-Enlightened, on 21 March 2012 - 08:28 PM, said:
Are there any sisters who are wearing Abaya/chador and living in the west ..with
not so many shia people around ?
I would like to start wearing the abaya ...but it's really really uncommon and rare here. I've NEVER seen anyone with an Abaya in my city ...except those niqabis ..and they don't attend college or work or anything ..
and I'll still be going to college and living you know.. I don't wanna sound like a black monster with this 'thing that she's wearing'..
I just feel that my hijab is not enough. .. and don't suggest me to wear something long and ugly to make it 'modest'.. it's really Abaya that I want ..
and yeah i just want your comments..how will i be dealing with this ?
I started wearing abaya exclusively at the age of 15 and stopped at 19ish, which was the year I wore it off and on depending on circumstances. I guess 18 was the year I stopped wear it exclusively.
With internships, job opportunities, and school functions it became difficult to remain fully immersed in these activities while observing the abaya correctly. You could make the argument that observing the abaya is more important than these things collectively, but i think this can be overrode depending on whether or not you believe it is possible to remain modest without it. From my understanding of Islamic jurisprudence it is also very much permissible to not wear abaya provided the shape of your body is covered, etc.. but there is wiggle/interpretation room here in terms of its scope.
Now you stated that you
were sure of this, so God bless and best of luck. I know a girl who wears abaya but always accessorized it quite nicely with cardigans, matching hijabs, bags, etc. She doesn't look like a "black monster" but she doesn't really involve herself in any extra curricular activities and she doesn't intend on building a career for herself after marriage.
I am sure there are very strong woman who force people to take them seriously in the fields of medicine, law etc who wear abayas exclusively. I commend them on being stronger than I am in that sense. I am sure you have what it takes to do wonderful things while overcoming these very real obstacles and I am really impressed with your consciousness. If you are convinced and remain convinced that what you are doing is critical to your spiritual and social well being than I have no doubt that you will be able to deal with obstacles gracefully.
Edited by Zahratul_Islam, 22 March 2012 - 08:04 PM.