WE WERE INTERVIEWED!

Assalamu Alaikum Warahmatullahi Wabarakatuhu!

We were interviewed by a lovely sister on this blog http://www.ssisters.com. By the way, do check out their website. It's really all about sisters!

So here's the interview:

WHAT PROMPTED THE START OF NIQAB LOVERS BLOG, TWITTER PAGE AND ETC?

The reason I joined Twitter and the reason I’m on Twitter now are totally different. I started off just out of curiosity and it was a personal account. The start of the Niqab Lovers Twitter page was abrupt- that’s the word for it. It all started off after I heard a great lecture by an Aaalim about the Niqab, it’s importance and particularly about the Niqab ban in France and how much the sisters there have to endure. Well, after I heard that lecture, I tweeted something about why people can’t deal with modesty and how they can’t force a woman to remove something she wants to wear. It was through that tweet that I met a sister from a different country and we had a long conversation about the Niqab. Through that, I got to know two other sisters and we all spoke about how we can try and raise awareness about the Niqab and how a woman ought to have the freedom of modesty. Initially, we thought of a Facebook page, but we started a Twitter account. It all happened in less than a few days I suppose, and that’s how we started on Twitter, Alhamdulillah!
As for the Niqab Lovers blog, that wasn’t our initial idea too. A Muslimah sent us a direct message through our Twitter page saying that she’d started a blog and if we have anything to say about the Niqab, to email her and she’ll put it up on her blog. Of course we agreed, but then suddenly, it hit me… Why shouldn’t we start a blog too? We just had so much to talk about the Niqab and the 140 characters on Twitter honestly isn’t enough to express our love for it. Well, the blog was faster than our Niqab Lovers Twitter page- it was all created and set up in a matter of a few hours!

SINCE YOU GUYS PROMOTE THE NIQAB, YOU CERTAINLY WEAR THE NIQAB, SO CAN YOU TELL US WHAT LED YOU TO WEARING THE NIQAB? 

To be frank, nothing lead me to wear the Niqab. For me, it was something natural- something I just felt I had to wear. My mother and sisters were already wearing the Niqab before I started, and from the time I’ve known, I’ve loved the Niqab. I’d spend a whole lot of time in front of the mirror trying out my Mother’s Niqab, and when I finally decided on wearing it, I asked my parents, and they agreed. It was just as simple as that! From that day on, I’ve never looked back. The Niqab has really become part of who I am now, Alhamdulillah!

IN OUR SOCIETY TODAY, WE HAVE MANY PEOPLE WHO ARE ATTEMPTING TO WEAR THE NIQAB BUT ARE CONSTANTLY TOLD IT'S NOT COMPULSORY OR NECESSARY. CAN YOU SHED A LIGHT INTO THAT SENSITIVE TOPIC?

There is a difference in opinion as to whether the Niqab is compulsory or not, but no Scholar in Islam would ever tell you that the Niqab isn’t something Islamic. Rather, even those who say the Niqab may not be compulsory agree that wearing it is much better. Plus, it’s a Sunnah, and the reward for it is great, Subhanallah! Prophet Muhammad Sallalahu Alaihi Wasallam has stated that "He who clings to my Sunnah when my Ummah is corrupt, will receive the Reward of a hundred Martyrs.” (Mishkat).
Ponder over that Hadith for a moment… Wouldn’t you want that reward?
Also sisters remember this. When the Quranic verse about the Hijaab was revealed, the Sahaba women covered their faces immediately. They wasted no time in doing so, and what does this show us? It shows us that they understood the verse to mean covering the face, and while we contemplate for years on whether the Niqab is obligatory or not, the women at the time of Prophet Muhammad Sallalahu Alaihi Wasallam wasted absolutely no time in following the Commands of Allah, Subhanallah!
The best example for us, Muslim women, lies in the Ummahatul Mu’mineen and if they covered their faces, what stops us from doing so too? What makes those times any different from now?
The Quranic verses about the Hijaab are clear. Read it, ponder over it and follow what’s prescribed in it:
“And say to the believing women that they should lower their gaze and guard their modesty; That they should not display their beauty and ornaments except what is apparent of it and that they should draw their veils over their bosoms.” (Surah Noor 24:31)

"O Prophet! Tell your wives and your daughters and the women of the believers to draw their cloaks (“Jalabib”) veils all over their bodies. That is most convenient that they should be known (as such) and not molested: and Allah is Oft-Forgiving Most Merciful.” (Surah Al-Ahzab: 59)

If you want to read more about why the Niqab is important in Islam, you can read about it here:
Niqab is necessary in Islam
Is wearing the Niqab obligatory?

