Open letter to Hijabi Fashionistas
I read this today in a blog and thought it would be a good one to share. May Allah guide us and grant us understanding, InsyaAllah.
As-Salaamu Alaykum my dear sisters,
“Whoever of you sees an evil must then change it with his hand. If he is not able to do so, then [he must change it ] with his tongue. And if he is not able to do so, then [he must change it] with his heart. And that is the slightest [effect of] faith.” Sahih Muslim.
This hadith clearly indicates that if we see our brothers or sisters make a mistake or commit a sin, we must help them correct their actions. Thus this hadith is an encouragement for me to address you, hoping you find truth in my words and take heed, inshaAllah.
I am addressing you all today, with regards to your hijab and selection of clothing.
As your Muslim sister who has concern for you and all the ummah, I feel it is my duty to enlighten you all about your misrepresentation of hijab.
Like many muslim women, I have come across your hijab tutorials, instragram pictures and youtube videos. Within the content of each of your social mediums, there has been a very distorted image of what hijab is and means. To put it bluntly, most of the times your hijab is actually NOT hijab according to the legislation of Islam.
The new trend of wearing the turban style hijab, the camel hump hijab, the caked face hijab, the short sleeved hijab and the ‘casually just rocking leggings with my headscarf’ hijab, have no place in islam.
These ‘hijabs’ as many shuyookh have explained, are haram as they overstep the boundaries set by our creator.
Allah tells us in Surah An-Noor verse 31:
“And tell the believing women to reduce (some) of their vision and guard their private parts and not expose their adornment except that which (necessarily) appears thereof and to wrap (a portion of) their headcovers over their chests and not to expose their adornment except to their…”
And in Surah Al-Ahzab verse 59:
“O Prophet! Say to your wives and your daughters and the women of the faithful to draw their JALABIB close around them; that is better that they will be recognized and not annoyed. And God is ever Forgiving, Gentle.”
In these ayat, Allah explicitly explains that our hijab consists of covering our bodies by a means of wearing a jilbab. This jilbab covers our head all the way down to our feet. This is the requirement check list for our hijab.
With that being said, there is absolutely nothing wrong with wanting to look decent and presentable in a halal manner. In fact, it is even encouraged by Rasulullah SAW to look presentable as “Allah is beautiful and loves beauty”. You are allowed to wear fancy hijabs, nice abayahs, pretty shoes etc. No one is trying to withold you these priviledges, but the point I’m trying to highlight my sisters, is that there is a limit that Allah has given us and it must be drawn before we start applying full on make up, dress up like Christmas trees or allow parts of our awrah to be revealed to our non-mahrams.
Allah swt and his prophet saw have clearly forbidden such acts.
“There are 2 types of the people of Hell that I have never seen: People with whips like the tails of cattle with which they strike people, and women who are dressed but appear naked, walking with an enticing gait, with their heads looking like the humps of camels leaning to one side. They will never enter paradise, nor even smell its fragrance, although its fragrance can be discerned from such and such a distance.” (Muslim)
You are my sisters in the deen and I want nothing less than Jannah for myself and for you all. In addition, when we leave this temporary dunya, we want to leave a legacy which aids us in the akhirah. This can be done by having a positive influence on others and encouraging them to do the actions that Allah swt has proscribed and stay away from those he swt has prohibited.
Naturally, upon noticing the amounts of you-tube hits and instragram likes you all receive for your hijab tutorials, make-up illustrations and clothing advice, I realise that you are developing a growing fan base.
Many young muslimahs who who may have no other avenue of gaining knowledge about Islam and hijaab look up to you as role models and are highly influenced by your videos and hijab views. Some probably have no idea that your expression of hijab is completely juxtaposing our the correct islamic definition of hijab and modesty. Henceforth, you’re actually misleading your sisters by conveying your current understanding of hijab. So not only will you be accountable for your actions but you may also have to answer for the actions of those who followed you and whom you knowingly or unknowingly influenced towards sin. This is heavy stuff! Surely we need to get to the bottom of it!
I started to wonder what got sisters of this noble ummah to this point?
