Below is an email I recieved from a sister struggling with Hijab living in the west. She has asked me to post this on my social networking pages such as Twitter (@Zahraalawi) and Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/zalalawi) to spread awareness on the struggles some sisters face. Do you think our communities are doing enough to support and aid sisters struggling with Hijab? What leads sisters to feeling conscious of their apparance in Hijab? Ive copied and pasted the email below.
With Salaams and Duas
Zahra Al-Alawi
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Forwarded Email:
Dear Zahra Al-Alawi
I have thought long and hard about sending you this message and only until yesterday i decided to sit down and write you this letter after i saw that you will be lecturing at Aston university on the topic of hajab and seeing the girls letter you posted who got attacked in Canada for her hajab. You may ask why im writing this letter to you? The reason im writing this letter to you is because i have seen your lectures and tv shows on hajab and i have seen the large followship you have on facebook and twitter and i want to get this letter out to as many people as possible. I have no way of portraying my feelings and emotions and this seems like the perfect way to do this. All i want from you Zahra is to post this on your twitter and facebook page, I want people to know what im going threw and to know there are many other girls who are going threw the same. I dont know what the answer is but i just want people to know. I hope you find the time to read this letter and post it as i have messaged you before and have received no reply.
To whoever is reading this and to the general public. I am a girl living in London struggling with hajab, and recently i entered a illegitimate relationship with a guy which i have no idea where it will lead to. My reputation is ruined to the extent that i dont know if i will ever get married. My confidence and self esteem is so low that makeup, fashionable clothes, attention from men and being loud and bubbly is the only way to hide the hurt i am feeling inside. I am one of hundreds of girls who are currently struggling with hajab in London. I am about to tell you how i reached this stage in the hope that someone will find a solution to prevent other girls in falling in this pit hole which im currently in. It started when I was 16 and has carried on to this day, i constantly felt that i was in competition with other girls. I didnt feel attractive in my hajab and was jealous of the other girls who were receiving attention from the boys at school. In desperation i started wearing makeup, wore revealing clothing to show off my figure, began to diet and began to act like the other girls. I even started smoking just so i got more attention. Unknowingly this led me to get negative attention and the attention from men which will lead to my reputation getting ruined. My parents noticed the change in me and tried so hard to change me, but i constantly felt pressured and misunderstood. Suddenly all the “religious” girls started abandoning me and looking down on me. I started to rebel even more as i already felt like a outcast. Thats when i started entering relationships with guys (to feel the love and attention which my parents and the community were neglecting me on). Alot of things have happened in the past years which have outcasted me more. Now it seems all the shoes, handbags, makeup and nice clothes is all which makes me feel worthy or satisfied. I know what i am doing is incorrect but its the lack of confidence which leads me to this. I just want everyone to know “we” girls are not bad, and if the community look away from us we will fall into more sin in desperation. We need positive motivation and advice without feeling pressured or feeling lower than the rest. We need to be welcomed into the community and made feel apart of it. I have watched your shows on Ahlulbayt TV and the other shows and it has helped my confidence alot. I see you and others so happy and confident in hajab and think to myself why cant i be that happy and confident in mine. I dont think i knew why i wore a hajab until recently. I want to change my life round and i too want to get married and be respected rather than classed as one of the “bad girls”. I wish the community does something to change this because i can tell you there are so many girls and boys in illegitimate relationships and are falling into a sinful trap without having any support or guidance. It has taken alot of courage to write this message without revealing too much of my life to expose my identity. I just wanted to share my feelings in hope that more help and support will be given from our communities or something is organised to help us feel confident in our hajab without the c–p we hide behind.
When we believe in the oneness of Allah Subhana Wa Tallah and lead our life according to the guidelines that Allah Subhana Wa Tallah has provided through Prophet Muhammad (P.B,U.H), we truly belong and gain position in the list of most favorite peoples of Allah Subhana Wa Tallah. The truthiness of beliefs comes from the inner satisfaction of a person.
A person’s fulfillment of inner contentment arrives from the peaceful actions, love and care for humanity. If you believe that you are surrounded by the protective shield of Allah Subhana Wa Tallah’s blessings, all the worries regarding the norms of living would vanish at once and the only thing that would remain is going to be the peaceful environment and calm state of mind.
When we start believing in the preaching of Prophet Muhammad (P.B.U.H) and commence our lives on those enlightened rules first, we gain the infinite blessings of Allah Subhana Wa Tallah and secondly, in this world we find ourselves more peacefully stabled than others. To express our gratitude towards Allah Subhana Wa Tallah in our daily living, the only set of words and the act that can show Allah Subhana Wa Tallah’s true consideration is dhikr or prayers including the recitation and learning of Quran e Majeed and Sunnah
Whenever you perform your routine tasks always believe that there is Allah Subhana Wa Tallah constantly watching you. By having this faith, you are actually doing yourself a favor and with this set of mind would come the assuring feelings of love and affection towards Allah Subhana Wa Tallah, which would bring contentment.