The bottom line is, if you want more rewards, if you want to follow a Sunnah, if you want to emulate the Ummahatul Mu’mineen and if you want to attain more closeness to Allah, wear the Niqab.

WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO SPREAD THE KNOWLEDGE OF NIQAB AND HIJAB?

I have probably not done enough, but with Allah’s Help, I’m trying my best. Talking about the proper Hijaab and Niqab with sisters is a touchy subject and honestly, it’s pretty tough to explain to them how we ought to be following it as it should be followed. But hopefully, through our Twitter page and our blog, we can reach out to more people In Sha Allah.
The moment we know the importance of something in Islam, it becomes our responsibility to practice and preach it to others too, so if our posts about the Hijaab and Niqab has managed to bring about a change in at least one Muslimah, our efforts are definitely not wasted, Alhamdulillah!

WHAT HAVE BEEN YOUR PERSONAL EXPERIENCES?

Well, I’ve been called a Ninja plenty of times, but most the time, people just don’t look at my Niqab as though it’s bad thing, which is really good Alhamdulillah! Thankfully, the country I live in have a fair number of Niqaabis so seeing a woman covering her face isn’t something unusual.
I don’t know if I can call this a personal experience because this happened to my sister some time back. However I was there when the incident took place so I can relate to it. When checking our ID cards, a security officer (a non-Muslim) placed his hand over the place where my sister’s photo was printed while checking the details, so that was definitely a lovely experience. To know that there are people out there who respect our Niqaab… It’s really something great!

DOES THE NIQAB AFFECT ACADEMICS OR PROFESSIONAL LIVES? HOW WOULD YOU ADVICE YOUNG ADULTS/TEENAGERS THAT WEAR THE NIQAB TO SCHOOLS AND OFFICES? 

Although a lot of people say this, I don’t think it’s fair to say that the Niqab affects the academic or professional lives of people. I think what really happens is when the academic of professional loves affects the wearing of Niqab. I know it might seem harsh to some of you, but this is where the real test it. If you’re finding it hard to cope with your academic/professional lives, it’s your decision to make. Whether you’re going to sacrifice the Niqab for anything or whether you’ll sacrifice anything for the Niqab. Allah has revealed in the Quran:
“And we have not created man and Jinn expect that they worship Me”. (Al Quran 51: 56)
Worshiping and adhering to the Commands of Allah is our foremost priority. Everything else is secondary.
For all those young Muslimahs who wear the Niqab to schools or offices, remember that so long as you strive to please Allah, Allah will protect you. Don’t you ever worry about what people will say or think about your Niqab. Remember that all that counts at the end of the day is whether or not you have pleased Allah.

AND FOR SISTERS THAT REALLY WANT TO DON THE NIQAB/HIJAB BUT DON'T HAVE TE SUPPORT FROM THEIR FAMILIES. WHAT WOULD YOU ADVISE THEM TO DO AND WHAT STEPS WOULD YOU GIVE THEM TO FOLLOW WEARING THE NIQAB WITHOUT ANY PROBLEMS?

Firstly, make plenty of Du’aa to Allah. Du’aa can change anything and if you ask Allah to help you in doing something good, there’s no way He’ll let you down. It might take some persuading and it’ll definitely take time for your family to agree, but be patient and ask Allah. He is the only One who can change people and He’s the only One who can helps us when we really need help.
Secondly, let your actions speak. If your family doesn’t agree your wearing the Niqab, let them understand how much you want to do it, and through your actions, show them how much the Niqab means to you.
I know it’s tough to advice sisters who really want to wear the Niqab, and I know that it’s easy for me to simply say ‘Go ahead’. The only advice I can give is that you show your family proof that the Niqab is important in Islam, speak to them about how much you want to wear it and how much it means to you and of course, make lot and lots of Du’aa. And let me assure you, sisters, if you really want to wear the Niqab, no matter how tough it might seem, Allah WILL help you! All it takes is a little patience.

