Rocaya: OFF DUTY

[ibtasem-deactivated20180225]

My dear, when I tell you about hope, I want you to imagine the sweat dropping off Hajra’s skin as she insistently runs for water in the midst of the desert. I want you to feel the pain and the strength of a father like Ibrahim when he looked into his son’s eyes as a sacrifice to God; Feel the betrayal in Yusuf’s heart when his own flesh and blood tossed him away like garbage and the thick darkness inside a whale where Yunus resided, alone. I want you to picture the wide sea in front of your feet as Musa fled from the pharaoh and how terrified Asiyah must’ve been as she resisted her violent husband. Scream, as Bilal’s bones get crushed while his mouth uttered the shahada and wonder how Rasulullah could still continue his path as blood was flowing down his head and soiled meat was thrown at him. And maybe then when you see it all, feel it all, imagine it all, you would learn that thirst didn’t win over Hajra and Ismael, and Ismael wasn’t slayed. Neither did Yusuf end up unsuccessful and Yunus forgotten. Musa and his people still crossed the sea, Bilal saved out of nowhere and Muhammad’s mission is blooming like never before - because my dear hope means not seeing an escape yourself, but knowing that Allah always does.

“O you who believe! be patient and excel in patience and remain steadfast, and be careful of (your duty to) Allah, that you may be successful.” (3:200)

[not-like-the-restaurant]

Friend: “Hey, I haven’t seen you in forever! how are you?”

me: “Fine, thanks.”

Lemony Snicket from outta nowhere: “Of course, in this case, ‘fine’ is only meant to reassure. She has never been less fine, nor was she ever fine in the first place. Here, the word ‘fine’ could be defined as ‘I am actually slowly dying on the inside, but don’t wish for anyone to worry’.

[thegirlwhocrieswolf]

👏👏👏

[rocayaaa]

"Okay lang."

[jewlsies]

things that make me feel better about myself that I think a lot of people forget

those little things on ur nose aren’t blackheads, don’t try and get rid of them they’re sebaceous filaments and they’re permanent and literally everyone has them

every girl has that little pouch of fat on her lower tummy, despite what magazines try n show u, you have important organs there that need to be protected don’t try and get rid of ur pouch

ur body is smarter than u think and it knows what to do when u eat more than normal. one bad day, or even week, of eating poorly isn’t gonna ruin anything at all I pinky promise

if u think u look good up until u try taking a selfie, it’s not ur fault - our faces are asymmetrical and when u see ur face flipped it will look unnatural to u, since u don’t see it that way when u look in the mirror. to everyone else it looks perfectly fine

no one’s stomach looks the same at 8pm as it does at 8am. no one has a chiseled six pack after a day of eating, not even the super fit people u see on tumblr, because ur stomach naturally expands after eating and expecting to have a flat tummy before bed is very unrealistic

no one notices if the bags under ur eyes are bad today. no one pays attention to the bump in ur nose or the zit on ur chin or the piece of hair that u missed when u were straightening. literally no one notices these things except you so stop worrying about it ur gonna be fine

sometimes u just gotta get over urself

[riddlesdiary]

[aaawhyme]

I don’t remember this scene of breaking bad

[ja-ll]

this scene changed my life

[rocayaaa]

"Straight men don't give any indication that they're listening. They don't even nod."

LOL

[humansofnewyork]

(½) “I had to leave the home that I’d spent thirty years building. One day I just had to close the doors, turn the key, and leave everything behind. I’m seventy-two. No one wants to leave home at my age. But I left because I have six sons, and I knew one day the soldiers would come for them. My sons weren’t political. They wanted nothing to do with killing, but that didn’t matter. Good people and bad people were all being treated the same way. I watched soldiers take away the neighbors’ boys with my own eyes. They were good boys. I’d known them their whole lives. But they were led away like sheep. They didn’t even speak up because if they opened their mouths they’d be shot. I knew it was only a matter of time before they came to our house. We left everything behind, but now my family is safe. So I am happy.”

(Amman, Jordan)

[wordsnquotes]

What a terrible thing it is to wound someone you really care for and to do it so unconsciously.

Haruki Murakami, Norwegian Wood (via wordsnquotes)

[rocayaaa]

[psych-facts]

The best portion of your life will be the small, nameless moments you spend smiling with someone who matters to you.

Unknown (via thatkindofwoman)

[coffeemuggermd]

A gentle reminder that you are not just the degree you are working for. 

[elasticcartoonheart-deactivated]

This was actually VERY moving.

