Salaam! Someone left this post on my blog, so I was going to address it accordingly~

as salaamu alaikum habibee. let me just say that your blogger is a favour done to all of us. thank you verrryyy much. not to mention how informative it is and the oodles of great sayings it contains. im writing to you because there is no other legitimate way i can reach the person called a blamed soul. i am sure that you are aware of the fact that there isnt anything called a niqaab. theres the hijab and the jilbab. plus, the niqaab is a persian word borrowed by muslims used to describe a dress that the muslims found favourable during the ummayad khaliphate due to the presence of certain powerful ppl who were abusing women. the muslims conquered persi at that time and they came across stuff like the burqaa, the niqaab and purdah. actually these terms are alien to arabs and the quranic sayings. so i coudnt fully understand what the blamed soul meant wen she said somehting abt a full niqaabi state. i mean come on, dressing decently and modestly is common sense and it is the duty of all civilised ppl. thats all ALLAH actually wants. as long as the job is done according to the quran isnt it ridiculous to blindly think that covering up like some mummy head to toe is a muslim thing? not to mention the bad pi ratings muslims are getting all over the place. if things go to extremes those things eventually turn out to be unfavourable. so i believe muslim women should dress smart and decent just as the al quran says it instead of blindly adhering to fossilised concepts of niqaab.

Hello!! Asalaam Alaikum! First off, I have to be honest with you~ I had no idea that there wasn't a term called Niqab. We (my girlfriends and I) have always referred to it as niqab (you know, the full covering with only the eyes showing) and I really had not idea about the history behind it. Thank you so much for your wonderful input into the history, and may Allah Ta'allah be pleased with you that you have shared it with me. I was aware that the Holy Qur'an does not mention the terms Burqa, Niqab or Purda~ and I sort of guessed that they were introduced at a later time. I do believe that on some level, covering is a woman's personal decision, and that no one can tell her what to cover or not cover. I also happen to know that the Qur'an does not mention hijab in the way that many Muslims have interpreted it. Hijab simply means
"curtain" and it implies that a woman should shield herself from strange men and others, and I believe that all passages in the Qur'an regarding hijab and women's seclusion and modesty are very vague, and thus require a certain level of interpretation, which often leads us to the trouble we are in now- too many people have too many interpretations and that leads to discourse and also splitting factions. Thus many people look to culture, rather than religion, when they choose to cover. You will notice that most often a woman covers in the popular style that her particular culture has adopted. Although I cover, I hold a rather radical view on the issue (at least, most ultra conservative Musims would call it radical)- I don't believe that it is required by the Qur'an and I believe that the Qur'an is simply telling us to not be flashy or draw attention to ourselves (men either, not just women) and that we should be humble- not just because of possible sexual connotations, but also because humbleness is a main character trait of a good Muslim- and when you are truly humble and put wordly things behind you, you can better focus on Allah and the true beauty of religion. As Sufi's would say, you would be drawing the veil of this world from you eyes to better behold the beloved (Allah). So, I think that is really what the Qur'an is trying to tell us- it's not just about covering the body- it's about a "hijab" state of mind, as I like to say. Be modest in action as well as dress. Now, by saying be modest in dress, I am not suggesting cover every inch of your body. I am suggesting that you cover whatever amount that YOU wish to cover-And women should look deep into their souls at the REAL reason that they choose to wear what they wear. If they are wearing something in order to look beautiful than why are they trying to look beautiful? Is it because of a need to draw the attention of the opposite sex or to draw attention by anyone?? If that is the case, than one must re-evaluate WHY they are doing what they are doing and decide- is the attention I am craving going to satisfy me or am I just going to want more...is it going to make me vain and fall in love with myself?? Because if you becomoe obsessed with your looks, it is like you are worshipping yourself, and you begin to lose focus on worshipping Allah. But if you are just dressing to look smart and successful and to give you confidence, and you can still keep your faith in Allah and you have no bad intentions in your heart, than I think a woman can dress as she likes. Only Allah knows what is in our HEARTS and what our TRUE intentions are- I have known MANY women that wear hijab and think they are better than those who do not, but I have seen many non-hijabi Muslimah's who are (in my opinion- but only Allah knows) better in character than some of the hijabi's I know- Maybe I am babbling and there isn't much structure to my response, but that is my opinion on everything-