WHAT ARE THE PROS AND CONS OF WEARING THE NIQAB?
There are so many pros of wearing the Niqab. I don’t know if I can list everything!
For one, the moment you wear the Niqab, it really fills you up with peace, security and tranquility. Trust me when I say that no piece of cloth can ever make you feel more liberated than the Niqab. I really find it appalling that so many people assume that the Niqab oppresses, when in fact wearing it gives you such a sense of freedom and security. Subhanallah!
A lot of people find it tough to lower their gaze, but with the Niqab it’s easy really, Alhamdulillah! Looking at non-mahrams from underneath my Niqab would be so hypocritical, and MashaAllah with Allah’s continuous Help, lowering the gaze is much easier now.
If you want to strengthen your relationship with Allah, the Niqab really helps. Trust me on that too. The reason for this is that you know deep inside of you that you’re wearing it for no one- only for Allah. You’re acknowledging the fact that you’re a slave of Allah- not of people or of fashion statement or trends. You’re letting the world know that your Niqab is something between you and Allah.
Cons of wearing the Niqab… Well I guess there’s only one- it’s tough to eat an ice cream under the Niqab! It gets all sticky and messy!

DO YOU HAVE ANY UPCOMING PROJECTS THAT YOU WANT OUR READERS TO KNOW ABOUT?

Sadly, no. Whenever I’m free, I post on the blog and although I thought of starting a Facebook page some time back, I’m afraid I don’t have the time for it now. Hopefully, Allah opens us some other way through which I can give more Dawah. The Twitter page and blog is all for now. And Alhamdulillah for that!

PARTING WORDS

It’s not all worth pleasing people at the cost of displeasing Allah. I know that the moment we grasp the reality of this fact, our Imaan will naturally be strengthened. This, first of all, is a reminder to me more than to anyone else. If you do something for the sake of Allah alone, give something for the sake of Allah alone and stay away from something for the sake of Allah alone, that’s when we will see real contentment, real peace and real satisfaction. When we do something displeasing to Allah, the guilt will keep biting at us, and we can never find peace in doing something Allah has not permitted for us. Once again, this is a reminder to myself firstly, because we need to be reminded often and we need to keep our Imaan in constant check. Each time we are tempted to sin, may Allah help us to remember this:
“The life of this world is only a (passing) enjoyment, and surely the Hereafter is the abode to settle” (Al Quran 40:39)
We make mistakes, we learn, but we don’t change. If we really want to bring about a change in us, we have to change what is in ourselves. May Allah help us all!

Here's the link to the interview: http://www.ssisters.com/2013/05/18/interview-with-niqablovers/

A MUSLIMAH'S JOURNEY TO ISLAM- INTERVIEW

Bismillahi Rahman Ar-Raheem!

Alhamdulillah, we got the opportunity of interviewing another Muslimah- a revert to Islam who has beautifully explained her journey to Islam. Wallaahi, all the interviews we've done so far have really taught us a lot! From the honour of being a Muslim woman and the importance of our modesty, Imaan and taqwa to the difficulties reverts to Islam has to face and the value of our struggles for the Sake of Allah.... Subhanallah, it has all been exceptionally inspirational!

So, here's another lovely interview for all of you! I should have put it up on the blog at least a week ago, but anyway, here it is. Before we start on the interview, please check out the blog of the Muslimah we interviewed: Grace Through Tawbah. As interesting as this interview was, so is her blog. Do check it out, In Sha Allah.

