"And tell the believing women to reduce [some] of their vision and guard their private parts and not expose their adornment except that which (necessarily) appears thereof and to wrap their head-covers over their chests and not expose their adornment except to their husbands, their fathers, their husbands' fathers, their sons, their husbands’ sons, their brothers, their brothers' sons, their sisters' sons, their women, that which their right hands possess, or those male attendants having no physical desire, or children who are not yet aware of the private aspects of women. And let them not stamp their feet to make known what they conceal of their adornment. And turn to Allah in repentance, all of you, O believers, that you might succeed." [Q, 24:31)

TRUE is the word of Almighty Allah, the uncreated creator, the most benevolent and the most merciful God who commanded the best of mankind and the custodian of good-tidings, Prophet Muhammad (SAW). The above quoted commandment which was revealed in an unedited, unadulterated and unblemished Glorious Qur'an had been in existence for more than fourteen centuries, Muslims of this generation have nothing to add or remove but to abide by the instruction of the Super-natural God in whose hand lays the most sophisticated remote control with which affairs of men are manned. He has the key to life and death, He can give and take without permission or approval from anybody, anytime anyday anywhere.

Morale behind the commandment

Hijab is an obedient way of worshipping Allah without questioning the morale behind the commandment, or subjecting the commandment to the opinion and view of people. Since our Creator is the Most Wise, He knows that His commandment is for good of individuals and the society at large. While on-lookers see Hijab as a symbol of a Muslim Woman Identity, Muslim Woman sees Hijab as a religious obligation which is a test of her faith in Allah. Hijab represents a woman's submission to her Creator and her connection with the faith. When a Muslim woman wears Hijab she is obeying and submitting to Allah.

When a woman wears Hijab; she liberates herself from the vain and selfish desire to show off her beauty in competition with other women around her. The innate desire of wanton display of opulence is tamed by modesty of Hijab covering. The tendency of being enslaved by the corporate capitalistic industry known for publishing naked women to sell anything is removed. When we wear Hijab, we deprive privy eyes from scrutinizing our physical appearance and foreclose the possibility of passing comment about our beauty.

It is however painful that the society, which shows tolerance towards those who flex around in nudity; finds it difficult to tolerate obedient servants of Allah who on their own volition adhere strictly to the injunction of the Supreme Being who has the final say on the day of reckoning. We are living in an era where woman dignity is relegated to the background. They count it as norm, any form of indecent dressing of woman and ungodly acts. Contrary to the reason why we wear Hijab, they ascribe inferiority, backwardness and enslavement to the usage of veil.

While advocates of nudity are attacking our mode of dressing, the enemies of states are disguising in our attire to execute their dastard acts. Suicide bombers and insurgents are carrying out their deadly mission with Hijab. This act further proves that enemies of Allah are stopping at nothing to discourage us from obeying His commandment and lead us astray having discovered the right path to everlasting salvation. They want to instigate the society against the wearing of Hijab, and by extension compel the government to ban us from adorning the veil.

Historical documentation has it that the evil planners had been in existence for long. From generations to generation, they constitute themselves as hindrance to the full devotion of believers. They did more than that during the time of Prophet Muhammad (SAW), they conspired against his disciples with the aim of deriding the good message they were to pass to generations. Evidence abounds that the consistence and persistence of people of faith in the past stand them out today as our mentors, teachers, heroes and our pride.

Our joy lies in the fact that the choice of Hijab is not our decision but Allah's commandment. As evil doers are planning to dissuade the society from wearing Hijab; Allah is planning how to make the Hijab symbol of glory. The battle is not our own, we leave the aspersions, vituperations, defamation, and conspiracy of enemy of Hijab to the Almighty Allah who command us to wear the veil. He will reward each and everyone of us accordingly.

Religious affiliation

Every 1st of February is dedicated for the commemoration of the World Hijab Day, women of all religious affiliation are encouraged to dress like us and tell us how they feel with Hijab. The exercise which commenced in the year 2013 by Nazma Khan, a New York resident is purposely designed to counteract the notion that the Hijab is a symbol of oppression and segregation. The maiden edition of World Hijab Day in Nigeria was commemorated in 2014, since then, activities to mark the day have always been lined up across the states of the Federation.

As various states including the Federal Capital Territory are jostling to commemorate the day on 6th February, three Hijabites Sister had already set agenda for the day. The first is Maryam Abbass Lawal, an Hijabite student of Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University, ABTU who is the overall best student of the school in the just concluded academic year. The second is Dr. Faidah Lawal, an Hijabite medical graduate of University of Ilorin who was the overall best medical student. The third but not the least is Barr. Fatima Bombom Sani, an Hijabite Law student who was the overall best student during the recent call to bar ceremony.

My candid message to us all as we commemorate the World Hijab Day is that we should excel. We should excel in our fear of Allah, we should excel in our Ibadah, we should excel our services to humanity, we should excel in peaceful co-existence, we should excel in seeking knowledge because we only cover our head we do not cover our brains. Happy World Hijab Day to you all!

Hajia Aminat Omoti is the National Amira of Federation Of Muslim Women Associations in Nigeria, FOMWAN.