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Resonate your identity with Naseeb journals. Express your opinions, share your thoughts, post your writings and connect with like minded people through the power of expression.
Resonate your identity with Naseeb journals. Express your opinions, share your thoughts, post your writings and connect with like minded people through the power of expression.
Why she won't wear Hijab
Why She Won't Wear Hijab!
A Discussion by A.Q. Alidost
A conversation for Muslim sisters:
"I'm so tired."
"Tired of what?"
"Of all these people judging me."
"Who judged you?"
"Like that woman, every time I sit with her, she tells me to wear hijab."
"Oh, hijab and music! The mother of all topics!"
"Yeah! I listen to music without hijab?haha!"
"Maybe she was just giving you advice."
"I don't need her advice. I know my religion. Can`t she mind her own
business?"
"Maybe you misunderstood. She was just being nice."
"Keeping out of my business, that would be nice..."
"But it's her duty to encourage you do to good."
"Trust me. That was no encouragement. And what do you mean `good` ?"
"Well, wearing hijab, that would be a good thing to do."
"Says who?"
"It's in the Qur'an, isn't it?"
"Yes. She did quote me something."
"She said Surah Nur, and other places of the Qur'an."
"Yes, but it's not a big sin anyway. Helping people and praying is more
important."
"True. But big things start with small things."
"That's a good point, but what you wear is not important. What's important
is to have a good healthy heart."
"What you wear is not important?"
"That's what I said."
"Then why do you spend an hour every morning fixing up?"
"What do you mean?"
"You spend money on cosmetics, not to mention all the time you spend on
fixing your hair and low-carb dieting."
"So?"
"So, your appearance IS important."
"No. I said wearing hijab is not an important thing in religion."
"If it's not an important thing in religion, why is it mentioned in the Holy
Qur'an?"
"You know I can't follow all that's in Qur'an."
"You mean God tells you something to do, you disobey and then it's OK?"
"Yes. God is forgiving."
"God is forgiving to those who repent and do not repeat their mistakes."
"Says who?"
"Says the same book that tells you to cover."
"But I don't like hijab, it limits my freedom."
"But the lotions, lipsticks, mascara and other cosmetics set you free?!
What`s your definition of freedom anyway?"
"Freedom is in doing whatever you like to do."
"No. Freedom is in doing the right thing, not in doing whatever we wish to do."
"Look! I've seen so many people who don't wear hijab and are nice people, and so many who wear hijab and are bad people."
"So what? There are people who are nice to you but are alcoholic. Should we all be alcoholics? You made a stupid point."
"I don't want to be an extremist or a fanatic. I'm OK the way I am without hijab."
"Then you are a secular fanatic. An extremist in disobeying God."
"You don't get it, if I wear hijab, who would marry me?!"
"So all these people with hijab never get married?!"
"Okay! What if I get married and my husband doesn't like it? And wants me to remove it?"
"What if your husband wants you to go out with him on a bank robbery?!"
"That's irrelevant, bank robbery is a crime."
"Disobeying your Creator is not a crime?"
"But then who would hire me?"
"A company that respects people for who they are."
"Not after 9-11"
"Yes. After 9-11. Don't you know about Hanan who just got into med school?
And the other one, what was her name, the girl who always wore a white hijab?ummm?"
"Yasmeen?"
"Yes. Yasmeen. She just finished her MBA and is now interning for GE."
"Why do you reduce religion to a piece of cloth anyway?"
"Why do you reduce womanhood to high heals and lipstick colors?"
"You didn't answer my question."
"In fact, I did. Hijab is not just a piece of cloth. It is obeying God in a difficult environment. It is courage, faith in action, and true womanhood.
But your short sleeves, tight pants?"
"That's called `fashion`, you live in a cave or
something? First of all, hijab was founded by men who wanted to control
women."
"Really? I did not know men could control women by hijab."
"Yes. That's what it is."
"What about the women who fight their husbands to wear hijab? And women in France who are forced to remove their hijab by men? What do you say about that?"
"Well, that's different."
"What difference? The woman who asked you to wear hijab?she was a woman, right?"
"Right, but?"
"But fashions that are designed and promoted by male-dominated corporations, set you free? Men have no control on exposing women and using them as a commodity?! Give me a break!"
"Wait, let me finish, I was saying?"
"Saying what? You think that men control women by hijab?"
