By Syazwani CA (Malaysia)
Since High school, I’d been wanting to wear Hijab and I kept telling my friends that I will wear it next year, every year. But it never happened. I always felt like I was ready to wear Hijab but reality was contrary to my belief. My friend for ten years, Anis Syakirin, never gave up on me and constantly reminded me of my goal.
In 2013, during the month of fasting, I pondered upon the idea of wearing hijab. I laid out the pros and cons inside my mind and I kept it to myself. I knew that if I wore hijab, I would have to slightly change myself, particularly my dressing. One morning, after I had Sahur (an early meal that marks the start of the fast) with my family, I tried to sleep but I couldn’t because my mind kept racing around the idea and my heart was beating very fast. The longer I thought of it that morning, the stronger my wish to wear it got. I called Anis and told her everything. To my surprise, she took me to a boutique to buy some headscarves that very day.
I finally tried it on and my parents were totally surprised. Especially my dad because he wanted one of his daughters to wear Hijab and was totally thrilled by what he saw. On that day when I went out wearing it, I felt like people were watching me or I was an alien who didn’t belong here. After I bought a few scarves, Anis chose one out of the stalk for me to wear and I went home with my head covered. It was the very beginning of this wonderful journey.
I was pretty nervous about it a week before Eid (Islamic celebration) so I gave myself time to really accept everything. I didn’t announce it on the social media either as I was still unsure of myself and I didn’t want to be the girl who changed from free hair to hijab and then back to uncovering again. Alhamdulilah (God-Graciously) after I told everyone about it, they were as excited as I was and they were happy for me, including my non-muslim friends.
It’s already been one whole year and I’m happy that I made this decision even though at times it does become hard to make my scarf stay in place because of the material mostly but that’s not a big deal. I wore the Hijab when I was 20 years old and now I’m 22. It’s never to late to wear the Hijab. Do it for yourself and for Allah.