Iman’s constant cravings…

Lost Hijab??

Under: Random Thoughts, Uncategorized @ 8:58 pm on Thursday, 11.8.07

The truth of the matter is I’ve been extremely annoyed by how some Muslims wear their Hijab. Although I don’t wear hijab, I reserve the right to voice my opinion and raise some concerns with regards to how some choose to wear it..covering your hair while at the same time you’re about to burst out of your clothes just doesn’t strike me or anyone with common sense as a true proper hijab representation…it’s rather clearly contradicting what hijab is meant to signify… Hijabi Fashionistas Unite is another Facebook group that caught my interest … Lost Hijab??, written by Fatima Bello, speaks my mind with regards to how the hijab should be worn and so I thought I quote some of it…

I just feel that some of us are going a bit overboard…I mean, they’re letting the fashion bit over-ride the hijab part that the hijab doesn’t seem to have meaning anymore. It seems that the modesty that’s the foundation of hijab has flown out of the window…are we losing our hijabs in our zeal to look good? Don’t get me wrong; I think we should all look neat and well-dressed….within the limits of hijab. Wearing a scarf on a super-tight dress that shows the exact shape of your body, bust and hips just doesn’t strike me as hijab. Because the hijab involves covering your precious body from non-related men…..covering your attractions. The shape of your body IS an attraction. I don’t mean make yourself ugly but these should be covered.
Let us keep in mind the basic rules for hijab:
–>clothes should not be tight, revealing or transparent. They must not show the shape of the woman.
–> all the body but the face and hands must be covered.
–> women should cover up their adornments and not try to draw attention to them.
–> and many more

By no means am I advocating an all black attire….I rarely wear black myself but we should remember to conform with the rules of the hijab. On the same note, modesty is supposed to be a part of every muslim man and woman. But somehow, nowadays, our very attitudes seem very proud and attention-seeking. We do not have to be flagrant about our beauty and attraction….it just doesn’t fit in with the character of a muslimah. I mean, when a hijabi is described as ‘hot’ or ’sexy’ while wearing her hijab, then there’s something very wrong with the hijab. However, if she were to be described as ‘beautiful’, it would be more fitting. You get my drift?
I’m not trying to talk down to anyone because this is a reminder to myself first and then to everyone. I’m sorry if anyone becomes offended. I only say this out of my love and concern for you as my sisters in Islam. Wa salaam.

To quote Queen Rania, ‘it’s always more important to judge a woman by what’s in her head, not on her head.’ However, if a woman is going to choose to wear something that is meant to convey a set of beliefs and single her out as a representation of those beliefs then she should fully embrace its meaning by wearing it and portraying that representation properly…

18 Comments »

asoom

11.8.07 @ 11:24 pm

You of course have the right to voice your opinion and raise concern but as someone whose been wearing hijab since my early teens in the West I just wanted to point out that the concept of hijab is not as simplistic as this post is making it out to be. Deciding to wear hijab and wearing hijab is a highly personalized and individualistic experience.

The way I see hijab today is significantly different than the way I saw hijab before I put it on, when I started wearing it, and even different than what hijab meant to me 3 years ago. I’m not going to go into my changing perspectives because they were a result of my personal experiences and I don’t think anyone who didn’t live my life would be able to understand them in a comment that’s a couple of paragraphs long. This is why when I see a girl with a hijab on her head but wearing some tightass jeans I don’t judge her or think she’s defeating the purpose of hijab, I mean I just don’t think in those terms! Of course it’s better her pants were looser but I’m sure her hijab most likely serves a purpose for her and her faith and that purpose isn’t so apparent to us outsiders. Like I said, it’s a highly personalized experience.

Short example: I hung out with this girl when I lived in Houston who was a fashion designer as her hobby. I mean she was a student but on the side she was also a designer and she attended fashion shows in NYC and other cities. She was knowledgeable about designers and understood their uniqueness and of course her wardrobe was full of designer labels. At the height of her hobby/side job she hired a tailor to make her designs and even held fashion shows! Anyway, she gradually became more religious and then made the sudden decision that she would like to start wearing hijab and she did. She started covering her hair, her sleeves and hems became long, and her clothes got looser but her designer labels and appreciation of fashion remained in place. It’s very easy for someone that doesn’t know her past and her personal experiences to look at her chanel shoes and prada wallet and pass judgments; however, putting the hijab on was a HUGE step for her and despite what may seem her hijab serves a great spiritual/religious purpose for her.

“However, if a woman is going to choose to wear something that is meant to convey a set of beliefs and single her out as a representation of those beliefs then she should fully embrace its meaning by wearing it and portraying that representation properly…”

I used to think this way but I have 2 problems with this conclusion:

1) it’s too simplistic; you just can’t define what hijab is for everyone.
2) My everyday life is hard and stressful as it is I shouldn’t have to “represent” anything by my personal appearance when it’s not my intention to, if someone wants to make judgments and conclusions about hijabis from looking at me then that’s really not my problem and I’m not going to change things for the sake of that.

