Leila Aboulela
Leila Aboulela
Leila Aboulela, Arabic 'ليلى ابوالعلا' is a Sudanese writer who writes in English. Her latest novel, The Kindness of Enemies is inspired by the life of Imam Shamil, who united the tribes of the Caucasus to fight against Russian Imperial expansion. Leila's novel Lyrics Alley, was Fiction Winner of the Scottish Book Awards and short-listed for a Regional Commonwealth Writers Prize. She is also the author of the novels The Translatorand Minaret. All three novels were long-listed for the Orange...
NationalitySudanese
ProfessionWriter
CountrySudan
It was 1989, and the word 'Muslim' wasn't even really used in Britain at the time; you were either black or Asian.
My faith was started off by my grandmother and mother, and so I always saw it as a very private, personal thing.
The coverage of Islam in the media is becoming more sophisticated, and there is more access to knowledge.
Control yourself, it is not worth it. You will regret your rudeness afterwards, your sensitive nature will be troubled
Why do bad things happen? For pedagogical reasons, so that we can experience the power of Allah, catch a glimpse of Hell and fear it, so that we can practice seeking refuge in Him and, when relief comes give thanks to His mercy. Darkness was created so that, like plants, we could yearn and turn to the light.
I wanted to be good but I wasn't sure if I was prepared
The Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, said, When Allah loves a people, He tries them.
I must settle for freedom in this modern time
I've come down in the world. I've slid to a place where the ceiling is low and there isn't much room for me to move.Most of the time I'm good. I accepted my sentence and do not brood or look back. But sometimes a shift makes me remember. Routine is ruffled and a new start makes me suddenly conscious of what I've become -
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
The sweetest things in life were not necessarily what one strove for and grabbed. Instead, many many times the All-Merciful, the All-Generous would give His servants without being petitioned, without waiting to be asked.
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.
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