January 28, 2008

Hijab/Modesty

Well today me and my brother got in this debate over the Hijab. He overheard me talking to my mother about it. He made me realize something that I very much needed to acknowledge. I had stopped wearing the Hijab in between, because I was not sure WHY I was wearing it. I sort of wanted to know the real meaning and the need behind Hijab. I very badly wanted to wear it, but Satan always somehow succeeded in leading me away from the Right Path. My brother told me a lot of times that even if you wear modest clothes, it's perfectly alright not to wear the Hijab. Although he being a guy wouldn't know the consequences and the problems we women face when we DON'T wear the Hijab. He said that Hijab is a symbol for modesty, and there is much more to Hijab then just covering your hair or your body. His intention was not to restrict women from wearing Hijab, but because he wanted them to KNOW and REALIZE the reasons for this Hijab.
It was past me to understand, and took quite a few heated arguments for his point to come across. He gave me examples :
A girl wears a Hijab, and is doing all sorts of other immodest activities, for example flirting with boys or drinking alcohol. This is not modest and it is unIslamic. Or she uses crude and vulgar language, is inimical towards people, shows resentment towards them when they ask for help. Hijab promotes modesty, humbleness, humility, piety, kindness. A behaviour of a woman comes under the limits of Hijab. I never realized this and I used to be profane and not really care about it. Although Elhumdulillah, my parents brought me up to be quite sensitive and careful about others' feelings, I still had a few bad qualities in me, which thankfully to my brother, I'm trying to improve. It does not mean that you stop living your life, no. It doesn't mean that when you go out with friends you stay still and stiff and a goody-two-shoes. NO! Not at all! Go ahead laugh, have fun, be crazy, hyper, but do not act in ways that attract unnecessary attention, Do not show-off, do not act in a way so that people notice you or others notice you, and generally be plainly annoyingly conspicious. Through the Hijab, God leads and wants us to observe and acquire the qualities of a good Muslim. For example, noble,humble,helpful,honest,truthful,trustworthy,caring,pious,etc. We should not speak in a way that hurts others, or with hostility. We should respect their beliefs and opinions, and set forth examples of a good human being with our character. We should try to influence people with our skills and our modesty. The main purpose of a Hijab is not ONLY to guard the beauty of a woman, but to promote modesty in behaviour, words, actions, lifestyle, etc.
So bottom line, if you're gonna wanna have to cover your hair and body, and then have boyfriends, cheat, lie, steal, be profane, hostile, cold, etc towards people, THE HIJAB might be accepted by Allah and may you be rewarded for it, but then there is no point. Because if you're doing all the other things labelled Haraam or forbidden by God, you might as well not cover at all. Why bother? Such juvenile acts will only lead to the names of Muslims being wrecked all over the world, and you will be setting bad examples for others. By influencing others with our good qualities, we are working towards a better environment for us and for others to live in.