance in Mindanao, alongside Sultan Rashid Lucman, Gen. Salipada Pendatun, Datu Udtog Matalam, Sheikh Hamid Kamilan, Datu Aminkadra Abubacar, and Sen. Domocao Alonto (pp. 158, 165).

Panglima Hassan
American sources described Panglima Hassan as the strongest chief on Jolo, able to rally 500 armed men within an hour and many more by day’s end, commanding from his cota near Seit Lake (Report of the United States Philippine Commission, 1904, p. 501). But Hassan was more than a warrior. H. P. Hobbs (1962) noted that Hassan counted on several allies, including Panglima Bandahala, showing the shifting bonds of Tausug politics (p. 98).

The record in sum
Maharaja Bairulla governed with wisdom and earned respect from both locals and foreign officers. Panglima Bandahala combined arms, office, and diplomacy: he ruled towns, brokered peace, signed independence petitions, and dealt with the Americans as both commander and negotiator. Hassan was the great fighter of his time, often allied with Bandahala. Their descendants, like Capt. Kalingalan Caluang, carried the fight into the twentieth century. Apart from them, other Tausug Heroes were Paduka Muhammad Saleh, Panglima Sayyadi, Datu Hadji Kamlon, Panglima Amil, Maas Jikiri, Laksamana Usab/Usap, Datu Andung, Datu Pala, Maharaja Andung,Datu Aceh,Shuhada(Martyrs) of Bud Dajo and Bud Bagsak, Fighting 21 of Sulu, Ansarul Islam, MNLF, MILF, MNLF Field Marshal Al Hussein Caluang and other unsung Tausug Heroes. Their names remind us that Tausug leadership balanced war and governance and never abandoned the defense of their people.

Duwaa for the Tausug Heroes

اللَّهُمَّ اغفِرْ لِمَهَراجَا بايرولا، وَبَندَهالا، وَحَسَّان، وَأحفادِهِم، وَالكابتن كاليغالان كالوانغ، وَجميع أبطَال التَّاوسُوغ، مِن بادوكا مُحَمَّد صالِح، وَبانغليما سَيَّادي، وَداتو حاجي كملون، وَبانغليما أميل، وَمَعَاس جِكِيري، وَلَكسَمانا أُسَاب، وَداتو أندونغ، وَداتو بالا، وَمَهَراجا أندونغ، وَداتو آتشيه، وَشُهَدَاء جَبَل بُد داجو وَجَبَل بُد بَقسق، وَالمُقاتلين الواحد والعشرين مِن سولو، وَأنصار الإسلام، وَجميع المُجاهِدين في م.ن.ل.ف وَم.ي.ل.ف، وَالمُشير الحُسَين كالوانغ ، وَكُل الأبطَال المَجهولين مِن أهل سولو.

اللَّهُمَّ اجعلْ قُبُورَهم روضةً من رياضِ الجِنَان، وَلَا تجعَل قُبُورَهم حُفرةً من حُفَرِ النِّيرَان. اللَّهُمَّ أنزِلِ الرَّحمةَ وَالشَّفاعةَ وَالمغفرةَ عَلَيهم أجمعين. اللَّهُمَّ اغفرْ لهم وارحمْهم، وَاعفُ عنهم ، وَأكرِم نُزُلَهم، وَوَسِّع مُدخَلَهم، وَاغسِلْهم بالماءِ وَالثَّلجِ وَالبَرد، وَنَقِّهِم مِن الخَطايا كما يُنقَّى الثَّوب الأبيض مِن الدَّنس. وَأبدِلهُم دارًا خيرًا مِن دارِهِم، وَأهلًا خيرًا مِن أهلِهِم، وَزوجًا خيرًا مِن زوجِهِم، وَقِهِم فتنةَ القبر وَعذابَ النَّار.

