Starting a list of charities focused on providing Muslimahs with hijabs, abaya, khimar, niqabs etc.- anything to help them out in creating an Islamic wardrobe.

• Muslimah FSOT Network   - A for sale or trade group that specializes in mostly Islamic clothing and other related items for women. The prices have been very low and trading is encouraged. Free items also encouraged. 
• Muslimahs Covered with Care - An organization solely devoted to providing Muslimahs with care packages of Islamic clothing and other goods. I believe clothing and cash donations are accepted. 
• Scarves for Sisters - An organization solely devoted for sending out donated hijabs and other clothing to Muslimahs.
• Hadiyah’s Abayas - A small business that sells handmade abaya and hijabs. This is a link to the donation page where 100% of the donations go to sewing and shipping out abaya to Muslimahs in need. Giveaways are done through the tumblr page hadiyahsabayas.tumblr.com and suggestions/requests for sisters in need are done through the ask. 

Please add to the list if you know of any other organizations and please reblog. All organizations listed are great ways to give sadaqa and should qualify for zakat as they are ran by Muslims and are for Muslims.

pretsyfartsy:

The girl dressed in the drawing, it’s haram. So I guess this picture shows a true story. That they’re wrong for dressing like that. But please, a hoe? You have no right to call one a hoe.

Just to share knowledge, The Quran says that we should cover our aurat and that only our hands(palms) and face can be seen. Which means we have to wear our clothes, long sleeves. Not three quarters or t-shirt which majority are wearing right now. And we’re not allowed to dress nakedly. Yes, I’m not imam or anything but from what I’ve learnt, dressing tightly and showing your figure, is considered being naked as you’re showing people your body shape. And wearing a hijab, you have to cover your chest. 

And regarding the haram police, you’re not supposed to judge if someone is wrong, you’re not even allowed to say it’s a sin. It may be a sin written in the Quran, but you can’t say it to others as it’s between them and Allah. All you can do is advise them and tell them it’s wrong. You can’t say “You’s committing a sin by wearing tight clothing”, you have to tell them why it’s wrong.

etaminparis:

I mean I’m all for kind advice, but I’ve seen how the haram police works..and it’s almost as if they’re more focused on ridiculing/demeaning you rather than helping you for the sake of Allah.

zalia-ash:

     This little doodle I made represents something that’s caught my attention lately. I can’t help but notice all the hate within the Tumblr Ummah, especially for Hijabis. Heck, I didn’t even know the word ”Hoejabi” before I started Tumblr. I can’t believe how negative people here are.
     It seems like most Muslimahs on this site are magnets for Haram Police. (Thankfully, no one has said anything to me yet, but I figure it’s just a matter of time.) It’s astonishing, really, to see people say these things. ”You use bad language”, ”Your posts are un-Islamic”, and for people that post pictures of themselves, ”Your clothes are too tight”, or ”You wear makeup” or ”You do your eyebrows”, all the way up to ”You’re a slut”, there seems to be no shortage of things these people find to nitpick. The most annoying part is that this rarely happens in real life, but people find safety to say things like this behind their screens, on anon.
     My qestion to the Haram Police is: Who made you an authority? You’re not a mufti/shaykh/’alim/mullah/imam, you’re just some kid with a computer. Nobody gave you the power to evaluate someone’s Muslim-ness. You don’t know what’s in a person’s heart, and therefore, you have no right to pass judgement. If your intention is to help your fellow Muslims, them by all means, do so. But please do so in a manner that is respectful and uncondescending, because as of now, all you’re doing is bullying.

There’s enough people in the world that hate us, and we’re not making it any better by hating each other.

I hate the term “hojabi”. It’s disgusting. There is a difference between quietly advising a sister that her clothing does not meet the requirements of hijab to going out of your way to hurt her feelings and call her a slut. When you call someone a hojabi, you’re not interested in guiding them, you’re interested in hurting and humiliating them. Your best bet is to give them the benefit of the doubt and assume they are new Muslims and offer to help them create a more modest look. If you’re really so concerned about helping them dress in accordance to the rules Allah outlines in His book, offer to BUY THEM AN ABAYA. You can get decent ones from Sunnahstyle or East Essence for under 50 bucks. It’s sadaqa and it would make much more of an impact than shaming them and being harsh. It would likely inspire them to dress more modestly and increase their iman and faith in Muslims if someone were to offer to help them instead of turn their noses up at them.

