Bismillahir Rahmaanir Raheem

Assalaamu ‘alaikum warahmatullahi wabarakaatuh

My Dear Sisters

I come from South Asia, from a country named Bangladesh. Alhamdulillah, I was born to a Muslim family who are Sayyids (from the blessed family of Rasulullah [sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam]) by blood. HOWEVER… MY FAMILY WAS NOT PRACTICING DEEN COMPLETELY. They performed the five daily salaah and tried to earn a halaal income, but they never emphasized on the complete Islamic life since they didn’t know any better.

Since I was ten, I was very fond of complete purdah, but I didn’t know its significance in our Deen and how should I start. Six years later, during Ramadhaan, I felt as if my heart was broken and I was disconnected from Allah Ta‘ala. Therefore, I would perform a lot of salaah, recite Surah Yaaseen every morning and cry to Allah Ta‘ala for help. Allah Ta‘ala accepted my pleading and He inculcated the desire in my heart to learn more about Deen.

I was living in a place where there was very little scope to learn about Deen in the correct manner. THEREFORE, I WAS FORCED TO LEARN ABOUT DEEN FROM THE INTERNET. I am grateful to Allah Ta‘ala for guiding me towards authentic websites such as askimam.org, muftionline.co.za, uswatulmuslimah.co.za, ihyaauddeen.co.za, alhaadi.org.za, etc. and to lectures which contained no animate pictures.

I started by donning just the headscarf, although I wanted to cover completely. My parents didn’t want me to be covered in complete black and they were not going to allow me to wear the niqaab. I kept on making du‘aa to Allah Ta‘ala and eventually began to wear the burqa’ and niqaab. When I began to wear the niqaab, my parents were SO enraged that it was almost IMPOSSIBLE to carry on, but when a Muslimah tries to tread on the beautiful path of Islam and pleasing Allah Ta‘ala, then Allah Ta‘ala arranges a way out for her.

After many challenges, I was able to don COMPLETE purdah and remain inside my room when there was a non-mahram in the house. I now felt extremely comfortable and peaceful and my self-respect increased. NEVERTHELESS, THE CHALLENGES THAT I EXPERIENCED MADE MY DEEN STRONGER. Through the sacrifices that I made, Allah Ta‘ala blessed me with steadfastness.

My sisters! Please endure all sacrifices for the sake of Allah Ta‘ala and put your trust in Him, as HE will bless you with such strength and sweetness of imaan that words cannot describe.

One very important thing which I have realized is that PURDAH IS AN EXTREMELY IMPORTANT ASPECT FOR A WOMAN. Purdah safeguards a woman’s shame and modesty, and shame and modesty are linked to imaan. Purdah is NOT only to wear certain clothing like the burqa’, niqaab, etc… There is also purdah of the eyes (controlling one’s gaze and not looking at non-mahrams, etc.), the heart (not thinking or fantasizing of haraam), the hands (not using the hands for anything shameless), the voice (not speaking before men, and if there is a need, to avoid speaking in an attractive tone), the name and EVERYTHING ELSE. If a woman lacks hayaa (modesty), her imaan will be in danger. Also, one should remember that even if a woman is in complete purdah, it is incorrect for her to come in front of non-mahram men unnecessarily as this is against hayaa.

May Allah Ta‘ala grant us all the ability to observe complete purdah, aameen.