Revert Sisters: I'm Curious

[Muhammad_A]

Asalaam alaykum wa rahmatUllah to you all

How far do/would you go with your hijab?

I've taken to wearing full Islamic dress and I don't regret it

 

[Muhammad_A]

Also, if you do vote maybe you'd like to share your reasons for your choice of dress and what lead you to make that choice. Also, how easy/difficult was it?

 

[revert_north]

Salaam alekoum,

I voted for option 1, and here's why...

I make NO excuses for the fact that opting not to wear hijab in front of non-mahram is wrong. I know it's wrong, so I do not expect any messages telling me over and over again that it's wrong!

Basically, I'm a new revert...Old habits die hard (astaghfirallah). Insha'allah one day I'll be wearing correct hijab, BUT, this takes a confidence and a strength of will that at present I'm unfortunately largely lacking.

However, I do take many steps towards preserving my modesty. For example, in my workplace (where the employees are all women, although contact with male member of the public IS routine), we have the option of wearing our hair tied back, or of wearing a hat that covers our entire hair. I chose the hat. (I work at a fishmongers, hence the hat!).

Secondly, I wear long sleeved and high-necked clothing at all times. I never wear skirts or shorts, or t-shirts, etc...I never did even as a non-Muslim, I just wasn't comfortable with it.

Thirdly, I avoid unecessary and prolonged contact with men. Especially men who I didn't know prior to reverting...although I never really had any male friends as such. The majority (well, all!) of the people I spend time with socially are female, and we tend to gather in our own apartments for girly chats, rather than go out...

I'm starting back at university in September though, and contact with strange men will be all but unavoidable. Therefore it's my goal to develop the confidence and power of will to begin to wear hijab fully.

 

[loveislam1]

Salam Alikoum sister and mashallah wa allahmdullilah on your recent reversion.
No judging here, at least you have the knowledge that it is wrong, I worry more about the munafik who say it is not wajib for a woman to cover her hair, May Allah subhan wa t'ala give us right guidance ameen.

I couldnt chose two options. I wear khimar (head scarf) with western clothing (no pants or jeans ever) only skirts when I go to work. I wear the khimar with abayas when I go to the masjid

When I meet men at work I put my hands behind my back if they stretch thier hand to shake I simply raise my hand to my chest and smile and say I am sorry I dont shake hands with men.

Sorry I forgot to add, I have been muslim going on 9 years hijab it was a hard transition for my family not for me allhamdullilah, I took my shahada on sunday and wore hijab to school on monday. Now my family are used to my clothing, my mother has taken her shahada and she actually defends me against family if the oppurtunity arises, they had a problem with hijab for about 2 years it was harder for them to adjust to me or not letting my children celbrate Easter egg hungting, Halloween dress up, Christmas, etc.

 

[Globalpeace]

W-Salam,

I guess I am gonna have to say "Modest Western dress, no Khimar"

Salam Alikoum sister and mashallah wa allahmdullilah on your recent reversion.
No judging here, at least you have the knowledge that it is wrong, I worry more about the munafik who say it is not wajib for a woman to cover her hair, May Allah subhan wa t'ala give us right guidance ameen.

I couldnt chose two options. I wear khimar (head scarf) with western clothing (no pants or jeans ever) only skirts when I go to work. I wear the khimar with abayas when I go to the masjid

When I meet men at work I put my hands behind my back if they stretch thier hand to shake I simply raise my hand to my chest and smile and say I am sorry I dont shake hands with men.

 

[loveislam1]

Wa alikoum asalam
Can you explain GP?

 

[Globalpeace]

Asslamo Allaikum Sister,

Forgive the unwarranted intrusion into your domain; I am a man and was merely attempting 'unsuccessful' humour.

I have not voted.

Sorry.

Wa alikoum asalam GP?

 

[aseel]

assalamu alykum,

The more i read revert sisters posts the more i think i must be strange!

Hijab is what got me into islam and it was my very first move on the right path! I was wearing hijab even befor i took my shahada! both loose clothing and headscarf. Seen as I was in such a hurry to go the whole way.
It did not take long antil i found my first saudi black abaya on ebay!
first one then two then tree.... (all reverts experience the obligation renew ther entire wardrobe!)

I found once you have started to dress modestly and in abaay jilbab... you can not go back to your old cloths.

I was also really keen to wear niqab but it turns out a bit more complicated than it seems, (i am the only one in my entire university) so i wear it the most i can.