To the interview now:

TELL US ABOUT YOUR JOURNEY TO ISLAM

Grace Through Tawbah: Bismillah ar-Rahman ar-Raheem

My journey to Islam was quite unexpected. I grew up in a devout Evangelical Protestant home, and at the age of 12 I had a bit of a faith crisis, started asking all the big questions "why am I here?" "how do I know my parents' religion is the right one?" "what are the chances that I happened to be born into one of the families on earth that was right?" etc. After reading a Christian doctor's explanation of how we know the Bible is reliable and preserved and the word of God, I settled back into my family's version of Christianity, and really fell in love with it. During my teenage years, I spent my summers teaching kids about the Christian gospel I loved so much, sometimes at my local church where we lived in the U.S., a couple summers back in French Canada where I grew up, and one trip to Kenya where I fell in love with the hot culture. Since childhood, my parents had read me stories about great missionaries of the past, and it was my dream to be a Christian missionary in a similar culture, whether Africa, the Middle East, India, South America anywhere, living in the culture I loved and sharing the gospel I loved. (Did I just use the word "love" five times??)

I've always been obsessed with studying languages, and one day an elder in our church gave me a beautiful green velvet-covered Qur'an with tiny gold plaques on the front, as a souvenir from a business trip to Saudi Arabia. I opened it, all excited, and found that the words inside, although it was the most beautiful script I'd ever seen, were unreadable. So I had to learn it. I went online and looked up resources to learn Arabic, and began studying via websites where I met dozens of Arab Muslims. Our conversations inevitably turned to theology, and while I didn't learn much Arabic, I was determined to convince them that Christianity was the truth and the only way to heaven and God. That was in late 2009.

As we spoke, they began questioning things in ways I'd never thought of before, or questioning things that I'd always wondered about myself, but buried deep down because I was happy in my faith and certain it was right, so I didn't want to worry about the questions. Questions about the Trinity vs tawheed, questions about the preservation of the Bible, questions about forgiveness through blood vs through repentance, questions about original sin and total depravity. By the time September of 2010 rolled around, I had gone from die-hard Christian to almost certain that Christianity was wrong, and though I still wasn't completely convinced of Islam, and still had many questions about it, I was amazed enough by its beauty to give it a try. And being an impulsive, head-strong, naive 18 year old, "giving it a try" meant finding a husband and running away to the Middle East, so that I could be fully immersed in Islam, and study it from the inside out. So I did, and two and a half years later, I've had every question answered and more, and remain very enthusiastic about studying both religions and learning to explain the differences between the two, and the shortcomings of my old faith.

YOU'VE REVERTED TO ISLAM FOR OVER TWO YEARS NOW. WHAT IS THE GREATEST CHANGE YOU SEE IN YOURSELF?

Grace Through Tawbah: I'd like to say it's some virtue like humility or haya or something, but that's a work in progress. I think the biggest change has been opening my mind, learning that no matter how right one way seems to me, I've been wrong before - very wrong - and I need to remember that, when I disagree with others. Whether it's being open-minded and willing to go wherever the evidence leads in a matter of fiqh/madh'habs/jurisprudence, e.g. whether niqab is compulsory, or music is forbidden etc., or whether it's learning not to generalize and lump people together when sitting down with someone of a completely different religion, and learning to respect them and get to know their beliefs, and distinctions in schools of thought, so I can deal with them in the best way, I'd like to think I've come a long ways since my days as a die-hard Calvinist. Just like we don't appreciate non-Muslims lumping us together with Sufis and Shiites and Ahmadiyyas etc., and find it a breath of fresh air to sit down with someone who understands and respects those differences, and can address us intelligently, I'm learning to take the time to get to know those distinctions in other religions, and above all, get to know the people behind them, and love and respect them, regardless of their beliefs, so that we can engage each other in dialogue effectively.

YOU HAVE MENTIONED THAT YOUR LOVE AFFAIR WITH THE NIQAB STARTED EVEN BEFORE YOU KNEW ANYTHING ABOUT ISLAM. CAN YOU TELL US MORE ABOUT THAT?