When I was a new Muslim, I looked almost identical to the picture. All I owned were skinny jeans and I wasn’t in a position to purchase any new clothes at the time. Alhamdulillah I had donations from older sisters at the masjid and eventually worked my way up to having a modest closet. You never know the real story. You can’t just assume she is dressing for attention.

I just can’t get over how awful this is. How someone could have it in their heart to flat out call another Muslim a slut- to call anyone a slut- based off of their clothing is beyond me. Shape up, people. Don’t know any specific people to pull aside and give PROPER naseeah to? Don’t have anyone you can buy an abaya for? You can always donate to various Muslimah charities that send out abaya for sisters.

You can join the Muslimah FSOT Network  and make a post about wanting to give away abaya and other items for free or trade or sell for a small price.

You can also donate money and items to Muslimahs Covered With Care

And you can also donate money to hadiyah’s abayas to have hand made abaya sent out free of charge to sisters in need the world over. This is my personal effort and is a part of my abaya business. Alhamdulillah there have already been small donations and I am getting ready to sew and ship out the first of insha’Allah many free abaya.

So the next time you see a sister posting a picture of herself in what YOU would consider to be improper hijab, instead of anonymously messaging her and calling her a slut in so many other words, how about you personally message her and offer to send her a free abaya or two? You have no excuse now. I’ve given you THREE out of possibly several more options of making a positive impact on someones life. Make a choice.

A few years back I held an event at my university called ‘The War on Hijab’ and part of the event featured three Muslimahs on a panel discussion. One who wore niqab, one who wore modern hijab and one who wore traditional hijab. The ‘modern hijabi’ made a comment at one point to the effect of ‘if you don’t have it in here (pointing to her heart), don’t put it up here (pointing to her hijab)’.

At the time, I kind of understood where she was coming from: inner haya first, outer haya second. What I didn’t consider was how haya fluctuates daily in the same way that iman does. One day your level of haya can be very high and other days it can be lacking. Yet no one says that you have to have the highest of iman first before you can call yourself a Muslim. No one says that during periods of low iman that you should stop calling yourself a Muslim. So why do people perpetuate this notion of losing the hijab when you lose your haya?

Allah finishes the commandment for hijab (24:31) with

“And repent to Allah O believers, all of you, so that you may achieve success.”

The tafsir of this says:

﴿وَتُوبُواْ إِلَى اللَّهِ جَمِيعاً أَيُّهَ الْمُؤْمِنُونَ لَعَلَّكُمْ تُفْلِحُونَ﴾

(And all of you beg Allah to forgive you all, O believers, that you may be successful.) means, practice what you are commanded in these beautiful manners and praiseworthy characteristics, and give up the evil ways of the people of Jahiliyyah, for the greatest success is to be found in doing what Allah and His Messenger command and avoiding what He forbids. And Allah is the source of strength.

Why is this important? Because After Allah commanded the hijab, He proved with this part of the ayat that following this commandment wouldn’t be the easiest. But to have patience and ‘practice’ what He has commanded and turn to him in repentance so that we may be successful.

I sometimes think that when we look at 24:31 that we aren’t taking heed of this last part. Allah is telling us to practice hijab and repent daily for any wrongdoings. And as this ayat clearly demonstrates, hijab is more than just the outer covering, it is our entire personality as well. No one is going to be perfect 100% of the time. Practice hijab. Practice haya. And turn to Allah in repentance so that you may be successful.

So where is this notion of inner modesty first coming from? Shaytan. No doubt about it. It’s Shaytan playing with our naffs and leading us to believe that we aren’t good enough to be practicing hijab at all. It’s the whisperings of Shaytan when we draw comparisons between hijabis and non-hijabis, ‘Well. She isn’t covered and she’s way more modest than she (the covered sister) is. I don’t need hijab to be a good Muslim. I don’t even think I’m pious enough for hijab anyway’ This type of thinking not only pushes sisters away from hijab by allowing them to think that they might not be good enough for it and also allows for some sisters to believe that hijab isn’t even necessary at all.

Sisters, there are is no prerequisite for hijab. There is no set bar of piety you must reach before you wear hijab. There is no yard stick to measure whether or not you are good enough for hijab. Hijab is for all believing women and if it were not, Allah would have said that we need to meet this and this requirement first.

Hijab is a struggle.
Haya is a struggle.
Iman is a struggle.

Don’t let Shaytan tell you that you’re not ready for hijab. If you were ready to take shahadah, you are ready for hijab.

