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  • This article was originally published in Al-Talib, the newsmagazine of the Muslim Students' Association of the University of California in Los Angeles (UCLA) in October 1994. At the time of its publication, Kathy Chin was a senior at UCLA majoring in Psychobiology and Women's Studies. I walked down the street in...
  • It was narrated that Abu Hurairah said: "The Messenger of Allah (p) said:  الْمُؤْمِنُ الْقَوِيُّ خَيْرٌ وَأَحَبُّ إِلَى اللَّهِ مِنَ الْمُؤْمِنِ الضَّعِيفِ وَفِي كُلٍّ خَيْرٌ احْرِصْ عَلَى مَا يَنْفَعُكَ وَاسْتَعِنْ بِاللَّهِ وَلاَ تَعْجِزْ فَإِنْ أَصَابَكَ شَىْءٌ فَلاَ تَقُلْ لَوْ أَنِّي فَعَلْتُ كَذَا وَكَذَا ‏.‏ وَلَكِنْ قُلْ قَدَّرَ اللَّهُ وَمَا شَاءَ فَعَلَ فَإِنَّ...
  • On the morning of Thursday, November 6, 1997 my identity became clear not only to me, but to every person I would encounter from that day forward. I decided to wear the hijab and begin to develop myself as a more conscientious Muslim woman. It was on that very day...
  • *In order to access and view the following PDF file you must have Adobe Reader installed. Download(right click & "save target as") Online Preview:  ...
  • Living in the west, the hijab has become a potent indicator of identity with many non-Muslims viewing it as a political statement. However, it is pertinent to note that the hijab is, first and foremost, an act of worship that women engage in, and an act undertaken to seek the...
  • One day, a brilliantly beautiful and fragrant flower with attractive colors met a pearl that lives far in the bottom of the sea and has none of these characteristics. Both became acquainted with each other. The flower said, "Our family is large; roses and daisies are members of the family. And there...
  • An insightful and personal account of why a Western teenage girl would reject the 'wonders' of fashion, and want to cover herself in the Hijab (veil). I probably do not fit into the preconceived notion of a “rebel”. I have no visible tattoos and minimal piercing. I do not possess a...
  • "Why do Muslim women have to cover their heads?" This question is one which is asked by Muslims and non-Muslims alike. For many women it is the truest test of being a Muslim. The answer to the question is very simple - Muslim women observe Hijaab (covering the head and the body)...
  • Nine years ago, I danced my newborn daughter around my North Carolina living room to the music of "Free to Be...You and Me", the '70s children's classic whose every lyric about tolerance and gender equality I had memorized as a girl growing up in California. My Libyan-born husband, Ismail, sat with...
  • Most Muslims are familiar with the various reasons that Allaah has required women to wear Hijab: The Hijab reflects modesty, purity and respect; it lessens temptation so that more serious sins will be avoided; it protects women from the harm and molestation of evil men; a woman who wears hijab...
  • This is a good question and there is a beautiful answer! Allaah, the Almighty, has commanded us with actions that are good for us and prohibited us from performing actions that are bad for us. Allaah, the Almighty, orders the Muslim woman to wear the Hijaab when she steps out...
  • One of the most difficult decisions many Muslim sisters face is the decision to start wearing Hijab. This is certainly true for reverts, but may also be true for sisters whose families or even whose cultures are not particularly observant. As a revert myself, I have been through the same thing....
  • Amidst the hustle and bustle of a teeming metropolis, a solitary figure traverses. She moves steadily in her black garment which shields her against the tyranny of this life. Whilst others around her rush frantically, she moves with tranquillity and ease. The peace which she achieves beneath this veil of...
  • I met a woman who changed my perspective about myself and other women. She was a Lebanese girl, born and raised a Muslim. I saw in her something I had seen in few women, and that is self-confidence. Here was this short, stout sister in her mid twenties. She was...
  • The pea is a splendid plant... It proudly displays its strong green Hijaab (covering). It protects it from the hot and cold weather and guards it from insects. Allah has blessed the pea with a special Hijaab (covering), because without it, the seeds would scatter, dry up and die. The orange keeps itself...
  • It often occurs to me that many of my Sisters in Islam are not properly encouraged once they begin to observe the requirements of Hijab. It may be that a sister has been obliged to wear the Hijab without truly pondering over its superiority. Perhaps she has reached the age...
