Hizbul Bahr - Imam Abu Hassan ash-Shadhili ق
Invoke the Litany of the Sea and it will show you wonders, give you ease in your affairs, and lend you strength. You will find the sea obedient and the wind submissive; You will find gentleness quickly, and your time will be joyful. - Sidi Ahmad Zarruq ash-Shadhili
And it is read by initiates of the Shadhili tariqah after asar, silently and audibly, in private and public, individually and in congregation. Hizbul Bahr (Arabic: حِزْبُ الْبَحْرِ), translated as the ‘Litany of the Sea’ is an invocation related by Imam Abul Hasan ash-Shadhili ق. It is a unique litany made of Quranic verses and Prophetic invocations found in the various authentic collection of hadith. A powerful invocation read by multitudes throughout the Muslim world. The great Imam, on his way to perform the pilgrimage, was taught the litany by the Prophet ﷺ in a dream after his voyage had been delayed by poor winds. It has a number of benefits and is used for warding off harm as well as other purposes, dependent on intention and spiritual aspiration.
Origin of Hizbul Bahr
Muhammad Ibn Abi Al-Qasim Ibn al-Sabbagh in Durrat al-Asrar wa Tuhfat al-Abrar relates how Hizbul Bahr came into existence:
The righteous Shaykh Abu al-Aza’im Madi ibn Sultan (may Allah have mercy on him) told us in the city of Tunis (may Allah watch over it), as did the righteous and blessed Shaykh Sharaf al-Din, the Shaykh’s son, in the city of Damanhur al-Wahsh in Egypt, in the year 715 AH:
The Shaykh [Abul Hasan al-Shadhili] decided to set out from Cairo to perform the pilgrimage, a little while after the main pilgrimage party had set out. He said, ‘I have been commanded to perform the pilgrimage this year, so find me a vessel on the Nile to take me across Upper Egypt.’ They searched for a vessel and found only a ship belonging to Christians on which was an elderly Christian man and his sons. He said, ‘We shall board it.’ So we boarded it and set out from Cairo. After two or three days the wind changed so that it was blowing against us, so we made berth on the Nile shore in an uninhabited place. We remained there for around a week, the hills of Cairo still within our sights. One of the pilgrims with us said, ‘How could the Shaykh say he was commanded to perform the pilgrimage this year, when it is already too late? When is this journey going to end?’
The Shaykh slept through the middle of the day, and then rose and recited this Litany. Then he asked for the captain of the ship, and asked him his name. He said his name was Mismar. The Shaykh said, ‘O blessed Mismar, unfurl the sails.’ He said, Are we going back to Cairo, sir?’ He replied, ‘We are continuing on our way, Allah willing.’ The captain said, ‘This wind will only bear us back to Cairo before the day is out, and in any case is too strong to sail in.’ The Shaykh said, ‘Unfurl the sails with the blessing of Allah.’
So we opened the sails, and Allah commanded the wind to change, and the sails were filled so suddenly that the crew had no time to untie the rope from the stake and had to chop it off instead; and we set off with a goodly wind. The captain and his brother announced that they had embraced Islam. Their father began to weep, saying, ‘I have lost my sons on this voyage!’ The Shaykh said to him, ‘Nay, you have gained them.’
That night, the elderly Christian man dreamed it was the Day of Resurrection. He saw Paradise and Hell, and saw the Shaykh leading a great throng into Paradise, his sons among them. He wanted to follow them, but was not allowed to do so, and a voice said to him, ‘You are not one of them until you enter their religion.’ He told the Shaykh about this dream and embraced Islam. The Shaykh said to him, ‘The people you saw with me are my followers until the Day of Resurrection.’
We travelled on, and the journey was made easy for us by many events which would be long in the telling, and all of us performed the pilgrimage that year.
Sidi Madi (may Allah have mercy on him) added: The elderly Christian man became a great Friend of Allah. He sold his ship and performed the pilgrimage with us along with his sons, and established a zawiya in Upper Egypt. Many miracles were granted to him, and this journey itself was one of them. May Allah have mercy on him, and be well pleased with him.
