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Asalam o Alaikum, I am Bisma Maqbool.. Today, I am simply here to share with you my personal experiences in hope that you may find some meaning and sense of inspiration in what I have to say. Raised in a Muslim family, I was brought up with the basic, fundamental principles and values that Islam instils. I was taught to pray, to fast, to be kind-hearted, generous and to share the Deen of Allah graciously with those around me. The thought of one day 'covering my head' occasionally popped into my mind, but the thought that almost always followed was "Not until I'm ready!" I never really understood what hijaab meant. I often thought that it was man's clever way of keeping woman under his control. I soon came to realize that I was very wrong. In fact, the hijaab was the perfect outlet for women to seek liberation, respect and ultimate freedom from sexual harassment and the likes. For years and years I would wake up extra early to style my hair according to what was in' at the time. I would spend over an hour caking make-up onto my face, trying to look beautiful. Now that I look back at who I was then, it makes me grateful to Allah (SWT) to see how far he has brought me. For a time, I was confused and somewhat lost, as are many young women in non-Islamic nations trying desperately to fit in to a society that dictates that beauty is naked, emaciated teenagers on a billboards selling perfume and underwear. It was at this point that I decided it was time to put some more thought into this whole 'hijaab' issue. And I did. For 1.5 year I contemplated the thought of wearing hijaab, but the fear inside of me was overwhelming. I was afraid of what my friends would say. I was afraid of what my professors and colleagues might think.!

Finally said to myself, "Bisma look at the big picture!" Now, when I say big picture I don't mean next week or in a few months or even 25 years down the road. I mean the akhira , the hear-after. I asked myself a very straightforward question. Who am I going to fear? These strangers who I know not or Allah? I finally convinced myself that it was time for me to take this step closer to Allah, as difficult as it may have seemed at the time.