It's not hijab...Yanlış anlaşılmış örtünmeler....

hijab reminders via egypt

are you covering properly? are you making sure your assests are concealed and not merely covered in fabric? because there is a difference between covered and concealed. covered could be taken as you wearing head to toe tight lycra that may hide your skin but doesnt hide the curves of your body. concealed on the other hand means that you cant see them - they are hidden from view.

im saying this out of recent viewing experiences here in egypt. most hijabies here wear nice abayas, long swishy skirts or loose, flared pants with long loose tops, dresses over loose pants, etc.

there are however a lot of other girls who wear something like this:

A - a very short skirt worn over either very sheer or opaque tights and boots. i dont get why you would bother covering your hair when your legs and thighs are naked. doesnt make sense.

B - a knee-length skirt with boots. doesnt seem hijab-appropraite to me.

C- skinny jeans (with boots or normal shoes). skinny jeans expose the whole leg - especially when worn with tops that barely cover your belt.


A. B. C.

a lot of the jeans worn here are matched with a shirt (sometimes very tight tops) that doesnt cover the rear end. its a bit funny to see girls with massive puffy hijabs and then their bum sticking out on display.

i have been wanting to take pics of these to show you guys (with faces blanked out of course to hide identity - its the style i want to capture - not the girl's faces) but i drive past so quick that i can never get the camera out in time. the looks above seem to be a real trend here. it isnt just one or two or even a few girls going out like this - there are a lot of them. like i said - a real trend.

now, in saying all of the above - just ask yourself "do i dress like this?"
ask yourself these questions and ponder on them:
"would i be comfortable wearing this to a mosque?"
"could i walk into a room full of men and not feel uncomfortable based on my clothing choice?"
"am i doing the hijab justice?"
"When my daughter is my age now and she wore this - would i want her to? would i approve?"
"What is more important to me - to be covered properly or to gain attention for my tight fashion choices and my body?"

covered? yes. concealed? no.

i was having a discussion with a friend of mine today who is learning about hijab and intends on wearing it but had so many questions and was kinda confused about the whole thing - especially about what is meant by 'proper' covering. for her, like so many 'new to hijab' muslimahs, learning the difference between what is merely a covering for your skin to what is concealing your body is the first step.

my friend was confused, thinking that as long as her skin wasnt showing and she wore a scarf that she was dressed appropriately by islamic ideals. to correct her i got this pic below, sent her the original and then sent her my very badly edited one.

my point was proven instantly to her - this model has all her skin covered but her body is not concealed, therefore throwing a scarf on top of the outfit would not matter at all or somehow magically make her skin tight outfit proper hijabi wear.

she got my point and hopefully a few of the sisters out there dressing like the above (in tight clothing, skinny jeans, leggings, etc) while wearing a scarf, will as well.

i love this pic

doesnt even need an intro - i think you know what it is saying - lol.

maybe a rethink is needed?

i have been seeing a little bit of this tight belt over tight abaya look recently. (saw heaps on eid that i admired the style of - but not the tightness). first of all - your abaya isnt supposed to be tight. if you give any abaya tailor your measurements, they will make your garment at least two inches wider than your measurements, to make sure it is loose on you, so you shouldnt be in tight abaya anyway. but wearing a waist cinching belt on top of your tight abaya just completely ruins the look.

here is what i mean:

style-wise it is stylish and fantastic. i like the look myself - but - as a muslimah you have to make sure whatever you are wearing is loose against your body and this look not only cinches in the waist area, but also the chest.

ways around it:

wear the belt, but use a much looser abaya, one that will allow you to hang the material over the belt so the waist isnt cinched in and so you have this cascading abaya-over-belt look that looks equally stylish, yet still modest. if that still isnt modest enough for you, how about wearing a nice jacket over the top? you can still have the belted look going on and hide those curves.

does this ever happen to you?

today i walked into a shop to buy some cake mix because im having people over later (yes, you really needed to know that) and on arrival in the shop i walked past two muslim guys and one of them was staring.

i thought he was doing so for either one of these three reasons:

1. 
   
   he digs my hijab and wants to buy one for his wife ...OR...
2. 
   
   he wants to take me back to his village so we can live as camel herders for the rest of our lives ...OR...
3. 
   
   i looked like his sister/mother/dad

i walked past him and further down the shop and saw my reflection in the coke fridge and realised why he was looking. i had a bit of this going on...

...that awkward "im a hijabi but i like to air-condition my chest occasionally" thing. even though it was only a tiny bit of my neck-meets-chest skin patch hanging out between my hijab and abaya, it made me feel totally naked for some reason. dont you hate it when that happens?

i know you're gonna jump on my back...

