Regarding the Niqab

I have now been wearing the niqab for a little more than 5 years, and found
many blessings through that. It has served as an aid and an essential support in my
efforts to reach the most important goals in my life.
The main keywords that come to mind regarding the niqab are protection,
self-respect and nearness to God.
The most important basis for the practice of covering the face of a woman in
Islam is the fact that there exist multiple reliable evidences that the wives and female
companions of the Prophet (s) used to do that, so this is a way we can show our
respect for the practice of these immensely great women, as well as our determination
to emulate them in every aspect possible.
I have noticed that in the faces of those women who have chosen to cover
their faces in the presence of non-related men God has placed a special light: it is
similar to the light of faith that is given chance to irradiate outwardly from the heart
because the necessity to harden the face in order to protect oneself from unwanted,
idle, curious or even hateful glances in their case has been removed.
Niqab gives one opportunity to be in a sacred, blessed solitude even while
being in a crowd of people; opportunity to smile exclusively and purely for the sake of
God, thanking Him for the blessings He has bestowed upon us; opportunity to whisper
to oneself words of Gods remembrance; all of that without fearing to attract unwanted
attention and causing perplexity to others.
Niqab is a sign of that what I aspire for: true spiritual inwardness and
superiority of the spiritual aspect of our being over the physical aspect. A sign of
aspiration to draw closer to God, in opposition to what allures majority of people (and
especially in the case of women beautifying oneself in order to show off to other
people, to butter up ones selfishness and ambition). This tendency to turn away from
the highest aim and waste our efforts for the sake of different ephemeral trifles is
present in all of us, and everything that helps to counteract it is to be valued. Niqab is
a sign of turning away of the world as a place of mundane entertainments without the
awareness of the divine Presence, away from the hustle and bustle that strive to take
over our minds, and turning to God instead of all that. While being outside of my
home, it is a constantly present reminder of the Goal, helping in different
circumstances not to forget towards where I have decided to direct my steps. Niqab is
a sign of limiting the individualism and personal whims for the sake of a higher, over-

individual goal, as well as keeping aloof from everything that is base and fake in this
world, thus protecting ones inner space from these influences.
On a symbolic level niqab points to the feminine, hidden aspect of God: not to
God in His masculine aspect, as the Creator, but to God as the Infinite and the
Incomprehensible; the black colour, on the other hand, indicates to the primeval state
of being before the Creation, before the beginning of manifestation. The covering of
the face, on its part, corresponds to God hiding His infinite, inexpressible Beauty
behind the veils of the created things those veils that only a few are able to see
through, although everyone yearns for that, even though mostly not being aware of
that themselves.
It is not uncommon to hear that this attire reminds about the Christian nuns,
and on a certain level we can agree with that, because, although in a different manner,
their clothes speak about total devotion to God and leaving aside everything that may
hinder that: if not as a state has been already attained but at least as a goal that one has
put for oneself. This attests that it is possible for the society to accept the outward
signs of an inner religious determination without any detriment for its totality. It might
well be that not everyone feels fully comfortable at a certain point to see something
that reminds them about the possibility to move in a different direction than the
majority of the society does, but this in no way means that because of one persons
evanescent, by-passing inconvenience we should destroy other persons opportunity to
draw nearer to the highest aim of her life. If in the case of Christianity such an
expression is generally accepted and in most cases respected, why could that not
be true in the case of Islam as well?
If somebody would argue that such a practice increases the quandary and
hatred of people, it should be said that hatred is a problem of a persons inner attitude,
and it is clear that if it does not find one occasion to discharge itself, it will search for
and definitively find another one that by accident will come in its way. Similarly as,
reading the Quran, everyone reads there his/her own self, the attitude of people
towards the attire of the Prophets (s) wives demonstrates to them what is hidden
inside themselves, what are their hearts filled with: be it hatred, contempt and
arrogance or cordiality, generosity and respect for the human being and his/her highest
aspirations and yearnings. Undoubtedly, in the basis of the societys equivocal attitude
also lies lack of knowledge and understanding, tightly holding on to prejudices that
have been formed in the past, self-righteousness I know better when one knows just
NOTHING about the issue at hand, indisposition to lend an ear that is too close to

actual deafness; even more deeply there lies hidden inner insecurity, sense of being
endangered, lack of self-confidence that pushes one to the best solution that actually
does not solve anything: banning-mocking-waving aside-out of my sight!-destroyingforgetting.
Regarding safety issues after all, the possibility to verify persons identity in
case of need is not lost in case of a person wearing the niqab; it must be understood
that no one asks people who pass by on the street every day to show their passports in
order to compare the photo with the actual face, and absolute majority of the faces that
we see passing by on the street we have already forgotten after just a few minutes. It is
difficult to understand how a possible prohibition to cover ones face could hold
someone back from criminal acts he/she intends to perform. Therefore it should be
asked, what exactly is it that is so valuable that the society would gain in case wearing
the niqab would be banned, so that it outweighs the suffering of those members of
society whom such a ban would influence the most?
Some months ago unfortunately I happened to be in Brussels for a while,
where I was forced to take off the niqab, and I have to say that it felt like being forced
to undress and remain in that state just because of a certain whim of some people,
although it is crystal clear that there is no real necessity for that. It would seem that
everyone is able to imagine how humiliating and absurd such an experience must be.
There is no doubt that our society is in need of knowledge and an effort must
be made in order to explain those as well as many other Islam-related issues.
Therefore a discussion in this regard is definitively to be welcomed; however, if this
discussion will result in the habitual lack of true listening and eventual adopting of
prohibitions for the sake of overall convenience and comfort, I am more than sure
that all the involved sides will have to be counted as losers.