Zahra Quotes & Sayings

When I saw you in the hall with Darian," he says at last, "I felt more angry than I've felt in a long time. I was angry and . . . and afraid, that you wanted to be there, that you wanted him touching you. In that one look, I felt more than I've ever felt with Caspida. Zahra, I think you're right - love isn't a choice. If I could choose to love Caspida, maybe this would all be going differently, but I don't think that's possible. Not anymore."
All the smoke inside me sinks as I stare at him. "What are you saying?"
He turns and meets my gaze squarely. As much I want to, I find it impossible to look away. The intensity of his copper gaze holds me entranced.
"I think you know," he says softly. "Or am I the only one who feels it? — Jessica Khoury

An Islamic writer recalls her joy in the clothes she wore as a young girl at a wedding: They were always in beautiful bright colors: crimson, pink, turquoise, purple, and embroidered with sparkling crystals, sequins and beads ... The older girls and women would wear glamorous heavily-beaded silk blouses and long, princess-like skirts. I wanted to wear those fairy-tale clothes too. I longed even more to wear a sari which the women wore so elegantly and which flattered their curves. — Shelina Zahra Janmohamed

Zahra is the light. My job is to keep her safe and watch her shine while using my knowledge to guide us to the day of our redemption. — Brian Arthur Levene

You insist you're a monster because you're afraid of being human. — Jessica Khoury

Amanda learned a valuable lesson. Everything happens for a reason and in the end, you will be happy. — Corrine Annette Zahra

Aren't the stars beautiful? Thousands of them twinkling so far from us, yet so near. Who knows what it's like in the universe where they are? ... I can't breathe when I look at them. I bet somewhere out there we could understand what life is really about, and find a way to bring a bit more meaning into this world. — Shelina Zahra Janmohamed

She and Harry may be the most loyal, least religious people in the community, but there are times when people need religion more than they need anything else - even people like Zahra and Harry. — Octavia E. Butler

Because happiness itself is a mythical construct, a dream you humans tell yourselves to get through each day. It is the moon, and you, like the sun, pursue it relentlessly, chasing it around and around, getting nowhere. — Jessica Khoury

You've ruled before, so tell me, does it get easier?"
"No, but you get stronger. — Jessica Khoury

It is Love that transforms it from black and white, to breathtaking, beautiful inspiring colors — Shelina Zahra Janmohamed

Even a thief may have honor, and even a jinni may have a heart. — Jessica Khoury

He alone can meet my eyes without disgust or fear. He alone still sees the girl inside the monster. But it is not enough. — Jessica Khoury

I do, and the now-familiar warmth of his lips steadies me. He tastes of salt and the wine we shared with the others at our small farewell party.
Aladdin pulls away first and lifts one of my hands to his lips, kissing the delicate henna patterns on my skin, then turning my arm over to kiss the inside of my wrist. The ship's crew makes themselves busy on the other side of the ship, giving us privacy.
"You're the most beautiful girl in the world," Aladdin murmurs. "Have I ever told you that?"
"Enough to make me wonder if your father was a parrot. — Jessica Khoury

I know who you are," he says.
Something about his tone causes my heart of smoke to flicker in response, and I throw my guard up. "Oh? And who, O boy of Parthenia, am I?"
He nods to himself, his eyes alight. "You're her. You're that jinni. Oh, gods. Oh, great bleeding gods! You're the one who started the war!"
"Excuse me?"
"You're the jinni who betrayed that famous queen - what was her name? Roshana? She was trying to bring peace between the jinn and the humans, but you turned on her and started the Five Hundred Wars."
I turn cold. I want him to stop, but he doesn't.
"I've heard the stories," he says. "I've heard the songs. They call you the Fair Betrayer, who enchanted humans with your . . ." He pauses to swallow. "Your beauty. You promised them everything, and then you ruined them. — Jessica Khoury

Love is a path lined with roses." I say bitterly. "But it leads to a cliff's edge and all who follow it tumble to their doom. You will not find your happiness there. — Jessica Khoury