"Yes."
"Specifically how?"
"By telling women how and what to wear, dummy!"
"Doesn't TV, magazines and movies tell you what to wear, and how to be `attractive'?"
"Of course, it's fashion."
"Isn't that control? Pressuring you to wear what they want you to wear?"
"Not just controlling you, but also controlling the market."
"What do you mean?"
"I mean, you are told to look skinny and anorexic like that woman on the cover of the magazine, by men who design those magazines and sell those products."
"I don't get it. What does hijab have to do with products."
"It has everything to do with that. Don't you see? Hijab is a threat to consumerism, women who spend billions of dollars to look skinny and live by standards of fashion designed by men?and then here is Islam, saying trash all that nonsense and focus on your soul, not on your looks, and do not worry what men think of your looks."
"Like I don't have to buy hijab? Isn't hijab a product?"
"Yes, it is. It is a product that sets you free from male-dominated consumerism."
"Stop lecturing me! I WILL NOT WEAR HIJAB!
It is awkward, outdated, and totally not suitable for this society ... Moreover, I am only 20 and too young to wear hijab!"
"Fine. Say that to your Lord, when you face Him on Judgment Day."
"Fine."
"Fine."
"Shut up and I don't want to hear more about hijab niqab schmijab Punjab!"
She stared at the mirror, tired of arguing with herself all this time.
Successful enough, she managed to shut the voices in her head, with her own opinions triumphant in victory on the matter, and a final modern decision accepted by the society - but rejected by the Faith:
"Yes!" - to curls on the hair - "No!" - to hijab!
"And he (/she) is indeed a failure who corrupts it !"
Subhana'Allah!!!
"Nay! You prefer the life of this world; While the hereafter is better and more lasting."
"You are the best community (Ummah) raised up for (the benefit of) humanity; enjoining what is right and forbidding what is wrong and believing in Allah."
A Discussion by A.Q. Alidost
A conversation for Muslim sisters:
"I'm so tired."
"Tired of what?"
"Of all these people judging me."
"Who judged you?"
"Like that woman, every time I sit with her, she tells me to wear hijab."
"Oh, hijab and music! The mother of all topics!"
"Yeah! I listen to music without hijab?haha!"
"Maybe she was just giving you advice."
"I don't need her advice. I know my religion. Can`t she mind her own
business?"
"Maybe you misunderstood. She was just being nice."
"Keeping out of my business, that would be nice..."
"But it's her duty to encourage you do to good."
"Trust me. That was no encouragement. And what do you mean `good` ?"
"Well, wearing hijab, that would be a good thing to do."
"Says who?"
"It's in the Qur'an, isn't it?"
"Yes. She did quote me something."
"She said Surah Nur, and other places of the Qur'an."
"Yes, but it's not a big sin anyway. Helping people and praying is more
important."
"True. But big things start with small things."
"That's a good point, but what you wear is not important. What's important
is to have a good healthy heart."
"What you wear is not important?"
"That's what I said."
"Then why do you spend an hour every morning fixing up?"
"What do you mean?"
"You spend money on cosmetics, not to mention all the time you spend on
fixing your hair and low-carb dieting."
"So?"
"So, your appearance IS important."
"No. I said wearing hijab is not an important thing in religion."
"If it's not an important thing in religion, why is it mentioned in the Holy
Qur'an?"
"You know I can't follow all that's in Qur'an."
"You mean God tells you something to do, you disobey and then it's OK?"
"Yes. God is forgiving."
"God is forgiving to those who repent and do not repeat their mistakes."
"Says who?"
"Says the same book that tells you to cover."
"But I don't like hijab, it limits my freedom."
"But the lotions, lipsticks, mascara and other cosmetics set you free?!
What`s your definition of freedom anyway?"
"Freedom is in doing whatever you like to do."
"No. Freedom is in doing the right thing, not in doing whatever we wish to do."
"Look! I've seen so many people who don't wear hijab and are nice people, and so many who wear hijab and are bad people."
"So what? There are people who are nice to you but are alcoholic. Should we all be alcoholics? You made a stupid point."
"I don't want to be an extremist or a fanatic. I'm OK the way I am without hijab."
"Then you are a secular fanatic. An extremist in disobeying God."
"You don't get it, if I wear hijab, who would marry me?!"
