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11/19/08

Hijab & the Non-Hijabi

Assalam alaikum & peace to all

I've been on the hijab and no hijab struggle again. From time to time it comes to my mind and I feel that I am going to forever be lost and in a battle of right and wrong. Ok, this post is not really about if Hijab mandatory or not, it is however more about how non-hijabs are sometimes treated by hijabis. Now, I do realize that many, many good sisters do not judge other sisters in terms of what they are wearing, and all I can say to that is Mashallah that you are able to do that! However we all know that that is not always the case with some. I've compilled a few interesting articles about this very situation.

What are my thoughts...well I agree that non hijabis are treated differently, because in a way there is a big difference there. The ones who wear hijab are proclaiming to the world that, yes I am Muslim! The non-hijabis are more or less the 'quiet' type, basically they are not showing the world their religion. I've touched on this subject before, saying that my opinions are that sometimes I don't wish to be a 'flag bearer' of Islam - sometimes I wish to keep that private. I mean are all Jewish or Christians showing outwardly what they believe in? Not all, but some do yes, but maybe having a choice is a good thing as well? Anyway that is a whole other blog!


So read if you are interested... comment if you would like! But always keep learning !


Convertible Hijabi? Or Struggling Sister?

Have you ever heard of the commonly joked about character, “the convertible hijabi?” The drop-top nickname for sisters within our communities, particularly those who only cover during times like prayer, when Qur’an is recited, and during other Islamic instances, and will remove or wear it improperly during others. You all know of this concept and this popular term that has been assigned to it, right?

There’s also a possibility this sister is struggling with this part of the Deen. Mankind by nature struggles to perform duties on a day-to-day basis, and every Muslim struggles to worship Allah, some more than others. You can’t ever forget this, especially in light of our fellow Muslim sisters. Sisters who are having difficulty with hijab should be told that it’s completely okay to struggle, and not have their inner battles be turned into mockery.

Sure she might only cover when she’s praying or during Qur’anic recitation at wedding parties, but isn’t that a good thing? It shows that even though she’s not covering herself all the time, she still has something good within her. MashaAllah, that is amazing. So many Muslim women around the world straight up hate, mock, or reject hijab, and are rarely seen wearing it, let alone praying or practicing Islam at all. This sister, on the other hand, is much better. So instead of attacking her weakness, empower her strengths.



Hijabi Mentality

The mentality of some hijabi's, in which they feel as if they are superior to other non-hijabi muslim females.
The Hijabi Mentality makes a lot of hijabi's demand respect, only due to the fact that they wear a hijab. Often times, some hijabi women may not be the greatest of muslims, yet they still have the attitude that non-hijabi's are inferior, even if the non-hijabi is more religious than the hijabi.

Example: Please do not treat her like that, she is a hijabi (but not saying the same thing for other non-hijabi muslim women).

Please keep in mind that not all hijabi's have this mentality, there are a lot of great hijabi women out there. But with every good thing, comes at least a few bad things. Also, we should never judge our muslim brothers and sisters, whether they are very religious or not, and whether they were the hijab or not.


The Hijab

I have been wearing the hijab for twenty years now - not so regularly when a teenager, (on and off - you know), but strongly donning it into motherhood, and in my struggles to defend a woman’s choice to wear it. But I did notice something. People - especially Muslim men - tended to respect me more over my other Muslim friends for the mere fact that I had a piece of cloth covering my head. At first I thought I was imagining this….but the more I worked in the community, the more I noticed this. I used to notice that my non-”hijabi” friends would actually pray more than me, would follow the ”rules” more than me, not mix with men, or anything considered “unIslamic”, yet because I wore a hijab, I was treated better. I was TOLD that I was respected more than my non-hijabi friends because of my hijab. This concerned me greatly. It defied the whole reason for WHY I WAS WEARING IT:




3 comments:

Adventurous Ammena said...

the thing for me is that i dont judge because the majority of the time you cannot even know its a sister not wearing hijab. You never know what religion they are until u talk to them. I remember a girl at uni, she put on hijab because she was shocked when someone asked her if she was hindu lol :) she was disgusted heehee. I am a full believer of the piety of a sister not being directly proportional to the amount of skin she covers (thats the scientist in me lol) but in the Quran it does state that the believing women should wear hijab to look different to the rest of the community who werent believers. Allahu alim :) good to see you blogging again sis.. insha'allah everything is well over there.. drop me an email sometime

Aalya said...

"but in the Quran it does state that the believing women should wear hijab to look different to the rest of the community who werent believer"

Now that is something to consider (blush) well...life is a struggle right?? Thanks for the comment (Aalya goes and contemplates things)

Everything is well here alhamduillah, got to drive in the snow now... fun! NOT!

Hope London is nice!!

Sonya said...

This was an intersting read... thanks Aalya. I have heard so many different opinions over wearing hijab over the past year or 2 and i found your blog on it quite refreshing.
Hope you are well XxXx

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