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Madinat al-Muslimeen Islamic Message Board
| Hijab -Hinders or enhances? |
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| elite_ansaar |
| 11/16/02 at 05:06:14 |
| Asalam Alaykum I would like to ask sisters how they view the hijab in relation to beauty. Do they see it has hiding their beauty, or enhancing their beauty? To me personally, a girl in Hijab always catch's my eye, more so than those sisters who do not wear one. I feel it adds to the beauty of a woman. A woman may be beautiful, but thats not the whole story. Its not perfection. You can have all the ingredients for a nice cake, the eggs, flour, sugar and milk, you put it all together and make a luvly cake. But to finish it off, and to get the perfect finish, what do you do? You put a cherry on top, and than you have perfection. Find a beautiful woman, she may have a great personality, great sense of humour and a real sense of justice and honour, but if she puts on the Hijab, she becomes pure perfection. The Hijab to a woman is like the Jewel in the crown. Do the sisters agree with this, or would you say its wrong to see the Hijab as adding to beauty? From an Islaamic stance? Maasalama |
| 11/16/02 at 05:07:30 |
| elite_ansaar |
| Re: Hijab -Hinders or enhances? |
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| Fatimah |
| 11/16/02 at 08:23:04 |
| [slm] I would hope that by wearing the hijab correctly, it would hide the beauty of a Muslimah, not enhance it. I also don't think it would be fair to say wearing hijab hinders the beauty, since it's there, just hidden. That's why we were commanded to cover, to hide our adornments. Of coarse, wearing hijab is beautiful, a blessing from Allah. It is our own special crown of honor. :) Allahu Alim |
| 11/16/02 at 08:24:03 |
| Fatimah |
| Re: Hijab -Hinders or enhances? |
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| se7en |
| 11/16/02 at 14:54:10 |
| as salaamu alaykum, I hear stuff like this from a lot of guys.. that there's a different type of beauty and femininity that comes from wearing hijab.. even one guy said "y'all look like princesses" :o I don't think they mean that hijab enhances a woman's *individual* beauty, attraction, ornaments, etc.. I think there's just something that emanates from a woman who dresses and acts with dignity, and shows respect for herself.. and maybe that's something that's appealing to guys? dunno if I'm making sense.. :) salaam :-) |
| Re: Hijab -Hinders or enhances? |
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| oneway2paradise |
| 11/16/02 at 18:08:46 |
| [quote]dunno if I'm making sense..[/quote] [slm] You are making perfect sense, masha Allah. When I see Muslim women wearing hijab, I feel comfortable and I feel they are beautiful but only if they're wearing it properly. It's not because I can see the beauty that they are trying to hide. It's just because something else is shining through. Even my friends who I feel are beautiful without hijab, I see their beauty in a different way when they are wearing it. :-) [slm] |
| Re: Hijab -Hinders or enhances? |
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| UmmZaid |
| 11/16/02 at 19:08:37 |
| [slm] My husband says that women who wear hijab have nur inthe faces: the nur of Iman. I appreciate comments like the OP, esp. since you have people like Bill O'Reilly and the rest of them out there saying how we must be so ugly that we have to cover... but isn't there anything else to compare us to besides pearls and dessert foods? :-) |
| Be Empowered |
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| bismilla |
| 11/18/02 at 01:55:11 |
| :-) [slm] bsm ............thought i would share this email i received....i find Sisters who know their rights and who stand up for themselves [i]very inspirational[/i] :- [font=comic SANS ms][color=green] [center][u]Are you ready to meet the woman who can get by without her looks?[/u][/center] It is late in the afternoon at the University of British Columbia and I have been cooped up in this library for hours, trying to compose a thesis for my American Literature term paper. Deciding that a break would help clear my thoughts, I leave the confines of the library to sit outside, only to hear a female voice come up from behind me to ask: "Just how is it that you can live with yourself from day to day wearing that THING on your head and letting THEM control your life?" Granted, it is an original line, a creative way to break the ice, yet why the code words? Only because I've been yelled at in public before for reasons connected to my appearance do I know what this woman means. Code word # 1: "head thing"= 30inch X 30inch yellow and maroon flower patterned polyester blend, a piece of cloth I happen to be wearing to cover my head and neck; Code word #2: "them"= all Muslim men who, sinister-like with their dark beards, heavy accents, and hidden Uzi's get a rush out of making women their life-long slaves. Having deciphered all this quickly, I turn to face the stranger- a cross looking thing - I smile politely and signal to the empty chair beside me: "Would you like to have a seat?" HIJAB, the head to ankle covering that leaves only the face, hands and feet visible in public, has made me a very patient Muslim woman. The brave individuals who have mustered the courage to verbally express their opinions about my scarf haven't been the most trying. There are many who can't formulate words coherent enough to communicate their disapproval, and so, rely on simple