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4/11/2014 SHOW ME MORE: MARIAM'S STORY PT. 2 After years of carrying the burden of knowing but not practicing, Alhamdulillah, Allah(SWT) finally made me come to a point where I could no longer resist wearing a niqab. All of the excuses that I previously had began to fade away, such as: how would I be able to breathe with a cloth hanging over my face, how would my family react, especially my father, how would I handle situations where I had to show my face for identification purposes? Questions like these were constantly pouring into my head. I realized that I had to be 200% sure about wearing the niqab because this important decision had to be the same as covering my hair: Once and forever! I realized that despite all the doubts that a person has, when you are sincere and you want for yourself what your Creator wants from you, eventually all these doubts begin to vanish because truly, Allah(SWT) knows what's best for us. After all, He did make us. He sent to us our manual for life, The Holy Qur’an. We’ve all read the verses in regards to the rules of covering and subahnaAllah, they are so clear. Even though people try and interpret the rulings on covering the face differently, we all know that all scholars have agreed that it is necessary in times of fitnah. In my opinion, fitnah is everywhere. With modern technology and the usage of television and the internet, it’s becoming harder to avoid fitnah. Even without the presence of TV and the internet, most men refuse to lower their gaze and while we cannot control the actions of men, we can control what we allow them to gaze at. As women, we all know that our immediate external beauty lies in our face. As a woman who spent about 18 years with only covering my hair, I know what it is like to be in the market, on the street, coming in contact with the opposite gender! There's always this feeling of being stared at just because you wear a headscarf. You become more interesting for men. Even if they ignore you, or at least you think so,you can't stop the feeling of knowing that you’re continuously being watched! It's a kind of slavery in my opinion. Wearing the niqab though, releases you of those kind of chains, because you know they cannot judge you anymore because your beauty is hidden! With Allah's guidance, my desire to observe the niqab increased. I began to watch all kinds of videos concerning the niqab, experiences of sisters, debates and so on. The more I read about it, the more I came closer to wearing it. My desire for niqab rose up from where I buried it in my heart. During these last three months of wearing the niqab, I noticed that I became more careful about where I look. You do not want men to think that even if they cannot see you, you are looking at them!Lowering your gaze becomes more important in your life.. Which I hope will get us closer to Allah(SWT) and essentially, that’s what really matters. Allah’s(SWT) pleasure! From this moment on, until the moment when my soul is taken from me, I will, inshaAllah, continue to wear the niqab. Ya Allah! Give me strength and wisdom on Your path. Ameen. I want for all my sisters in Islam, what I want for myself. I really hope that those who are aware of the importance of niqab will not wait as long as I did to begin wearing it. May Allah(SWT) guide us all and never let us go astray. WE need HIM, and to Him only on our own is our return. JazaakAllahumul khayr and Wa's salaamu alaikum! What are your thoughts on Mariam's journey? Have you ever considered wearing the niqab? For our non-Muslim readers, what is your opinion on the niqab? This is a continuation of the article "Show Me More: Mariam's Story", an account of Mariam's journey to wearing the niqab. Striving For Clarity will be sharing personal experiences from readers regarding issues that are addressed on the site. If interested in sharing you story about reversion, hijab, marriage, courtship, or submission, email us at [email protected] "
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3/11/2014 SHOW ME MORE: MARIAM'S STORY This is an account of Mariam's journey to wearing the niqab. Striving For Clarity will be sharing personal experiences from readers regarding issues that are addressed on the site. If interested in sharing you story about reversion, hijab, marriage, courtship, or submission, email us at [email protected] " Bismillahirrahmanirrahim.
