Sep 28, 2009

Niqabi Woman and Fashion

When there's too much fashion on a niqabi woman
By Nurul of Mulut Laser Nurul

Assalamu'Alaikum...

I know that it's woman's nature to be pretty and all. But I was surfing the internet and I saw so many niqabis wearing too much fashion. It made me think. What's the real reason when we decided to wear the niqab? (I'm talking about those that made their own choice to cover up like me. Not from countries that made it compulsory to wear niqab).

When I say too much fashion, I DO MEAN TOO MUCH. All these bling-blings, huge brooches here and there, wrapping your way too colorful shayla until it look dangerously choking yourself, fussly-tassled-decorated abaya with rhinestones on it (during special ocassion, InshaAllah it's acceptable), too brightly colored eyeshadow, etc. I know that it's normal for cultures in some countries to wear brighly colored clothing. If it's normal in your country then InshaAllah you're not feeling like you wanna show off, then it's fine. Whatever that doesn't attract too much attention is good. (Can't imagine wearing just black in India where everybody is wearing colors)

For me (and I believe most women out there), InshaAllah, when I decided to wear the niqab, it's because I wanna look modest, avoiding too much attention and help to guard me from feeling 'riak' by wanting to show my 'whatever' to others. I also pray to Allah to take care of me and (if possible) give me barokah from following our Prophet's wives way of covering themselves. (It's not wrong to pray and ask from Allah, ok? Please don't start criticizing about this).

But I saw so many women nowadays in my country that are wearing the niqab with pretty, but see-through hijab (and when I point it out nicely to a sister, she actually got angry and started to rant out on me about I should'nt think that I'm better than her. Honest to God, I wasn't. Sister, I was telling it nice and slow to you coz I luv u as my Muslim sister. I don't want people to say bad things behind your back coz that time a few ladies in the musolla were already talking about u).

And the niqab itself, MashaAllah, sometimes are too see-through, fully decorated with laces and bling-blings piping. Attract more attention to your face than ever! A bit is ok, but not that much!

Also, I saw so many girls and ladies on social network websites (myspace, facebook, friendster, etc) that are wearing the niqab for fun and took photos with inappropriate clothes, profile descriptions (language sisters! Language!) and manners to accompany the niqab. Why are these Muslim sisters playing with it? I feel so sad sometimes coz I think these kind of things are degrading the niqab and the reason of wearing it. It's bad enough for some non-muslims to make fun of it on youtube and all. We as Muslim wanna make fun of it too??? Fear Allah, sisters.

I'd love to see more Muslim sisters wear the niqab AND have some respect for 'that thing' they're wearing on their beautiful faces. Try not to do bad things and say nasty things and act appropriately when the hijab and niqab are on u (even when you're not wearing them at home, pls take care of your iman, ok?). Have some respect. Show some respect. It's our Prophet's wives way of covering themselves, for Allah's sake!

Maybe it's better for the sisters that wear the niqab for fun and to show that they're better women than others to stop wearing the niqab. Wear it when you're ready one day and do it for Allah. I love all my Muslim sisters. Even if you're not wearing hijab and wear sexy clothes, I still love you. Coz we're all Muslims. We only have each other at the end.

I hate it when some Muslims say that those that are wearing hijab /niqab are good Muslimahs with good iman and suitable wife material. THAT is a huge myth. If you're a good Muslim man, you can guide your non-hijabi/niqabi wife to better themselves. And just because someone is wearing clothes that cover themselves from head to toe it doesn't show their iman (although it's good that they're following Allah's ruling for Muslimahs to wear hijab and loose (+not see tru) clothing). Only Allah knows what's in our hearts.

Riak comes in so many different ways. Sometimes, wearing something to show that we're OH SO PIOUS is riak as well if we even think for a second "Hey look. I'm better than u. Look at the way I dress. I'm such a good Muslim".

