Touched by a stranger’s sincere and eager public Facebook post, on Wednesday February 1st I visited her house to help her and her non-Muslim friends style themselves in hijabs, in honor of World Hijab Day. Kim Mulligan’s World Hijab Day photo shoot was a beautiful, unique initiative by non-Muslim women to reach out and support Hijabi Muslim women. Upset about the Muslim ban and refugees’ plight, these women embraced me with hugs, smiles, and well-intentioned questions about my faith. They repeatedly thanked me for bringing hijabs and styling them, but it was I bowled over with gratitude for their support and courage. Their acceptance of the hijab warmed my heart. Their effort was reassuring and comforting, because typically it’s us Hijabis that have to overcompensate and reach out to others. This nonjudgmental group made me feel welcome and normal. We were a group of women having fun; enjoying fashion and getting to know one another as humans. It was not about lecturing one another.

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My story started a long while ago; at a time when I put on the hijab and didn’t really get what it was all about. Why does a scarf on my head would please Allah? What’s the connection between covering up and being modest? If Allah loves me, why does He want me to not look ‘attractive’ like other girls? If my hair and my body is a gift Allah gave me by making me a woman, why doesn’t He approve of me to put that out? For a 13 year old teenager, that was the kind of questions going on in my mind. And that was the time when I put it on.

Why did I? Because it felt right. With all the misconceptions and lack of understanding of what this Hijab is, all I knew and felt was that I am a grown up now, and Allah wouldn’t want me to wear it if it wasn’t for my own good. ‘Till this day, I thank Allah for blessing me with it, and I thank Allah for showing me how my Hijab has been the light of my life day after day. Being a hijabi teenager when most of the girls my age were not, I felt unique. When I walked around, all short and covered up, people looked at me…That’s kind of cool, right?

As a 20 year old now, my Hijab makes me feel secure. It feels like Allah is watching over me. Growing up, I’ve always made the following duaa ‘اللهم استخدمني و لا تستبدلني’, and now I know that my prayer was answered when I’ve become a representative woman of this wonderful deen (religion).

Covering up made me feel preserved. Preserved for the one person that would deserve to have that when I get married; and when my father walks me down the aisle to my man inshAllah, I will feel like a wrapped up gift. Hijab is one of the things I’m most grateful for, and I’m so proud to have it as a first step in my grown up life. Trust me when I tell you, extra garment on you has more to it than you can ever imagine.

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Although I live in India now, as a teen, living on a remote island with almost no Muslims (let alone Hijab-wearing women) my struggle with the hijab was a difficult one. Although I always had love for Allah in my heart, the guilt of not obeying Him to the best of my ability was always in the back of my mind. At the time I never thought about it, but now I see and commend my mother’s bravery and spirit to stick with her decision to never stop wearing it even though I know it wasn’t easy.

I thought putting on the hijab would change who I was completely, and I was right. I’m not saying it was this magical cloth that changed me as soon as I put it on, but slowly it started to influence my decisions without me even realising it. I started to think about how my actions would affect the image of my Muslim sisters and I found myself saying no to anything that would show Muslims in a bad light, which at the same time helped me sin less.

This year’s going to be the first time I go back to the island where I grew up with a scarf on my head. When I first started wearing the hijab, I lost a lot of confidence & I couldn’t imagine going back there for years to come. Somehow, mysteriously Allah’s strength found me and I’m now looking forward to go back to my home.

Most importantly it got me closer to Allah and my Deen (religion), and I know this is just the beginning.

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I don’t wear hijab. I practice hijab. My hijab reflects in my attire, behavior, and speech. It’s important to practice hijab, rather than make it a part of everyday apparel. It’s common to simply think of a headscarf when a woman states that she wears hijab. The reality is, men and women are under Islamic measure to practice hijab- which translates to “modesty.” It’s belittling to the beauty and grace of Islam to refer to hijab as only the head covering for women. Hijab, for men and women alike, is a blessing from our Creator. He has ordained the most effective way to protect ourselves from the haraam (forbidden things) that this dunya  (world) holds.

Appreciation of the context of hijab in its entirety will bring back the full beauty hijab gives to Muslim women and men. Alhamdulilah, I began to understand the concept of hijab about a year ago. InshaAllah, I hope to stay strong in my imaan (faith) and pray for nothing but sincere piety and faith for my brothers and sisters in deen (religion of Islam) around the globe.

