I went to a salon recently to get a haircut. It was clear from the way the owner looked - an old white man - that he may not be aware of the needs of a muslim woman who covered her hair. This was clearly a fault on my part when it came to assuming the worst of our society as of late, especially with all the anti-Islam rhetoric we're seeing through niqab controversy to say the least. Anyways, the man looked at me and asked if I would require a private room and I said yes. He then took me to the back area and said ok, if you'd like to wash your hair, you can get that done but the only issue is the men are here; I'll just ask them to look away from you - would that be comfortable for you? I kindly declined, saying that I wouldn't be comfortable and that I'd be fine with a cut in the room, without a wash. He then looked at me and said you know what, how about one of us will hold a cloth, curtain type around you so no one can see and then you can head into the back room right away to get your haircut. I looked at him, ever so grateful for being so innovative and ready to accommodate me. I then smiled and told him, it would have to be a female holding the cloth and not him and he, without any hesitation, agreed right away. And so it happened - one woman washed my hair while another one held the cloth up so men couldn't see. And as I was getting my hair washed, I thought of how, despite all the negativity we see in the media, our city and our communities are filled with good, kind-hearted souls who are here to help and support one another.
The lady who was cutting my hair shared her story with me. I didn't say much and just listened to her story. She told me how she came from Lebanon with her two kids for her ex in her late 20s to Toronto. Left alone after coming to Toronto with two kids, she struggled - she told me a couple of times how difficult and challenging her life was for her. She told me about people who always wanted to put her down and didn't want her to succeed. But she told me twice, that if it wasn't for God by her side, she wouldn't be where she is today. No matter what struggle she went through, she would always find God by her side.
My sister a couple of days ago told me to just open the Quran to a random page and so I did; I landed upon the passage in the Quran where God tells us the beginning of the story of Prophet Musa (Moses) and the commandment his mother followed through on:
Chapter 20, Verse 38-40:
"When we inspired your mother with that which We inspired; Saying: Put him into a box and put it into the river (Nile); then the river shall cast it up on the bank and there, an enemy of mine and an enemy of theirs shall take him. And I endued you with love from Me, in order that you may be brought up under My Eye; When your sister went and said: Shall I show you one who will nurse him? So we restored you to your mother, that she might cool her eyes and she might not grieve"
Behold - God's perfection - from the interactions we have to the verses we read - time and time again, remind us to have trust and faith in Him and Him alone.