Imam Abul Hassan ash-Shadhili ق was in his 60’s when he spoke to all of the students and enjoined upon them the reading of “The Litany of the Sea” (Hizbul Bahr) saying:
"Teach it to your children for in it is the greatest name of Allah!”
“By Allah, I did not utter it except as it came from the Holy Prophet, from whose instruction I learned it."
“ Guard it ” “For it contains the greatest name of Allah”
“It is not recited in any place without security reigning there.”
Recitation of Hizbul Bahr
It is recited individually as well as in a group, for general benefit or for specific aims. The following advice is found in Sea Without Shore – A Manual of the Sufi Path by Shaykh Nuh Ha Mim Keller ash-Shadhili ق:
Hizb al-Bahr or ‘The Litany of the Sea’ is recited after the mid-afternoon prayer (‘asr). Some read it at sunrise, at which time it possesses particular properties, and it is also read whenever one is in particular need of something, in which case one makes one’s intention at the words wa sakhkhir lana hadha l-bahr (“and subject to us this sea”). Like all of the hizbs of the tariqa, it should be memorised and recited from one’s heart as if it were one’s own words, with complete attention to whom one is addressing it. It is not a magic wand, but an expression of slavehood and poverty. In a general way, the purpose of these wirds is not only to train the heart in dua but to eventually eliminate one’s absentmindedness from Allah, and one must strive in them to have presence of heart. Though memorised, they are not rote.
Sidi Ahmad Zarruq ash-Shadhili ق wrote the following about Hizbul Bahr in his commentary:
As for how to use the Litany, it differs according to intention and spiritual aspiration. It is used for the purpose of bringing benefit and warding off harm, and the specific intention should be made at the words and subject to us this sea. This is what Ibn ‘Abbad (may Allah have mercy on him) said, as I have seen in his own handwriting, and it is correct. Ibn Ata’Allah said in Lata’if al-Minan, ‘It is a wird for after the afternoon [‘asr] prayer, while the Great Litany is for after the dawn prayer.’ I might add to this that the Munajat [concluding prayers] of the Hikam of Ibn Ata’Allah should be read in the final part of the night before dawn. Each of them has its own secret, as the one who sticks to them will discover in no short time if he holds to piety and righteousness without taking on too much; and Allah knows best.
Hizb al-Bahr Commentaries
Aside from the popular reading among the masses, the Hizb al-Bahr also received keen interest from Muslim scholars who have focused their attention and written commentaries on it. Below is a list of just ten such commentaries – it is interesting to note that the commentators come from all the different Sunni schools of law and encompass the whole of the Muslim world from Turkey to India, to various parts of Africa. Many of them were experts in hadith as well.
Dawud ibn Umar ibn Bakhili (d. 733 AH/1332 CE) al-Latifa al-Mardiya
Abul Huda Muhammad al-Rifa’i (d. 728 AH/1328 CE) Qiladat al-Nahr fi Sharh Hizb al-Bahr
Ibn Duqmaq (d. 809 AH)/1406 CE) Qatf al-Zahr min Sharh Hizb al-Bahr
Sidi Ahmad Zarruq (d. 899 AH / 1493 CE) Sharh Hizb al-Bahr
Shah Waliullah (d. 1114 AH/1703 CE) Hawami Sharh Hizb al-Bahr (Persian)
Abu al-Iqbal Hasan ibn Ali ibn Ahmad al-Mintawi al-Azhari al-Madabighi (d. 1170 AH/1756 CE) Sharh Hizb al-Bahr
Ahmad ibn Umar ibn Ayub al-Izmiri (d. 1180 AH/1766 CE) Fath al-Ali al-Barr Sharh Hizb al-Bahr
Mustafa al-Kamali (d. 1210 AH/1795 CE) Jannatal-Nasr Fi Khawas Hizb al-Bahr
Muhammad Bello ibn Usman dan Fodio (d. 1253 AH/1837 CE) Sharh Hizb al-Bahr
Haji Imdadullah Muhajir Makki (d. 1317 AH/1899 CE) Hizb al-Bahr
Yusuf Nabhani (d. 1350 AH/1932 CE) Sharh Hizb al-Bahr
حِزْبُ الْبَحْرِ
الإمام أبي الحسن الشاذلي
(قدس الله سره)
The Litany of the Sea
By Imam Abu-Hasan ash-Shadhili ق
(May Allah sanctify his secrets)
اَللَّهُمَّ يَاعَلِيُّ يَاعَظِيْمُ يَاحَلِيْمُ يَاعَلِيْمُ
أَنْتَ رَبِّيْ وَعِلْمُكَ حَسْبِيْ
فَنِعْمَ الرَّبُّ رَبِّيْ وَنِعْمَ الْحَسْبُ حَسْبِيْ
تَنْصُرُمَنْ تَشَآءُ وَأَنْتَ الْعَزِيْزُالرَّحِيْمُ
O Allah, O Highest, O Greatest, O Clement, O all-Knowing;
You are my Lord and Your knowledge is my sufficiency;
How perfect, then, is my Lord, how perfect my sufficiency;
You give victory to whom You will, and You are the Almighty, the Merciful.
