Alhamdullilah. Today I write my second Blog. Based on a very blessed topic and discussion. Alhamdullilah today you are reading it for reasons Allah Almighty may know alone, and Alhamdullilah for the beautiful religion of Islam that honours us as believers.
I once heard someone say… I like the religion of Islam for it portrays many great things, but I think it has too many rules and regulations. I thought for a moment wondering what is considered as too many… where is the line drawn and then exceeded? I looked at the individual in awe and asked, “If you had the option to place your child in a Private school over a public one without the worry of money which will be your option” She replied by saying: “Private school of course” I then proceeded to ask “but doesn’t private schools have more rules and regulations”? She looked at me in astonishment, thought for a second and replied “Yeah well, it’s more beneficial and it’s in the better interest of the child”. “Exactly” I explained…. “Rules and regulations are for the better interest of people needing to follow them”.
If we were to look through the eyes of an infant or toddler, we will soon realize that they think we as parents have too many rules and regulations. For Instance, an infant crawling towards a coin or marble on the floor that sees it as a delicious snack intending to put it in their mouth, sees you snatch it and throw it away, the toddler screams at the top of his/her lungs thinking how evil and retched of you. but you know you were protecting that kid and that action of yours saved their life which their little minds will not be able to fathom. Another example, if we look at Teenagers who gets annoyed at their parents for having what they may consider as “too many rules and regulations”, they think to themselves that they cannot wait to grow up and live their own free lives so they need not follow rules. But as soon as they grow up and they have children of their own they see the world in a very different light and they then go on and take on the role of “the overbearing parent with too many rules”. Imagine we lived in a world without rules or regulations to follow. This world would have been a very different place one filled with complete chaos and no civilization. Once we understand that Rules and Regulations are not punishments or ways to make our life a boring one but rather a way to protect us and our mental health. We will soon come to the realization that Islam does not actually have too many rules at all.
Hijab is something that has been prescribed to women by Allah Almighty. The advantages attached to this prescription is immense. When a woman starts wearing the hijab she is highly respected amongst her friends and family.
The word Hijab in Arabic Means Veil or Cover. A term often used as the headscarf or veil used to cover the hair of women in Public. In some Ahadith and Quranic verses the word “hijab” is also used in reference to the full body covering. Which is the dress and the head piece, however, today it is most well known as headscarf
Hijab serves as a protection for women
For first time readers on this topic you may be wondering, against what? There are many things that the Hijab protects the valuable creation of Allah from.
1.) From preying Men – It is naïve to pretend that men who prey on vulnerable women does not exist, we see it daily. There are men who does not respect women and only wants to use them for their own selfish needs. Once they are used they toss them away like garbage. For them it’s a game to see how many women they can take advantage of and how many hearts they can break. Everything that Islam makes Obligatory for a man to do when wanting an intimate relationship, preying men does not want to do.
They do not want a family, marriage, responsibility and surely do not care to protect, love and support women. They only want to use women for selfish gain and nothing more. Their list of women targeted are often those dressed immodestly. “What you see is what you want and why respect someone that does not even respect them self”, these are some of the comments made by these men. The Hijab protects us women from these type of men whose only aim is to break, humiliate and destroy reputations of women. Your beauty, curves, hair and everything else is not a show for mankind and should not be used as bait, it should be for your man or future man that will respect you enough to put a ring on it, because our value should not be in our shape, our colours or between our legs as harsh and rough as it may sound. Our value should lay within, who we are as individual and how we carry ourselves as women. Some of us may be innocent in thinking what harm can a 2 piece on the beach bring or a tight fitted jean, and you don’t even know how many filthy thoughts are going through these men’s minds as they stare and easily use their eyes to undress from the very little items of clothing you are wearing. Hijab directly prevents temptation.
People cover their expensive I-phone with thick Phone covers, they hide away their expensive jewellery in password locked safes and they secure their homes with 24/7 CCTV’s, expensive alarm systems and huge spiked gates all to protect what is valuable to them, from harm and damages. Yet, the most important and valuable thing of all being the body, soul and heart people find too difficult to cover and safeguard. Not because they don’t know about harm out there, but because they want to believe that it is not necessary, and they feel a sense of value and worth in flaunting themselves for praises from the fake rather than protect it for the genuine.
2.) From Jealousy – Ever heard the saying “What the eyes don’t see the heart wont yearn”. Just like kids often don’t ask for a sweet until they see someone else eating one, or how we never craved that delicious burger we just saw on the television until we actually saw it. Most of the things we want and believe we need to have comes from what we’ve seen somewhere. Before Instagram and Facebook came with their visuals of perfect flawless body shoots. less women were affected by how many stretch marks or extra skin they gained, less men cared about what type of car they drove and less kids cared about having the latest I-phone or Play stations. It all became a wanted need and competition when we were peacefully laying in our beds grateful for what we have until we saw someone else had more or better. The Evil eye is real. Jealousy is the root of what affects 90% of people’s mental health today and we are the cause of it because we just couldn’t resist posting, sharing and flaunting to the world what we have. Our bodies were entrusted to us by God and it is our responsibility to care for it. Hijab serves as a protection from the evil eye because no one can be jealous of hair that they never set eyes on.
