Undercover Muslim Rant: Part Deux

Im sure that many have have tuning in to the wonderfully coward-covered religious rights banning in France, I mean if the issue is about security issues then France should have grown some courage and addressed it as so instead of hiding behind "protecting the French culture" or "the bull-jive-niqab-equates-slavery" deal.

Nevertheless, that's another whole blog. 

 I saw this coming from miles away and it did not burn my biscuits until Mrs. Mona Eltahawy discussed her veiws on the niqab and hijab. 

How come the news always have to go to the extremes, in one corner we have a niqabi and in this corner we have a woman who wears nothing what-so-ever to let people know that she is a Muslim. 

Yeah, that should send up a little red flag on her view about her deen: she is hiding it. 

And the niqabi can discuss her view much better. 

Im not disrespecting Mrs. Eltahawy because her is my sister in Islam yet I do not agree with her "feelings" on hijab, niqab or Islam. To be quite truthfully, she sounds more biased than uneducated on the topic she is debating. 

And to be even more truthful, Allah SWT Says:

"It is not for a believer, man or woman, when Allâh and His Messenger have decreed a matter that they should have any option in their decision. And whoever disobeys Allâh and His Messenger, he has indeed strayed in a plain error." (Al-Ahzab 33:36)

Meaning that the Muslims have no say in the Decrees of Allah SWT & His Messenger (pbuh). The deal is done and the ink is dried plus as Muslims, our "feelings" have no place in religious matters. I sounds rough however I can understand this ayat. Because when people start going by what they "feel" in religion, things start getting twisted or completely left out. 

Now I have another important point, as "undercover" as Mona Eltahawy is being, if insha'allah she was to say something Islamically correct like do not eat pork or make sure you cover properly for Salat, THEN I have no choice but to heed what she says because she is warning me or the Muslims. Her not observing hijab does not put her outside Islam yet it does make her disobedient in the Eyes of Allah SWT. However since the speech that is coming out her mouth is based on her own nafs (desires or feelings), I could care less about what she has to say about hijab. 

To end this issue, I would like to say what my Baptist mother has said:

"You can never please people. And if people can't accept who you are then to heck with them."

May Allah SWT Make her a Muslim. Ameen.

That is alot of wisdom that non-Muslims follow on a day-to-day basis yet some Muslims cannot even stomach the thought of not being able to "fit-in with the non-Muslims" without compromising their religions. And they can't understand why they sometimes catch more Hell than they expected. 

And Allah SWT Knows Best. 

May Allah SWT Guide the Muslims. Ameen.

Blast From the Past: Neapolitan Eid

The  Eid Neapolitan Dress.
This ice-cream inspired delight won my family and friends over. 
And people loved it. 
And I was very tired after this project. 

One Eid ago...

The Eid Neapolitan Feliz Dress today.

Since Zaynab's this dress, it has seen alot of wear yet no tear. I hope to keep it that way. On her first Eid debut, she played with some other children near an escaltor (they were not running) and rubbed mechnical grease into the pinafore of the dress. After the Eid Prayer, we made a bee line for the local Big Lots and brought Fast Orange Hand Cleaner. This stuff is designed to clean grease and motor oil and it cost only one dollar. 

Get's the job done with a lovely citrus fragance.

I was very skeptical about using it however I needed to get the grease out. 

After vigorious hand-washing, the ALL the grease was gone from her dress. 

I'm not kidding, ALL the grease, not a single smear or stain was left. 

Zaynab was able to wear her new dress to an Eid Party and Fast Orange became a favorite in my household.

More pictures of the dress:

Pretty bow. 

Cascading ruffles.

My favorite: knife pleats trimming the pinafore

Embroidery on the hem of the pinafore.

Now I want to create a dress similar to the Neapolitan Dress however I want sleeves. I could just do separate dress and pinafore yet I was thinking the attached pinafore is what makes the combination great. 

Like peanut butter & jelly or something. 

Also I like a good sewing challenge. 

Today I'm aiming to draft the pattern and pick out the fabric. 

Insha'allah I'll keep you posted on this project. 

Mini Jubah Update

Remeber this number: Rewind: Mini Jubah

Well, here is the finished garment.

I was very proud of my mini jubah until I tried it on. Now I'm angry. The fit is VERY poor especially in the bodice. I'm swimming in it. Plus the back is long and graceful but when I move it bunches up on top of my butt. 

I wanted bishop sleeve like this:

See the beautiful puffiness. 

However due to my lack of pattern making skills, I messed up. The sleeve sags over my wrist instead of graceful puffing out at the cuffs. Yet I did a stunning job on the cuffs and the plackets. 

On the good note, I now have a decent idea of what I want my mini jubah to look like. I have another jubah mini on the way. As for this garment, insha'allah, it will be up-cycled into a dress. I'm totally saving the front for the ruffles. Keep posted. 

Are Burqa-Inspired Fashions Glorifying Female Oppression or Encouraging Women to Dress More Conservatively? - FoxNews.com

Are Burqa-Inspired Fashions Glorifying Female Oppression or Encouraging Women to Dress More Conservatively? - FoxNews.com

I say: Neither.

Simply because designers often like to exploit or exaggerate the garment to get some shock value and to get the "fresh look".

Plus they dislike the reality of the garment's use.

In this case: Islamic clothes are suppose to cover/protect the wearer's awrah, not put the awrah on display.

The hijab, the nijab and the burqa are not "sexy" garments.

They are not meant to be worn with the bare minimal of clothes.

They not meant to be worn to make the wearer "sexy".

Sorry to be a killjoy here however designers focus on putting the awrah on display.

That's why models often look like pieces of art in order to display a purse or a blouse while showing legs or whatever is bare. Muslim fashion designers often fall into the same rut yet it's worse because they KNOW that the wearer's awrah is on display but they promote it anyway.

Reply to My Reply Test...Yeah.

Hang in there!

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Yeah, I just crawled out from under my rock on this one and I'm trying to fix it. I want to reply to my readers so I have been reading up on "reply" remedies. I have found one and would like to know if it works.
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P.S: Insha'allah you have came across some help on this topic, tell me know. 

My View on the Layered Look

forums.thefashionspot.com
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.