What Kind of Sun am I?

Friday May 17, 2024 - Trabzon, Turkiye

I had just hiked down from a very high monastery built from mountain rock dedicated to the Virgin Mary (peace be upon her). I walked into an ethnic restaurant to get hot tea and signed into their wifi. A messge from my son Ibraheem popped up: "Today is very sad, Imam Junaid passed away this morning."

Pain filled my heart. I knew that thousands of others around the world were feeling the same way. I contemplated on this reflection, and all I could think of was the hadith Qudsi that when Allah loves a servant, He echoes that love to all creation, in His heavens and Earth. 

We drove another thirty minutes to the hotel in time to watch the sun setting into the silent Black Sea. The color of red was unlike any sunset I had ever seen. As I watched the sun descend, I thought of Imam Junaid. It was at this exact moment, as the sun was setting in Turkiye, that he was on his way to attend his final Friday congregation, in a coffin. Then, he would be taken to Sunset Memorial for his burial. 

Sunset Memorial. What a name for a cemetery. I imagined a baby representing a sun rise; our actions and journey represented by the rays we emit; and our time always coming to an end by a sun set. I wondered what kind of sun I had been during my 39 years on earth. I wondered if my rays had provided warmth and growth to those around me, or if they burned them. I imagined the kind of sun I hoped to become.

I prayed for Imam Junaid. I prayed for my grandparents. I prayed for all those who had already settled into the earth. I continued to stare into the water until I could no longer tell where the black sky and the Black Sea merged.

Today, a sun on this earth has set and returned to Allah, al Rahman al Raheem.

‏ يا غفور اغفر له Oh Forgiver, forgive him

يا لطيف الطف به Oh Gentle, be gentle with him

 يا نور نور قبره Oh Light, fill his grave with light

يا رحمن ارحمه Oh Merciful, be merciful to him