“Where’s Your Hijab?” Bro, Where’s Yours?

First of all, a lot of Muslims seem to confuse hijab for being a headscarf. This is not correct. A headscarf is the cloth we use to cover our hair. Hijab means modesty. And Islamically, not only can a man not force a woman to cover her hair with a headscarf, but in the Quran men are actually told to observe hijab before women are! Yep, that’s right- it’s a man’s responsibility to observe modesty before it is a woman’s.

This includes lowering the gaze, and covering up from the knees to the navel:

“Say to the believing men that they restrain their eyes and guard their private parts. That is purer for them. Surely, Allah is well aware of what they do.” The Quran 24:31

So when men want to come at us with the:

“Oh your hijab is wrong! Take it off”

“Oh you don’t wear hijab, you’re clearly after something”

“Your clothes are too revealing”

We need to remind them about their own hijab, to focus on themselves and that they have no right to tell us what to do.

The Khalifa of Islam, Mirza Masroor Ahmas said in a 2014 sermon:

“Men should remember that they have not been given powers to police others and they should restrain themselves. It is not for them to cover the heads of women from outside. Men are commanded to restrain their eyes, they should fulfil their own obligations. There is not even any commandment to forcibly cover the heads of Muslim women, let alone non-Muslim women. It is men like these who have hardline ideas…”

We’re not in any way saying that women covering their hair isn’t an important part of the religion, but that it’s time brothers start focusing on themselves before focusing on others, and understanding the true meaning of hijab.

And if you do want to advise a sister, how about trying to talk to them instead of berating them on social media.