MY HIJAB
Date:
Channel: Fatima Barkatulla
File Size: 124.11MB
Episode Notes
As-Suffa Institute Online Event
Related
- Hasan Ali – My Salah For My Allah
- Mohammed Hijab – 5 Pillars of Islam for Absolute Beginners
- Mohammed Hijab – Response to UK Muslim Brotherhood on Takfir of Humza Yusaf
- Mufti Menk – My Experience in Nigeria
- Faith IQ – Can I Delay My Prayer Due To An Exam
- Bilal Philips – My Writings – Radiance of Faith
- Tom Facchine – Minute with a Muslim #113 – Is My Tawakkul Sincere
AI Generated Summary ©
The Holy Quran discusses the importance of avoiding harms, sexual tension, double-standing, and finding one's own "rocky eye" in public settings. It emphasizes the need for rewarding behavior, avoiding negative pressure, finding comfortable spaces for women, protecting women from sexual harm, and finding one's own "rocky eye" style. The speakers stress the need for rewarding behavior, avoiding negative pressure, finding one's own success, and avoiding overalls and covering one's body. They also emphasize the importance of women in the workplace and how they are often undervalued.AI Generated Transcript ©
In a humble and learn mother who won a stallion who want to sell food or when our other biller human surely and fusina women say Dr. Molina may have the level four level dilemma for me your political thriller her DLS Mr. De La ilaha illa Allah who was the rulership of Ghana, when a shadow and now Mohammed and
Monica Mottola who are better cattle, Joseph mala hate him for joining us today for this unique event that we have put together and hamdulillah with esteemed scholars from all around the world. My name is Sofia, Miriam, and I'm going to be your host for this evening. But before we begin, we're going to start off with some recitation of the Holy Quran for by sister subpoena the subpoena over to you inshallah
Oh to be lovely Nina. Shame on you. Raji.
Bismillah
Manny, Rafi
mostly me no one mostly ma T one for me Nina.
Nina.
One more meanie. Now one more. Nina T one Ani Tina one kanita
was saw the cleaner was saw the party was swaby
wasabi Rena, wasabi rottie Ohashi,
Mutasa DB
when Mutasa DB no one Mutasa di T was
he mean
he
was
happy Lena
happy
when happy it was Kirino
on the wall hula hoop
Wilma Cana Lima Emilio
Mina either
either
humo
mean angry him
one meaning ya Sinhala Hamamatsu
la bola.
sada. Oh, the Mona Hayes, thank you, Sister Safina for starting us off with some beautiful recitation. So without further ado, my dear respected sisters, welcome to this event hosted by a satellite Institute titled My hijab. Now, the hijab is a symbol of Islam that is widely recognized, and Muslim sister goes out on the road goes out on the street and automatically is recognized as being a part of the Islamic faith just by the attire that she was. But despite being such a well known symbol, unfortunately, a lot of people don't understand the inner dimensions of the hijab, including sisters who perhaps have been wearing the hijab their entire life. So it's important to
understand all of the laws of Allah. By understanding them, we can implement them properly, we can love the laws of Allah, we can teach and do that way in the correct manner to other people as well in Charlotte Allah, so hopefully, by benefiting from the scholars, today, we're going to get a glimpse into lots of different questions that sisters have asked regarding the hijab, very practical tips, practical issues, so that we can leave from this inshallah to Allah with a better understanding of the hijab with more confidence in the way that we wear the hijab in the way that we talk about the hijab.
And the way that we view ourselves as Muslim women in the 21st century inshallah. So, our first speaker is Fatima barkatullah. She doesn't need much of an introduction, but I will begin anyway. So he caught up with a little star there. How are you?
When it comes to learn how to just have a faithful for joining us today, I hope you're well it's such a beautiful day, isn't it? Hopefully we're not going to take too much of your time so you can go out and enjoy the sun handle. I've already been out today. So I'll see you have you written in deeper today? Yes.
So it's not the fact that it is a British Parliament, you know, hamdullah she's graduated from not only Ebrahim college, but also SLM Institute as well. She is a well known author and presenter of the film feed podcast, and she's based in London. And currently, I don't also Fatima, Have you completed your master's degree? Are you still in the process? Yeah, I'm still I completed my first year I'm doing it you know, part time so handle I'm still I still got another year. So very inspirational panel adventure success in whatever you do. And he also authored a quite a number of books as well. And I'm glad that we can benefit from including regarding I showed the level data and
her regarding hubiera data and her and you write quite frequently for for newspapers and, you know, you're a bit of a journalist in that regard. So, Mashallah, I'm done. I'm in the process of writing that book about Ayesha. Okay. Yeah. That's something to look forward to insha Allah. So, the fundamental question that I want to pose to you then is sort of this discussion regarding the hijab. Can you give us the the definitions, I suppose regarding what the hijab or what modesty in general actually are.
Okay, so Bismillah Alhamdulillah, WA Salatu was Salam ala rasulillah. The sisters Assalamu alaykum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh. It's a pleasure to be addressing you today. And it's a really important topic as well. You know, I think I want to start off by saying, before we talk about any specific aspect of Islam, we need to frame the discussion and we need to say, Okay, look, what are we talking about here? We're talking about the Creator of the heavens and the earth, our Creator or loss of Hannah with the Allah, who sent us guidance in the Quran, and through the son of his messenger, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, were talking about his guidance for mankind, right? We believe in
Allah, we believe that he gave us guidance, he gave us commandments, as to how to live our lives in the best way. And so it's really important to start off by saying that anything that Allah Subhana Allah has commanded us with, there's something good in that. And anything that Allah has forbidden us from, there's something evil in that and something harmful in that for our own selves, right? And once we kind of realize that, even if we can't fully pinpoint why something is good, or why something is not good, you know, it doesn't matter. The point is that we should know that if Allah has commanded it, if we know that Allah has commanded it, then it is so there is something good in
it, or if he's forbidden, us, there's something bad. So let's start off with that understanding and that mindset, right. And so to go on to talking about the hijab, when we talk about when we say the word hijab, in modern parlance, in our modern day, what we mean is the Muslim woman's dress, right? And technically, the word hijab means a barrier or like a curtain, right? Um,
but in modern times, the way we use it, we mean the Muslim woman's dress, or sometimes people use it to mean that scarf, the headscarf, right. The point is this, that Allah subhanho wa Taala, He created us he get He made us beautiful and hamdulillah made the human beings beautiful. In particular, he gave women a special type of beauty and attraction. And hence, he gave us also Furthermore, he gave us guidelines as to how to dress in public and in private. So as we all know, in private when we're with our families, when we're with men who are our macrons when we're with women only, etc. We are very free to dress elegantly beautifully, with you know, beautify ourselves,
we don't have to cover, you know, except certain parts of our body very minimally. And it's and it's you know, as what people would consider to be the way normal or non Muslim women also dress right? Pretty much
but when it comes to going outside the home when it comes to the public space, when it
comes to being in the presence of men in the presence of men who are not related to us not up when I say related, I mean obviously are not our morons, okay?
And we can we can talk about what Muharram means later inshallah.
Then Allah has given us what we could consider a type of uniform, you know, he's given us a type of uniform with some flexibility. And he's, he's asked us and commanded us in the Quran to cover ourselves all of our bodies, except for our faces and hands, you know, minimally. And this is something that was revealed in the Koran. And I can tell you the parts of the Quran the main two is I can mention are the ayah in certain more so that surah number 24 is number 31. Well, last apana that Allah says that we'll be living in a shape on a regime what Colin Minetti you're gonna mean about sorry hindawi sadhana for Raja Allah. Will you be Dina Xena tahuna la hora minha while you're
gonna be humare Hina Allah will be hella well are you buddy in us, Xena Tahoma in lolly boo Latina. Oh, Hannah. Oh, bear Ebola Tina. Oh, Ivana. You Hannah. Oh Burnett. Ebola, Tina. Oh, if Danny hidden Oh bunny Who? Annie hinda Oh bunny hottie hinda only sir in Oh man. Malik is a man who
are we to be innovative? But you mean originally I would prefer Latina lamb. I would definitely la Vina lamb lamb yo Allah our Timmy sir. What are you gonna be our Julie hinda Leah Allah mama you feelin I mean, Xena Tina. What do boo Illa he Jamie and au manana La La come to the one. So Allah, Allah says in the in these verses and I will translate them and explain them. He says and tell the believing women. So that's in short, a lot of us right? Well Muslim women tell the Muslim woman to lower their gaze is and of course before this ayah Allah told the men to lower their gazes Yeah. and protect their private parts. So we lower our gaze from looking at the opposite sex we lower our gaze
is from looking at things that attract us, especially the opposite sex
and protect their private parts from illegal
you know, illegal acts, okay? So from her own relationships, and to not show off their adornments, they're Xena. So, the beautification that adornments that that could mean you know jewelry, it could mean makeup, it can mean you know any kind of thing that we put on ourselves to adorn ourselves to make us that is kind of like considered a beautification did not show off that adornments except only that which is apparent okay and we will we will talk about that and to draw their veils their homework, which means their head coverings over their
jewelry will be hidden, and you will be hidden that means there next, the ears next chest, okay.
And not to reveal their adornment except to their husbands. And so these are the metronomes coming up now the people who we can we don't have to observe the you know the jab in front of except to their husbands or their fathers or their husbands fathers or their sons or their husbands sons or their brothers or their brothers sons or their sisters sons or their women. So, other women or this the female slaves whom their right hands possess or old, elderly male servants who lack of vigor or small children who have no sense of feminine sex and let them not stamp their feet so as to reveal what they hide a bit adornments. So in those days and even today, sometimes you know people wear
anklets right with like, little bells on them. And so when you walk or even if you're wearing heavy jewelry or something, when when you would walk, you could hear a little kind of,
you know, like a sound right? That would let people know Oh, she's very heavily adorned underneath. So here the is saying let them not stamp their feet so as to reveal what they hide of that adornment. And all of you beg Allah to forgive you are believers that you may be successful. So in this ayah you see the woman and Jackie Leah, my dear sisters, the women before Islam, Jamelia, the age of ignorance,
in our in Arabia, they already used to wear some kind of a headdress especially the free women right not nice
Already the slaves but the three women did they want some kind of remodel, right some kind of head covering, but what they used to do is they used to take the headdress and flip it behind their shoulders. So the next and maybe some earrings etc and the front of their bodies their chest would be uncovered. So, this was the moon at that time. And so this I actually came down to say no, take your head covering and actually cover your next cover your you know, this whole area, cover your chest, the shape of your bosom, etc right cover all of that.
So, this is what this ayah is exactly about right. Then, in the next ayah I would like to share with you my sister's sort of aza which is Surah number 33. In Ayah number 59. Allah Subhana Allah says I will be let him in a shape on origin. Yeah, you had an OB you only as well as you go by Attica when he said, me Nina, you the Nina la hinami de la vivienda La Liga Edina and you are Ruffner fellow then working on Allahumma fora rahima. That's all Prophet, always saying to the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa salam O Prophet, tell your wives, and your daughters, and the women of the believers, the believing women,
or the women of the believers tell them to draw their
to draw their gel arbib the word is jelibean Arabic, over their bodies, their gel dubs, so literally the outer garments over their bodies, okay? That will be better for them that they should be recognized as free respectable women, and not be harmed. And Allah is Ever offered forgiving, Most Merciful. So, so count a lot, a lot of Allah is saying in this ayah, he's telling us that when we go out, we should wear some kind of an outer garment, the clothes that we wear indoors are different to the clothes that we wear outdoors. So we wear some kind of an outer covering, okay, you could say a coat, we could say, you know, loose clothing that we wear, that covers what we would normally wear
inside the home, right?
And that it should cover and in the Tafseer of this ayah. The scholars said it should cover everything some scholars said including the face and hands, and others said except the face and hands. Okay. So this is what the scholars have agreed upon. There were some of the Hanafi scholars, they also allowed the feet to be uncovered. Okay, up to the ankles. However, the majority of scholars said even the feet should be covered when we are in front of them. And so the safer option, the safer approach is to also cover the feet. So this is this, this is what a las panatela has said, regarding our covering, and this is what the scholars explained to us.
I think that pretty much explains the basics.
And so we find that
what that means, basically, is that when we're going outside, when we're about to be in the presence of men who are not around, we should obey Allah Subhana Allah, you know, and do that for our own good.
We find that Subhana Allah, you know, we live in a society where the public space has been so sexualized, right? There's almost like a tension of sexual tension in the public space, men and women working together, is causing a lot of problems because, you know, people don't know what the rules are for interaction. They don't know that there's there are rules for interaction. And of course, he job doesn't just mean
you know,
covering, right, it also is a mode of behavior, isn't it? So, of course, we know some of the conditions of the job are for example, that the the the cloth that we wear, should not be see through, it should not be tight. It should not be provocative, right? That's the whole idea. We should not be trying to attract attention. It should not be a beautification in and of itself. What does that mean? It means that unfortunately, now you know, sometimes you find our buyers and he jobs full of jewelry, right? It's like the jewelry is on the outside now. Right? Whereas the women used to wear the jewelry, under their jobs and the jobs now the jewelry, the jewels are all over the
jobs, that that's not how it should be. Right. So the the job itself, the covering that we're wearing, when we go out itself should not be a beautification in itself should not be the sort of color that would, you know, attract a lot of attention like shocking pink or something like this, right?
Also we should not be wearing perfume when we go outside. Because we know you know, you see the adverts for the perfumes what happens? A lady, she puts on the perfume, she walks out and then the men, I can't resist her I hate so we know that these types of things, you know, fragrant, we use these things to attract the attention of the opposite sex. That's what human beings do right? Or to smell nice. And so it's really important that of course, we should be clean. Of course, we should be smart. You know, nobody's saying we shouldn't have an iron disheveled clothes, right. That's not what it means. But what it does mean is that there are certain there's a certain I will take
simplicity to the way we dress modesty. And certain parts of the body should be covered. And the shape of the body should not be shown. So I think I've pretty much
summed up. Oh, and I forgot to mention the behavior as well. Right? So he job isn't just like what we're wearing outside. Also, when we're interacting with men, okay, with the opposite sex in particular, we interact in a formal way. We don't strike up like friendships, where we're laughing and joking, and you know, that sort of thing. We keep our relationships with men who are not our macrons formal, and that's very important as well. And lastly, I'd like to say that, remember that men also have guidelines in Islam for dress, you know, it's not just sisters, you do? Yes, it's different that but that's because we are different men and women are different, right. And that's
something that Islam doesn't shy away from. But men also have certain restrictions and certain guidelines, you know, they're not allowed to wear silk, they're not allowed to wear gold for example. Whereas women are, they have to cover between the navel and the knee and it should be with loose clothing, etc.
Also, they should not behave in an immodest way, they should lower their gazes. So although there are slightly different guidelines for men, there are also guidelines for them. Okay, pretty much summarized.
So, just to sort of summarize what you've said, the definitions are, what the hijab, what the job are we take from the Quran itself. And you're saying that men have also been given certain guidelines, the way that women have, which leads on to my next question, actually, because this is something that we hear quite a lot, especially from certain parts of society, orientalist feminists, etc, who claim that men don't have to wear the hijab. So you're saying that they've got a set of guidelines, but they don't have to wear the hijab the way that women do? Isn't this? Can this be perceived as something that is sexist? within the Islamic religion?
