Faith. from the Journal of Umm Zakiyyah

Faith is a collection of excerpts from the journal of Umm Zakiyyah, internationally acclaimed author of If I Should Speak, Muslim Girl, and His Other Wife. She says, "When it comes to faith, I'm still learning. So I claim no authority except that I hope to die with more than a grain of it in my heart. This collection is just a glimpse into my world of hope and confusion as I strive upon that path."

Excerpts:

Courage is the willingness to make mistakes and self-correct, and to do it continuously. Faith is trusting that your Lord will forgive you each time you fall, so long as you keep getting up and trying again. The person who is unwilling to take any risk has neither courage nor faith.

There are no good or bad people in the world, at least not in the absolute sense. There are only sinful people who repent and sinful people who do not repent. It is the presence or absence of repentance that makes a person righteous or corrupt, not the presence or absence of sin.