Leave your every decision on Allah Subhana Wa Tallah’s will and see how your every problem would sort out quickly. You would have never imagined that so far. In order to live successfully here and here after, humans have to surpass numerous hindrances that are lying in the path of life at every stop. But with strong determination and faith on Allah Subhana Wa Tallah can ease down a person’s difficult time. It will help in choosing the best option and facing challenges of life.
Follow and go through the records or history of Hazrat Muhammad (P.B.U.H) and follow Him (P.B.U.H.) in the same way, you will never fall on the ground and if you will then you will have strength to stand up again. In Holy Quran, Allah Subhana Wa Tallah has mentioned clearly that “A person who wants to fetch my blessings must obey Muhammad (P.B.U.H) fully because he has done the duty that has been given him by me (Allah)”.
Allah Subhana Wa Tallah says that “Your feeling of love towards Prophet Muhammad (P.B.U.H) will automatically show love toward me (Allah)”. In short, strong implementation of Islamic values in true means can get you connected with Allah’s blessings. This is the only way to make the pathway of life here and hereafter easier. And, you can achieve all this by doing dhikr of Allah Subhana Wa Tallah or in remembrance of God.
Magic and sorcery have been seen by true Islams as advice by devils or demons and no one should indulge in any of this type of future-telling or advice. Allah and the Prophet Muhammad are the only ones who have true access to this knowledge and so they are the only ones who should be consulted on it. Allah has the answers to every problem and so should be the one to be consulted for any desire or trouble, not anyone else. However, this is not to say that magic shows are disallowed in Muslim countries, if they can prove they are only for entertainment and not for anything else.
The Prophet Abu Hurairah warned people against seven things in the world, of which magic was one of them. Whatever people consult or whomever they visit to learn these things is considered a rejection of Allah in a very bad sense, and punishment will strike these misguided people. Even the lighter forms of future-telling such as reading the stars for a person or telling their life from their palms is also forbidden. Anyone who indulges themselves with magic by visiting a witch or a soothsayer is punished by Allah by having his or her prayers ignored for forty days.
Even those who believe in it but do not practice magic are considered sinners. Magic is thought to be concerned with powers given by Satan, even though many practitioners of magic try not to bring harm to others by thoughts, deeds or other means. There is always the way down into the forbidden arts, which are considered the blackest imaginable. Many acts of absolute atrocity are committed against men, women and children and animals in the guise of magic and the lunatics who strive to make it acceptable to the world.
Magic, simple or complex, is simply seen as haraam or forbidden. It is a temptation to Man to ask of others rather than Allah for answers, future-seeing and other things, including temptation into lust, eating wrongly, consuming alcohol, all of which are forbidden in the Muslim faith. Some practitioners of the dark arts desecrate graves, eat pork and drink blood, all very wrong occupations to a Muslim and attributed to Satan, as well they should be in any country.
To a Muslim, competence in magic can only be attributed to Satan, not Allah, and, as such, it is thought the person may obtain greater powers than Allah. To a true believer this cannot be, as the only Power is Allah, and He has not given permission for this to be so. Many things are attributed to witches, warlocks and others in a Muslim country, and they will be lucky to escape with their lives if they are uncovered. Allah’s punishment is not usually very pleasant for any practitioner of the so-called dark arts.
There is a lot of confusion concerning this word: tasawwuf. Whereas the Quran and Sunnah are held as the highest point in a Muslim’s obedience creed, tasawwuf is mistakenly thought to supersede the two. This view is held by many people and has split the Muslim faith into two distinct camps of which one abides by the Quran and Hadith, the other by tasawuff.
Actually, the tasawuff is a later part of the Shariah, relating to feelings of the heart, and very much a part of the older religion. Every external deed is for the betterment of the heart’s feelings and thus allowing a person to pass happily into the afterlife. If this unconditional love is not obtained, then the person is destroyed inside. It is the growth of this love, the desire is to have Divine pleasure and it gives total obedience to the orders of the Shariah that makes it what it is.
Tasawuff exists purely to purify the heart from every lowly desire, lust, jealousy, nastiness whether by deed or speech, vanity and all the negatives that live in a Man’s heart and words. In return it wishes to clothe the heart with all things that are above these other emotions. These are fear of Allah, trust, love, truth, pure thoughts, and all that will make a Man worthy of attention in the afterlife, but most especially Allah’s mercy and love. This is its primary reason for existing and its soul.
To determine the problems of the heart in these issues is usually placed in the hands of a Shaykh or teacher. This person in turn has to be qualified according to the Shariah rulings, have had teachings by a suitably qualified Shaykh, who is respected by his followers, has no interest in worldly wealth for himself, tries very sincerely to teach his followers with education and morality, and has the needed religious knowledge, among other things. This person does not have to produce karamat or miracles, nor do they need to be able to see the future. Indeed, if they do, they may not be a Shaykh at all.
In order to follow the teachings of tasawuff it is good if you find a Shaykh whom you trust and like, for it will make your conversion easier. Once you have found this person, then there is a promise shared between you both in that he guides you and you follow him. There are several parts which the initiate vows to pursue, of which are to start an everyday self-assessment before going to bed in order to repent the bad ones and give thanks to Allah for the good ones, make sure that your eyes, ears and tongue are watched strictly to prevent doing or saying the wrong things, develop a humbleness whereby you do not judge others for what they do or think you are better than them, remember Allah frequently and other items which are part of this ritual.