Yeah, you know, whenever people mentioned that, it's, I really don't buy it. Because switch on the TV, brothers and sisters, right switch on the TV, just watch a basic show, like, I don't know, good morning, Britain, or the news. And what do you find? What do you see? are men and women expected to dress the same in wider society? No, they're not look at the magazines. How are women used? And I will say the word used, how are they used in these magazines? Women, whether it's on television, whether it's in society, whether it's at work, are expected to reveal parts of their bodies, to wear makeup all the time to wear high heels to basically be on display in a certain way that men in wider
society, non Muslim society are not expected to write. You know, Piers Morgan comes on Good Morning, Britain and his very modest suit, right, well covered up all but his co hosts who are female, what will they were they they basically had a manicure pedicure that had their hair done that morning, you know, had full on makeup, have to show a bit of their bodies have to look a certain way, right? So it's a real hypocrisy when people bring that up. Because everybody knows that men and women are different. Men and women are different. And women are used and exploited for their beauty all over the world. And so the thing that Islam is doing is saying that actually no. Yes, women have a beauty
and you know, they have a certain attraction. And that's something wonderful. That's not a negative thing. However, it can be exploited, it can be misused, and it can be any it can put women into difficult situations. Right. And so what Islam says is that let's make this public space
a space where we kind of neutralize that sexual aspect, right of men and women, and we keep that keep the relations for. So the point is this that men and women are different, you know, our bodies are different. Why is it that, you know, on a beach, a man can go topless, and generally speaking, women can't. Why we know in our, even the people, even people who don't want a job, even people who don't believe in any kind of,
you know, restrictions on dress, know that men and women are different, right? And so we have public decency, rules that reflect that difference. So I don't really buy that argument, you know, that? That, you know, why is it that men and women have different dress, you know, that that men and women are different, we're physically different.
The effect, and this is scientifically proven, you know, you can just read books about it. It's not even, like, disputed anymore, right? The effect that seeing a woman has on a man is completely different to the effect that seeing a man has on a woman right, in terms of the effect that has on their brain, right. And that's something well documented, you know, many, many
books that you can read about that, you know, there's a book,
The female brain talks about, you know, the differences between the male and female brain. I mean, there, there are loads of things you can read out there, you know, men are from Mars, women are from Venus, you can, there are all sorts of books and papers, you can look up,
that show us that actually, there is a difference between men and women. And so, the Creator of the heavens and the earth, He has reflected that difference in the rules that he's given us, right? Look, another point I want to make is the me to movement, look at the me to movement. Okay, look at what's been happening all over the world, look at what's been happening in Hollywood, and in different various industries in the liberal, secular liberal world, right? Women
are being exploited in a way that, you know, is, is like, breathtaking, you know, and these were supposed to be like, these Hollywood actresses, for example, they're supposed to be like the freest most sophisticated women in the world, apparently, right. And yet, they could be taken advantage of by men. And they their beauty, and their attractiveness was used and is used by the film industry, by the music industry, by the, you know, fashion industry, and various industries all the time. Right. And so I think we have to face up to this, you know, that actually, women are exploited, more women are more vulnerable. There is a difference between men and women. And so you would expect the
laws of a law to reflect that difference.
Yeah.
And also, I think you mentioned that the West that you mentioned, right at the beginning, did you say that the verse proceeding that is addressing men and telling them to lower their gaze, even before it addresses women and tells them to cover up their bodies? So although Canada has addressed both men and women, like you said, in the, in the way that Allah subhanaw, taala knows, as best as he's the one who created us? Absolutely, it's a two way thing, right. So I would say that, even though like, the way we dress helps, actually, the real kind of purification that needs to take place is the purification in our hearts, right? If a person doesn't have Taqwa, they don't feel a
lot. They can look at somebody who, you know, is covered up in a impure way, right? So it's very important that those two things go hand in hand, the lowering of the gaze, the purifying our intentions,
you know, the purification of the heart, goes hand in hand with the physical aspect, which is, you know, covering certain parts of the body, being modest, etc. Right? Being alone, as Muslims living in the West, especially, that we have to be extra careful with the wording that we use and, you know, labeling certain things as unfair in the deen or unjust or sexist. I mean, we're almost alluding to the fact that our last panel the islands laws are imperfect. Now the biller so how would you, you know, try to encourage someone to stay away from from from these sort of ideologies that sort of pollute a person's mind and make them think in a particular way?
Yeah, you know, I think the first That's why, you know, when we started off this discussion, sisters, I mentioned that the first thing we need to embrace is the fact that we have a creator who's given us these laws, right. And when that creator give
laws, we know that they're good for us. And we know that he is all just, there's no injustice in Alaska, Canada has laws, okay? We because we, we oppress ourselves by disobey a lot. Right? I'll just give you a little example, there was a family that we knew who,
you know, before they were practicing, they used to have a lot of mixed gatherings, right? Men and women mixing together and they were Muslims. And they told us that the wife one day she was telling me this is like later when she's a little older. She said, Do you know that? When we were younger, we used to have a lot of mixed gatherings. And I used to think people who a job, they're very extreme, you know, and I think why do people say, you know, we should, you know, segregate and we should not kind of have social gatherings with men and women, etc. And she said, believe it or not, over time, I found out that in those little gatherings that we used to have with other couples with
other families, there was a woman who my husband, she said, I had developed a friendship with and basically developed an attraction to, and she said, It nearly ruined my whole marriage. Okay. She said, It nearly ruined my whole marriage, because I couldn't I was in denial. She said, so this is what happens, people end up being in denial that there is attraction between men and women, and that it can strike at any time, you know, and that's why so Pamela she knows she was wearing a job and you know, her family, were more practicing etc. And she said, I had to learn the hard way, what the benefits of a laws commands are. So my sisters, let us not learn the hard way, you know, because
sapan Allah, the chevron is out there. He's constantly trying to alert us. He's constantly trying to make this linear and the way of life of disbelievers attractive to us, right. That's what he wants to he wants to do, because he said didn't mean that he will do everything to turn us away from Allah and he would love to see our downfall.
So my sisters, let us not fall into those traps, let us not have to find things out the hard way. Right. Let me just give you a tell you about the simple rule that now wider society is practicing much more, right? A lot of Allah or the prophets, Allahu alayhi wa sallam he forbade, he said, you know, a woman and a man shouldn't be alone together, right? He said, if they're alone in Palawan, meaning like in complete seclusion together, then shavon is the third. Right? So we don't know from that, that one of the guidelines that Allah has given us is that men, a man and a woman should not be alone together. Right? Now, it's common practice is becoming like, it's part of the rules of
certain companies now, that if
a CEO is going to have a lady in his office, right, or if a professor is going to invite a female student to his office, or if a doctor is going to have a female patient, that he should have a chaperone. Right. Or, you know, she can request a chaperone. And the reason why that is, is because there's been so much malpractice. Right? And there's so much danger in you know, in that has happened and negative things that have happened because of that seclusion, right. We're not saying all men are like this. No, what we're saying is, just as you know, we lock our doors at night. We lock our doors at night, but we and if somebody didn't lock their doors at night, we would consider
them pretty foolish, right?
Are we saying that every person out there is a thief? Are we saying every person out there is a burglar? Who's gonna burgle our houses? No, no, we're not saying that. But we know some people are right. There's some people actually are. And so in order to prevent the harm that could come we lock our doors at night. So this is why we as Muslim women, generally we have been told to dress a certain way to act a certain way. And men have been given those guidelines as well, so as to prevent unscrupulous people to prevent people who would do harm to us and people who shape on, quite frankly, from entering into the picture and trying to make us fall into heroin. one more aspect that
we need to highlight is, remember the sisters that Allah Subhana Allah said in the Quran, Allah takanobu Xena, he said, Don't go near to Xena right now go near to illegal sexual relations.
And so, what Islam does is it doesn't just say, you know, don't have sexual sexual relations outside of marriage, have a wonderful marriage, get you know, do things properly. It doesn't just say that. It also creates the social
situation and the community that would support that way of life. Right? If you think about it, if we were always, you know, if we had, if we were always dressed nicely mixing with men, as people do in wider society, how difficult would it be to maintain the moral standards that we have will be extremely difficult? Because men and women are attracted to one another. That's just a fact. And so all of the different rules that our last panel that Allah has given us all of the different guidelines, they're there as preventative measures as well, right? Because shapen when a person commits a sinner, and you know, you might be thinking, that's like a really big thing, you know, how
can someone kind of religious person or a practicing person ever fall into that,
but you see, shaitan, he never gets us to do since overnight, he doesn't get us to do them just like that. In one go, you know, he works in degrees, right? He works bit by bit, to wear us down to cause us to lower our standards, maybe, you know, a person will start chatting with the opposite sex, then maybe they will start beautifying themselves in front of the opposite sex, maybe then they will strike up a friendship meet in private, etc, etc. And then you know, step by step by step by step they get closer and closer to committing the the major hurrah, right, when the they've already been doing the minor herranz all the things on the way to the right. So we want to prevent all of that.
And Islam wants to make it easier for us to maintain the moral standards that we hold ourselves to. And so I think it's really important for us to recognize that, you know, these laws, these commands, they're a blessing from Allah, they're a blessing from Allah, to protect us.
My next question for you, before we go on to a few questions from the audience, is when we can we look around in society? It seems as if we don't find too many hijab wearing women that have made phenomenal, phenomenal progress from home, our youngsters, ourselves, our teenage girls can take inspiration. I mean, what's your take on that? Do you think that's true? And before you do answer that whatsoever, I'd like to ask you to shed a bit of light on you're in 2014, you were awarded the iKON Aqua international award for young women in that hour and community service, that ceremony in Malaysia. So it's quite apt to maybe if you could give us a brief introduction as to how that
happened, what that was about, because when people say we don't have hedger bees, from home, we can take inspiration. I mean, this is Mashallah a great example of something amazing that you have achieved.
I mean, Pamela, I think,
seriously, if you think that there aren't women in her job, who've achieved anything, you're not looking hard enough, you know, you're just not looking hard enough. Just go into LinkedIn and you see sisters in a job, right, even sisters in niqab and you read their profiles and you're like, so panela these sisters, you know, Mashallah. They're hardworking sisters. they've achieved so much. And, as you mentioned, you know,
I went to Malaysia a few years ago and forget me, there were a whole group of sisters, including Dr. Farhat Hashmi, she was there, and a lot of other sisters from different backgrounds, who would given various awards and recognized for certain, you know, work that they do. So just because something isn't visible just because the media isn't, you know, celebrating us as Muslim woman as well, women in hijab will only celebrate certain types of Muslim woman doesn't mean that those women don't exist. Right. And but I think
more importantly than that, I think my sisters, we want to get out of this dunya we mindset you know,
worldly recognition is not the litmus test for whether we are successful or not. It's not, you know, the hereafter are standing with Allah that is the litmus test for whether we are worthy or not. Right? So when we keep our eyes on the prize with Allah Subhana Allah when we keep our eyes on the price of Jenna, when we keep our prize on Allah, pleasure, right? Then the dunya will come to us. Yes, we will get the recognition we will get the you know, the support and the love of people. But when we make our focus the dunya and pleasing the dunya dunya will never be happy with us. Subhana Allah, they'll never be happy with us.
And we will feel empty at the end of it right. We sold our principles out, we sold ourselves out.
for human beings and we, and we sold ourselves short. So what's the real test of success is? how Allah Subhana Allah views us, isn't it? Right? So if Allah Subhana, Allah considers us to be successful, that is true success. And sometimes that might mean losing out on things in dunya, right? In this world, it might mean, letting go of some things that you were holding dear things that you, you know, were
considering to be important.
Because you're putting Allah Subhana Allah first, right? It might mean that right? And that's fine, because that's the choice that I'm asking us to make all the time he jobs are not meaning even men have to make that decision. Right? When my husband is going to get a job, he doesn't just take any job. Right? He has to be selective in certain industries. He's not going to go into the certain types of work he's not going to do so this is the condition of the believer actually right. For Muslim yeah me You know the saying of Omar I believe it's Omar. Oh, it could be it's a it's an Arabic poem. It's it goes
you know,
it goes a holiday Nova salvia raha, Kabira ha, vac Taka, right.
What's not kamesh invoca all the shoki the Roma euro la Khurana severe rotten in Angie Bella Mina, Lhasa, he says, you know, avoid will let go of sins, small and large. That is taqwa. That is what the court is being conscious of Allah, right? and act like a person who's walking on a path that is full of phones, right? That's how we've got to be you know, as a believer, you're walking on a path of phones, and you're being careful where you're putting your feet, you'll be careful with every step. And then the poet says, laughter unnecessary written, don't become complacent about the small sins, because even mountains are made up of small pebbles, right? So when we keep committing small
sins when we keep
you know, I would call them committing micro aggressions against Allah Subhana Allah right. Then what happens is that they become, they become major aggressions, right, macro aggressions, they become big aggressions. And so it's really important that we, as believers realize, yeah, this world is not everything this world is not going to, you know, we're not supposed to be chasing after every type of success in this world. We are actually in this world for a short amount of time, to obey Allah to live our lives as Allah would love us to, to serve other people, to benefit other people to benefit the deen of Allah. And then we're going to leave and we're going to live in our real life,
right? The real life, which is the life of the Hereafter, which is forever. So we really need to keep that perspective. But going back to your question, okay, I would say Subhana Allah, sisters, Muslim sisters, we should be proud of our sisters. I'm so proud of our sisters, our sisters who are working hard at home as mothers, right? The unsung heroes, they sit, they work at home, with their families, raising the next generation of human beings, you know, they don't get celebrated in society, right?
in this society, people are only celebrated for their economic worth. Okay. And we know that human beings have more value than just their economic worth, right? So I think we need to change our mindsets and change the way we frame and understand success. And we need to celebrate each other more as systems, right? Because the mainstream media is not going to do it. Right. And despite the fact that the mainstream media doesn't, and society might not recognize us as as Muslim women, you know, contributing to society, etc. It's so obvious that we are, it's so obvious that we are you see it everywhere, wherever you go, especially, I mean, I'm in London, wherever you go, there are
sisters in every field, you know, there are sisters in every beneficial and good field. And that's a beautiful thing to see, especially when they do that along with obeying the laws of Canada Allah and taking care of their relationship with Allah. So I think you know, look a bit harder. And you'll see Suppan Allah, you know, Masha Allah, our sisters are
a really important pillars of the community and of society.
hamdulillah
so finally for you, then I'm going to go to the audience now, sisters, Mashallah who are listening from all around the world, inshallah, hope you've all benefited so far from what's been said, by a question from sister Anita here saying that what is the best method to introduce the hijab to our kids so that they don't feel oppressed or forced to wear the hijab? Okay.
Well, um,
a few days ago, I bought a beautiful book from the shop, and it was in in a mainstream, you know, bookshop. It was called, I think it was called the color of blue. You can look it up on Amazon, and it's,
it's a book by the Olympic.
You know, fencer, the, the Olympian American.
If two has Muhammad, right. And it's a really beautiful introduction to hijab, right. My good friend, Naima B. Robert, she has written a book called about the hijab.
