Naima B. Robert – The Hijab Connection
AI: Summary ©
The importance of individuals being protected from evil behavior and practicing sincerity is emphasized in the drive towards Islam. The "hameless nature" of actions is also discussed, which is part of our journey as Muslims. The "hameless nature" of behavior is also discussed, which is part of our journey as Muslims. The "arare" of man is also discussed, which is a step forward in society and should be respected and not just a way to judge people. The "hameless nature" of behavior is also discussed, which is part of our journey as Muslims.
AI: Summary ©
Bismillah er salatu wa salam ala Rasulillah Assalamu alaykum
Warahmatullahi Wabarakatuh. It gives me great pleasure to be here
making this video for you. For the hijab Expo.
I'ma be Robert, an author and the publisher of magazines for Muslim
women and children.
When I was asked by a nor sisterhood to prepare a little
video about the hijab, just say some words about the hijab and
about hair, I really wondered what I could contribute to this
discussion. I mean, what can I say about Hijab that hasn't been said
already 1000s of times before.
Those of you who've read my book, from my sister's lips will be
familiar with my own journey towards the hijab and towards
Islam.
The now sort of infamous words, you know, when I first met
somebody who wore hijab, and actually got up the courage to ask
them, why they wear hijab. And that simple, simple answer that
changed my life, which was
because I want to be judged for what I say and what I do, not what
I look like. That was the beginning of my journey towards
Islam, and the beginning of my journey towards hijab. But I'm not
here today to talk about how I became a hijab wearer, how I
became a Muslim.
I would like to share with you a few thoughts that I had on the
hijab, and I've entitled this talk the hijab connection. Okay, I want
to look at three basic areas. During my talk, I would like to
look at hijab as a better as an act of worship, I would look at
the hijab, I'd like to look at hijab as something
transformational. And I want to look at the hijab as a source of
unity. Okay, so just for the sake of clarity, I would like to make
it clear at this point that when I'm talking about with hijab, I'm
actually not talking about wearing a hijab or headscarf or clothing
or et cetera. I'm not talking about wearing hijab, I will be
talking about observing hijab. Because observing hijab, and hijab
in the context of this talk is not just a headscarf or a piece of
clothing, it is a code. It is a way of being that includes, but
it's not limited to covering according to the Quran and the
Sunnah. So it encompasses modesty, it encompasses humility, in
thought and deed, in the way that we carry ourselves and the way we
relate to ourselves and to those around us. Okay, this is this link
between the way we are on the inside, and the way we are on the
outside as individuals. And the way we then portray ourselves to
people around us and interact with people around us, is what I'm
calling that hijab connection. So first up, hijab as an act of
worship. All right, lots of people all around the world wear hijab
for a multitude of different reasons. It could be that that's
your culture, or that's your tradition in your family, or that
you were told to do it or asked to do it by members of your family.
It could be that you really like the way it looks. It could be that
you're hanging out with a group of girls who all wear hijab, and so
you decided to wear it too. It could be you're having a bad hair
day, hey, these things happen. Okay. So I'm not talking about
these various forms of wearing, observing hijab. I want us to
focus on the rather revolutionary idea of hijab as an act of a bed
as an act of worship, because we know in our deen that in nama
Armello vignette, that very actions are but by intention, so I
can cover as I'm covering now, but if I'm covering in this way, which
you know, looks correct, and looks very pious, masha Allah, if I
cover in this way, because I'm evading the police, for example,
or because I don't want my face to be seen on CCTV, do you see the
way that my intention completely changes my action, and this is the
way it is with everything that we do in our deen the way that we
differentiate for example, between the hair salon and the officer
Salah is by the intention, they're both for our cat, but before we
start praying, we make intention that this is the heart or this is
ASA. So when hijab, I would like us to look at the possibility of
observing hijab, as an act of worship, with everything that that
requires, when we pray, when we fast when we give sadaqa when we
smile at someone for the sake of giving sadaqa all of these acts
are done with a particular thing. Something very, very important.
And that thing is sincerity. Sincerity, a whole US meaning that
we are doing this thing as an act of worship in order to grow closer
to Allah subhanaw taala. Now flip the script
it and think of hijab in that way. We are observing hijab we're
covering, we're behaving in a way that is modest and humble, as an
act of worship, in order to grow closer to Allah subhanaw taala and
earn His pleasure.