Qwaider قويدر

11.8.07 @ 11:30 pm

Iman, although I’m 100% in agreement with you on how some people have emptied Hijab from it’s soul(Arabic)

But I strongly believe that it’s a matter of personal preference. Enforcing it in a specific matter will cross the line of personal freedom.

I guess the bottom line is always raising the level of awareness in religious matters. We need to educate our daughters before we ask them to wear hijab. We have to empower the Muslim woman to make her own decision, based on true free choice. But not wear hijab and end up failing that great responsibility

kerr

11.9.07 @ 11:34 am

But still it is requirement for a Salah.
Bring it next time when going for Friday prayers :D

Iman

11.9.07 @ 11:28 pm

Deciding to wear hijab and wearing hijab is a highly personalized and individualistic experience.

Ok?

I’m not sure I understand the purpose of the short example you gave?

2) My everyday life is hard and stressful as it is I shouldn’t have to “represent” anything by my personal appearance when it’s not my intention to, if someone wants to make judgments and conclusions about hijabis from looking at me then that’s really not my problem and I’m not going to change things for the sake of that.

If, oh let’s say, a college professor happens to be in a secluded area on campus and happens to see a girl making out with a guy and that professor comes back to another professor who happens to be a Muslim professor and shares the story with her and makes it clear to indicate that the girl making out was veiled and asks the question of ‘Doesn’t that mean she’s Muslim…isn’t it wrong for a Muslim to do that [in reference to making out]? now had this girl not been wearing the veil, would she have stood out as a Muslim? regardless if the guys she was making out with is her husband - which makes it lawful for her to do that with him… but that’s not the point… the point is had this girl not been wearing hijab, then the professor wouldn’t have come back to speak about - in shock - (Because with all honesty, she was shocked) what she witnessed…
SO actually, yes… whether you like to admit it or not and whether you’re intention is to or not, when you choose to wear hijab then you are an explicit representation of a Muslim woman as hijab is universally associated with being Muslim…With choices comes responsibility and your responsibility as a Muslim woman who believes in and chooses to wear hijab is to wear it properly because - again - once you decide to put it on, you become a representation of the religion!

But I strongly believe that it’s a matter of personal preference. Enforcing it in a specific matter will cross the line of personal freedom.

One should not customize the religion to fit their own personal life style …

asoom

11.10.07 @ 3:29 pm

Iman, sorry I guess I didn’t do a good job connecting the dots with my example. The point that I was making with the ‘short example’ that I mentioned is that any passerby with their conventional view of hijab can look at this girl and easily judge and say that she’s contradicting herself or she’s defeating the purpoe of hijab because dressing in high end designer labels is far from modesty but that doesn’t change that she is wearing her hijab in her efforts to feel closer to God by fulfilling a duty. In the world that she came from covering up was a much bigger step and sacrifice than it would be for example for a girl to coverup who comes from a family or a community where it’s the norm, yet she still gets judged about not doing it “the proper way”. Despite what may seem to an outsider her hijab is serving a religious purpose for her. Does that make better sense?

With regards to representing, you’re totally right that people judge the actions of a person bearing a striking physical characteristic, such as someone wearing hijab, and associate it with the whole crew, there is no disagreement there, but I’m relating this back to me personally as a mit7ajba I don’t accept this responsibility of representing, ‘representing’ the ummah is not something I agreed or signed up for when I started wearing hijab and like I said it’s not my problem if someone is going to look at my fitted blouse and think a certain way or my expensive purse and come with a conclusion about muslims or hijabis-if I was going to change my ways it wouldn’t be for perception and image because to me the purpose is all very personal and I have enough responsibility as it is. I hope you understand the point I’m trying to make and I hope I didn’t come off as condescending or rude, it’s all healthy discussion here ;)

Anonymous

11.10.07 @ 10:07 pm

If, oh let’s say, a college professor happens to be in a secluded area on campus and happens to see a girl making out with a guy and that professor comes back to another professor who happens to be a Muslim professor and shares the story with her and makes it clear to indicate that the girl making out was veiled and asks the question of ‘Doesn’t that mean she’s Muslim…isn’t it wrong for a Muslim to do that [in reference to making out]? now had this girl not been wearing the veil, would she have stood out as a Muslim? regardless if the guys she was making out with is her husband - which makes it lawful for her to do that with him… but that’s not the point… the point is had this girl not been wearing hijab, then the professor wouldn’t have come back to speak about - in shock - (Because with all honesty, she was shocked) what she witnessed…

I think the professor who was shocked because she saw what appeared to be a mulsim woman wearing a hijab making out with a guy shouldn’t have been shocked, because she should know that subscribing to a religion doesn’t automatically make the person an angel.