There was this guy that sent me a comment on my myspace last time. The guy asked me why I wear the niqab. I said "Only Allah knows. I can't quite explain it in normal words". Then the guy wrote back. I translated this into English from Bahasa Malaysia. He said :

"Alhamdulillah
My opinion is Muslim women nowadays that wear hijab/niqab are either one of these 3 categories:
1. really good Muslimah and wanna wear it for Allah.
2. because it's compulsory to wear eventhough they don't want to.
3. to cover their sins and pretend to be good to fool others.

Don't think for a second that we could fool God. Maybe can try to impress people. But people will know. Allah gives them instinct."

What he replied made me think a lot that day. Which category am I? Which category are u? Only Allah knows. I do pray that we're in the 1st category. Ameen...

NOTE: Pictures are from my own Eid collection so please don't COPY.

27 comments:

nida said...

Lovely post sis - mashaAllah :) Keep up the good work, inshaAllah someone will take something from it.

BB said...

This is a nice post. I agree with most of what you said mostly the part about finding a balance between being a hijabi/niqabi and still having a modest fashion.

Unknown said...

NiDa - all thanks should be given to NURUL, the writer of this article, I was only sharing hers. Hopefully it's beneficial.

Unknown said...

Bahiyaa Black - Thank you on behalf of Nurul and I too agree with that part.

UniMuslimah said...

Very good article! Thanks for posting this sister Kakchik. :)

JazakAllah kheir.

Cheers.

Unknown said...

UniMuslimah - you are welcome.

NtN said...

Kakchik,
MashaAllah this was amazing. JazakaAllah khair to you and Nurul!

Aïsha said...

BarakAllahoufiki, great post sister! I totally agree with Nurul and you (i think the post walk for Hijab also).

Ms. R said...

Salam alaikom kakchik,

I find that some of my non-hijabi/niqaabi friends behave even better than those in hijaab/niqaab.Good post, I agree with you!

Anonymous said...

MashaAllah sister, great post!

Such behaviour really defeats the whole purpose of hijab and niqab.

We should all have taqwa and wear our hijabs or niqabs properly, there are no different stages or levels of hijab but the commandment of hijab is the same for all women and we should wear it for Allah only.

Anonymous said...

salam kak chick, sy teringin utk memakai niqab.tp keadaan kluarga n persekitaran sy tidak bgitu sesuai. sy akui byk kebaikan bg kaum wanita with wearing the niqab. kdg2 sbg seorg muslimah yg sdg mencari sy brs sy tidak layak utk memakai niqab.

Anonymous said...

kak chick beruntung krn mendapat bimbingan dan galakan dr suami.=)

Unknown said...

NoortheNinjabi - alhamdulillah if you like it.

Unknown said...

Aïsha - Syukran. Yes, I agree this post also includes hijab.

Unknown said...

Wa'alaikummussalam Ms. R.
Muslimah with good and bad akhlaq can be found anywhere in the Muslim community. There're so many assumption can be made if we base our judgment on appearance only but typically we assume hijabi/niqabi should be behaving appropriately. Hopefully all of us will do our best in covering for Allah's sake.

Unknown said...

Hijab Chic - that's right sis, it's true. Let's pray that everyone will understand the concept of hijab and covers accordingly. I believe we can still be fashionable but don't be overboard.

Kit Pryde said...

kak chik,

you look so CUTE in your black abaya.

errr. sorry, couldn't help myself.

and i'm not wearing the niqab, but i sure hope my wearing the hijab is accepted by Allah!

Unknown said...

Faizreen - wkslm dan terima kasih ya sudi singgah dan meninggalkan komen. alhamdulillah untuk niat yang baik tu. insyaallah jika diri benar-benar ingin berhijrah kepada yang lebih baik terutama dlm penampilan, sedikit demi sedikit akhlak juga akan berubah. yang penting semangat dan keyakinan yang tinggi, persekitaran akan menjadi perkara kedua. selamat berjaya!

Unknown said...

My dear Kit Pryde - hoho thank you sis. I'm small and short. I'm sure by wearing hijab honestly and modestly will be accepted by Allah. Afterall, this is for Allah's sake, isn't it?

