Since I have worn the niqab, I have gotten more questions in one year than I did in 7+ years of wearing just the hijab. There are one of two reasons people will question you, they are genuinely curious (rare) or they want to prove you are wrong/oppressed. Needless to say I have come across the latter more often. As aggravating as it is, I realized Allah SWT is fulfilling my very wish – I wanted to do dawah and now I get to dispense information about my deen and who knows who Allah will guide and I would have served as in instrument.
An important thing to do is pre-think certain scenarios and the kinds of questions you could be asked. This is applicable to hijabis too, however having been on both sides of the spectrum; I faced frequent and tougher critics after the niqab. I have learned it the hard way, and Alhamdolillah I walked away unscathed but there was definitely chance of some serious damage. If I am going to be at the doctors where I have one-on-one time with doctor/nurse/assistant/technician; chances of being asked something are higher. I strategize. One very important point is that you will probably have 15 seconds to justify your point of view/ answer the question. Don’t go into details of hadith and sunnah – words which will mean nothing to a non-muslim. I was randomly asked at a breakfast place by the cook behind the counter: How come you are wearing this (pointing to my niqab) and your friend is only covering her head? Yeah, I know! How do you answer that in 2 seconds? I did the best I could, I wish I was better prepared.
There is great deal of unawareness among the muslims today. I may be speaking of born-muslims only, though. Muslims are unaware of their impact or the light they carry. They are careless of it. It’s time to change and live like the ummah was meant to… with enlightenment, awareness, contemplation, conviction and honesty.
Alhamdolillah, my niqab has turned me into a walking dawah-machine and I love it, for the sake of Allah ofcourse.
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