THE BEAUTY OF SISTERS IN THE 21ST CENTURY BY BUSHRAH OLAGUNJU

The question of the beauty of sisters is a concept that will take the same format, the same principle and similar logic from the time it has been till the end of time. Do I use this period to clarify that this address is to the humble Muslimah, the ever yearning Muminah, the educated, loyal, trustworthy and dignified salihah, the sister who wants to thread the footsteps of Asiyah, Maryam and Khadijah, the bearer of heroes, the mothers of great men and the one in whose heart the fear of Allah lingers continuously. Take a moment to breathe in, and then exhale gently. That wasn’t too difficult I guess. But when we try to breathe in and out ten times in a second, then we are making a heap out of nothing. It will really be cumbersome. The beauty of sisters is not in their dressing, it’s not in their poise, neither is it in their mode of speaking but in their heart for that is where everything beautiful radiates from. The issue of the beauty of sisters in the 21st century is highly appalling. During the time of the prophet, the dresses or adornment of a female didn’t reflect her beauty even Aisha addressed this issue; A'isha (RAA) the wife of the Prophet (SAAW), addressed some women from the tribe of Banu Tameem who came visiting her and had light clothes on them: "If indeed you are believing women, then truly this is not the dress of the believing women, and if you are not believing women, then enjoy it." Dear sister, no matter how long it takes you to make your face look fresh, or try to apply make ups that eventually makes you artificial, Allah has told us that he is not in need of your good looks but our deeds ,our intentions and our actions. In Islam where utmost respect is given to the dignity of women, what constitutes your outer beauty is not even in the dress you wear or how expensive your hijab is but rather the message that your appearance sends forth. Let’s make it easy, are you trying to spice up a religion that has already been completed by making your hijab decorative, do you say you want to preach the beauty of Islam and put on so many make ups that distract men when you are outside. According to Dr Muhammed Ismail in his book “The Hijab..Why? He opines that the virtues of hijab are numerous. First, he says it’s an act of obedience to Allah’s injunctions. It’s also a means to modesty and purity for it is said that “so that you might be distinguished”. The hijab is a shield, it’s a means to righteousness and at the same time is a mark of eeman, a symbol of bashfulness amidst other things. But Alas! The beauty of Islam is been tainted in the 21st century by the so called beauty of Muslim sister. So many sisters want to put on what is in vogue; we want to compromise the creation of Allah whose infinite mercy has sustained us till this moment. We want to reveal the ‘unreavealables,’ we want to “row” with the crowd so that we can “belong”. Let me ask few questions. Does the heart not cry when you go out of your way and against the commandment of Allah? Does the inner not weep when you try to deface yourself thinking that you are appealing to the eyes of men? It is time to say the truth and be that ideal Muslim lady, let’s search our inner minds and be sure we are doing everything for Allah sake. Are we trying to westernize our Islam also, our dignity and our sense of pride? The beauty of a Muslim sister are priceless, they are not measured by your eye liners of the texture of your skin, not by the fashion of our garments, not by the cost of your face cleansers or your mascara. My dear it lies within you.

The 21st century Muslim should be the strongest Muslim in faith and understanding because the history of Islam is rich and replete with the challenges abound but now the challenge of this era is even greater with the advent of IT. Our focus should be defined, our goals should be concise so that our beauty can shine and light the world.