You May Want to Change That...

Assalam Alaykum!

May the peace, mercy and blessings of the Almighty be upon all of you! J

I’ll begin by elaborating more on why did I choose this particular title for my article…

I have seen some people covering their cars with a sheet when they aren’t using it. Sometimes it looks as if they’re putting a perfect Hijab for those cars! The reason is pretty obvious isn’t it? Of course they want to protect it.

I have also seen (I’m sure you must have too) the shopkeepers closing their shops by lowering their metal shutters and also locking it. Do they leave even an inch open? Nope. Perfectionists. They will secure their shops before they leave. Not just the shopkeepers but also the security guards at the malls switch on the burglar alarms even though they’re on duty. Do they secure one part of the mall and leave the other part open for their visitors? Nope. They don’t. Why? Obviously the stuffs inside are so “precious” and “valuable” that they cannot risk leaving it without security.

Question arises for you. Are you, O Muslimahs, any less than those stuffs? Those material, invaluable, non-living stuffs? If such materialistic things are given tight security, covered so that it doesn’t tempt anyone to loot them, how much should you be careful about yourselves? What would you call precious and valuable? You or those cars that probably follows Hijab more than us?

Of course it is undeniable that many Muslim ladies follow Hijab. And Subhan Allah it is so over whelming to see the increasing number of Muslimahs. But, there are certain things I’ve seen for myself that makes me want to share the real criteria and purpose of Hijab. And as the title states, some of you may want to change your definition of Hijab…

Hijab is not the 10 cm cloth one wraps around their head. Hijab is not the lil hair popping out of one’s scarf. Hijab is definitely not the extremely tight abaya one wears. Hijab is not the stilettoes one wears that attracts even the ladies.

So, what is Hijab? I’ll let the Quran speak for itself, after all it’s called ‘Guidance’ for a reason…

Allah azza wa jal lays down the criteria for Hijab in Surah Noor, verse 31:

§  قُلْ لِلْمُؤْمِنَاتِ يَغْضُضْنَ مِنْ أَبْصَارِهِنَّ وَ يَحْفَظْنَ فُرُوْجَهُنَّ

“Say to the believing women that: they should cast down their glances and guard their private parts (by being chaste)…”

§  وَ لاَ يُبْدِيْنَ زِيْنَتَهُنَّ إِلاَّ مَا ظَهَرَ مِنْهَا وَ لْيَضْرِبْنَ بِخُمُرِهِنَّ عَلىَ جُيُوْبِهِنَّ

“...and not display their beauty except what is apparent, and they should place their khumur over their bosoms...”

Here we come across the term:

               I.      ‘Khumur’ – This is the plural of ‘khimar’ which means something with which a women conceals her head.

Question arises, why did Allah azza wa jal ask us to place the ‘khimar’ over our bosom then?

According to the commentators of the Quran, the women of Medina in the pre-Islamic era used to put their ‘khumur’ over the head with the two ends tucked behind and tied at the back of the neck, in the process exposing their ears and neck. By saying that, “place the khumur over the bosoms,” Almighty Allah ordered the women to let the two ends of their headgear extend onto their bosoms so that they conceal their ears, the neck, and the upper part of the bosom.

§  يَا أَيُّهَا النَّبِيُّ, قُلْ لأَزْوَاجِكَ وَ بَنَاتِكَ وَ نِسآءِ الْمُؤْمِنِيْنَ: يُدْنِيْنَ عَلَيْهِنَّ مِنْ جَلاَبِيْبِهِنَّ...

“O Prophet! Say to your wives, your daughters, and the women of the believers that: they should let down upon themselves their jalabib.”

Here we have another term:

              II.      ‘Jalabib’ – This is the plural of ‘jilbab’ which means a loose outer garment.

This means that the Islamic dress code for women does not only consist of a scarf that covers the head, the neck and the bosom; it also includes the overall dress that should be long and loose.

So, for instance, the combination of a tight, short sweater with tight-fitting jeans with a scarf over the head does not fulfill the requirements of the Islamic dress code.

Another question arises in my mind and a funny one at that. :P

What happens to the shopping malls and the supermarkets when there’s a special occasion? Is there tight security or is everybody welcomed without having to go through the metal detector…?