It's about my mother's day job, you can look it up on Amazon as well. These are like beautiful books that portray his job in a positive, exciting and nice way, you know, in a very decent and nice way. And they kind of address some of the maybe pressures that girls might face, you know, when we're in a job. So I like to get books like that, you know, that portray Muslim woman in her job in a positive way and normalize the job right for our children.
But I think the most important thing, right, my dear sisters, is that from a young age, when our daughters are young, we teach them and we connect them strongly to a last panel dialogue. That's the most important thing, believe me. It's not about letting it's not just about telling them about your job, what it is, yes, those things are important as well. But what will help them overcome the peer pressure, what will help them have the courage to wear the hijab in a society where it's not, you know, the norm is going to be their desire to please Allah, you know, their desire to be a Muslim, the desire to be connected to Allah, coming higher than their desire to please? wider society,
right? So I think that's really important, from a young age, connect our daughters to Allah, make dua with them, right. Making love with your children is one of the key ways that we, we connect to them to Allah, because then even when you're not there, they know they can talk to Allah, right. And they develop a relationship with Allah, that will last even, like I said, when you're not there.
So that's the first thing and also making sure they know the stories from the Quran, you know, building up their IP, though, if you like, or they're human building up their mind and their sense of connection to Allah Subhan Allah, that's the first and most important thing, then reading to them about role models. I mean, this is one of the reasons why I wrote the book, Khadija or the law, right? Because it's really important for our daughters to have to read about the great Muslim woman of the past, who are great role models for them who sometimes are not portrayed in a very attractive way, you know, because maybe people haven't really written many books about them, or, you know, the
books that are written are usually translations, and they're not, you know, presented in a way that is appealing to a Western child, for example, right. So I think it's important to bring books for them, so they can read about these great women of the past and understand the mindset that is needed as a Muslim, right.
The other thing is you as a mother, and you know, you are the ultimate role model. I started wearing Hijab when I was about nine years old. And I think the main reason why I did is because my mom did, right, my mom wore hijab, she never told me to, I just felt very attracted to it.
Because my mum, wife job and because she explained to me, you know, the difference between men and women, she instilled in us a sense of higher, that's also very important here, or sense of modesty or shame. This is something we should be instilling in our children, they already have a sense of who they are. But that needs to be nurtured and protected. Because, you know, I gave the example the other day when you go to the gym, right?
In any western country, especially in London, right. I know that's in London. It's definitely the case. You go to the gym, you go to the female changing rooms. Women are walking around, completely naked, right, like, literally completely naked and they really don't think there's any
Anything wrong with that? Right? Like, you literally have to lower your gaze as a Muslim and avoid women. Avoid people of your own sex because they will literally not even wear a towel. Right?
And sometimes I would reflect on that. I think so Pamela, like,
as a Muslim woman, you would never do that. Like you. You'd never even dream of doing that even in front of another woman. Right? What is it that made? Some people think that that's completely normal? And there's no no immodesty in it? And for us to have that sense that no, like, there's still a minimum that we don't uncover, and even in front of another woman, right? It is that our higher has been nurtured in a certain way, right? If we were to normalize in our homes, if we made it normal for people to walk around naked, right? You know, just because we're family, we can just walk around naked in front of each other, etc. If you made that normal, which is the case in in many
Western families, right? Then our children would not think anything of that either. Right? our daughters, they would go into changing rooms and take their clothes off in front of others and not not care about that. But the key difference is that your standard for what heya is, right? Is something that has to be maintained and nurtured. Right? So we as mothers really important, you know, all those lovely things that last panel, Allah has taught us things like
the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam taught us, like knocking before, you know, knocking and asking for permission before you enter a room, right? When they get to the age of seven, they should be doing that. And not changing in front of other people taking care of your sense of, you know, your order, etc, even in front of your brothers and sisters, in front of even your parents right above the age of seven. Or, you know, there abouts, I would say, you know, we started discouraging
our, you know, fathers from bathing daughters, and, you know, mothers can start, you know, getting their sons to be to start becoming more, more cognizant of their nakedness as well, right? We need to stop that process of, you know, nurturing their modesty and their sense that no, I shouldn't appear in front of people in a certain way. Right.
So that hire has to be nurtured. And also, I would say,
not making the job a struggle, you know, just make it a natural thing. And you'll see that in shot a lot. You know, your daughters will naturally want to wear it as they get a bit older, right? As long as they have spaces for dressing up having fun, if that's what they're inclined to give them those health spaces, right. So have parties with girls
have like one of my friend, she's always organizing these,
you know, glamorous kind of dinners, you know, where women can come and we can just dress up, you know, and just wear makeup and just be relaxed. So as long as we have those kind of outlets in Charlotte, it won't be difficult. You know, it won't be difficult. You shouldn't turn it into a struggle, because
I'm telling you like so panela in the 80s, right, which is when I grew up when I was a child anyway.
That was a difficult time to wake up right? In the west in Britain, especially right. My mom used to get sworn out on the street every time a white person walked past my mother. She was like the only person who wore hijab, but we knew. And even though there were Muslims around in London, you know, a lot of Muslims were not practicing or they didn't know about hijab, but whatever. My mom was one of the only people who wear hijab and she literally used to get sworn out and racist remarks made every time somebody walked past her right Alhamdulillah in our times, it that's not the case. That's not the case. The other day when I went walked into a secondary school in Barnet. Barnet is where I went
to secondary school. And when I was in secondary school, I was the only one wearing hijab, right in that secondary school until my sister joined, and then she she wore hijab as well.
Today, if I walk into a barn at secondary school, and I did recently, I can see like, as soon as I walked in, there was a big picture on the wall. Right? The entire wall was a picture of a hijabi goal in a science lesson, right? And it was amazing. It was like so Pamela things have changed so much, you know, that actually.
There isn't that same level of, I would say difficulty you know, we need to stop. Stop
portraying it as though it's so difficult. It was difficult a time of our lives.
You know, in our times on Hamdulillah, he job is very much has very much become normal. Right? If anything, the niqab is still only something that people, you know, demonize. But when it comes to the hijab inshallah, you know,
because of the fact that strong sisters, right continue to wear it, despite the fact that they were different, and it made them feel different. Now, our generation has found it much, much easier, and the next generation as well.
So hopefully that answers your question.
Questions on the live stream, which is something that always happens. And it's quite difficult to answer your questions because of differences of opinions and schools of thought. We'll just have a quick fire round, I'll pose the questions to you. And then if you want to answer please, please go ahead. And first question is regarding hijab in front of non Muslim women, is that something that's needed or not?
Okay, um, okay, I know that there is some difference of opinion about this. But I would say the rule of thumb is this, generally speaking, is fine, you know, to appear in front of non Muslim women, the opinion that I follow is that it's okay to appear in front of non Muslim women without hijab and your dress, minimally the way you would dress in front of a mirror man, right. Okay.
But if there is any indication, right, if there's any indication that that woman might describe you to other people, or
you know that there's any kind of issue that you think that might be there, you know, regarding some sort of fitna, or whether you think that that woman might be attracted to other women, for example, then you should avoid it. Right. should avoid it. But generally speaking, you know, I think in front of other non Muslim women, if you trust them, then should be okay.
Next question is regarding wearing stylish buyers. And can we wear simple but stylish or buyers?
I think it depends on what you mean by stylish. Okay, so obviously, we all want to look smart. Yeah, we all we want to have iron, nice clothes, and Allah loves beauty. And when we say Allah loves beauty doesn't mean, you know that we should show our beauty and public means that Allah likes clean, beautiful, good things, right? And so of course, we should take care of that. I think when it comes to stylish, let's ask ourselves, what exactly do we mean by that? Do you mean that it's, you know, going to attract extra attention? Is it cut in a way that's going to show your shape in a certain way? You know, or that kind of is alluring? Or something like this, then then we should
question that right. I think each of us as Muslim women, we should have a certain level of self we have, we should be responsible. Yeah, we have a responsibility
to think about, okay, what is the purpose of this thing? Right? This style? Of course, style is something that always changes, right? So, for example, if you go to the Middle East, you go to the jilbab. And the job shops, you know, they have a certain style, you go to Turkey, it's a certain style, you go to Malaysia, it's a certain style, right. So a certain level of that difference is fine. You know, there's a kind of recognition in Islam that, of course, there is going to be cultural differences, right? I think what we just have to be careful about is, you know, when people are trying to sell products to us, what exactly is the purpose of that product? So if it's going to
be full of beautiful patterns that are going to attract that are basically like wearing a very beautiful, beautiful dress in front of other people. And I would question that, you know, because Allah has said, Well, are you the dean, as you know, tahona Don't show your dominance, right. And that could mean body parts. And it can also mean, Xena any kind of beautification, right? So let's just be careful about that. And I'll say even two brothers and sisters who are running these abayas shops, and he job shops, you know, I know that you want to have a lot of range and want to have a lot of like, you know,
want to cater for different types of people. I understand that. But let's also be responsible, yeah, in the way, you know, when you have photographs of models wearing these clothes, sometimes it's inappropriate. The way those models are posing, you know, is like really immodest. And so should be really careful about that. And also be careful about the types of products that you're putting out there.
Right. Because if you're encouraging Muslim women to think of turbans, for example, as a job, right, which they're not, like, a turban by itself is not a huge job. If you're uncovering your neck, you're uncovering your ears, etc. Or your earrings. That's not your job. That's the type of covering.
I would say we need to be careful that he job doesn't just become an accessory. You know, it's not just like a headdress that we were just like to beautify ourselves in another way. No, the whole purpose of it is covering, right. So I think as Muslim women, we have the intelligence to understand and know what is considered to be trying to attract attention. And what is truly, you know, what the intentions behind a type of clothing is, I think, and we need to be cognizant of that. And we need to act responsibly.
Also, you mentioned makeup and perfume a couple of times, sisters asking, Are you saying that as Muslim women, we should refrain fully from wearing makeup and perfume?
perfume? Definitely, you know, that's from the ahaadeeth. Right? You should not be wearing perfume when you go outside the house because perfume attracts
attention. I mean, and also because the Hadith very explicitly says, Yeah, not to do that. Okay, so
definitely perfume is out, we should make sure our clothes are clean. Right? And that we definitely, you know, don't smell bad. You know, we're not trying to say, you know, you should smell bad. That's not the point. The point is, you should not be wearing something that is perfume that people can smell from us, you know,
as we walking past them, etc. Right? So that's that.
When it comes to makeup.
Look, I don't want to like go into the details of that. Okay. But why will say some general things. And that is that look, there is a purpose to makeup, right? Why do women wear red lipstick? Why do women wear red, red, you know, red in their cheeks with no blush, etc? Why? Why do we do that?
There's, there's a certain allure, right? Why do we accentuate our eyelashes? And all of that, right? Why do women do all of that?
If a woman was on a desert island? would she do all of that?
You know, would she wear makeup every morning? No, she wouldn't. Right? There's a reason why we wear makeup is because we want to present ourselves certain way. Right? But also maybe subconsciously, okay. The fact is that when we are and this is something that you can hear from psychologists, right? When a person is in an intimate situation when people are when human beings are sexually aroused.
Women's cheeks Go Red. Yeah, and their lips Go Red.
That's just a fact. Okay? And because the blood rushes to those parts of the body. And so there's something subconscious in human beings, that we, because we're programmed to try to be attractive to the opposite sex, right? We are programmed that way. Right? That's why we have to keep ourselves in check. Right? We subconsciously do things to beautify ourselves, that make us more alluring to the opposite sex. It's just just the way it is. Right? So it's kind of in congruence with the purpose of hijab, right? for a woman to wear makeup and go in front of men, you can see that it's just obvious, it's just obvious, isn't it? Like?
So we should preserve that type of beautification for our husbands for those settings where we are in women only with our family, etc. Definitely you should enjoy makeup is fine. You know, there's nothing wrong with that. But when we're going out, again, when we're in the public space, you know,
I'm not going to say exactly where the line is. Okay? But I will say to you that look, generally speaking,
definitely red lipstick is out. Hate.
wearing makeup that is very obvious is definitely out right. We should not be doing that in public because we are literally trying to make ourselves look more alluring and more beautiful, right? And Allah says in the ayah will allow you the Dena Xena to not tell them not to show
beautification and the adornments. Right? So, this just is let us keep our intentions pure, you know, let us keep our intentions pure. Okay. I'm not going to say the exact line. Like I said, I'm not going to draw that line for you. Because I, I want to be careful. You know, I don't want to
I don't want to make a mistake in what I say. But generally speaking, okay, we know as women, right, what we're doing when we're putting makeup on, we know what we're doing. Right. And it should definitely not be visible makeup.
Yeah, should definitely not be visible should not be something that's obvious, you know. So I think I would like to just end it there. I would say that question. But you can research more about that, you know,
but I think that is a general good rule of thumb, you know. Okay. And final question from the audience. Before I go into my personal question for you, is wearing the niqab?
niqab. You mentioned it as well? Why is the ruling for it in the religion? And is it something that's taken from the Quran?
So the verses that I mentioned,
you know, when you read the Tafseer of those verses and see what they said about them, some of the scholars said they include the face and the hands. Right.
And some of them said that it's everything except the face and the hands. And that's due to other hobbies that exist, right. So I'm just going to summarize it, the summary is
that all of the schools of thought the schools of Islamic law, agree that the niqab is, at the very least, covering the face, and hands are an Islamic practice. They are something that is rewarded and recommended. Okay, that's at the very least.
So just like you said, before, you get more reward for it, wearing a niqab and covering your face in sha Allah, a woman would get, you know, with good intention, she would have reward for that.
Whether it's obligatory or not, that is something that is disputed, right. So some of the scholars said, you know, debt in times of fitna, or when you're in front of men that, you know,
who, you know, who might have threatened, I might feel fit tonight cetera, we should cover our faces. Some of them blanketly said yes, covering the face is obligatory. Okay. And
but, you know, there is the opinion that actually covering the face is, at the very least was the hub something that is liked and rewarded. And so, let me tell you my summary of it. And this is, you know, I would encourage all my sisters to do their own research, right, about the niqab. And if they feel that the evidence that is there is any conducive and they feel that actually Yes, they feel more inclined that the niqab is obligatory, then by all means, you know, where the niqab but generally speaking, the one thing I will say to all sisters, and this is what I generally say is definitely niqab and covering the faces in Islamic practice, because we know that the mothers of the
believers did it. Right. That's an established fact from Hadith in Sahih Bukhari right. We know that our eternal dilemma covered her face, she even says that she covered her face right? In various ahaadeeth. So it's definitely an Islamic practice. And if we want to be more like the mothers of the believers, then we should do that. Right.
I personally, the opinion that I follow is that it's not obligatory.
Okay.
But I believe that every Muslim woman should have a niqab in her wardrobe.
Okay, because
there are so many situations where I do believe it's obligatory okay? So for example, if you're going to wear heavy makeup, for example, you're going to wear visible makeup
and you're going out you should wear like up, you know, if you're going from place to place like say you're going to a party and you you know glammed up for that you should wear a niqab on the way to that party. Isn't the eyes, isn't it? The eyes, the lips, everything you know, like
you should, you should
have that extra sense. You know that okay? I beautified this my face now. So now I should learn about when I'm right. I'm also in other situations, you know, so I don't wear a niqab all the time. Okay. I don't wear it all the time. Like when I go out
by
In certain situations, like when I'm working with men,
I used to work for that organization. Also online, you know, I feel that there's all kinds of people watching and, you know, I'd like to preserve that level of modesty and, and privacy for myself, right.
