God scarves

When uncovered girls wear ‘all black’ it’s fashion. But when I wear all black, it’s terrorism.

There’s something amazing about hijab. Those little ‘God scarves’ that I never, ever dreamed of wearing has become a part of my daily life, it’s something I couldn’t imagine adopting into my life & now it’s something I can never imagine ‘not wearing.’

Wrapping a piece of material around my head and neck was once a very difficult thing to do. After years & years of society telling me what is right, what to look like, how to act, what to like, where to go, what to think… to now, trying to fulfill the commands of Allah swt. After a while, I grew to love the physical aspect of hijab: something I wear every morning before I leave for work.

I quickly realised that it’s not something to cover my hair but my whole body. I embraced it bravely… my mentality flipped from “flaunt what you’ve got” to “it’s my body, my business” in a matter of months.

Women are more special than men in the sense that Allah has ordered them to wear hijab. It protects her from being desired by others, in speech, in character & in appearance.
– Shaykh Assim Al Hakeem.

The difficult part that I didn’t think about in the beginning is the non-physical part of hijab. The sometimes forgotten aspect that many people don’t realise is part of hijab. My mannerisms, my thoughts, my speech, my actions & my honor.

There are times I get over excited about a topic and my voice gets a little bit louder. But I’m in the street so I remember to lower my voice. That’s hijab. 

There are times when I’m watching TV (albeit not often) and a man comes on TV with no top on. I quickly look away and say Astaghfirullah. That’s hijab. 

There are times when I am invited to gatherings. I know there will be men & women there so I politely decline without feeling left out. It’s my honor to not go to these things. That’s hijab. 

There are times when even those closest to me, ask me to wear different clothes, go certain places or talk about certain things – despite it being haram – & I decline. That’s hijab. 

There are times when I’m so tired all I want to do is sleep for days but you set your alarm for Fajr prayer & wake up before the birds. That’s hijab. 

There are times when I really want to take a cute picture of my husband & I but I refrain. I don’t need to expose my life to strangers. It’s better to follow the advice of the Prophet (Sall Allāhu ʿalay-hi wa-sallam) than to feel accepted by society. That’s hijab. 

Hijab is a protective screen. A curtain that nobody sees. It’s the elephant in the room. It’s the voice in the back of your head which keeps you straight. It’s the one thing that separates the believers & the disbelievers. Its the choices you make which are pleasing to Allah. It’s a source of dignity and strength. It’s women empowerment. It’s a way of ensuring the society we live in does not fall into corruption.