Yasmin Mogahed

“Sometimes, the ocean floor is only a stop on the journey. And it is when you are at this lowest point, that you are faced with a choice. You can stay there at the bottom, until you drown. Or you can gather pearls and rise back up — stronger from the swim and richer from the jewels.”

“The human currency of praise is Monopoly money. It feels great for a moment to collect, but when the game is over, it's worthless.”

“If given a choice between stoic justice and compassion, I choose compassion. And if given a choice between worldly leadership and heaven at my feet—I choose heaven.”

“Oh external worshiper, know that worship without heart is motions. Oh seeker of knowledge, know that knowledge without purification is a dangerous weapon of the ego. Oh activist, know that work without orientation of heart is fruitless. Oh lover, know that love without God is pain.”

“Speak your heart. If they don’t understand, the message was never meant for them anyway.”

“Maybe the brokenness comes to teach you how to kneel. Stop trying to ‘be strong’. We cry, to heal. We feel, to stay human.”

“Allah loves His creation. That’s why He rewards so greatly for serving them.”

“Tear your heart out of your chest. And hand it to God. There is no other healing. I swear, there is no other healing.”

“Never curse a fall. The ground is where humility lives.”

“She stood up. Something inside her had changed. "It was finally time," she thought. It was finally time to leave the past in the past. And move on. She took her first step. It felt like walking for the first time. It was strange to not be chained anymore. It felt like life. Like hope. Like happiness.”

“The mind replays what the heart can't delete.”

“My value as a woman is not measured by the size of my waist or the number of men who like me. My worth as a human being is measured on a higher scale: a scale of righteousness and piety. And my purpose in life-despite what fashion magazines say-is something more sublime than just looking good for men.”

“Beware of what you let enter your heart. There will come a day when you'd give anything to remove it.”

“We hold on so tightly, because we’re terrified of loss. We hold on till our hands bleed. And in that self-shattering persistence, we fail to see the answer: Just let go.”

“Deprived is the one who has never witnessed his own desperate need for God. Reliant on his own means, he forgets that the means, his own soul, and everything else in existence are His creation.”

“[A Letter to the Culture that Raised Me] I'm not here to be on display. And my body is not for public consumption. I will not be reduced to an object, or a pair of legs to sell shoes. I'm a soul, a mind, a servant of God. My worth is defined by the beauty of my soul, my heart, my moral character. So I won't worship your beauty standards, and I don't submit to your fashion sense. My submission is to something higher.”