If it's a monster they want, then a monster they shall have. — Jessica Khoury

I've been away from my two daughters at a very important time in their life.'I have missed most of Girl Scout cookie season.Last night Zahra, my youngest called me up and said :"Daddy how come we never sell the most cookies? How come Mrs. Dunn wins every year?"' — Chris Rock

This has been the great lesson of my long life: To love is to destroy. — Jessica Khoury

All I wanted was peace between our peoples. But I see now that this is not possible, for my people are ruled by a dreamer, and the jinn are rules by a monster. — Jessica Khoury

Less a point on a map and more a region of the soul, but it is a path I can follow. — Jessica Khoury

Why do you care what happens to her? I thought we humans were vapors to you, here today and gone tomorrow."
"Caspida is . . . different. She reminds me of someone, someone I'd give my life for if I could."
"The queen?" he asks. "The one who died?"
"Roshana. My dear Ro." My voice is soft as a ripple on the water. "She once ruled the Amulens, and Caspida is her descendant. She has Roshana's strength of spirit, and I cannot look at her without thinking of my old friend. If she were to come to harm on my account . . . I could not bear that through the centuries." I already carry a mountain of shame, a constant reminder of that day on Mount Tissia.
Aladdin lifts a hand and brushes the hair back from my face. "You truly are remarkable, Zahra of the Lamp. — Jessica Khoury

Cruelty, I understand. But kindness frightens me, for my defenses are weak against it. ~Zahra — Jessica Khoury

You're beautiful and wild and kind, and I can't stop thinking about you." A sunny, foolish smile breaks across his face. "It's wrong and stupid and wonderful, Zahra. I didn't mean for it to happen, but here I am. I love you. — Jessica Khoury

Goodbye, Zahra," says the princess, and she pulls her arm back, preparing to throw the lamp.
"Do it, Princess," says a voice, "and I will tear your head from your shoulders. — Jessica Khoury

Poetry is designed to inspire love, and islam is about falling in love with the creator of the universe. — Shelina Zahra Janmohamed

Have I told you I love you?" he whispers.
I smile. "Not since this morning."
"Unforgivable. I will tell you every hour of every day. — Jessica Khoury

May you carry the weight of this betrayal to your grave. — Jessica Khoury

What good is it Habiba, to deny the truth? Your friendship woke something in me all those centuries ago, some dormant humanity that had lingered through the years, and after you died, it recoiled and hid again.
But Aladdin has woken it once more. With his sun-bright smile and his laughing eyes and his way of asking the hardest kind of questions. After you, I swore to never love again.
But I love him.
And so I must let him go. — Jessica Khoury

I do, 'Merama,' Deven piped up. 'I know exactly what she means. We need to send them love and see them coming home in our mind. If we wish and believe we can be together again.'
'Yas!' said Zahra strongly. 'Young one has knowing. You must that do! — Marcha A. Fox

Zhian rages about a bit longer, cracking trees and whipping up whirlwinds of dust. Then, at last, he assembles himself, taking the form of an enormous, human-like figure, nine feet tall with hooves and horns. It's one of his favorite forms, modeled closely after his father. He wears only a leopard-skin loincloth, and his chest swells with muscle and pride. In his hands is a long chain, from which dangles a spiked morning star.
Curl-of-the-Tiger's-Tail, he purrs, his black eyes glittering. Smoke-on-the-Wind. Girl-Who-Gives-the-Stars-Away. You have chosen a beautiful form. Subtle, but desirable. — Jessica Khoury

You see the world in colors,
I see in Black and Red. — Irum Zahra

Chemistry could sparkle in z most surprising places and between z most unlikely people. — Shelina Zahra Janmohamed

For the last few centuries, these jeweled fruits have been my constant and sole companions. The greatest treasure in all the world, as comfortless as light to the blind. — Jessica Khoury

The name Zahra was to have been lman's own name at birth, but a senior member of the family changed it to lman at the last minute. — David Bowie

You can only ever be complete when you've seen yourself, through someone else's eyes — Shelina Zahra Janmohamed

I have no form, I have no name. I am the Slave of the Lamp, and your will is my will. Your wishes are my commands." ~Zahra — Jessica Khoury

