As our precious lives come to their end—sometimes at the close of a long life, sometimes cut short—we who are left behind need an opportunity to bow to the one who has gone, to express our love for them and our thanks, and to bless them on their journey Home. This website is one place for us to do that. It is intended for all those who have been associated in some way with the Sufi Way and the Open Path, and for their families and friends.
Waves of Remembrance
When a friend has recently passed, you may see their photo below; clicking on their photo will take you to their Waves of Remembrance page. A Wave of Remembrance can be thought of as an upswelling of love creating movement across space and time, just like a wave in the ocean. Each Wave offers a place for friends and beloveds of the one who has passed to share in community personal memories and reflections – whether poetry or dance, a song or a memory, philosophical reflections, humour, longings, activities, silence, meditation or zikr – all offerings are welcome here.
A Wave of Remembrance will be held open for 40 days. During this time friends may wish to hold communal prayer circles, zikrs, ceremonies, or other gatherings which reflect something of the nature of the person. These might be arranged for specific days when those in different locations can join in, creating a flow across countries and continents. We are hopeful that in this way every wave will reflect the personality and offer the atmosphere of the one who has travelled on. Even if individuals cannot physically attend the event, they may experience community knowing what is taking place and when, holding it in their hearts and minds.
If you are arranging something and would like others to link in this way, or if you would like to share a memory or reflection about an individual or invite others to a gathering in their honour, please feel free to contact Suzanne Inayat-Khan at suzanne@sufiway.org. Your offering can be in words, photos, video, or audio files. Any activity, however big or small, with the intention of honouring the life or to mark the passing of our friend, can be included in the Wave of Remembrance. Anyone, whether connected to the Sufi Way or not, may offer a remembrance and also view the postings. We will also post any details we receive of funeral services and memorials.
Given the nature of our wide community over many years, sometimes photographs might be added of groups of people. If you see that a photo has been wrongly labelled, or if perhaps you are in a photo and would prefer not to be included at this time – please do contact Suzanne, who will be very happy to make the needed corrections.
The Memorial List
After a Waves of Remembrance page has been up for 40 days, it will be moved to the Memorial List, where you can view all previous postings. (Simply hover over the Memorial List tab at the top of any page to see the drop-down list of names.) The Memorial List will also include pages for those who passed before this website was created. Please feel very welcome to contact Suzanne if you would like to add to an existing Memorial page, or if you would like us to create a new one.