Grace Through Tawbah: Sure! I wasn't aware there even was a religion called "Islam" until probably middle school/high school when I had to write a paper on it. When 9/11 happened, we still hadn't moved to the U.S. and it really wasn't a big deal in our community - I didn't know who the alleged perpetrators were, or anything about their supposed ideology. But the veil was something I was aware of from a very young age. Whether it was the women in our Bible story books and Jesus movie that wore them, or the harems of gorgeous Arabian women covering all but one eye in Aladdin-type story books, I thought it was absolutely beautiful. When I was very little - maybe 5 or 6 - I used to take my towel after bath-time, or a scarf, and try different niqab and khimar styles in the mirror, and I always dreamed of playing Mary in the church Christmas pageant, because she got to wear a long khimar-like veil.

For some reason - fitrah I guess :) - I was entranced by its elegance and femininity, and when I began learning about Islam, and realized that this beautiful tradition was still practiced, I got this wild idea that maybe I could actually wear it someday, though it would look pretty weird on a Christian :) About halfway through this period of learning, while I was slowly drifting away from Christianity, I read an article on a Muslim website about why hijab with niqab is preferable to hijab without, and I decided that if I ever converted, I would wear the niqab. And sure enough, three months after I decided to try Islam, I moved to Egypt, and the very next day, before going out to enroll in Arabic classes, I told my fiance's cousin's wife, who I was staying with, also a niqabi, that I wanted to wear niqab/abaya. She dressed me up and I haven't wanted to go back since :)

WHAT WAS THE FIRST VERSE FROM THE QUR'AN THAT YOU READ AND HOW DID IT AFFECT YOU?

Grace Through Tawbah: The first verses, believe it or not, were also the first verses that God revealed to Muhammad, in surah al 'alaq, (96), "Recite in the name of your Lord who created, created man from a clinging substance, recite, and your Lord is the most Generous, Who taught by the pen, taught man that which he knew not." I was reading it for the paper I mentioned earlier, that I wrote in my first year of high school, explaining why the Christian God and Allah are different

At the time, I was completely close-minded, knew nothing about Islam, and simply quoted what other Christians had to say about it (e.g. that it was a pagan moon-god religion), and I firmly believed the Qur'an was from the devil. So even though I noticed a strange rhythm about it, I chalked that up to its satanic origin, and read as little as possible for the paper, focusing on verses like "...most of [the writers of the Bible] follow naught but conjecture.  Surely conjecture will not avail aught against the Truth." (10:36) and "...the Christians say: [Jesus] is the son of Allah.  These are the words of their mouths.  They imitate the saying of those who disbelieved before.  Allah’s curse be upon them!  How they are turned away!”" (9:30) I was quoting them simply to get my point across, and never stopped to think about their claims.

When I later was re-introduced to Islam by the Muslims I'd met, and began studying Islam more seriously, I focused more on the logical aspects of doctrine and the verses that spoke to them, as well as asking about verses that Christians claimed were contradictory or fallacious (like the Qur'an supposedly claiming the Trinity is God, Jesus, and Mary, or the "verse of the sword" that people claim means Muslims are called to kill all unbelievers, etc.), rather than reading the Qur'an as a whole. So I really didn't know it very well until I started taking Arabic and tajweed classes in Egypt, and was able to read it in Arabic for myself. At which point I realized it had to be divine, there's no way it could come from an illiterate man. I've since taken the opportunity to read it from cover to cover, and Nouman Ali Khan's tafseer lectures have also been invaluable in helping me make sense of the chaotic translations, and the brilliance of the book (yes, that's the name of one of his lectures, check it out!)

HOW WAS THE REACTION OF YOUR FAMILY WHEN YOU ANNOUNCED YOU ANNOUNCED YOUR CONVERSION?

Grace Through Tawbah: I never told them about my study of Islam leading up to my conversion, because my parents would never have allowed me to speak with Muslims - or any strangers - online. Which is good parenting, but being a headstrong teenager, I went ahead anyways, since hey, I was going to convert them all, right? :) I asked my parents from time to time about things that didn't make sense - original sin, the Trinity, etc. - but when I pressed the issue, they would just get annoyed, thinking I was trying to debate for the sake of debate, and didn't really doubt the doctrines. So when I got to the point of leaving Christianity and deciding to give Islam a try, they had no idea, and I had no idea how to break it to them, because I knew it would turn our family upside-down, to say nothing of my grandparents and aunts and uncles (one side missionaries, Bible school directors, church elders and such, the other side Bible-belt, southern Baptist, KJV-only kind of people). So I kept quiet.