  • 1. Tabarruj is disobedience to Allaah and His Messenger (sall-Allaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) The one who disobeys Allaah and His Messenger (sallallaahu ‘alayhi wasallam) can only harm himself and can not in any way harm Allaah. The Messenger (sallallaahu ‘alayhi wasallam) said, “All of my followers will enter Paradise except those...
  • When American writer Samuel Cole's feminist sister converted to Islam and donned the Hijab, it shocked her family. This is his defence of Muslim women's status in Islam. Sometime in 1987 my sister, an ardent feminist with a degree in civil engineering, converted to Islam. She now lives in Lahore, Pakistan...
  • All praise is due to Allah (ta'aala), as is deserved by His Majesty and Great Power. I send prayers an d ask for blessings upon His Noble Messenger who drew the path for us to the pleasure of Allah and His Jannah. This path of Islaam is a straight one...
  • When I returned to Islam, the religion of our inborn nature, a fierce debate raged about girls observing the Hijab at schools in France. The majority, it seemed, thought that wearing the head-scarf was contrary to the principle that public - that is state-funded - schools should be neutral with...
  • 1. An act of Obedience. The Hijaab is an act of obedience to Allaah and to his Prophet (sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam). Allaah (subhaanahu wa ta'aala) says in the Qur'an, {It is not for a believer, man or woman, when Allaah and His messenger have decreed a matter that they should...
  • The following is a very thought-provoking story related by Muhammad Ali's daughters about his own, very unique way, of making them see things and his reasonings. The following is an excerpt from Muhammed Ali's daughter from a book written about her father, "If memory serves me correctly, I was wearing a little...
  • In many secret locations, treasure-chests, deposits, safes, banks, hidden excavations in the ground and chambers, people have hidden away from the eyes of men the most precious of items, the likes of money and jewellery. Some hide them out of fear of theft, whereas other items, such as precious stones...
  • This is an amazing lecture by Imaam Siraaj Wahaaj on the Jilbaab. All sisters are advised to listen to this talk and pass it on to other sisters. Allah Almighty has said: {O Prophet! Tell your wives and your daughters and the women of the believers to draw their Jilbaabs over their bodies....
  • Evidence from the Qur’aan In the Quran, Allah ('azza wa jall) says: {O Prophet! Say to your wives and your daughters and the women of the faithful to draw their Jalaabeeb close around them; that is better that they will be recognized and not annoyed. And God is ever Forgiving, Gentle.} (Surah...
  • Allah, the Most High says: “O Prophet! Tell your wives and daughters and believing women that they should cast their Jalaabeeb [outer- garments] over their persons. That is most convenient that they should be known (as such) and not molested. And Allah is Most Forgiving and Most Merciful.” (Surah al-Ahzaab, verse...
  • The sources in Islamic law are primarily the Qur’aan and Sunnah[1]. The Qur’an, the book held sacred by Muslims, contains approximately 500 verses dealing with diverse topics which are of a legal relevance. The Sunnah represents the repository of reports of sayings, acts and consent of the Prophet Muhammad (sallallahu...
  • The Arabic word ‘Islaam’ simply means to 'surrender (to Allah)'. Hence, the essence of our religion is this surrender or submission, which requires trust on our part. Trust that Allah (Subhaanahu wa ta'ala) will be there for us, trust that He knows what is best for us. Submission to Allah ('azza...
  • They can be seen every day. Shuffling down the high-street, their hair covered, their body shrouded in a lifeless garment that drapes to the floor. These poor, uneducated women are the symbol of Islamic oppression, as Cherie Blair openly commented, “Nothing more I think symbolizes the oppression of the women than...
  •   Alien scum how dare you come! To these hallowed land of pies and plum! Covered behind layers of veils, You want to live in our hallowed vales! Perhaps it has never crossed your mind Our arrival was at behest of your kind To these shores we were invited At the behest of those knighted...
  • 'Aa'ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) narrated, 'The wives of Rasoolullah (peace be upon him) used to go to al-Manasi, a vast open place (near Baqee' in Madinah) to answer the call of nature at night. 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) used to say to the Prophet...
  • One of the multitudinous quasi-reasons given by a certain Conservative MP in the UK and many others for why Muslim women shouldn’t wear the niqab is that it is, in the words of one observer, ‘a blatant obstacle to integration’. This seemingly unequivocal (and ‘factual’) statement is trotted out not...
