Seven Reasons Why I Love Hijab

When my family and I decided to perform Umrah just before the month of Ramadan began in July 2011, I never ever in the wildest of my dreams or nightmares imagined myself in hijab! I had considered it... far later on in life.. Probably when I was a bit wrinkled and had finally admitted to myself that I needed dentures.. But surely, Allah had a different plan for me!! And I don't think anyone was prepared for what was coming my way... But having said all this.. I would have never wanted it any other way!

They say Allah brings you closer to Him in many ways.. and mine was through deep pain and a yearning for guidance. I was in a position in life where I was in deep regret and had deep desire to find Allah in my life. So one day after we had finished performing Umrah, I was resting in our hotel room in Makkah and I awoke to a seed Allah had planted in my mind.. I wanted to wear hijab!! I didn't question it. I didn't think twice. I jumped right in with both feet... jumped waaay deep into it. I knew it would be tough but all I did was pray to Him, to give me the strength.. and Alhamdullilah He has never let me falter. Yes I have stumbled and fallen, but He has ALWAYS lifted me up and kicked me back in shape. And I hope Insha Allah He will continue to keep doing this whenever necessary.

Life continued. I returned to Colombo and had to take the social beating anyone would be succumbed to, given my circumstance. Sri Lanka is a multi ethnic Island of Paradise and Muslims are a minority. So go figure. As expected, there were many moments of diminishing hope, so much to the point of me throwing in the towel and giving up on hijab. But for some reason, I gritted my teeth, cried (buckets), contemplated giving up but eventually  pulled up my imaginary cotton socks and got back on track!

Seven months down the line, here are my seven reasons for loving hijab...

1. Insha Allah my toast wouldn't be roast come the day I meet my Creator.. (a bit of damage control, I'm hoping will help:)

2. I finally am recognized for being Muslim - a refreshing change from being mistaken for anything but a Muslim!

3. Many of my close friends and family have blessed me since.. I must have done something right ;P And I've never seen my mother this proud and pleased with me.. brownie points :)

4. It's proved to be a challenge - dealing with sneers, jokes and prejudices have only made my faith grow stronger. And I now see the dim wits from the one's that really matter. So whatever you've got to egg at me.. BRING. IT. ON!!!

5. I'm beginning to enjoy a sense of peace and belonging (this has been waaay overdue I tell you)

6. Hijab hasn't stifled life and the program I had for it... it's only opened greater avenues I never knew existed.

7. It's redefined ME.. and I'm loving me!

Your worth in weight

Assalamu Alaikum!

Much consideration went into our first post on this blog and we decided to concentrate on something we are all consumed by in this Dunya. WEIGHT! Most of us worry we weigh too much and some of us stress that we don’t weigh enough. People in this Dunya hate to be overweight, whether they are boarding a plane, visiting the Doctors for an annual checkup or merely assessing their weight on a weighing scale. However, there will definitely be a time in the future when you and I both will wish with all our heart to be as heavy as one can ever be! And that time will come when Allah (swt) will gather us all to weigh our deeds. How it works in the Aakhira is that good deeds of a righteous slave will carry some weight whilst bad deeds do not carry any weight. Yes they are in fact weightless and worthless, both in this life and the hereafter..

Allah (swt) explains in the Holy Quran in Surah A’Raf, Verses 8 -9 about the Meezan; i.e. the weighing of deeds and He tells us how all of Mankind and Jinn (from the first of them to the very last) will be resurrected and brought forth in front of their one God, Allah for judgment. On this day, no one can make excuses, take a sabbatical, play truant or just not show up! We will all be roused from the dead and made to stand in front of Our Lord, whether we like it or not, whether we be ready or not or whether we believe it or not! On this day, all those who rejected and denied will see the truth, yet it will be too late (and we pray that none of us will be of those wretched enough to deny the ayath of Allah). There is NO DOUBT in the coming of this Day and there is nothing we can do but prepare vehemently for it.

Whilst Allah (swt) weighs our deeds – it is very important to note that none of us can attain Jannah through our good deeds alone. A righteous slave will only enter Jannah through the Mercy and Permission of Allah (swt) alone. Whilst good deeds aren’t the sole criterion to enter Jannah, pleasing Allah is the main principle to live our lives by. And by pleasing Allah (swt) alone, we attain His Mercy and through that, attain Jannah Insha Allah.

Coming back to watching our weight again, it’s incumbent upon us to believe in the Meezan; i.e. the weighing of deeds, so much so that it is considered to be part of one’s Imaan. Allah (swt) will weigh our deeds and there will be no doubt in its accuracy and no flaw in the scale. It will reflect the quality of the deed as well as the quantity. The following are three things that will be weighed on the Day of Resurrection:

1. Actions – Good deeds such as reciting Surah Baqarah, Surah Al Imran will come as a cloud shading its reader on the Day of Resurrection, whilst the muslim who recited Surah Mulk and Surah As Sajdah every night will be protected in the grave. Righteous deeds will take a tangible form as a cloud or a handsome companion and will protect the righteous slave in the next life.
2. The Scrolls – the parchments upon which the deeds of every soul is recorded by the Angels.
3. The slave himself – that is, the slave will be weighed to assess his/her level of Imaan.

Let us now look closely at the weighing of deeds - what deeds will be weighed and why it is necessary:

1.       Belief in the Meezan (weighing of deeds) is part of Imaan and is incumbent on all believers.

2.       Deeds will be weighed so no one denies judgement.

3.       Those whose scales will be heavy will be successful; and those whose scales are light will be the losers.

4.       Complete justice will be served on this Day

5.       The Kalima (Shahada) will outweigh ones sins and will outweigh all his/her other good deeds. However saying the Kalima alone is not sufficient to please Allah. One must submit entirely to all of Allah’s commands and not pick and choose from the Deen (religion).

6.       Good character will be the heaviest of deeds

7.       Words we utter will also be weighed; so watch out for what you say (once words roll out your tongue, they are impossible to swallow back). The heaviest of dua’s one can say is “Subhanallahi Wabihamdihi Subhanallil Aleem”

8.       Whatever a slave looked after for the sake of Allah will also be weighed, for example if you took care of an animal to please Allah and treated it with kindness then that animal will also be weighed in your favor.

9.       The ink of a Scholar and the blood of a Martyr will also be weighed. It is said that the ink of some scholars will be heavier than the blood of some Martyrs.

10.   One deed would be sufficient to tip the scales towards your success (Heaven) or your ruin (Hell). So do not undermine any deed, good or bad – do not think that one little white lie or that one sin will go unheeded. That very small sin may be the sin that tips the scales towards your loss.

11.    The first thing to be weighed on the balance (scales) will be that which you provided for your family. Very often it is our family whom we take for granted the most, yet we do not realize the great importance Allah (swt) has placed upon our parents and family.

12.   Both the crime and the punishment meted out in the Dunya will be weighed – if the punishment was not adequate for the crime, then Allah (swt) will serve justice upon the sinner.

13.   Whilst a slaves deeds are being weighed, he will completely forget about his family and other people around him and will be consumed with the results of the weighing of his deeds.

In conclusion, we ask dua that all our deeds as well as our readers, will be overweight and will Insha Allah tip the scales to our Eternal Success. Ameen.