So I had my first experience of eating with niqab and heh it was a challenge for the first couple of bites. I kept trying to take a sip from my straw without lifting my niqab. I was all like, ‘ergdangit!’ Drinking is the easiest. Eating is a little more tricky. You kind of have to do this pull the niqab to the side with your left hand while you sneak in the fork with your right. Crazy. That was a pointless sentence. Duh. That’s how you eat, stupid face. Anyway. It makes more sense if you wear niqab, probably. Then you know exactly what I’m talking about. Oh and then you have to be careful to not get sauce on the inside of your niqab because then you have to walk around the rest of the day, smelling lunch over and over again. Maybe I should have practiced at home. Oh well. I know how it works now. I still can’t get over how I kept trying to drink through my niqab. It’s a good thing hardly anyone was there to see this or else I’m sure there would be a youtube video of it.

Thank you <3 I’m mildly nervous but I’ve been wearing hijab since 2008 and it’s come to the point where I’m mostly not even aware that I’m wearing it. When I first started wearing hijab, I was totally aware of it and I thought that EVERYONE was staring at me. Now I realize that most people don’t even care and probably never cared. It was just me hyping it up in my mind. So I think it will probably be similar with the niqab for the first month or so. I’m probably going to get some legit stares but oh well. It shouldn’t bother me. I know who I’m doing it for and I just have to keep telling myself that.

My husband has been kind of quiet about it and that’s good. Because I’m sure he doesn’t want me to think he really wants me to wear it and blah blah blah because then I might get the idea to wear it for him. Heh. lol. But I’m sure he’ll appreciate it. How could he not? He can enjoy the benefits of it too! There was this one time when I was going to the store and this man stopped and was like ‘you’re sooooo beautiful’ and I was wearing hijab. Mind you, I was wearing the whole hijab + maxi dress style. But that kind of stuff is what I don’t want happening anymore and I know for a fact my husband doesn’t. It’s a good thing he wasn’t with me. He would have probably went to jail! So one of the worldly benefits of niqab is that I won’t have to worry about things like that happening. I’ll take advantage!

I know my mom is going to FLIP! We’re going over there to drop the baby off for a visit on Saturday insha’Allah and I know as soon as she sees me wearing the niqab she is going to have a fit. She mildly threw a tantrum because I refuse to wear anything other than abaya. I know this won’t go over well. But I don’t give any F’s. I’M GROWN! lol

*GASP*

I know, I know. Who would’ve thought? I’ve never shown a particularly favorable view of the niqab and those who’ve been following me for some time know that. Most of my views are still the same for the most part. I still don’t believe that niqab is fard. I still don’t think it should be used for the purpose of benefiting men, which is something I’ve heard quite a lot. I still don’t think making it part of the law in certain countries helps brothers in any way learn how to lower their gaze and treat women honorably. I think that men need to learn how to respect the woman first and her choice of clothing second. I still feel that niqab is not a solution to fixing desires.

So why am I going to wear it? Well, like so many other sisters who wear it, I believe that Allah is pleased with this action. It’s a Sunnah, no? It’s not mandatory but there is still reward in wearing it. I see it like all other actions that are considered to be Sunnah: you don’t have to do it but if you do, the rewards are great. You don’t have to do Sunnah prayers, you don’t have to use the miswak, etc. But does this mean there is anything wrong if you do choose to do these things? No. So I feel the exact same way about niqab. Is anyone going to honestly tell me that Allah is not pleased with sisters wearing niqab when the best of women wore it? No. And with pretty much all of my previous feelings toward niqab remaining the same, I can say with firm belief in my heart that I am going to be wearing niqab for the sake of Allah and the sake of Allah alone. I’m not doing it because I want to help my brothers lower their gaze. I’m not doing it because I think I’m too beautiful and that my face is a fitnah. I’m doing it because I feel it’s time to start doing it. I have a feeling that Allah wants ME to do it and that’s that.

remorsecode:

Okay Hadiyah I just read this and I have no doubt you are referring to my question I had on niqab, yes?

• Yes. I was.

zombiejihadi:

“NO. I recently read a post from a brother who argued that niqab is a fitnah in the west and I really wanted to smash something after reading it. First of all, Muslim women are done giving f’s when it comes to what brothers think about our clothing choices. DONE. It isn’t about what you (brothers) think about hijab nor niqab and it isn’t about what you (brothers) want to see or would rather see.”

This is the problem with ultra feminism. Could you please explain to me why this is not sexist?

Because a man taking the position of ‘I’m going to tell you what to do with your body’ is sexist, therefore responding to this in the negative is not sexist. It’s not rocket science.

