“ I like talking to you,' he said, slowly.'Why?' That was the way to hear nice things. Ask why. Leila Aboulela
“ In the distant past, Muslim doctors advised nervous people to look up at the sky. Forget the tight earth. Imagine that the sky, all of it, belonged to them alone. Crescent, low moon, more stars than t… Leila Aboulela
“ I grew up in a very westernised environment and went to a private American school. But my personality was shy and quiet, and I wanted to wear the hijab but didn't have the courage, as I knew my friend… Leila Aboulela
“ The Mercy of Allah is an Ocean, Our sins are a lump of clay clenched between the beak of a pigeon. The pigeon is perched on the branch of a tree at the edge of that ocean.It only has to open it's beak Leila Aboulela
“ Who would care if I became pregnant, who would be scandalized? Aunty Eva, Anwar's flatmates. Omar would never know unless I wrote to him. Uncle Saleh was across the world. A few years back, getting pr… Leila Aboulela
“ Control yourself, it is not worth it. You will regret your rudeness afterwards, your sensitive nature will be troubled Leila Aboulela
“ Can I aske forgiveness for someone else, someone whose already dead?Yes, you can. Of course you can. And you can give charity in their name and you can recite the Qur'an for their sake. All these thin… Leila Aboulela
“ I am touched by her life, how it moves forward, pulses and springs. There is no fragmentation, nothing stunted or wedged. I circle back, I regress, the past doesn't let go. It might as well be a malfu… Leila Aboulela
“ And why is it that so many years later it is so easy to distinguish the bullies from their prey? Adult bodies surrounding the children of long ago. The years have changed nothing. Leila Aboulela
“ The Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, said, When Allah loves a people, He tries them. Leila Aboulela
“ Allah tests our patience and our fortitude. He tests out strength of faith. be patient and there will endless rewards for you, insha'Allah" - Utaz Badr Leila Aboulela
“ All through life there were distinctions - toilets for men, toilets for women; clothes for men, clothes for women - then, at the end, the graves are identical. Leila Aboulela
