Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh, everyone! We decided to do something a little different at IGIC, to try to give the site a change of pace. We’re turning the month of May into reader-takeover month insha’Allah – and we need your help to do it! All throughout the month of May, we’d like to post your personal stories about how you came to hijab. Everyone has a story to tell, and we often hear back from readers about how inspiring the blog and (especially) the personal stories on it are. We even got a request recently for more personal stories, so we’d like to dedicate one whole month to that.

I Got It Covered (IGIC for short) is a blog about hijab, but for those of us involved in the project, it’s so much more. IGIC is a perfect example of how we should never belittle the smallest of ideas, never underestimate the power of a simple suggestion. It’s a lesson in taking time out to plan and work behind the scenes, like a seedling which grows underground before poking its head out of the soil. It’s an illustration of the beauty of teamwork and sisterhood, and working together for the sake of Allah. But let’s back up for a minute. What is IGIC, again, and how did it all start?

Bismillah. We recently learned about The Ideal Muslimah, a Facebook fanpage for sisters, with amazing posts and reminders for the journey we’re all on to try to become better Muslimahs. December is their Hijab Month Project! Join their fan page for some inspiring hijab stories coming up at the end of this month, insha’Allah.

A year ago today, by the hijri calender, we launched IGIC. It was December 29th, 2008, corresponding to the 1st of Muharram, 1430 AH. Today is December 17, 2009, and (according to some calculations) it corresponds to the 1st of Muharram, 1431 AH.

Imam Siraj Wahhaj is sick, and in need of our help. No words can truly verbalize what Imam Siraj means to the North American community, or what he has done for Muslims living in the West. So instead, we leave you with some inspiration from the Imam himself: