One of the most difficult decisions many Muslim
sisters face is the decision to start wearing Hijab. This is certainly true
for reverts, but may also be true for
sisters whose families or even whose cultures are not particularly observant. As a revert myself, I have been through the whole thing. I would like to offer some advice that I hope Insha-Allah will be helpful to sisters who are considering wearing Hijab but find that something is holding them back. The first step is to learn about Hijab. There is so much information out there. Many Muslim sisters will assist you in this regard. Deciding to wear Hijab: This is where the difficulties usually come in. For many sisters, it truly is a Jihad. I remember very vividly how scared I was the first day I put on the headscarf and went out into public. As long as you are just wearing the modest clothes, nobody has to know that you are a Muslim. Once you complete your Hijab with the headscarf, you are suddenly announcing to everyone who sees you that "I am a Muslim". Here is some advice based on own experiences: 1) Wear it for the sake of Allah Almighty: Various statements are made about why you should wear Hijab, such as for modesty or for protection. But the real reason that we wear Hijab is that Allah Almighty has commanded it. Whenever anyone asks you, why do you dress like that, that''s the only answer you need to give him. Allah Almighty is the source of everything we have -- our existence, our life, our capability, even our goodness. If He even stopped sustaining us, we would vanish in that instant. If He took away what He gives us, we would never have even a speck of it. The more difficult it is for you to be patient, the greater the reward for it. So what will it be? Ease in this world and perhaps the eternal sufferings in Hell? Wear it and spite the Satan: My dear
Sister, the worries and fears in your mind are the whisperings of the Satan. He wants to talk you out of obeying Allah Almighty. It is very easy to keep going around in circles in your mind and to dwell on all the things that could go wrong. I know that I myself have a tendency to do this. I put it off and I dither and wait for "the perfect time". If I let myself be, I would never do anything at all! So the thing you have to remember is that you do not need to be perfect in faith to wear Hijab. If perfection were a qualification, where is the sister who could wear it?? You must also not fall into the trap of thinking that you should wait until all your worries and fears have disappeared. They never will. Trust me on this, sister. True courage is going ahead to do what''s right even though you are still nervous and scared. So don''t listen to the Satan. Ignore the worries and fears he whispers into your mind. Tell him that you will not let him keep you from obeying Allah Almighty and you will not let him rule your life. 5) Make the decision to wear it: Once you have come to know in your heart that you must wear Hijab, then all you have to do is set a day and JUST DO IT!! This is the only way. Set a day and when that day comes, you have to do it. Don''t back down. Don''t give up. Do it. Offer Salat al-Istikhara. Make Du''a. Make lots of Du''a. Do not stop making Du''a. Ask Allah Almighty to give you strength. Ask Him to make it easy for you. Ask Him to help you. He will, I swear it to you. He is always there for you when you turn to Him.