But, having finished high school, the huge pressure to go to Bible school, and the huge pressure of leading a double life (Christian at home and church, Muslim at work and school), made me decide to do something drastic, and just leave it all, find a husband abroad among the Muslims I'd met online, and move to his country and get married (again, crazy teenage reasoning). Right up until the flight, I was still lying awake at night, trying to figure out how on earth to break it to them that I was Muslim, let alone engaged and moving to another country, and in the end, they found out about my planned move via Facebook before I could tell them.

So the reaction was more damage control, trying to convince me I'd be sold into slavery or murdered if I went through with it, and when they realized in the following week that I wasn't just moving, but I'd converted, it was also somewhat more damage control, trying to convince me to stay and talk with church leaders about my doubts. I went ahead and moved anyways, and after a week or so, spoke to them with my fiance about our marriage. They said they'd suspected it by then, and ended up coming to Egypt with my father's two brothers for the wedding party a month or so later. We ended up cancelling it and evacuating them because of the Revolution, but the initial reaction that first week,of complete devastation and heartbreak and ruined lives, while it was horrible at first, eventually subsided and we're slowly re-learning to live together with our different faiths and practices.

TO ANY NON-MUSLIMS READING THIS, WHAT WOULD YOU TELL THEM ABOUT ISLAM?

Grace Through Tawbah: I'd tell them something along the lines of the cliche expression "you're entitled to your own opinion, but not your own facts". Whether or not you're "in the market" for a religion, I encourage you to learn about the belief systems out there, if for no other reason than to relate better to those who hold them, and have a better foundation for explaining to them - and yourself - why you believe what you believe. And have a little intellectual honesty. Don't write off valid questions or apparent inconsistencies within your own belief system - attack them head-on, and don't evaluate other belief systems based on what you hear from those who hate it, or from the media, or from any other negatively biased source. Go to the religion's texts themselves, and those who are qualified to answer questions you may have about those texts. And read the texts in context - you can come up with the most absurd and horrific teachings when you pull bits of phrases out of their literary and historical contexts.

Islam teaches there is One God, and we are created to worship Him, and that God showed us the importance and means of doing this through various prophets, from Abraham, to Moses, to David, to Jesus, and finally Muhammad, to whom was given a divine Book, whose beauty far surpasses anything written by man, let alone an illiterate one. This Book chronicles the successes and failures of those who went before, explains the gravity of worshiping or failing to worship our Creator using heaven and hell as frames of reference, tangible, physical outcomes of our actions that allude to the all-consuming importance of God, and all is preserved in a literary form which protects it from future corruption. Because every single aspect of life is addressed, there are no questions about what God wants from us, and every single moment is turned into an opportunity to worship Him. Study it. You will find it sensible, appealing to the most natural logic and reason, a religion which stands for justice for the oppressed, liberation for the enslaved, and peace for mankind.

ANY TIPS TO COPE WITH JEERS AND TAUNTS NIQABIS AND HIJABIS HAVE TO FACE, ESPECIALLY IN MUSLIM MINORITY COUNTRIES?

Grace Through Tawbah: Well, above all, remember that you may be the only Muslim that the aggressor ever speaks to, so be prepared to explain not only your veil, but your very religion, to anyone who asks, whether they are trying to insult you, or honestly curious. Read about the character of our Prophet, salAllahu 'alayhi wa salam, especially a book like "Enjoy Your Life" by Sheikh Muhammad Al-'Arifi, to learn from our Prophet's example of the most excellent way to deal with people, including those who mock and insult us.