Why is a man’s opinion invalid?

Never said it was. A man has a right to his opinion but his opinion does not matter when it comes to what a woman should do with her body.

Islam is about equality between the genders. All scholars and people of knowledge are allowed to give knowledge, knowledge has no gender. So why are you saying things like you men have no right, you men have no say. Correct me if I’m wrong but this religion came from the tongue of a man yet we don’t revere his greatness because he happens to be a man

I’m just going to stop you right there  because you’re making a fool out of yourself. Young man, it is embarrassing to read this. YOU ARE NOT THE PROPHET. MEN ARE NOT THE PROPHET. REVELATION BEING REVEALED TO A MAN DOES NOT MEAN THAT MEN ARE SUPERIOR OR THAT WE HAVE TO LISTEN TO EVERY SINGLE MAN THAT COMES AFTER OUR BELOVED PROPHET (SALLALLAHU ALAYHI WASALLAM) And who isn’t acknowledging his greatness? You can’t even properly wish blessings upon him after his name. Seriously that last comment had nothing to do with this post. Way to just throw in accusations there, little buddy.

we look at him as a Muslim and as a human being. This is just completely sexist, no other way to look at it.

OK. Lol.

“It’s about serving Allah and Allah alone. If a sister thinks wearing niqab is going to bring her closer to Allah then more power to her and I’ll be damned if some brother is going to sit there and say ‘well I would rather that my wife not even bother with wearing niqab because I don’t want her causing any fitnah’. No. F you. You don’t get to do that. You don’t get to pressure your wife into dressing a certain way because you can’t seem to wrap your mind around the concept of putting your trust in Allah.”

I never ever suggested niqab is haram which is what you are implying I made out.

Wrong again. Where did I say that you felt that niqab was haram? Nowhere.

If a sister believes it will bring her closer to Allah, sure, by all means, go ahead. I didn’t say don’t. All I said was that perhaps there are better ways to present yourself in a society that will be intimidated by you.

And what else is this other than pressuring a woman to do what would please you rather than what would please Allah. Face it. Your point is invalid. It would be just as invalid if you were a woman saying it.

Westerns are less likely to ask someone about Islam and to receive dawah from someone who wears the niqab. That is a fact.

No. This is an opinion. Tell that to all of the lovely sisters I know who wear niqab. When I was at university, it wasn’t until the niqabi sisters started attending that the school newspaper did MULTIPLE articles on Islam. The lecture I gave on hijab and Islamic feminism had an extremely large crowd due to the fact that a niqabi was on the panel and she gave a lot of dawah by answering a lot of questions.

Yes, it is the fault of THEIR ignorance and not the fault of the niqabi. I never BLAMED the niqabi nor did I ever suggest it is “fitnah” or it is her fault in any shape or way or form, aouthoubillah.

If saying I’d rather you not wear it because you’re going to get a lot of awkward stares, harassment, and the like is NOT calling the niqab a fitnah, I don’t know what is.

I don’t understand why you’re twisting it into some kind of forced imposition against the wife. I think you’re trying to find things which you WANT to find in what I said.

Touche.

Consulting your wife, discussing things maturely, rationally, listening to both sides is not “pressuring.” That’s called marriage.

Funny because no where in your post did you mention listening to your wife and her point of view on why she wants to wear niqab. You simply stated your reasons and stated that you would rather she not wear it. This is the problem with a lot of men. They think that women have to listen to their opinion because if they don’t, they’re not being mature or rational because clearly, clearly it is only the man’s opinion that is rational.

I don’t know why you’ve decided to label it as “pressuring.” If my wife was as hell bent as you are to wear niqab then who am I to stop her? All I said was that I would RATHER, key word RATHER, her stick to hejab.

You’ve never been married. You obviously don’t understand how much spouses do consider the opinion of each other. Who doesn’t want to please their spouse? You’re taking advantage of the fact that your wife will likely want to please you by asserting what you would rather she wear.

That is my personal preference, my input, my opinion which she should respect and listen to BUT I would not “pressure” her into it, never mind force.

Yes, yes. Because you are the powerful and important male in the situation and she must respect and listen to you at all costs, even when you are telling her how she should cover her body.

I would not make haram what Allah made halal, authoubillah, which you seem to be implying I suggested.

lol. Again with that haram word.

“Niqab is no more of a “fitnah” than hijab is or the thobe is or the turban is. And at the end of the day, we wear these things for the sake of Allah and we put our trust in Allah. A mans opinion on hijab or niqab fits nowhere into the equation.”

