Question:
Salam aleykoum,
I have a friend who has 2 daughters (15 and 13 years old). She wears the hijab, she is encouraging her daughters to wear it and to dress modestly and they try but they find it hard to wear the scarf. The girls do their prayers and they fast. The father wants to force them and he said he will lock them in their rooms until they wear it. The mother asked the girls to wear it but they don’t want. Now the father left the house almost 2 weeks ago because the daughters don’t want to wear the hijab and he doesn’t want to come back. He said that Islam gives him the right to do so and he is threatening his wife to divorce. What is Mawlana’s advice in this urgent situation?
Thank you very much.
Answer:
wa ‘alaykum salam,
It is a ridiculous action on the father’s part and will have the opposite result of what he is seeking. If he didn’t raise his girls to wear hijab he cannot suddenly impose it on them at 13 years of age. Mawlana Shaykh Muhammad Hisham Kabbani teaches if you want your daughter to wear hijab, start her wearing it at 5 or 6 years old so it becomes natural to her.
As Mawlana Shaykh Muhammad Hisham Kabbani said, “why do you move to western countries and then you are coming to me at the end and despairing that your children have lost their way?”
He should consider himself fortunate that his daughters pray, for that is main pillar of Islam. He should be patient and supportive of them and pray for their guidance. However if he is simply looking for an excuse to break the marriage he may have found it.
Allah knows best,
Taher Siddiqui
