Saturday, August 9, 2014

BEAUTY could be a form of Dakwah. (CANTIK itu pun dakwah!)



"It's 2am now...and I still have absolutely no idea what to wear for tomorrow!"

Why the unnecessary headache and whining and being so vain?
Perhaps you might ask. 
Perhaps even with a slight tone of disgust towards my "whining" here.

But before you roll your eyes to the back of your head, or pouncing onto your keyboard enthusiastically to get ready to bash me for saying something that probably sound spoilt or bimbo-ish...here is my reason;

Because I believe...a fashionable/attractive way of dressing and yet still according to Islamic values as a Muslimah is a good way of dakwah too. =)




Never underestimate the way you dress up, and the way it could spread awareness to people around you about the beauty of covering up in the Islamic way and still looking beautiful nevertheless.




Just like me...I started off by wearing a hijab.
And then I started to be mesmerized by the beauty of women I see in hijab.
(Well, OK...maybe I was at first mesmerized by my own selfie pictures upon my first time trying on a hijab and I went like daymnnnnn...I look stunning!)

Krik...krik....krik....

WOKAYYY.

I started paying attention and got curious...since like many non Muslims, hair is very important to define a woman's beauty...some even depend on it and get cranky when they have bad hair days.
And for models in my previous line...the deeper the cleavage, the better. The more skin, the better. And the shorter skirt or shorts, the better.
Honestly...before this, I thought covering myself up is like making myself unattractive and ugly.
Modesty doesn't seem to exist before this in my life.




But then...I got interested in learning the story behind the hijab.
The reasons.
The values.
The beauty.
And then....Islam itself. 

Alhamdulillah... 
The ways Allah SWT brought someone like me back to Him. 
How much Allah SWT loves us all, regardless of who we were, and who we are.

A hijab got me reverted back into Islam!
It got me home to the right path!

SubhanAllah! 



If it could happen to an former Playboy model (Ahem...yup, I would sacrifice by digging out my own past just so it could be a lesson for all, if not an example...all for the good of Islam, for our sisters, and in the mission of dakwah and for the redha of Allah too), I am sure it could happen to women who are non Muslims...and perhaps, even the born Muslims too. Insyaallah!




Of course...I also believe while doing so (the dakwah in the terms of looks), one should not cross to the borderline of being riya (riak); which means to the point of showing off...err, overly.

And how do I spread the awareness of beauty being in hijab and covering oneself up within the Islamic frame of dressing as a (well, I hate to say it really, but everyone's been telling me to face the truth) public figure and social media celebrity...?

Being out and be seen.
Photos.
And unfortunately...what I'm about to say next is probably gonna get me a lot of negative bashings. Again. (LOL!)

Selfies.

There....I said it.

And no...it does not mean I think I am THAT beautiful or stunning or hot.
But I think I have a pleasant look and I feel utterly grateful and blessed for that, Alhamdulillah!
If you still want to call me "perasan" or "gedik" or "harap je muka lawa"...then I have nothing else to say.




But then again...if being called "perasan" or "gedik" or "bajet lawa" still could do some dakwah and bring someone back to fitrah...why not??

Haaaaaaaa.

This is a century of technology and social media...and almost everyone have a Facebook or Instagram account.
(Even my mom has one, and she'd be the one calling me up if she doesn't see me posting up any pictures in Facebook and asking me why there's no picture for the day!)

And let me repeat...not to the point of riya (riak).
Nobody is saying that you should post a selfie of yourself every hour or so.
Moderation...is the key. 




So...I'd say we embrace it with a positive thinking and hope for the best.
Hope that somewhere out there, that by us somehow dressing nicely and Islamicly, someone would see the beauty of covering up...and fall in love with Islam just like how I did.

And most importantly...we help yet another woman and help her protect her modesty, and Insyaallah...we could bring her "home" to the right path, to be a better person and be even more beautiful and precious than she already is. 

Insyaallah. =)

But first...let's take a selfie! 
MUAHAHAHAHAHHAH!