Hijab Series: Alina’s Hijab Story

Todays post in my hijab series is  by Alina Asif, a blogger who by the use of pen aims at spreading the peace and contentment she found in coming close to Islam.

With the help of Allah (Subhanahu wa Ta’ala), I look forward to help other sisters in breaking the shackles which restrict them from stepping closer to our beautiful deen. This beauty is what they need to see, and for the purpose of spreading it, if Allah (Subhanahu wa Ta’ala) wills, I look forward to write, write and write.

Alina can be found blogging at https://alinaasifblog.wordpress.com/

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How Everything Started

Beautiful are the days when the sun shines bright and illuminates everything that was once occupied by the darkness of night. The same brightness entered my life when the light of Islam vanished every bit of darkness that had surrounded my soul. Although I happen to be a Muslim by birth, but seldom in the past did I ponder over the beautiful ahkaam this religion puts before man to lead a healthy and balanced life. What I was following was basically a mixture of culture and religion which brought forward a twisted lifestyle where most of the things done were religiously wrong and nobody dared to oppose such practices due to the lack of religious knowledge. Undoubtedly this led to nothing but confusion. Even though I wasn’t living life as a good Muslimah must live, Allah (Subhanahu wa Ta’ala) never deprived me of His mercy and guidance! In the midst of everything that was there, He (Subhanaahu wa Ta’ala) kept me connected to Him through Salat. And so, one fine morning I made a du’a asking Allah (Subhanahu wa Ta’ala) to increase love for Him and His Prophet (peace be upon him) in my heart. Alhumdulillah, He (Subhanahu wa Ta’ala) showed me the way and keeps on guiding me each and every day.

Taking a Step Towards the Hijab

One of the things towards which my attention shifted after coming close to Islam was the hijab. It took me a long time to comprehend its importance in the life of a Muslimah and what it exactly meant. I came to find out that it didn’t only refer to a headscarf (as most people think), but was a very deep concept. The way a Muslimah dresses, walks, talks and behaves with the opposite gender (i.e. the non-mahrams) is all that it refers to. Opting for it brought a beautiful feeling, but criticisms made their way too. At times the comments seemed so discouraging that I could do nothing but to sit in a lonely place and weep. The same people who encouraged me to live as the culture demanded, were now disapproving what I had opted for out of love for my Lord (Subhanahu wa Ta’ala).

 

Lessons Learnt

It’s an admitted fact that hardships leave a person with valuable lessons that can’t be learnt otherwise. Alhumdulillah, it happened to me as well after I took the decision to observe hijab. And thus I realized how valuable the relationship of man with his Lord (Subhanahu wa Ta’ala) is. In the darkest of the moments, when there is none to be trusted, and there’s none to talk to, the only One man can turn to is Allah (Subhanahu wa Ta’ala). In short, He (Subhanahu wa Ta’ala) is always there, man just needs to make some efforts to find Him!

Secondly, I became aware of the sole purpose in life we have i.e. to please The Creator (Subhanahu wa Ta’ala), and not the creation. Whatever pleases Allah (Subhanahu wa Ta’ala) has been made known to us through the Qur’an and Sunnah of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). What is required of us is to know and follow it. But one just moves away from these goals when they spend their precious time in life to please the creation. That truly can never bring contentment as it’s humanly impossible to please each one of the individuals that we come across in life.

Thoughts at Present

I thank Allah (Subhanahu wa Ta’ala) for making me eligible enough to opt for what He (Subhanahu wa Ta’ala) has liked for His female servants. The hardships which came with this decision helped me grow strong as a Muslimah. I solely took this step out of my own free will and there was nobody who made me do this by force. Hijab is meant to be a part of any Muslimah’s life who purely aims at seeking her Lord’s (Subhanahu wa Ta’ala) pleasure. Thus there is no way anybody could be forced to do that as such are only matters of the heart!