Alhamdulillah a few years ago Allah had granted me the hidayah to adorn my hijab and though I may have started off not adorning it in the completely correct manner, we all have to start off somewhere and now when I look back, I realise hijab was the best thing that could have happened for me.
Many think that hijab is covering the hair but hijab is covering ourselves completely in a beautiful manner that pleases Allah Ta’ala. This means not wearing tight or revealing clothes and staying away from being too extravagant.
A year ago I made a decision to adorn niqab and many around me were rather sceptical but Alhamdulillah a year later and Allah ta'ala has given me the strength to persevere and manage through many circumstances. I had many people try to discourage me and the usual concerns were that I am young and need to enjoy life and niqab may inhibit that and also how I would cope in a secular world or a working environment because there may be a situation in which I may be refused a job due to my dressing but Alhamdulillah I never allowed that to stop me and I chose to do it anyway.
I cannot describe the feeling that overwhelmed me on that day, a year ago, because it was one of the most amazing feelings ever. It was the beginning of a new chapter, something that illuminated my heart with happiness. I had never felt so liberated, so free, so confident…
People may wonder how something that covers you can make you feel so free but as I said, it’s a feeling that I cannot describe because for some reason I felt as if I was looking at the world with an entirely new perspective. I felt like a new person and ready to take on the world and I had it all planned out..
Obviously we can have all the plans we want but Allah ta'ala has the best of plans for us and whatever I was faced with as the year progressed, I am ever grateful to Him for that because I know it was the best for me and I know that everything and every situation that I have faced this year has made me stronger and helped me to find my way.
I have realised that hijab (and niqab) make a muslimah so much more conscious of Allah ta’ala. It makes you think thoroughly before doing something because you are a representative of your deen. You need to be an example and one that others look up to إن شاء الله. A friend once said that we may sometimes be the only Qur’aan another person reads. We should manifest the beauty of our deen. Unfortunately nowadays people judge the deen based on the people who make no effort to correctly portray the deen in the first place. May Allah ta’ala save us and guide us all ameen.
However, we should never judge another but rather pray for our fellow sisters and advise them quietly because remember that we all started somewhere and we aren’t all saints. We forget that this is a process we all go through especially living in the morally corrupt society that surrounds us, nevertheless hijab is still a fard and this is only because Allah ta’ala loves His servants and wants the best for us. We should look most beautiful in His presence and save our beauty for our husband because if we are to show our beauty to every man around us then the person we’re made to be with will never truly appreciate it and won’t be able to see our true beauty because it has been shared to so many others already.
My advice to my fellow muslimahs is:
If you are in a situation of extreme heat and tempted to remove your hijab or niqab, remember that the heat of hellfire is worse!
If you are in a situation where you are surrounded by males in a working environment, school environment or sometimes even a student accommodation environment, remember to persevere no matter how hard or tempting it may be because you shall be rewarded for it and nothing is better than gaining the pleasure of your Lord.
Also, always carry an extra niqab when going out to eat or for coffee (I speak from experience with coffee) because it can sometimes be a task depending on what you eat but eventually you will get used to it, I assure you, and it becomes so easy… and there are some advantages to eating with niqab, that I can tell you for sure! ;)
May Allah ta'ala safeguard and guide us all ameen.
ma'assalamah