How is it that sisters of this noble ummah are able to walk around in leggings/jeans wearing a headscarf and still believe this is adhering to hijab?
How is it that sisters of this noble ummah wear long garments but have faces full of make-up and still refer to it as ‘modest’?
Deviation of the correct Islamic wear only occurred post 1924, when the islamic rule of governance was abolished. With the removal of the caliphate, western concepts such as liberalism, feminism and freedom infiltrated the Muslim world and consequently, the minds of Muslims.
It has sadly become a norm to see images of sexualised women such as Kate Moss and Beyonce shoved in our faces. Subsequently, some of you may have consciously or subconsciously, taken these western woman as role models, as their constant glorification has made you want to have a little fashion freedom?
Despite the west’s many attempts to remove, demonise and label the hijab as oppressive and backwards, Muslim women like yourselves are still proud and happy wearing some essence of the hijab. However, the west and their forces of shaytaan do not give up so easily. Their plan of completely eradicating the hijab may have failed, but instead they have outsmarted you sisters by making your hijab a fashion asset, rather than an act of obedience to Allah. It has become clear that wearing the hijab in its simplistic form as prescribed by Allah, is now looked upon as boring and old.
Something all sisters need to be aware of, is that the west are good at manipulating the minds of women. They know how women think. They understand that women enjoy being called beautiful and that it is something valued by both sexes. Due to this acknowledgement, they are then able to profit from of this desire by creating the standard for beauty. Sadly, their deranged idea of beauty has degraded many sisters who have been conned into the idea that beauty lies in the make-up, the clothes and the accessories.
As a muslimah, I completely understand that living in a society that constantly pushes the idea that women need to be of a certain weight, have a particular look, wear modern clothes, sometimes makes you feel insecure about yourself. You start to feel the need to fit in with other women who are more extravagant and in touch with the latest fashion threads and trends. So you start to wear extra lavish headscarves or extra large hijab pins in order to feel a little more ‘in’ with society.
Some of you may argue that you only dress up to make yourself feel good and that it has nothing to do with following expectations and trends, but Islam allows you to dress however you like in your own privacy in-front of your female companions and mahrams, within reason of course. Therefore, the fact that you feel the need to dress up in these certain clothes when going outdoors, indicates that your criteria for your dresscode is other than Islam and whether you would like to admit or not, there is an element of wanting to get attention from other people.
The need to want to glamorise your hijab and outfits, is a sign that you are clearly not comfortable wearing the hijab properly. Somewhere in your understanding of hijab, you have mixed the kufr concept of western beauty with islam. This is why you are always looking to change your looks to keep up with other women. You start asking questions like “Does my hijab style look good?”, “Does my face look skinny if I wear my hijab this tight?” or frequently looking at yourself in the mirror to make sure that your hijab pin is perfectly placed. Ultimately, you are never able to achieve the peace and contentment that hijab brings when worn with the right intention and in the right manner. This lifestyle oppresses your ability to think and your bodies.
Sisters, please realise that Islam does not measure beauty by your hijab styles or by the make up on your face. Rather it defines your beauty through your character. Many western women are living a life of misery. Struggling day in and day out, starving themselves with unrealistic expectations of becoming a size 0 or queuing up for surgery to get rid of those extra wrinkles that appear with old age. Islam however, liberates you from all this oppression and honours you. You are no longer judged based on appearance, but instead by your intellect and actions.
To conclude, I would like to remind you of your purpose in this dunya because in this understanding you will comprehend the true purpose of hijab.
Allah says in surah Adh-Dhariyat verse 56,
“And I have not created the jinn and the men except that they should serve Me.”
Our entire existence revolves around serving none but Allah. This includes our obedience to His laws, including hijab in its correct manner. We are His servants and He is our master. If Allah has commanded us to wear the hijab as described in Surah An-Noor, then we must obey without hesitation.
I will leave you with this surah of the Qur’an to reflect over as our success and happiness, in both this world and the next, lies only in the Worship of Allah swt and obedience to his commands.
Indeed, mankind is in loss,
Except for those who have believed and done righteous deeds and advised each other to truth and advised each other to patience.
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