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“You know,” Teta continued, “when you’ve gotten old like me, you realize the things you give away make you happier than the things you keep for yourself.”
“Anytime you share something you love, it comes right back to you like a boomerang. You never lose it. Just wait and see.”
“There are a lot of ways to show our faith and love to Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala. You pick the ones that are right for who you are right now.”
“God said: ‘Every deed a person does will receive ten to seven hundred times reward, except fasting, for it is for Me, and I shall reward it. There are two occasions of joy for one who fasts: one when he breaks the fast, and the other when he will meet his Lord.’”
“Oh, Idrees, it’s never about the gift. It’s about the love behind it.”
“Habibi,” Babba had said, “always look beyond what your eyes initially recognize and find out what is real, what is possible, and what is the truth.”
Prayers. Prayers had gotten them nothing since the day the killings and destruction had begun.
This would be their first Eid without Babba, his grandparents, the rest of his family. There were no presents for the kids, no special foods to celebrate the end of a month of fasting and praying . . . prayers that continued to be unanswered.
He shivered, trying to do as Babba had asked, to look beyond the terrible circumstances that had brought them here, but he just couldn’t.
Always look beyond what your eyes initially recognize and discover what is real, what is possible, and what is the truth.
“It’s hard to see the beauty in things when you can’t see past your insecurities.”
“Everyone at the Chand Raat party was so happy that it made me mad. Even Mama was smiling and laughing. How can she be so happy after everything that’s happened? It’s like she doesn’t care how I feel! Nobody does!”
Sometimes, before we can welcome joy in again, we need to acknowledge the sadness in our hearts
“If you touch your tongue while yawning, it can stop the yawn. It’s a scientific fact.”
“You’re not fooling me. We all know what a Mum Insha’Allah means.”