In this modern day, when only what we see is allowed to have certainity, and when scientific data seems to hold the trump card for truth, when only what can be measured exists, love defies all these strictures and dances joyfully before the eyes of human beings, teasing them with the promise of the unknown. — Shelina Zahra Janmohamed

The things that were once sweet to me are now bitter. The sun is not half so bright. The stars seem dimmer. All this wealth and luxury feels meaningless. All the world is in your shadow, Zahra. I cannot help but see you when I close my eyes. — Jessica Khoury

But Aladdin says nothing.
Instead, he lowers his face and softly kisses the side of my neck, his mouth trailing up to the skin behind my ear. Goose bumps break across my skin, and I turn my face to meet his lips with mine. This kiss is gentler than our last, long and slow and restrained. It is a kiss of longing. A kiss of farewell. His hands tighten around my waist, pulling me against him. We drift in a slow circle, sending out ripples that make the floating flowers bob and dip.
"You keep so many secrets," he murmurs. "I could spend the rest of my life discovering you." He tucks my hair behind my ear, his eyes devouring my face. — Jessica Khoury

"All I wanted," said the Queen, "was peace between our peoples. But I see now that this is not possible, for my people are ruled by a dreamer, and the jinn are ruled by a monster." — Jessica Khoury

But my heart is a treacherous star, refusing to dim when the sun rises — Jessica Khoury

My given name was Zahra, which is the 'flower of the desert.' I don't look anything like the flower of the desert. My name was changed by my grandfather to Iman, which means 'have faith.' And it meant to have faith that a daughter would come. — Iman

How can one who's in love pretend not to be in love? — Shelina Zahra Janmohamed

I feel the boy's gaze on me, and I turn to him. He is still lying on the sand, propped on one arm, staring at me like a fisherman who has unexpectedly caught a shark in his nets.
I return his gaze with equal candor, adding him up. His stubbled jaw is strong and just slightly crooked, his copper eyes large and expressive, his lips full. A small, cheap earring hangs from his left earlobe. A handsome boy growing into a man's body, already powerfully built. Were he a prince or a renowned warrior, he would have entire harems vying for his attention. As it is, his rough beauty is hidden in his poorly cut clothing. — Jessica Khoury

I refused to change the way I practiced my faith or to let fear stop me from carrying out what I believed in. — Shelina Zahra Janmohamed

We mourn what has been lost, and tomorrow, we rise. — Jessica Khoury

Love is a path lined with roses. — Jessica Khoury

It all comes with time and patience — Shelina Zahra Janmohamed

You understand why you must go through with this marriage."
"You say you couldn't live with yourself if anything happened to Caspida. Yet you ask me to live with myself, knowing I sentenced you to this!" He holds up the lamp. "What's the difference?"
I look away angrily. "The difference is that this is my choice, Aladdin."
"Well, it's a stupid choice!"
I stand up. "Promise me you'll go through with it."
He shuts his eyes.
"Promise me! Please!"
He opens his eyes then, and they are filled with pain. But he nods.
"I have to hear you say it."
"I promise. — Jessica Khoury

Lately
I've been dreaming about you
About us
Sharing our secrets
Talking, even if we argued
Kept talking, till we slept
Maybe I woke up
On the wrong side of bed
Maybe I thought about you
Just a little too much — Irum Zahra

Dreams are made to be real not in the garbage bin. — Corrine Annette Zahra

Seeing is not with the eyes, but the heart. That is why love underpinned all our experiences — Shelina Zahra Janmohamed

love can blind you to their imperfections. — Shelina Zahra Janmohamed

His smile can lift me out of even the darkest mood — Shelina Zahra Janmohamed

Princess Caspida, I have nothing but respect and admiration for you. Truly you will be the queen this city needs. But I can't marry you."
The princess stands still as stone, her face unreadable. "Why not, Prince Rahzad?"
"I am sorry," he replies. "The truth is, I am in love, but not with you."
He turns to me, and my spirit takes flight like a flock of doves, startled and erratic. I cannot move, cannot speak, as he takes my hands in his and looks me earnestly in the eye. He presses the ring into my palm, and the gold feels as if it burns my skin.
"This belongs to you, and you alone. I've been so blind, Zahra. So caught up in the past that I've failed to see what's happening in front of me. I've been such an idiot, I don't know how I can expect anything from you. But I have to try. I have to tell the truth, and the truth is . . . I love you. — Jessica Khoury