Then how on earth can you walk around without your protection, without your hijab during a wedding or a birthday party or ‘dawats’ (so typical in Indian families)

Wallahi this makes me question a person’s intellect. -_-

Sisters! Just like the security for shopping malls increases during special occasions, you need to observe hijab during the special occasions as well! By the way hijab is the jilbab+khimar! Not just the scarf over a super shiny outfit.

I know this isn’t easy. When the rest of the world decks up and each and every person around you look like they’re gonna win the Miss World crown, it doesn’t matter. You are a creation of Allah. You are beautiful no matter what race you come from. And the fact that you are protecting and guarding the beauty Allah azza wa jal gifted you with, you already surpass the not-so-ever-lasting beauty of the Miss Worlds and Universes. Yes, you won’t realize it now. But imagine on the Day of Judgement, your face will light up with noor because you obeyed Allah azza wa jal, followed His commands and stayed away from those things He has forbidden… Do you wish for the temporary beauty in this world or the everlasting beauty in the Hereafter…?

In sha Allah in my next article I will share with you a lil secret that will make all your struggles seem like a piece of cake… ;)

Until then,

Assalam Alaykum. :)

A Call From Allah!

As Salam Alykum! 

May the peace of The Almighty be upon all of you!

Let's begin with a question. 

Whom do we usually turn to in sadness or in happiness? 

Our friends might get the majority of the votes! And maybe 10-15 % might say their parents. But whom should we turn to in times of grief or ecstasy..?

My answer would be pretty obvious but let's look into some facts that we may have ignored.. 

Let's deal with sadness first since that's kinda like the elixir for teenagers or rather the youth. When we are told that there won't be sadness in Jannah, we go like "Really? How come there's a life without sadness???"

But why do we face sadness or depression? Why is there a feeling of frustration and disappointment? If our Creator loves us so much then why does He burden us? Isn't there enough already?

Allah says in the Quran in Surah Baqarah, verse 286; "Allah does not burden a soul beyond that which it can bear."

A verse we've heard like a thousand times, but have we reflected on it atleast once..? Wallahi if we did, we wouldn't hold Allah responsible for our sadness. Because He knows what each and every soul's capacity is. He would NEVER ever burden us, or give us tests beyond that which we can bear. If He has tested us with something, it means we're strong enough to overcome it. Tell me. Would you or your Creator know best of what you're capable of? If we're saying we cannot bear it, are we trying to say that Allah's claim is wrong...? Remember what Rasulullah (SAWS) said? No fatigue, nor disease, nor sorrow, nor sadness, nor hurt, nor distress befalls a Muslim, even if it were a prick he receives from a thorn, but that Allah expiates some of his sins for that.

Sadness is a part of life just like happiness, anger and love. It cannot be neglected or avoided in this world. This world, as we know it is temporary. So the sadness in it is also temporary. But that doesn't mean it has no solution. There is an amazing way to get out of it....

At times of trials and tribulations, we have a decision to make. Either we can get closer to Allah or we can decide to live with our pain, restrict it to ourselves, prolong it for no reason and let the pain get worse.

When we are sad and we feel pain, our first reaction is, we wana isolate ourselves. And this is NOT what you want to do. It is the Shaytan telling you that you will feel better in isolation just because you're the only one that understands what you're going through. It is a deception from Shaytan! 

What happens during isolation is, our Deen starts to disappear. The content of our Salah, the Khushoo of our Salah starts to disappear. Our ability to recite the Quran is no longer there. What did we do differently? Well we gave ourselves to Shaytan. And Shaytan's promise is he will lead us astray, away from the path of Allah. 

Pain and suffering becomes negative if it creates a barrier between us and Allah. But it becomes positive, pain becomes positive - a motivation for us when it brings us back to Allah! And this is what each and everyone of us going through pain and suffering need to realize. The point of pain and suffering is not that Allah wants to punish you but rather it is a calling from Allah! This is one of the wisdoms of trials and tribulations.  

There is actually a blessing inside trials that we don't perceive. Trials and tribulations are a means of purification. They are a means of purifying us so that we can go to the purest of places. They are not out of Allah's anger or wrath. They are a means of cleansing us of our sins. It is a preparation so that we can go into the purest and noblest of places, Jannah. 