I will wear the niqab in those situations, right. And so what I would also like public speaking, right, if I'm going to speak in front of an audience, and there are there could be men there, etc. I prefer to wear the niqab. I feel that's better and more conducive to that situation. And my husband would prefer that as well. Right. So that's another aspect we should respect. You know, our husbands because a lot of us too, right.
So I think it's really important, and I want to make it normal for Muslim women to have a niqab in their wardrobe. Right? It should just be normal, you just have it so that when you're in a situation where you are beautifying your face, or in a situation where you want to wear it, you wear it, at least wear it sometimes, you know, if you're not gonna wear it all the time. So that you mentioned that because for this, for this event, actually, I was coming. Because it is an online event as public events and like you mentioned, you don't know who's watching. I myself was inclined to put it on. And then there's always
there's always people telling you, you know, it's hypocritical to wear it sometimes and sometimes not to, but I think the way that you've mentioned it is you know, it does shed a lot of light, but whether you wear it all the time or whether you were in situations where you feel that you are in
a situation of greater fitna
sometimes and closure, whatever Yeah, you know
this so even though I'd love to continue,
I want to end it there. And we've had some amazing feedback on the live stream. Lots of sisters have benefited as I have myself as well. So just say that again for taking the time man wellness, that I reward you immensely and we look forward to benefiting from you again in the future sometime.
Definitely does have a lot there. And
you know, May Allah forgive me for any mistakes that I made? No. But please do your research sisters and be sincere to Allah, let's be sincere, let's make pleasing Allah the number one in our lives and then inshallah he will he will grant us acceptance as well.
Exactly how to
take care of yourself and keep us in your that as a Muslim.
Okay respected sisters, those of you who are listening, before we go on to our next speaker inshallah, we're just going to take literally a two minute break so you're not can maybe have a bit of a break if you need to walk around, get some water, and in sha Allah at 17 past we will resume again.
Salam Alaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh irrespective sisters, hope you're all well and enjoying our my hijab workshop. We've had also the Fatima berkata on and Mashallah benefited a lot from her questions and answers. So
I'm now going to introduce you to our next speaker, Michelle law who's joining us all the way from the United States of America. A salaam aleikum wa rahmatullah who will start that and all of the night when it comes to them. What are you ready? Hi.
Hi Mina doing well, how are you? Yeah, not bad. How's things in America at the moment? What time is it there now? 1217. So right past noon. All right. Okay, I hope you have a good day. And again, thank you so much for taking time out for for us to benefit from you. Well, Southern Norwood Dean has completed a master's in psychology with a focus on Health and Family psychology. And alongside her academic degree, she has also studied traditional Islamic knowledge from a man in Jordan, and Mashallah, She's the author of a famous book, The 40 Hadith that I share on the local diner and so very impressive and I know you do a lot of work, grassroots work in your community as well.
Mashallah. So Southern north in the question that I want to firstly pose to regarding the hijab then is how do we respond to people who claim that the hijab is backwards or oppressive because this is something that we hear you know, frequently now?
And then at first is like, okay, thank you for having me and chill, chill, I hope that all of the sisters who have tuned in are benefiting and that we all benefit inshallah to Allah from these reminders. When I had 100 Rahim. And then I said, I see them Mohammed, and handed in Arabic, any mean? So I want to start first, that I really believe it's important for us to look within ourselves first and foremost. Because we have to ask ourselves that question, do we think that he job is backwards or oppressive? Because if there's any part of us that thinks that is the case, then we can't really answer from a good place, we'll have to answer from a place of defensiveness or even
possibly, quote, unquote, lying to ourselves if we believe that it's backwards or oppressive, but we're trying to prove to someone else that it's not. So I think you have to start with yourself, what do I believe about hijab. And one thing that I found very important for me in my own life, is the recognition that the difficulty of wearing hijab is primarily about society is primarily about living in a Western society. So I want to tell you all inshallah, to Allah about two different incidents that made me realize this the most. So one is, when I graduated high school, during high school, when I started getting a job, it was very difficult for me. And so I would wear it up in
like a bun to the back. So it would not fully like this. And then the moment I got out of high school and went to college, I started wearing my hijab properly. And a lot of that was just, I don't think I could explain it to myself at the time. But I felt like this weight was lifted from me. And what I see that as now is that the kind of peer pressure that I had in high school, when you're with your friends all day, every day, eight hours a day, and I was always the only Muslim girl in school, then that pressure really gets to you and all of us as human beings, but especially when we're younger, we just want to fit in with everyone else. We don't want to stick out like a sore thumb. We
don't want people asking us all these questions about a face that we're still growing into ourselves. When we're very young, it's very difficult to deal with that pressure. But the moment I got out of high school, and it wasn't the same level of pressure in college, I didn't live on campus in college, then that really, really helped to relieve all of that tension
that I had around teaching. Not all of it, but a lot of it.
And then further on, when I went to live in a Muslim country, the first time was going to the Emirates and one of my sisters live here. And, and I should also say it's important that in our society, of course, we're going to end up focusing on hijab, because that's the thing people ask us about, and that's the thing that makes us stand out. But for us as Muslim women, then we should know that our responsibility is to cover everything except our hands and face and and, and our feet, scholars say is left out as well. So that's really crucial also, because some of us will wear hijab, but the way that we're dressed, we're exposing other parts of our bodies, whether that is through
very tight clothing, or see through or short or whatever it is. So that's what our aim is, and that's really crucial. So when I went to the Emirates, I again was in this
Well, not again, I was in a society and also before it was the relief of the social pressure. And then when I went to the Emirates, I was in a society where everyone wore hijab, not just hijab, but Avaya, not just hijab and Avaya, but niqab, a lot of the women were caught up there. And so all of a sudden, I was wearing hijab, and I buy it every single day, and I enjoyed it, and I look forward to buying a buy and wearing a buy. And then I have really beautiful visor, Emirates. And that also made me recognize
this issue that I had with hijab, it wasn't personal, it wasn't really about a faith matter, it was a societal matter. And once I was actually in that space, where I was able to comfortably be Muslim, and practice Islam, and have the recognition that this is a societal pressure issue. When I came back to the States, it actually made it a lot easier for me to continue to wear hijab, and even a buyer for a period of time. But in New York, the long obyeye it just wasn't, it wasn't a good, good place to wear it. So I think that we have to recognize that a lot of the so called struggle that we have with hijab is situational.
The second thing I want to talk about and would really
be the main point I want us to focus on in is that we have to move away from the idea that he job is primarily about women's rights, or empowerment, or feminism or any of these other things that it may tie into it may or may not depending on who you talk to. But it's not the primary reason we wear hijab. And that's very crucial, for a couple of reasons. One is that
we know that as Muslims, our primary responsibility, our primary relationship is to analyze you kind of with Ella. So there are some times where you wear hijab, and you feel empowered. And there will be other times where you wear hijab, and you don't feel empowered. So if you say that it's just about empowerment, then are you going to take off hijab when you don't feel empowered and put it on when you do you know if it's primarily which it should be about Alicia aparthotel. And that relationship with Him and you believing that this is an obligation on unit something that he loves to see you doing to be modest to cover yourself, then you do it for his sake, whether it is
difficult or whether it's easy. And yes, we know when there is a lot of difficulty then there can be dispensations, but hamdulillah I think for most of us at this point in society, we're still relatively safe. We know incidents happened, but relatively 100, our were fairly safe. I think another point is that
it's really important that we realize when we talk about hijab, even though we may see it as a burden, and men don't have to wear it, and we're in this non Muslim society. And we stand out and all of that. It's such a beautiful opportunity. And it's another reason why I think we should
walk back from this idea of hijab as primarily empowerment. Because if someone asks you, why do you wear hijab and then you start talking about empowerment and this and that, you lose that opportunity to tell them about Aleister Crowley mythology, tell them about God, to even allow them to speak to someone who was primarily living their life to please Alessio kind of mythology even expose them to someone like that, because we live in secular societies are people largely they do what they want to do what maybe their family, their friends with them to do society wants them to do, but God has largely been taken out of the picture. And I want us to look at, you know, a couple other examples
of other believers of other faith because I think that at least in these examples, it's valuable. So if you ask a nun why she wore the habit on her head, or you asked a devoted Christian why they wore the cross or you asked a Jew why they were I think it's, I think it's called the yamaka. The small habit they were, none of them would tell you, as far as I know, I've never heard this, that it's about empowerment, you know, they would tell you, I wear this for the sake of God. And while we may not agree with, you know, many of their beliefs, that approach is so valuable one because it's true. And secondly, because it is about our opportunity. The last thing I'll say is to specifically talk
about this question of
backwards and oppressive, oppressive and remember, I see I'm saying all of that to say, you have to get straight in your mind what you believe about the job. If you believe it's oppressive, you can't defend it against people who say it's oppressive, right? So you have to get that relationship. A second.
thing, I think, is to try to have conversations with people, you know, before being
defensive, actually consider not consider what they're saying in the sense of Oh, you know, maybe it is offensive, no, not in that way. But consider what they're saying in terms of, you know, what do you mean? Where are you coming from? Why do you think that way? And for a lot of people, they'll be able to even walk back on what they're saying? Because if you ask them, well, do you think that any particular garment of clothes is inherently oppressive? Many would say no, right? So you can at least begin to have that conversation. And on a
sort of social and maybe historical political intelligence note, we should realize that sometimes a lot of what we call what we think of as Islamophobia, people, particularly, disliking Islam, or Muslims, really has to do with a deeper hatred, dislike of religion. And that has to do with the issues that Europe even more so and somewhat in America with more so Europe
has had with their own religious authorities, and how Christianity has, in some ways, their religious authorities have betrayed them at certain points in history. So they're still dealing with the reality of that. So religion sometimes, is what they dislike more than Islam itself. So that's also valuable to recognize, we don't necessarily take it personally. And we can have that space to really talk to them about what do you mean, if you want to have that conversation? Right? What do you mean? What are you saying, talk to them about why you wear hijab, move the conversation away from this idea of, of even defending it against being backwards or oppressive?
Because it's really,
it's important that you try to sort of bring them into your framework instead of just defending against the the framework that they're bringing. So inshallah that would be my answer. regarding that.
Before I come back to your second question, I'm going to go and introduce the next speaker. But before we do, this hijab workshop, this event wasn't just about the hijab, per se, but it was about an hour in sisters to access, you know, female scholars, from whom we can take inspiration, you know, female scholars who do wear the hijab with pride and confidence. So just a personal question regarding yourself, what is it that inspired you to start studying, so I know you traveled to Jordan to do your Islamic traditional sciences? What was the sort of process thought process behind that?
So I should say that hemella, it really started in the States. And it just progressed naturally. I grew up in a Muslim household, my parents were Muslims, they converted to Islam. And so I think that for a lot of us, if you grew up in a Muslim household, at some point, you have to truly decide to accept a song for yourself as your faith. And once I did that, I was in the process of trying to do that, that I wanted to learn. So it started with YouTube, and then with classes, and then with shoe you. And then hemella, when I had learned about this scholar online through listening to one of his online lectures, and then learned about his community, and then went to Jordan, so I shall let it
happen organically, just from wanting to really have that personal conviction for myself.
And regarding this book that you authored, I mean, is there a particular reason that you chose? I shall have the luck with the island? Hmm.
I'll try to keep that
there are a lot of reasons that I'm that I talked about in the beginning of the book. But I guess I'll say one reason is that hamdulillah we know that I once Khadija ready though and have passed on. And the prophecies and we married that we know that I show was the prophecy salams favorite wife, right? So that's one of many reasons, but that's one reason to think, Okay, well, who was this woman that was the Beloved of the Prophet so
I have a list, but that's one of the reasons everybody would have to buy the book read the
southern European, we'll be back with you in just a short while my dear respected listeners that we're going to go over to our next speaker now, who would have loved to be here. But because of the time difference between the UK and Australia, it's I think it's like the middle of the night of it at the moment. So it's very difficult for her to have made it however, she has Michelle law still participated in the event. So I'm going to play a short clip, but it will start out on shrimad within a short introduction to her is that also that long term other than that
is an Australian revert to Islam and she's a teacher of FIFA and a feeder at the Islamic College of Australia. She was also a very active public speaker at various massages and events in and around Sydney where she lives. She reverted to Islam in 1989. And her father and grandfather were Christian lead preachers in the church itself. So from the very beginning of her Islamic journey, her dream was always to study their religion deeply so that she could benefit not only herself but other people as well Mashallah, so after she got married, she traveled to Saudi Arabia where she studied in Jeddah, she got in touch with and you know, she she studied various different sciences there,
before returning back to Australia and completing her her degree here. So without further ado, I'm going to take us over to WhatsApp at lunchtime and within
Bismillah Alhamdulillah wa Salatu was Salam ala rasulillah. While early he will Sofie woman, Wanda.
First of all, my dear sisters, I just want to say Joseph canola, who hired on to Asafa UK for inviting me here, to take part in his forum, all about the hijab. And, you know, I really would have liked to have, you know, been able to join your life. But unfortunately, here in Sydney, it's going to be in the early hours of the morning, like 1am, to 3am. So, it was a little bit hard for me to do that.
But you know, just want to start out by with my topic by by saying that, you know, I know that right now a lot of sisters are, you know, struggling to stay strong and wearing the hijab, and, you know, no doubt, being exposed from time to time to people, you know, taking off the hijab, and you know, being quite public about their reasons for doing so, it doesn't really help you if you're already struggling with it as it is. So that's why, you know, today, what I thought I'd start off by doing is, you know, just to share with you some of the reasons for why I personally chose, you know, to wear the hijab.
And as some of you may know, and Hamdulillah, I'm Australian revert to Islam, and subpanel, I've actually been wearing Hijab now for you know, over 30 years of hamdulillah
when I first put it on, I was working full time, and I was studying part time. And in fact, I was living at home with my non Muslim parents as well. And, you know, back then there were hardly any visible Muslims to be seen in Panama. So, so I can say that I do know, the struggle of what it feels like to basically, you know, swim against the tide, and, you know, look different from almost everyone that you come in contact with. But you know, is this is the main thing that helped me to have the strength to basically swim against that tide. You know, of course, after la hotel is help was I said to myself that if I know that Islam is the truth, and that this life is a test, that I
want, I want to meet a level to Allah on the Day of Resurrection in the best condition I can possibly be upon in sha Allah.
Because if I can't stand to, if I can't stand the regret, of you know, not doing well, in any exam that I seek for in this world, then how much more Am I going to have regret, meeting a little toddler in the next life, and not having done something that he made fall on me to do.
And the other thing is to keep reminding yourself about just how short this life is,
you know, and that none of us know, when our time of death is coming to us. And for me, I couldn't think of anything worse than, you know, dying, with the regret of not having done what I needed to do.
And so that's why one of the things I always you know, say to sisters is, you know, what is the image of yourself, what is the image that you have of yourself, that you would like to know how you would be like to be when you meet with a loss of pantalla on the Day of Resurrection.
So however, that is whatever that images of yourself, trying to make yourself like that from now and you know, ask a little taller from your heart to help you to get there.
