Look at my insides

There has been an undeniable surge and establishment of fashion in the female muslim community/hijabi fashion. I agree that it is important to take pride in your appearance and being fashionable in itself is not wrong. But wu ju bi fan- too much of anything is not good. We must govern our wants and not let them enslave us. It is okay to wear different colour hijabs, accessorize, put together different outfits or ‘OOTD’s’ etc. However, what I observe today, is hijabi’s becoming prey to consumerism and unfortunately some of us are getting eaten alive.  As muslim women, we are absolutely empowered by the clothing Allah swt has told us to wear, the abaya is a beautiful, loose fitted piece of clothing which is not only timeless, but resists any sort of ‘look’ other than the look of a muslim. It is comfortable and can wash with any occasion. There is such a beauty and a grace in the abaya and hijab that no other piece of clothing can match.

We must resist the consumerist society that we live in that preys on the insecurities of young girls, on their hopes and desires to be pretty and successful. To the unmarried sisters, be careful about who you may successfully attract with this beauty. Do you feel that being beautiful is a part of success and helps to make you the ideal woman? Are you feeding your naffs? Notice that often our desires are our naffs, and our naffs need constant monitoring and controlling. We must remember what Allah swt has instructed for us with regards to clothing and life in general. Taking the prophet, peace be upon him, as an example, he lived so simply, his clothes were always simple yet he was well presented. We have to remember that we are accountable for the rizq, Allah, the Most Generous, has blessed us with. We should identify ourselves as muslim women, who are God fearing and God conscious, first and foremost, and being fashionable must come secondary to this. I think it’s important to reflect on how much time we spend on applying make-up, choosing our clothes, putting together an outfit; and then in total, how long it took to simply get ready (on a general or more or less daily basis). Remember, that we are also accountable for our time. Our sole purpose in this life is to worship Allah. You can see if something is taking up more of your life than it should if you are spending or investing a lot of time on it but gaining nothing from it that is not superficial. Remember sisters, Allah does not care what you look like!

The focus on the exterior over the interior is the concern. Seeking perfection and idealism is the concern. Living in the heart of the kuffar, surrounded by secular practice, secular ideals and secular lifestyles, and being influenced by them is the concern.

Be fashionable, but do not be it at the expense of being a muslimah. Do not get deceived into thinking that expensive creams, lotions, facial care products, nail care products, branded make up, branded bags or expensive clothes and shoes will give you success or happiness. Happiness and sakeena are from Allah and the worship of Allah; and success is attaining paradise. Do not get trapped in the cycle of wanting money, spending all your time making money, just so you can buy all those things you want which will only make you return to your imprisonment of making money- materialism leads to more materialism. Don’t get so engulfed in being this ideal that you abandon your meaningful duties, Allah has better plans for you, just believe that. Make good use of your youth and health before old age and illness takes over. Acquire good deeds.

Focus on the inner self and the identity of the self, not the selfie. Selfies are certainly a creation of this society. A self absorbed society where at the center of everything is the self. What is the narration of a selfie other than someone unashamedly saying look at me, look at how beautiful I am?

How deeply are we buying into all of this? When we are constantly posting selfies and OOTD’s, what are we gaining from our actions? What are we seeking? With every action, we must contemplate our intention and what we gain from this action and consider whether it relates to our identity as muslims; so we do not lose who we are in the midst of all the seemingly flawless selfies floating about.

I’d like to see an era of simplicity come back, when it’s back in trend, call me, cos I got bags of that swag ;) For now I’m gonna lay low and try to avoid being sucked in to the vortex.