We received many questions about women wearing scarves so we asked a variety of Muslim women and girls and here are their responses:
Why do you wear the hijab?
"I wear hijab because it reminds me of my faith. I know other people stare at me, so hijab reminds me to act like a good Muslim. To be kind to people who might be rude to me and to respond to difficult situations with grace since I am representing my faith. It is also empowering. Instead of people judging me off of my appearances, hijab gives me the ability to have people listen to me and see the way I act to judge me and get to know me better. I am instead judged by my knowledge and actions."
"I wear it as a expression of my faith and as a reminder to myself to carry myself with humility and kindness because I am a representation of Islam to other people. It also empowers me because I know that anything I accomplish and achieve is because of my merit and hard-work rather than objective looks and clothes."
"Wearing the hijab speaks loud and clear that I am proudly a Muslim woman. It conveys the norms that are expected of me, as well as those that I expect of others without having to explain repeatedly. It’s a huge part of my identity."
"I consider being a Muslim an integral facet of my identity. Thus, wearing the hijab is not only a constant reminder to myself of my core values but also allows others to easily identify me with a community of peace, love, and support. I am proud to be a Muslim, so I welcome the opportunity to be a visual representation of the religion."
"I wear hijab to attain piety. I believe it is a command from Allah (swt) and as a practicing Muslimah, I like to dress up modestly. It’s sign of my faith and identity."
"It’s a way I identify myself as a woman of faith, as a Muslim. A person who is so proud of what I believe in, that I show it to people everywhere I go."
"As Muslims, we need to represent the beauty of our faith now more than ever. As a Muslim woman, wearing hijab allows me the ability to physically show my faith without having to talk about my religion. It's my daily jihad and an absolute honour and privilege to show that I am part of Prophet Muhammad's ummah. With my hijab, people can observe and hopefully associate my actions and good character with my beautiful religion."
"The hijab is my outer symbol of God Consciousness (taqwa) and my internal struggle for Grace."
"Wearing the hijab gives me a physical and spiritual reminder of my purpose on earth is more than what I look like but what I do and the lord that I serve"
"Simply put, I wear the hijab because I feel honored to show an outward expression of obedience to Allah that matches how I choose to identify myself as - as a Muslim first and always Before anything else including culture, career."
"Thank you so much for giving me the opportunity to explain why I wear hijab. I am very proud to wear hijab as it’s my identity and shows I am a Muslim. I wear hijab because first of all it’s God’s commandment! If God asks us to do something then there is much wisdom behind it! God is the most merciful, the most compassionate, the all-knowing, the most WISE and He always wants best for us.
Modesty should be practiced by both men and women in Islam. Men are supposed to wear modest clothes as well and lower their gaze when they see beautiful women."
"I personally feel people respect me more when I wear hijab as they judge me based on my intellect and worth and not just my mere physical appearance. All women are naturally beautiful. They don’t need to go an extra mile to enhance their beauty and then attract the wrong people. Is there any good in attracting random/strange men with our physical beauty (intentionally or unintentionally)? I don’t think so. When we have something precious or beautiful, we do our best to safeguard it and cherish it ourselves, right? We don’t display it for public to enjoy or cast an evil eye upon it or be jealous of it, right? Likewise, our beauty is something very precious and I believe should only be shared with our loved ones. I don’t think any husband (Muslim or non-muslim) want their wives to be attracted by other men, right? And I don’t think any mother would want their daughters to be attracted by the wrong guys. So why put on so much make up and wear tight clothes and get attention from strangers who don’t mean anything to us? That’s just common sense I would say..
There is some added benefit to wearing hijab too as I don’t have to worry about bad hair days (lol) and take hours fixing my hair or putting make up on to get ready every day to go out. I also don’t have to fall victim of societal pressure of competing with other women to look attractive or to dress in certain ways. I don’t have to wake up 2 hours early to get ready or get all stressed out just to go to work lol. I am so glad I don’t have to spend hours getting ready to go anywhere. I would much rather spent some quality time with my friends and loved ones than be consumed with what to wear and how to fit into my clothes and how to look. To me there are obviously lots of benefits to wearing Hijab. I am very proud to wear hijab and I am very happy and comfortable in my skin, in my clothes and in my hijab!"
"I wear the hijab to please Allah. Allah is always protecting me and taking care of me in the most merciful way. Shouldn’t I show my gratitude by obeying Allah? I also feel that when I wear the hijab, Allah will take care of my affairs because I sacrificed for Him."
"I am wearing the hijab because its Allah’s order to cover ourselves including hair, why I chose to obey because my hijab reflects who I am and who I believe in, my hijab protects me and put standards for people how to treat a veiled woman.
My hijab helps others not to look for the outside beauty, it helps them to learn the inside beauty before the outside.
Excuse my english.. a bit broken :)"
"Why do I cover my head with a head cover/scarf/hijab?
- To show my Muslim identity. in 2018 America, hijab is a symbol of Islam.
- It is a signal to men to not try to mess with me. (That was my feeling when I was younger anyway; I think now my age, husband and kids take care of this point!)
- It is a nice way to spend less time taking care of my appearance, especially in the morning when I am rushing getting ready to go to work and getting the kids ready for school.
- It is a good method to gain respect and make people (both males and females!) focus on what I say and NOT how pretty/ugly I am.
- To be on the safe side since some respected muslim scholars say that this is required by islam
Why do I cover my body and try to wear modest clothing. (although I don't wear abaya (loose over-garment)
- because it makes me feel stronger and more in charge of my actions and decisions. (Never feel insecure in your own body!)
- Because in 2018 America, and with all the free online access to porn, it is still sexually distracting to men, and lesbians, that a women stands up and talk/work/teach, with tight and revealing clothing.
- I want people to judge my actions not my looks. People can be affected by how you look.. (if a woman looked beautiful people would accept her work more and vise versa). By the way, this is also true for men!
- Now, with all the sexual scandals that we hear in the news these days, and from working in the US corporate America since I was 22, I believe my clothing protected me from sexual harassment.
- Because I am required in Islam to cover . Quran 24.31."
"I began wearing hijab without really having thought it through too much and knowing what it really meant I just did it out of modesty—I was never afraid to do it—I just thought it was the right thing to do. it’s been 5 years alhumdulillah and i’ve learned a lot from being hijabi. i’ve learned:
1. being hijabi is more than just wearing a scarf and dressing modestly
2. wearing a hijab makes me no better than a muslima who does not
3. wearing hijab is a very open declaration of my faith and i have to act accordingly, how i walk and how i talk is very important bc i am an example of Islam. With islamaphobia being a current media topic i have to carry myself to the best of my ability and i am EAGER to do—i want to correct the misconceptions. i feel like it is my duty.
4. hijab is a constant reminder of who i am and what i believe. being hijabi has kept me from making bad decisions i know i would have regretted.
5. i am grateful for my hijab keeping me in check and encouraging me to learn more about my faith."