So I want to give you, you know, three steps for any of you who may be having some, you know, negative feelings towards her wearing hijab. So first of all, the first thing I'd like to, you know, the first advice I'd like to give is, you know, just number one, go back to your why, you know, ask yourself, What is your true purpose and reason to be here in this world? You know, what do I really want
Again from this life, and if we look at what Allahu Allah says in the Quran, who in solidarity we're new Suki, one man, yeah, you wanna Mati lillahi Rabbil. aalameen say, verily my prayer, my sacrifice, my leading my dying is all for Allah, the Lord of the worlds.
So you know, when you really go back to, you know, the original of why you're here for, you know, isn't your ultimate aim to live for a level to Allah, and to make it as safely as you can into janma. So that goes back to your why this helps you so much Come on being motivated to what you're doing. And the next step is to examine any negative feelings that you're having with wearing hijab, you know, try to pinpoint Where is that coming from, you know, ask yourself what's behind these negative feelings? Is it due to not feeling strong enough in your email?
You know, is it that you're you feel self conscious, when you wear hijab, so that this issue you're having with your job is, in fact, perhaps related more to, you know, lacking self confidence than it is to lacking in your Eman?
Or maybe it's due to, you know, external pressures, such as a summer phobia, you know, we're pressures, family pressures, you know, maybe you want to get ahead in your career, or is it simply that you just don't like the way you look or feeling hijab, so you got to go back and have a look at what's causing those negative feelings in the first place.
And then the third, the third step, is then to be, you know, proactive in looking at how you can do something about that. So you know, for example, if the real issue is you're not feeling strong enough in your Amen.
Then take proactive steps towards strengthening your Eman, you know, the real issue is that you're lacking self confidence, it means you need to work on your self esteem, because the reality is that, you know, when you have strong self esteem, and you're sure of what you're doing, you don't care about what anyone else thinks about you.
You know, I remember this panel, before I wore hijab, when I saw this guy come to my uni with, you know, pink and purple hair. And I thought to myself, subpanel Ah, he's so proud to walk around with hair like that. So how much more should I be proud, you know, to dress for a lot of talents, sake, and Sharla.
And I really think it's important to mention here that you know, who you choose to surround yourself with, it does have a massive impact on your own lifestyle choices. And, you know, especially if you know that you're more of a self conscious type, then you really need to be placing yourself as much as possible into environments with people who you know, they encourage you and make you feel good about wearing your hijab.
You know, when I first put on the hijab, I was eating at home, like I told you, with my Christian family, I was going to work every day surrounded by non Muslims. And one of the things that I found really helped me to stay afloat during that time, was making sure I spent my weekends as much as possible with practicing Muslims. So you know, my advice is, if you don't have that environment anywhere near you, or anywhere around you, you know, try and look for it, at least online and handle we have online now, you know,
going back to our problems, you know, if the problem is that you don't feel convinced about the obligation of hijab, for example, or, you know, the reasons for wearing it, you need to reach out and seek the knowledge that you need, until you feel convinced, because we all know that knowledge is what brings about conviction. And you let's be honest, if you're really convinced, you know, you feel really convinced in your heart about wearing hijab, then nobody, you know, nobody, not even a TEDx speaker or an instagramer is going to be able to convince you otherwise.
You know, the problem is that you don't think that you're good enough to wear hijab, you know, some sisters feel like, they're hypocrites. You know, I've done so many things in my past, who am I to wear hijab? You know, I'm not good enough to wear hijab, you know, it's panel, we have to realize that, you know, hijab has never been about being good enough. You know, it's kind of a first and foremost, it's a command from a loss of Candela that you're fulfilling. And, you know, one of the things you'll find is that it actually helps you to feel like you want to improve yourself. You know, I know a lot of sisters who've told me that if it wasn't for the hijab, they would have fallen
into doing many more things than what they were doing. You know, why? Because their hijab was actually like a reminder to them to try to be better.
And I want to remind us as well as I had difficulty in which the profits that are lost and and tells us that Allahu Allah says, Well, that's a call Rebecca la Abdullah Shea in a Hubba eladia. Minister do I lay that my servant does not draw close to me that by anything, which is more love to me, then what I had made fog upon him, when he has no idea to cabo la Joby Nawaz really had that HIPAA and my servant continues to draw close to me.
With Noel filled with extra good deeds until I love him. So this is the way to get close to Allah subhanaw taala, my dear sisters, you know, doing what Allah loves, you know, through what he has, you know, made obligatory upon us, and then following up on that with doing extra good deeds, and, and we can also take this hedis to mean the opposite as well that, you know, if we will have to realize that there are consequences from taking steps away from a loss of pantalla. You know, so if we move away from what Allah has made found on us, it, it basically means we're also moving further away from a loss of pantalla. Right, so we have to keep that in mind. And
so if the, you know, going on to, you know, different looking at the different problems we might have, you know, if the problem is not feeling good in wearing your hijab, you know, my advice is to look for a style that makes you feel confident, but that also fulfills the conditions of hijab. And in short, a lot, I'll be speaking about this a lot in a lot more detail in my next segment that's coming up a bit later. And you know, but to be honest, you know, thinking about this topic properly, you really need a lot more time than, you know, 10 minutes. But for anyone who's interested, you know, I do have some lectures available on my YouTube channel that deal with both identity and hijab
and how to overcome the struggles of holding on to your deen. And I'm also always there for my sisters on Facebook and Instagram, if anyone you know, wants to reach out for support. But you know, anyway,
even if I haven't mentioned the specific reason that you're personally having with wearing the hijab, one thing I do know is that if your y is strong enough, you will find a way to embrace it, regardless of whatever obstacles you may face. Right and, and sisters, we need to remind ourselves that you know, in this life, Allahu Allah is going to test us over and over to see who do you love more, you know, is it a law and the earth Hera? Or is it the trivial gains that one may make in this very temporal world.
So always remind yourself that this life is so very short. So whatever sacrifice you make in this life for the Hara, in reality, it's so very small.
And never never think that any sacrifice you're making in this dunya is wasted with the loss of hunter Allah.
And I want to leave you with an amazing Hadith in which the prophet SAW lawyers and told us about the reward for those who hold fast to their Deen in times like we are in now, when holding on to one's fate is like holding on to a burning coal, in which he tells us in some narrations which are found in a tear maybe and the sooner he Deadwood, that in them in what he called a no sub that very early before you our days of patience, in which holding on to one's Dane will be like holding on to a burning coal. And then he says the only fee here and you haven't seen. So the one who you know, hold on to the dean in his time will be like the reward of 50. And then the Sahaba who around him
they said you mean agile Hasina men whom you mean the reward of 50 of them, or 50 of us. And then then the profits that allow what Ellison said, all of whom seen an income, no verily 50 of you. So imagine my dear sisters upon a lot imagine that we from wearing a hijab now in this very hard time when we're so tempted with temptations, and we struggle to hold on to our hijab. Imagine a Long Island, we could be getting the reward of 50 of this hobby yet in the wearing of hijab, or later in your loyalty guide. It's not too far from a loss of pantalla so my dear sisters, never forget the word of Allah to Allah while spear in Allaha lair you'll do agilon more sinning, be patient and hold
firm Verily Allah tala never waste the reward of the good doers. And I'll leave it there My dear sisters and inshallah I look forward to seeing my next upcoming segment. Boucle Alfie Kohn, I asked a lot of Allah that what I have said benefits all of us and strengthens our men and May Allah keep us firm upon his path until we meet with him, and I asked him to unite us in general so bolson Allah wakulla Ali Heather was so for a law Li walakum was a clinical law movie handig National alert ilaha illa and nestoil few occur when a to bootleg salaam aleikum wa rahmatullah wa what I care to
she's not gonna hold on to the southern laundry mother theme for that beautiful, beautiful reminder regarding the spiritual dimension of the hijab, that she was addressing, you know, the question regarding
people who wear the hijab, but deep down, they don't have that, that love inside for the hijab itself and certain ways that we can overcome that and handed in the southerner theme
Back to you in sha Allah. So Allah, Allah, any
question I have for you is what would what advice would you give to sisters who feel that wearing the hijab is holding them back or will hold them back from certain aspects of their life, maybe you know that they're not going to be able to make friends will get a good job, etc. What advice would you give to those sisters?
Yeah, so sooner 100 him?
I think it's a good question. And I think it's important to be honest, that it may, the reality is someone may see you wearing the job, and they may have certain assumptions about who you are, and then decide not to befriend you for that reason, or decide not to give you a job for that reason. And before we go any further with sort of discussing that I think we should recognize that Hamlin, maybe for most of us who are participating today, than we do live in the West there anti discrimination laws. So when it comes to job at your school, then there are ways to deal with that if it does become a major issue. But first thing I would say is that we have to trust in Allah
subhanaw taala. And when I say trust, and Allah, I don't mean trust that Allah is going to make you friends with the exact person you want to be friends with, or give you the exact career that you want.
But that you trust in LSU upon to Allah that He will give you the friends that are best for you, that you trust in Him that He will give you the career that is best for you. So if you are going on interviews, and you're you have on your hijab,
and we should we should be honest with the fact that we never really know, right, it's always, you know, our, our kind of assumptions, and the possibility is real. But let's say you're going on multiple interviews, and you're just not getting the job and then you, you start to get
you know, this idea that maybe it's because of my job, or maybe I should take my jobs job and get the job, we have to trust that ally supanova is going to give us the job that we need. And I think there's an interesting dynamic of when people are when companies are hiring, than they think about the work culture that they want, right? So they may look at you and feel like well, this person is hijabi, whatever assumptions they placed on you, whether it's the oppression and the backwards thing, or whether it's you know, we just don't want a super religious person in our in our office. So she's not going to fit, we don't want her here, you have to realize that if that is the case, you
probably don't want to be there either. Right? If they are worried about a religious person being in their midst, and what's happening in that office space, right, where they would be uncomfortable with that, if they are making judgment judgments and assumptions about you, then you don't want to be in that environment. So as much as we may feel like, well, I want to be chosen, I want to be friends with this person, or I want to be in this particular career field.
We also as much as we want to be chosen, it's really important that we do the choosing, that we look at the office environment, the school environment, the person that we want to be friends with. And we ask ourselves is that person actually good for my a man is the kind of person that I may become in that environment good for me. So I think we should not just sort of look at ourselves in this inferior kind of position of you know, I hope they'll pick me, but also look at ourselves as Okay, I am a Muslim, I have these values that I want to uphold. So I only want to be in certain environments. And if we're looking through that perspective, then more than likely when we go to
those physicians, they will want someone like us because then our values match. So that's really important to to consider inshallah tala.
When it comes to
one's social life, I think it's valuable that we don't step into any situation again, with that kind of inferiority complex or worrying. Someone might not like me, because of my hijab, that we go on we have, we approach them with excellence, right? We're supposed to be people have a stand as Muslims. And we try to make friends in the way that any sort of self help book could tell you make friends, right? We take those tools on in combination with with our own faith values about being people of excellence. And if you're really someone of excellence, if you are a kind person, if you reach out to people, if you're the person who gets gifts or bakes cookies sometimes or whatever it is, people
want you around, right, people want nice people around them. So I don't think that's as much of a worry and if people that don't want you around them, ultimately you should not want to be around them either.
We want people that remind us of Aleister Crowley with Allah. And it's really valuable that we remember that in a general sense, when it comes to who we associate with, we want to associate with good people who remind us with all of us up with Allah, even to the point that it would be better to be alone, that if you can't find those good people, they're only people who won't remind you of unless you kind of atella
then to be with people who don't, right so, and alone, maybe trying us in us not being able to make the friends we want or the career we want. That can be a kind of refinement, that those aren't the best places for you.
So I think those are just be my few comments on that, that, yes, it is a possible reality, if it's serious than Hamdulillah, we live in countries with a ton of anti discrimination laws,
trust in Allah subhanaw taala, that you will get the best that is meant for you. And approach people as if they don't have a problem with your hijab and utilize the skills of excellence and normal social skills to make friends and have the best work environment. And then ultimately,
if the environment is not good for you, it would actually be superior, as difficult as it may be, to be off to your own. If you can't find that good environment, short term.
thing that was really insightful. I'm going to take a few questions from the audience now before before we have to depart from you. The first question is from my sister asking, what advice would you give for university students who have to interact with with males in ice stocks in Islamic societies?
I think in America, you call them something else? I'm not sure what you call them. They're like the student groups. Yeah, the Islamic groups on campus. Okay. There's a lot of Muslims, well, you know, females and males sort of interacting under the banner of that our, you know, sometimes it's difficult to keep that keep that barrier and keep that formality between one another.
That's a good question. And this term, and I was recently listening to a lecture with Dr. Shadi who's a scholar here in the US, a term that he used that I thought was really valuable is that in Islam, we have, we have casual segregation, and we have very restrictive segregation. In the profit center settlement, you see a more casual, so to speak, segregation, that the masjid was open, they were men and women, but people respected each other's boundaries. We know that, you know, don't be alone have just a man and a woman. And then they're more restrictive societies that we have now, where strictly there are men's areas and women's areas, and people don't interact at all. So we
should realize that those are the boundaries, right? either. It's a casual segregation, where, okay, you go to the MSA, there, there are men and women, but you know, your boundaries, you don't have to sit next to the guy or you don't have to, if you're talking and you say you know, whatever casual questions, how are you? How are you? How's your family that doesn't have to turn out into a long drawn out conversation? It doesn't have to get too comfortable? If there is a maybe a group timeout, would you call that like a?
What, what's that group or something instead of you individually interacting with a man, anything you can do so that you don't have that one on one is really important? And then I would, I would just say that we don't have to go to the other extreme. It's okay to be cordial to give Salaam to ask people, you know, how did you do on that test? That's okay. We just have to know our bounds and make sure that we don't let any interaction go go into a space where it's individual, because that's really where the danger lies. Okay.
Next question is from a sister asking, what would be the best method to teach our sons to respect women and to lower their gaze? Hmm.
That's a really good question. I can't say that. I know, just to estimate that is there, there's only certain
Yeah, you know, I think that you, you talk to them right about, especially in Western society, then they need that even more, that it doesn't know that it doesn't matter what she's wearing in the sense of, we're okay with it. But it doesn't give you permission to lust after the non Muslim woman because she's, you know, dressed inappropriately, you still as the Muslim man, have to lower your gaze, no matter what society is doing, no matter what women are doing. That's your boundaries as a Muslim man. And that's something that absolutely has to be talked about and reinforced because it's incredibly difficult in this society. So as much as you can do that, talk him through it, correct
him
You know, Allah Harlem at least that's one place to start.
is a revert sister from India who was asking, What would be your suggestion on how to start wearing the hijab? Because the situation there is very difficult at the moment, because the Hindu dominant government, so any advice on a river system who wants to start wearing the hijab in India?
around the world? Yeah. Well, I would first absolutely say to try to address that question to a scholar in India, because I don't know exactly what's happening there. So you, you really need someone who knows what's happening there exactly. in a general sense, when it comes to just starting to wear his job, I can't speak to that social context. But in a general sense, I think keep in mind that we are supposed to cover everything except our hands and face. So if you start out, I used to teach new Muslims. And some of them would start out wearing a miniskirt. Right? So you start out wearing a miniskirt, then hopefully you move on to a skirt that goes down to your knees, hopefully,
then you move on to a skirt. However slowly that goes down to your ankle, hopefully then, you know, you start covering your chest and your arms. Everyone's gonna be different. I knew a convert sister who she converted and she started wearing full Oh by any club. Others move there very slowly. To they were a new Muslims, I knew for two years, they still weren't wearing hijab. So we want to encourage people, but I think it's very important that we encourage baby steps if that's what you need, that this is what we have to do. But if you can do better than that, then do better than that. So if right now you show your arms and work towards not showing your arms work towards taking the
miniskirts, you know, out of your closet, whatever you can do as a first step, then keep that then then do that. And just keep the goal in mind and Shaolin tell them.