Then you should abandon everything the Prophet (s) said about hijab since he was a man.

Is it becoming clear to you how embarrassing your words are? And will you quit with the (s) thing. Goodness! That’s offensive and insulting. What would it inconvenience you to type out sallallahu alayhi wasallam?! Once again, you are not him and every man who lived after him is not that important.

The amount of sexism in ultra feminism is beyond belief. Why would you even bring gender into the picture? That’s really, really sexist. If you really wanted to be a true feminist, you would not even bring up the topic of gender because giving opinions, knowledge and input have no gender. There is no such thing as “female opinons.” or “male opinions.”

*choking on laughter* Do I need to bring out the tissues again? You seem really shaken up by this concept of women having their own opinions. Here you go.

“And I don’t care how well-intentioned a brother is or how great of a concern he has for his wife’s safety- calling someone to abandon a commandment of Allah and/or a sunnah is not right regardless of your intention.”

Could you explain why the Prophet (s) abandoned salat at the battle of khandak? Ah yes that’s right, because they would be vulnerable to attack and their safety was under threat. That’s the same with niqab.

Excuse me? Are you implying that you are in the position to tell people to abandon their niqab because of the threat of violence? Because that’s what is sounds like to me. And the last time I checked, you’re not a prophet. So how about you shut the fuck up? The prophet (sallallahu alayhi wasallam) did not speak on religious matters except that he had knowledge about them- directly from Allah. So when he told them to abandon their salat, he did this with knowledge. Tell me where he ever told a woman to abandon her niqab or her hijab? He had knowledge of the future, no? He spoke about the types of people who would come in the future, no? I wonder why he didn’t have the knowledge you clearly have about the niqab. I wonder why he didn’t warn us. Here’s the phrase you are so fond of using: Why didn’t Allah make you the prophet?

I don’t know if you watch the news but woman have been so badly abused in the west for wearing not hejab, but specifically the niqab. The covering of the face. Some have even been physically assaulted! That’s what I was taking into consideration about my future wife with regards to niqab and I would prefer the hejab over niqab.

And you think that a woman who chooses to wear niqab did not take that into consideration when she put it on? Of course not. Women aren’t capable of considering the possible effects of their decisions. No it takes a man to remind her of the dangerous repercussions of her choices in clothing. Have you watched the news ever? That’s the hot topic right now. Men telling women that they shouldn’t wear this and that because it puts them in danger.

Again, to reiterate, is that the niqab’s fault? ABSOLUTELY NOT. Imam Ali (a) said that our greatest enemy is our own ignorance. They simply do not understand. BUT, that does not mean we should go out our way and “make a statement” especially when I live in an extremely unislamic area which has the highest knife crimes in the entire Europe. Why should I put that unnecessary burden on my wife?

If your wife chose to wear niqab, it would not be YOU putting a burden on her. It would be her choice which she came to rationally all by herself. The words you use “burden”. On one hand you say a woman should wear niqab if she really wants to in order to please her Lord and on the other you say that this effort is a “burden”.

It’s a shame you totally disregard intention because I’m sure this religion was based upon pure intentions and not the quantity of the deed.

Who is disregarding intention? All I’m saying is that men have no right to stealth dictate how a woman dresses(see the way you consistently frame niqab in a negative light) whether that be her niqab or her mini dress. So if it’s a man’s intention to protect women by telling her ‘don’t wear that mini dress, you might get raped’ I guess we should just not be offended by this or see anything wrong with this. Right? 

“You’re still calling someone to abandon what is good under the guise of ‘I’m just trying to prevent fitnah.’ Forget that noise. Allah > your concern for fitnah.”

All I meant by I would rather she stuck to hejab instead of niqab is that I would want her to pick good over better. Understand?

Good over better. Oh Ok. Yes. I understand. I understand that you think your opinions are the final say in how your wife chooses to dress. That’s. That’s just great.

Picking good over better is not haram, it is not a sin, it is not disobedience, it is not “not wrapping my head around trusting Allah” and it is not sinful.

Lalalalalalaal doo doo doo lalalala. Ooops. Wait. Shh. A man is speaking. I better listen.

And it is certainly not “abandoning the commandments of Allah and the sunnah” LOL wtf let’s not be extremists okay, niqab is not wajib.

Never said it was. It’s still a sunnah, no?

