Although at times it’s very difficult to cover in western culture but I am thankful each day to be a Muslim. I support my fellow sisters from all walks of life and I am grateful for the overwhelming support World Hijab Day has gotten. Alhamdulilah (Praise be to Allah)!!! My journey to becoming a Muslim started as one simple curiosity. I never had the intention to accept Islam. I simply wished to know more as I became curious both because of the Muslim friendships I had developed on social media and all the negative news about Islam.

I knew better than to judge anything without actually educating myself outside of the mainstream media. I casually inquired into authentic Islamic sources and spoke to and directed my questions to my Muslim friends. I was drawn to Islam because of the way my Muslim friends conducted themselves, their mannerisms, and how happy and peaceful they appeared to be. After a year, I took my Shahadah (testimony of Islamic faith) as I wanted to be sure if I could commit myself as I knew it would mean a lot of changes in pretty much all aspects of my life. Dressing as a Muslim in Canada has its challenges and I appreciate those who show respect and tolerance for the freedom to practice one’s faith and choice of dress and I show the same respect back.

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Do you know why hijab is beautiful? Because it projects the beauty of your good character. We are covering up one kind of beauty in order to highlight another, more important higher form of beauty. But how can you wear hijab when everyone around you does not? It’s all about your perspective. What I do is say to myself- someone might see my hijab and be inspired. Just like one time I saw this woman with a long white hijab and it felt like I was looking at an angel. I had a moment of inexplicable peace inside me, longing to be beautiful like her.

So when I leave my house I ignore the ‘fear’ and I project ‘inspiration’ instead. Because if you feel strange, people will look at you strangely. If you feel like a terrorist, people will think of you like one. When you feel scared, you will start looking around for people who are looking at you. When you do that, people will automatically start eyeing you awkwardly because YOU are looking at them! What you feel is what others will choose to feel. It’s up to you. If you see the beauty in yourself, the beauty of faith, that’s what others will see.

Women who have worn hijab have talked about the advantages of wearing hijab. Some of the reasons you might understand, others you might not relate to or feel comfortable with. That’s because those reasons are from someone’s personal experience – a human. But what are the reasons mentioned in the Qur’an? Why does Allah ask believing women to wear hijab? Those are important to understand.

There are 2 simple reasons in Surat Al Ahzab 33:59.

1. “An ya’rafna – to be known” The hijab identifies you as a Muslim. The benefit of this is that when people see you wearing hijab and going about your life – this normalizes Islam to people. It’s not this strange religion with strange people. This woman is at the supermarket, at the park, at the post office, at the library, at the school – this is a normal person.

2. “fala yu’thayna – to not be annoyed, molested” The hijab is a neon sign for others to treat you with respect. You are obviously not ‘girlfriend’ or ‘prostitute’ material. The hijab attracts people who admire you for your strength and high morals. And detracts people with low morals and criminals.

{ يٰأَيُّهَا ٱلنَّبِيُّ قُل لأَزْوَاجِكَ وَبَنَاتِكَ وَنِسَآءِ ٱلْمُؤْمِنِينَ يُدْنِينَ عَلَيْهِنَّ مِن جَلاَبِيبِهِنَّ ذٰلِكَ أَدْنَىٰ أَن
يُعْرَفْنَ فَلاَ يُؤْذَيْنَ وَكَانَ ٱللَّهُ غَفُوراً رَّحِيماً }

‘O Prophet, tell your wives and your daughters and the women of the believers to bring down over themselves [part] of their outer garments. That is more suitable that they will be known and not be abused. And ever is Allah Forgiving and Merciful.’

So ladies, don’t wait to be ‘ready’- you will never be 100% ready, none of us are! Don’t worry about being an ambassador of Islam – you will never be 100% best da’eeya(female religious preacher), none of us are even close. Because that doesn’t matter. We don’t have to be the most knowledgeable or the most religious. We just have to take the first step, and Allah will take care of the rest. Let your true beauty shine.

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Ramadan 2012, I said to myself looking into the mirror, “It’s now or never!”

And here I am. It’s been two years since I started wearing Hijab.

And as I recollect my one year’s journey, I realized that despite of the ups and downs (the devil trying to play smart with me!) the experience has been quite amazing.
Alhamdulillah!

But how did it all start and what made me love practicing Hijab is what every “Non- Hijabi” yearns to know.

Life before Hijab

Yes, the very thought of doing hijab always made me go like, “NO!”
I knew very well that Hijab was and is obligatory on every believing woman.
But I terribly feared about what people would think or how they would react. I feared not being noticed. I feared I might not be able to enjoy life while doing Hijab and above all I feared looking less beautiful in front of the world.

