Hijab: The Bond We Share

as-salaam aleikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh,


The first time I felt ashamed I didn't yet start wearing hijab was at a cafe with a Muslim friend who wore it. She was getting stares from others and although she could have been more graceful in her confrontation with them, I had no clue what she was going through since no one could tell I was Muslim. I felt how unfair it was to her that she was alone at our table in feeling the negative stares.

It was one of the things that helped push me to slowly start wearing hijab. Shortly thereafter I started to really feel a bond with other sisters who wore it as well.

It was the bond I felt when I was new to wearing hijab--I was so self-conscious of the people who would stare--but all of that would disappear the moment I would see another sister and we would exchange greetings and smiles. Mashallah.

It was the bond I felt while in the London Heathrow Airport, and a sister came to speak to me while I was in the restroom freshening up. We ended up spending about 3 hours together chatting, laughing and having fun while we were both waiting for our flights. Mashallah.

It was the bond I felt in China, waiting for my connecting flight to Japan, where other Muslim sisters and I ran into each other and we greeted each other, and then exchanged some pleasant conversations about where we were from and where we were going. Mashallah.

It was the bond that I felt in Japan, at a subway station, off on the other side of where I was, I saw a group of young sisters, who noticed me at about the same time. Then came the biggest smiles on their faces--you could see the excitement in their expressions--to see another sister, in a country where there aren't all that many Muslims. Although we could only wave at each other, I said "as-salaam aleikum" to them in my heart :) Mashallah.

And it is a bond, while in Munich, where there were many Emirati sisters in hijab and abaya, with whom we exchanged smiles from a distance, and with some, "Salaam aleikum"as we walked past each other. Mashallah

And it was the bond I definitely missed, while traveling in Italy earlier this year, where most days I never saw a women in hijab (in fact I only saw one every few days), in a country where I felt a lot of negative stares (I do just want to let everyone know it wasn't so bad I could not enjoy my vacation there, but it was definitely noticeable.)

It is so nice to be able to easily recognize another Muslim sister wherever you go. The bond may be less enhanced in highly Muslim-populated cities and countries, it definitely is still there. It is the bond of knowing we are inshallah doing it for Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, and we are going through similar struggles and experiences, both positive and negative, in whatever places we encounter each other in.

This post is not to criticize sisters who do not, or do not yet wear hijab. Inshallah Allah gives all of you who are considering to start wearing hijab the strength and patience to do so, and that you will soon get to experience this bond we share. You are strong enough to do it. I know you are :)