الفاتحة إِلَى حَضرةِ النَّبي مُحَمَّدٍ صلَّى الله عليه وسلَّم، ثُمَّ إِلَى جَميع إخوانِهِ مِن الأَنبِياءِ وَالمُرسَلين، وَآلِهِ وَأصحابِهِ وَأزواجِهِ وَذُرِّيَّاتِهِ وَأهلِ بيتِهِ أجمعين، وَالتَّابعين وَتابِع التَّابعين، وَالخُلفاء الرَّاشدين، وَالأئِمَّة المُجتهدين، وَالأَولياءِ وَالشُّهَدَاء وَالصَّالحين، وَالعُلَماء العامِلين، وَجميعِ مشايخِنا وَأساتذتِنا، وَجميعِ أبطال سولو، وَشُهَدَاء جَبَل داجو وَجَبَل بَقسق، وَجميعِ المُجاهِدين، ثُمَّ إِلَى جَميع أهلِ القُبور مِن المسلمين وَالمُسلمات وَالمؤمنين وَالمؤمنات مِن مشارق الأرض وَمغاربِها برِّها وَبحرِها.

Allāhumma ighfir li-Mahārājā Bayrullā, wa-Bandahālā, wa-Ḥassān, wa-aḥfādihim, wa-al-Kābtin Kālingalan Kalūang, wa-jamīʿ abṭāl at-Tausug, min Pādūka Muḥammad Ṣāliḥ, wa-Panglīmā Sayyādī, wa-Dātū Ḥājī Kamlūn, wa-Banglīmā Amīl, wa-Maʿās Jikīrī, wa-Laksamānā Usāb/Usap, wa-Dātū Andūng, wa-Dātū Pālā, wa-Mahārājā Andūng, wa-Dātū Āchih, wa-shuhadāʾ Jabal Dājū wa-Jabal Bagsak, wa-al-muqātilīn al-wāḥid wal-ʿishrīn min Sulū, wa-Anṣār al-Islām, wa-jamīʿ al-mujāhidīn fī MNLF wa-MILF, wa-al-Mushīr al-Ḥusayn Kalūgh, wa-kull al-abṭāl al-majhūlīn min ahl Sulū.

Allāhummajʿal qubūrahum rawḍatan min riyāḍ al-jinān, wa-lā tajʿal qubūrahum ḥufratan min ḥufar an-nīrān. Allāhumma anzil ar-raḥmata wash-shafāʿata wal-maghfirata ʿalayhim ajmaʿīn. Allāhumma ighfir lahum warḥamhum, waʿfu ʿanhum, wa-akrim nuzulahum, wa-wassiʿ mudkhalahum, waghsilhum bil-māʾi wath-thalji wal-barad, wa-naqqihim min al-khaṭāyā kamā yunaqqā ath-thawb al-abyaḍ min ad-danas. Wa-abdilhum dāran khayran min dārihim, wa-ʾahlan khayran min ahlihim, wa-zawjan khayran min zawjihim, wa-qihim fitnata al-qabr wa-ʿadhāb an-nār.

Al-Fātiḥa ilā ḥaḍratin-nabī Muḥammad ṣallallāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam, thumma ilā jamīʿ ikhuwānihi minal-anbiyāʾi wal-mursalīn, wa-ālihi wa-aṣḥābihi wa-azwājihi wa-dhurriyyatihi wa-ahl baytihi ajmaʿīn, wat-tābiʿīn wa-tābiʿit-tābiʿīn, wal-khulafāʾir-rāshidīn, wal-aʾimmah al-mujtahidīn, wal-awliyāʾi wash-shuhadāʾi waṣ-ṣāliḥīn, wal-ʿulamāʾil-ʿāmilīn, wa-jamīʿ mashāyikhinā wa-asātiḏatinā, wa-jamīʿ abṭāl Sulū, wa-shuhadāʾ Jabal Bud Dajo wa-Jabal Bud Bagsak, wa-jamīʿ al-mujāhidīn, thumma ilā jamīʿ ahlil-qubūr minal-muslimīn wal-muslimāt wal-muʾminīn wal-muʾmināt min mashāriqil-arḍi wa-maghāribihā barrihā wa-baḥrihā.

Translation

O Allah, forgive Maharaja Bairulla, Bandahala, Hassan, their descendants, Capt. Kālingalan Kaluang, and all the heroes of the Tausug: Paduka Muhammad Saleh, Panglima Sayyadi, Datu Hadji Kamlon, Panglima Amil, Maas Jikiri, Laksamana Usab/Usap, Datu Andung, Datu Pala, Maharaja Andung, Datu Aceh, the martyrs of Mount Bud Dajo and Mount Bud Bagsak, the Fighting 21 of Sulu, Ansarul Islam, all the mujahidin of the MNLF and MILF, Field Marshal Al Hussein Kaluang, and all the unknown heroes of the Tausug people.

