HOT

It's been very warm this week. Many people are down with fever due to the change of weather and lack of fluids.

Alhamdulillah, I'm coping well. But working in classrooms in such a weather is like working in a sauna, especially for a Muslimah clad in a several layers of clothing - tudung, hand socks, leg socks, court shoes and long-sleeved baju kurung or blouses and skirts. By 11am, I could feel the drops of perspiration trickling down my back as I stride to the next classroom with a pile of test papers and my books.
It is easy for a teacher to find reasons to stand under a ceiling fan to cool down while conducting lessons in the class but during the exam weeks, the seating order would sometimes force the teacher to sit at a corner [where none of the students would want to sit], with the sun shining directly upon him or her. And as I sit there in that particular corner, I wonder if that's the way the students test their teachers' patience and attitude.

And I reflect on how much I've changed after becoming a Muslimah.
Years ago, under such hot and humid weather, I would have worn a comfortable short-sleeved blouse and knee-length skirt to work, and not blink an eye. Now I have chosen to bear the heat while clad in layers of aurat-covering clothing. And I'm fine with it.

Of course, I'd never visit my mother during one of these hot spells because she'd nag and nag,"You want to get sick wearing so many layers? Why can't you just put on a blouse and pants without the socks and tudung, like some of the modern Malay women?"

Sure, it's hot. In fact it's very hot. But I choose to continue wearing my normal attire, despite the heat. No compromise about the hijab, handsocks and leg sockings. Why? Because if I don't pay too much attention to the heat and remain calm and composed, insyaAllah I WON'T REALLY FEEL IT after a while. It's all in the mind actually.

And I know one thing for sure, it's much much much hotter in hell, where those women who choose not to cover aurat will end up in if they don't repent. Blaming the heat and choosing to wear clothes of thinner material [do check your baju kurung material] or shorter blouses and skirts is inviting trouble. I'd rather be uncomfortable for a while than to suffer later in hell.
How about you?