gestures and sign language. Walking through downtown Vancouver, I've been fingered, spat on, scowled and cursed at. Stepping into an elevator, I once traumatized a man who could do nothing but shuffle into the corner of the empty lift and mutter "What the ----? WHAT THE ----?!?!?!?!" I have to take the agitation, the horror, and even the hatred in a stride. But never will I be silent about it. I can ignore the flagrant distortions no more than I can deny the fact that I am a Muslim living in Canada. Who I am and what popular culture thinks I am, has become a tug-of-war-competition of who can explain the status of the Muslim hijab-wearer convincingly. The media tells the public that I am a weak freak of nature who has been forced to subject herself to the tyranny of Muslim fundamentalists. Catherine Meckes assesses that wearing hijab is "some kind of twisted logic" because it entraps women like animals in a cage. The Muslim dress code, she argues, is a form of hiding from society so that I don't have to deal with the realities of my "natural habitat." Ms. Meckes seems to be familiar enough with the Western culture to know that women are constantly objectified, used as commodities, tools to sell beer and boost sales for the next football season. Sadly enough, though, she views women who wish to distance themselves from this commercial degradation with fear. She finds women who cover "disturbing" and wished that she didn't have to confront them on their "home turf." Pardon my feeble-mindedness, I've pinned my scarf on too tight and squeezed reason out of my brain....just WHO is running away from the truth? I have chosen to set myself apart from millions of Canadians, placed myself in the way of ridicule by a society that demands women to conform to certain ideals,I have refused to hide in the crowded university hallways and malls by looking the way Cindy, Cosmo, or Calvin Klein think I should - all because I'm a spineless caged rodent?!?! I have rejected the hip-hugging jeans, the breast-enhancing halter tops, the poofy hair and made-up face, and accepted hijab so that I can be appreciated for my intellect and personality rather than my figure or fashion sense. When I face a classmate or colleague I can be confident that my body is not being scrutinized, my bra-strap or pantyline visible. I have repudiated the perverted values of our society by choosing to assert myself only through my mind. I understand my "natural habitat" ! very well thank you. I fully comprehend the distorted image of the "ideal woman," but the difference between me and the Catherine Meckes's of the world is that I am NOT afraid to defy those standards. Islam liberated me from THAT prison. Perhaps hijab is so misunderstood because it is prescribed by a religion that makes a bold and shocking statement: Women are precious creatures who have the right to be valued for who they are, and not what they can juggle. When I decided to start wearing hijab, my mother pulled me aside and posed this question: "If you found a diamond that was exquisite in every way, would you show it to all your friends, let them gawk at its dazzle, caress it, or would you covet the stone and protect it by preserving its natural splendor?" Once you bear something for all to see, the second you display something for its beauty, you objectify it and diminish its value. Because its worth is built on its ability to attract, when it no longer elicits awe from onlookers it becomes worthless. Is it a wonder that neck lines keep plunging every year?- more cleavage means women won't bore oglers, the commercial industries, and the rest of society for awhile. But when will those skirts quit shortening?? For how long will women remain sex objects?? Islam tells us that every woman is a jewel and when she respects herself enough to preserve her beauty for herself and her loved ones, she rejects being objectified by a society which does NOT value her. Only the dearest people in my life know me without hijab because they love me enough to value ALL of me. John and Jane Doe don't love me or care for me, so why must I meet their notions of an "ideal woman" if they are meaningless to me? It is the desire to please popular culture that makes 15 year old girls want to fit into Kate Moss's jeans by sticking their fingers down their throats and wretching (throwing up) three times a day. It is the unattainable Perfect-Body society has conjured, that make "fat", "ugly" girls splatter themselves on sidewalks because they just are "not thin and pretty enough". AND THEY TELL ME ISLAM OPPRESSES WOMEN?? I am thankful that I am not suicidal or psychologically unbalanced because I can't meet the demands of my culture. I am fortunate that my concerns and goals in life lie on a higher plane than the dictates of a pretty fashion industry. I am quite content with my religion, for it values my power to achieve great things through my mind, not through my body. Whether I am physically beautiful or not, you have no clue. Perhaps this fact is disturbing for Catherine Meckes and the library stranger because they are not ready to meet a woman who can get by without her looks. Then again, perhaps it is because they are just ignorant of the (WHAT IS IT?) facts. Either way, I don't need anyone's sympathy, I am not really that scary, and your anger does me no harm. I am not under duress, or a male-worshipping female captive from the barbarous Arabian deserts. I'VE BEEN LIBERATED!!!!!!!!!!!!!![/color][/font] Source : http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Academy/7368/w_hj_jewel.htm [slm] :-) |
