Uh... honestly, I wouldn't say anything even if I wore hijab because its not your place to be so forward and judgmental with someone you don't even know. Not just that, but the way you've told the story makes it sound like you came off really rude and harsh.
Sorry, but women who don't wear hijab have heard it a million times and it's annoying and a broken record. If you're nice about it, then its different and we (at least I) get that you have good intentions, but still... I struggle to not roll my eyes sometimes.
and yes, you *can* be a Muslim and have a lot of faith and not wear hijab - modesty is important but don't even begin to compare it to things like prayer, hajj, fasting, etc. Not wearing it does NOT make you a kaffir, so please don't even try to suggest that. Then you'd be getting into dangerous territory.
:salam2:
With due respect sister, disbelieving or denying even a single verse of the Quran is disbelieving in Allah (SWT). If someone is wronging themselves and is failed to carry out some of the commandments but is aware of it and has an intention of rectifying it then only it is excusable. Hijab for both men and women is very important and not just the average modesty which we define today. Hijab is not just covering your body but lowering your gaze, but covering your body is one very important aspect. Failing to carry out any command from Allah (SWT) is like following the footsteps of shaytan.
(I seek refuge in Allah from shaytan, the accursed)
Allah says (interpretation of the meaning) 24:21 "O you who have believed, do not follow the footsteps of Satan. And whoever follows the footsteps of Satan - indeed, he enjoins immorality and wrongdoing. And if not for the favor of Allah upon you and His mercy, not one of you would have been pure, ever, but Allah purifies whom He wills, and Allah is Hearing and Knowing."
While not doing hijab out of ignorance (and not by arrogance) does not take one out of the fold of Islam (this ruling applies to all commands like drinking, smoking ,etc), but it insists that we are following the footsteps of shaytan and we encourage fornication. By not maintaining to the criteria of hijab, we encourage fornication of the eye, the ears, the mouth, etc. Hijab is not just about modesty, it differentiates between a respectable woman/man from a woman/man who is not respectable and a believing man/woman from a disbelieving man/woman, as Allah says (interpretation of the meaning) 24:30 "Tell the believing men to lower their gaze (from looking at forbidden things), and protect their private parts (from illegal sexual acts, etc.). That is purer for them. Verily, Allah is All-Aware of what they do." 24:31 "And tell the believing women to lower their gaze (from looking at forbidden things), and protect their private parts (from illegal sexual acts, etc.) and not to show off their adornment except only that which is apparent (like palms of hands or one eye or both eyes for necessity to see the way, or outer dress like veil, gloves, head-cover, apron, etc.), and to draw their veils all over Juyubihinna (i.e. their bodies, faces, necks and bosoms, etc.) and not to reveal their adornment except to their husbands, their fathers, their husband's fathers, their sons, their husband's sons, their brothers or their brother's sons, or their sister's sons, or their (Muslim) women (i.e. their sisters in Islam), or the (female) slaves whom their right hands possess, or old male servants who lack vigour, or small children who have no sense of the shame of sex. And let them not stamp their feet so as to reveal what they hide of their adornment. And all of you beg Allah to forgive you all, O believers, that you may be successful." As you can see sister, Allah is asking the believing men and women to adhere to hijab and guard their chastity. You can go through the tafsir of the Surat An-Nur and you will see that Allah has ordered for hijab to differentiate between chaste men/women from adulterous men/women and fornicators. These commands were revealed in context, when some liars had wrongfully alleged Aisha (May Allah Have Mercy on her), the mother of the believers of having an illegitimate relationship with another man. Then Allah (Subhana Wa'tala) sent down verses which cleared Aisha (May Allah Have Mercy on her) of the false accusations and then Allah commanded the believing men and women with the above verses that I have quoted. You see sister hijab is not just the average modesty, as we understand. It is so important that it is actually a difference between believer and disbeliever and respected and the disrespected. Failing to follow out any commands by action is in itself disbelief (some are major and some are minor), the major ones take one out of the fold of Islam (like not praying 5 times, not fasting, not paying zakat), while the minor ones don't take one out of Islam (but it is still considered as a kind of a lesser form of disbelief and can be sufficient for one to enter the Hell fire). I hope I did not hurt you or offend you by this, as my only intention was to tell you the difference between just any modesty and modesty in Islam. Everything has a deeper and implied meaning in Islam. Modesty can vary through perceptions of individuals but in Islam, modesty is only defined by the rules set forth by Allah (SWT). Failing to stand out with ones identity, specially in a non-Muslim society shows great weakness and flaws in ones eeman. If a person is a really devoted Muslim then hijab should be the everyday thing for him/her, very easy to adhere to and those people won't be swayed or distracted by the western culture. May Allah forgive us all and guide us to the straight path.