It’s World Hijab Day! Hijab is a commitment and confidence that’s built out of love for Allah (swt). It’s Allah’s command, my duty, and my akhirah.
Wearing hijab is a choice I made last year. It’s not my weakness. Neither am I oppressed. I wasn’t forced by my father, husband or my brother to wearing a scarf on my head. On the contrary, actually. It’s still taking my husband some time to actually get used to seeing a hijab on me. However, he says he will not come between me and Allah 🙂 and respects my decision.
I started wearing the hijab the moment we left home for Umrah last year. Once we were done performing the rituals, my husband thought I was going to take it off at the airport on our way back. He asked me to at the airport and it’s still on! You see, it was never forced on me. My decision, my choice for Allah.
If you are someone who never met a hijabi, or think hijabis are oppressed, let me tell you something. Judge me for what is in my mind, my character, and my goals and ambitions. Not what I’m wearing on my head. My hijab doesn’t stop me from being who I am, what I want to do or where I want to go. It doesn’t stop me from reaching my goals. As an added benefit, it saves me from bad hair days, although I run into bad hijab days sometimes!
Every year, women both Muslims and non-Muslims are openly invited to wear a hijab for the day on February 1st in order to better understand the reasoning behind wearing them. I invite all my friends to wear your scarf as a hijab for a day and take sometime to better understand the reasoning behind wearing one.
True Hijab Story By: Lail Hossain, Founder WithASpin, LLC
Read other inspiring stories of women’s decision to wear the Islamic head covering called, Hijab.
In order to celebrate World Hijab Day, you have a chance to give our Moroccan Dream scarf for FREE to someone you love. You can keep it too, we won’t mind.
HOW TO RECEIVE ONE FREE HIJAB:
Winners will be randomly selected and announced on February 5th, 2017.
To enter, please comment below what you think about hijab. If you wear one, share your story.
Bonus Entries to enter the giveaway and maximize your chances of winning –
Bonus 1. Subscribe to With A Spin by Email and leave a comment below that you have subscribed and confirmed subscription.
Bonus 2. Like With A Spin on Facebook and follow the facebook giveaway steps to increase your chance of winning.
Bonus 3. Follow With A Spin on Instagram and successfully complete the steps on the Intagram giveaway post. Your chance of winning will be higher.
Bonus 5: Tweet this giveaway daily through Feb 5th (one entry per day) and leave a comment here for each entry.
For example, you can tweet –
Just entered to win Hijab #Giveaway at @withaspin http://wp.me/p32LD3-2Le
This giveaway is open to US addresses (international addresses will only pay standard shipping) and expires on February 5th, 2017 at 11:59 pm CST. Entries that do not meet the entry criteria will not be considered.
Good Luck!
I love your story about Hijab. I agree with you on bad hair days being history but bad hijab days a reality. May Allah protect you and all of us who choose to obey this one of Allah’s myriad of obligations that carry a wisdom for us that we will never comprehend fully. Lots of love to all those women who support hijabi women on this day and everyday.
Ameen! Lots of love and du’a your way as well Lani.
This March is going to be five years of wearing a hijab and I haven’t regretted it even once! Thanks for sharing your story!
MashaAllah!
already subscribe to the emails 🙂
twitter entry for 2/1 : https://twitter.com/engineeredbaker/status/826958237102510080
Like everything else we do in our lives—the choices we make, the paths we take—doing something like this because our faith makes it feel right and normal and necessary is a beautiful thing. It is a sign that our beliefs and the relationship with them are not some artificial construct but part of who we are, a deep and true sense of self. For you, it was the right time to embrace wearing hijab, and your lovely story makes that clear. I’m happy for you!
Kathryn
Thank you so much for your support, Kathryn. You’ve said it right. Lots of love.
As an American, I never understood the hijab before meeting the man who is now my husband, though I don’t think I ever felt fear or judgement about it. Being married to a Muslim man has changed how I feel about my body and I don’t feel pressure to show it off like I did before. (In fact, sometimes I feel pressure to cover up a little more, but I dress fairly conservatively anways, lol).
I am not Muslim and even if I decide to convert someday, I don’t think I could wear a scarf everyday. I guess I’ll cross that bridge if and when it comes. However, covering your body and hair in the Muslim tradition (covering shoulders, longer pants/skirts, higher necklines, looser clothes and hijab) takes away the self consciousness that European/American men have created in our cultures today.
That self consciousness is true oppression. Having the ability to walk out the door without worrying if your hair is pretty or if your stomach is flat enough or if your knees look good below your skirt line or shorts is true freedom. After all, don’t you want to be loved for your heart, soul and mind? Not for your ephemeral and materialistic beauty? Your face is beautiful and you can dress beautifully, but not have to worry about looking like the emaciated models on TV or in magazines.
Our prejudice about clothing in other cultures comes from our history and how European men have kept women down with corsets, high heals, long nails, nylons, bustles and heavy wigs to prove that we could not work if we wanted to. We have had to prove that we can work and want to work, but we are still paid 75% of men. That is an European/American issue, not a Muslim issue. Muslim women could work, earn and inherit when European women were owned and thrown out on the street if a loving male family member wouldn’t take them in. Hijab is love for God and love for self that cannot be understood through the lens of western culture.
Amanda – Thank you so much for your sharing your view. I love your perspective. It truly is liberating to not constantly think about showing off ones body. And I’m so glad you feel more liberated about your self after marrying a Muslim man. I’m going to share your story on our facebook page. Hopefully, you are ok with that.
Love,
Lail
Love your story and I hope it inspires many others also!!
Wearing the Hijab is such a personal relationship with Allah and there is so much more to it than just wearing a peice of material on the head.
Wishing you lots of love and ease during your journey with the hijab!!
Salaam and thank you so much for your kind and supporting words. I agree, hijab is much more than just wearing a piece of cloth on the head.
Thank you for stopping by. Hope to see you on the blog again. Lots of love your way.