A friend of mine sent me an article about a woman who wasn’t allowed entry into a nightclub because she refused to remove her “hijab” (note the media’s incorrect use of hijab).
“I had to reread this to make sure it was not by The Onion. You should write on this ridiculous situation,” his message reads.
My very first thought – she should not have even been there. But I wasn’t going to write about that. She’s been bombarded by that sentiment, and more, clarifying that it was a “restaurant / bar / hotel / pub that I went to for DINNER.”
Seriously speaking, I hope, despite the trolling, she now sees how clarifying a nightclub from a restaurant that has a bar or pub does not make the one more or less impermissible than the other.
It was really the viral video of the woman in niqab who was praised for her dance moves that got me to write.
I don’t want to add to the voices telling women (and men), with Muslim names and sometimes Muslim dress that going to a restaurant / bar / hotel / pub for dinner, let alone a bar to dance – proving jaahiliayh has returned, isn’t something the halal police should even exist for.
What I want to say is HIJAB is not a headscarf. Hijab is not just a headscarf. Niqab is not just a face cover. Wearing either of these regularly doesn’t make one a “hijabi” nor a “niqabi”. It makes you an adherent to a tenet of Islam.
That hijab has been allowed to be minimised to only the head covering has been detrimental to the understanding Muslims have of what constitutes modesty.
Modest fashion is a multibillion-dollar industry that’s taken the world by storm. Models walk the catwalk in head scarves, designer labels sell modest trends, and Muslim fashion designers and bloggers appeal to the masses all in an attempt to sell identities. See, fashion is used to empower. People create their identity through what they wear instead of through who they are.
Hijab is more than this. It is more than a piece of cloth cut in different shapes, colours and sizes, with beads or without, branded or not that has become appealing or even an option because it “looks good”.
The first degree of true Hijab for women is to remain in the home and conceal themselves and their beauty from the fitnah (trial, temptation, affliction) that is present outside. The second degree is when necessity requires a woman to leave the home she conceals herself by means of the Jilbab. The Jilbab is a piece of clothing large enough to conceal the entire body and shape.
YouTube and Facebook “hijab tying” tutorials aim to teach women how to beautify the headscarf so that she looks more attractive in it than she does out of it. If your headscarf looks good and draws attention to you then that contradicts the modesty that is the very essence of the Islamic Hijab.
With the rise of feminism, popular movements and the Universal drive to demolish the concept of gender, the significance of hijab and its necessity is being diminished.
Hijab is an understanding of modesty manifested on the outside by how simply and discreetly you choose to dress. The image you will project, whether it be trendy, fashionable or even pious, is not a concern.
Fashionable wear is not a means of empowering people. Muslim women and men gain their identity from their Deen. From understanding the concept of lowering the gaze, not being boastful and being modest in behaviour, appearance and speech, to dressing for protection from the elements and comfort rather than to impress.
Often, we hear women say they don’t wear a headscarf or cover up or any other verbal variant one uses to excuse themselves from the Islamic dress. It’s what’s inside that matters, right?
If all that is on the outside is an act or facade, facades fail and the curtain falls. If all that matters is on the inside, surely we should not be as occupied with the outside. Modernising modesty, beautifying bodies, and identifying oneself through dress is not hijab. With all these excuses and misunderstandings the pristine experience in the system of hijab is lost.
