Oeil Pour Oeil

You have to go where the pain is, go where the pleasure is, and you can’t be afraid. And you have to write the book that you can’t find in the bookstore, the book that you really want to read. And you have to write a book that you yourself would love to read, and a book you want to live in, you want to be in. It has to be. … I think that helps to focus. When you say that to yourself, I’m writing the book I want to write, the book I can’t find, the book that hasn’t been done yet the way that I would like to do it. And of course, we always have to remember that the world doesn’t want someone who sounds just like somebody else, they want an original voice. The world is always crying for original voices.

Don’t ever let any mistake or sinful habit convince you that your prayers aren’t worth it.

Always leave loved ones with loving words. It may be the last time you see them.

One of the bitterest ironies of life is that one truly appreciates a blessing only after having been deprived of it.

The beginning of love is the will to let those we love be perfectly themselves, the resolution not to twist them to fit our own image. If in loving them we do not love what they are, but only their potential likeness to ourselves, then we do not love them: we only love the reflection of ourselves we find in them

I think about you. But I don’t say it anymore.

If you want to know the religion of a man, do not look at how much he prays and fasts, but rather, look at how he treats people.

I’d cut my soul into a million different pieces just to form a constellation to light your way home. I’d write love poems to the parts of yourself you can’t stand. I’d stand in the shadows of your heart and tell you I’m not afraid of your dark.

إذا عرفت نفسك فلا يضرك ما قيل فيك If you know yourself, then you’ll not be harmed by what is said about you.

Usually a little kindness and simple manners will get you far more than a lot of rhetoric and fancy debates.

When I pretend to be strong, no one sees my hidden tears except Allah. When I’m sad and need a shoulder to cry on, no one supports me but Allah. Pleasing a human is very difficult, pleasing Allah is the easiest. People sometimes punish me for mistakes I have not done, Allah ignores and excuses the ones that I did. This is Allah, The Greatest, The Most Almighty, The Most Beneficent, The Most Merciful, and all praise belongs to Him.