————(context: http://zombiejihadi.tumblr.com/post/19369095667/so-would-you-then-say-that-niqab-is-a-fitnah ) ————

NO. I recently read a post from a brother who argued that niqab is a fitnah in the west and I really wanted to smash something after reading it. First of all, Muslim women are done giving f’s when it comes to what brothers think about our clothing choices. DONE. It isn’t about what you (brothers) think about hijab nor niqab and it isn’t about what you (brothers) want to see or would rather see. It’s about serving Allah and Allah alone. If a sister thinks wearing niqab is going to bring her closer to Allah then more power to her and I’ll be damned if some brother is going to sit there and say ‘well I would rather that my wife not even bother with wearing niqab because I don’t want her causing any fitnah’. No. F you. You don’t get to do that. You don’t get to pressure your wife into dressing a certain way because you can’t seem to wrap your mind around the concept of putting your trust in Allah. Niqab is no more of a “fitnah” than hijab is or the thobe is or the turban is. And at the end of the day, we wear these things for the sake of Allah and we put our trust in Allah. A mans opinion on hijab or niqab fits nowhere into the equation. And I don’t care how well-intentioned a brother is or how great of a concern he has for his wife’s safety- calling someone to abandon a commandment of Allah and/or a sunnah is not right regardless of your intention. You’re still calling someone to abandon what is good under the guise of ‘I’m just trying to prevent fitnah.’ Forget that noise. Allah > your concern for fitnah.

I understand. And I bet it can be a great iman booster. No doubt about that. I’ve always held the opinion that hijab is one of the most feminist statements a woman can make and who is to say that covering the body completely can’t be one as well. I’m not saying that at all. What I am saying is that from my experience, covering the body completely does create sort of a paradox: on one hand you have a really bad ass feminist statement of ‘I decide who gets to see any given part of my body’ in addition to serving Allah and on the other hand you have a situation where you aren’t really helping your brothers at all and you are in fact making it easier for them to be more excited at seeing women in hijab or no hijab at all ( if you live in an area where the burqa/niqab is dominant).

Also, no hard feelings at all. I didn’t see it as an attack but a misunderstanding of my point.

Personally, I don’t care for this look. I think covering the entire body completely is something that rids the man of his responsibility to treat women like human beings. I think that covering the eyes completely is another way that women can go to excessive measures to make the man’s life in public a little less difficult. Here he does not have to lower his gaze. There is nothing to lower his gaze from. If you want to wear it, have a blast. However, there is our obligation (as sisters and brothers) to protect one another from sin but this is something entirely different. I think this takes it to another level in which the man doesn’t even have to try.

• This commentary of mine is going to go a lot further than this video. I’m going to explain Mona’s argument from my perspective and why I agree with part of it but disagree with the whole of it. *

Mona’s argument is that she supports the ban on burqa/niqab and wishes to see it expanded. She wishes to see it expanded because she personally believes that the burqa/niqab are falsely labled as the ultimate signs of piety for Muslim women. She believes that this is a dangerous notion being pushed toward Muslim women, reverts especially. She argues that while the reverts are saying it’s a choice that it’s really not a choice at all because of the ultra-conservative, pro-niqabi propaganda that is out there. She goes on further to say that this propaganda threatens Muslim women with hellfire, to which Hebah replies that she has never heard such a thing. Maybe not explicitly has she ever heard such a thing but it is highly possible that she has heard more eloquent and tactful statements with the same basic message. I sure have.

I have been in my fair share of Muslim messaging forums, groups, and chats in which the so-called “leaders” of these discussions have made it very clear that niqab should be the ultimate goal for the Muslim woman. Their words, like magic. Truly, they had mastered the art of persuasion. These kinds of Muslims can be found all over. Even in avatar based chats (such as second life) in which people from all over can communicate in a virtual world of customized avatars (think the sims), in the Islamic settings, the niqabed avatars were always warmly welcomed into the discussions whereas hijabed and uncovered avatars were usually given the cold shoulder or talked down to. And keep in mind that this isn’t even reality! Imagine trying to communicate with other Muslims and being treated as though you are a sincerely uneducated Muslim simply because of your avatar’s appearance!

Appearances say a lot, whether you’re Muslim or not and the game of fitting in and being accepted is no different in Muslim society than it is in any other society. Thus an important part of Mona’s argument: if a Muslim woman wants to be valued and accepted among other Muslims, she is left with little to no choice but to be a niqabi because it shows piety regardless of whether or not piety actually exists in said individual. This is what she believes is dangerous for Muslim women. This kind of thinking can allow for women to feel ashamed of their identities as women and further prevent women from exploring and understanding their religion freely. And I couldn’t agree more.

