Why Do I Wear Hijab?
Let me count for you the reasons why I wear my hijab…
10. Because I’m free!
No one has the right to see anything of me that I don’t give them permission to see. It’s my right to choose who gets to see the best of me – and that will be the one who Allah gave the right to see me, the one who is halal for me, not some stranger. This is a man who will, insha’Allah, have the same feelings of love towards me, and will be willing to sacrifice for me like I sacrifice for him.
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9. Because I am precious.
There’s no way I’m going to degrade myself by becoming an object to be seen by the eyes of every man and stranger. And I’m not going to let anyone steal a glance at my bare body, so long as I can help it.
But I can’t stop the men from looking… and I apologize to my sister who does not wear the hijab, because there are those out there with weak souls that will look your way, even if you do not want it. That is why Allah made the hijab fard, so that those with weak hearts will not be tempted in the same way. I’m talking about those men who, wherever they walk or drive, are always looking at every woman they see. And they continue their search, because no amount of looking is enough for them – but I won’t let them see much of me.
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8. Because I respect myself.
I value myself and will not enter that sexual race where the prize is a vulgar word, a lustful glance, or the offer of an inappropriate friendship or relationship.
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7. Because my beauty isn’t just on the outside.
When my husband comes along, the one I will marry and give a part of my life to, the one I will share my hopes and dreams with, the one who will become the father of my children – he will not choose me because of my body, insha’Allah. I do not want him to love me for it; I want him to know me for who I really am, to love my personality, to respect my values. Beauty fades with age, but the soul does not. There are many women out there who choose to wear the hijab after they are married, thinking that is how they will win a husband over initially. But if it was beauty that won him over in the first place, it can win him over again with another woman.
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6. Because I fear for my brother in Islam.
The one I see at school or work or even on the bus, the one who’s struggling to please Allah by lowering his gaze. I do not want to be a hardship on him, and I do not want to be an obstacle in his path of closeness to Allah. How would I stand before my Lord bearing such a sin?
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5. Because I care about my brothers in Islam.
Many of these are brothers who, more than anything, want to get married to fulfill their desires in a permissible way, want to avoid haram glances – but they can’t get married yet because of their financial circumstances. I do not want to be a reminder of that to any of my brothers as he passes me, I do not want to be someone who arouses the desires he is trying so hard to control.
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4. Because the “zina” (fornication) of the eye is the glance.
The Prophet salla Allahu alayhi wasallam said, “Every son of Adam has his share of zina. For the eyes may commit zina and their zina is looking…” [Bukhari, Muslim and Ahmed].
I want to protect myself from such glances. I don’t want to make such glances. I don’t want to be the object of such glances, either, and I certainly don’t want to be the cause of these glances. I don’t want anything at all to do with them.
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3. Because I care about my sister in Islam.
The woman who walks along with her husband as he glances at me, comparing us and thinking of all the different women there are out there, while she experiences the hurt and jealousy. One day I might be faced with the same thing, and even if I think I’m pretty… well, there’s always prettier.
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2. Because I fear for myself.
Then there’s another reason, a more important reason, and it’s the hijab: that hijab I will one day wear as part of my burial clothes. There’s one difference here – I won’t have a choice about whether I wear that hijab or not, so why not wear it in this life, while I have the choice to follow the command of Allah? Allah asks us to be modest even in our graves when no one will see us or value us, so why shouldn’t we do it while alive? I want to wear hijab before it’s too late to be rewarded for it, before it’s too late to avoid punishment for not wearing it. I would rather walk this earth obeying and pleasing my Lord because I choose to, rather than meeting Him on the Day of Judgment having displeased Him.
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1. Because Allah said so.
But in the end, these are all secondary reasons, all reasons that come after the most important reason of all: I wear my hijab to obey Allah and worship Him. Even if I did not know the wisdom behind hijab or have any other reason for wearing it, I would still wear it because He has asked me to. I choose to be of those who say, “We hear and we obey” [2:285].
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And that is why I wear my hijab, walhamdulilah. May Allah make the hijab a jewel to every Muslim woman, as it is to me.
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Loosely translated and adapted from an Arabic email forward.
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