Must Read: The Silent Lover - Season 1 - Episode 71

7 years ago

Must Read: The Silent Lover - Season 1 - Episode 71

I wear Hijaab and that was not so easy for me in the beginning.” Hijaab continued. “It?s still not something very favourite for some people as they do object and hoot, even make fun of me for wearing it. I get the whole gamut of strange looks, stares, and covert glances. You see, I wear the Hijaab, a scarf that covers my appearance. I do this because I am a Muslim woman who believes her body is her own private concern.

Wearing the Hijaab has given me freedom from constant attention to my physical self.

Because my appearance is not subjected to public scrutiny, my beauty, or perhaps lack of it, has been removed from the realm of what can legitimately be discussed.”
“Could you please tell us what does this word ‘Hijaab’ literally mean? I mean is it Arabic or what?” The anchorperson interrupted for the first time during her fluent speech.

“I was just coming to that.” As she spoke, everyone could see her eyes smiling above the veil that covered her face. “The root word of Hijaab is Hijaaba, an Arabic word, and that means: to veil, cover, screen, shelter, to hide, to make imperceptible, invisible, to conceal, to disguise, masked, to hide, to flee from sight, conceal, to cover up, become hidden, to be obscured, to become invisible, disappear from sight.” She explained in detail, not leaving a single point.

“Hijaab also means….shyness?, like the beloved daughter of our dear holy Prophet said, ‘A woman’s best jewellery is her Hijaab.”

As she spoke, Deeba noted, her voice was as consistent and firm as ever. Both Deeba and Sheeba were sitting in the last rows along with many of their other friends who were all gathered together to attend this interesting event.

“Respected sisters, don’t think, ‘Hijaab’ is just a tradition. Woman is not an item for sale. She should be completely independent in deciding her future and fate. A woman needs protection, security and comfort and Hijaab provides her all these things.” Hijaab’s voice became deeper as she spoke.

“The Hijaab is purity.” Hijaab continued. “Allah has shown us the wisdom behind the legislation of the Hijaab in holy Quran as:

“And when you ask them (Muslim women) for anything you want, ask them from behind a
screen, that is purer for your hearts and their hearts.” (Surah Ahzaab, verse 32)”
“It means, Hijaab makes our heart pure. Yes, respected guests and my fellows, the Hijaab makes for greater purity for the hearts of believing men and women because it screens against the desire of the heart. Without the Hijaab, the heart may or may not desire.”

While she was delivering her speech, the audience was so quiet one could have heard cotton ball drop.

“That’s why the heart is more pure when Hijaab blocks the sight and thus the prevention of evil actions is very much manifested.

The Hijaab cuts off the ill thoughts and the greed of the sick hearts.” She said softly but firmly.

“Our dear sister Sania spoke of the ‘dazzling’ beauty of woman.” Hijaab added bravely. “Let’s see what Allah speaks of this…

“And stay quietly in your houses, and make not a dazzling display, like that of the former
Times of Ignorance.” (Surah Ahzaab, verse 33)
“See, according to Quran, those women who don’t wear Hijaab represent the former Times of ignorance and yet our sister Sania says that ‘Hijaab’ is an obstacle in the way to achieve modernization and development.” She looked deeply into Sania?s eyes.

“I’ll ask, does getting free from cloths and civilization mean height of development and modernization?” Hijaab asked with heavy irony.

Sania swallowed hard and glowered at her, unable to form an answer.

“Well Miss. Hijaab,” The anchorperson interrupted, trying to protect Sania?s point of view. “What Miss. Sania actually meant was what advantages a woman could achieve by hiding herself?”

“In her hiding herself lays her own safety and value.” Hijaab said with firm and fixed belief. “Though she might remain pure but with men as well as women, there is always the devil to inspire evil intention and stimulates the rebellious carnal desires.

No woman would like her beauty to be polluted by the lusty glances of the devilish passion to pollute her pure and chaste fairness.”

“The Hijaab is Righteousness, as well.” Hijaab added.

Sania just looked toward her, as if not getting her point. It was true; she had never ever come across with such a person throughout her debate career.

