Garment of humility

Bismillah.

O son, I would be lying if I said I did not dress up to impress people when I was in my 20s. Although, like most girls I was quick to defend myself by saying, 'Oh I dress up simply to look good and feel good.' Needless to say, I did win a good deal of attention but looking back, there were instances when I had humiliated myself. Alhamdulillah, for His tawfik and hidayah. Never would we have found guidance, had He not guided us.

This morning, I came across this line attributed to Mawlana Rumi:

"Strip the raiment of pride from your body:

in learning, put on the garment of humility."

Certainly, we don't have to learn to be disobedient but we sure have to learn hard if we want to be obedient. Rumi is saying, if we want to learn anything, we have to humble ourselves because we have so much pride in our body.

As I said, I used to dress up to be attractive. Now when I think back, what this boyfriend said or what that person said, all did not mean a thing. The compliment that I value most is from my late father who told mom that he thought I was beautiful. (Oh I am missing him more on this Father's Day!)

It has been 7 years since I first put on a scarf and gradually understood that it is not just about wearing a hijab over the head but also the heart. Shaykh Hisham Kabbani said, 'outwardly you may be wearing the best outfit, which is good because we want to project a good image of Islam, but inwardly, keep your heart connected to Allah.'

I suppose if we keep our hearts connected to Allah, we would be humble no matter how expensive or glamorous our outer garments are. And our hearts would be seeking His redha more than seeking attention and praises from people.

May Allah help us strip the raiment of pride from our body and put on the garment of humility. May Allah forgive all our shortcomings. Ameen Allahumma Ameen.

p/s
Love and du'a for one frequent visitor Rehana Kausar.
I imagine the owner of that beautiful name is a very beautiful woman with or without hijab.

O son, we are all beautiful in His eyes!
And that's all that matters.