"So all these people with hijab never get married?!"
"Okay! What if I get married and my husband doesn't like it? And wants me to remove it?"
"What if your husband wants you to go out with him on a bank robbery?!"
"That's irrelevant, bank robbery is a crime."
"Disobeying your Creator is not a crime?"
"But then who would hire me?"
"A company that respects people for who they are."
"Not after 9-11"
"Yes. After 9-11. Don't you know about Hanan who just got into med school?
And the other one, what was her name, the girl who always wore a white hijab?ummm?"
"Yasmeen?"
"Yes. Yasmeen. She just finished her MBA and is now interning for GE."
"Why do you reduce religion to a piece of cloth anyway?"
"Why do you reduce womanhood to high heals and lipstick colors?"
"You didn't answer my question."
"In fact, I did. Hijab is not just a piece of cloth. It is obeying God in a difficult environment. It is courage, faith in action, and true womanhood.
But your short sleeves, tight pants?"
"That's called `fashion`, you live in a cave or
something? First of all, hijab was founded by men who wanted to control
women."
"Really? I did not know men could control women by hijab."
"Yes. That's what it is."
"What about the women who fight their husbands to wear hijab? And women in France who are forced to remove their hijab by men? What do you say about that?"
"Well, that's different."
"What difference? The woman who asked you to wear hijab?she was a woman, right?"
"Right, but?"
"But fashions that are designed and promoted by male-dominated corporations, set you free? Men have no control on exposing women and using them as a commodity?! Give me a break!"
"Wait, let me finish, I was saying?"
"Saying what? You think that men control women by hijab?"
"Yes."
"Specifically how?"
"By telling women how and what to wear, dummy!"
"Doesn't TV, magazines and movies tell you what to wear, and how to be `attractive'?"
"Of course, it's fashion."
"Isn't that control? Pressuring you to wear what they want you to wear?"
"Not just controlling you, but also controlling the market."
"What do you mean?"
"I mean, you are told to look skinny and anorexic like that woman on the cover of the magazine, by men who design those magazines and sell those products."
"I don't get it. What does hijab have to do with products."
"It has everything to do with that. Don't you see? Hijab is a threat to consumerism, women who spend billions of dollars to look skinny and live by standards of fashion designed by men?and then here is Islam, saying trash all that nonsense and focus on your soul, not on your looks, and do not worry what men think of your looks."
"Like I don't have to buy hijab? Isn't hijab a product?"
"Yes, it is. It is a product that sets you free from male-dominated consumerism."
"Stop lecturing me! I WILL NOT WEAR HIJAB!
It is awkward, outdated, and totally not suitable for this society ... Moreover, I am only 20 and too young to wear hijab!"
"Fine. Say that to your Lord, when you face Him on Judgment Day."
"Fine."
"Fine."
"Shut up and I don't want to hear more about hijab niqab schmijab Punjab!"
She stared at the mirror, tired of arguing with herself all this time.
Successful enough, she managed to shut the voices in her head, with her own opinions triumphant in victory on the matter, and a final modern decision accepted by the society - but rejected by the Faith:
"Yes!" - to curls on the hair - "No!" - to hijab!
"And he (/she) is indeed a failure who corrupts it !"
Subhana'Allah!!!
"Nay! You prefer the life of this world; While the hereafter is better and more lasting."
"You are the best community (Ummah) raised up for (the benefit of) humanity; enjoining what is right and forbidding what is wrong and believing in Allah."
Comments on this journal
I just wanna say before anything that you girls blow me away, fa tabarak Allah.
personally, I really didn't dig this particular piece. It just doesn't seem like a realistic discussion, nor one you should take 'da3wa' lessons from (unless it's to take lessons on what NEVER to say). I also feel like it has the potential to cause more conflict than benefit, wallahu a3lam. But to see you all dicussing it rationally and with hikma is sooo inspiring, it dispels any fears i might've had, mashallah. So if just one of us comes away from this with a new thought or understanding, then there's barakah in it and in the one who spread its message.
I also wanna say...just in general... that I'm tired of the hijaab discussion. And the women's rights discussion. And the marriage discussion. I'm not saying that these are insignificant subjects. I'm just tired of talking about them.
