Hizb al-Bahr

Wird / ورد (pl. Awrad) is a time of day or night devoted to private worship, a daily activity, usually nawafil prayer, Quran recitation, du’a, dhikr etc. Wird also means a watering place: animals coming to water. The root verb “warada” means to arrive, to come, to appear, to show up, to be found, to be met with, to reach.

The scholars of the heart say it is important to have a daily wird, an optional supererogatory worship, that by consistent practice of it you draw closer to Allah. About this Shaykh ‘Abd al-Rahman al-Saqqaf said whoever has no wird is a qird [monkey].

One of the most powerful wirds is by Imam Abu Hasan al-Shadhili (may Allah sanctify his secret) called Hizb al-Bahr (Litany of the Sea). A special du’a by the Imam and includes ayats from Qur’an. It is the most famous of Imam Shadhili’s Hizbs.

Following links explain more about the Imam and the Hizb -

Imam al-Shadhili

Translation of Hizb al-Bahr

Arabic text

Background story

Audio of recitation by Shaykh al-Kurdi