What we need to understand here is that this way of understanding
hijab serves as a protection, it serves as a guide in lots of
different ways. I'm sure many of you have heard the whole, you
know, the hijab as a protection, it protects you from, you know, a
tension that you don't want, etcetera, when you're out and all
of that, I'm not really going to go into that, because I want to
dig a little bit deeper. And look at how hijab, when done sincerely
for the sake of Allah, can protect you and transform you and your
life. And one of the things that I'd like to look at is how when we
practice and we observe hijab, for the sake of our last panel
dialogue, it protects us not just from any particular dangers
outside in the society at large, but also from those things within
us that can cause us harm. To observe hijab correctly, is the
protected from vanity,
do we protect protected from obsessing about our appearance, to
be protected from self absorption, from self doubt, ambiguity, all of
these things, we can be protected from, if we observe hijab in the
correct way. Now, before I go into the transformational nature of the
hijab, there's one thing I want to make clear and inshallah I will
touch on it later on in the talk. And that is that hijab is not the
goal. Hijab is not the destination, hijab is a part of
our journey. Many, many sisters have talked about how they maybe
started not wearing hijab, or when they started practicing the
awareness, certain type of hijab, and how the hijab changed over
time. This is part of our journey as Muslims, and it's a journey
that we will continue to be on until we take our last breath, but
it Nilla so when I talk about hijab in this context is an act of
ibadah, I want you to know that I am not calling you to everybody
puts on a scarf. No.
Our covering for the sake of our last panel to Allah is part of our
a beta. And it's part of our journey. It's part of our growth
as Muslims. And it's something that we don't want ever to stop.
So hamdulillah if you're wearing hijab, make sure that your hijab
is as correct as you can make it, learn about it, become sincere
with it. Okay. And then once you've got that, you got to keep
growing, you have to keep improving. It doesn't just stop
once you're wearing the scarf or wearing our bio wearing niqab.
That's it, you're a perfect Muslim, you're done? No, this is
just part of the journey. So that's something that I really
want to make clear. We're not calling to the hijab as an end,
the hijab is a means to an end. And what is that end? That end is
the pleasure of Allah subhanaw taala. And at the end of the day,
at the end of the world, Paradise and sha Allah.
Okay, so we've talked a little bit about Hijab as our bio as a
burden, we've talked about how hijab can protect us. Now, I would
like to look at the transformational nature of the
hijab.
When we observe hijab for the sake of Allah as an act of a banner, it
should transform us, it should transform our thinking, our way of
life, it should transform the awareness that we have of our
Lord, Allah subhanaw taala and our purpose on this earth, it should
transform our actions, it should transform the way that we respond
to ourselves, the way we look upon ourselves, the way we treat
ourselves, and of course, the way that we interact with others, the
way we treat others, and the way that we are in society.
One of the things that is amazing about observing ninja for the sake
of Allah, is that not only to transform the way that we start to
see the world and the way that we behave, it also is one of the
things that can cure some of the ills that are plaguing our
society, in the especially in this day and age, and particularly with
regards to young women and girls. Okay, we're talking about things
like hyper sexualization, okay, if you've watched or seen pop star or
music video lately, you will see that this is a huge issue. And
people who are learning about and involved in work with young
people, especially young girls are noticing higher levels of
dissatisfaction with our bodies, higher levels of of angst of you
know, of a feeling that we're not good enough, okay? We're talking
about the idea that if you're not beautiful or hot, you're
worthless. We're talking about the idea that if you're that Your
looks are more important than your thoughts or your achievements.
We're talking about being defined by society's definition of beauty,
the hijab as
An act of a bad should cure us, cure us completely of these ills.
Because we are taking our guidance from the One who created us a
timeless law,
a law that came down with mercy and will permeate our lives with
mercy. So hamdulillah what we have here is, it's a weapon really, it
is, it's a weapon, it's like armor. Okay, when you are wearing
hijab, and you know that hamdulillah I'm wearing hijab,
Allah told me to do this as a command from my Lord. This is an
honor for me, that is part of my dignity. And this is a part of who
I am. And I am free to develop other parts of who I am. We should
never feel that we have to compare ourselves physically to the latest
cover of Cosmo or, or or magazine or any of these things. We
shouldn't be looking at our bodies and saying, Well, why don't I look
like Miley Cyrus? Or why don't I look like Nicki Minaj these are
not our role models. And the hijab reminds us of that in sha Allah.
So this is one of the things that I feel really the message needs to
get out there to all those young girls, that the hijab is
empowering.
