Being a Muslim is indeed a blessing, and, we all say alhamduliLlah for that. But, how many of us are really grateful to Allah for that great blessing? The greatest of all blessings any being can ever have in this life?
I was born a Muslim, alhamduliLlah. I started praying Solah (even though I didn’t really know what was said on it) in my JSS3, after an incident that almost cost me my life, alhamduliLlah. Like many other Muslims, I was just the “normal” Muslim girl who wanted to live life and enjoy what I could from here before I grow old and die: funny how we think old age is assured.
I grew up learning the injustice in the world of man firsthand; cultural inequalities, rigid gender roles, sexual abuse and molestation of the girl child, desertion of a woman from the part of her husband, irresponsibility on the part of a father who leaves the financial responsibilities on the shoulders of the woman, domestic violence with women always at the receiving end; you can name any form of injustice the world has imbibed and I’ll tell you I’ve had a taste of it (albeit not always personally of course, I learn majorly from what I see around me). The piece I wrote on how much I hated being a woman should be enough to tell you how much I despised those creatures called “men”. I really had it “up to here” without the courage to voice out or complain.
“You are so lazy” is a line I grew up listening to from everyone: every girl child around here is lazy! No matter how much she works, no matter how tired she gets, no matter how hurt she feels: even for getting sick, she is being lazy!
“Was I created to be a slave to man?” my little 9 year old mind won’t stop questioning, and, I sought answers to those questions far and wide, for many years. Finally, I got the answers I was so hungry for… I learnt that I’m not the only own who feels this way, and, it is not an injustice that has only just started against my gender. “Awesome!” I felt as I studied more about feminism, hating the very concept of “femininity” to the very depth of me. I stood to oppose any and every thing attributed to being a woman: why should I be subjected to a man?
The idea of marriage never appealed to me anyway, so, it wasn’t a great jab that feminism didn’t respect that institution, since it was another “justifiable” means for a man to “exercise” those misplaced “superiority” above the woman, and, we weren’t doing it!
The idea of working and earning my own money was great, I wasn’t going to be assigned the duty of “kitchen-handler” to any man: we will both go out to work and contribute our quota to the society. “You can’t waste these potentials” we tell ourselves; all the more reason we won’t be settling if we actually ventured into marriage right? We will either both have equal rights and entitlements or nothing: he cooks, he washes, he does dishes, he cleans the house, he takes care of babies… there won’t be anything specifically tagged the role of a particular spouse as a function of his/her gender.
The idea of dressing smart and presentable as the women of 21st century that we were… I wasn’t going to start on this note, but then, we have gotten here, so, we might as well get it resolved, right?
Part of the ideologies of feminism is the freedom to expose cleavages and whatever else you’ve got as “assets”, when and how you want to, just as the man is free to do same. It was beautiful to be on “par” with the male gender, wasn’t it? It felt awesome that we were changing the narratives, and turning the table in our favor.
“Freedom is demanded by the oppressed, because, it is never freely presented by the oppressor”, and, that was just what we were doing, right? Leaving the “weak” and “voiceless” tags and claiming the “strong” and “defensive” ones. We weren’t going to remain powerless, we have to help ourselves, because, heaven, they say, helps those who help themselves.
Then, came the powerful realization that I’m a Muslim woman…but, would my religion ask me to remain oppressed by the male gender and not do anything about it?
Overall would be too large a topic to address, I guess, so, I intended to address the issue of the Jilbab being an oppression of Muslim women…
In the three points I mentioned earlier, the Jilbab would obstruct our fight for equality, as I see it. “Men don’t wear the Jilbab, so, why should we?” (when Allah says in Q3:36 that “and the male is NOT LIKE the female”)
“Those who wear the Jilbab don’t get ‘profitable’ jobs that “we” need to get in order to be on the same footing with “them”; so, should we leave that dream and return to being ‘below’ them?”
“Man is said to be the head of the family, what does that make the woman?”
Most of these issues are actually related, and so, I will discuss them as they occurred to me, in shaa Allah.
Aside what the society thinks of those wearing Jilbab, I had personal reservations towards its adoption too. Islam is a religion that guides every step and action in our lives, but then, most of us don’t realize this until pretty late. You know, the very idea that “revealing” is “appealing” came from “seeking” the “appraisal” of the same men we “claim” to want to “scorn”, or, being like men in “nonchalance”, forgetting that we’ve got something they’ve not got in terms of sexual appeal. Overall, even those who claim to not be seeking attention via revealing clothes “subconsciously” crave for that attention; the notion “they can only see but cannot touch” frames the concept; peppering them as we intended, isn’t it?