Unknown said...

miss chembeng - wa'alaikummussalam sis. what you said is also true sis. so it's up to us to help portray Islam in the best way that it should be accepted. go ahead and spread the words. i think nurul would be please to share her thoughts.

Unknown said...

salaam sisters... Masha Allah a good reminder to all niqaabis around the world. insha Allah, as for me and some of the sisters i know, we love to wear gloves as well.. and i am wondering if kakchik has any in store ...i love those gloves from saudi.... but well.. there were made in china. they are so comfortable although thin. and stretchable too. if the sisters could give any info on where can i get those gloves apart from the net .. i am staying in jb / spore area.i'd appreciate any info . thank you - ummiman

Unknown said...

Wa'alaikummussalam ummiman.
Alhamdulillah if you feel that this post is like that.
Currently I don't stock any glove at Abaya Elegan because I'm still new in Muslimah clothing business so I'm only promoting abayat for the time being. InsyaAllah gloves would come soon.
Actually you can still buy those kind of gloves at Mydin Mart. I don't know whether JB have one or not. But Mydin Mart really has so many choices.
However, if you'd like to buy online, I think Maratussolehah (the link is under Abaya Shops) stock them. Pls give them a visit.

Violet2Bloom said...

Salaam...
I think our people should be educated more on the story or reason behind niqab.To have a better understanding about it.I can't tell you how many times since i started wearing i've been getting mockery from my own relatives and in laws.Telling me about how niqab is just a culture among the arabs.Sometimes telling me it's ok to not put it own simply because you're going to next door neighbour for a while.However,I remember one of my aunts who wanted to wear but can't cause she's teaching, telling me that ignore such ignorance because nothing you say could make them understand once their minds made up about it.Some even accuse my husbnad of forcing it on me.Still , even if he did, isn't it for the better (not that he did.it was my own decision).Sad!

umm ruman said...

Salam kak Chik,

What a lovely post, I'm so caught up reading it and it gave me better understanding of wearing niqab. Once upon a time ago. I've too indulged in experimenting fashion and colour. No words can say how much my gratitude towards ALLAH for giving me hidayah to change my style of wearing hijab and clothing. Nobody force me to change, I'm not experimenting abayas too..I've changed because of HIM and it felt so great. SubhanALLAH. If I knew this kind feeling, I should have wear it long time ago. Keep on writing kak Chik, you inspired many women out there.

Unknown said...

Wa'alaikummussalam Waheeda,
I just don't know what to say. I agree with what your aunt said because that's what I've done and I always say to myself, do it because of Allah and because I love myself. Insyaallah the obstacles regarding niqab will always be in our way but when we choose to do this for Him, insyaallah all those mockeries and cynical comments will decrease. All the best to you sis.

Unknown said...

Wa'alaikummussalam Kak Azah,
Thank you and all the credit should goes to Nurul, the original writer. Alhamdulillah kak, Allah loves you and has guided you back on the right path. All of us has a history in our life that make us stray a bit from His path. Alhamdulillah because of His rahmah, we were guided to see the light of truth. May Allah bless you and me until we die.

Unknown said...

Slm alkm wr wb sister Nurul,

nice note. Interesting perspective as well. You just upset your colleagues nafs a little. And who does not know how that feels?

Little note:
"And just because someone is wearing clothes that cover themselves from head to toe it doesn't show their iman (although it's good that they're following Allah's ruling for Muslimahs to wear hijab and loose (+not see tru) clothing). Only Allah knows what's in our hearts."

Allah knows whats in our hearts. Certainly. But he gave us certain criteria to understand humans. And the hijab / niqab or whatever, thats an explicitly mentioned criteria to recognize a believing women. So we should stick to that just like that. Plain and simple. And the bling-bling people (this applies to women and men likewise) just lack proper islamic understanding of obligatory modesty.

What drives me crazy is a women wearing proper hijab or niqab next to a bling-bling versace type of husband looking like the human manifestation of neon-advertising for western products and consumerism.

Search This Blog

LinkWithin

Related Posts with Thumbnails