A woman’s body is God’s elected portal through which every eternal soul is conducted to mortality.

The Arabic word for mother is umm, a word that also carries the meaning of “origin” or “foundation.” The first thing touched is the fabric of our mother’s flesh and in the pulsating darkness of her womb (rahima) we repose in the warmth of God’s Mercy and in the depth of His Compassion.

He is teaching us through her and this is our first lesson. Every lesson to follow must be understood through an internalization of God’s Mercy and Compassion.

And upon birth, our fathers lift us high and breathe the call to prayer into our ear. We are preverbal and the call is not for us. We are initiated into the community of believers by his voice as he expands the elastic womb of our mother (umm) into the accommodating nation of believers (Ummah), from the origin of the self into the foundation of our refinement and purification. Our mother’s care is concerned with who we are, whereas our nation is concerned with who we must be. Our mother may not be alive to bury us, but provided we maintain our covenant, this nation will answer our father’s call, gathering to pray for us when we die.

Once formal instruction begins, we are commanded to read:

In the Name of God, Most Merciful, Most Compassionate

This is the basmala, the affirming invocation that recalls and reinforces the protection of the womb. Our first encounter with creation was mercy. And for the believer, every interaction thereafter will include mercy, though there may be attendant rigors that mask this.

Our time on earth is revelation, and one cannot discover what is not concealed.

Veiling (hajaba) is a requisite phenomenon tuned to the human condition. We imagine that life would be an easier, less opaque affair if we could just have things, if we could just have answers. But there is a quirk in our makeup that devalues anything arrived at without effort. And if through our struggles we are gifted with clarity and provision, we do not broadcast this. We may perhaps offer up shares of what we have received, but we do so with humility, preserving our secret.

The Messenger of God, may the peace and blessings of God be upon him, is reported to have said:

“Verily, every religion has a character and the character of Islam is modesty.”

Sunan Ibn Mājah

It is through women that we come into the world. It is through women that we first recognize the enveloping sanctuary of God’s Mercy. It is through women that we anticipate the accommodation of our community. And it is through women that struggle, revelation, and the very spirit of our nation are actualized through the trust of veiling.

I say this to my daughters: do not believe the lusty imaginings of sad men who understand things only through their weakness. You are not temptation.

You are exaltation.

Assume the veil because you are the living, loving banner of our people. You have been elected to bear the standard of our nation just as you have mediated our entry into the world.

The hijab is a weighty trust.

It could only be you.

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