  • The following is a detailed dissertation on the Niqaab, with pictures and references.   Download (right click & "save target as") *In order to access and view this PDF file you must have Adobe Reader installed. Online View: {pdf=http://www.idealmuslimah.com/images/stories/Books/niqaab.pdf|700|500}  ...
  • Aboo Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet (sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam) said that Allah, the Almighty said, "My servant draws not near to Me with anything more loved by Me than the religious duties I have enjoined upon him, and My servant continues to draw near...
  • In the past few weeks a British MP sparked a huge controversy in the U.K. on the Muslim woman’s dress commonly referred to by non-Muslim westerners as "the black veil" and by Muslims as the Niqaab. I watched the controversy as it grew fiercely spreading across the western world and...
  • “The burka is not a religious problem, it’s a question of liberty and women’s dignity. It’s not a religious symbol, but a sign of subservience and debasement. I want to say solemnly, the burka is not welcome in France. In our country, we can’t accept women prisoners behind a screen,...
  • ...Wearing my niqab is a choice freely made, for spiritual reasons... I put on my niqab, my face veil, each day before I leave the house, without a second thought. I drape it over my face, tie the ribbons at the back and adjust the opening over my eyes to make...
  • I spent seven years of my girlhood heavily veiled - not in a Muslim niqab but in a nun's habit. We wore voluminous black robes, large rosaries and crucifixes, and an elaborate headdress: you could see a small slice of my face from the front, but from the side I was...
  • I am an American woman who was born in the midst of America's "Heartland." I grew up, just like any other girl, being fixated with the glamour of life in "the big city." Eventually, I moved to Florida and on to South Beach of Miami, a hotspot for those seeking...
  • How much do you really know about the Niqab? An insider guide to common misconceptions... 1. The Niqab is a symbol of female subjugation. None of the Niqab-wearing women who I know, wear it because they have been forced to. They see it as an act of devotion to their Creator: the...
  • There is a lot of debate among Muslims as to whether or not it is required for a Muslim woman to cover her face and hands in addition to the rest of her body when appearing in public or in front of non-Mahram men (i.e. a man who is not...
  • London, 1984: A dark, triangular figure emerged from the door of a limousine parked directly in front of Harrods' Department Store. It was the body of a woman, covered from crown to ankles in the darkest of garments, so black that it stood stark against the overcast horizon. When she...
  • In a speech delivered on the 22nd of June the President of France said, “The burqa is not a religious sign — it’s a sign of subservience, a sign of debasement. It will not be welcome on the territory of the French republic.” Having already banned the Hijaab in public schools, France...
  • POLITICAL opportunist Nicolas Sarkozy forgot three fundamental lessons when he decided to denounce the burka. The first one is that men should stay well clear of becoming embroiled in expressing opinions on women’s clothes, unless of course you happen to be called Lacroix, Gaultier, Lagerfeld or Ghesquiere. This was a lesson learned...
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  • It's no secret that in-laws are the subject of many marital arguments. The rivalry between wives and their mothers-in-law is a major source of tension in many marriages. You may find it interesting that many new brides get along very well with their husband's parents at first; it isn't until...
  • In-laws are the focus of blame and reproach when there are marital disputes. But there are ways to maintain a good relationship with them. Here are some tips: Remember your spouse's parents have known them longer and loved them longer. Never make an issue about "me or them". Let respective parties settle...
  • With my in-laws back living with me alhamdulillah, it took me to thinking about living harmoniously and issues of control, privacy and co-operation. I enjoy my in-laws extended visits, especially the long meals, the long walks and the long talks. This means that at the moment our home is busy but...
  • Mujaahidaat: Women who struggle in the way of Allah (‘azza wa jall) are referred to as ‘Mujaahidaat’. Usually ‘Jihaad’ is understood to mean an action done by men in the battlefield; although this is true, the linguistic meaning of Jihaad is not solely restricted to this. The term Jihaad comes from...
  • The Muslim woman must be wise and prudent in safeguarding her dignity and honour. Times are swiftly changing and a clever woman is she who protects herself and realises her high worth and dignity as a believer, even if she trusts the same men that the Shar’iah (chronicles of Islamic...
  • A Muslim woman should understand that differences are human nature; human beings are not all the same in terms of attitude, religious commitment, reasoning and behaviour. You should also pay attention to the fact that when a person grows older, their reasoning diminishes and they become childlike in many ways. A...