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I am 24 and recently reverted to Islam. I have been wearing hijab for just over three months now.

I don’t just like my hijab, I love it. It has become such a part of me and I would feel very off without it. The first day that I started wearing it, it just felt so right.

My hijab is not a burden or a pain or a nuisance. It is not hot or itchy. It is not in the way, annoying, or cumbersome. It is not time consuming or ugly. It is not oppressive or restrictive; it does not prevent me from doing anything. My hijab is nothing bad, nothing negative, and nothing harmful.

My hijab is pretty and nice and awesome. It is comfortable, warm, and protective. My hijab is empowering and powerful.

My hijab reminds me that I am always in the presence of Allah swt. It reminds me of my faith and to stay strong in it.

My hijab says please don’t be negative around me; I don’t have room for your darkness. It says make small talk with me. It says I am strong. It says look at me with respect; look at me not my body; have interest in me not my body. It says please refrain from hitting on me because I do not need your remarks.

I would take what I have now over what I used to have any day. People do not hit on me; I do not get cat-calls. I can just go out and not be bothered, or if people talk to me there is no underlying intention.

My hijab lets me know that I am too beautiful, too precious, and too important to be put on display. It tells me that I am something more than I ever realized.

That is why I choose to not only wear, but love my hijab.

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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’ve decided to wear hijab about 10 months ago. I must say, it was a difficult step to take. As days passed by, the more I was feeling something in my Deen (religion) was missing. It was INCOMPLETE. The more knowledge I acquired about Islam, more I  gravitated towards the idea of Hijab. In my heart, my reasoning  was pure for the sake of Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta’ala.

Primarily, I wore it every Friday and kept it on throughout the day even after Jumuah (Friday) prayers. That was my beginning.  Suddenly, one morning, I woke up telling myself, ‘today is The Day’, Subahan’Allah, ‘you go out with it and you will never remove it, In’Sha’Allah (God willing).’

I have never felt so proud in my entire life to be a Muslim woman. It’s an amazing feeling to wake up every day and to please Allah by our actions and character.  When adapting to hijab, the day to day attitude starts to shift slowly. I have more patience and I am more at peace. Even if covering our body and hair is only for the sake of Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta’ala, we also have to show people that we are better people, with actions. It’s Dawah (conveying the message of Islam), I will say.

Some of my family and friends didn’t really approve of my hijab. They have the following objections; ‘Deen is in your heart, you don’t need to wear hijab.  How would you get married if you wear hijab now? You will remove it soon.’ However, after some explanations on WHY I did it, people who truly loved and cared for me for who I am, started to understand the real reasons.

Today, I don’t ever see myself without my hijab. It became part of me, my identity. Hijab is the beauty of all muslim women in the world. This is strength and an honor to have been guided and to wear it every day, Alhumdulilah. I wish that for all my sisters.

If I were to give an advice to the sisters, it would be, step by step change your wardrobes, organize your clothing and the intention to wear your hijab, make up your mind once and for all, JUST DO IT. All for the sake of Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta’ala. And always remember to keep the smile. You can’t imagine how many sisters you will influence. May Allah guide us all to the right path, Ameen.

May Allah forgive us our minor and major sins.  May Allah bless you all. I love you all, my dear sisters for the sake of Allah.

The post “Religion is in the heart, not in hijab” appeared first on World Hijab Day.

I actually wear hijab in secret. I am Christian and Cherokee from Minneapolis, MN and it is not widely accepted here. It is unlikely to receive support from friends and some family. Therefore, I only wear hijab when I know I will not run into them.

I feel so much more comfortable covering up. Hijab has been speaking to me for a long time and World Hijab Day is the first day I will proudly wear hijab in front of friends and family. I am hoping I can find the courage to continue wearing hijab happily and proudly for many days to come after. It is hard without support, but I think I have found truth in hijab.

I am such a better person when I am wearing it. I am constantly reminded to pray and be kind. I hope this day can help someone else find the joys of hijab as I am finding now.

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It has taken me a while to decide how to begin writing this story, but I will start by introducing myself. My name is Diana; I am an ordinary person of flesh and blood. I grew up Catholic, in fact my whole family is. I currently attend to a university and work in a police department. I could tell you detail by detail about my life and my experience, but I would take many pages for that.

Several years ago I felt lost; I felt blind not knowing where I was going in life. During all those years I have devoted my time to find myself. It was as if asleep. Over two years ago I was introduced to Islam, a religion that seemed so peaceful for me and I began to feel very interested about Islam. I am a highly conservative person; therefore I decided to do more research on Islam on my own. I read and learned a lot about Islam. I attended a few times at the mosque near me and observed the women wearing their hijabs and the beauty and meaning that comes from it. I realized I had found what I wanted, what I needed, but I was terrified about my family’s reaction. I had many dreams in relation to Islam and my family too. They were peaceful dreams where I wore a hijab and my family understood and supported me over the decision I made.