...but there is a point to this judging.

today i was in a very crowded shopping mall in the city, eating waffles for breakfast. i looked down to my waffles and then looked up as i ate and nearly spat out my food in shock.

i had some girls bum in my face and it was so gross. she was wearing tight leggings, that although weren't sheer they did give you every line and bump on her skin. to cover her bum she had a tight, VERY short mini skirt that stopped where her bum met her legs, followed by a VERY tight 3/4 length top. besides the fact that her behind was totally in my face, the part that shocked me the most was that this very tightly wrapped girl had a hijab on.

it made me so angry. i wanted to (but didn't dare because it definitely would've come out the wrong way at the time) say something to this girl. it was absolutely disgusting to see a girl wearing hijab with what she wore. it basically looked like this - just imagine some sleeves and a hijab...

i don't want to ever dress like this myself, nor have my daughters dress like this, nor my friends... not even a stranger/fellow sister.

im saying this not to rant, but in the hope that other girls who wear this kind of 'clothing' and wear a scarf on their heads will cease to do so. its not hijab - it is just a disgusting mockery, especially when i look around to see all the other non-muslim patrons dressing way more hijab appropriate clothing than the muslim girl.

i know some of you may say "oh she may be new to hijab", "she may be a recent convert", "weak iman", "blah blah blah" and give her a long list of excuses but the simple truth is that hijab is hijab and should be respected. you shouldnt look cheap in hijab and you shouldnt give the wrong message out about muslim women when you are wearing their distinct uniform. whether you like it or not, when you are out in public in hijab you are not only representing yourself and islam, but the rest of the world's muslim women and i dont know about you... but i dont want other people associating someone who looks like a $2 hooker with a scarf in her head with me or my religion.

harsh? yes... but it needs to be said (and stopped).

which outfit do you like the most?

girl on the left - i love her hijab style. its so innovative, so different, so cool! i love how the purple hues matches with the crochet wrap over her chest. love the ugg boots too (so aussie). (personally though i think her jeans are too tight).

girl in the middle - i love the whole look. love the shoes, the continuous darkness of the outfit that just pops with colour from the hijab. its very simple, yet so stylish.

girl on the right - i love her smiley face, her happy look, the way she has styled her hijab and i love how the brown colour in her hijab and boots contrasts and compliments the denim. however i do have to point out, in case some sisters dont yet know, that skin-tight leggings ARE NOT proper attire for a muslimah. (even the site i got this from had comments from non-muslims questioning why she was veiled yet had no pants on - they thought she was just wearing a coat and boots).

for me - im tossing up between the girl on the left (very funky - street cool) and the one in the middle (classically stylish). they are very different, so i cant choose between them.

which one do you like the most?

hijab reminders

never ever think that "no one is watching"...

this is something i notice every now and then...

a hijabi will be all covered but her clothing is sheer that you can make everything out underneath, especially with lighter coloured maxi dresses and long skirts. make sure you wear some leggings or pants underneath to prevent this from happening...

also - i have been seeing a few girls around in the tightest jeans ever with a tiny-tiny-super-tight denim skirt over the top, matched with a skin-tight top and a loose hijab. the only thing hijabi about that is the scarf. first off i think the look isnt stylish and looks horrible anyway (denim on denim - need i say more?) but also the tight mini skirt over tight pants does not equal proper hijab. it looks gross and although it has nothing to do with me, its kinda offensive because i see it as a mockery of hijab. i see it on young girls who are probably new to hijab, but about a week ago i saw it on a woman in her mid 20's, face covered in heavy makeup, actually strutting in her high heels down the mall, while she tried to get the attention from a group of men standing nearby... which she did successfully, i have to admit, lol... plus attention from three old ladies in abayas shaking their heads at her while looking her up and down.
if you are going to wear denim then by all means get it right. dont do a version of the above and get it all wrong. go for a full length denim skirt like here...

or throw on a long, LOOSE top over LOOSE jeans like here...

both looks are feminine, very hijabi and very cute and wont get men and women staring at you for all the wrong reasons.

big hijab donts

DONT FORGET TO WEAR SOMETHING UNDER YOUR ABAYA

DONT WEAR SKIN TIGHT CLOTHING

DONT SMOKE IN PUBLIC

DONT WEAR SOMETHING THAT ACCENTUATES YOUR BREASTS

DONT GET CONFUSED OVER WHAT YOU ARE REPRESENTING

DONT GO AFTER A PUNK ROCK LOOK IF IT MEANS SACRIFICING YOUR MODESTY.

DONT EXPOSE WHAT YOU ARE MEANT TO HIDE

DONT PUT SO MUCH MAKEUP ON THAT YOU END UP LOOKING LIKE A DRAG QUEEN

DONT WEAR IMMODEST DRESSES LIKE THIS AND THEN TRY TO HIJABIFY THEM - IT WONT WORK.

