6 Tips You Need to Know Before Wearing Hijab

So you decided to wear hijab, but don’t know where to start? Let me help you, because I was in the same position 7 years ago. I was 17 years old when I started to think about wearing the hijab but it took me about a year to get the courage to actually wear it all the time. Being a girl who was born and raised in America, in the Midwest to be exact, it was hard to imagine wearing the hijab at all let alone all the time because not a lot of people around me were doing it. I was raised in a mixed family (muslim/christian) and nobody wore hijab, including the muslim side of my family. All of my friends were not wearing hijab at the time, but I chose to do what felt right for me and alhamdullilah (thank god) it was the best decision I have ever made. Here are the tips I think you should know if you are thinking to wear hijab: 

1. Check your intention 

Honestly this is the most important thing before starting to wear hijab. Make sure that you are doing it just for Allah (swt)- don’t do it for anyone but yourself or you will regret it. Also, I found that consciously checking your intention every now and then is very important while you wear hijab throughout your life because giiiiiiirl trust me, there will be times of doubt and you need to remind yourself why you started in the first place. 

2. Practice first 

This tip helped me a lot. The worst thing I heard from someone was “if you put it on and then take it off, it’s a bigger sin than never putting it on at all”. With all due respect, that’s completely wrong. Wearing it once is better then never wearing it at all. Wearing hijab is a learning process and you have to do it at your own pace. To start practicing, I would wear the hijab in Ramadan at as many events as I could, then I would take it off again. Slowly I started wearing hijab to parties here and there until mostly everyone had seen me wearing it. You will start to become more comfortable in it. Don’t worry about wearing “proper” hijab, instead just try to become more modest in your clothing as time goes on but don’t feel like a failure if you aren’t wearing it perfectly.

The other positive thing about practicing is you get to find your STYLE! In my opinion this is the best part and I had the most fun doing this (also embarrassment- THANK GOD I grew out of the phase where I would put flower clips in my hijab LOL). 

3. Do it with a Friend

I know that many of you may not have this option, but if you do it helps because you will have someone to fall back on when you feel like your stuck. I used to practice with one of my close friends and that pushed us to ultimately start wearing it permanently, Alhamdullilah. We decided to practice during Ramadan together and that made us push harder towards our goal because we weren’t doing it alone. We both related to each other because we were in the same boat sailing towards the same end goal. ( shout out to fifi when you see this 😉 )

4. Follow your Heart, Not People

If you remember anything from this post- remember this. If you feel that you want to wear hijab, then just take that leap of faith and follow your heart. If you feel like you’re not ready, then give yourself more time. Never let people put you down or make you question that gut feeling you have. I will tell you right now, just expect to get tested with hard situations that will test your faith while wearing hijab. You will start to get more opinions thrown at you because now that you wear hijab people think you are giving them an invitation to a conversation. Unfortunately, you might get islamophobic comments as well, but remember this stems from a lack of education and you shouldn’t let that get to you. I still have to tell myself not to take things so personally. Instead, try to have a conversation with whoever is talking to you and let them know more about your religion; to change some of their misconceptions. 

When it comes to your friends, the hijab will serve as a filter of your real and fake friends. Those who love you will always be there for you with or without hijab. All I want to get across is never let your fear of people hold you back from doing what you feel is right. In the end, god is going to hold you, and only you, accountable for all of the decisions you made in your life- nobody else.

5. Don’t Listen to the Haram Police

This is a sad one to bring up, but the Muslim community can sometimes be very judgmental and toxic- especially on the topic of hijab. We have what is called “haram police” and they are savages. They feel it is okay to put someone down in regards to their faith because you are not following Islam the way they are.

Do. Not. Let. That. Get. You. Down.

Your faith, your spirituality, your relationship to god is NOT table talk and nobody should casually get to tell you how to live (whether that be with or without hijab). It is your choice, and nobody should have an opinion about how you choose to practice.

6. Pray Through the Good and the Bad 

With all that being said, the most important thing is that you pray through all of the good and the bad times. Like I said, keep checking your intention and make sure you are only taking this step for Allah (swt). Take a deep breath, life is not easy, and you will be tested, but it is important to remember that you are choosing to do something for god, so god will always be next to you through everything. 

 One Last Thing…

if nobody has told you yet, I want you to know that I am proud of you and taking this step is something that has truly filled my heart with SO much happiness and purpose, and I pray that it brings you the same feeling! I did not have anyone with me when I started wearing hijab and I know how scary that can be. If you ever need someone to talk to, just email me with any questions.