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I’m 25 years old and Caucasian. I was born in a Christian family.

During my high school years, I pursued a modeling career. I can recall thinking “This is what I want. I want to be a model.” So my father was active in assisting me in this career path. We made profiles online, went through a few agencies. After many searches, I finally found an audition to be with an agency. They signed me on and from there began the training and prepping. I made contacts with scouts from different TV shows, modeling agencies, and film. A few months after working with the agency, I decided I no longer wanted to pursue modeling. I look back now and I believe Allah had a better plan all along for me to be where I am now, and not modeling and showing my body.

I found Islam and took my shahada (Islamic testimony of faith) one year ago. My journey to Islam began when I became friends with a Muslim for the first time almost two years ago. I was practicing Christianity at the time but I was always eager to be closer to God. Prior to meeting my Muslim friend, I had no idea what Islam was or who Muslims were. I can recall seeing hijabis but I never saw them different from one who didn’t wear hijab. I was brought up to love people no matter how they dressed or appeared. Alhamdulillah.

This Muslim friend of mine began to educate me about Islam and from that moment on I did my own research. I fell in love with the religion, and I finally found what I had been searching for. I spent the next five months studying Islam and reading Quran. I began dressing more modestly and I embraced the hijab before I took my shahada, finding comfort in the protection it was providing me. Islam taught me that it’s ok to cover yourself and be appreciated for your intellect. I feel more beautiful in hijab and although I struggled with it at first, I grew to love it. Now, I can’t see myself living without it. My mother grew to be accepting of me wearing hijab and now she fixes it before I walk out the door and wakes me up for Fajr (dawn prayer). Allahu akbar (Allah is the Greatest)!

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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.

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I started wearing the hijab in 7th grade right after the winter break, smack! in the middle of the school year! It was my first year in public school after 3 years in private school. I remember chewing on one of the hijab strings wondering what people were going to say when they saw me. I rode the bus to school, so slowly, everyone got to see me as they climbed aboard. The first thing one of my friends asked was “Why?” I’m not sure what my response was.That day I heard my classmates asking “Who is the new girl?” After that, things got a little hard because people weren’t so open minded. But I had my best friends on the bus to help me get through it.

High school especially was tough. Ignorant people used to throw things at me, call me names, honk the horn as I rode my bike home, yell vulgar words at me, made fun of me, called me a terrorist; it was the typical form of stereotypical racism. I even remember that one year contemplating upon taking the hijab off, but I realized that it wasn’t a solution. Eventually I stopped caring what people thought. I held my head up high and didn’t bother listening to what others had to say. That changed the way people looked at me, and I became more proud. People started to respect the fact that I respected myself. Sure, there are still some people who bother me today, but none of that matters to me anymore because the only one’s opinion I care about is Allah’s. 

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I started wearing hijab when I was sixteen years old. I chose to wear it because it gave me a sense of protection, I felt safe, and comfortable. My mother was a Christian and at that time, my parents didn’t practice Islam, so we were Muslims only on our ID. I always felt love towards Allah and all His messengers (peace be upon them), but what really encouraged me were the stories and miracles in Quran, Subhan’Allah (Glory be to Allah). I suffered a lot because I was living in Brazil when I started wearing it but Alhamdulillah(Praise be to Allah) it has only increased my belief and faith. It has been 12 wonderful years now, Alhamdulillah.

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I’m from Bangladesh. I have been living in Vienna, Austria, for almost 12 years now. I started wearing hijab about more than 2 years ago. Living in a Christian country, I realized that wearing the hijab is a true struggle- against environment , society, & most things that constitute the modern western lifestyle. But for me, it is the right path. I have never felt happier or at peace. I have, however, run into a few problems. It has not been an easy transition because of the negative attitude of a lot of people around me. I was even threatened about losing my job. I refuse to let these things rule my life. Alhamdulillah, I feel a lot happier, comfortable, & safe with my hijab.

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My father is Lebanese and my Mother is half Spanish and half Philipina. I was not raised in a strict environment and no one forced me to wear hijab. I have always planned to wear hijab but somehow insisted on putting it off for later thinking that I have enough time since I am young. I started wearing Hijab on the 15th of March 2014, a day after a car accident which I survived miraculously from. For the first time in my life, I found peace knowing that no matter how many people plan on hurting me and no matter what situation I am going through, I always have God on my side to protect me. I finally found peace in pleasing my Lord.

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