"But why, Sariya, why have you taken to wearing the hijab? You seem to be pretty liberated, your family is broadminded, you have a career, you're educated, and yet you chose this restrictive way of dressing!"
"I know you are young and feel that you can make a statement wearing this garment that you call the hijab, but is it worth being so different? Think about it, girl."
These comments that most women wearing hijab face take me back to that journey a lot of Muslim women went through, one that empowers you to accept the way of modesty and grace. A way of dressing that a believing sister accepts for the sole purpose of pleasing her Creator while knowing fully, however, that it is the best way for her. A simple garment that guarantees her respect.
To me, the one thing that the hijab signifies is freedom — freedom to be recognized for your thoughts, ideas, and intellect rather than the clothes you wear or the way you look. The hijab is the truest women's liberation movement. It truly emancipates a lady, gives her the status her womanhood demands, and lifts her to a pedestal where she is respected simply for who she is — a mother, a daughter, a sister, a businesswoman, a doctor, a teacher … an endless list of roles that women across the eons have been involved in. The woman in hijab is applauded for her acumen and skill, not for her curves.
But I did not always feel this way. There was a time before accepting Islam when I believed all that the media portrays the hijab to be. I understood it then as a form of male domination and cloistered females. I myself came from a Catholic background and had a possessive father who ensured that my clothes were decent. In spite of this, the hijab to me was just too much.
I had accepted Islam when I was around 15 years old, and I loved everything about my new way of life except the fact that it asked me to cover up! What was the need? Why? Nah, I was a Muslim, but the hijab was simply not for me!
Then one day I read this in the Qur'an:
[O Prophet! Tell thy wives and daughters, and the believing women, that they should cast their outer garments over their persons (when abroad): that is most convenient, that they should be known (as such) and not molested. And Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.] (Al-Ahzab 33:59)
Allah Most High does not arbitrarily command. He does not just order "wear the hijab." Rather He gives us the logic. He tells us in this short versewhywe as Muslim women should wear the hijab. He gives us two simple reasons:
1. Wear it as your label so that you are recognized as righteous women.
2. Wear it so that you are not harmed because of your physical attributes.
Simple words, but words of power. I saw the logic, but …! What about modern society and its values, my background, my education, my future career, my friends, what would they say? What about me? Would I be able to do justice to this blessed raiment? These and other questions bothered me for months. The heart wanted to wear the hijab, the soul had borne witness to its truth; however, sadly, the mind rebelled.
Till one day I met this sister, much younger than me, who wore both the hijab and jilbab so well that she exuded grace. In spite of being covered up, she was the most beautiful in the crowd. And I said to myself if she can do it, so can I. I shall wear the jilbab to earn the pleasure of my Creator. And if I am not able to do complete justice to it, if I make mistakes, Allah has also said that He is the most forgiving and merciful.
And so it happened one day I started wearing the hijab. And, yes, the transformation was wonderful. I am sure thousands of other sisters all around the world will validate what I say: When you earnestly take up the hijab, you realize it is definitely not just about what you wear; it is rather more intrinsic. It is more about your thoughts, words, and subsequent actions. You are no longer an unnamed lady walking down the street; rather you are a representative of the Ummah. You are a spokesperson for Islam. You are an envoy of the Islamic way of life, and this is a serious responsibility.
But with this responsibility comes a silent blessing. That day as I walked down the road on the way to college, I saw a change and I am not talking about myself! There was a change in the way people on the road looked at me. There was respect in the eyes of anybody who passed or interacted with me.
Bus drivers spoke to me with kindness, as did my friends. Brothers offered me their seats in crowded buses, unknown sisters smiled at me.
This respect crossed boundaries of religion and race. It was almost as if all of nature bore witness that another lady has obeyed her Creator and has adorned the garment He prescribed for her in the Qur'an. I was in awe that day of the power that a simple garment can have. That's when I realized this was no ordinary garment; it was one that came with a divine recommendation.
Today, years have passed since that first wonderful day when I, too, became part of the living revolution. But the experiences of that day are repeated in my life every day as they are so in the lives of each and every lady around this globe who conforms to the hijab. This one garment gives her manifold benefit. She pleases her Creator, protects her modesty, and earns the respect of all of civilization in one go. She is a smart businesswoman; she is a Muslim woman with pride.
موضوع: My First Day with Hijab 
السبت فبراير 23, 2008 4:19 pm
