UNDER the scorching heat of the sun, people would want to strip already and bare their skin just to cool down. But in the middle of the hustle and bustle, they turned and wondered about that girl who wore a black, long-sleeved dress, its hem almost reaching her toes. On her head was a matching full-cover hijab.
Now that’s not your typical #OOTD when you’re in a tropical country, right?
“How can they even dress like that under this heat?” people would carelessly say about Muslimahs wearing abaya and hijab.
Others would remark about Muslimahs wearing niqab, “Why do they need to cover their faces? Are they hiding something under all those garments? They must be dressed like that because they’re terrorists!”
Some would joke about it with jests like “Here comes the black ninjas!”
We get it, yes, we really do. We get them all: the shame and misconceptions.
Filipino Muslimahs (Muslim women) are often branded as the ‘other ones’ by their fellow Filipinos, mostly because of how they dress, which practically roots back to their faith.
To nuance and describe some of what Muslimah’s wear, a hijab is a head covering worn in public by some Muslim women. This is often called as ‘veil’ in English and ‘kombong’ in our native tongue.
An abaya, on the other hand, is a simple, loose over-garment. It is essentially a robe-like dress, worn by some Muslimahs which covers the whole body except the head, feet, and hands. It can be worn with the niqab, a veil covering the entire head and face except the eyes. This comes in different colors, but it is most head-turning when worn black.
In the parlance of true practicing Muslims, an abaya is worn by women to fully cover one’s awrat or parts of the body that could possibly attract the opposite sex. This is to prevent men from committing fitna, the act of sinning which is similar to lust.
Muslims believe that wearing a hijab and an abaya is a way for women to prevent themselves from ‘lustful eyes’, as well as to prevent men from sinning because of them.
In an interview with Zainoden Marohombsar Usudan, chief of the hajj operations at the National Commission on Muslim Filipinos and a sheikh (leader in Muslim communities and organizations), he shared about the concept of wearing an abaya.
“The wisdom behind wearing an abaya could be due to several reasons such as comfortability among wearers. This is because generally speaking, it can conceal every Muslimah’s body parts that must not be exposed,” Usudan said about wearing an abaya.
It is often perceived that women who wear abayas are deemed to be pious because the clothing was adapted from the Arabs from Saudi Arabia, the center of Islamic faith. Some modern Muslimas today, however, already wear jeans—while still covering ‘sensitive’ body parts.
However, Usudan reminds the wearers, “When a Muslimah is wearing an abaya, she should behave accordingly and should not do things that might entail embarrassment to the Ummah (Arabic word for community) in general.”
The same goes for why Muslim women put on their hijabs and niqabs. All of these are worn for them to protect themselves from fitna; to cover themselves to avoid depraved attraction and temptation from the opposite sex.
Non-Muslims often ask us Muslimahs why we have to wear this and that, why go through such hassle and struggle.
To pear into the minds of the Muslimahs, picture this: imagine two candies as if they were two certain ladies. You would have to choose one of them to marry someday: one is properly covered and the other is bare. Put both of the candies in the ground for about 20 seconds and pick them up again.
Which of the two do you think you’d choose?
Onaysha Usudan is an Accountancy student at RC-Al Khwarizmi International College, Marawi City. She’s currently the editor-in-chief in the Institution’s student publication and an advocate of her fellow Muslimahs’ rights and opinions. Ms. Sunio is her former professor and student publication adviser.