Hijab

by Nadieh Esmaeil

What is the purpose of wearing hijab (scarf) in Islam?

Ever since I got to Canada, I have encountered quite a few incidents where I realized the purpose of the “Hijab” was fairly misconstrued.It surprised me to find out that a lot of people thought we wore them to sleep as well! Therefore, I thought what better way than this blog to clear this misconception and educate the readers regarding this matter.

Muslim girls have to wear hijab when they reach puberty .Hijab (or scarf ) literally means   veil or cover. The holy book orders us to wear it so that we show our modesty and decency. When a woman wears a hijab a man cannot judge her by her appearance and therefore will be forced to judge her by her personality and morals. As I mentioned, there are many who don’t know when we are supposed to wear it and so they think we will be wearing it 24/7 even in our sleep. The fact however is that , a Muslim woman has  to wear hijab  infront of any male whom she can be legally married to. This helps prevent  indecent thoughts and acts. This means she doesn’t have to wear it in front of her father, brother, uncles, grandfathers, nephews and husband.

So by now you should realize that we don’t have to wear hijab at home or in places where only  women are present . Many people also think since I am away from family  as well as country, I can remove the hijab to be free. But the fact is that , I only feel comfortable when I have it on since it makes me feel modest and protected from the evil things. When I go out in public with my hijab I have a great  feeling of  comfort and security in myself for being assured that no man can harm me, since the purpose of hijab is  to protect you from the temptation of men and any evil thoughts. Another advantage of hijab is that it tells people who I am and what my religion is; in other words its an identity. When I go out with hijab most of the men know that they can’t shake hands with me since I am a Muslim female. In case you are not familiar with this concept ,I want to make it clear that in Islam Muslim women can’t touch men whom they can legally be married to  just as mentioned  above. In addition I would like to provide you with some of the  verses and proofs in the holy Quran about wearing hijab which hopefully by now would make more sense to you.

1)      “O children of Adam, We have bestowed upon you clothing to conceal your private parts and as adornment. But the clothing of righteousness – that is best. That is from the signs of Allah that perhaps they will remember”.(Quran 7:26)

2)      “O Prophet, tell your wives and your daughters and the women of the believers to draw their cloaks close round them (when they go abroad). That will be better, so that they may be recognized and not annoyed. Allah is ever Forgiving, Merciful.” (Quran 33:59)

I hope I was able to make you better understand about hijab after reading this blog. I also provided you with the proofs from the Holy book just as I mentioned in my earlier blog. If you have any questions or more doubts about Islam and you are looking for answers, feel free to ask me and I would be more than happy to help you.

Allah knows best.