Assalaamu alaikum! I would like to share with you my story about my long journey to finally wearing the niqab.. I was born and raised in the Netherlands and began covering my hair on the first day of Ramadan of 1996.... After my grandpa died.. He always asked me so caring and softly "Why dont you cover your hair my daughter.?" His death would become my birth alhamdulillah.. May Allah(SWT) reward him with Jannah.. My first step towards Allah was actually starting with prayer, salaat.. When we take only one step towards Him with sincerity, He approaches us even more! For sincerity is the most important thing in our worshipping Allah swt, because those are the ones Satan has no power over.(Qur'an 15:39-40) Before my grandpa died a woman we knew asked me: "Do you love God?" "Of course I love Him!" I replied. You know what she said?... "No you don't! If you'd love Him, you would wear hijab!"... Interestingly, this woman wasn't even Muslim!! SUBHANALLAH. It was Allah(SWT) who made her say that of course. I had to prove my love for Him.. And it really hit me in the face. When my parents went to my grandfather's funeral I began wearing my precious gift: My scarf. Step two! Truly, Allah guides whom He wishes.. All praise to Him! So we keep on asking for guidance.. These main change in a person's life are those that people can witness with their own eyes. After this, their attitude starts to change. And you come to know your real friends. But! No problem. As time went by, I met my beloved sister Soha from Egypt.. She was married to Dutch revert, mashaAllah. When she came to visit us one day, we had a conversation about the niqab.. She wasn't sure about it's necessity, while I in fact was convinced that it had to be fard. And I wasn't even wearing it! I told her about why I believed it was the way a Muslim woman should cover herself. I gave her some examples such as: -The Prophet(SAW) told the Muslim women to uncover their faces during ihraam (sacred state while performing hajj) "So they must have been covering their faces!" I said. -All scholars agreed with the obligation of niqab if the woman's face is so pretty that it would cause fitnah. "Please tell me, which part of our body is most beautifull? And we all know a woman gets even prettier if only her face is shown.. And finding someone pretty is a matter of opinion!" These, among many others where some of the reasons I gave her as we continued our discussion on the issue. But when my dearest friend Soha called me a few weeks later that she was wearing the niqab now, I was shocked! I was happy! I felt ashamed! I was ashamed by the fact that I was convincing someone to do something that I, myself wasn't even capable of. Mainly because I didn't have the courage! May Allah(SWT)forgive me.. "I always felt something was missing and I was afraid of dying like that, but now I feel complete! And I am not afraid anymore. I know now, THIS is the way of covering Allah wants from us." These were Soha's remarks in regards to what made her wear niqab. From that moment on (that was about more than at least twelve years ago( until the day that I finally made up my mind and decided to wear niqab, I carried the burden of this 'incident'.. But now I finally feel free!!!............... *The rest of Mariam's niqab journey will be posted soon inshaAllah. Also, Maryam is not her real name but has been chosen in order to preserve her anonymity* 2/18/2014 SHOW ME MORE..... "Best of woman is who does not look at man, nor does she allow men to look at her" Fatima(RA)-Daughter of the Prophet(SAW)" We’ve all seen them. Those women who are clad in all black. Those women who wear gloves and socks in 80 degree weather. Those women who the only thing you can see of them is their eyes. Those women are all wearing the niqab(face covering that leaves a slit open for the eyes). In Islam, there are various opinions in regards to whether or not it is obligatory to wear it. All reputable scholars, based on the Qur’an and Sunnah, are in agreement that all Muslimahs should observe hijab, which at minimum consists of the khimar and the jilbab. All scholars are also in agreement that all of the Umm ul-Mumineen(Mothers of the Believers/ wives of the Prophet(SAW) wore the niqab. Many scholars are of the opinion that niqab is not fard BUT it is better to wear it, especially in the west where it is the norm to gaze upon members of the opposite sex. Also, the niqab does not have to be black. At the end of day, whether or not you think niqab is fard, there is nothing wrong with wearing it and the chances of you causing fitnah is lowered.
The niqab is often seen as something extreme by Muslims and non-Muslim. Something that is extra and not really necessary. Despite our opinion on the matter, we should not look down upon those who observe niqab nor should we consider them extreme simply because they choose to cover their faces. We don’t know what their intentions are but we do know that Allah(SWT) has guided them towards it and should therefore be happy for them. Many people think that munaqabat(those who wear niqab) are these raging haram police-like women who don’t smile or socialize and are always waiting to criticize. Yes, there are some who are like this but you can find that among those who don’t wear niqab as well. Some also think that these women are stupid, brainwashed and oppressed. In actuality, that is no where close to being true. Most of the munaqabat that I know are the most kindest individuals and are really fun to be around and many of them are university graduates. Some munaqabat believe that it is mandatory to wear the niqab and some just feel like when they were only observing hijab, they still received unwanted glances so they decided that by covering their faces, even if people looked, they wouldn’t be seeing much. Based on the Qur’an and Sunnah, I do not think that it is obligatory to wear the niqab but I do think it is highly favoured and something that, if done for the sake of Allah(SWT), will result in major ajr(reward) for you. Have I thought about wearing the niqab? Yes, definitely. That is not something that I share with most people, which I’m sure you’ll know why if you’ve read the posts about my hijab journey. I don’t see anything wrong with niqab. Wearing it actually kind of makes sense. When someone is checking someone out, usually the first thing that they will look at is their face because that is wear outer beauty mostly lies. So if I’m trying to reduce fitnah and be as modest as possible, the logical decision is to cover my face. Besides, the Umm ul-Mumineen were munaqabt and they are considered to be the best examples of Muslim women so shouldn’t we all aspire to be like them in every way that we can? |
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