The Jaafar Tale

Face Veil.

Its funny how I was introduced to it and now as I grow up I grew fond of its power as protectionism.
When I was very small, I was brought up to a clinic to see the family doctor very regularly as they were making sure that I wasnt going to get asthma at that time with that much accumulation of mucus. that was the boring part.

One day, I had to wait longer to see the doctor inside the room. I waited with my mom. I was restless because as far as I could remember, I was always the hyperactive child. My mom allowed me to run around about the clinic, jumping up and down and playing with the square tiles while my mom watched over me. until...I bumped into a lady entering the clinic wearing a black jubah, with a black long hijab (tudung labuh), and a black face veil or as we know, "purdah".

I was terrified to be exact, and I ran like a crazy child shouting " Ma!!! Ada Jaafar dekat clinic!!! ada Jaafar!! No Jaafar! ". I ran as fast as I could towards my mom, who was reading a magazine at that time. she looked at me in full wonder and told me to behave, not until she set her eyes to what I was referring to. you see, when I was little my favourite cartoon would be "Aladdin", that rite after I got back from Taski Abim Aisyah I would sit for long hours in front of the tv repeating the same cartoon. In "Aladdin", one of the villain there would a long and skinny man with long beards who wore a weird serban on top of his head, and when hes up to something bad, he would cover his face with black cloth. since my imagination was quite imaginative and creative, I thought that the lady was Jaafar who just turned alive and was coming to get me. LOL. well, on my side it was funny, but I dont noe about the lady since I was really screaming at her.... *sorry

So, that was the first time I was introduced to Purdah or Burqah.

surprisingly, 17 years later, I even wonder how to be like the lady I once thought to be Jaafar. Even when most people around me doesnt wear Purdah, and some other would call me hypocrites whenever I asked around about how is it to wear a Purdah, but something just urged me to get to know about it a litle bit more. covering ur face with a face veil for women in Islam does not fall wajib, but it is encouraged especially when u r either 1)too beautiful that u could get in between fitnah instantly or 2)u have defects on ur face that u dont wish anyone else to noe or to tease them. well, honestly i dont stand a chance to be in reason 1), and neither do i have defects that I wish to cover. but again, Islam protects beauty and makes women who covers their aurah feel empowered by themselves. covering our aurah from ajnabi is part of the feeling of being protected and being empowered, and yes for those who truly understand the significance of covering their aurah, they also feel special in a way.

and 17 years later from the Jaafar Tale, when we had iftar jamaie with my dads student (Arab) one day, and his wife was all dressed up in black to go to tarawih, I asked : maza ya Faizah? "burqah". kaifa talbasin? (how to wear it?) "hina, taala" (mari sini *she was asking me to come closer*). and she tied it up around me, and for the first time I felt A Lot Safer and Protected. doesnt matter if ppl could only see my eyes, or they cant even see it at all bcuz mata sepet, lol, but whats important is that it felt GREAT.

it goes back to my previous questions, How does it feel to wear a purdah? Do u feel protected? Do u feel safe? if a person asks u to wear it, does it mean that person wants to protect u and that he/she cares for u very much?
Well, i got lots of the answers already kan?.....

+ second phase of Ramadhan, Maghfirah Allah.

Islam is.....Beautiful.
The.End