Rana Rafeh

“The four borders of the Taj Mahal are designed to be identical, as if there were a mirror situated on one side, though one can never tell on which one. Stone reflected in the water. God reflected in human beings. Love reflected in heartbreak. Truth reflected in stories. We live, toil and die under the same invisible dome. Rich and poor, Mohammedan and baptized, free and slave, man and woman, Sultan and mahout, master and apprentice … I have come to believe that if there is one shape that reaches out to all of us, it is the dome. That is where all the distinctions disappear and every single sound, whether of joy or sorrow, merges into one huge silence of all-encompassing love. When I think of this world in such a way, I feel dazed and disoriented, and cannot tell any longer where the future begins and the past ends; where the West falls and the East rises.”
― Elif Shafak, The Architect's Apprentice

“An equation for me has no meaning, unless it expresses a thought of God.”
― Srinivasa Ramanujan

“هذا هو رؤوف علوان .. الحقيقة العارية ، جثة عفنة لا يواريها تراب ، فقد مضى كأمس ، أو كأول يوم في التاريخ ،أو كحب نبوية ، أو كولاء عليش .. أنت لا تنخدع بالمظاهر ، فالكلام الطيب مكر ، و الابتسامة شفة تتقلص ، و الجود حركة دفاع من أنامل اليد ، ولولا الحياء ما أذن لك بتجاوز العتبة ، تخلقنى ثم ترتد ، تغير بكل بساطة فكرك بعدما تجسد في شخصى ، كى أجد نفسى ضائعا بلا أصل و بلا قيمة و بلا أمل.. أتقر بخيانتك ولو بينك و بين نفسك ؟ ألا يستيقظ ضميرك ولو في الظلام ؟”
― نجيب محفوظ, The Thief and the Dogs

“Keep Going

Your hardest times often lead to the greatest moments of your life. Keep going. Tough situations build strong people in the end.”
― Roy T. Bennett, The Light in the Heart