[thebestoftumbling]

Adorable baby fakes crying when daddy tries to cut her fingernails. (x)

[esmicorazon]

This is so cute like when do babies start learning these things like she’s scaring the shit out of her dad but she thinks it’s a game

[woodmeat]

this is the cutest fucking shit ive ever seen

[huneysuckle-deactivated20151013]

😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

[just-another-tourist]

Omg. Her and her baba’s laughter!!! So cute & warm

[thegreaterjihad]

Sometimes the most cohesive dua you can get out of your brain and into words is, “Ya Allah please help me. Please don’t leave me.”

Whatever you say, no matter how you say it, if you’re sobbing or if your numb, if you’re exhausted or scared. If it’s sincere, He’ll hear it, and He’ll make it better. Just ask.

[malibularry]

I didn’t fall in love with you. I walked into love with you, with my eyes wide open, choosing to take every step along the way. I do believe in fate and destiny, but I also believe we are only fated to do the things that we’d choose anyway. And I’d choose you; in a hundred lifetimes, in a hundred worlds, in any version of reality, I’d find you and I’d choose you.

The Chaos Of Stars  (via coyotegold)

[takingbackourculture]

Wondering how the word gypsy is a racial slur? Why are you referring to it as the G word when it literally means a free spirited traveller. What is so offensive about that?

Let me tell you a story, ignorant one. 

Once upon a time, there were a group of people migrating from northern India and Pakistan after the invasion “of the Persian Muslims who have since settled in Trukey, all of Europe, and the Americas These people are called the Rromani.” (x)

Once the pale bird feces people of Europe came into contact with the Rromani, they believed them to hail from Egypt, thus calling them Gypsies. 

Now about what disgusting white people like you have been trying to turn this racial slur into. There is nothing about being a free spirited traveller if you’re called such a word. What is up with white people romanticizing everything to make it seem all nice and rainbows for them?

“They were not nomadic by choice. They moved around because they had to… they were persecuted everywhere they went, and still are, to this day. They were persecuted alongside the Jews in the Holocaust – the Roma & Sinti”. They were forced to have this sort of nomadic lifestyle because “no country wanted them there”. (x)

Let’s not forget these lovely things Rromani people did and still go through because of who they are:

“Forced sterilization (yes, it is still happening)

Eviction

Harassment (by law enforcement as well as civilians)

Fingerprinting (this is happening in Italy right now – all Romani people are being fingerprinted, simply because our race is considered ‘criminal’)

Concentration camps

Starvation

Exclusion from public schools and welfare programs

Bombings (it is not uncommon in places like the Czech Republic for people to throw molotov cocktails into the windows of Romani homes)” (x)

“First and foremost: THE WORD “GYPSY” IS AN ETHNIC SLUR. It is a pejorative. It is an exonym that is hurtful and offensive. You need to accept this, period.

We are NOT your halloween costume. We are NOT your flowy skirt. We are NOT your fashion sense. We are NOT your wanderlust. We are NOT ‘boho.’

Gypsy is not fashion. Gypsy is not traveling. Gypsy is not a headband or a costume, or boho, or a long skirt.

Gypsy is a hurtful ethnic slur used to refer to the Romani people.

We cannot seem to emphasize this enough to people. This word is a slur. It was created to be a slur. Its meaning does not change. It will always be a slur. It will always be offensive.

‘The word is not yours. It’s ours. We can use it as we see fit. You cannot.’ - biggadjeworld 

We are a real people, with traditions, culture, and colorful heritage that spans centuries.” (x)

The “x”s in the post refer to sources you can click on and educate yourself with. On those pages, there are more links to become familiar to this slur and the Rromani people.

Also, don’t forget to stop by thisisnotromani!

- Jess

[dianasson]

This is some shit that the witchcraft and neopagan communities really need to get straight. You are not a “gypsy” witch, that does not make you mystical, you are not special, you are just racist. V sorry.

[queerwitchcraft]

I REALLLYYY need everyone to read this at least three times so there is no chance for confusion.

[lallamariamhabibi]

[driftstage]

[archatlas]

Windows of the World Andre Vicente Goncalves

“I have always had a curiosity about windows.

Like the structure of houses, they change from region to region and “Windows of the World” was born, a big evolution from the earliest windows that were only a hole in the wall.”

You can see the series so far @ andrevicentegoncalves.com

[kayceeinhawaii]

incredible

[srkajol-pics]

Your soulmate is not someone that comes into your life peacefully. It is someone who comes to make you question things, who changes your reality, somebody that marks a before and after in your life. It is not the human being everyone has idealized, but an ordinary person, who manages to revolutionize your world in a second.