There's another question here asking, how do you address this innate desire that we have as women to look pretty. So we've talked a bit about your job and the boundaries of the hijab, etc. But whether you're doing it for other people, whether you're doing it just for yourself, how do you sort of strike that balance?
That's, I love that question. One. That's actually something I recently wrote about just on Twitter. And I've been thinking about it because I think this is such a crucial question that we talked about, as we did earlier, the struggle to wear hijab writer, which I I said, I believe is mostly a societal issue. I do also absolutely agree with that, that there's an internal issue for a lot of us as women and to me, I don't believe it's justified or just superficial Harlem. But I think this is something that a lot of women cross culturally have that need desire to be beautiful.
I think we have to realize that modesty always tells us, you know, to dress modestly less, I'm gonna forget the exact verses, but essentially talking about
men who may have something in their hearts or don't speak softly, that was that verse, and then to what we're supposed to wear, essentially, that elastico talks about talks to us in the prophecies about what we should cover in front of strange men. So in a sense, if you think about it, most of the time, we can dress nicely and beautifies this one instance where if you're in front of strange men that you could potentially marry, then you would not dress immodestly in front of them. So I think that we have to find other times to beautify whether that's in our homes or I know some like in the Emirates, they would have these all women's parties. It's not really our culture, I think in
the US, UK. But if you can find those areas where there's something nice that you want to do, like there's nothing wrong with that if you want to wear eyeliner at home or you want to wear lipstick at home, whatever that thing is that makes you feel beautiful. Just finding the spaces to do that and inshallah to Allah in the areas in the times when it's inappropriate. Then remembering that you're doing this for the sake of Alessi panatela to cover your beauty in those times as much as you can.
And final question for you so that is
it if your husband wants you to wear only black, do you have to listen even if it'll last panel that allows wearing colors
That's a tough question and inshallah to Allah I would again advise to x your local shoe You are a man who particularly knows your situation. And a general sense we know we supposed to available on $1 We also are supposed to listen to our husbands. So if
is really an issue of contention. All I can't realize is that you talked to him about it maybe you'll find some common ground maybe gray or brown would also be okay. Maybe there's some kind of common ground you can find but have that discussion with him it's a major issue you know, then talk to someone outside who knows your family and can discuss the issue with both of you. Okay, well Southern European, thank you so much for your time. I don't want to keep you any loads to do. But again, just a favor for joining us we've benefited immensely from you and inshallah after suffi Institute, we hope to benefit from yourself sometime in the future as well. inshallah so keep us in
your doors and take care of yourself.
While you can I say what happened today.
So dear respected listeners, we are going to go on to our final speaker now inshallah, we've got a short segment coming up but we'll set that on cimetidine again, but before we do that, I'm going to introduce another very special speaker Masha Allah will say that see you there are limit from a sofa Institute itself, our very own Mashallah. saramonic hora de la serda. Wildlife Salaam
hamdulillah lovely to see you too. So well Sasha, I know you don't I don't need to introduce you. I know enough about you. But just for the sake of the listeners will know that alima has. She's got a degree and a master's and a PhD in neuroscience from Oxford University. And after that, she embarked on her traditional studies of the Islamic sciences. She did her anemia degree at a silver Institute where she is currently teaching and you know, advanced level books like Heidi and Quran etc. She also keeps us up very busy Mashallah, seeking knowledge and bettering herself. And she's studying advanced Hadith and feel at the moment as well. So, so the Anima regarding this topic, Mashallah,
we've had some excellent speakers on who have really given us a very broad understanding of the hijab. The question that I have for you is, in the 21st century, Is it really necessary to wear the hijab? I mean, isn't it something that was only necessary for the sabya? Or for the Arabs of a particular time and culture? Is this something that we still have to do today?
is an excellent question, Mashallah.
When you're him 100 ealert we take from this I have yet because if you look at this I have yet and how Allah, Allah mentions us to have a corner and he says, radi Allahu anhu, ready to love and whom what to do and who Allah is pleased with them. And they are pleased with him. So that's like the ultimate certificate. When you think about our lives, that what is our ultimate goal, we want to achieve the pleasure of Allah subhanho wa Taala more than we want anything else, we want to achieve the pleasure of Allah. And we know that the Sahaba that's what they attained, and we want to attain the same. So they came, they live their life, and they've gone and now it's our turn. So we're in
this country, this world for a very, very short time. And we need to attain that same status, if that's what we want in Gemini, if you want that closeness to Allah subhanho wa Taala. This is why it's essential that we really realize who do we want as our role models to understand, we are still all going to be wanting the same thing. And we're going to be wanting exactly what the Sahaba wanted. We're going to be wanting what all of the people on the on the plane of resurrection are going to want, which is success in the afternoon, which is a way into agenda. But how would we attain that if we don't live our lives in a similar manner to them? Obviously, things are very
different. You know, we've got cars, we've got houses, that completely different, everything is so completely different, but the rulings are the same. Because we, as Muslims, we really pride ourselves that our Koran has not changed in the last 15 or 1400. And so years, but you know, all of the other books have changed. If we think about it, a Quran might not have changed, and we're so proud of that. But other rules changed as well. If our grounds not change, then surely the rules are exactly the same as they were all these years back. So this is why we're so proud of our car and we should be proud of the rules and the rules are exactly the same. And the first of the Khurana
sisters previous to me have mentioned repeatedly about the verses of Quran about hijab.
And so, we when we submit and we say when Muslims were submitting to the will of Allah, we are completely happy with whatever love Allah wills for us. And if he is said in the verses of the Quran that we should be covering ourselves, and hamdulillah we do so willingly. Now someone might argue okay, but you know, things are so different. Now you can have a woman going on a plane from the UK and fly all the way to the other side of the world.
We can go and visit we'll start on Jamaluddin in Australia. We'd love to do that. And you know, and we can go all by ourselves and we're completely safe. So why then do we need the job?
So the answer to that is, we don't wear hijab because we're trying to keep ourselves safe. We're not trying to wear hijab because it's trendy or because it looks good or because we're going with the trend everybody in school wears in college wears it, we are only wearing Hijab primarily for one reason, it is an Avada like any other act of worship, so when you pray Salah you pray because you're fulfilling the commandment of Allah tala you when you when we do give the cards when we pray, when we go for Hajj, or any of the
ordain ones for Allah tala, when we observe and we observe them only for Allah subhanho wa Taala. So this is why we need to get our intentions completely fixed, just in case some of us have been wearing the job for many years, but we've worn them because we have to please our husbands or we have to please our family members, if you really want to attain the full reward for the act of hijab and likewise with any other act of worship, we need to make sure that our intention is exclusively for the pleasure of Allah subhanaw taala.
Of course, there are benefits There are so countless benefits of hijab, but we don't wear it for the benefits we were ultimately for the pleasure of Allah Subhan Allah which is why the Sahaba they they gained this this, this certificate, radi Allahu anhu they attain that a law is pleased with them, because when they would do the actions, they did it for the sake of Allah Subhan Allah for his pleasure. And this is what we need to primarily achieve in our life that whatever we do, we do it for the sake of Allah subhanho wa Taala. And we're going to understand that
when Allah subhanaw taala, legislates in his wisdom, he knows he knows why he legislate, we don't question we say we hear and we obey. But
he himself has actually chosen to tell us one of the primary reasons why we should be wearing his job. He was mentioned both sides of it, so I won't be mentioning it now. But in the verse when Allah subhanaw taala tells us I'll tell the believing women to bring to cover themselves. He mentioned Lita, Allah foo, without a fool mean so that they may be recognized. So Allah subhanaw taala wants us to distinguish ourselves from the rest of society. Why? Because we want to be recognized as noble women, we don't want when we walk down the street, that any old man can just turn around and speak to us the way he might, to others, you know, we know commonly about, you know, you go past a
building site, a building sign, you're dressed a certain way, you might get whistled at, you might get called all sorts of things. But if you're wearing a hijab, there's hope that we're not going to be addressed like that. And the main thing is we're actually Allah subhanaw taala is giving us a status. See, we sometimes you might think, oh, US Muslim women, or you know what, we might not all have degrees in education. Some of us are just work at home. And we think that, Oh, I'm just, you know, what I do, I just do the housework. And some Hannah law is like such. It's the greatest act you can do, which is why Allah subhanaw taala he's honoring us, he's honoring assignments that he
made Jonah, for your children beneath your feet. He's, he's, he knows what sacrifice we're making. So because he wants us to get this huge status, okay, we He's given us the hijab, because look, I'm going to read out to you something and this is some quotes actually from directly from websites, okay. And I'm gonna read this out to you because I haven't memorized it. So, and this is about the royal family and about people who cover their heads. So I'm gonna read these about five statements out one of them is number one, up until the 1950s ladies were very seldom seen without a hat, as it was not considered of the thing for ladies to show their hair in public. This was written by Diana
my hair senior tutor for the English minor ethical consultancy. Number two, well heeled, well heeled British people have been wearing hats for centuries. Number three women in the world enclosure are required to wear a hat that covers and we quote, the crown of their head. Number four, Queen Elizabeth herself, and he adheres to this dress code because she wants every member of the adored adoring public to be able to pick her out in a crowd. And number five, the last one most of us could never ever dream of being part of the royal family. But that doesn't mean we can't act the part the easiest way. That's, that's it. So you cover your head and you can act like the royal family. But
see a lot of Allah tala is given us he's giving us that status. He's giving us this amazing high class status even though we're not giving it to ourselves, we put ourselves down, but actually Allah McCall is telling us women how
valuable we are starting from other know Allah subhanaw taala says in the Quran, ye then mo whoo that was so a lot and the female girl who was buried alive when she would be asked Lee then been, what do you like for which sin? Was she murdered? For which sin What? Because she's female. Okay, so Allah subhanaw taala is telling us right from our birth, how important we are. He tells us anyone who has raised his three daughters. That's a gateway to gender for her for them. And someone asked about two daughters, and he said also for two daughters. He tells us about the status of the mother. He tells us and Savonarola, even when we are on our deathbed, for some of us who've been to these
janazah courses, we will see that when you shroud the dead body, we cover her head, we cover the woman fully and we cover the head. Why? Because when we go to Allah subhanaw taala, we, we go to him completely covered. And in a state of honor, he wants to he wants to receive us as honorable women. But you know what? He wants us to live our lives that way. Let's not wait till we're on our deathbed before we cover our heads, and we present ourselves to Allah subhana wa Taala let us do it. Now let Allah when he looks at us, be proud of us when he looks and he says Subhana Allah in this society, where people just do what ever they like this, this beautiful slave girl of the slave of mine has
chosen, yeah, to go against society to go against the tide, and choose to the hijab, which is not easy to do. It's never, and no one is saying it's easy, of course, 100 elate helps that we've got people around us that are doing it, but it's definitely a sacrifice we're making, and we're going to get rewarded for that. So hamdulillah it's very much relevant that we carry on in this day and age a child.
That was very, very insightful. And I want to come back to in just a very short while, we're going to go back to Southern jamaludin from Australia, where she's going to be addressing the issue regarding different hijab styles. So if a person wants to experiment with styles or hijabs of that a buyer, etc. And is this something that is allowed, or do we have restrictions on this sort of thing. So without further ado, I'm going to go to Southern German
Bismillah Alhamdulillah wa Salatu was Salam ala rasulillah wala, early, he will be one than one.
So for my second segment,
the question I've been given is, is it okay for me to try different hijab styles in order to feel fashionable? Or are there restrictions on this?
So I wanted to first start off by saying, you know, that as a person who has always been, you know, particular about how I present myself, I can totally, you know, understand that for many sisters, it's very important for them to feel good, and you know, feel comfortable with the style of hijab that they choose.
And I know that, you know, some people may not be that concerned with their image or how they present themselves, and you know, that's fine, you know, but apparently, you know, it's just important that we understand that not everyone's the same. And, you know, for some people, this can be, you know, something that, you know, makes them feel extra self conscious about wearing hijab.
So, first of all, the sisters, I think it's, you know, important to realize that just because, you know, you choose to practice Islam, you know, it doesn't mean that you have to daggy or, you know, as they say dress, the way your grandmother dresses, and what I usually advise sisters to do is you know, look around and other sisters who are wearing Hijab properly and try to find a style that you, you know, think could suit you, you know, like, getting personal here, like, I know, with myself, you know, because I have like around a shaved face. I feel like when I wear certain styles that you know, I suppose I sometimes say people make me like a pumpkin, you know.
And that's why you know, with me, you know, I kept on trying different styles until I found one that I felt, you know, you're okay on myself. Because even though I went outside, but you know, I still like to look I still want to be comfortable with how I look in front of my sisters. So what I'm trying to say is that there's definitely no harm in you know, trying out other styles to you know, find what suits you. But the main thing to keep in mind is that the whole you know, that the style that you choose, shouldn't contradict the whole purpose of hijab.
And that's why I think it's important, you know, to keep in mind
You know, what's known, it was sort of struck off as a dealer for the obligation of hijab. That basically means the cause for hijab to be obligatory, you know, what is the cause for hijab to be obligatory? And you know, the scholars, you know, they say that that a lot of hijab is due to what they say is the hurrian and Mother, you know, the prohibition on, you know, a non Muharram looking at a, you know, another woman who is not related to with lust for gays, okay, so. So that's why if you understand that Illa for hijab,
then you don't want to go for styles that basically do the opposite of that, that, you know, more or less, you could say, sexualize the hijab, like we see happening with the way that you know, hijab is unfortunately becoming increasingly worn these days, especially, you know, online. So is this is it for this reason that, you know, the scholars laid down certain conditions that need to be met, in order for the hijab to be considered as being you know, acceptable. And in line with the whole purpose for hijab in the first place. Such as, you know, you probably most of you are familiar, you know, the whole body should be covered, except the face and hands, of course, there's, you know,
differences, differences amongst the scholars on the face and hands,
you know, that it should be wide and not tight fitted, so that you can see the shape of your body.
Also, that the hijab you choose shouldn't be an adornment in and of itself. And so from this, we know that, you know, your hijab shouldn't be something that basically, you know, allouez men to look at you, due to it being very bright, or very colorful, or eye catching, for example. And this is why it's, you know, important to mention here that,
you know, even if you're wearing proper hijab on your club, but you know, you've got all this heavy makeup on your eyes, you know, you'd still be considered as basically contradicting this a law or this cause for the obligation of hijab in the first place. Because by doing that, you'll be literally up late, basically, you know, attracting the eyes of non non Muslim men to yourself, right, so, and this also explains why we need to avoid wearing perfume outside the house that you know, that non Muslims could smell.