Using the Jilbab as Islam dictates to us would mean that only “low-paying” jobs (or none at all) would be accessible to us, and, that takes us down to “under them”, where feminism says we shouldn’t be. If you hold that ideology but aren’t feminist, then, my sister, I tell you, indeed, you probably are. You don’t need to be active on any feminist platform or seeking the “gender equality” with all the shouting mantra to be a feminist; subscribing to any of their ideologies, albeit being against the religion, makes you at-risk of being one. May Allah save us from all evils: Aameen.
Feminism was an exposure to limitless freedom which the human nature enjoys, upturning status quo without compunction, and making us forget even the most basic of ideals. Is this really the freedom that is “best” for us?
AlhamduliLlah for the blessing of Islam, for the realization of the noble path…
It was a personal choice I made to use the Jilbab (and then the Niqob), and most of the sisters I know made the choice too, upon realization of the truth of the order of their Lord, for which most of us went through more hardships at the hands of the enemies of Islam, either out of ignorance or arrogance, than we have ever endured in the whole of our lives: this is to firstly clarify the doubts and accusations of some people that these Muslim sisters are “forced” to adorn the Jilbab, by their families, or other than them.
The very day I used the Hijab was when I realized that truth… “We are more valuable than giving them free glances and peeps”, and, if feminism really sought to eradicate the victimization and abuse of women, it ought make this one of its base rules, in a quest to “protect” women from being lusted after by “strange” men. Who does wanton display of the females help, if I may ask?
The Hijab is a symbol of respect and dignity, a show of our authority to restrict men from “seeing” what we do not want them to see, a sign of pride in the nobility of our skin and every part of our body, it is a means for us to be “identified” as believing women so that we may not be “abused” or “disrespected” by anyone! Does someone doubt that?
How many times have you seen a woman in Hijab intermingling with the opposite sex without restraints? How many times have you seen a man touch a woman in Hijab like he does with the “free” women? How many times have you heard a man make a fleeting comment on the sexual appeal of a woman in Hijab? How many times have you seen a woman who is more respected in a gathering than a covered Muslim woman?
Now, with your answers, where lies the true libration? The false one from the West which continues to “compare” us ridiculously with the man whom the Creator says He created differently from us? The false one from the West which makes us “free” and “readily accessible” to any “interested” man to accost and pass some disrespectful comment about how “sexy” she looks? The false one from the West which turns us against the Creator and tells us to strive against the man, leaving our homes and children to the mercy of the corrupted society? The false one from the West which takes pride in wanton display of women and force men to push against self-restraint which fails in the long run and increases the rate of sexual abuse and molestation of women? The false one from the West that degrades a woman to an object of sexuality while fooling her to believe that more is respectable? The false one from the West that brings “us”, you and me, to the very root of animalism where we are nothing but bunches of clothed and yet naked beautiful and seductive skins?
Verily, Usaamah bn Zayd reported from the Prophet that he said “I have not left behind me any trial more harmful to men than women”, and so, these people want you to see yourself as incapable of stirring a man; but, where has that foolery led them? They actually disrespect and dishonor you, but, you know not!
The day you get it right is the day you understand the concept of the “Jilbab” that a Muslim woman adorns herself with, prides herself in, obeys her Lord in, protects her chastity and dignity with, protects the men and help them in obeying their Lords by lowering their gazes in, closes the door to temptation and unwanted cheap attention and compliments from stray men in… the Jilbab, my Jilbab, your Jilbab, our Jilbab… the clothing of the believing woman! Who still thinks it is freedom that makes a woman display herself to the world in chase of the glitters she may never get her hands on? Who still thinks that it is liberation that a woman peels off her clothing before the world and sells herself cheaply to even the most unworthy of buyers? Who still thinks it is a pride to compete with the man in exposing cleavages and making no heads turn? Who still thinks it is deserving of the noble woman to go out before the world without concealing her prized assets that she values above the turning of heads, passing of cheap comments and compliments, invitation to warm the filthy bed of some wandering lost man, and, keeping all of what is “valuable” to her and the lucky man who happens to be her husband in the most amazing of cloaks?
Does anyone of you ever struggles to have a glimpse of a diamond, struggles harder to get it in your possession, and then, leaves it out in the open for “anyone” to view? Does anyone ever put his most treasured belonging out in the open? Does anyone see a pearl in the middle of the road and pick it up to treasure it forever? Wouldn’t you doubt its authenticity?
Now, I tell you, the body of a believing woman is much more valuable than any prized valuable you can think of! They tell you to cover your “privates” because it is deserving to be “protected” from the hungry gazes of “others” and “a shame” to be revealed in public since it would only “tempt” some people into the most awful of craze, and, I tell you, your Lord knows that “all of you” is capable of causing temptation! All of you draws the attention of men! All of you! Every single part of you! And, you listen to them tell you it’s not worthy of being covered? That it is okay for you to expose yourself to them cheaply and freely? That it is deserving of your treasure to be out there in the open?