And when it happens, put those principles into practice. Stand up for yourself, yes, but in a respectful, honorable way, and use the opportunity to spread the message of Islam through your actions, and if possible, your words. From the moment I stepped off the plane moving back to the U.S., I've had dozens of strangers make comments, yell insults, offer words of encouragement, or address questions about the veil and Islam to me (I've compiled a few here), and good or bad, I try not to let them leave with the same view of Islam and Muslim women that they held before our encounter. And if you don't feel up to the task of facing harsh words alone, make sure you bring someone with you when you go out (especially a good idea with the surge in anti-Muslim violence recently). 

WHY DO YOU THINK MUSLIMS WOMEN NOWADAYS HAVE A HARD TIME EMBRACING THAT THE HIJAB/NIQAB IS OBLIGATORY IN ISLAM AND HOW DO YOU THINK MUSLIMS CAN REMEDY THAT?

Grace Through Tawbah: I think it's because we've developed a wrong mindset about Islam. It's so easy to look at Islam as a long list of arbitrary rules that limit our freedom of expression, and ask why would God really care what I wear? When we think about Islam this way, we're going to find every way we can to explain away the "rules", or ignore them completely, because our priorities are wrong. Our only purpose on this earth is to worship our Creator. That's it. Period. And every one of those "rules" are incredibly wise guidelines that will not only make us happier, more peaceful, more successful individuals, but allow us to turn every action and moment into worship.

And as soon as we approach Islam with this mindset, and make worship our only purpose and goal in life, get rid of all our other whims and desires, like being fashionable/pretty/attractive/sexy/etc., we'll find it easier to embrace what's evident in the Qur'an and sunnah. And the hijab is evident. Without going into whether the face veil is mustahabb worship (highly recommended) or fard worship (required), the Qur'an clearly mandates the jilbab (Qur'an 33:59) to cover the whole body loosely, and the khimar (Qur'an 24:31) to cover the chest. God didn't leave any doubt that our entire bodies are to be covered, and in loose garments that hide our form.

And in an era where women's bodies are objectified by society at large, their sexuality exploited to unprecedented degrees, their beauty held to increasingly unrealistic standards, and their value reduced to how successfully their appearance meets those standards, nothing makes more sense than to liberate oneself from it completely, by taking our bodies out of the picture entirely, and forcing the focus onto the truly important aspects of a woman, that make her valuable, and make her human - her intellect and character. You only need to look at the billion-dollar pornography, plastic surgery, makeup, fashion, diet, and advertising industries to see how great a problem this is. To say nothing of the very practical reasons for wearing it, two of which are given in the Qur'an, namely identity and protection - the clear identification of the woman as an honorable and respectable woman, and a Muslim one, and the protection of her sexuality by removing it from the public eye.

TELL US YOUR FAVOURITE QUR'AN VERSE- THE ONE THAT INSPIRES YOU THE MOST

Grace Through Tawbah: I honestly don't have one, or even a favourite passage. I've never had one jump out at me when I'm reading, that sticks with me more than any other. I know it's a cliche answer, but every single verse is loaded with wisdom, and beauty, and meaning, and application for daily life, and to wrench it out of its context, or favor it over any other seems like an exercise in futility. Boring answer, I know :)

A WORD OF ADVICE FOR ALL MUSLIMS IN GENERAL?

Grace Through Tawbah: You're blessed. You're blessed with truth, and you're blessed with the knowledge of why you're here, the very purpose of your existence. Don't waste it. Regardless of your situation here in this life, you hold the keys to success in the afterlife. Don't waste them. You've been given the opportunity to live the most wonderful, beautiful, coherent, comprehensive lifestyle known to mankind. Don't waste it. Make every moment count for eternity. Worship the One who created you.

*          *          *

Inspirational, wasn't it? Jazakallah khair for all your answers sister! May Allah bless you and reward you with the Jannah and fill your life with peace and happiness. Do make Du'aa for her. We're sure that you would have learnt many beneficial things from this, so the least we can do to thank her is make Du'aa for her :)

If you have missed our other interviews, you can check it out here: 

A Lovely Interview With A Lovely Muslimah

The Life Of A Revert- An Eye Opening Interview

Note: If any other Muslim bloggers (sisters only) want to be interviewed, please contact us through niqablovers@gmail.com