As a young muslim woman, I struggle a lot to balance my dunya deeds and my akhira deeds. One of those struggles is my "hijab". So I decided to share few of my thoughts with you people.
Let me introduce you to the concept itself. "Hijab" is from the arabic root "َحَجَب", which literally translates to: "to cover". and "hijab" means a cover. But you already know that, don't you? The real questions are, why? and how?
When Islam first came, more than 1400 years ago, the arab land was in chaos. Meaning, Adultery was a normal act. Women showed their flesh as a normal act. Gambling and superstitions ruled the land. As a result, immorality and "law of the jungle" were the dominant. Thats why it's called "jahiliyah", which is from the arabic root "َجَهَل", and means "ignorance". They were like animals or even worse, and islam came to uplift them, educate them, and liberate them.
I know, I know, this isn't supposed to be a history lesson, but to understand the concept, you're ought to understand the source.
So, when Islam taught them how to be civilized, it taught them not to steal, not to cheat, not to kill oneself nor one another, not to drink alcohol, not to commit adultery. It also taught them to cover up (both men and women), as a sign of modesty, which leads to escaping temporal dunya to long lasting akhira.
Basically, both men and women are obligated to wear hijab in Islam, and act upon it. They may differ in outer appearance, but they're morally identical.
Moving on to "Women's hijab" as not to make it long for you guys:
I'm not going to talk about the conditions of a hijab here, because it's a long subject with many points and sub-subjects. However, I'm going to talk about the soul of hijab.
So sister, you CHOSE to wear hijab, right? And you wear it to please Allah, right?
Here's the thing, I believe that the "scarf" is a complementary to the whole concept of hijab.
How? Well, if you make a mud pie, and cover it with yummy frosting, it would still be a mud pie, correct?
So as you see, it's not about matching the color of your scarf with the blouse you're wearing. It's about matching your outer appearance with what you have inside.
Hijab is about lowering your gaze.
Hijab is about NOT backbiting and swearing, because you're too busy upgrading your own life.
Hijab is about that bitter-sweet struggle you go through to understand Islam.
It's about you doing things because you absolutely and ultimately love Allah, not just because you fear him.
It's about putting all your knowledge of Islam into actions, so people would see the truth of islam.
Hijab's ultimate reason is to show you're an independent, successful, well balanced "muslim" woman.
YOU represent Islam, so send the right message, or at least try!
What I'm trying to say is, you might have a girl whose hijab lacks nothing but the "head scarf". And you have another girl whose hijab has nothing but the "head scarf".
With Love.
P.s: please share your thoughts and comments, whether here, facebook, or twitter.
This post is dedicated to a dear friend. I hope you like it. :)
