My View on the Layered Look

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Nice color but can I get everything a little longer, please? 

 

Seriously, I do not how much time, money and effort it takes to layer on stuff that is too tight or thin plus to make a voluminous, multi-scarf hijab yet I know that it simpler to be practical. I'm a khimar/abaya/mini jubah Muslimah, so my selection centers around clothes that are easy to match, to pray in, to express individuality and to look decent. 

Plus it's something I can wear with grace even when I'm old as dirt, insha'allah. 

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, yet in Islam, it's under the garments. Muslimahs are supposed to focus more on their deen than their looks. To non-Muslims, we are supposed to appear modest (read the tafseer of 24:31), well-groomed and in good taste with our clothes unless it's the Eids, then we shine. 

After you have kids, it's a totally different game. Unless you have the time & money, the game is getting a variety of looks from a wardrobe that is quick and simple to put on. You don't want to invest alot into a look that is destroyed by children in seconds and the everyday of battle against wear&tear. 

That's just my opinion. 

The problem with the layered look is that it appears very impractical and "thrown together". It's as if they took one garment that was too tight or too short and tried to save it by using other garments. Then to top the layered look off, a high end hijab wrap fit for a model and the Muslimah is wearing it to Walmart. Once again very impractical and pointless.

So my point is, insha'allah, trendy Muslimahs can buy or put effort into unsuccessful layered look then why not just buy a decent abaya or kameez salwar or mini jubah and save themselves some money and time. When Muslim women wear clothes outside, those clothes are supposed to cover our figures and present us as Muslims. We are not supposed to look like non-Muslims wearing over-sized turbans and half of our closets.

I can understand that some Muslimahs came into this deen with alot of non-Muslim clothes that are now unusable however what's the point in layering stuff that make the Muslimah look as through her closet regurgitated on her. 

Undercover Muslim Rant

An "undercover" Muslim is a Muslim who basically avoid the requirements of Islam to fit in with the Western culture. They don't wear hijab or greet other Muslims or do anything that would let people know that they are Muslims. It's a two-way street of annoyance, undercover Muslims get their feelings hurt when they don't get their rights from other Muslims. And other Muslims get angry when undercover Muslims get embarrassed or look down on them just because they have assimilated into the culture.

However I really don't appreciate the outcasting or not getting salaams just because they feel uncomfortable with their Muslim identity. I don't get the respect I deserve from non-Muslims yet I don't compromise my way of life for their approval. And I would never look down on undercover Muslims for not being like me on the account that Allah SWT is testing me differently from them plus I don't know their lives like that.

I know that somebody will, insha'allah, respond:"Well, everyone practices their faith in their own way."

My reply: What does being cowardly about your own faith has to do with practicing it correctly?

I'm sorry, yet to me, it's like a nun getting mad at people thinking she's not a nun because she is dressed like a regular woman. And everyone practically knows how nuns should dress and everyone has some idea about the modesty stated in the Bible.

That nun has an obligation to her Lord and the same goes for the Muslims.

Al-'Ankabut - 29:2

"Do people think that they will be left alone because they say: "We believe," and will not be tested. (Al-'Ankabut 29:2)"

Allah SWT Test the Muslims by their level of faith. Every Muslim is tested differently and Allah SWT looks for sincerity and commitment from His followers to distinguish the lying from the sincere. Example being the rich Muslim's wealth is a test just as the poor Muslim's lack of wealth is their test.

One would think that to be a committed Muslim that one would have to follow what has been set in the Quran and the Sunnah of the Prophet pbuh not the desires of Mankind & themselves.

Yes, that means that a fellow Muslimah may be harassed by the local police for wearing niqab.

Or a Muslim brother maybe looked down upon for having to step away for prayer during work.

Or a Muslimah is rejected from getting a job because she wants to wear her hijab.

Yet it's part of the program. We have ran across this situation several times in the Quran and the Sound Hadith so there is really no surprise. And one never knows the rewards of having patience and being sincere when Allah SWT Tests us. Sometimes what we see as a horrible test can be the best thing for us. Allah SWT Knows us better than we know ourselves. The sister who is harassed may bring others into Islam, the brother may be rewarded with a better job position or the sister may find a much better job. And that's just on the worldly level.

And this is because Allah SWT Loves the Sincere and the Patient.

All of this is very sad but as Muslims, we should have some idea of the obligations and tests of our religion. We can't say we are Muslims and try to dodge our religious obligations just because we want the approval of others and money without the consequences. Muslims who do dodge what Allah SWT Has Decreed are really missing out on the benefits of enriching their faith and getting great rewards for doing small things like greeting other Muslims even if they don't greet back or not of their status/nationality.