Asalamu'alaikum, Recently, some women and girls on Instagram began a challenge where they would post a picture of themselves to their "stories". These stories had captions, that in summary, were for girls to raise each other up and accept each other, an "empowerment" exercise of sorts. They then would tag ten of their friends to also complete the challenge. Many Muslim Sisters jumped on this bandwagon, so I ended up getting tagged in some of these stories and could not help but notice a number of factors. I would like to share these thoughts, so that girls and parents can be aware (many of these points apply to brothers as well, so please hear me out), Insha'Allah. First, in the majority of the stories that I saw, the girls have some sort of filter or special affect applied to their face. Here I saw girls using filters to modify their faces to look slim, smooth, and unnaturally bright. How is that empowerment? If we don't feel beautiful in our own skin without having to modify our faces with filters and photoshop, then how is that empowering? It truly disturbed me. In fact, I found it heartbreaking. How is approval through deception and illusion ever going to fulfill us? Especially when Allah SWT made us beautiful just the way we are and that beauty can only be elevated by our chastity, piety, and our submission to His Will and Pleasure, Alhamdulillah. Yet, these Sisters were seeking the approval of each other instead of their Creator. Do we work as hard to get Allah's approval and for His pleasure? While we doll ourselves up for the public to feast their eyes on, do we remember the One Who is always watching us, aware of all we do even in private when our parents and loved ones can't see us, and knows each and every intention and motivation? When we seek approval and validation through these passing trends and what everyone else is doing, we set ourselves up for disappointment and rejection. But, you know Who will never reject us or humiliate us if we turn to Him with all that hope? Allah SWT. He will always Love us and Cherish us. He will keep His Promises. He will Praise us in the best of gatherings, He will put happiness and satisfaction in our hearts, and He will put genuine and sincere love in the hearts of the people for us as well, Alhamdulillah. Our modesty is our greatest responsibility. It is not just about dawning a hijab. It is about how we behave, how we interact with each other on and offline, and what we expose about our lives. In the age of trends, stories, and toxic feminism (movements that go against our Faith and Allah's Commands), this commitment to modesty can become difficult to swallow not just follow. I know this and this isn't about shame. It is a reminder. It is about empowering ourselves and practicing self love in the right way. All Good comes from Allah SWT and the way of His Messenger SAW. The way of Islam is true liberation and the ultimate road to respect, strength, and the right kind of love and attention. It all begins with us and what we are willing to do for it. We all know that posting pictures, showing off our beauty, clothing, and blessings is not permitted in Islam, then why is that we make excuses? Why do we try to find loopholes in the rulings to try to do it anyways? Why are we so desperate for superficial attention? Why do we want to follow the way of the non-Muslims so diligently, but find ways to get around or delay the things that Islam calls us to? When it comes to Islam, do we never have enough time? Are we always ready to snap a picture of our most mundane activities, but fail to remember or rush through our Adhkar (du'a and remembrance of Allah in our daily acts and prayers) most of the time? These are things to think about deeply, Insha'Allah. Looking at all the pictures, I just kept thinking of what the great women of Islam, such as Khadijah RA, Fatima RA, Aishah RA, and all the other Sahabiyat RA, would think if they came across this.
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