I always strived to be the greatest daughter, the greatest wife and the greatest mother. But then there came a point in my life where my inner voice questioned me,
“Are you the Greatest Muslimah?”
“Are you Allah’s favorite?”
“Have you entirely obeyed Allah and His Book (Al-Quran)?
“Are you flawless to stand in front of Allah on the Day of Judgment?”
And my answers were a “NO”…
I thought to myself, what am I going to gain looking drop dead gorgeous in the eyes of the world, when I will ultimately end up being a “Big Loser” in the eyes of Allah!
This made me feel awful and I had to do something about it!
I knew for a fact that to love doing something, I will have to understand its thorough meaning, purpose and benefits.
And that’s how my journey started…

Understanding Hijab

It was clear to me from the Holy Qur’an that Hijab was a religious obligation, which every single believing woman “had” to undertake. It was a command from Allah that came in the most beautiful manner, for her own protection, her own elevation, and her own dignity.

I understood that Hijab was not just a piece of cloth on my head!
Hijab reflected in the way I talk, the way I walk; the very way I carried myself in public to encourage modesty while still being part of a functioning and healthy society.

Why Hijab?

“O Prophet, tell your wives and your daughters and the women of the believers to bring down over themselves [part] of their outer garments. That is more suitable that they will be known (as a free respectable woman) and not be abused. And Allah is ever forgiving and Merciful.” (Qur’an, 33:59)

The purpose of Hijab is to protect and safe guard our dignity from wrong intentions of (some) men. This includes various forms of sexual abuse and harassment which has always been very common.

The Hijab sends a signal to men that the ‘wearer’ is a modest and a chaste woman who should not be bothered or even looked at with an immoral intention.
Most importantly Hijab is the command of Allah, The Almighty, which cannot be disregarded and over looked.
So basically, there is no question of WHY!

Devil at work! (Satan)

Iblees [Satan] said, “My Lord, because You have put me in error, I will surely make [disobedience] attractive to them (mankind) on earth, and I will mislead them all. (Qur’an 15: 39)
Then I will come to them from before them and from behind them and on their right and on their left, and You will not find most of them grateful [to You].” (Qur’an 7:17)

Every time I dreaded doing Hijab, I knew it was Satan playing a big role in constantly trying to misguide me. So I came back stronger than before . I prayed to Allah to help me fight the Satan.

I constantly kept trying and continued to have the perseverance to follow the true path, the path of Allah, the path which promised Eternal Happiness and Success.
I knew that Allah loves those who try!

Hijab is for the sake of ALLAH

“O Children of Adam! We have bestowed on you clothing to cover your shame as well as to be an adornment to you. But the clothing of righteousness, that is the best. Such are among the Signs of Allah, that they may receive warning.” (Quran7:26)

When a Muslim woman wears Hijab she is obeying and submitting to Allah. And it’s as simple as that!
I thought to myself if I am going to worry about “what people might think” then I am simply giving them higher priority over Allah (The Creator), which was very wrong.

I had to understand that their thoughts and opinions were none of my concern. They won’t even be bothered about me on the Day of Judgement!

Trying to alter the practice of Islam for the sake of other people who have absolutely nothing to do with my present, future or even Akhira for that matter was unjustifiable, worthless and unwise!
I made myself understand that Hijab was between Me and Allah, and not them!

Hijab a ‘Blessing’ and not a Burden!

“It may be that you dislike something and in it is goodness for you” (Qur’an, 2:216)

Remember, Allah knows what you do not. Just know that Allah has made it obligatory on you because He loves you and wants for you ultimate protection and well-being.

I have realized that it’s so wrong to feel that Hijab would prevent me from enjoying my life. In fact I got to appreciate life more by being relaxed, carefree and untroubled, while staying in the boundaries of Islam, pleasing Allah and hoping for a better Akhira as well!
Now isn’t that a Jackpot!?

Convincing myself to start doing Hijab took me 7 years.

It doesn’t matter how early or late you start doing it, what matters is how well you understand its sole purpose and start loving it with all your heart. Then only will you happily practice it.

Hijab made me spiritually connected to Allah, got me closer to my religion and made me a better Muslim than I was before (though I still have a long way to go!)

I felt like this beautiful armor (protective covering) guarding me from all the negativity around me.

It definitely is a big transition, but once you actually start doing it, you wouldn’t want to leave it!
Trust me on this one!
You will feel elegant, respectable and in turn have high regard in public.

May Allah make our hearts firm and steadfast on our religion, and grant us patience and strength in our spiritual struggles. In sha’Allah!

More on the author: www.aminansari.com

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A simple understanding of hijab is that it is a ‘modest’ covering of a Muslim woman.

Allah has mentioned in the Holy Qur’an, “O Prophet, tell your wives and daughters and the believing women to draw their outer garments around them (when they go out or are among men). That is better in order that they may be known (to be Muslims)” [33:59]

My lovely sisters, we should strive to cover ourselves as it is told directly by Allah, the Exalted, to us.

