The Fringe Police

Here's something that I notice way too often. No, it's not the girls who have their fringe sticking out of their headscarf that bothers me. It's actually the girls that get so upset when they see someone who has their hair showing. How often do we hear these girls say "That's not proper hijāb! If you don't wear it properly, don't wear it at all!"


If we're going to go with that logic, it's like saying "If you're going to wear jeans instead of an abaya, don't wear clothes at all!" 


Let's look behind the girl with the fringe, shall we? What if this is a girl who was once sportin' mini-skirts and tank tops, and  is now making an effort to dress more modestly for our creator? So she went from the tank tops to long sleeved shirts, from the mini-skirts to long trousers. Or maybe even a slower transition. From mini-skirts to knee-length shorts -- and so on until finally, she decided to cover most of her hair.


I think most of us know what the general criteria of hijāb is, which is that we are to cover everything except the face and the hands [and feet, some scholars believe], and of course that our clothes not be so tight as to reveal every nook and cranny of our body/figure.  Most of us do know that. 


But does this mean that the bikini-clad teenager can transform overnight into girl in the abaya? Of course not. Some of us take things step by step, and what place do we have to judge when her decision to wear whatever portion of hijāb is between her and our creator? If anything, these girls could use our sisterly support. We boost her morally and pat her on the back for doing as much as covering most of her hair. Maybe even encourage her to go further. But no, we decide to bash her in the face like we're the haram police, and bring down all the courage she has summoned to cover herself that much in the first place. 


For some of us, hijāb is a massive challenge. Not because we have less faith in God, but because we are raised around different people. Imagine the challenge of adorning hijāb for a teenage convert who still lives with her parents who are not Muslim and may not be supportive of her decision at all.  For all we know, that girl we are so quick to frown at may have more courage than we have ever had. Her covering her hair, even if the fringe is showing, may have been a bigger leap than we went through. 


love to our sisters, hijābi and non-hijābi! ♥






"Let there be no compulsion in religion: The truth stands out clear from error..." [2:256]