Consider the cases of two little girls with two very different mothers:
#1
Little Zainab loves the way her mother puts on her hijab. As if trying to memorize the technique, she watches as she pins it down. Her mother sees her daughter and turns to her lovingly, “so Zainab, what do you think? Does mama look pretty?” And Zainab giggles. “Can you put it on me to?” When daddy enters the room, he see his two women looking lovely in their hijabs, and before he can even think of a compliment, Zainab’s mother speaks. “You are a very blessed man. You have a beautiful wife and a beautiful daughter, mashAllah!” Her smile is smug and Zainab basks in it – she’s as beautiful as her mother!
#2
Little Hannan enters her mother’s room. She watches as her mother pulls at her hijab in frustration. Her mother turns to her angrily, “what do you want?”
“Daddy told me to tell you that we have to go, we’re late.”
Her mother rummages through her other hijabs. “I can’t find anything to wear – I look ugly in everything!” Hannan offers her suggestion, reaching for a large black scarf. “How about this?”
Her mother takes it from her daughter and hastily wraps it around her hair without the aid of a mirror. She grabs her daughter’s hand and runs to her waiting husband. “Please don’t say anything – I already know how fat my face looks in this!”
