💐 In The Name Of Allah The Most Gracious The Most Merciful
💌 Alhamdulillah the first time I wore the niqab with black hijab and abaya was in sixth grade, back in Riyadh Saudi Arabia. I was around twelve years old, a hardworking student at a Saudi public school that had classes with several sections for each grade level and every classroom consisted of almost sixty or so girls. You can imagine how crowded it was during recess and assembly time.
Not to brag but Alhamdulillah I think the fact I was one of the top ten students in class shows how ambitious I was in my studies, especially as the only Filipino student among Saudi and other Arab girls. Anyhow, in the beginning I wasn't confident wearing the niqab to be honest. I wore it because I had to, because my dear mom (Allah yarhamha. Ameen.) who used to do Da'wah at Daar Adh-Dhikr and WAMY (World Assembly Of Muslim Youth) ordered me to wear the niqab, because it was part of the school's dress code when outdoors and because I was a resident in Saudi Arabia at that time, so I figured hey if you're in Saudi, veil your face like the majority of women do.
When we traveled abroad outside Saudi Arabia, like to Malaysia and Singapore, there were numerous instances when my nafs would want to discard the niqab as I didn't like the stares which some of the foreign tourists often gave when they'd walk by me. My dear father (Allah yarhamhu. Ameen.) was less strict concerning veiling the face. So he told me I could stop wearing the niqab if I wanted to, even though my Mom insisted on it.
At a hotel in Malaysia I recall not wearing the niqab for only few minutes though, when I didn't like how some guys and others, probably French or so because of the dialect I overheard them talking, kept staring at me much more than when I had the niqab on. An odd aspect of wearing niqab is once you wear it for a long time and decide to take it off, there's this tiny speck of guilty conscience that scolds you with statements like "What are you doing? Put the niqab back on! Your face feels like there's something missing. This doesn't feel right. Wear the niqab now, and do it for Allah, not for the people." Thus I wore the niqab again feeling better, while still feeling somewhat self-conscious whenever strangers would stare or laugh at how I was dressed all in black like a "ninja".
So when we returned in Riyadh city, I went on to do some thorough research on the legislation of covering the face by Muslim women. At the same time I used to watch this Live Fatawa program on Saudi Channel 1 and occasionally send messages through e-mail and the legendary fax machine, asking if wearing the niqab was Sunnah or Wajib/Fardh/obligatory. Many of the answers by the sheikhs, one of them being the Mufti of Saudi Arabia, Abdul-Aziz Abdullah Aal Ash-Sheikh, were similar in agreeing upon the fact that the wives of the noble Messenger Muhammad SallAllahu alaihi wa sallam and his female companions (many of the sahabiyyaat) used to cover their faces in the presence of non-mahram men. Even during Hajj, if a female Hajj pilgrim should not wear the separate piece niqab, this is evident that in circumstances when she's not in Hajj, a Muslimah is expected to have her face covered.
Whether you hold the opinion that niqab is obligatory or you believe it's just recommended and voluntary, without a doubt there are myriad benefits of Muslim women not showing their faces to non-mahram men in a Muslim community. For instance, husbands in general would appreciate the beauty of their wives more as they're not exposed to the wide variety of pretty faces, while women dressed modestly wouldn't be seen as cheap objects enslaved by the fashion industry.
Alhamdulillah another thing that helped me with my self-esteem is habitually reading motivational articles online on how not to care about what people think. Furthermore when we realize that Allah the Almighty is the Only One Who can rightfully judge us in this temporal world and the next, the ignorant mockery, irrational insults or criticism of the ignorant can't make us feel devalued and upset.
The niqab isn't worn to showcase we're better than hijabis or non-hijabis, but it's one of the noble steps that a Muslimah can take to be closer to Allah Subhaanahu wa Ta'aala, and so her level in Jannah is elevated for striving to pass Allah's different levels of tests.
May Allah the Most Merciful forgive all our sins, accept all our good deeds and guide us to what is best for us in both worlds. Ameen.
📖 ‘Urwah reported: Aisha RadhiAllahu 'anha said, “May Allah have mercy on the foremost women of the Muhaajirun. When Allah revealed the verse, ‘Let them draw their cloaks over their bodies,’ (The Noble Qur'an 24:31) they cut their sheets and veiled themselves with them.”
Source: Sahih Al-Bukhari 4481
Grade: Sahih (Authentic) according to Al-Bukhari