| 11/18/02 at 01:56:45 |
| bismilla |
| Re: Hijab -Hinders or enhances? |
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| Aurora |
| 11/18/02 at 12:37:48 |
| I believe hijab enhances in every way. It may veil one's physical beauty, but in doing so it protects you, your beauty from elements of 'impurity' keeping it rare and precious. Hijab sometimes does bring ridicule, as many sisters in the 'hijab comeback' thread have said, but it also brings so much noor into your life. The sense of community and belonging you get when complete strangers will stop and make salaam, or a hijabi waves from a window of a passing train. And even among non-muslims it gives you a sense of where you stand with them, are they understanding and genuine - or simply ignorant. "When they see the hijab they will respect you - they may not be friendly with you but they will respect you" A Nigerian brother said this to me, after I offered to lead him to the prospective students office, when I realized giving him directions in our maze of a university was futile. As I'm very shy with strangers, and brothers in general, I didn't say much, and despite the fact that his english was not perfect, he tried very hard to get that point across to me, it was very important to him. And I've seen that, with nonmuslims and muslims alike, the way you carry yourself, the way you act, the way you dress, that striving for quiet dignity and modesty, creates a sort of shield around you, kind of causing others to step back a bit, and respect you for who you are, a believer:) Sorry if this is a little scattered, I've got to run to class. Fee AmaanAllah:) |
| Re: Hijab -Hinders or enhances? |
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| Barr |
| 11/20/02 at 09:41:01 |
| Asaslamu'alaikum :-) [quote]Do the sisters agree with this, or would you say its wrong to see the Hijab as adding to beauty? From an Islaamic stance? [/quote] I guess, it depends on wot you mean by *Beauty*... wot we "see" as beauty. Someone shared with me smt that I found beautiful, mashaAllah. Hope to share this with you, and may you find beauty in them too, inshaAllah. I'm sorry, if you find this long, though. In Surah Al-Hijr 16:26-33, there are 2 terms that were used to describe man. One is [i]Bashrun[/i], and another one is [i]insaan[/i]. Bashrun refers to the physical reality of man.. his skin, flesh.. those that we can see with our eyes. On the other hand, insaan refers to the internal reality of man... his spirit.. his soul. It is this part of man, that understands Allah, Al Haq (The Truth). Just as the prophets and messengers of ALlah are the same like us physically, yet they far supersede us in their spirituality.. in their insaaniyah. For only those who have reached such a level of insaniyah, would be able to receive ALlah's wahyu (revelation). Since the spiritual level and excellence is differnt from that of "bashrun", Allah refers man as Insaan, when he wants to address the real, true man. But Iblis failed to see the true quality of man, and failed to recognise who man really is, as he looks at man, based on the bashr.. just the physical outlook, the outset, the physical make-up from clay that man was created from. But yet, he overlooks the true value of man.. the value that does not lie on his physical being of bashr... but his insaniyah.... the soul and spirit that shaped his character, and the person within. The question is... wot do we place as value? Whose assessment do we take to have a look at a person's worth? What do we place as beauty? It takes the eye of the heart to see a truly beautiful person... for it is the beauty within that radiates the beauty to shine outwards. Those that seek true beauty would see it in enduring purity... but those that only seek the beauty of the bashr, would find themselves in a passing joy, soon clouded with discontentment. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ To answer your question, akhi... I find, the beauty of a hijabi goes beyond the cloth that she puts on the head.. but the akhlaq that radiates from the iman of her heart. It is not the cloth that beautifies her... but her iman. It is not the hijab that is the jewel in the crown... but her iman. Allahua'lam ~ Beauty-wannabe Barr~ P.S. the word "man", also encompasses "woman" too. I only stated "man" for the sake of brevity. |
| 11/20/02 at 09:46:08 |
| Barr |
| Re: Hijab -Hinders or enhances? |
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| Sabr |
| 11/20/02 at 13:45:49 |
| [slm] I agree wid the point that Barr made. :) Beauty in islam is not overrated as physical beauty as western sociteies . Beauty should emulate from a person -from her character ,her iman. However i would say that the hijab hides ones beauty(physical) AS WELL AS ones faults ! :) ;) [wlm] :-)Sabr |
| Re: Hijab -Hinders or enhances? |
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| Jenna |
| 11/21/02 at 04:11:57 |
| [wlm] My husband and I were talking about this the other night. I asked him why is it that I see a fully covered woman and I find that beautiful?? He said "Its the piety" So I do believe that ppl can find covered women attractive, but I believe as my husband does it is due to the piety, not the physical beauty, but the beauty of Hijaab...... Allahu'Alim. Like Umm Zaid said her hubby says "My husband says that women who wear hijab have nur inthe faces: the nur of Iman." Your Sis'n Islaam Jenna :-) |
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