Let's Talk About the Fun Stuff - Hijab

Assalamualaikum,

I'm introducing a post about Hijab sooner than I thought I would - but I just love talking about the hijab, wearing the hijab and looking at stuff about it, so I just couldn't resist.

So first things first - ah, the hijab. The headscarf - a topic of hot debate. The outer sign which shows the world that you are muslim - which is actually a good thing. Starting off, I myself did not wear hijab until only a couple years ago (it actually hasn't even been two years yet.) It was one of the biggest and most difficult decisions of my life - but once I got enough courage and just put it on, and wore it for a while, there's no turning back. I can never dream of being hijab-less again. I feel so free and liberated - I don't have to worry about whether my hair is in place every second of the day - I don't feel uncomfortable talking with the world - I can be myself, and the world is forced to see muslim women not as eye candy, but to appreciate us for our personalities, our mind and our capabilities, rather than what we look like.

There are quite a lot of really good articles on hijab out there. I'll quote some lines from an article I came across today. This is from http://www.islamfortoday.com/hijabcanada4.htm:

One of the major misconceptions about the hijab (covering of the body except the face and hands) is that young women are forced to wear it by their parents or by male family members.

Sumayya Syed, 16, says that what parents or men want have nothing to do with it. In fact, she astounds people who ask by saying that every woman should have this form of liberation.

Syed maintains that when a woman is covered, men cannot judge her by her appearance but are forced to evaluate her by her personality, character, and morals. "I tell them that the hijab is not a responsibility, it's a right given to me by my Creator who knows us best. It's a benefit to me, so why not? It's something every woman should strive to get and should want."

According to Rema Zawi, 16, "You feel modest...and you feel like you're covered up. You have more self-respect. You have more confidence in yourself that you don't need to care about (how) you look."

Syed emphasizes that a major plus is that people actually evaluate her on who she is and not on her beauty or clothing. "It keeps me protected from the fashion industry. The hijab liberates you from the media, brainwashing you into, Buy this, buy that, you're supposed to look like this," she says. "It allows me to be who I am. I don't have to worry about being popular through buying things that are 'cool'."

What people don't really understand is that shyness and modesty are a woman's natural inborn trait. We were born that way. Western fashion industry and media have brainwashed us to think that less is more, but in fact it isn't. How is it liberating to have to show your body off in front of men - isn't that degrading? The average western woman is forcing herself to be judged and criticized and appraised by men every time she walks out her door. She fights for men's attention based on sex appeal and fashion, humiliating and degrading herself every day. Is that freedom? Covering up is freedom - no one can judge muslim women based on looks when she steps out of her home in hijab.

The Quranic injunction for Hijab was given to women by the Lord and Creator of women - who knows what women need the best. The hijab is for our own benefit, not for any one else's. It keeps our respect and our dignity intact. We do not need to show off our bodies to be respected.

This is what the Quran says about Hijab, in Surah An-Nur, Verse 31:

And say to the faithful women to lower their gazes, and to guard their private parts, and not to display their beauty except what is apparent of it, and to extend their headcoverings (khimars) to cover their bosoms (jaybs), and not to display their beauty except to their husbands, or their fathers, or their husband's fathers, or their sons, or their husband's sons, or their brothers, or their brothers' sons, or their sisters' sons, or their womenfolk, or what their right hands rule (slaves), or the followers from the men who do not feel sexual desire, or the small children to whom the nakedness of women is not apparent, and not to strike their feet (on the ground) so as to make known what they hide of their adornments. And turn in repentance to Allah together, O you the faithful, in order that you are successful

And a hadith (saying of the Prophet) by Abu Dawud that is often quoted:

'Aisha said: Asma', daughter of Abu Bakr, entered upon the apostle of Allah (may peace be upon him) wearing thin clothes. The apostle of Allah (peace be upon him) turned his attention from her. He said: O Asma', when a woman reaches the age of menstruation, it does not suit her that she displays her parts of the body except this and this, and he pointed to her face and hands.

It's not like women covering their head is an alien concept to society. While reseraching this topic, I came across Becky's blog, where she herself researched how both Judaism and Christianity stress women to cover their hair. Up until the 19th century, if a woman walked out of her house without a hat or bonnet, she was not considered to be a respectful woman. However, both Jewish and Christian women have shunned this ruling in their religion, considering them old-fashioned or obsolete.

There is a very warm sense of sisterhood in Islam, which is reinforced with hijab. Especially living in the West, where muslims are the minority, there is nothing as comforting as walking in a mall or down the street, and meeting another female wearing the hijab - it's almost like this instant connection with each other, where you can smile genuinely at each other and say "Assalamualiakum." I've had two instances in my life where I was completely new to a city, especially where I was feeling completely lost, but seeing another fellow hijabi made my day. We did not know each other, but smiling and greeting each other gave me a sense of comfort, that, yes, we're not as alone as it sometimes seems.

Of course, with everything else, there is also a lot of negativity, weird looks and comments a person gets when they wear the hijab. However, alhamdulillah (Thank God), I've never been a target of this. It's becoming more and more acceptable in the Western society, and people let us be, which is nice.