You are an Ambassador for Islam
By wearing the Hijab you are the face of Islam. What an honour is it to be a walking representation of your faith. How many people cross our paths daily but we will never know what faiths they follow or what beliefs they carry. When we see a woman with a hijab it is immediately recognized that this is a woman of faith who respects herself. Through your action you are giving Dawah (calling others to Islam) and sparking interest in others minds. Out of curiosity they may straight-out ask you about Islam or go home and do some research on it. You are spreading the religion of Islam by simply dressing as one which demands a special kind of respect from people in general, men in specific. In addition, it makes you more conscious of how you act, talk and it serves as reminder to you to uphold good behaviour as a Muslim firstly and a Woman at that.
Most importantly on days when you forget who you are, you will still remember that you are Muslim and that creates a sense of closeness with Allah and serves as a reminder of Him constantly. Your Hijab is not only a piece of cloth to conceal beauty and preserve modesty. It is a physical manifestation of one’s submission and connection to Allah. An external representation of one’s inward spirituality. Allah has already validated our Beauty. But we need to understand that by wearing the Hijab we are not declaring that I ‘am Islam rather I ‘am Muslim. Meaning I ‘am someone who is trying to follow this religion, and who accepts it as the truth, sees beauty in it and hope to beautify myself with it. Ultimately NO ONE IS PERFECT as humans we are susceptible to making mistakes. Do not feel pressured to be perfect when you take this step, do not wait for the day you will be perfect for that day will come not.
The Hijab does not make you a more perfect or righteous human being rather it’s a constant reminder to keep striving and excel in your personal and spiritual development. No matter how dark the world gets it allows you to be like that star that stands out and shines the way for others to see.
More Time for Good
Your initial thought right now may be how does wearing a Hijab allow me more time to for good. Let me tell you, since the time I started Wearing the hijab confidently I felt a drastic decrease in my concern about looks, please don’t get me wrong here… I do not walk around looking untidy or unkempt. But before my Hijab, I put in at least 45 minutes every day to make sure every hair was in place, I looked in the mirror every second I got to check if my makeup was all good and I was always conscious of what other people saw when they looked at me, following trends was tiresome and the overwhelming feeling of not feeling like you looking pretty enough was adding toll. Was my hair okay? Was my eyeliner smudged? Does this outfit make a statement? Was only some of the questions I’d ask myself before leaving my Home, which prevented me from actually going out or staying in and doing good that mattered.
Now, Because I believe Hijab includes not only your hair and neck but your entire body… I dress modestly. Bad hair days is a thing of the past, and I feel free. I feel like I ‘am now living my life as the real ME! When having a conversation, people are way more focused on What I ‘am saying because there isn’t much that will distract them. It has given me a voice, one of confidence and since my eyes are all they see and all they can look at when communicating directly makes me feel empowered in terms of knowing bad energy from good. People only have one thing to like me for and that’s my personality. Not my hair, not my shape not by any form of my appearance. All of this allows me so much more time for good. I no longer fell the constant anxiety of how I look. When a woman wears the hijab she does save a large amount of money and time. Because, when a woman normally dresses up she has to wear proper matching clothes that define her body. She has to wear accessories and do a proper hair do and she has to do decent makeup to look presentable. She gets drowned into trends and spend, which I consider as waste her wealth on Haram clothing. By doing this she deprives herself both time and money for good.
Side Note!
Did you know that the Hijab is not only mandatory in Islam, it was legislated in Christianity, Judaism and Hinduism too? However, Islam is the only religion that still stresses its importance today as it did hundreds of years ago. It is important for me to mention her even though there are Muslim women who do not wear it by choice, but what they choose to do and do not do does not affect or change the fact that it is COMPULSORY and it will never change. Just because time is changing and everyone around us are following westernized cultures the word of God remains to be the same and will not alter to suit and fit society and its trends.
Privacy creates Intimacy
That is the benefit and purpose of Hijab. Let’s take a step back and let me ask you, if you found out that your partner is unfaithful, wouldn’t you naturally get upset? What if there was no disease in the world would cheating be okay then? NO! Why? Because sexual relations are a very intimate experience for two people who shares a bond. By taking something intimate and sharing it with just anyone instead of keeping it private makes it loose its value just as a secret recipe is a secret recipe for a reason. By keeping your beauty private and preserving your modesty and chastity it allows for the best intimacy and special bond in a future relationship. Privacy creates intimacy. How special is that moment when you are a gift for your husband as he is for you, the man who saved himself for you and, you for him? how precious is it When the first man who sees you intimately is the man you are readily going to spend the rest of his life with you, respects you enough to have waited and chose to spend his life with you not based on your looks but for who you are.
END NOTE
So when we look at the advantages of Hijab the Biggest Insight is that it is a crown of honour and not just a piece of a cloth of oppression. For Allah knows the benefits better than we can ever imagine or begin to explain. May the Almighty guide us all into becoming better Muslims and May this Blog be the purpose for change in all those wishing to take that path In shaa Allah. Everything of good and truth that Allah guided me to write is from Allah the Almighty. And what I may have written by error unintentionally I ask Maaf as that is from Shaytaan and the imperfections within me. Allah is The Most Wise, we may share knowledge but all knowledge come from Allah.
And Allah Knows Best….
Best wishes Always, Your sister in Islam
-Tayyibah Abrahams
GLOSSARY
| Alhamdullilah | An Arabic Phrase that means “All Praise is due to Allah” |
| Ahadith | Saying of the Prophet Muhammad PBUH |
| Dawah | Calling or inviting people to Islam |
| In shaa Allah | God willing |
| Maaf | Sorry/Pardon me |
| Shaytaan | Devil/Satan |