نَسْأَلُكَ الْعِصْمَةَ فِي الْحَرَكَاتِ وَالسَّكَنَاتِ
وَالْكَلِمَاتِ وَالْإِرَادَاتِ وَالْخَطَرَاتِ
مِنَ الشُّكُوْكِ وَالظُّنُوْنِ
وَالْأَوْهَامِ السَّاتِرَةِ لِلْقُلُوْبِ عَنْ مُطَالِعَةِ الْغُيُوْبِ
We ask for your protection, in movements and rests,
In words and desires and thoughts;
From the doubts and suppositions,
And fancies that veil hearts from beholding things unseen.
﴾فَقَدِ ﴿ ٱبۡتُلِيَ ٱلۡمُؤۡمِنُونَ وَزُلۡزِلُواْ زِلۡزَالًا شَدِيدًا
﴾ وَإِذۡ يَقُولُ ٱلۡمُنَافِقُونَ وَٱلَّذِينَ فِي قُلُوبِهِم مَّرَضٌ مَّا وَعَدَنَا ٱللَّهُ وَرَسُولُهُۥٓ إِلَّا غُرُورًا ﴿
فَثَبِّتْنَا وَانْصُرْنَا وَسَخِّرْلَنَا هَذَا الْبَحْرَ
For ( the believers were tested and mightily shaken) [33:11]
(And remember when the hypocrites and those in whose hearts is disease said:
“Allah and his Messenger did not promise us but delusion”.) [33:12]
So make us steadfast, give us victory, and subject to us this Sea! [Place Hajat]
كَمَا سَخَّرْتَ الْبَحْرَلِمُوْسَى
وَسَخَّرْتَ النَّارَ لِإِبْرَاهِيْمَ
وَسَخَّرْتَ الْجِبَالَ وَالْحَدِيْدَ لِدَاوُدَ
وَسَخَّرْتَ الرِّيْحَ وَالشَّيَاطِيْنَ وَالْجِنَّ لِسُلَيْمَانَ
As You subjected the sea to Musa (as)
The fire to Ibrahim (as)
The mountain and iron to Dawud (as)
The wind and demons and jinn to Sulaiman (as)
وَسَخِّرْ لَنَا كُلَّ بَحْرٍهُوَلَكَ فِي الْأَرْضِ وَالسَّمَاءِ
وَالْمُلْكِ وَالْمَلَكُوْتِ وَبَحْرَالدُّنْيَا وَبَحْرَالْآخِرَةِ
وَسَخِّرْلَنَا كُلَّ شَيْءٍ
يَامَنْ بِيَدِهِ مَلَكُوْتُ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ
Subject to us every sea You possess in the earth and the sky
The kingdom and the dominion, the sea of this life and the sea of the Hereafter
Subject to us everything [Place Hajat]
O You in whose hand is dominion of everything!
