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My Niqab Story
As Salaamu Alaikum Wr Wb
Okay, here's "My Story" lol. Insha'Allah this won't bore you guys into a deep slumber. I'll start at the beginning of the beginning.
A few years back, my family and I performed Umrah Alhamdulillah. It was at that when time I actually got to be around poeple who did Niqaab. To me, it looked really cool. You being able to see everyone, while they couldn't see you. Hey, give me a break, I was twelve at the time.
Well, time went on, and I had yet to even practice Hijab. I was discouraged by some cousins who weren't very religious, yet that's no excuse for my putting it off and hesitating to fulfill the commands of Allah swt.
When I reached high school (my freshman year) I put the Hijaab on, Alhamdulillah. But, a week afterwards I messed with a few styles of wearing it and finally chose one which I could have improved on.
The year had almost ended when I "woke up" and decided to fix myself. This, along with the fear of Allah swt, the desire of pleasing my Lord, and trying to follow the Sunnah of our Prophet (saw), made me put on a Jilbab. I had been deliberating this decision in my head for a few weeks by then. And, in other peoples' views, it was completely out of the blue. One day I was dressed "normally" as my usual self at school, the next I was in full Hijaab and Jilbaab, Alhamdulillah. Yes, I did go through a few hard times with so called friends but SubhanAllah I made it through. It really is true when they say Allah swt helps one out when the believer tries to walk on the path of Islam for His sake. Even my parents weren't jumping with joy when I started wearing this everywhere. Maybe they thought it was only for school that I wore my Islamic dress. Allahu Alim. Now, Alhamdulillah, they're accepting of all of what I do. lol Even though a lot of times culture comes into this and messes around with people's thinking.
I had developed a lot more self confidence after wearing the Jilbaab to school. Nothing mattered, such as what my friends thought, what the teachers thought, or even what my family thought. My only goal in life was to now to everything and anything I could to live as Islamically as possible. Inside and outside.
Then popped up my desire to wear a Niqaab to school. Unfortunately, that wasn't made possible because of technicalities. But, I was always trying to convince my parents to let me begin to wear it. I discussed the Islamic goodness of it while they argued back with thoughts of hardships when I reached college, a future career, and even other (family) opinions. This didn't, Alhamdulillah, change my mind in the least. In fact, it made me even more encouraged to wear a Niqaab. I thought of it as my own Jihaad of the Nafs (or soul). One part of me was trying to get approval of my parents, to please them, while another urged me to go and put 110% of everything I had for Allah swt. lol Eventually, after a lot of mental battles, the latter won out. I was fifteen at the time.
My parents, at the time, were at a yes-no type of thing whenever I brought up my wearing of Niqaab. I don't know the exactly time or month (surprise surprise with my memory), but one day I had planned to go with a few close friends to help chaperone some kids from the Mosque at Chuckie Cheeses as a Summer School treat for them, and us. That afternoon, before my ride was to come and get me, I put on a broken Niqaab after I had placed the Hijaab and Jilbaab over myself. lol This wasn't an easy feat because the Niqaab was technically broken. With the help of a few safety and bobby pins (dozens of those) I finally looked at myself in a full length mirror, decked out in Islamic garb. lol SubhanAllah I felt so at peace and great. I'm so happy and thankful to my friends who urged me to do it. lol.
Needless to say the kids (all of them) and even adults were a little shocked at my apperance. Alhamdulillah this only made my faith in Allah swt grow. I'll always be grateful that somehow I had "woken up" from wasting my life as many people wind up doing. Alhamdulillah It's been months since I started wearing it and I'll never regret that choice or stop wearing it, Insha'Allah.
As Salaamu Alaikum Wr Wb
