After the Dhuhr prayer was completed, it was as if no time had elapsed before the time of Asr came upon us. I moved to a different place in the masjid yet again, back up to the second floor to get a better look again at the Kaaba. As I walked around looking for a spot, I noticed an area almost uninhabited by people. I excitedly sat down in the area, happy to be in the first row which permitted me to see the Kaaba. Soon enough however, I realized that no one was sitting there because it was directly in the sun, and as one looked forward the sun was directly in front of your face. So not only was it hot but your head needed to be kept down to avoid looking at the sun.

But as Asr came and went, this proved to be an advantage, for it allowed for further appreciation of the natural phenomena that surrounds us. Those who later joined me had full view of the sun as it slowly migrated westward towards the mountains of Makkah. In some circles of Islamic thought, the movements of the sun and their relationship with the prayer times throughout the day have been made analogous to our stages in life. As the sun approaches the horizon after Asr and as it sets, it is the death of the day, analogous to our very own death.

Almost after every salah in the Haram a Janaza prayer is performed. Imagine how blessed a person is to be prayed on by so many people in the greatest of places! It proves to be a tremendous opportunity to consistently remember death. And even when there is no Janazah, there are so many opportunities to serve as reminders.

In Madina, for example, there was no Janazah after Fajr prayer one day. I decided to visit al-Baqi, the graveyard close to the Masjid, where many of the Prophet�s household and other blessed Companions of the Prophet(peace be upon him)are buried.

The sky remained quite dark though sunrise was close to approaching. As I walked the passageways of al-Baqi, I looked up at the sky and at the stars above. To my amazement, a shooting star, a meteorite, dramatically appeared. Yet its demise and fade into the dark sky proved to be just as quick as its explosive and bright birth seconds earlier. In many ways, our life in the world is like a shooting star: A bright flash of light that draws our immediate attention amidst the greater night sky of the Aakhirah which we cannot really comprehend. A flash which vanishes as quickly as it came and back into the depths of the dark sky above.

Soon after, as I continued to walk, I looked down to my right and to my astonishment saw an open grave. It had been dug recently, as if waiting to hear of news of its guest or prisoner, depending on the merit of the person. The initial thought upon seeing this open grave was surprise and shock, but almost immediately there was this desire within to actually enter the grave. As Abu Bakr RA has said, death is as close to a man as his shoelaces. Indeed, this life, this world, is but an open grave at our feet. Yet as I inched closer to it, fear entered the heart and there was hesitation. It was the dunya tugging on the heart, making it hesitate to go towards the Aakhirah. Upon recognizing this state, I could only shake my head in disappointment, for all those souls buried around where I was standing, all those Muslim men and women who lived and died here, would have raced to enter this open grave as we hesitate. How great their generation was in comparison to our own! May Allah have mercy and shower His blessings upon them!