﴾كٓهٰيٰعٓصٓ﴾ (ثلاثا)
Kaf – Kifaya (Sufficiency)
Ha - Hidayah (Guidance)
Ya - Wilaya (Succour)
Ain – Ain (Care)
Sod – Sidq (Truthfulness)
x3
[Elucidation by Sidi Ahmad Zarruq ash-Shādhilī ق]
اُنْصُرْنَا فَإِنَّكَ خَيْرُالنَّاصِرِيْنَ
وَافْتَحْ لَنَا فَإِنَّكَ خَيْرُالْفَاتِحِيْنَ
وَاغْفِرْلَنَا فَإِنَّكَ خَيْرُالْغَافِرِيْنَ
وَارْحَمْنَا فَإِنَّكَ خَيْرُالرَّاحِمِيْنَ
Give us victory, for You are the best who give victory
Clear our vision, for You are the best who clear visions
Forgive us, for You are the best of forgivers
Have mercy on us, for You are the best of the Merciful
وَارْزُقْنَا فَإِنَّكَ خَيْرُالرَّازِقِيْنَ
وَاهْدِنَا وَنَجِّنَا مِنَ الْقَوْمِ الظَّالِمِيْنَ
وَهَبْ لَنَا رِيْحًا طَيِّبَةً كَمَاهِيَ فِيْ عِلْمِكَ
وَانْشُرْهَا عَلَيْنَا مِنْ خَزَائِنِ رَحْمَتِكَ
Give us sustenance, for You are the best of providers
Guide us, and save us from the wrongdoing folk
Give us a goodly wind, as may be in Your knowledge
Loosen it upon us from the storehouses of Your Mercy
وَاحْمِلْنَا بِهَاحَمْلَ الْكَرَامَةِ مَعَ السَّلَامَةِ وَالْعَافِيَةِ
فِىْ الدِّيْنِ وَالدُّنْيَا وَاْلآخِرَةِ
إِنَّكَ عَلَى كُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدِيْرٌ
And carry us upon it in honour, with safety and wellbeing in our religion,
In our life in this world, and in the world to come
You have power over all things
اَللَّهُمَّ يَسِّرْلَنَا أُمُوْرَنَا مَعَ الرَّاحَةِ لِقُلُوْبِنَا وَأَبْدَانِنَا
وَالسَّلَامَةِ وَالْعَافِيَةِ فِي دِينِنَا وَدُنْيَانَا
وَكُنْ لَنَا صَاحِبًا فِي سَفَرِنَا
وَخَلِيْفَةً فِى أَهْلِنَا
O Allah, give us ease in our affairs, with peace in our hearts and bodies,
And safety and wellbeing in our worldly life and our religion
Be our companion in our travels,
and keep watch over our families in our stead
وَاطْمِسْ عَلى وُجُوْهِ أَعْدَائِنَا
وَامْسَخْهُمْ عَلَى مَكَانَتِهِمْ
فَلَا يَسْتَطِيعُوْنَ الْمُضِيَّ
وَلَا الْمَجِيْءَ إِلَيْنَا
Blot out the faces of our enemies
and fix them where they stand,
So they can neither move
nor reach us.
