Understanding the Hijab‏

 

Hijab in the modern world
“And say to the believing women that they should lower their gaze and guard their modesty; that they should not display their beauty and ornaments except what must ordinarily appear thereof; that they should draw their veils over their bosoms and not display their beauty except to their
husbands, their fathers, their husbands' fathers, their sons, their husbands' sons, their brothers, or their brothers' sons or their sisters' sons, or their women or the servants whom their right hands possess, or male servants free of physical needs, or small children who have no sense of the
shame of sex, and that they should not strike their feet in order to draw attention to their hidden ornaments. O’ Believers, turn to Allah all together, that you may attain Bliss.” (Quran 24:31).
“O’ Prophet! Tell your wives, your daughters and the women of the believers to draw their cloaks (veils) over their bodies (when outdoors). That is most convenient that they should be known and not molested.” (Quran 33:59)

Understanding the Hijab
The Hijab is not just the clothing on top of your head; it is the clothing that is on the entire body and in the heart. Hijab is a sign of strength, because now you are woman who has to be accepted for who she is, not for what she looks like. How many women wear clothes just to feel attractive and gain attention from the opposite gender? It is as if people are dying to be looked upon by the passionate glances of strangers. Is that really the point of clothes, to get attention from the opposite gender?

Hijab removes this by making the man look at the woman as a person and not an object. Flesh that is on display is a reason that men look at women, now this is removed and they are forced to look at what the woman is, not what they are wearing. This is something that the people of the West have to understand. Hijab is about protecting the woman from the eyes of strangers and removing her from the jungle of this world where women are seen as objects that are used to sell everything that you can think of.

Who are you dressing for?
Women who wear clothes that attract other men, are not wearing clothes that they are choosing but are wearing clothes that other men would like to see them in! In other words, clothes that are too tight, revealing etc. In essence, women are cleverly fooled by the media into thinking that the need to dress in a certain manner in order to be liked or be respected. ‘Power suits’ are something that business women are encouraged to wear, so they can get that deal and entice buyers into purchasing their products or services.

This is all about exploiting the female form so that it can be used as a product, or a tool which is discarded after it has served its function. The female form is used in servitude to creation by inflaming their desires and fantasies. I cannot find the correct quote but I remember hearing someone
say if you want to see how the society is then look at the status of women. Let’s be fair women in the West have rights that others do not but this clever brainwashing from the media means that they are trapped, at least women in other societies can see the jail bars!

Freedom of Islam

Islam was sent to free people from the chains of servitude of creation to the servitude of the creator, because of this, true freedom of the soul is realised. This frees you from being another faceless person in the world. What can be higher than serving your Creator? Why does modern society want everyone to be the same? Is this akin to communism who want societies that are homogenous? Wasn’t capitalism the antithesis of communism?

Influence of Culture
The average woman, from Indo-pak culture, do not wear Hijab nor do they wear clothes to suit this purpose. They wear clothes that are traditional from that area but are now more ‘modern’ and as a result are completely inappropriate. For a Muslim sister to wear Hijab she has to look at the
clothes, the tightness, if they are see through and if they protect their modesty. Just because the majority of people wear certain clothing does not mean it is acceptable. Culture also encourages women to wear see through scarfs that move and or you can see hair underneath the scarf.

New Muslim women have to think about their clothes and slowly examine the way they have dressed all their lives, up until the point they wore the Hijab. Born Muslims have to really examine what Hijab is and then proceed; looking at the average practice of the Muslim women in their areas may not be enough. They have to look deeply into their styles and mode of dress, thus consider all the factors that would make their clothes appropriate. This is not easy for sisters who has started to wear the Hijab or are about to wear the Hijab who are new Muslims or confused by their culture.

Any woman who begins to wear the Hijab, in the current climate, must be a special lady because it is really difficult. I am not just talking about the weather. I am also talking about the external circumstances that are beyond our control. Muslim women have to face all those typical stereotypes about the Hijab. For example a common stereotype is that they have been compelled into wearing it by male relative. Most women who wear the Hijab do so out of choice, is this so hard to believe? Islam cannot be forced and obedience must stem from the heart and not the limbs.

We also have modernists who attack the Hijab who claim they it is not necessary in these times which is a complete lie. The Hijab has been handed down to us by the means of mass transmission from generation to generation from the prophetic period until now, therefore cannot be rejected.
Aisha reports that when her sister Asma came to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) in immodest clothing, he said to her, "O' Asma, when a girl reaches puberty it is not proper that anything on her should remain exposed except this and this." And he pointed to her face (or head) and the palms of her hands. (Abu Dawud)

I remember listening to a filmmaker who said there are many reasons not to make a film but one reason to make it and that one reason would outweigh the others. Similarly, there are many reasons not to wear it and one true reason to wear it, obedience to the one who created you. Allah has commanded you to cover your beauty from every man except your wedded partner or direct relatives.

Reward of Hijab
Know that Hijab is an act of worship and as an act of worship it will be rewarded for, as long as you wear it. What a great reward those women who observe Hijab correctly will attain. If they wear it all day how much a reward is waiting for them? Let’s say she goes out to work and is out of the
house for ten hours, ten hours of worship! Think about the reward that a Muslim woman is adding up because of her efforts.

What I mean by correctly is: the Hijab that covers the head and that the other parts of the body are not exposed, that the Hijab is not see through, that it is fixed in place on the head, the hair does not show, nor the ears and neck.

The Hijab is essentially an additional piece of cloth on the head but it is more than that; the Hijab is a covering that covers her body. Somehow the whole issue of Hijab gets blown up out of all proportion; this is understood, by some, to reject the way of life in the West. What a lady is doing when she wears Hijab is obeying her Creator and it is as simple as that.

Women that wear the Hijab in the current political environment have my admiration and esteem. They are showing courage that is beyond many of us men who can conceal our religiousness; women do not have this luxury. Women are adopting the age old practice of concealing themselves as many previous nations have practiced.

I pray that Allah blesses all those women who wear Hijab and makes any trial that they face, because of it, easy and minor. Respecting yourself can only done by covering and not by uncovering oneself. Men have to learn to respect their hijab wearing sisters and lower their gaze.