When you begin to wear hijab you will receive many curious and strange questions. We must not look at these questions in ignorance but as an opportunity to make da3wa to the unbelievers. We must be prepared that the unbelievers will think that Muslim people in general are oppressed, and are restricted from the freedom of expression. This is incorrect. What does freedom of expression have to do with dressing half naked or dancing on table tops??? Wearing hijab sends a clear message of modesty, and prevents us from being grouped with other common female stereotypes influenced by the media and in that we are free.
One thing that never changes as Muslimahs is that we are given knowledge inshallah, and a voice to communicate what we know and inshallah enlighten other minds. So the next time you are asked "Aren't you Hot?", or "Why do you cover up so much", use it as an opportunity to make da3wa. (For those of you who are not familiar with what the 3 stands for; it is for the "ayeen" letter in the arabic alphabet. Arabic is not my native language so it took me a long time to be able to say it;)) So instead of answering them with a simple "no i feel fine"...what do you think about replying with yet another question? One question can be "Do you think the way I dress, is simply just a fashion statement?" If they answer "Well I wasn't sure"..then you can reply with the reason. I did come up with a definition as to why we wear hijab by saying this "I wear hijab, because it protects me from being a victem of perversion, and from encouraging those who instigate perversion". By saying that...they may ask themself if they have been "a victem of perversion"..and inshallah ask you to elaborate. There are a lot of women out there who are also non muslim but who are tired of being verbally or physically violated and wonder why what they've been doing hasn't worked. Inshallah they will look to Muslim women for guidance or even more so the Quran. It is a gradual process.
Allah s.w.t. gave us the ability to ponder the meaning of life, and what we want out of it. And inshallah by making Da3wa when we receive these questions, will enable those who ask, to re-evaluate how they have been living their lives, and inshallah look to the wonderful religion of Islam to change it.
Jazakumallahu Khairan,
Wa alaikum Salam -Hijab Support Group Moderator hijabsupport@thecanadianmuslim.ca
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