As she walked with slow but steady steps down the street towards he Masjid, she looked like the ‘ideal Muslimah’: gaze lowered, well-covered, tall, strong, and confident. She had come a long way to get to this stage; hers was a story of a rise, a fall, and a rise again. How did she get to this stage? This is how it all started…

A smile in passing, an “Assalamu ‘alaykum” when our paths would cross and an occasional “whats-up-with-you?” was the limit of our contact.

When I first started covering, I just wanted to do it so badly that I couldn’t hold it off any longer. In fact, I hadn’t planned anything at all.

We are surrounded by a world which beautifies everything around us such that it leads to an eternity of misery and remorse.

What led me to this path? I would love to say that I accepted it from my own accord, but I had nothing to do with it since it was only through the Mercy of Allah that I consciously became a Muslim. We always say things like “I chose this religion” but it is in fact Allah who chooses us; it is Allah who guides us to the straight path.