Sometimes we see an act of disobedience to Allah that makes us angry. But do we end up reacting in a way that would make Allah angry as well?

As the years have gone by, I have found myself strengthening my faith and character. How I practice Islam today has improved from how I practiced it a few years ago, to even a few months ago. One of the blessings that Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala has given us as a part of this perfect religion is that every little good deed counts. Imagine if our good deeds counted only when we fulfilled everything in its entirety? Yet even the person who does one good thing while they struggle with others will be rewarded for that one good thing, just like the prostitute was rewarded for quenching the thirst of a dying dog, in the hadith of the Prophet Salla Allahu Alayhi Wasallam.

The other day I was eating lunch with a girl when one of our acquaintances passed by. After greeting her with an Assalamu Alaikum, we returned to our meal, when all of a sudden the girl I was having lunch with coldly remarked, “I feel like ripping her hijab off her head!”

I was shocked at her sudden statement, and my heart sank when she said that. The acquaintance who walked by was a dear friend of mine whom I had met a year ago in one of our courses. She was sweet and always kind. I occasionally bumped into her in the prayer room, and in all my months of knowing her, I had never heard her utter a bad word about anyone. But because she wore her hijab styled so that a bit of her hair showed, she had just become the target of an unnecessary statement.

In an authentic hadith reported by Imams Muslim and At-Tirmithi, the Prophet Salla Allahu Alayhi Wasallam said,

“One will not enter Paradise if they have even an atom’s weight of arrogance in their heart.”

Iblis was condemned to an eternity of hell when he refused to bow down to Adam alayhi salam out of arrogance, claiming that fire was better than clay. So what will be the place of the person who looks down on another with the thought that he or she is better than the former because of how they practice their deen?

With adorning the hijab comes a handful of tribulations, and every woman is different at how and what pace she tackles those tribulations. So while some may have overcome the challenges earlier on and are at a stronger position in their faith, it does not mean they now have the right to judge and discriminate against those who may not have come so far.

Instead of backbiting that sister you always see wearing skinny jeans with her hijab, why not approach her and remind her of the commandments of Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala in a humble way? If you do not know her well enough, or are worried she may take it the wrong way, make du’aa for her! Never underestimate the power of du’aa.

My mother always said to me that fulfilling the requirements of Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala is like being at university and getting your degree. You do not perfect your field of study in the first year, the second, or even the third. It takes four years to completely master what you are studying, and even then there is always room for improvement!

Likewise, it takes time to completely observe the proper hijab, and we should make du’aa that every woman is rewarded for attempting to, no matter where she is in the process. We definitely want our sisters to wear the proper hijab, and we want them to know certain things are unacceptable – but it’s not our job to judge them, and our method of da’wah should not push them farther away from Islam.

Lastly, remember these beautiful instructions from the Qur’an,

“O you who have believed, let not a people ridicule another people; perhaps they may be better than them. Nor let women ridicule other women; perhaps they may be better than them. And do not insult one another and do not call each other by (offensive) nicknames. Wretched is the name of disobedience after  faith. And whoever does not repent – then it is those who are the wrongdoers.” [49:11]

Remember those words – and take them to heart.