And some of the, you know, from the other conditions, for example, that the scholars mentioned, you know, ease of use, of course, you know, that, you know, your hijab shouldn't be too thin, or to see through that, you know, you can see your skin or hair color underneath. So one of the things, you know, that you can see from these conditions, is that in order for someone to jab to be accepted, it needs to be in line with the law, or the cause for the obligation of hijab in the first place.
And I think it's important, you know, to add on here, too, that the hijab isn't just about, you know, covering, it's just, it's not just about the covering itself, but also the behavior that goes along with it as well, you know, like, There's no use wearing even the most perfect, he jumps. If you know, you're gonna engage in, you know, certain types of behavior, or, you know, speaking in a way that basically, you know, entices men towards yourself, like what we see happen in some of these, you know, clips that you see on Instagram, for example. So, you know, the main thing to keep in mind when choosing a style of hijab, is that, you know, you're going to,
you know, what's the main, what's the main thing to keep in mind when choosing a style of hijab is that, you know, if you're going to go to all the effort of wearing it, that at least you want to get rewarded for it. Okay, so we need to realize that just just like you can't make up your own conditions for how you pray. And just like you can't, you know, pray the way you feel like praying.
You also can't, you know, make up your own conditions for the way that you wear hijab.
And all of us know that, you know, if you want to be rewarded for your prayers, and for your prayers to be accepted by laaser contoller, then you know, you need to pray according to certain, certain conditions that allow Tyler and his prophets that allow for them has shown us. And, you know, this is the same thing for hijab, it also has certain conditions we need to meet, if we really want the reward for wearing it. So that's why what I say to sisters, is that, you know, at the end of the day, as long as you've got something on your head, then you're already identifying yourself as a Muslim, where do you know whether you're wearing it correctly or not? So why not just wear it in a
way that fulfills its conditions so that you don't risk not getting the full reward for doing that for a while.
pound dollar.
And like I said in my last segment, you know, it's so important that you keep reminding yourself over and over again, about the reward for what you're doing. Right? When you step when you're doing it properly, from the moment that you step out of your house, you're in a state of worship until you return. But if you're lucky, Tyler and we know that whatever we do for a loss of cansada is multiplied by 10 to 700. times.
And sisters, the grayed out the struggle there isn't doing something, the greater the reward, and no doubt, your reward for wearing Hijab at a time when you have you have to deal with all of these, you know, negative pressures on you from summer phobia, to you know, the hijab the fashion industry is going to be far greater than, for example, another sister who doesn't have to go through that, or even brothers who aren't having to go through all that we're going through right now, my dear sisters. So I'll leave it there. And I asked a lot of Abdallah to you know, continue to strengthen us and to help us to stay steadfast. And I asked Tyler to you know, that he makes us from from those
who when we die, we meet him in a state which he is pleased with us your avellana mean, what sort of Allah who was sending them what baddeck Islander b&m Mohammed, while early he will stop, be He, as your marine was a pentacle long are we handig National alert EULA, her stuff will occur when a tallboy like Salam alaykum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh.
Somalia
that was under the influence Australia, talking about trying different hijab styles and in order to feel good and certain restrictions and guidelines that we have regarding that. So back to say that I Lima, then inshallah, we'll start the the question that I have for you now is what advice would you give to a sister who feels that she was already struggling with other parts of her religion? Maybe you know, with the fasting and the praying, etc? So she feels that was the point of me wearing the hijab? Or do you have to be a perfect Muslim? To to Don the hijab? What advice would you give to somebody like that, please?
That's fine. Sorry. Has my video gone? Black? Yes, it's gone a bit darker than just about me. Yeah, I don't know what to do to change the setting. So just bear with me. I, I'm trying to personally but I think it's just suddenly gone. And I don't know what happened. So you can hear me so I'll try my best for you guys to be able to see me. I'll try and go somewhere. It's a bit like, hopefully, our just as long as you can hear us. Good. I'm the left from the left. Okay, let's start. So yeah, it does apply for the question. A lot of fun for him. And I want to start this answer to this verse of the Quran. It says La Jolla Serato al Kelly, what are you when I'm a young Pharaoh? So Allah Allah
says to Allah is raised the beautiful word and the righteous actions, raise it. So what does that mean? It means all of us. Yeah, we've all said the calamity of which is that we know is Kalamata Yabba Chateau la la, la la la la Muhammadan. Rasul Allah Masekela Shahada, Chateau La la la la, Washington No, Mohammed Abdullah so so when we say the Shahada, when we say the kalama
we say that we testify that allies one and Mohammed is a lovely Islamic messenger, we've accepted this. But ally saying that along with this, yeah, this words rising to Allah subhanaw taala. The good actions is what raises the word starts with Allah, it means we, we don't just utter it and just do lip service with it's our actions that is actually going to make the Ummah accepted to Allah Subhana Allah the actions that will rise risen to a lot of autonomy. So we think we need to start off from somewhere. So if say, for example, the only thing you're doing is wearing a hijab or putting a piece of cloth over your head, then Alhamdulillah because every single person is on a
journey to Allah subhanaw taala. So some people might be way ahead in the journey, and some people might be just stuck taking their first steps. And if the first step you're taking is your job, then I hamdulillah Allah has guided you to that. And what you need to do is just stay carrying on on that journey facing forward and not turning your back and as long as you are doing that, you will get there inshallah, you see our good deeds. What happens is one good deed leads to another good deed. So Sahaba they the companions of the Prophet SAW the lowly Islam. They asked him one day, they said
Oh, the prophet Sal allows them in my past, like, before I became Muslim, I did a lot of good actions, Will these good actions be accepted by Allah subhanaw taala like, will I get rewarded for these actions? So the Prophet sallallahu Sallam said, The you said, you were guided to Islam because of these actions. So what that means is that when you do a good deed, and you accumulate it, and then you do another good deed, and you accumulate, and it builds, and it builds, it was like, you know, your day job today, and then tomorrow, and the next day and the next day and the next day, eventually, those good deeds, they accumulate to something really big to something that, you know,
you reach a certain threshold where you've now attained this amazing level where say, for example, a non Muslim did these good actions and they've attained the level where Allah saying, You deserve Islam, you deserve Jana tala. Even as a non Muslim, they do good actions. And if it's good enough, and it's pleasing to Allah subhanaw taala he these good actions could lead a person to Jannat to Islam. And likewise, once you become Muslim, and you just do that one action, but you carry on, you don't give it up, yeah, you will attain such a high level, that alarm will enable you inshallah, to do more good deeds. So, and this is why, you know, this consistent good deeds are the most beloved
to Allah subhana wa Taala.
The most
is my son over there. So, what you want to do,
what you want to do, what you want to do is this, we want to carry on with our good actions, we do not want to stop, we do not we do not want to stop by good actions we want to be carried on because the those are the most beloved to Allah subhanaw taala. And we know that deeds, they're not counted. So you know, just don't worry so much if you can't do so much. And you're looking at other sisters, and they're practicing so much and you thinking, Oh, my God, I can't be that way. You know, I'm just like, here, and how am I going to become like this? And are these the only sisters making it to gender No way, because Allah subhanaw taala looks at the sincerity of your heart, he looks with what
intention, it may be that that's all you could offer, that that's all you can do today because you're just not able to do more. And you know, unless without it looks at the sincerity, that if you've offered that as a gift to Allah subhanaw taala that this action is what you're offering to Allah, and he accepts it and silverhand Allah, you know, the prophets have told us that save yourself from the Hellfire even if it is by just a strand of a date seed so he may be a person or they've got a date seed or a strand of a date seed and that's all they could give in charity. But so hon Allah Allah love the intention behind it so much that it will save that person from something as
great as the Hellfire den sun. So that's why it's what's really important is that we have the right intention behind me doing that action and as long as that we've got our intentions correct, then there is real hope that insha Allah we don't belittle wearing just the hijab we don't you know, of course we feel bad that we can't do all the other actions, but one good deed will ensure a lot lead to the next good deed and so on. So
and just what I recommend to sisters is this that if you know let's add one extra good deed each day so obviously you when you do continuing with the you Continuing from that one he job for rain that he job the next day and the next day, why did he add one extra mile so for example, you could say
you could say the dog which is the dog for wearing new clothes.
Lily Lola de cassani Hi, Rosa Neiman Heidi Holly Minnie Willa quwata you can look those up on Google very easily to add brand new clothes every time you get a new job and I'm sure you get plenty of new jobs every day because we all love our different colors and everything to match and then you could wear every time you put on your job you can make the door handily lady lady
mean lady how limini you know that was
just getting me confused because I get confused with it. But yeah, you know that when we make when you work clothes just look up the waffle wearing new clothes and you find it
in Vega how you mean new alacati that's how it goes. And then you can make then when you look you know when you when you look in the mirror, you can say that was looking in the mirror which is obviously from the top of my head. I love my coma. coma has sent a heartbeat has seen colicky so oh I love that the way you've beautified my exterior, beautify my interior. And so you know when you start making these laws and each time what you're doing is you're associating the netmask the blessings, the blessing of your headscarf to Allah subhanaw taala the blessing of the way you look to Allah subhanaw taala and when you attribute all that to Allah subhanaw taala you're automatically
achieving a state where you are remembering a lot in all your actions when you're sitting. Every time you look at your phone, you might see
image of yourself, make that dog. So every time you're there remembering Allah and you know what this remembrance of Allah, Allah is going to do to you, it's going to bring you so close to him because, look, the Hadith says this, that no one goes to take a step to Allah, or no one goes a hand span towards Allah. But Allah will take two spans length towards them, no one takes like double two arm spans length, a lot of holes that is coming close to us. No one goes to allow walking, except that Allah comes to them running. What does that mean? Meaning Allah will shower us with mercy and blessings, because that's all we could do, that we could take that one step to him and he'll come to
us with mercy and blessing. So you know, do these, they might seem like little actions, but believe me, they will weigh heavily on the Day of Judgment, inshallah, and they will weigh heavily in our favor when we are mostly in desperate need for a few good deeds. So keep making these two eyes and just keep asking Allah subhanaw taala to guide us and guide us to the next. And I want to mention this that has a man read the article and he actually mentioned something so beautifully. He mentioned the Hadith of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi Salaam, and I'll read this out to you. But I don't want to miss out a single word he said by the one in whose hands is the soul of Mohammed Salah
lol Islam. Nobody does an action ever in secret, except that Allah places on him that clothing by which he will be recognized. If it's good, then good and if it's bad, then bad. What does that mean? He actually recited a verse of the Quran saying holy basil taqwa the alcohol. The clothing of taqwa is best. What does that mean? It means yes, you can wear hijab as much as you like outside, but what you do inside, in the privacy of your bedroom, in the privacy of your home, on your lessons, what you watch on your phone on your law seat. So you know if you've got labasa taqwa, you're actually wearing the clothing of taqwa you want means you are aware of a large presence in this bedroom,
where nobody else is here. But you but you and the law. And so when you are browsing through something, and you know, you're accidentally your eyes might fall on something, what you're going to do is you're going to say you know, I'm I'm not gonna look at this, because I know what was watching me, that's me, boss. So what you want to do, where the boss where the clothing where you are conscious of a lot in your life, in every second of your existence, and this is the best clothing for any sister. This is the clothing that we want to achieve, ultimately in sha Allah. And remember this year because
let me not mention a time a time when we go back with all these years. And we go back to Adam alayhis salaam, when other Malays Islam and how when they ate from the fruit of the tree, the first thing that happened is that their clothing fell off them. And then they were sent to this this world, which is why we're here, right? But unless one kind of revealed a verse and he revealed these verses, and I'm not gonna read them all out, I'll just quickly translate them for you. And that's wonderful. It says, All of you descend
into the earth basically as enemies onto one another. Okay, just close the window.
Sorry about that, some screaming outside. And anyway, they said all of you descend as closing as enemies onto one another. And in this world, you will live and in this world, you will die and from it you will be resurrected. Then he said a beautiful instruction. Imagine he's sending you down to earth. He's sending human beings for the first time down to earth. And he's telling them one thing.
He says Albany Adam, yeah, Vinnie Adam, indeed, we have sent upon you clothing to cover up your shame. We're Russia. Okay, Russia, I'll explain that to you. A lot. As soon as he's told us come down to earth, okay, and you are gonna be living on this earth and now all the way until the day of judgment. He says that he has sent us down. He didn't say he sent down water. He sent down food. He didn't say Oh, you're gonna need food to survive. You didn't say you're gonna need water to survive. Right? What he's told us is you've got you I have sent down for you clothing. Allah subhanaw taala has sent down clothing. So if we realize this is that what he is saying? The most important thing
before you even begin to eat and drink is think about what you're wearing, making sure that it's pleasing to Allah subhana wa Taala This is what and so when you sister you say that? Oh, you know, the only thing you can do is wear her job then Alhamdulillah because you are doing exactly the right you're fulfilling the order which is you are wearing the headscarf. You're covering up your shame as it as Allah describes, meaning it could easily when you uncover them, it could lead us to shame. And the only person that will actually miss out is yourself. You know, when we uncover our older and we uncover ourselves and, and we it's our it's our self respect our honor that lots of us are given.
He's trying to make us more superior to loyalty, loyalty.
Inside we are he's trying to make us higher than we are. I'm telling you Muslim women are so much smaller superior to royalty. Why? Because you're the Queen's of,
you know, you're the queens of the eternal, you know, the eternal policies, they're not the palaces of this world are going to die and disintegrate and turn into dust. We ended up with the Queen's of Jenga, inshallah so we are far more superior than royalty In short, if you see yourself that way, and honestly, give yourself the value that loves trying to give you. Yeah, and so Subhanallah remember this, give yourself the clothing, it's more and that is the one thing when you give yourself the clothing, yeah, it's far more needed to for us than for our survival in the dunya and akhira. than anything else more than even food and water. without food and water. Yes, you could die
from this world. But without clothing and without covering up our so our you know, the the things that could lead to our shame, we're gonna lose our position after May Allah protect, we never want to get there inshallah. So please,
yes, that was reading.