I’ve seen many Islam Curious women back out on their desire to become Muslim simply because of this kind of pressure; because too much attention was put on the dress of the Muslim woman than on Islam itself. So much emphasis was put on being covered than on what modesty actually is. This particular emphasis on the appearance of women strongly contradicted what they had learned was expected of both men and women: the art of lowering our gazes. All of this talk from men about how women should and shouldn’t dress, created an unnecessary complication in Islam and ultimately is what turned them off to the religion.

And I watched in horror as many sisters turned from radiant Muslimahs into bitter niqabis. I watched as newly reverted sisters, with whom I had shared many wonderful conversations with over the greatness of Allah, suddenly turn their back on me because I wasn’t niqabed; because I wasn’t pious enough; because although I had never dared to suggest that any of them cover (because that is a personal discussion between a woman and Allah), they had been convinced by others that I would only try to “hold them back in Islam”.

It’s very hurtful to be informed of on your personal relationship with Allah; to be told that you’re just not Muslim enough because you don’t wear niqab. To be told this by men, is infuriating. To be told this by sisters, is heartbreaking. And this is where the majority of Muslim women and I have to keep on telling ourselves that we’re not Muslim for them; we’re not Muslim for other people. We’re Muslim for the sake of Allah. We’re Muslim because our purpose in life is to please Allah and only Allah. In other words: we don’t need them. We only need Allah.

So back to the video. I agree with Mona in that niqab is nowadays more of a coerced choice than a definite choice. And regardless of how that choice was made, still feeds into a growing problem in Islamic society of valuing appearance over knowledge. A problem that cannot and will not ever be solved by banning niqab.

This is where I disagree with Mona. Her notion that banning niqab will solve the issue of Muslims believing certain types of dress is a product of piety, is a foolish one. It’s not only anti-feminist but it’s just not the solution. We can’t just let the government take care of our problems as an ummah. The solution is daw’ah within and directed within our own community.

For starters, we Muslims need to spend more time talking about achieving Allah’s pleasure and less, if not zero, time talking about achieving respect and acceptance among Muslims. We need to spend more time educating our men about lowering their gaze and respecting all women rather than talking about how women need to work on not enticing men. We also need to spend more time getting women back into the masjid instead of finding ways to keep pushing them out.

Back to the video debate. Hebah, in every way, wins the debate. She is what I consider a very strong feminist, exercising her right to choose who she reveals her body to. Most importantly, she points out that niqab is PERMITTED in Islam. And this is absolutely correct! This is the point where I sometimes just want to push Mona down the stairs. In her talks and writings, she asserts time and time again that any kind of head or face covering is not even a part of Islam and she couldn’t be further from the truth.

Hijab is very much obligatory in Islam but like all obligations we still have a choice. Not everyone follows every obligation in Islam and that is between them and Allah. Niqab is also a part of Islam as well as history. The wives of our prophet (May Allah be pleased with all of them) covered their faces, as did many important women in that time period. It was a sign of royalty and very common for the most important women to be marked this way and this of course was not invented by Islam. It wasn’t until later in our prophet’s life (saws) that common women began to cover their faces and this became permissible in Islam. Mona’s complete and deliberate failure to acknowledge this is what makes her an enemy in my eyes.

She often refers to “my Islam” in her writings and that is exactly what it is: HER Islam. Not the Islam of anyone else but hers and hers alone. However important her Islam may be to her does not make it something that should be important for every other Muslim woman. Her views work for her and she shouldn’t expect them to work for all other Muslim women. Just because her personal experience invalidates hijab does not mean she has the right to invalidate it for other Muslim women. Her decision to give up hijab is not my concern nor is mine to wear it hers.

I will respect her as a fellow woman with unique and valid experiences but I will not acknowledge her as my sister so long as she continues to push her interpretation of Islam onto other women. I believe that her condescending attitude toward covered women is as much of a problem as are the pro-niqabis who look down on non-niqabed women. What I have read and heard from her is hardly any different in that regard. She shames other Muslim women and until she stops that, I will continue to view her as an enemy to feminism and to Muslim women. Miss Mona, keep your politics out of MY Islam. Thanks. ;)

Ah. Thank you for bringing that up, sis. I was going to edit my post to elaborate further on that but I thought the link I posted at the end of the response would explain in greater detail what I meant by that. ;)