DONT LET YOUR HAIR HANG OUT LIKE ITS ON HOLIDAY IN MEXICO

DONT OVER PLUCK YOUR EYEBROWS INTO WEIRD SHAPES AND DESTROY YOUR FACE

IN SUMMARY.....

yucky mcshucky

ugh... ive always hated these styles...
would you wear it?

the tsunami hijabi

some Iranian women (young and old) wear their scarf placed over their styled hair - either hair is volumned up and combed back or the fringe/bangs is styled down over the forehead.

And i thought that was the basic Iranian Style... until i came across this montrous effort...

Ladies.. please be strap yourself to some sturdy furniture...

Be prepared to be scared..

a tsunami is coming your way!!!

What are these MASSIVE walls of hair? They hiding something in there? is that where they keep their phones or small change? They got antennas cleverly hidden under there?

WTF is going on?

Lets take a close look at this mess..

i know beauty is in the eye of the beholder and so on.. but who actually thinks that massive wall of stand-up hair is attractive? and how the hell do they get their hair to stand up so straight? did they use a clear gel cement to harden that mofo?

I swear all that boof on their head must give them some kind of supersonic aerodynamics going on.. the hijabies are Wind Resistant!!!

So unless you look like the girl below.. i would stay away from looking like a tsunami hijabi...

the 'haraam' abaya

We all know idolising is haram, right? To put someone's face on display in a way that revers them is a form of worship. Thats why we are not allowed to show depictions of any of the Prophets - because look what it leads to... for example to Christian worship of Prophet Isa and his Mother (a.k.a. Jesus Christ and the Virgin Mary). As a Catholic we would go up in Church and actually kiss the feet of the Jesus and Mary Statues and pray to them. Also we are not to display animals in our homes because of previous nations worshipping animals as their Gods - like the people who worshipped the calf in Moses' time and the Ancient Egyptians with their various animal gods.

This is why we dont hang pictures of prophets in our homes, our masjids, our schools etc based on these hadiths:

Ibn 'Abbaas (may Allah be pleased with him and his father) reported that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "Every image-maker will be in the Fire, and for every image that he made a soul will be created for him, which will be punished in the Fire." Ibn 'Abbaas said: "If you must do that, make pictures of trees and other inanimate objects."

Narrated By 'Aisha : (Mother of the faithful believers) I bought a cushion with pictures on it. When Allah's Apostle saw it, he kept standing at the door and did not enter the house. I noticed the sign of disgust on his face, so I said, "O Allah's Apostle! I repent to Allah and His Apostle. (Please let me know) what sin I have done." Allah's Apostle said, "What about this cushion?" I replied, "I bought it for you to sit and recline on." Allah's Apostle said, "The painters (i.e. owners) of these pictures will be punished on the Day of Resurrection. It will be said to them, 'Put life in what you have created (i.e. painted).' " The Prophet added, "The angels do not enter a house where there are pictures."

‘Umar said, ‘We do not enter your churches because of the statues and pictures.’

When ‘Ali [Fatima’s husband] invited Muhammad over for food, Muhammad saw in the house pictures and then went back home.

I have heard rulings where it is ok to have photo albums, storing pictures on your computer, mobile phone, internet sites, etc because these are not physically on display.

It reminds of of when i went to Dubai. Even in the hotels i went in to there were very large pictures hung on the walls of various men.. but the main image (that was always the largest) was of the current Emirates leader (that Shaikh Guy - Sorry don't know his name). That made me think WTF? - considering Islam doesn't allow pictures of people to be put on display - also, which i think is more important, is that fact that isn't displaying these guy's image a form of worship? This guy's face was everywhere!!!!

So when i saw the following abayas i was indeed in WTF mode.



 

Why the HELL would you want a man's head on your clothing? It isnt some random person, a random animal - it is of a specific person (two different people in the pics). That is indeed an obvious form of worship - to honour and worship someone sooo much that you would walk around with his face crystallised on your clothing.

We dont even do this with our own holy prophets - so why do it with a mere man?

fresh is best!

I stole this pic of Pixies blog. The two girls are actually the same girl.
I made a comment on her post about it because this is something we see all the time -

Girls in full hijab looking gorgeous and then they go and throw on about 20 tons of makeup ontop of their faces. I must say personally the version on the right with no hijab is more attractive and natural looking. her skin is glowing, natural and beautiful. Yes, she has makeup on but it isnt over-powering! She has foundation, blush, eyeliner and lipgloss - but still looks so pretty and down to earth.
The version on the left in hijab on the other hand looks tacky, cheap and over-done.