﴾وَلَوۡ نَشَآءُ لَطَمَسۡنَا عَلَىٰٓ أَعۡيُنِهِمۡ فَٱسۡتَبَقُواْٱلصِّرَٰطَ فَأَنَّىٰ يُبۡصِرُونَ﴿
﴾وَلَوۡ نَشَآءُ لَمَسَخۡنَٰهُمۡ عَلَىٰ مَكَانَتِهِمۡ فَمَا ٱسۡتَطَٰعُواْ مُضِيًّا وَلَا يَرۡجِعُونَ﴿
Had we willed. We would have blotted out their eyes; and they would race to the path, but how should they see? [36:66]
Or had We willed, We would have fixed them where they stood,
so they neither could go forward, not return [36:67]
﴾يسٓ .وَٱلۡقُرۡءَانِ ٱلۡحَكِيمِ ﴿
﴾إِنَّكَ لَمِنَ ٱلۡمُرۡسَلِينَ .عَلَىٰ صِرَٰطٍ مُّسۡتَقِيمٖ ﴿
﴾تَنزِيلَ ٱلۡعَزِيزِٱلرَّحِيمِ ﴿
﴾لِتُنذِرَ قَوۡمًا مَّآ أُنذِرَ ءَابَآؤُهُمۡ فَهُمۡ غَٰفِلُونَ ﴿
Yaseen. By the Wise Quran. [36:1-2]
Truly, you are of the messengers upon a straight path [36:3-4]
This is a revelation of the Almighty, the Merciful. [36:5]
That you might warn a people whose forefathers were not warned, so they heed not. [36:6]
لَقَدۡ حَقَّ ٱلۡقَوۡلُ عَلَىٰٓ أَكۡثَرِهِمۡ فَهُمۡ لَا يُؤۡمِنُونَ
إِنَّا جَعَلۡنَا فِيٓ أَعۡنَٰقِهِمۡ أَغۡلَلًا فَهِيَ إِلَى ٱلۡأَذۡقَانِ فَهُم مُّقۡمَحُونَ
وَجَعَلۡنَا مِنۢ بَيۡنِ أَيۡدِيهِمۡ سَدًّا وَمِنۡ خَلۡفِهِمۡ سَدًّا فَأَغۡشَيۡنَٰهُمۡ فَهُمۡ لَا يُبۡصِرُونَ
Already has a sentence been passed against most of them, so they believe not. [36:7]
Verily, We have placed shackles on their necks, even up to the chins, so they end not. [36:8]
And We have placed a barrier before them, and a barrier behind them, and enshrouded them, so that they see not [36:9]
(شَاهَتِالْوُجُوْهُ (ثلاثا
﴾ وَعَنَتِ ٱلۡوُجُوهُ لِلۡحَيِّ ٱلۡقَيُّومِ وَقَدۡ خَابَ مَنۡ حَمَلَ ظُلۡمٗا ﴿
Disfigured be those faces! x3
And faces shall be humbled before the Eternal, the All-Sustaining
While whoever bears wrongdoing shall have failed! [20:111]
﴾طسٓ﴾ ﴿حمٓ﴾ ﴿عٓسٓقٓ﴿
Ta Sin. Ha Meem. Ain. Seen. Qaf.
Ta – Taharah (Purity)
Sin – Salamah (Safety)
Ha Meem – Himayah (Protection)
Ain – Inayah (Care)
Sin – Salamah (Safety)
Qaf – Qudra (Power)
[Elucidation by Sidi Ahmad Zarruq ash-Shādhilī ق]
﴾مَرَجَٱلۡبَحۡرَيۡنِ يَلۡتَقِيَانِ. بَيۡنَهُمَا بَرۡزَخٞ لَّا يَبۡغِيَانِ ﴿
(حمٓ﴾ (سبعا﴿
He has loosened the two seas; they come together, but between them is a barrier they do not cross! [55:19-20]
Ha. Meem x7
Ha Meem is for protection which is why the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said to
the companions at Uhud: “Let your battle cry be Ha Meem, they shall not be victorious!
[Elucidation by Shaykh Ahmad Zarruq ash-Shādhilī ق]
حُمَّالْأَمْرُوَجَاءَالنَّصْرُفَعَلَيْنَالَايُنْصَرُوْنَ
﴾حمٓ. تَنزِيلُ ٱلۡكِتَابِ مِنَ ٱللَّهِ ٱلۡعَزِيزِٱلۡعَلِيمِ. غَافِرِٱلذَّنۢبِ وَقَابِلِ ٱلتَّوۡبِ شَدِيدِ ٱلۡعِقَابِ ذِي ٱلطَّوۡلِۖ لَآ إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا هُوَۖ إِلَيۡهِ ٱلۡمَصِيرُ﴿
The matter is done. The victory has come. Against us they shall not be helped.
Ha Meem. The revelation of the Book from Allah, the Almighty,
The All-Knowing, Forgiver of Sins, Accepter of Repentance,
Terrible in Punishment, infinite in Bounty;
No God is there but He; Unto Him is the final becoming.