O Allah, make their graves a garden from the gardens of Paradise, and do not make their graves a pit from the pits of the Fire. O Allah, send down mercy, intercession, and forgiveness upon them all. O Allah, forgive them, have mercy upon them, pardon them. Honor their resting place, expand their entrance, wash them with water, snow, and hail, and cleanse them of sins as a white garment is cleansed of dirt. Replace their homes with better homes, their families with better families, and their spouses with better spouses. Protect them from the trial of the grave and from the torment of the Fire.

Al-Fātiḥa for the presence of the Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, then for all his brothers among the prophets and messengers, his family, companions, wives, descendants, and all his household, the Followers and the Followers of the Followers, the Rightly Guided Caliphs, the great Imams, the saints, the martyrs, the righteous, the scholars who acted upon their knowledge, all our teachers and shaykhs, all the heroes of Sulu, the martyrs of Mount Bud Dajo and Mount Bud Bagsak, all the mujahidin, and for all the people of the graves from among the Muslims and Muslim women, the believing men and believing women, from the east of the earth to its west, on land and at sea.

* (MNLF = م.ن.ل.ف ; MILF = م.ي.ل.ف).
* الجبهة الوطنية لتحرير مورو (al-Jabha al-Waṭaniyya li-Taḥrīr Mūrō) = MNLF (Moro National Liberation Front)
الجبهة الإسلامية لتحرير مورو (al-Jabha al-Islāmiyya li-Taḥrīr Mūrō) = MILF (Moro Islamic Liberation Front)

References

Hobbs, H. P. (1962). Kris and krag: Adventures among the Moros of the southern Philippine Islands. Hobbs. https://books.google.com.ph/books/about/Kris_and_Krag.html?id=R4WBksrKgdUC&redir_esc=y

Lucman, N. A. (2000). Moro archives: A history of armed conflicts in Mindanao and East Asia. FLC Press. https://www.google.com.ph/books/edition/Moro_Archives/IplyAAAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=0&bsq=kaluang

Report of the Governor General of the Philippine Islands. (1922). Report of the Governor General of the Philippine Islands. U.S. Government Printing Office. https://www.google.com.ph/books/edition/Report_of_the_Governor_General_of_the_Ph/TdYtAAAAIAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=0&bsq=panglima%20bandahala%20sulu

Report of the United States Philippine Commission. (1904). Report of the United States Philippine Commission. U.S. Government Printing Office. https://www.google.com.ph/books/edition/Report_of_the_United_States_Philippine_C/uBhCAQAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=0

Saleeby, N. M. (1908). The history of Sulu. Bureau of Insular Affairs. Project Gutenberg eBook #41771. https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/41771/pg41771-images.html

Stato islamico: Esplorare la governance e l’ideologia nelle teocrazie moderne. (2024). Un Miliardo Di Ben Informato. https://www.google.com.ph/books/edition/Stato_islamico/vYEfEQAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=0

Sulu: In its true light, a souvenir. (1937). San Juan Press. https://www.google.com.ph/books/edition/Sulu/-3-uPbR_mgUC?hl=en&gbpv=0&bsq=panglima%20bandahala%20sulu

Survey Graphic. (1939). Survey Graphic. Survey Associates. https://www.google.com.ph/books/edition/Survey_Graphic/xZQqAAAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=0&bsq=panglima%20bandahala%20sulu

United States Senate, Committee on Territories and Insular Affairs. (1930). Independence for the Philippine Islands: Hearings before the Committee on Territories and Insular Affairs, United States Senate. U.S. Government Printing Office. https://www.google.com.ph/books/edition/Independence_for_the_Philippine_Islands/g0nQfUAYEEYC?hl=en&gbpv=0

United States War Department. (1907). Annual reports of the War Department. U.S. Government Printing Office. https://www.google.com.ph/books/edition/Annual_Reports_of_the_War_Department/aszl8Dg9MUgC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=bandahala&pg=PA371&printsec=frontcover

Velasquez, M. A. (n.d.). History of the Sulu Area Command. Internet Archive. https://archive.org/details/sulu-area-command/page/26/mode/2up