Its too much! And we have all seen girls do this time and time again in hijab. It ruins your pretty hijab! It makes your face look kinda tired too dont you think?

Keep it fresh looking like the version on the right or as here below:::

I love it when you see girls in hijab and if they have makeup on they still look fresh and sweet as a daisy - not looking like their face fell into a rainbow.

Now i do like the makeup here - its fun, bright and gorgeous - but is it ok for the streets? Aw Hell no...

Although the above style is indeed pretty i much prefer this look below - the girl's skin is glowing, radiant and beautiful! Ofcourse you can see she is wearing makeup but she does it in such a natural, gorgeous style! -Nothing over-powering here!

Instead opt for natural shades. Peachy tones are great on all skin tones and lift up the complexion. Try colours such as these:::

Hijabies and Hats

Ok so the first one isnt exactly a hat - more of a hood - but i think it looks uber-cute and nice and warm... good for a chilly winter day.
I like the idea of a hat and scarf together.. but pairing a covered head with THAT clothing? You have got to be kidding me - I can see every shape of her body.

Another cute look - but obviously I would be wearing something longer than tunic (and a bigger scarf). But looks very cute.

OK - no need to say it (but i will) - the clothing is a big Hijabi no-no.. but i like that cashmere & hijab look.

So do you Hijab and Hat?

The Hojabi

yes i said hojabi - read first - stone me later...

too many muslim girls nowadays are dressing bad... very bad. Im not talking about bad style or fashion... im talking about curves, curves, curves.

i was talking via MSN with a hijabi from one of the Arab nations and we were discussing the differences between :::

Hijabies & Hojabies.

I know many girls are gonna wanna smack me over the head for saying Hojabi... while others will be like WTF? - not getting what i am talking about.

Definition:

Hijabi - well we all know what a hijabi is.

A Hojabi - is a very nasty, degrading name (that no one should ever use) for a girl that is wearing a scarf and may as well have had her clothes *painted* on because Girlfriend has got some tight, figure hugging shesh on.

or as Urban Dictionary bluntly puts it:

A hijabi with all the properties of a HO. (sounds nasty and mean right?)

Ladies im not here throwing jilbabs at you - but seriously - if you are gonna wear super-tight clothing and then whack on a hijab - then seriously why bother? If anything our delicious curves should be covered - more than our lustrous hair. This is why girls who wear a scarf with tight clothing get bad looks, some get bad names and some even get bad false reputations.

Wallahi i have seen our brothers in Islam call some of our sisters a Bitch or a Hojabi purely based on their 'hijab' outfits... disgusting and haram as it is for them to say that - you have to wonder why they are saying it, especially when they dont know the poor girl.

Maybe because - Simply wearing a hijab does not get you respect as some girls seem to think. You seriously cant whack on a scarf with skin-tight clothing and demand respect because you are a 'muhajaba'. It doesn't work that way. Hijab is a whole package - not just the material covering our hair.

Can i show you what i mean?

Look at this pic here of a girl from Egypt::::

Whats the 2 big things wrong with it?
1 - I CAN SEE YOUR BUM!!! - Sisters - come on - dont wear jeans with your bum showing. For God's sake cover that thing - and why would you wear tight pants like that anyway? Obviously it is to attract attention for your curves. There is nothing islamic or hijabi about that. It comes across as cheap and the only reason i can think of is that someone is trying to look sexy and bootylicious for non-mahram eyes.
2 - YOUR WHOLE WAIST IS DEFINED!!! - i can see you womanly hour-glass shape. i shouldnt see it. your clothing should be loose - no one should be able to define your shape through your clothing.
The only thing properly covered and loose on this girl is her scarf. Your scarf alone does not make you a hijabi. your whole look does (not including inner hijab and lowering of the eyes, etc).
What surprises me most is these kind of 'hijabies' get angry when men stare, whistle or go after them and flirt with them. They get harrassed and annoyed - i wonder why?????!!!!!
I know girls in proper hijab/niqab also get unwanted attention from men at times and they quite rightly get angry at men and shout at them to lower their gaze.. "dont look", etc... (please no one comment on this by saying that i somehow think those girls deserve to get harrassed because of their dress - because that is not what i am saying at all).
But girls who dress like the above who yell at men "lower your gaze" should also yell at themselves "loosen your clothing", because we can not just expect men to follow the Quran and 'lower their gaze' when we are not fulfilling our obligations too.
it's only fair, right?

I think that pic says it all...

EDIT:
please realise before you attack me in your comments as others have already done - that I did not and have and and will never call someone a hojabi. as stated above i think its disgusting and haram to do so. i am talking about how some sisters dress and attract bad attention based on their dress. If you are not clear on this re-read the post - i even went back and highlighted the parts in red for those of you that missed it the first time. Khalas!