ﺒﺴﻤ ﺎﷲ ﻠﺮﺤﻤﻦ ﻠﺮﺤﻳﻤ
I have just finished reading an AWESOME book, called “From My Sisters’ Lips” by Na’ima B. Robert. It is such a beautiful book, and I encourage every Muslimah to read it!!! After all the negative stories of “cultural” Islam gone wrong, with its oppression of women, I found this book to be so refreshingly positive. It really is a gem!
After finishing it, I got thinking about my favourite subject again – hijab. I don’t want to write a long post again, but I just feel like sharing some concerns I have…
The sisters in Nai’ma’s book described their journeys with hijab so delightfully, and, in the end, they went all out to please Allah Ta’ala. They really understood why they covered. Yet, sometimes when I go on internet and look up about hijab – or see some young ladies at gatherings – I sometimes wonder if the purpose of hijab has become forgotten. It seems as if it has become too fashion-oriented for many. Don’t get me wrong – I do not see anything wrong with wearing beautiful things, but I wonder to myself what the purpose of wearing hijab is, if the scarf worn in public places is as glitzy and attractive as the uncovered hair would be…
It seems that many Muslimahs believe that as long as its covered, that is all there is to hijab. Or if it is loose or opaque enough. But what about the ruling, saying that hijab shouldn’t be an attraction in itself? I see all these abayahs and hijab sold at the shops and worn, but they are so attractive with all their sequins and bright colours, it makes me wonder if it is worth covering up in them on the streets. They would be fine for the house, the husband and the family – and perfect for that ladies’ party! But for the streets, market and mosques? No!
In the Qur’an, Allah Ta’ala tells the believing women to wear an overgarment (jilbab) in public places – one which has muted colours and doesn’t attract attention. (This is the highest level of hijab covering.) Is it not time that we as Muslim women remember that our outer covering must be modest – not only in covering, in looseness and opaque material – but in colour too? Hijab is not a statement of Fashion (leave that to the clothes worn underneath) – it is a statement of Faith.
Salaam
Saadiqah
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