“The widespread forms of dresses in the world today are mostly for show off and hardly taken as a cover and shield of the woman’s body. To the believing women, however the purpose is to safeguard their bodies and cover their private parts as a manifestation of the order of Allah. It is an act of Taqwah, the righteousness. “
“And last but not least, Hijaab is ‘Ghairat’.” Hijaab pointed out.

“The Hijaab fits the natural feeling of ‘Ghairat’, which is intrinsic in the straight man who does not like people to look at his wife or daughters. Ghairat is a driving emotion that drives the straight man to safeguard women who are related to him from strangers.

The straight Muslim man has Gheerah for all Muslim women. In response to lust and desire, men look with desire at other women while they do not mind that other men do the same to their wives or daughters.

The mixing of sexes and absence of Hijaab destroys the Ghairat in men. Islam considers Gheerah an integral part of faith.

The dignity of the wife or daughter or any other Muslim woman must be highly respected and defended.”
Our holy prophet has clearly said…

“A man, whose wife, sister or daughter doesn’t wear Hijaab and he doesn’t object on that, is shameless and has no Ghairat.”

With this saying, Hijaab finished her speech and looked toward the audience. “If anyone of you has any questions in mind, please feel free to ask!”

“You’re good at speech, Miss. Hijaab, you know that?” Sania exclaimed rigidly. “Hey, why don’t you girls give her a big hand?” She playfully clapped her hands. Clapping all alone, her gesture sounded mysterious and weird in the heavy silence.

“I don’t need others’ appreciation for the confirmation of my own personal views, Miss.

Sania!” Hijaab said with grinning eyes.
“So, you think a woman’s beauty should be ‘unseen’?” Sania asked her first question, beginning their mutual conversation for the first time.

“Yes, that’s what I think and believe.” Hijaab told her firmly.

“That would be unnatural.” Sania made a disgusted face.

“That would be the most natural thing, believe me.” She buried Sania with a killing smile that showed through her big, black eyes. “As the most beautiful things of the world are unseen.”

Killer and breath taking eyes! Sitting with in audiences, Deeba thought.

“Aha, Like what?” Sania stared blankly at her.

“Why do we close our eyes when we sleep? When we cry? When we imagine? When we kiss? When we love? This is because the most beautiful thing in the world is hidden.” Hijaab said, looking to the audience to include them.

There was a big ‘wow’ from the audience on her comment.

“Talk about positive things, Miss. Hijaab.” Sania said sharply. “Be alive, and come down to earth.”

“I’m already a down-to-earth kind of girl, Miss. Sania,” Hijaab told her calmly. “However see some people are trying to leave the earth and go into the space through their so called ‘modernization’.”
“Okay, you say Muslim women still need to wear Hijaab, right?” Sania?s chin thrust forward at a challenging angle, prepared to argue the issue. “But, I don’t think that circumstances are still the same like they were in our Prophet’s era.”

“I wonder why you say so, when we still have the same Quran.” Hijaab reasoned with a twinkle in her eyes.

“When we still have the same method and number of prayers, even have the same fundamental principles yet.”

“Don’t stick to your fundamentals and old basics, Miss. Hijaab.” Sania mumbled, oddly tongue-tied. “Things are changing.”

“But people should not, in a negative way.” Hijaab steadied her nerves and smiled a tremendous agreement with herself. “Either stop blaming yourself a ‘Muslim’, or at least try to be like one.”

“That’s a hard attitude.” Sania murmured, with pure dislike in her expression. “Miss.

Hijaab you seem so straight, so uptight. Miss.

Middle Class Conservative, which is you.”
Keeping her tone as pleasant as possible, Hijaab said. “I won’t comment on this ‘personal’ remark from you because it only shows the ground on which you really stand.”

“She’s an expert of her subject.” Someone called out from the audience.

“No, I’m not.” Hijaab smiled gracefully and said to the audience. “As far as I know of the experts, an expert is someone who takes a subject you understand and makes it sound confusing.”

The crowd burst out laughing on her statement, enjoying the argument as much as it could.

“So, Miss. Hijaab, you think that Hijaab is necessary for women, right?” This was the first bullet from the modern Sania. “I strongly disagree with that and challenge your opinion.”

