Bismillaah
Alhamdulilaah wa salatu wassalam alaa Rasuulilaah
I started my journey towards complete submission to Allaah actively in 2014. The major event that pushed me to wards this was a surgery I had. A simple procedure but many have been known to die from simple procedures so I went into the theatre scared and hopeful. What made it a bit more worrisome though was that someone I knew lost someone a few days before I went into the hospital and the cause of death was the same for which I was about to be operated
As such I went in scared and hoped I would be given another opportunity to live better.
Better? Yes, I knew in my heart that I had not fully submitted to Allaah
Now a quick detour. Islam is the total submission to the will of Allaah so when we say – I am a Muslim – for me thi means “I am 100% committed to serving Allaah as He is deserving” and if there was anyone deserving of complete obedience it is Our Lord
So I knew that I was still allowing myself to be heavily controlled by my desires so I went in acknowledging the flaw and asking Allaah for a second chance and I got hence why I am still here to write this article ?
Now, though I just shared snippets of what premeditated my submission, you might wonder what does it have to do with the hijab?
Well, that commitment to submit 100% meant that whatever I acted on had to be done thoroughly. It meant I had to learn the best way to go about things; acts of worship and otherwise and I needed to live my life in accordance with this to experience tranquility (sakinah) and this singular Intention ensured that even when I picked up the hijab, it was done well and my nafs was sufficient a judge for me.
These days I see things like “today was not my day with the hijab” , “my hijab had a mind of its own”; Really? Did it really? Why is it only your hijab?
Why didn’t your top and dress also have a field day. This sounds like the worst kind of deceit- to give a false name to a situation in order to justify it to yourself!
Your hijab is a “mindless” piece of cloth. It has no hands or legs and it only conforms to the command of the wearer so please take ownership of your actions and stop giving it an attractive covering because this wouldn’t help you be decisive in how you embody Islam.in truth.
Everything has a soul and spirit and the hijab isn’t just a piece of cloth it is more of a symbol of submission to Allaah subhaanahu wa ta’ala and it has to be done with soul.
When you are present and Intentional about giving this act of worship its haq (its rights) you find that you are full of joy on the inside because “….verily in the remembrance of Allaah the heart does find rest..”
Tranquility is a gift that comes with submission to Allaah without withholding any part of you or being resistant.
Allaah calls us to this singular act of worship in 2 verses in the Qur’an: Suratu- Nur verse 31 and Suratul Ahzaab verse 59.
For the purpose of this post, I would share 1.
Surah An-Noor, Verse 31:
وَقُل لِّلْمُؤْمِنَاتِ يَغْضُضْنَ مِنْ أَبْصَارِهِنَّ وَيَحْفَظْنَ فُرُوجَهُنَّ وَلَا يُبْدِينَ زِينَتَهُنَّ إِلَّا مَا ظَهَرَ مِنْهَا وَلْيَضْرِبْنَ بِخُمُرِهِنَّ عَلَىٰ جُيُوبِهِنَّ وَلَا يُبْدِينَ زِينَتَهُنَّ إِلَّا لِبُعُولَتِهِنَّ أَوْ آبَائِهِنَّ أَوْ آبَاءِ بُعُولَتِهِنَّ أَوْ أَبْنَائِهِنَّ أَوْ أَبْنَاءِ بُعُولَتِهِنَّ أَوْ إِخْوَانِهِنَّ أَوْ بَنِي إِخْوَانِهِنَّ أَوْ بَنِي أَخَوَاتِهِنَّ أَوْ نِسَائِهِنَّ أَوْ مَا مَلَكَتْ أَيْمَانُهُنَّ أَوِ التَّابِعِينَ غَيْرِ أُولِي الْإِرْبَةِ مِنَ الرِّجَالِ أَوِ الطِّفْلِ الَّذِينَ لَمْ يَظْهَرُوا عَلَىٰ عَوْرَاتِ النِّسَاءِ وَلَا يَضْرِبْنَ بِأَرْجُلِهِنَّ لِيُعْلَمَ مَا يُخْفِينَ مِن زِينَتِهِنَّ وَتُوبُوا إِلَى اللَّهِ جَمِيعًا أَيُّهَ الْمُؤْمِنُونَ لَعَلَّكُمْ تُفْلِحُونَ
And say to the believing women that they cast down their looks and guard their private parts and do not display their ornaments except what appears thereof, and let them wear their head-coverings over their bosoms, and not display their ornaments except to their husbands or their fathers, or the fathers of their husbands, or their sons, or the sons of their husbands, or their brothers, or their brothers’ sons, or their sisters’ sons, or their women, or those whom their right hands possess, or the male servants not having need (of women), or the children who have not attained knowledge of what is hidden of women; and let them not strike their feet so that what they hide of their ornaments may be known ; and turn to Allah all of you, O believers! so that you may be successful.
(English – Shakir)
Looking at the highlighted sections of this verse, you’d see that we were clearly advised to not display our ornaments so kindly help me understand why the hijab still shows off jewelry and other accessories worn “under” the hijab with the excuse that it was a bad hijab day.
Every scholar with sound understanding of the Qur’an and Sunnah would tell you that exposing adornments intended for beautification isn’t supposed to be a feature you see on one who truly understands the spirit AND letter of the inconjunction and so you don’t get to have a bad hijab day because you understand that your hijab is as important as every other piece of clothing you have on and just as you gown or top wouldn’t go missing on you, your hijab also needs to be locked on properly the moment you are in the presence of anyone who isn’t mentioned in the aforementioned verse as one who is allowed to see you.
The Muslimah who loves her Lord understands that “we hear and obey…” is how we truly submit to Allaah’s decree
With the rise of Muslim influencers there has also been a rise of hijab wearing Muslim, Alhamdulilaah. Unfortunately another present trend is this act of taking it off on some days and using it loosely on others.
Make up your mind!
As much as I am a supporter of start however small you can and be consistent with growth; having the hijab worn in other ways than how it has been recommended is straying away from the spirit and letter of wearing it. It is straying away from submitting wholeheartedly with no other ideas in the background. It is robbing yourself of the reward of leading people into acts of piety and God consciousness
How can you shortchange yourself this way?! You settle for an awfully slashed reward system when you could get the real deal – reward from Allaah
It is about time we checkmate this growing trend before it completely devours the spirit of the submission the verse came to teach us in the first place
As you step out of your house, ask yourself what do I plan to do with this hijab? Submit to Allaah by virtue of wearing it and get accolades from the people and the answers that comes to us should guide us on how much work is required to help us cover and submit with Ihsaan (excellence).
Any good found in this piece is from Allaah and I thank Him and glorify His name and any errors in this is from my nafs and I seek refuge in Allaah from ever misguiding anyone with my piece.
May Allaah forgive us, guide us to the truth and help us live these truths when we access them.
Wa salamu alaykum warahmatullaah wabarakatuh
Umm Aasiyah Aishah Adams
K-Consult media.