



The 'H' word of the title is, of course, the ubiquitous word 'hijab.' This may fill you with excitement and anticipation or you may be fed up to the teeth with such articles and be looking for the nearest exit! In any case, hopefully you'll bear with me!





Even as I write this, I'm aware that any attempt to separate the idea of a Muslim woman and hijab is somewhat undermined by the prominence of so many articles, youtube videos, and blogs (this one included), which constantly clump 'Muslim woman' and 'hijab' together in the same breath.

The more we put the word h

and

in the same sentence, the more

is cemented in people's minds as the be and end all when it comes to being a woman in Islam.





It's a worrying linguistic trend because it runs the risk of excluding sisters who don't wear the headscarf (hijab). It creates the assumption (whether verbalized or not) that somehow a Muslim woman without a headscarf is incomplete. It bypasses the fact that hijab is first and foremost a spiritual principal of modesty (and general morality) which goes for men just as much as for women.





In this situation, the physical material is secondary.

Think of it more as an outward sign of an inward attempt to nurture those inward qualities over a whole lifetime. So naturally,

a 100% cotton pashmina cannot be considered

an accurate gauge of whether that inner quality is there or not j

ust as a lack of a visible signifier doesn't mean that the principles of hijab are not deeply rooted in that woman's heart.





I

n any society such reliance on visible markers can be damaging and the Muslim community (Ummah) is no exception. U

ltimately i

t

runs the risk of creating a community based on superficiality where individuals feels pressured to look the part and worry about little else.





The fact that the real qualities of hijab are shown by a person's actions are borne out but the vast array of amazing Muslim women, scarfies and non-scarfies, who I've encountered over the last year. They've taught me so much just by their influence and I can't thank them enough for being so welcoming, encouraging and supportive.



★ ★ ★







