When Muslim men performed their Friday prayers,

So I went out for lunch with mother, only she had eaten and decided to walk around, leaving me to eat. Fine with me really. And so I did. Surrounded by many ladies in their floral, colorful baju kurung and hijab. Oh boy, really I didn't feel out of place. Yeah right.

Call me judgmental or bias, or polarized.

I felt they're having their eyes on me, exploring every inch of my hair. When really, its still in its natural color, not the ones with super-brown color. Ehem. Perasan. Yes perhaps. I just felt, inadequate. I don't fit in when our faiths are quite similar.

My phone rang, kido. Yes, so basically, the conversation revolves around phonies at school. What's new? Phonies here, phonies there. They make our world more exciting. I knew the lady next to me was particularly staring at me, only because I talked in English, with a little melayu words, like, "kan", "sial", "gila". Almost like saying, "budak ni agaknya lupa agama kot.. tak Melayu.. Pengaruh Barat barangkali.. Budak membesar kat bandar.." etc. etc.

Then at another table, 4 ladies having their meals in a square table, 3 in hijabs and 1 not. Her hair color? Much like mine, still in natural color. But odd thing is, the three in hijabs were eating using fork and spoon but my dear kakak who is not fully covered, was eating with her bare hands and mind you, they were all eating rice. So what? Lagi melayu agaknya. Just the beauty that captured my eye.

Then I wondered, when would I indulge the art of hijab, to indulge one step deeper in my religion, my faith.

I ask you one thing dear reader, I saw a woman in a hijab, with a shemale pushing their trolley. Then it occur to me: does one vow to the hijab because its a protocol, a uniform or because they surrender their hearts and souls to Allah S.W.T, to Islam?

You see, to wear a hijab merely is not to "cover" up because as Muslim women, its mandatory. But when its mandatory, it doesn't mean you wear the hijab, you could still live a "liberal", a "modernize" life. A religious life that you adapt to the time, to the era. Wearing, vowing yourself to the hijab, is sacred. You have to perform you 5 pillars devotedly - especially the basic 5 times prayers.

Like the woman I saw with her faithful shemale companion, I wondered, does she even try to dakwah to her fellow friend? Does she not know that its haram, berdosa besar for a man to even try to look like a woman? Oh I'm sure she does, they taught us in our PMR-SPM text books repeatedly. But you know, I guess its her responsibility as well to guide her friend into the path right in the Islamic context, in the eyes of Allah S.W.T. To see her and him to walk buying groceries, I wonder what she thinks of him. I wondered for her: as a woman wearing a hijab, who performs her duties as a Muslim devotedly, will she by any chance help him? Or would she just be mere friends, just as that.

After all, these are all sacred duties.