And we've got lots of questions for you on the line. So, before we go over to that, I just want to show the viewers and the people who are listening at home, how they can go onto the website, and leave feedback for us. So from there, this was an event that was hosted by a sofa Institute, we've had speakers from all around the world talking about this very, very pertinent issue, not only for ourselves, but for our children, for our family members, our friends, so that we can be confident in who we are, and how we abide by the laws of Allah subhanaw taala, including the wearing of the hijab, and then go on and with pride, and reflect that in the community that we live in as well. So
so that I don't know, if you want to join the meeting, again, perhaps your lighting will get fixed. But I'm just going to take a few seconds literally to share the screen and go on to the website. So if everybody can just see here, this is a sample website, if you type in here, a S dash su double faa.org. So www.safar.org, it will bring you to our homepage over here, and handler, you know person wants to donate to a lot of the projects that we offer, I really do not have time to go through all of them. But what they said of soccer, are very well known and you know, national homeless project and Food Bank, you can donate your sofa there as well. And there's a few dates that I just want you
to be aware of. One is the open day on Saturday, the 22nd of August, for our full time only media course. So all of the speakers that Mashallah joined us today, they've all embarked upon the journey of seeking sacred knowledge. And a lot of them have studied on a traditional Amamiya course, such as the one that we offer at a software Institute where myself and we'll start the Alamo also studied and graduated from. So if a person wants to find out more about what we offer, the subjects that we offer the teachers or any other questions that you have, we do have an open day for brothers and sisters on Saturday the 22nd of August. And if a person cannot commit to full time study, because
this is a you know, it's a massive commitment definitely is, you know, also the Alamo will will agree with me that is probably one of the best decisions that a person could ever make, to really go into the depths of your deen to understand the religion of Allah Subhana Allah and then use that knowledge to benefit yourself and to other people as well. There really is nothing else that a person can be engaged in, in this dunya that can that can give you that sweetness of a man, the way that being a student of knowledge or a scholar does. So if you can commit to full time study, it's about a five year course for sisters six years for brothers, and then Bismillah please come along to
the open day or join us online if you can't make it to the venue just to get your answers. Your questions answered. For those people who are maybe working or studying or because of different responsibilities, you can't commit to full time study. We do have an alternative for brothers and sisters. And that's called the heirs of the scholars modular course. Where it's done only in the evenings, so two evenings a week it starts off with and then it progresses to three evenings a week. So it's a four year course. But again you study the foundations of the deen you go into all of the different Islamic sciences, starting off with the Arabic language because without the study of the
Arabic language, then we cannot understand the words of Allah Subhana Allah under under Hadees in the way that they were revealed and said. So those are two key events that we've got coming up. Please take some time to go onto the website. There's loads
have other stuff there inshallah that will be of benefit to you as well. And as for this event, thank you so much for joining us. And because of you know, not just recent events, I know that hijab is a very, very popular topic. When it comes to newspaper articles when it comes to youtubers vloggers people taking off the hijab, and then putting it on in different hijabs clothes styles, there's so much confusion out there regarding what the hijab actually is. So it was a long time coming. But Alhamdulillah we've had this event, and I do hope that people have benefited, so that you can go on and teach other people and inspire people, maybe who aren't wearing the hijab, or
maybe sisters who are wearing the hijab, to develop a deeper love for this beautiful symbol that Allah Subhana Allah has blessed us with. And so if you would like to leave feedback for this event, and the website, the link is a safar.org, forward slash feedback. So it's a sufa.org, which is our normal website, forward slash feedback. If you go to that, then you can leave feedback for us. And we do take all feedback very, very seriously and hamdulillah. And any, you know, positive feedback, any positive criticism that you've got anything that we could change, any future events, any, you know,
any comments that you want to get passed on to any of the speakers in sha Allah is all for our, you know, personal development, and for the development of the Institute as well, so that we can continue delivering the courses and the events and the talks and the workshops that you need, that will benefit you the most. So I'm going to stop that there. And then for our final stretch, now, I'm going to go back to southern Alabama, where we have a few questions on the live stream. So I don't think your your lighting has been fixed, but still, nevertheless, we can hear you. So the first question that I have for you is,
are we allowed to wear jeans at home? I mean, these are very quick questions. So please just, you know, you don't need to go into too much detail, just so we can get through all of them. So system he was asking, Are we allowed to wear things like jeans at home?
If as long as the clothing you wear does not represent men, um, the main thing is with the idea of jeans is maybe if it looks too masculine, that's an issue. We're not meant to look like men in any way in how we dress, you just have to make sure that it's not a masculine, kind of looking challenge up. Okay, it's just a material, isn't it that Allison palace created? So just have to make sure it doesn't look too masculine. Anything about the tightness of the jeans? I mean, yeah, definitely. I mean, let's say for example, if you've got your husband is just you and your husband, then it's fine. You can wear whatever you like. But if say for example, there are like your, your your father
or your brother around, then you just have to make sure you know that I will know that you made a cover. So do you, I don't know if you know what the oh right is is slightly different in front of your father and your brothers than it is in front of the non Muslim men. So you can cover you can uncover some parts, like you can show your arms and your below your knees, for example. But let's say between your knees and all the way up to say, your all your back, basically, and a part of your front as well. What you have to do, you have to keep that covered. So that includes if your jeans are too tight on your thighs, and they can see the shape of your thighs, and you're not really fully
covered. So then you have to make sure they're loose enough their
sister and Ethel rod is asking and have a situation in Sweden, where to be a medical practitioner, you can't wear long sleeves. So should sisters like that leave the workplace? Well, what advice would you give to you know, doctors or nurses who these are requirements that you have to show parts of your arm? Yeah, so for that, there are some of these have actually looked into that. So for example, they know that it's called what you call a Hydra. Hydra is a need. So when there's a certain need, and obviously we have a need for medical doctors, we have a neat need for female nurses 100% we need so you know, if you're in a
hospital, the last thing you want is male nurses changing you. So it's an essential need for female nurses. So now, we have to then balance that with Okay, you've got female nurses that are required by the same time, you know, they have to show their arms, isn't it? I think it's a nursing requirement. And in that sense of what they do some of these have given that have allowed that because of the need. It's not obviously for the normal general public who say Oh, okay, then you know, I need some arms because I need a vitamin D. You can take vitamin D supplements if you really need to, if you feel you've got a genuine need. And then you can consult a Mufti and then they can
give you a fatwa on that. So this is I think, specifically exclusively for doctors and nurses that I do know something like this does exist. And likewise for every profession, it's it's advisable that you get a fatwa for your own profession
and so
Fatima is asking, Are you allowed to wear baggy trousers? I think you've addressed that that's allowed. But are there any specific rulings regarding wearing trousers but not wearing a buyer? So what kind of trousers possibly would be allowed to? So again, yeah, you could have a look at say, if you work in like a government position, for example, and I don't know certain position certain. Again, it's to do with work, like you have to wear a suit, for example, and you can't wear your jeans BB, for example. There might be some lenient some scholars, there are some scholars who are lenient in that they might say, oh, as long as all of your aura is covered in your rain, very loose
clothing, they there might be that leniency there. However, you know, we do know the verse of the Quran does clearly say jalopy beginner, which is a jilbab. So to Bob's, which is what we understand is a bias. And so as much as possible, we should be trying our best to, to adhere to the verse of the Quran and where the jilbab wherever we can, if say, for example, circumstances dictate that you're going for a certain I don't know, you're working somewhere where it's just impossible that you are a policewoman for example, and you're going to have to try and either fight I mean, it'd be difficult different, find a different career. But if, if that's the career for you, and that's what
you want to do, then again, you'd like to consult them with tea, and they might be able to find for you the clothing that is appropriate for you based on your need. And then take it from there. Okay.
So Kareena is asking, I believe she's a reverse sister. She's saying, is it valid to wear the hijab in a turban style to start off with, because I'm a little worried about losing my job to wear the full hijab?
So I think we kind of addressed that issue. And I think we'll start that launch. Another thing did as well. But you want to just say a few words on that. Yeah, definitely. I mean, obviously, we're taking steps to Allah subhanaw taala. And this is one step you're taking. So if that's the first step you're taking, which is you're just, you know, just covering your head, but obviously, you do have to be aware of the sin involved in showing our older. And we, if as long as we're conscious of the fact that we're sinning, likewise, if you're not praying, and you're, you're that the sin is immense, it's huge. It's great. So obviously, you do want to get to the point where you're able to
pray five times a day where you're fasting, and you're not missing, you're fast, and you do want to achieve that. But what I'm saying is, if you're not there yet, don't be put off by the fact that you're not there. Don't say I'm not there. So that's never not do anything, take one step at a time. And then go ahead, take one step at a time ask Allah to guide you ask Allah to keep guiding you to the next step in Sharla. But definitely, we should have the fear of Allah. And you know, I think it will help if you think of death, the way we're meant to see it like which is it could be in the next moment, then that might help us to quickly do everything that depends on if you're able to do that.
And that's obviously the ultimate way that's the way the Sahaba were, you know, they were whatever or demon thing done, they did it straight away. So if we can achieve that status 100 Allah, if you do so.
This is asking, Can we wear earrings? It's a bit of an ambiguous question. I don't know if she means with a hijab having the earrings on show or whether she means just wearing earrings generally but what's the ruling on just wearing earrings at home? So generally earrings at home is is actually highly encouraged. If you look beautiful for your husband and earrings that is part of the beautification of women. But of course when we go out we don't want to show our adornment because the verse of the Quran clearly mentioned that we should be hiding our adornment, so earrings, bangles, anklets all of that falls into adornment. So we should be trying covering them when we go
out.
Okay, also are slightly baggy jeans, okay to wear. Again, the question is are very clear. I don't know if the sister means at home or when when you're outside the home, but she's asking regarding baggy jeans. So again, the baggy jeans would fall into Say for example, you're wearing them home that you make sure they don't look like men. You don't look like a man when you wear them. Ideally, I would move away from jeans and try and move on to trousers, they're more comfortable as well, especially in the home, you get very hot. And let's say for example, you slowly slowly start wearing loose trousers, you should be wearing new surprises at home, especially if you're going to receive
visitors like brothers and uncles and dads. But if you're going out, I definitely wouldn't recommend that you were
just I mean if you're just starting off and that's just all if you can give then that's fine. You know that all you can wear is your jeans and you just put a headscarf on that's fine but you want to be saying this is my first step to Allah. Allah slowly slowly I'm going to take more steps to Allah subhanaw taala but for ultimately if you want to be doing the right thing, you want it you want to be wearing the job because that's what's really encouraged. Okay, well so sister is asking can we wear makeup in gatherings where our husband is also present? So from what I understand there's other people there possibly other men but just because your husband is there as well with you. Is it okay
to wear makeup? I mean makeup it you just depends on how you wear the makeup and like saw the fighting I really did beautifully. Cover it really really well. Like if you think your makeup is provocative, then obviously if you are going to look attractive, you
Husband you might look attractive to his friends as well, or the other men there. So you know, you know what you're doing, you know, unless someone is watching you. It's that Libous taqwa that you need to wear and you've got to tuck in your heart that if you know that you're making yourself attractive to your husband and of course other men, you know, they think the same day they're gonna think you're just as attractive. So you feel you can live with that in the in the eyes of a law that you demand are seeing you as attractive. And you could have actually avoided that by preventing yourself from wearing the makeup then that's between you and Allah subhanaw taala that this is why
it's an ambiguous area. It's a personal choice that every woman has to make, that she feels what where is the limit? At what point do I look so attractive? where, you know, men are whoever looks at me as they think I'm looking really beautiful. But you know, if you want that, and you want more than you want a loss pleasure, then that's a choice you've got to make, but we know where our last pleasure lies, because you just lost it. You just have to look at the Soviet look at Russia. You know, as soon as you saw a funny Minamata, when she was all alone, she's the first thing she did is draw the veil over her face in the sun. And then the last one a dialogue honored her so much by
revealing those verses in order to confirm her affirm her chastity. So this is what you want. You want a law on your side, ultimately, I mean, just a small bit of pleasure from these few men is surely this is just not worth it. In my opinion.
And here's the sisters has now gotten wearing earrings at home, they're allowed like you've mentioned, another sister is asking, Can I read joggers at home or under my Avaya. Again Yeah, joggers are actually quite comfortable. They're really comfortable. I mean, I personally do like to do go to the gym and wear joggers and but again, you know, you don't want the ones that look too masculine. So you want to look feminine, but you know living on that point when you go to the gym. And you know some sisters I see a lot of sisters that go to the gym. They were really like tight clothes and things like that even in front of sisters Be careful of your own odor. Because let's say
for example, like I said your aura is even you know your thighs and your
How should I say you know, you know those areas and you know if you're if you're in really tight clothes and your shape is really showing even in front of sisters. That's not a proper job even for you in front of sisters. You should be wearing loose so that's why I wear joggers because that's that's the loosest I can get for doing my gym work. Okay, and final question. And assistant asking, Can you rerun or peek hitch up and pre if your hair is? I think they mean maybe a transparent? So can you would your crab be valid? If you wear a hijab within which your hair is slightly visible? No, your hair does definitely need to be covered. Yes. So you must Yeah, we need to cover our hair
for properly so if your headscarf is thin you should we be looking for a thicker headscarf. So what you can do is double up before you pray if you're out just double up your job and then should be fine. Okay, now final question. Now, sisters, I've got a few questions coming through. But I'm just going to take one more, just so we can finish on time. And the sister is asking what advice would you give to a person who has trauma to wear the hijab? So somebody who's been abused by people who do wear hijab, and now has got a negative image in their mind towards the hijab?
Yeah, I mean, it's a shame that we're that, you know, person could do something as severe as abuse someone and then they still wear the hijab, and what an impression are you creating, you know, Savannah, like, I mean, people are gonna associate that he job with these people who do this, this type of abuse, which is why should we have to be so careful, when we're wearing a job, we have to really behave really well because people are judging us by our job. But let me tell you this, too, that he jobs got nothing to do with them is nothing to do with them. If anything, they're just trying to justify what they're doing by saying, I'm super pious, and I can get away with this. But
let me tell you, it's nothing, nothing near the sum of our profits and allowed so he didn't raise a hand to children to women. He was the most he was so kind to women. And in fact, he would say the best of you are those who are best to women are best to their families. So when we were he job, you don't wait for these people or anything you need to break away from that. And I think for that you could do counseling sessions because with the counselors, they can actually help you to overcome the association that you formed between her job and these people and their behavior. And the counseling is very good. So I would definitely recommend getting yourself a counselor to help you break away
that association. And then slowly slowly you can see that her job is from Allah subhanaw taala and it's the Sunnah of the Sahaba the Sunnah of our Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, and it's something so beautiful. I mean, I'm telling you, I mean, you know, for me is I can't I see it as liberation. I see as the best thing that has given me I see as a crown is just so beautiful. And I really hope you start associating it with sisters who are doing the work of the dean who are doing so much you know, for for the benefit of the oma and like Masada. Fatima mentioned about if you go to the LinkedIn and you see the sisters and what they're doing with HR one, and how they're
benefiting the community. I hope you can re associate
Get the job in a positive way with these sisters inshallah, which is not going to hate us for that I thank you so much for joining us taking time out. And we really benefited from yourself and for all of the speakers, Michelle
and sisters, thank you to all of you for taking time out on this beautiful day. joining us to discuss the hijab and issues surrounding the hijab, we pray that you've benefited. And like I said, please do take time out whenever you get a chance to go on to the sofar.org website, check out what we do, and leave feedback so that we have ideas for for for future events and courses as well in sha Allah, and one of the speakers who were speaking today The details are on the website. And you can find them on social media as well keep up to date with the work that they're doing in the community. And you know, hamdullah they're all very positive role models. For us hijab wearing role models for
us that we can take benefit from a lot of systems are asking regarding the recording whether it's going to be available, again, I'm not sure we'll have to find out from you know, the the admin whether the YouTube recording will be available. And if it is then inshallah keep keep an eye on the website, or you'll get an email, if you're registered, we'll send out an email regarding that. And if it isn't, then hopefully inshallah you still benefited. you retain the information and one of the best ways of retaining it is to go and spread it to other people. So today, maybe your family discussion can be about the hijab, get the family involved, get the kids involved, and start this
discussion regarding hijab, not just for women, but also the issues of modesty and lowering the gaze and respect when it comes to men as well. So just acknowledge them for attending. It's 659 now, so I'm going to leave you here, please keep myself and all of the speakers and a sofa Institute in your glass, and hopefully we will see you very soon for our next event. Just like a hadith Assalamu alaykum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh