25,000
25,000.
TWENTY FIVE THOUSAND!
TWENTY FIVE THOUSAND is the number of times we breathe over twenty-four hours! We inhale 180 cubic meters of air, from which 6.5 meters are extracted to be used by the blood! With each breath air is drawn into more than 1,500,000 little air sacs in the lungs, which are so thin that they allow the air to pass through, but prevent the blood from oozing in.
TWENTY FIVE THOUSAND daily gifts from the multitude of gifts from our Rabb, SubhanAllah!
The potential to say LA ILAHA ILLALLAH MUHAMMADUR RASULULLAH twenty five thousand times! And yet how many are on our breath?
Then He made him complete; He breathed His Spirit into him; He gave you hearing, sight and hearts; little you give thanks! (As-Sajdah 32:9)
Breath is the link between Allah Ta’ala and His creation, a rising and falling vibration permeating the entire creation, the presence of the Divine.
And by the dawn as it softly breathes. (At-Takwir 81:18)
As it softly breathes! As it softly breathes LA ILAHA ILLALLAH MUHAMMADUR RASULULLAH
begin the quest
succumb to the breath
lift the veil!
a blaring silence
unleashed
a deafening lucid silence
the symphonic silence of
LA ILAHA ILL ALLAH
on every breath of every atom in every time and place.
Dhikr, the purifier of breath.
The breath is word; we cannot utter a sound without breath, the two intrinsically bonded. While the child is in the womb its lungs do not function. But once the baby is born, when it is on the verge of suffocation, a loud cry is uttered, which opens the lungs as air rushes into them. Breath and sound, the sound of Love, the sound of the Divine, the breath of Love, the breath of the Divine.
TWENTY FIVE THOUSAND gifts from our Rabb, SubhanAllah, TWENTY FIVE THOUSAND
LA ILAHA ILLALLAH MUHAMMADUR RASULULLAH
Imam Ghazali Rahmatullah alaihi says:
“Life is nothing but an accumulation of many breaths. So every breath is a precious diamond which cannot be purchased with anything in the world. It is a priceless jewel which has no substitute in value. So in movements and talks, and in sorrows and happiness, such a priceless breath should not be spent in vain. To destroy it is to court destruction. An intelligent man cannot lose it.”
The breath; the finite rhythm separating life and death, the Breath of Rahmah from the Divine is essentially the initial act of the metaphysic of Love. Love is the cause and secret of all creation and thereby the principle of all motion from desire to being known. The creation of this world, in this sense, was the motion of love towards perfection and completion.
Rumi:
in every breath
if you’re the center
of your own desires
you’ll lose the grace
of your beloved
but if in every breath
you blow away
your self claim
the ecstasy of love
will soon arrive
in every breath
if you’re the center
of your own thoughts
the sadness of autumn
will fall on you
but if in every breath
you strip naked
just like a winter
the joy of spring
will grow from within
all your impatience
comes from the push
for gain of patience
let go of the effort
and peace will arrive
all your unfulfilled desires
are from your greed
for gain of fulfillments
let go of them all
and they will be sent as gifts
fall in love with
the agony of love
not the ecstasy
then the beloved
will fall in love with you
*
The potential is there to say LA ILAHA ILLALLAH MUHAMMADUR RASULULLAH twenty five thousand times! And yet how many are on our breath? How much can we increase before our last breath is snatched from us. [Audio version of Last Breath, video (graphic images of people) by Ahmad Bukhatir.]
Our Beloved Rasul SallAllahu alaihi wassalam when describing Jannah said words to the effect that our sweat would be that of musk and we would glorify and praise Allah as easily as we breathe! SubhanAllah! Ya Rabb, may every one of the 25,000 daily diamond breaths You have blessed us with burst with Your Love, Your Countenance. Ameen.
And remember your Lord within your soul, humbly and meekly, under your breath, in the mornings and the evenings, and don’t be one of the heedless. (Al-A’raf 7:205)
And at night as the Shaytan attempts to breathe on us with his malicious intent, remember the Du’a of our Noble Prophet SallAllahu alaihi wasallam who said:
“Hallowed be Allah, my Lord. It is with Your Grace that I place my side upon the bed and it is with You that I arise up after sleep, and in the case of You causing me to die, then grant pardon to my being, and if You Will this process of breathing to continue, then protect it with that with which You protected Your pious servants."
This ramble was inspired by brother Irvings post, JazakumuLlahu khairan
The language of love has no words
Listen
For God’s sake
The syntax of the heart’s longing
Is silence
Neither noun nor verb nor consonant
Why all this talk then, O Lover?
Sit and wait
Slow the heartbeat, ease the breath
Unless you become thought
Less
There is no room in you for Hu
Poetry is self-indulgence
Words a veil,
Silence, silence, silence
And the Beloved bursts forth
Everywhere
And all is Love
- Irving Karchmar, May 2007
All good is from Allah Ta’ala whereas mistakes are from this humble speck. May Allah Ta’ala Bless all readers, bringing you all closer to Him and His Rasul SallAllahu alaihi wasallam. May He accept our humble efforts and grant us the capacity to be good and do good. Ameen.
