asylum alaikum I’m 16 in the United States I’ve been considering nijab but I will be attending the school I went to last year but i didn’t present myself propley as a Muslim will that effect me misrepresenting Islam if I wear it as many believe it’s fard and I don’t want any risk of riya as I will be the only nijabi will I be representing nijab wrong with my past sins I committed but repented for
Answer:
All perfect praise be to Allah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allah, and that Muhammad, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, is His slave and Messenger.
In the beginning, we congratulate you on what Allah the Almighty has bestowed upon you in repenting to Him, The Exalted, from the mistakes you had committed. This is a great blessing, and part of your gratitude and a sign of acceptance of your repentance is that you continue to adhere to righteousness upon the truth.
It is righteousness to cover oneself in obedience to Allah’s command, as the Almighty says (what means): {O Prophet, tell your wives and your daughters and the women of the believers to bring down over themselves [part] of their outer garments. That is more suitable that they will be known and not be abused. And ever is Allah Forgiving and Merciful.} [Quran 33:59] Covering the body – except for the face and hands – is obligatory according to the consensus of Muslim jurists.
There is disagreement as for covering the face with niqab or something else, and our view in this is that it is obligatory to cover it. Covering the face does not distort the image of Islam. Rather, it reflects the virtues of Islam and its keenness to protect women and preserve their chastity.
If Satan whispers to you that this is showing off, do not pay any attention to his whisperings, but rather seek refuge in Allah from the accursed Satan. A mistake committed in the past does not justify continuing with it, but returning to the truth is better.
Do not let Satan avert you with his whispers, nor be averted by human devils with their ridicule of your rightfulness.
And feel, as you adhere to what Allah has enjoined upon you of covering, that you are not alone, but rather you are on a path in which there are many other righteous women and that this path has been followed by those who preceded them, and that it is a path that ends with permanent bliss and eternal happiness in Paradise. So, feeling all of this is considered a reason for patience. Make sure to attend gatherings of knowledge in Islamic centers – if there is any – or benefit from what you find on reliable internet sites in terms of lectures and sermons. You should also keep company with righteous women so that they would remind you of Allah the Almighty if you forget, and their company will help you to be upright.
Allah knows best.