Sadiqua Hamdan Quotes

God's love is greater than any one religion.

Change is its own reward.

Be a follower. Be a leader. Learn what it means to be both. Don't follow a follower. Follow your heart. Be careful of frauds. They are all around us.

Self-acceptance means living the life you choose to live without worrying what others think about you. It doesn't matter what someone else thinks about you. What matters is what you think about yourself. Life is about choices - your life choices, not someone else's choice about how you should live.

We begin to hear stories that one group of bread makers are not makers of bread but bakers of terror – and that the ingredients in their bread recipe are ingredients of war, not peace. Now what? Uh oh, we have a grain war on our hands. Processed wheat grain goes against self-proclaimed one hundred percent stone-ground-seven-grain-faith. What the toaster and his Maker stand for is no longer relevant. Mankind disrupts faith. Claims of "Our bread recipe keeps you regular! Yours oppresses digestion! Our bread has all the right ingredients, yours does not!" A holy grain war begins in the effort to limit what kind of bread can be turned into holy toast. This is Righteous Toaster consciousness.

Living a meaningful and purposeful life is the new sexy.

This isn't about convincing you whether or not there is a God. I believe God and the Universe exists. If you don't believe there is a greater force, then surely you believe that something inside of us and is in the driver's seat. In other words, something is driving us towards figuring out how to master happiness, peace, love, and understanding psychopaths, murderers and Taylor Swift fans.

Once you change, change happens.

This is a big lesson. Expecting someone else to change is like pleading with a manufacturer to turn Twinkies into a green smoothie. It makes no sense, right? Often times we feel people are purposely doing or not doing things for us in a relationship – we want to make them better, not for their personal development, but how to make this person fit our image of the perfect partner. We want them to dress, act and say things at certain times. It becomes a conditioned relationship.

Only when we acknowledge ourselves as we really are can we begin to take inventory of the physical, mental, and emotional clutter that no longer serves us. Then we can choose to no longer judge ourselves for what we've become and focus on who we'd like to be.

For a moment I think to myself, which connection is quicker to God? Telepathically or by email? Maybe there's a quicker turnaround time if I email my problems. I should probably start by apologizing and doing something spiritual to make up for my long absence. Would an Angel with poor customer service etiquette respond to my email? Is there an 800 holy number to dial? If so, which manual would the Angel be reading from? The Bible or the Qur'an? Does it matter? Would the Angel have Sister Mary sitting next to her, watching and coaching her on how to talk to people with issues? And how do you handle four billion calls a day? I suppose I would have to wait my turn in line, just like everyone else.

The wonderful science behind taking the chastity pill is to preserve honor, respect, purity and worth. Again, the value of a woman's future is dependent on how well she blocks any advances, foul balls, interceptions or explorations.
It's no surprise I question everything. What does going to the movies have to do with my vagina? What does going to the grocery store at ten pm at night to pick up a package of brownie mix have to do with my vagina? Why is ok for me not to go to a high school football game? Does wearing a tank top instead of a short sleeve shirt compromise my vagina shield? Do I have an Anti-Vagina Defense security chip installed on me that I'm not aware of, one that only works with loose clothing?

As women we're taught to believe that the more physically appealing we look, the more love we'll receive in return. If we can just be the perfect cook, cleaner, lover, CEO hottie – well heck, if you don't value yourself with all those attributes, then what's it going to take to get your low blueberry muffin self-esteem recipe to rise every morning?

No one looks at an olive tree and asks why it hides it fruits. It blossoms when its ready and under the right conditions.

There are all the other times when I take a rosary, or misbaha, with thirty-three beads. God has nine-nine names, and if I go around the misbaha three times, God recycles Himself three times. It's a reminder that He shows up in our lives over and over again. He is One with many names, just as we are all One on earth. The difference is God accepts difference and diversity, while we're here trying to walk around like a fluffy holy cloud, each one claiming to know what God knows is best for us. I ask you again, in a different way, wouldn't life be boring if we all walk around like a holy fluffy cloud, saying we are God's mouth? Or perhaps we don't believe in a God, in which case, we simply call ourselves Taylor Swift?

The frosting on top does not taste good because of outwardly appearances, but what the center is made of ...

How we're brought in to this world determines where we begin on life's starting line. Are we born on the first row or in the back of the line? Do we have to stand in the back because of our gender, race or color? Do we have enough food in the house to eat breakfast this morning? Do we own a pair of running shoes? Do we wake up with a view of the mountains or with metal bars on our doors? Do we need permission before leaving the house? How long is it going to take us to realize the structure we're born into?

Power is like a knife. It can be used to cut bread to share with your neighbor or stab you in the back.

The name Aziza is of Arabic origin and means precious. I call her Sitti, the Arabic village word for my grandmother. Although Sitti stands true to her name, someone is always telling her she isn't precious. As she grows into womanhood, Sitti hides from her thoughts, her voice, and her own shadow. She doesn't want to draw attention to herself, not even from the rays of sun that bless the entire land. But no one looks at an olive tree and asks it why it hides its fruit. It blossoms when it's ready and under the right conditions. As Sitti grows up, it did not occur to her that this could be the case for herself.

Sitti knows that modern-day wars are fought over simple things, like the length and fit of a shirt - the shorter the sleeve, the greater the misfortune. Many times she wants to ask the one-hundred-year-old fig tree in the village center what it is like to be born from nothing and grow into something. She wants to know what it is like to bear fruit every year and not expect anything in return. She wants to know what it is like to be respected for what she could give - no more and no less.

Walk on your own yellow brick road. If you can't find one, spray paint your way into happiness. If that doesn't work, buy yellow shoes.