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Hijab

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Hijab
My sweaty palms gripped the doorknob as I held on for dear life. My heart was pounding hard enough to jump right out of my body when a thought came into my mind: "It's not too late! I don't have to do this!" But I did it anyway. I opened the door and walked out of my room. All cowardly thoughts left my mind within a split second, and I made the decision that changed my life.

The decision was to wear hijab (he-jab), which means scarf or head covering. Wearing hijab is a requirement for all Muslim women because it promotes modesty and encourages people to respect a woman for her mind, not her physical appearance. Not many Muslim women in the U.S. wear hijab. In fact, the number of young Muslim girls in my community wearing hijab five years ago, when I began thinking about hijab, was very small. At the time, I only knew one girl my age that wore hijab.

That girl was one of my good friends. She had guts to be one of the first of the younger generation to wear hijab. When I was younger, I could not comprehend why she was doing this of her own free will. Sure, God commands women to cover, but hey, we're still young, so it doesn't really matter anyway, right? Besides, doesn't it get awfully hot in there? As I reflect on my earliest thoughts about hijab, I can't help but laugh. It is hard to imagine just how much a yard of cloth can change a young girl's life.

When I was younger I saw ignorant people tease my friend and mock her. I saw people being downright cruel to her. I saw my friend get hurt. But she did not once waver in her decision, and she had absolutely no regrets. She even told me that she was happier and more content than she had ever been. At first, I couldn't see how she was not at all bothered by being ridiculed and harassed; but during the course of the year, I began to understand that this deep desire to do what she truly believed God wanted her to do came from her heart. Nobody threatened to disown her if she didn't wear hijab. This was her
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