Don't just hope it happens you have to make it happen — Shelina Zahra Janmohamed

Islam has rules. Once they are part of your life, you dont notice them anymore. — Shelina Zahra Janmohamed

No, Zahra, dear, no! Gentleness isn't weakness.' Her hand, suspended in midair, trembled with emptiness and fell to her side. 'How easy it is to be bitter or angry; that's when you're at your weakest! But when you choose to be kind, to forget your hurt, that's when you find within the greatest strength of all.' She smiled, oh, a smile of such ancient wisdom, her face shone with love. She waited, but when I wouldn't smile back, she walked past me. — Judy Croome

It's not too late," he says. "Zahra, I - "
"Sh." I lay a finger across his lips. "Don't say it. You will marry Caspida, and you will learn to love each other. You will live a happy life, long after my lamp has passed to new hands."
"I won't make my third wish," he says. "That's the answer! If I don't make the wish, you can stay here in the palace for as long as you want. You'll never have to go back to your lamp. We can fight off anyone who tries to take you from me. — Jessica Khoury

Get control of yourself, Zahra!
My name isn't Zahra. I am Smoke-on-the-Wind, Curl-of-the-Tiger's-Tail, Girl-Who-Gives-the-Stars-Away.
He loves you!
He is just a mortal. Just a boy, a moment in time that will soon pass.
His name is Aladdin.
I have known a thousand and one like him. I will know a thousand and one more. He is nothing.
He is everything. — Jessica Khoury

Every glance, every touch, every whisper between us has been a pebble added to the scales, tipping me toward a new direction. — Jessica Khoury

Don't look for wealth and beauty as these will last only a short time , and then you'll be left with nothing. Look for piety and faith and you'll get everything including wealth and beauty with it — Shelina Zahra Janmohamed

Find me, my thief. — Jessica Khoury

I'm thinking about the discrepancies between what people say is Islam and what Islam actually is! — Shelina Zahra Janmohamed

Insomnia

I wonder
If those talks matter
Few done in the clarity of day
Or the many
Done at 3 a.m. in the morning — Irum Zahra

When my words are concealed
With lies and disguises, truth and beyond
Insecurities in the veil of trust
Betrayal in bounds of lies
It's just the charm of words darling
Giving the illusion of happiness inside misery — Irum Zahra

I asked her why my father resisted the guards when they always won in the end. Why didn't he just save himself the pain and pay them what they wanted? She told me that sometimes, you can't choose what happens to you, but you can choose who you become because of it. That's why my father fought back. — Jessica Khoury

The universe sings a deep, eternal song, sound in waves, in deep sighs, in whispers, in swirling chords and rising, falling tones. The music of the worlds, weaving in a pattern that is both chaos and order, both beauty and terror, without beginning, without end. — Jessica Khoury

If you're not free to love, your're not free at all. — Jessica Khoury

All the world is in your shadow, Zahra. — Jessica Khoury

Unable to go forward, afraid to go back — Jessica Khoury

Human beings like to twist things to meet their own selfish needs. — Shelina Zahra Janmohamed

Remember when I was a kid and Jack Kennedy had little kids in the White House. Are your daughters taken by the fact that there are young girls in the White House? Yeah, but you've got to remember, they're so young. Zahra was 4 when Obama was nominated. So as far as they're concerned, there have always been little black girls in the White House. — Anonymous

My lady," says Aladdin, extending an arm toward the sun, "I give you gold as a token of my love."
"All I want is you," I reply. I turn and kiss him, pulling him against me, feeling the warmth of the dawn in my hair. Then I rest my head on his shoulder, simply feeling his arms around me, his heart beating against me.
"Are you cold?" asks Aladdin. "You're shivering."
"A little."
"I'll go get a blanket. And breakfast. If I can find the kitchen."
"Galley, love. It's called a galley."
"Right. Galley. Got it. I'll ask the captain. What was his name?"
"Sinbad, I think?"
"I'll be right back."
But I catch his hand. "I'm all right. Don't go yet."
He stays with me, and together we watch the sun stain the sea and sky a thousand and one shades of gold. My thumb rubs the ring on my finger, its dents and contours as familiar to me now as my hand.
So this is what it feels like to have all your wishes come true. — Jessica Khoury