Second, the way this was presented makes it seem like Muslim women who wear the hijab have a higher responsibility towards representing their religion when I believe all Muslims share equal responsibility in doing that.

If the women who are wearing hijab and doing something contrary to Islam’s teaching are reflecting a bad image of Islam, then those who are not wearing hijab and are doing something that actually follows the good teachings of it (like helping out a stranger in the street) are depriving Islam from good representation in front of those who might not know much about it!

Iman

11.10.07 @ 10:58 pm

I hope you understand the point I’m trying to make and I hope I didn’t come off as condescending or rude, it’s all healthy discussion here ;)

Though I may still not agree with your point, I understand what you mean!

Anonymous,

the way this was presented makes it seem like Muslim women who wear the hijab have a higher responsibility towards representing their religion when I believe all Muslims share equal responsibility in doing that.

I agree that all Muslims share equal responsibility in representing their religion, and agree with your last point as well … but the point I’m making here is about women who wear hijab in a certain way…it’s important to keep in mind that a woman who wears hijab is more likely to be singled out as a Muslim than one who doesn’t and is more likely to be scrutinized!

Qwaider قويدر

11.11.07 @ 12:25 am

One should not customize the religion to fit their own personal life style …

That is true, and no one is advocating personalizing the religion to fit someone’s need. But at the same time, we shouldn’t forcefully implement something on people who will not uphold it, because they don’t believe in it. Let it be their personal choice and at the same time educate them on how it’s done before we ask it from them.

Anonymous

11.11.07 @ 1:03 am

it’s important to keep in mind that a woman who wears hijab is more likely to be singled out as a Muslim than one who doesn’t and is more likely to be scrutinized!

In light of the points you agreed with, no; it is not important to keep that in mind. But if you insist, I’ll suggest an observation that should logically be more important than that: there are probably more good muslim girls out there who do things that would improve the image of Islam without being recognized as muslims, because they don’t wear hijab, than there are bad muslim girls who do things that could tarnish the image of Islam.

Iman

11.20.07 @ 7:28 pm

“it’s important to keep in mind that a woman who wears hijab is more likely to be singled out as a Muslim than one who doesn’t and is more likely to be scrutinized!”
In response to that comment, sure we may be “scrutinized” by arrogant people who do not want to take the time to figure out why we wear it, but when you do not wear it you are being singled out and scrutinized by Allah, which is far more important than some ignorant person. Why should we be so cautious as to what other people think about us? As long as we are doing things that Allah has told us to do, we should not even question the side effects. To do so suggests that you lack faith. Also you say that by not wearing the hijab you are being singled out and picked on, however before I wore hijab I was picked on for negative reason ( rude men honking horns, ignorant comments on my “beauty”). When I wore the hijab people developed a whole new respect for me. A muslim women not wearing the hijab out of fear for what people think is not only haram, but it will eventually lead to the woman being ashamed of other things regarding the religion. Allah gave us the gift of being born as muslims, we should value this gift in every way possible and realize that some things are more important than what some people may think. Do you agree with everything in their religion or culture? Probably not, so why should you worry what they think about yours?

Iman

11.20.07 @ 7:47 pm

Iman, welcome to my site…

Based on your comment above and particularly this one

Also you say that by not wearing the hijab you are being singled out and picked on

, I want to say that you didn’t even take the time out to read my entire post or comments. It would’ve helped if you actually read it! :)

Iman

11.21.07 @ 4:24 pm

oh..dont get me wrong…i totally understand what you mean I just have come across so many people who do not wear hijab out of fear of what others will think. It was more of a generalized statement. I didnt mean to attack your views..

Iman

11.21.07 @ 4:25 pm

oh and I DID read your whole article! :)

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11.21.07 @ 5:52 pm

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Iman

11.21.07 @ 6:03 pm

I see, but I don’t know where you got the impression that I said by not wearing hijab you are being singled out and picked on?

Anyway, my bottom line remains that if you choose to wear hijab, wear it properly!:)

Iman H.

11.22.07 @ 2:17 pm

You are right. I think we both can agree on that.

witheld uk

03.10.08 @ 11:04 am

i just wanted2 say, i wear hijab, n i find it difficult2b honest. im 22 n been wearin it for 12 years… everyone has different experiences and shaitaans plays on ppl in different ways….

throne

10.23.08 @ 11:38 am

Take my salam… i dont wear a hijab but i want too however i fear that shaitan might capture my soul and i might take it off i dont want too make that mistake because i believe in islam too much too do such thing … i have friends that dont wear a hijab but they are highly attached to allah…they pray and recite the quran every day mashallah…i just dont know if i can live up too the expectations and if i will do it well…. its hard we all make mistakes the worse part is u learn that you made a mistake and you have too over come that exprience…
allahafeez

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Lost Hijab??

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