Anyway. As I mentioned in that link, I have met many sisters who wear niqab solely because they are downright annoyed by Muslim men. Of course wearing niqab is going to help prevent certain fitna but is that really the answer? Shouldn’t men just be taught to have respect for ALL women, simply because they are women, as the prophet (saws) did? No, niqab does not help in avoiding zinna anymore than hijab would. A person will avoid zinna if they truly fear Allah. No piece of clothing is going to do that for us. If you don’t have it in the heart, there is no point in putting it on the head. We all know sisters who cover but go out and have boyfriends and have illicit sexual relations with men. Let’s stop denying it. It’s especially true of some of our Saudi sisters who only cover because it’s required by law in their country. I have met and talked with one sister personally who had no problem admitting to me that the only reason she wore hijab at all was because all of her friends do. She also had no problem flaunting the fact that she has had many American boyfriends. Like I said, no point in putting it on your head if you don’t have it in the heart. Sadly, it’s a reality in our community and we just have to deal with it. Allah knows our hearts and the prophet (saws) warned us of women who would be covered but not covered as well. If a woman truly wears the niqab for the sake of Allah SWT ALONE and for no other worldly reason, then Insha’Allah she will be rewarded for her efforts, just as a woman who wears hijab for the sake of Allah SWT ALONE will be rewarded. But like I said, I have yet to meet a niqabi who doesn’t admit to wearing niqab for other reasons. The experiences of women are very much varied and I’m sure I will meet one, one day. However, in my personal opinion, the cons outweigh the pros in the case of niqab: wearing niqab simply takes the responsibility off of men to lower their gaze and respect women.

Hope this answers your questions, love.

Thankfully, the majority of replies were of the opposite opinion. Alhamdulillah progress is being made in the war on pro-niqabis! Don’t mess with our Quran!!! But watch the OP delete all of our comments like these pro-niqbis always do. 

..and SOME of the posts I find send me into a rage blog fury and in the end it just ends like this…

jihadjoe90:

Don’t spread your personalized Islam to counteract “Islamophobia”. The media says that Muslims oppress women, so you tell people women don’t have to wear hijab? The media says Muslims don’t tolerate other religions, so you tell people everybody goes to Jannah? Islam doesn’t need us to water it down. Just because your imaan is weak, don’t mislead others. It’s not da’wah, when you’re not spreading true Islam.

Being able to read the English translation of the Qur’an doesn’t make you as wise as Ibn Kathir (raheemu Allah). Just because you own Sunan Abu Dawud, you aren’t as wise as Sheikh Albani (raheemu allahu).

Is nobody concerned that by spreading your “interpretation” of Qur’an and Sunnah, you may lead someone into falsehood/innovation and into Hell-Fire? Is nobody scared that they have lead someone into sin? Are we not aware that any sin done by our influence will be written as a sin for us?

May Allah (azza wa jal) instill the fear of Allah in our hearts.

And may Allah (azza wa jal) guide those spreading falsehoods about his religion. It’s clear that they know not what they do.

THANK YOU!!! LOVING THIS! Especially the hijab part. As you all know, I’m annoyed by the misleading pro-hijabi propaganda but I am also extremely annoyed when non-hijabis use English translations of the Quran to say that the Quran does not make the hijab a requirement. It does. Take some time to study the Arabic and it really does say to wear it. I really don’t want to draw the attention away from this really awesome note but I do want to give a real quick Arabic lesson. Just stay with me for one sec here:

WALYADRIBNA BIKHUMURIHINNA ‘ALAA JUYOOBIHINNA.

WAL=AND

YADRIBNA=PUT

BIKUMURIHINNA=THEIR VEILS

ALAA=OVER

JUYUBIHINNA=THEIR BOSOMS

The word juyoob (plural of jaib), also found in the ayah of Surah An-Nur, refers not only to the bosom, as is commonly thought, but also to the neck. If the khimaar covered the face then this would not say WALYADRIBNA (meaning pull/draw together), but it would have said “let fall” (using the verb sadala).

So there you have it. As simple as it gets. Some say that the Quran only implies modesty and that the hadith is what tells us how to cover and some go further to say that since we cannot authenticate the hadith, to disregard it and just be modest. Not true. As you can see, the Quran specifically tells us how to cover and what to cover and the hadith only amplifies this.

Now that the truth has been clarified, it’s up to the sisters themselves to individually decide if they are ready to take this commandment seriously. The Quran speaks for itself here. There’s no need for all this misleading pro-hijabi propaganda or this anti-hijabi propaganda either. Just let this speak the powerful words of the Quran speak for itself and leave the decision making up to the sisters.