All of this is about perspective and how we deal with the situation. So it's very important for those of us who are going through trials, to change our perspective of trials. It is not a punishment from Allah, it is a means to get closer to Allah. It is a calling from Allah that He wants us to come back to Him. 

Let not the sadness in this world affect us. We were not made for this temporary life but for an eternal life of beauty and bliss. Let's keep aside this temporary sadness and work towards our ultimate destination, Jannah. 

As Salam Alykum. :)

Why me?!!

May the peace, blessings and mercy of The Almighty be on you all! :)

Imagine this scenario.

"Why me? Why do I always get yelled at by mom? Why does everyone blame me? There are 36 girls in the class but why does the teacher always pick on me! Can't I have a normal day? Unlike the other girls, I offer Salah and that too 5 times a day!! Why is life so unfair...?"

This is normal to any teenager. We expect immediate results in our favour. Something similar to the magic wishes in fairy tales.. Like you wish for a flying horse and it's right infront your sight! Patience is just not in our blood! :P

I've had the same attitude for few years of my life and it's completely understood but... cannot be justified. That's not the purpose of Salah. Salah is supposed to make you patient and trust Allah all the more because you are directly seeking His help. He is right there infront of you, listening to all your duas.. even the silent ones..

Everybody in the world can ignore you but not Allah! Allah Himself states in His Glorious Book that He will respond to the call of 'every' caller!! (Surah Baqarah, Verse 186)

Doesn't matter who you are and where you come from or what your life history is! It's a promise from your Creator that He will answer you whenever you call out to Him.. 

An amazing example that comes to my mind is our relationship with our parents. Since our birth and to this day when we're islamic-but-not-islamic-brats, our parents have always tried their best to fulfill all our needs and wants.. Even if it meant to sacrifice their comforts, they've done everything in their power to beautify our lives.. Take a minute to reflect on all those times when the only reason they smiled was seeing us happy..

Even though we do lil things like give them a glass of water and getting back to our techy games or share a joke and get back to texting our friends, we're still indebted to our parents.. Yet if we make silly demands to our parents, no matter how we treat them, they're gonna get it done for us anyway; Ofcourse that depends on whether that demand has any negative effects on us. 

Now that's what happens when we ask them for something. But what about all those times when they've surprised you..? What about all those times when you couldn't figure out how to get that teddy bear in the store but magically found it in your bedroom the next day..? What about all those times when you wanted money for your field trip but always got more than what you asked for..?

Reminds me of the day when my dad handed me an iPad when I couldn't imagine having one of my own!! It was the best day of my life!! (*feeling nostalgic*)

Yes they do yell at us. But have we ever thought 'why'..? It's either our fault or they've just had a bad day.. How many of us haven't had a bad day and yelled at somebody..? Then why is it strange if our parents go through the same issue.. they aren't supernatural beings ofcourse!! They're humans too! And anger is as natural to them as it is to us! Have we ever thought of all those times when we've been rude to them and yet they responded with kindness..? Does that stop them from fulfilling our wishes..? Ofcourse not!! 

There's a beautiful Hadith by Rasulullah (SAWS),

The Prophet (SAWS) said, "Allah is more merciful to His slaves than a lady is to her child". (Sahih Bukhari)

Now how can we ever doubt the response of Allah, who loves more than our parents..! It's all a matter of trust. Trust Allah and be hopeful of a response for nothing is impossible for Allah.. :)

 

That raises a question in my mind.. When we are fond of somebody and we love them, what do we expect from them..? (Apart from gifts that is.. :P)

How would we feel if that person shares their thoughts and desires with us and talks to us endlessly..? Will we ever ask them to 'shush'?? Now can we relate as to why it takes sometime for our duas to be fulfilled...? Rings a bell? Yes it does! :D

So it's okay if you're teacher picks on you or you are yelled at by somebody.. That doesn't make your day bad.. What makes your day bad is if it pulls you away from seeking Allah The Almighty.. We need to always remember that no matter what, Allah loves us. And when somebody loves you, you are the only thing in their mind, all they want is the best for you.. Allah wants only the best for you.. He has His own way of granting our wishes.. ;)

So trust Him. :)

As Salam Alykum.