I think that, because hijab has such a physical role, we tend to place it above more important things like...akhlaq, 7ayya, ukhuwwa, tazkeyah, tarbiyyah etc. Seriously, we have SUCH deeper issues...and our priorities i think are a little misplaced.
i sooo believe that hijab is a personal choice and one that shouldn't be taken lightly, accepted, or rejected without a lot of forethought, questionning and experimentation. And it should never be imposed on anyone else. It's soooo between the khaalig and the makhloog...as most things in this deen are. So whether a sisters hijaab is 'proper', or whether she wears it at all, is really no one's business but her own. also, hearing things like 'she doesn't even wear it right' or 'she wears trendy hijaab' is a load of b s to me. People should be encouraged even for their minor accomplishments, even if they aren't done with perfect precision. We strive for excellence, but no one said we have to be perfect.
oh, a semantics issue, and forgive me if i'm preachin to the choir: khimaar is to head what socks are to feet and gloves are to hands. When the word khimaar is used, it should be understood that it's a head covering. women wore khimaar long before islam, but they left their chests exposed (think: braveheart)...the ayaah in surrat annur just clarifies that u need to cover that isht up.
and finally...i love my sistaz...i think if women ruled the world we'd prolly have a lotta cat fights but never wars. and everything would shimmer and smell prettier too.
please forgive me if i've said anything hurtful or offensive. it's never my intent. ok, maybe sometimes, but definitely not in this case.
About the Prophet's wives covering their face. Isn't there a hadith about how most women at the Prophet's time about how they would go out to pray fajr at night looking like crows covered from head to toe. They would go pray fajr and go back to their houses and people wouldn't even know who they were because they were covering their faces too. Doesn't that hadith say something about the other women that covered their faces too?
there's a very good/detailed explanation of the ayas in the quraan that mention the extent to which women should cover at www.muhajabah.com . It's a little long, and that is why I didn't paste it onto here.
I don't know the answer ya rihab, and I didnt know that the slaves did not wear the hijab. maybe if you can give me a reference I will look it up, analyze it, and ask people around me who know about this topic more than I do. May Allah (SWT) increase our knowledge. But I think the most agreed upon fatwas regarding hijab are like this:
1) its fardh to wear hijab, that means loose clothes, and head covering (i think about 90% + muslim scholars agree on this) amd u should wear niqab if you are sooo beautiful that you may cause fitna if u walk around with your face showing (its a personal call)
2) its fardh to cover your face (many of our dear shuyukh in saudi arabia e.g. shaikh ibn baz rahimahu Allah) I would say about 5 - 10% of muslims follow this line of thinking.
3)I have never heard a scholar of Islam saying that its ok not to wear hijab, except for those fatwas issued post 9-11 and the london bombings, which said that if a woman MUST leave the house and she fears for her life because she is wearing the hijab then she must remove it.
My hypothesis hence is, if the majority of scholars in this world and in history have said that the hijab (covering the hair and dressing modestly) is fardh, then they must have based their rulings on something pretty solid evidence.
Take care ladies
P.S. These ideas and facts are based on my own opinions and my general knowledge of the world around me...no scientific research has been conducted and hence may be easily disproved :)
Have you complimented your study of the quraan with an equal study of the tradition of rasul Allah, in his sunnah (3alayhi afdhal alsalaat wal salaam)I believe that the women covered after the message was received that the Muslim woman should cover, the way the modest muslimah covers today. So the quraan tells us to dress modestly, but maybe we need to look through the books of hadeeth to learn to what extent.
An example of the quraan not giving us full info on something is prayer, the quran tells us to pray in many places, but its through the sunnah of the prophet that we learn the exact actions of prayer and what we say in each position, and how many rakaas etc..
I do believe that it is ultimatley an individual choice wheter or not to wear the hijab. All Muslims should respect that as any act of worship, its between the 3abd and the ma3bood.
I am not well versed in the sciences of religion, however I do know that the science of the interpretation of the quraan is a science that requires years of studying the religion intensly, and in some cases we need to know a little bit more about the context and the meaning of specific ayahs than actually reading the quraan or its translations.
Allah is the all knowing.
I just read your post and had to give my 2 cents.
P.S. I don't agree with what the pro-hijab person responded when the girl said "I don't want to be an extremist or a fanatic. I'm OK the way I am without hijab."
"Then you are a secular fanatic. An extremist in disobeying God."
calling someone secular because they dont wear hijab is a little 'extreme'.