Up till this moment, by Allah, I regret every single day I have stepped out in the world without my Jilbab, I regret every single moment I have disrespected my body so much I put it out there in the free wandering gazes of men, every single moment I have seen someone smile and compliment me for looking in one particular way, every single moment I have spent out there without putting my treasures in the rightful place of protection… while I ensure that the assets that don’t even level up to this are locked behind the doors when I leave the house! SubhanaLlah! And, someone calls that primitive and shameful display of women who do not know their worth and allow men to disrespect them so as liberation? As freedom in this messed up generation of ours? Even Muslim women think this is so? Muslim women think it is restriction to use the Jilbab? You think it is an oppression that you are told how special you are as a person who is deserving of the honourable cloak of Islam?
Somebody said those who use the Jilbab by choice have grown to accept the subjugation of the womenfolk, thereby, making us see it as “the right way of life”, when in truth it is only another of the means of oppressing the women. And, I asked: would I suffer to use the Jilbab in ignorance? Did my Lord create me as a slave to the man to have ordered the Jilbab? Did I not realize how ugly it has been that I have continuously disrespected and oppressed my own self in the quest to satisfy the society that wouldn’t respect me except I do that?
Nobody forces anybody to use the Jilbab… okay, I know some women get forced to use the Jilbab, by their husbands or their fathers, and these are the ones who abuse the Jilbab! Why? They do not know the importance of it, they have not realized the security and pride it shows the world! And, I say, anyone who uses the Jilbab with sincerity will definitely be proud to always have it on, to always stay covered and away from the disrespectful lustful gazes of these strange and ignoble men of the world!
You know, it is all very simple: these people don’t want you to understand something, and here, let me tell you… they take delight in your exposing your body, they take pleasure in watching you, and so, they do not want you to cover it! These men lust after your body without feeling the need to seek your consent: why would they need your consent when you have already given them the absolute permission by showing it to all and sundry? Is that what you take pride in?
They know that they cannot steal from us this unparalleled covering, and so, they fool us to see it as an oppression, they force us to take to their ways and forget the reality. That is why you see Muslim women who will do anything to get the attention of these strange men. WalyazhubiLlah! And you know how much these “freedom” to uncover has contributed to the skyrocketing of the prevalence of rape in their places? Oh yes, keep fooling yourself… nothing justifies rape! Oh yes, I absolutely subscribe to that, but then, has that stopped or even reduced it any bit?
That is what they say to you, and you know, what they say to you is different from what they do to you: they tell you’re not just good for sex and they doll you all up and bring you out to satisfy the lusts of men where you are silently and actively telling them that you’re only good for sex. Ask yourself this: what passes a more accurate and well-understood message in this instance, the words of your mouths or the actions of your body?
Have you seen a veiled woman cringe at the thought of “unveiling” for a “prospective husband” before? I mean, this is just one man who wants to marry her! That one man needs her agreement and consent to see her face, because he wants to marry her! And still, the Muslim woman “fears” to “reveal” herself to this man. What could be a greater pride? It really amused me when I first heard about it, and, by Allah, I envied them! I’ve heard of a sister who “cried” when she unveiled for her husband-to-be; not one, not two… these are Muslim sisters who know the worth of their bodies and value it as Allah as valued us.
Would you still let the corrupt women of the 21st century and their men strip you of this honour? Would you still allow yourself to be fooled into thinking you’re only as good as how much skin you reveal to the world? Would you still be swayed by the wanton display in your environment and the whole world which has only led to more problems than ever solving them? Would you continue to disrespect the body that Allah treasures in a bid to satisfy the world and her gluttonous people who seek to reap from places where they especially don’t have to sow? The freedom that was “demanded” and fought for, is it to stay naked (who fights anyone to cover?) or to stay covered (who encourages a woman to leave the free market where oppression is painted as liberation to become noble?)
My beloved sisters in Islam, learn about Islam, learn about the Jilbab, learn about your own worth and dignity, learn about the respect that comes with the use of the Jilbab, learn about your identity as a Muslim woman and don’t let anybody take away that unrivalled honour from you… I beg you to know and understand that covering is indeed a pride and the real liberation! My Jilbab, your Jilbab, our Jilbab, the Jilbab… the greatest honour of any sane woman who knows the value of her body! May Allah grant us the ability to recognize the truth and submit to it: Aameen. May He make it easy for us to obey His commands and derive maximum benefits from it in the life of this world and the next: Aameen.
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