Zahra, what happens to you when I make my last wish?"
"When your third wish is granted, you will cease to be my master. You may possess the lamp, but you cannot call me. I will return to it and await the next Lampholder."
Abruptly he stands and walks across the room. When he reaches the wall, he turns and stares down at me. "So to win my revenge, I must lose you. — Jessica Khoury

Strange," he murmurs.
"What's strange?"
"It's just . . ." He pushes his hair back. "You're not like the jinni in the stories and songs. That jinni was a monster. You seem . . . different."
Then he turns and begins trudging up the next dune, wrapping his cloak around him to keep the wind from tearing at it.
I stand still a moment longer, watching him. "Zahra."
He pauses and looks over his shoulder. "What?"
"My name," I stammer. "I mean . . . one of them. You can call me Zahra."
He turns around fully, his grin as wide and as bright as the moon. "I'm Aladdin. — Jessica Khoury

Use your wish," I whisper to Aladdin, opening my eyes. "Please."
"If I do," he replies softly, "I'll lose you. — Jessica Khoury

I still can't believe it's really you," he murmurs, running his fingers down my cheek. "This face...it's yours, isn't it?"
"The one I was born with," I admit, heat rising under my skin as I feel a surge of shyness. I look down at my hands. "Do you...like it?"
"Zahra."
I can't help but lift my gaze at the warmth in his tone. His eyes are shining, his lips slanted in a small smile.
"You're beautiful," he says. "I mean, you were beautiful before, of course, but knowing that this is the real you...I didn't think I could love you more, but I do. — Jessica Khoury

Whore!" he snarls, slamming me into the wall so hard stars burst in my eyes. I hiss at him, the tiger in me threatening to emerge and rip out his throat, but a shout brings me back to myself.
"Zahra!"
I turn my head and see Aladdin running toward us. When he sees that it's Darian holding me roughly against the wall, his face twists into such rage that he seems unrecognizable.
He crashes into Darian before the prince has a chance to say anything. The two slam into the ground, Aladdin throwing a punch that cracks against Darian's jaw.
"Stop it!" I cry. "Prince Rahzad!"
The boys ignore me, rolling and thrashing like dogs.
Leave them! Zhian roars. Let me out!
"How dare you touch her?" Aladdin spits, grabbing Darian by the hair and pressing the prince's face into the stone floor. "You bastard!"
"I didn't give her anything she didn't ask for," Darian hisses back. "Get off me or I'll have you executed! — Jessica Khoury

Clouds and Rain' is a Chinese euphemism for sex. 'The Bringer of Clouds and Rain' is a lady of the night, a prostitute, — Zahra Owens

I'm sorry," I whisper.
He takes my face in his hands. "I'm not. I'm not sorry I met you. I'm not sorry I fell in love with you. I have no regrets, Zahra, and neither should you. I love you. — Jessica Khoury

I grow weary of the love
That lasts for a night
When it should be there
The next sunrise — Irum Zahra

The experiences would be richer and more meaningful if I had someone to share them with — Shelina Zahra Janmohamed

You have to know where you've come from to know where you are going — Shelina Zahra Janmohamed

I am the weed cast out of the rose garden. I am the crow chased out of the dovecote. — Jessica Khoury

Tell me about your master."
I nod. "He is eighth in line to the throne, the son of - "
"No, no," Caspida interrupts irritably. "Tell me what he is like."
"He is a gambler," I say. There is no point in lying about these things. "He is bold, but reckless. Brave, but impetuous. A man who . . . holds grudges." Pausing, I finish in a whisper, "He would risk his life to save someone else, without even thinking twice."
Caspida turns her head a bit, interest growing in her eyes. "And he sets out on a mad voyage and sails straight into a nest of jinn."
"My master is noble," I say with a smile, "but I made no suggestions as to his intelligence. — Jessica Khoury