By HIBBA MAHMUD
August 20, 2017
“My point is simply, that our relationship is with God and our religion, so we need to stop worrying about how others perceive us. “
Time and time again, we always get feelings and inclinations of people “judging” us, particularly people who may look more “religious” than we are.
I don’t prefer using the term religious and I don’t like assuming someone’s characteristics just because they’re hijab is tighter than mine.
I’m not necessarily proud of it, but I would say that I wear my hijab more loose than others. It’s not because I am insecure, but more because I don’t like to attach a label to anything.
There was a point in time where I did feel insecure because I had hair showing and I tried to justify myself on a Hijabis of New York post. But as time went on, I realized “why do I care what people think?”
We are so preoccupied on the thoughts of others and how they feel, that we forget what we are actually doing. I shouldn’t care about being “judged” because I should feel confident in what I am doing. Everyone has an opinion and we should stop concerning ourselves with others opinions.
We are so preoccupied on the thoughts of others and how they feel, that we forget what we are actually doing.
While working in the Muslim Student Association in NYC, I heard a fair share of complaints from other girls feeling judged when they walk in. But technically, if you think that someone is judging you based on their face without actually talking/interacting with them, then you are inherently judging them by making an assumption on how their temperament is.
My point is simply, that our relationship is with God and our religion, so we need to stop worrying about how others perceive us. Also, we need to stop acting entitled assuming that others have nothing better to do than worry about our wardrobe, makeup, or “religion”.
Don’t get me wrong, people who tell others how to follow their religion in an attacking/arrogant/prideful way is absolutely wrong and frankly discouraging. People who go around as the “Haram Police” or think that they are more religious than someone else is problematic, but that isn’t the point of this piece. We have gotten to the point where even if someone states their opinion in the most objective way, people attack them for being judgmental and rude.
If a person says something that doesn’t resonate with us, we can’t just attack them and silence them by calling them judgmental, because in theory that is us judging them for having an opinion.
I have witnessed a girl getting attacked and bashed, simply because she said alcohol is forbidden in Islam, which it clearly is. She simply stated what the Quran states so clearly, and she wasn’t judging anyone. But we allow ourselves to feel so entitled, that anytime someone says anything that is different from how we live, they are automatically assumed as judgemental.
We should most definitely “live and let live”, but that also includes allowing people to have different opinions than us.
This whole “only God can judge me” phrase has completely taken on a new meaning, because people are now using it as an excuse to publicize whatever they’re doing as if it were right, and expect everyone to stay silent, even if what they’re doing is wrong.
We are truly so consumed by what people think that we post about ourselves, justifying what we are doing, but in reality, no one actually should care.
I learned the hard way, when I captioned my photo about how I show my hair as if I needed to justify myself to social media. But we don’t need to justify ourselves to anyone. We should do something because we feel comfortable but we don’t need to run to social media and post our decisions and how “judged” we feel because it’s irrelevant.
Do something because you want to, and stop overcompensating for your own insecurities by telling people not to judge you.