Finally, after all this time I decided to take the next step. I went to the same mosque with a friend who talked to the sheikh about my decision.

I feel blessed that Allah (Subhanahu Wa Ta’ala) has allowed my lips to say “I bear witness that there is no god but Allah, and I bear witness that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah.”

After three months and nine days from when I converted into Islam (12/15/13), I can still feel so much emotion in my heart and tears rolling down my face every time I remember that moment. I started wearing the hijab the same day I converted into Islam because I embrace the beauty and the true meaning of wearing a hijab. I have also noticed that people treat me different, but in a better way. I feel blessed wearing my hijab and for the first time since that day, I feel so calm, in peace, and awake. Alhamdulillah for all the blessings I’ve received and Inshallah my family will understand and support me in the kind of life I’ve made peace with. Beauty is modesty and I feel happy to say that I feel secure, respected and proud to wear my hijab. Hijab is my Beauty, I am hijabbed and I am proud of it.

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I started wearing my hijab last Ramadan and by far it has been the most liberating thing I’ve ever done in my life. I have been on both sides of the coin. As a woman who was born & raised in a “modern” metropolis like Singapore, religion was always a choice. When I’d gotten old enough to think for myself, I pushed myself away from Islam and God so fiercely that I had then completely lost my way.

I had dressed the way most women dressed in this city. I thought I looked awesome before, because of the ideals of fashion and what I foolishly called “freedom”. If you got it, flaunt it; they said. I always fooled myself into thinking that I wasn’t dressing for men, I was dressing for me. Society tricks you like that. It tells you to flaunt that booty, show them legs, push those girls out because that is “freedom” and that shows your strong femininity. After a while, I realized that I really wasn’t dressing for me. Because if I really was dressing for ME, then I’d be making sure that I looked like that ALL THE TIME. Women don’t realize that they are being pressured to look good and show flesh to fit into society just to be taken as “equals”. After a while, I found it sad that women still needed to be sexualized and think that it actually makes them “equal to men” in freedom.

When I took that huge step to wear the hijab, I had returned to the path of Allah SWT for about 6 months then. I felt like by putting it on, I now had a responsibility. A responsibility to represent Islam the right way. To present Islam as the religion it is and not the religion the world think it is.

When you do something for Allah SWT, Allah will make things so easy for you. I started to notice people speaking to me with a little more respect. No more cat calls or wolf whistles or leering. It was rather empowering…liberating.

But I needed to remember and to constantly remind myself that the hijab should not just be seen as a cloth I put on my head. It is a symbol of modesty, that it is not just about my attire; it extends to my whole demeanor. I don’t and have never thought that a woman’s faith to her one true God was attributed to her dressing, but I realize now the joy and the true freedom the hijab gives me. The hijab protects us more than anything else and I’m much happier wearing it than I was when I wasn’t.

World hijab day is excellent idea because most women in hijab these days are committed to it. We love it and we do it for Allah SWT. It is a commitment to our faith, to our creator, our cherisher, our Lord, our Rabb. Nobody is oppressing us and the world needs to see that we do not need “rescuing” or “freeing”. That’s why this cause is fantastic and I support it a 100% because it will help non-Muslim women see how exactly we feel behind this veil that we choose to wear and Muslim women to realize that this cloth is not merely a cloth; that it means so much more to us and hopefully that will push them towards bettering themselves, in shaa Allah (if God wills).

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Hijab has always been a piece of cloth to me. An accessory. An accent to an outfit. Nothing more. Before I knew it, it became my passion. I became obsessed with hijab. The meaning behind it and more so, the empowerment it held. Hijab has saved my life in every aspect. It’s changed my character, my personality, my behavior, my thoughts, my opinions, essentially my being. It has encouraged me to become the best possible human and Muslim I have the potential of becoming.

I’ve never been very religious. A few prayers when I remembered but for the most part, I was scared of Islam. I was scared of all the things I’ve done wrong, I never thought to ever make them right. Wearing the hijab has taught me the beauty of Islam. It has handed me satisfaction in myself and for all the right reasons.

Hijab doesn’t limit power or encouragement or success. It excels it. It teaches you to beat the odds that are set against you and even those beyond. It teaches you to never settle in being comfortable but stepping out in all different unknowns, remembering that Allah (swt) will only give you challenges He knows you can overcome. Hijab has given me a certain confidence I couldn’t find in superficial or materialistic categories. It has granted me a proud shield I carry ever so gently in my daily life and I am forever grateful for it. I am humbled, I am grounded, I am fearless.

I am a proud Muslim and for the first time in my life, I can honestly say I mean it with every single atom that Allah has astonishingly created. I am human and I want the world to know, I’m no different than them. I have the same ambitions, dreams and fantasies. I want the world to see that Islam is not about fear. It’s about love. So many different types of love, the most complex brain could not comprehend its realms. The only thing that makes us different is a piece of cloth. But if only they knew the virtue it holds.

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