“Oh My GOD! You’re still wearing the veil! Congratulations!”

That’s the new greeting my friends and I share now. We joke about it, but coming to think of this newly disclosed trend, I suddenly realize it’s so NOT funny! Off the top of my head, I can name over twenty women who have removed their Hijab in the past year, and as one by one of my family and friends throw in their scarves, it gets harder to be amongst the few girls still standing.

This comes from nowhere near a high horse!  I’m not here to judge or criticize. I know these ‘uncovered’ women. I love them and respect them and I’ve witnessed their struggles for years. I’ve seen them fight invisible battles before giving up, and if God didn’t give me the stamina and strength, perhaps I might have been one of them.

I make no condemnations, assumptions or speculations. I’m only here to unveil the truth shared by Muslim women brave and honest enough to explain why they took off their Hijab.

Insecurity

Veiled women make the conscious decision to cover their beauty, and for the most part, feel like they’ve become unattractive in the process. It’s a feminine instinct to take pride in our looks. We go bankrupt buying anti-aging creams, designer outfits and high-heeled shoes because the way we present ourselves is part of who we are. We strive on compliments and hidden glances of admiration, and losing that makes us feel old, rejected or excluded. Deep down we all love attention and we all want to be noticed.

Letting down your hair and showing off the body you’ve been starving for the past month makes you feel powerful and sexy. It beats wrapping a scarf around your head and looking like Granma, doesn’t it?

Curvy, sensual, pouty, toned, with a full mane flowing around your perfectly made-up face…. Isn’t this the glamorous definition of beauty the media is slowly engraving in our minds?

Muslim women are taking off the Hijab because they have a suffocating need to ‘fit in’. They want to feel young, pretty, and desirable. If uncovering themselves gets them the attention or the acceptance they yearn for, then that’s their choice, but does it really?

All I know, me being a psychologist, is that self-confidence doesn’t derive from how others make you feel, but rather from how you feel about yourself, regardless what the rest of the world thinks. Confidence is the main source of attractiveness.

I know veiled women who walk into the room and enthrall people with their elegance, and other women in provocative clothes who arouse disgust instead of splendor. If you think about it, covering up is actually the essence of confidence. I pray women would stop blaming Hijab for their insecurities, and develop the attitudes of ‘leaders’. We all seek admiration, and you would be lying to yourself if you disagree, but the question is, will you get that love if you displease your Lord?

The Prophet (ﷺ) said, “If Allah loves a person, He calls Gabriel saying, ‘Allah loves so and-so; O Gabriel! Love him.’ Gabriel would love him and make an announcement amongst the inhabitants of the Heaven. ‘Allah loves so-and-so, therefore you should love him also,’ and so all the inhabitants of the Heaven would love him, and then he is granted the pleasure of the people on the earth.” (Sahih al-Bukhari 6040)

Doubt

Confession: I’ve been postponing writing this article for a while, fearing I wouldn’t be able to maintain my calm in this section, where we actually ‘DISCUSS’ and ‘PROVE’whether Hijab is an Islamic obligation or not. Apparently, this is one of the reasons why Muslim women are taking off their headscarves. They doubt it’s a Quranic command to start with. Not only that, but they’re going around justifying and convincing others of their new ‘findings’. I’m sorry but I can’t help being horrified and a bit nauseated by this absurdness to be perfectly honest. Even my eleven-year-old daughter was appalled by the fabrication! She said, and I quote: “Like hello! Gag me with a spoon!”

Taking off the Hijab is between a woman and her Lord, but debating the clear requirement of it is between her and the rest of us Muslims! No one can force you to do something you’re not convinced of, but spreading that doubt and shaking the ground under other steadfast women isn’t something we can take lightly.

I’m pleading with all the analytical, philosophical minds out there, keep your opinion of how you ‘choose’ to understand the Qur’an to yourself. Trust me, you don’t want to take responsibility for those who listen and follow. You don’t want to take other women down with you to feel better about your decision. We all have a huge load of sins to carry; we don’t need other people’s loads too! Ask Allah to guide you instead of guiding others away from Him.

Aisha (God be pleased with her) said: “May Allah have mercy on the early immigrant women. When the verse “That they should draw their veils (head covers) over their bosoms” was revealed, they tore their thick outer garments and made veils from them.“ (Sahih (Al-Albani)- Sunan Abi Dawud 4102)

To be continued........

http://www.onislam.net/english/culture-and-entertainment/iblog/482589-uncovered-why-more-women-are-taking-off-hijab.html

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