Is it OK that I don't wear the hijab yet?
A Brief Description of the Question:
I'm striving to be a better Muslim. My mom doesn't wear the hijab. My aunt does. My other aunt does not. My grandmother does, but my other doesn't. I'm 13 so I've hit puberty but haven't worn the hijab yet because I'm afraid. I know that I'll get made fun of at school because there are no other Muslims really, just Christians who think their way's the only way and anything else is wrong. I don't want to feel like an outcast, and I don't want my self-esteem to go down because I get all sorts of questions and get mocked, but I don't want to disobey the will of Allah. I want to wait until I'm out of high school. Will that be ok? Please help.
The Answer:
It is necessary for a Muslim man and woman who have reached the age puberty to cover their bodies according to the rules of Islam. If they do not do so, they will have committed haram.
Besides, what matters is the consent of Allah, not other people's criticism. In such a situation, it is possible for you to set an example for the other Muslims and be a means of their tasattur in accordance with Islam.
Man is not held responsible for the bad thoughts that come to his minds unless he practices them. However, the idea of taking of one's headscarf due to some reasons originates from not being able to understand its importance fully. In the course of time, this causes a woman to uncover when she faces a small trouble.
First, let us a have a look at the religious aspect of covering the head for women. There are two verses regarding the issue in the Quran. God Almighty states the following clearly in those verses:
"O prophet! Tell thy wives and daughters, and the believing women, that they should cast their outer garments over their persons (when abroad)..."1
"And say to the believing women that they should lower their gaze and guard their modesty; that they should not display their beauty and ornaments except what (ordinarily) appear thereof; that they should draw their veils over their bosoms..."2
In the verses, it is not stated clearly how the believing women need to cover their bodies and what parts of their bodies they can leave uncovered. However, the following hadith interprets the verses: The Prophet addressed his sister-in-law, Asma, as follows:
"O Asma! When a woman starts to menstruate (who has reached puberty), it is not permissible for her to show any parts of her body except her hands and face to non-mahram men."3
Thus, it is the order of both Allah and the Prophet (pbuh) for a Muslim woman who has reached the age of puberty to cover her head. That is, it is fard al-ayn for her to cover her head excluding her face but including her neck and her breasts. To leave them uncovered is haram since it means abandoning a fard. Besides, as it is clearly understood from the verse, "guarding their modesty" is one of the reasons for covering the head. Even if the women who leave their heads uncovered guard their modesty, it is not a guarding that is in accordance with the order of Allah. They become sinners since they do not obey the order of Allah and His messenger; thus, they will be held responsible for it.
It is haram and a sin for a believing woman to go out by leaving her head uncovered; what can she do in order to get rid of this responsibility? What to do is certain. If there is a risk of a vital danger or a burn or a similar medical problem, she can leave her head uncovered until that danger or risk is eliminated. However, if there is no such risk, it is necessary to cover the head.
What happens if she does not cover it? As we have stated before, she will be a sinner. A sinner needs to repent and ask for forgiveness from Allah in order to get rid of this sin.
The following verses are present in the chapter of Aal-i Imran:
"And those who having done something to be ashamed of, or wronged their own souls earnestly bring Allah to mind; and ask for forgiveness for their sins,―and who can forgive sins except Allah?,―And are never obstinate in persisting knowingly in (the wrong) they have done. For such the reward is forgiveness from their Lord and gardens with rivers flowing underneath an eternal dwelling; how excellent a recompense for those who work (and strive)."4
Thus, for the acceptance of repentance and for the forgiveness of a sin, it is necessary not to insist on that sin if there is no excuse. What happens if a person keeps committing a haram by using it as an excuse not to be able to overcome one's soul and how the people around him will react? A hadith regarding the issue is as follows:
"When a believer commits a sin, a black point appears in his heart. If he abandons this sin and asks forgiveness from Allah, his heart is purified of that black point. If he keeps committing that sin, the blackness will increase. "The stain covering the heart" mentioned in the Quran is used in this sense."5
The statement, "Within each sin is a path leading to unbelief" expresses an important fact. A person who continues to commit a crime gets used to it in time and cannot leave it. This habit leads him to bigger spiritual dangers in time. He starts to believe that sins will not necessitate any punishment in the hereafter; he even starts to believe that there is no Hell. That is, the seed of the sin that settles in the heart can be transformed into a tree of oleander - God forbid.6
So as not to be exposed to such a danger and not to be deceived by the suggestions of Satan, it is necessary for a person to abandon the sin that necessitates repentance and to pull himself together.
Thus, you will do a fard deed by accepting the order of Allah as superior to everything and you will refuse Satan, who causes a delusion in you in order to make you leave your head uncovered. Besides, it is impossible for a Muslim both to try to attain the consent of Allah and to fall into a ridiculous state like not offending Satan by committing some deeds.
Footnotes:
1. al-Ahzab, 59.
2. an-Nur, 31.
3. Abu Dawud, Libas: 33.
4. Aal-i Imran, 135-136.
5. Ibn Majah, Zuhd:29.
6. Lem'alar (Flashes), p. 7; Mesnevî-i Nuriye, p.115.
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