“It’s not what ‘I’ think my dear sister, It’s something which ‘Allah’ likes and orders us to do.” Hijaab said gently and then went on to explain.

Sania raised her brows and shrugged her shoulders but said nothing.

As if reading her thoughts, Hijaab said, “Yes, I do have proofs and reasons for saying so.

However, I don’t know the names of so many ‘western’ books like you do. I just have one book for my reference.”
“I see, and which book is that?”
“Holy Quran.”

Hijaab’s reply came like a missile, fast, sudden and unexpected. It made Sania ashamed, and she turned her face away.

“Allah is clearly ordering us Muslim women to observe Hijaab in the following verse.” Hijaab said in a modest tone and then recited the verse in a wonderful accent, first in Arabic, which was then followed by its English translation.

“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 (normally) appears of them. They should draw their coverings over their b0s0ms and not show their charms except to their husbands (or close relatives), and let them not strike their feet so that what they hide of their ornaments may be known; and turn to Allah all of you, O believers! So that you may be successful.” (Surah Noor, verse 31)
Sania couldn’t utter a single word then, she was speechless at the moment.

“But is Islam just Hijaab and veil and nothing else?” Sania muttered in a confused tone, her tongue was sharp and pointed like a sword.

“Why don’t you talk about prayers, fasting and other fundamental principles of Islam?”
“Sister Sania, with due respect, if tea is deficient of sugar, would you add milk in it? Or would you prefer putting sugar to make it sweet?” As Hijaab spoke, her words felt like a heavy explosion to Sania Rubab.

“Hijaab is something which affects society on ‘general’ scale, while prayers and fasting come under the heading of one’s individual acts. Meaning, offering them or not is one’s personal matter, it won’t affect the society generally as much as rejection of Hijaab does.”

“Whatever.” Sania chewed her bottom lip in confusion. “I don’t agree with you at all when you say that woman needs Hijaab for her security and all that.”

“Yes, she definitely needs Hijaab for her safety, security and protection.” Hijaab told her softly, her accent impressive and her tone expressive.

“Why doesn’t she keep a body guard then?” Sania objected in a voice filled with deep satire.

All eyes were on Hijaab as she took a long moment and answered Sania.

“Because she wants to be ‘independent’, like you said.” As Hijaab spoke to Sania, there was something deliciously wicked about the way she was holding the other girl through her eyes, which made Sania even more confused. “Those people who keep bodyguards are dependent on them for their lives.”

“We Muslim females wear Hijaab because we want to stop men from treating us like s*x objects, as they have always done.” Hijaab continued in the same courageous style.

Although she didn’t raise her voice, but there was steel in it. “We want them to ignore our appearance and to be attentive to our personalities and mind. We want them to take us seriously and treat us as equals and not just chase us around for our bodies and physical looks.”

“How confident you are!” Said Sania, wiping beads of perspiration from her fair face with the back of one slender arm.

“Pity you are not.” Hijaab replied swiftly. “Mind, if I ask you something personal?”
“W…What is that?” Sania swallowed hard.

“Did you ever wear a Hijaab?”
“Well… I…” Sania stammered thickly.
“I did start wearing scarf once.”

“Then?”
“But, then I thought… am I a perfect Muslim?

Do I follow all the orders of Islam, If I don’t, then why only Hijaab? So, I just took it off. ”
“I see,” Hijaab nodded thoughtfully and then asked. “Miss. Sania, with due respect, does doing one sin justify a need to do other sins too? “
“Meaning?” Sania frowned.

“It’s simple.“ Hijaab said confidently. “Can we drink wine just because we do backbiting too? You must not forget that both are forbidden in Islam. Also, can one commit adultery just because he is a liar as well?

“So?”
“So sister, if we’re not adopting a good deed for some reason, it doesn’t mean we can’t adopt the other good things as well.

Hijaab has its own separate place. You can’t leave it by saying that I don’t practice other orders of Islam either, so why shall I practice the Hijaab only?” Hijaab’s point did make sense; there was no doubt about that.

The fractional tightening of Sania’s lower lip indicated the message had been received and understood.

“Dear sisters,” Hijaab went on. “Who says this new century belongs to women?” She asked aloud, her voice a little shaky with emotion now.