Tattoos are prohibited or forbidden in Islam. This verdict as proved by the Quran and Sunnah should be enough for the believing Muslims or believers in Islam but there is a group of people who keep on debating on this issue. They want to know why tattoos are prohibited or haraam but piercing of ears is allowed in Islam. If piercing with needle is haraam then why do the Muslim girls adorn their ears and nose by piercing to wear earrings and nose pins. There are lots of WHYs and sometimes all this becomes too confusing for new converts and people with weak faith in Islam.
Verdict of Quran & Sunnah
According to Quran and as told to Muslims through hadees or Prophet’s sayings any act that can hurt a person physically, mentally and spiritually is haraam and prohibited. More strictness and penalties are on those acts which are done intentionally to hurt fellow men, animals and including plants and non living things such as property of others which indirectly become a cause of hurt, injury or damage of other human beings. All these are categories of sins and hurting oneself, suicide and inducing pain in one way or the other is also called haraam or prohibited acts. Piercing one’s ears and body, injecting chemicals into the body in the name of art, fashion, display and fun is not at all wise as well as prohibited by Allah and His Apostle.
To Pierce or not to Pierce
The debate should be on the acts that are harmful for the body or not. Tattoo making is one of them. Piercing of ears and nose is not a part of Islamic culture but it is a part of Indian, African and many other cultures in the world. Muslims living in those parts of the world have adopted the norms and culture. They are merely following norms of the society they are living in. So, it is their own choice but they are answerable for their deeds like all the other Muslims in the court of Allah.
Why Tatttoos are Haraam
Women have been told and guided by Allah’s Apostle to dye their hands with Henna and their hair to appear beautiful for their husbands. No where it had been stated haraam the use of herbal extracts and products. Chemical based ingredients and products are not good for health and therefore, they were discouraged and prohibited. Same goes for the case of tattoo making in Islam.
Tattoo ink when injected in the skin can cause many unwanted and undesirable physical conditions including severe allergies, and may lead to the removal of lymph glands. They are teratogenic, one of the leading causes of mutations and carcinogenic problems. Do not pay the price of ignorance and learn more about this tattoo making procedure, the ingredients used for creating tattoo ink and the aftermath of having tattoos on your skin before subjecting yourself to having the procedure done.
Dr Muhammad Tahir-ul-Qadri is a great reformer, an aficionado, a devotee and a noble preacher of Islam. He has been working for the welfare of Islam for the past many years. He is renowned for his work. He has somehow succeeded in bringing to the bottom line the misconceptions about Islam in the western world. He has emerged as one of the most conscientious and diligent parson. He holds the credit for almost 1000 books. These books are available in different languages e.g. English, Arabic, Urdu, etc. Some of his distinguished and acclaimed books include The Glorious Qur’an English Translation, Fatwa on Terrorism and Suicide Bombings, Mawlid al-Nabi, Beseeching for Help, Islamic Concept of Intermediation, etc.
Around 425 of his books are on paper and published while the remaining 575 books are going through the procedure of being in the hardcopy. His books are so acclaimed that they have been translated in to different languages. Dr Muhammad Tahir-ul-Qadri’s resurrecting, revitalizing, amending and reconstructive labours and harmony dynamics abide notable and significant connotation and embrace a consummate spot in promoting the grounds of world peace and human rights, metastasizing the factual Islamic assurance and belief and propagating portentous scrutiny exertion and discoursing the ideas of the Quran and Sunnah. Dr Muhammad Tahir-ul-Qadri laid the foundation of a Sufism-based establishment Minhaj-ul-Quran International and used up the next decade mounting it countrywide and globally.
Dr Muhammad Tahir-ul-Qadri has done prestigious work about the existence and the livelihood of Hazrat Muhammad (S.A.W). His work is beautiful and alluring. The way has thrown light on the slightest events from the life of the greatest Reformer of mankind is just the exhibition of his talent and competency. He actually makes all his readers worship and adore the subject again and again. His speeches on terrorism depict a new face of Islam to the western world, the one they praise. While his lectures he quotes references from different books which makes his lectures even more effectual.
Dr Muhammad Tahir-ul-Qadri delivered a sermon titled as “Islam on Peace, Integration and Human Rights” in Manchester. Dr Muhammad Tahir-ul-Qadri disagrees that terrorists and traitors have strayed and trespassed from the right, canonical wisdom of Islam and their defiant and mutinous fortitude of brutality, aggression and spiritual radicalism and fanaticism is a permanence of the Khawarij. Dr Muhammad Tahir-ul-Qadri portrays intimidation as an “ideological contagion “Suicide assaults are strictly prohibited in Islam, these activities and conducts are un-Islamic, the massacre and killing of innocent mankind in any creed, conviction or kingdom, and violence in all its demonstrations, are thoroughly in negation with the tradition of Islam.” Last but not the least Dr Muhammad Tahir-ul-Qadri has the right ability to speak to the heart and souls of his listeners, he conveys them the right and factual message and preaching of Islam.