What you see out there, the music videos and the supermodels and the
kind of women that they choose to put on magazine covers, etc, is
dis empowering women. It's disempowering girls, it is
damaging our self esteem, it is damaging our idea about ourselves.
The Hijab is armor against the onslaught. Okay, so I want you to
take that message out there when you go out there. Okay, people
need to free themselves from those shackles are girls are young women
need to free themselves from comparing themselves to an
unrealistic ideal that is being sold right now, as the ideal
woman? Ain't nobody got time for that. Okay. So what we're talking
about is
the hijab being transformational. And from what I've seen, and what
I experienced, I'll give you my own personal experience. Observing
hijab for the sake of Allah should make you bold, it should make you
confident, it should make you brave. It should make you
determined in all things that will lead you to the pleasure of Allah.
Now, I don't want you to get me wrong and think that I'm talking
about being brash, or being loud or offensive or this type of
behavior. That type of behavior is not befitting from any Muslim,
male or female. But what I'm talking about here is a quiet
confidence, a self assuredness, and it comes from knowing that
you're doing the right thing. And that you're standing for something
that is way bigger than yourself, way bigger than us. You're
standing for and you're upholding something that is honorable, and
that is true. And that is a command from the One who created
every one and everything. And that you are standing firm in the face
of a society that is calling you the opposite way that should make
you feel even stronger.
So what we're seeing right now is we're saying yes, to hijab, yes to
hire, yes to modesty, no. To flaunting our looks no to
flaunting our bodies, no to obsessing with our looks. No to
treating our bodies like commodities, no to dangerous
dieting, no to bulimia, no to anorexia, no to hating the bodies
that Allah Subhana Allah gave us take that message with you in sha
Allah.
Now, the next thing I want to address Charla before I finish up
is the issue of hijab and unity. Okay. I want to make it clear
right now, that wearing hijab does not make you a better Muslim on by
default. Okay. Yes, it is a command from Allah. Yes, it is
wajib in sha Allah. But just because you observe hijab does not
make you better necessarily than the sister who doesn't wear it.
And why do I say this? Because there is more to our Ibadah than
the outer, there is more to our worship, then just covering okay,
we know that Allah is the only one who knows the true state of any
person. So we cannot allow arrogance or pride or judgment to
enter our hearts. If a Lost Planet Allah has guided us and made it
easy for us to observe hijab because make no mistake, our
ability to wear hijab is a mercy from Allah subhanaw taala our
strength and our confidence and our conviction is a mercy from
Allah subhanaw taala we should never take that for granted. And
we should never look down on and judge people who don't have that
conviction yet, who who have Allah has guided has not yet guided to
this particular act of worship, okay. So that's one of the things
that we need to do is to stay humble. Okay, stay down to earth
and respect each other. The Hijab should not be a reason to divide.
It should not be something to create disunity amongst our
sisters. We should never use the hijab as a tool to judge people.
You see them from the outside and you say good Muslim, bad Muslim
based on their hijab. No, because while we want good for our Sisters
in Islam, we must be very careful not to judge
each other based on appearances. And it goes both ways. We know we
all know, those who don't observe hijab judge the ones who do those
who do we observe a job or judging the ones who don't. And in the
end, we don't get anywhere. We have to develop a mutual respect
based on love of Allah and love of Rasul, and that we're all trying,
and that this is a journey, and that none of us is guaranteed
paradise.
Sometimes you find that
things are not as black and white as you as you think, as you first
thought. Okay, so as we're calling to hijab, as we're encouraging
sisters, to, you know, to take on hijab as a lifestyle here as a
lifestyle, we must remember the most important thing, and that is
sincerity. And if there's only one thing that you take from this
talk, I need it to be that, that observing hijab is an act of a
Buddha. And like any other act of a Buddha, there are two conditions
for it to be accepted one that is in accordance with the Quran and
the Sunnah. And to that it is done sincerely for the sake of Allah,
Allah. I ask that Allah accepts our hijab, whatever level it's on,
and it helps us to increase and become closer to Him and to better
our hijab in whatever way we can. I asked that he gives us success
in our efforts to call to this Deen that he gives us success in
being able to actualize the beauty of this deen and to call people to
it through our tongues through our deeds through our interactions
with people in every way. And I ask that he accepts your
activities this weekend as an act of a Buddha and that many, many
people are guided through this and all the other talks and all the
other efforts that you're making. And my final call is I call it
Callie Heather or staford. Allah Assalamu alaykum Warahmatullahi
Wabarakatuh