Inshallah one day i will live in a muslim country and wear niqab all the time :blackhijab:

 

[umm hussain]

I went to say shahada wearing a hijab lol... and if i remember well havent taken it of since. I didnt wear it properly though first time, used to wear it tied back with my ears covered but neck showing. I wore jeans and trousers as well and sometimes skirts did not see anything wrong with it then, I thought as long as my hair was covered then that was absolutely fine.

Amazingly no one ever told me I should not dress like that and I don't know why. I felt a bit strange having to cover my hair first time though I felt everyone was looking at me. Probably it was a year after saying shahada that i started wearing Jilbab but I had by then started wearing more modest clothing, maybe jeans with a long sleeved top and It was a big change for me as I was used to wearing tight jeans/skirts, mini skirts/dresses.

I started wearing hijab only because later on someone told me I was not dressed properly, alhamdulillah. If I had known earlier, alahu alim, i think I would have worn Jilbab earlier.

It has been really hard on my mum though seeing me covering up, she doesn't like it at all and she doesn't understand why I would give up my 'freedom' to dress like I am now and she said to me once why dont you dress like 'normal' people. May Allah guide her, my dad, my brothers and sisters Ameen.

It is a real trial having a family of disbelievers as they do not understand or rather don't want to understand why i cant do certain things.

One incidence that comes to mind is when my mum got so upset she almost did not speak to me because I told her i do not eat pork anymore(it used to be one of my favourite) and also when I told her I cant buy her any wine when she comes to visit me. She thought I was being funny but when she saw that I was serious she started having a go at me saying she doesn't see why I can't do that since she is the one who will be drinking it and not me or that she is the one who will be eating the bacon and not me.

 

[aseel]

lol
I also dressed down alot (understatmant more like shortest skirt in the club thing) but i guess i went from one extreme to the other (figure of speach, hijab is good not extreme)

I remember spending hours infront of the mirror trying out diffrent headscarf styles and watching mbc, kuwait, saudi ,qatar TV to see how they did it!

i`ve got a funny one for you! :I did not know that yawning was bad and thaught it would be good to thank god when i did so and say alhumdullila!
I only sat next to two muslim girls in class and none of them said anything!
Maybe they do not know?

My familly is too far away( 1200km) so they know but have only seen me in a photo alhumdullila that i do not have the revert familly syndrome!!!

 

[UmmOf3]

Salaam aleikum

I have done it all, but now, alhamdulillah, i wear abaya, "somali-jilbab" (the big big khimar) and niqab.

I have gone, during the last 13 yrs, from "modest clothes without khimar", through a period with abaya and normal hijab, to now, with abaya, khimar and niqab. I done it all hehehe.

 

[seekingtruth2]

Islamic dress

I wear EVERYTHING now........
except of course at home....lol.....
you wanted to know why I did this it is because it is in the quran and is sunnah as well.... I said shahadah in jeans and t-shirt because this was all I had and asked the imam to find a sister who would be willing to help me find suitable clothing (since by that time I knew how I was supposed to dress just had no idea where to buy such things...lol....(not sold at walmart!) he did immediately and within hours of saying shahadah I had everything i needed to get me through a week with a different outfit everyday!!!!! I was very happy...
was this easy?...lol.... your crazy...lol...... (no offense!!!) this was the HARDEST thing about being a muslim and by the way it still is.... Im just used to it now and notice peoples reactions to me less........ (but trust me my new husband notices!!!!) think about fitting into the crowd.... people say hello when they see you, and if your shopping they ask if they can help you with anything...... think about your family and freinds calling you regularly to see how you are doing, everybody loves you in public and at home.......
now.... think about someone spitting on you as you pass by, think about your vehicle being vandelized, think about people just simply staring at you with their mouths hanging open like your walking down the street naked or something........ think about being treated like you might be in a place of buisness to bomb them or something rather than to shop and buy things......think about your family after deciding that you might be ok to talk to after all refusing to be seen in public with you because of your dress.....
hhhmmmm........ easy no.... mandatory yes...... do I love it yes.... why? because I am obeying allah swt and I know that for all my suffering I am earning rewards in jannah...........
your sister in islam, fatima

 

[Muhammad_A]

To those of you who wear niqab, did you find it strange at first? Considering that us Westerners have no tradition of women covering their faces in public: so it's not something you would have been brought up with.

For my part I wear the thobe and there certainly isn't any equivalent in the modern Western mans wardrobe.

Also, SIster Seeking, may Allah (swt) give you strength. And may he guide SIster North aright.