[40: 1 - 3]
بِسْمِ اللَّهِ ﴾ بَابُنَا ﴿
تَبَارَكَ ﴾ حِيْطَانُنَا ﴿
يسٓ ﴾ سَقْفُنَا ﴿
كٓهيعٓصٓ ﴾ كِفَايَتُنَا ﴿
Bismillah is our door
Tabaraka is our walls
Yaseen is our roof
Kaf Ha Ya Ayn Sad is our Sufficiency
حمٓ. عٓسٓقٓ ﴾ حِمَايَتُنَا ﴿
(فَسَيَكۡفِيكَهُمُ ٱللَّهُۚ وَهُوَ ٱلسَّمِيعُ ٱلۡعَلِيمُ ﴾ (ثلاثا ﴿
سِتْرُالْعَرْشِ مَسْبُوْلٌ عَلَيْنَا
وَعَيْنُ اللَّهِ نَاظِرَةٌ إِلَيْنَا
Ha Meem. Ain Seen. Qaf. is our protection.
Allah will suffice you against them, and He is the All-Hearing, the All-Knowing. [2:137] x3
The veil of the Throne has been dropped over us
The eye of Allah is gazing upon us
بِحَوْلِ اللَّهِ لَا يُقْدَرُ عَلَيْنَا
﴾ وَٱللَّهُ مِن وَرَآئِهِم مُّحِيطُۢ. بَلۡ هُوَ قُرۡءَانٌ مَّجِيدٌ ﴿
﴾ فِي لَوۡحٍ مَّحۡفُوظِۢ ﴿
(فَٱللَّهُ خَيۡرٌ حَٰفِظٗاۖ وَهُوَ أَرۡحَمُ ٱلرَّ ٰحِمِينَ ﴾ (ثلاثا ﴿
With the Power of Allah none shall overcome us
And Allah encompasses them from behind:
Nay it is a noble recitation, in a guarded tablet. [85 : 20-22]
For Allah is best as Protector, and He is the Most Merciful of the merciful! [12:64] (x3)
(إِنَّ وَلِـِّۧيَ ٱللَّهُ ٱلَّذِي نَزَّلَ ٱلۡكِتَٰبَۖ وَهُوَ يَتَوَلَّى ٱلصَّلِحِينَ﴾ (ثلاثا ﴿
(حَسۡبِيَ ٱللَّهُ لَآ إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا هُوَۖ عَلَيۡهِ تَوَكَّلۡتُۖ وَهُوَ رَبُّ ٱلۡعَرۡشِ ٱلۡعَظِيمِ ﴾ (ثلاثا ﴿
Indeed, my protector is Allah, who has sent down the Book; and He is an ally to the righteous. [7:196] (x3)
Allah is my Sufficiency, there is no god but He; on Him I rely, And He is Lord of the Mighty Throne [9:129] (x3)
(بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الَّذِيْ لَا يَضُرُّمَعَ اسْمِهِ شَيْءٌ فِي الْأَرْضِ وَلَافِي السَّمَآءِ وَهُوَالسَّمِيْعُ الْعَلِيْمُ (ثلاثا
(وَلَاحَوْلَ وَلَا قُوَّةَ إلاَّ بِاللَّهِ الْعَلِيِّ الْعَظِيْمِ. (ثلاثا
In the name of Allah, against whose Name, nothing can cause harm in the earth nor the sky; And He is the All-Hearing, the All-Knowing. (x3)
There is no power, and no strength, save by Allah, the Highest, the Greatest. (x3)
وَصَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَى سَيِّدِنَا مُحَمَّدٍ وَعَلَى آلِهِ وَصَحْبِهِ وَسَلَّمَ.
﴾سُبۡحَٰنَ رَبِّكَ رَبِّ ٱلۡعِزَّةِ عَمَّا يَصِفُونَ . وَسَلَٰمٌ عَلَى ٱلۡمُرۡسَلِينَ . وَٱلۡحَمۡدُ لِلَّهِ رَبِّ ٱلۡعَٰلَمِينَ ﴿
And may Allah bless our master Muhammad and his family and his companion and grant them much peace
Exalted is your Lord, the Lord of might, above what they describe. And peace upon the messengers.
And praise to Allah, Lord of the worlds. [37 : 180 – 182]