Hijab is entirely synonymous to a beautiful way of presenting a beautiful Muslim woman. It’s this covering that brings out the true spirituality from her and attracts her to her Lord.

The percentage at which the number of hijabis (Muslim women who wear hijab) are rising is massive in compared to the previous years. This is beautiful, Masha’Allah (whatever Allah wills). Well, when most of the Muslimahs (Muslim women) decide on taking hijab, their mind is packed with endless doubts and questions. Some of the most common ones are: ‘How will I ‘look’ with my hijab on?’, ‘what will my friends think of me?’, ‘will hijab be a barrier to my success career?’, ‘will I get a job?’, ‘Urm… Isn’t my hair going to be damaged if I take it on for a long time?’ I am not over generalizing this point. Strangely, this is what the reality is. Most of us do have at least one of these doubts or in the worst scenario, all of them when deciding to put on hijab. Factually, if we analyze these questions closely, we get to learn that they are all from the Shaytan (devil). All these questions are his words, which he is injecting in our minds. He is trying to divert our pure intentions regarding hijab to falsified and misleading ones. After all, it’s the devil that is on a mission to detach us from our Lord. Sisters, be wise when you come across these suspicions. You need to prepare yourself beforehand that one day or the other; the devil may become a barrier between you and your decision of putting on your hijab.

Sisters, never forget one important aspect within this context, that is, you’re here in this dunya (world) to prepare for the Hereafter. People of this world shouldn’t be a reason for you not to take on your hijab. This world is temporary but the afterlife is permanent. If we try to fulfil the requirements of the creation, we tend to neglect and disobey our Creator.

Taking hijab is not a difficult process. In fact, it is we who make it seem so. It’s like, when you take on hijab even for a single day, you would actually never want to remove it. This is the true beauty of hijab. But most of all… you have to take this step. Do not think too much about it. That is, if you really want to satisfy your Lord, just take the step forth and forget the worldly concerns. Just do it for the sake of Allah. The more you think regarding taking it on or not, the more you get tangled into the evil knots.

When I started taking hijab, nearly two years back, trust me sisters, I barely knew the true significance of hijab in Islam. But later on, I felt extremely satisfied with my covered hair whenever I appeared in front of non-mahrams (someone who you should cover yourself in front of). There was this inner beauty I felt, which I never did when I was a non-hijabi (someone who doesn’t wear hijab). All thanks to Allah. And now hijab has become a significant part of my life. In short, hijab defines me.

I cannot stress more over the true meaning of hijab in a Muslim woman’s life.

Let’s shift our attention to another but a similar aspect of hijab. At times, some of our lovely sisters pay a huge cost when they put on their hijab. One of the common examples is when a husband of a Muslim woman distresses her for putting on her hijab. This is unacceptable. It isn’t the husband’s decision on covering his wife or not. In fact, Allah has given you the authority to take the decision on hijab.

If your husband asks you not to cover up, give him all the possibilities that you want to be a true hijabi. You can do this by changing his perspective. Keep trying… struggling and striving. Think of ways in which you can actually divert his wrong thoughts. Make him realize that a single piece of cloth could actually be a key to Paradise for both. If Allah, the Glorified, is satisfied with your decision on putting on your hijab, He will accept you and your husband as His dearest servants, if He wills. Keep making him realize this beauty. And sooner or later, he will understand you. But always keep trying and never give up under any circumstances.

In addition to this, if you’re unmarried; family can, at times, be a crucial factor in diverting your decision on putting on your hijab. Some parents don’t prefer their daughters to cover their head. Similarly, treat them in the same way. Change their perspective. Allah will guide them too.

I will now give you a few references from various Hadith and verse of the Holy Qur’an regarding hijab

–         ‘A’isha radi Allahu anha used to say: “When (the Verse): ‘They should draw their veils over their necks and bosoms,’ was revealed, (the ladies) cut their waist sheets at the edges and covered their faces with the cut pieces.” (Hadith – Sahih Bukhari 6:282)

–        Ibn Katheer said…

‘Women must not display any part of their beauty and charms to strangers except what cannot possibly be concealed.’

–         It is also stated in the Famous books of Fiqh Durrul Mukhtar…

“Young women are prohibited from revealing their faces in the presence of men.”

–         A woman’s covering (al-khimar) is defined by `Ayesha as “nothing short of what covers both the hair and skin.” (innama al-khimaru ma wara al-sha`r wa al-bashar).

–         The Prophet said, “The worst among women are those who freely leave their homes without hijab. They are hypocrites and few of those will enter paradise.” (Sunan Baihaqi)

These were some of the remarkable and relatable references to hijab. All glory is due to Allah!

I will end my article with a simple and a thought-provoking quote, which I came across on a social website:  “Dear sisters, one day, you will be wrapped around, fully covered head to toe, and lowered into your grave. Don’t let your last day on earth be the first day you wear hijab.”

May we all strive to act upon the righteous acts.

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