Why I Don't Wear Hijab & Why It's Not A Sin

NEW UPDATE: For the edited transcript to this video and more: https://gracesong.substack.com/p/tran... I share more of my convert story and my journey with hijab (the women's head-covering) - why I do NOT believe it is a sin to choose NOT to wear hijab. Real Talk on Muslims, Islam and what it means to be a convert to Islam after 30+ years as a Muslim convert. I share wisdom, experience, and reflections from the life God curated for me as an American-born Taiwanese (immigrant parents) California-raised, Ivy-league educated Muslim convert married to a world renowned Islamic scholar! About Me: I am the Executive Director of The Usuli Institute (https://www.usuli.org/), where we do amazing work to elevate ethics, critical thinking, social justice and beauty and humanism in Islam. Check out our ground-breaking work on the Usuli Institute YouTube channel: @TheUsuliInstitute, especially Project Illumine: The Light of the Qur'an (The first direct-to-English Qur'anic Commentaries in over 40 years) here:    • COMPLETE QUR'ANIC COMMENTARIES: Project Il...   We spent 15+ hours on Surah 33: Al Ahzab. You can find the detailed discussion of Verse 59 here:    • Surah 33: Al Ahzab (Day 4) | Original Engl...  . Timestamps in the pinned comments of the video. AUDIO: "The Hijab: Ihe Issues and the Evidence": Dr. Khaled Abou El Fadl, Islamic jurist and scholar, delves deep into the historical evidence and issues surrounding the topic of hijab, the covering of Muslim women. Four-part series:   / on-hijab   Dr. Abou El Fadl's non-binding legal opinion (fatwa) on hijab: https://www.searchforbeauty.org/2016/... Also see "The Hijab Discourses" here: https://www.searchforbeauty.org/fatwa... Readings: The Search for Beauty in Islam: A Conference of the Books, Chapter 57 - "Corrupting God's Book," available online here: https://www.searchforbeauty.org/2006/... In the same book, Dr. Abou El Fadl discusses the issues of hijab, 'awra, and khimar in several places, so you can find those references in the index if you have the hard copy of the book. This book is an absolute gem: https://bookshop.org/a/4598/978074255... Also see ‪@SitaraAkram‬ and her series on hijab here:    • Hijab   Chapters: 0:00 Intro 0:43 No Disagreement Among Scholars (Ijma')? 1:37 My Background and My Testimony 3:17 Hijab as Case Study for Ethical Framework 3:42 Necessary Caveats Upfront 4:36 Hijab as Sixth Pillar? 5:14 More About My Story 6:19 A Call for Modesty 7:14 God can be Crystal Clear or Ambiguous: Room for Negotiation 7:37 31 Years Ago as a new Convert 7:52 On meeting my partner and Immersion in knowledge 9:08 Answering The Question of Hijab 10:00 Hijab as a Category of Manners ('Adab) 11:04 No Universal Consensus on Hijab 12:23 A Word on Islamic Law, Shari'ah and Islamic Jurists 13:13 The Timeless Moral Values of the Qur'an 13:44 Schools of Thought in Islamic Law 14:00 On Majority and Minority Opinions in Islamic Law 15:13 Real Talk and Moral Priorities 15:33 When Women Have No Choice 16:01 No Coercion in Faith 16:29 Room for Negotiation 17:00 When Women Suffer and Moral Priorities 18:01 Real Impacts on Women 19:04 Examining Attitudes on Hijab Within the Muslim Community 19:27 The Argument on the Substance of a Woman's Intellect 20:22 Silencing Women 21:07 My Story: What I Learned from Wearing Hijab at Work 22:50 Being Ambassadors of God 23:02 Truth of the Test for Women 23:48 The Power of Shame and Loss of Modesty 24:53 The Big Sin of Making the Halal (Allowed) become Haram (Forbidden) 25:28 Modesty is Contextual 25:45 Protection 25:55 Dehumanization as a Racial Category 26:13 Struggling with Depression and Doubts in Faith 26:30 As An Ambassador of the Faith 27:16 Acting on Moral Priorities 28:16 Keeping the Qur'anic Message Vibrant and Relevant 28:30 Each Woman's Right to Choose 29:48 The Most Important Priorities 31:42 The Struggle (Jihad) aka Bloopers! IMPORTANT BOOKS TO READ BY KHALED ABOU EL FADL: The Great Theft: Wrestling Islam from the Extremists The Search For Beauty in Islam: A Conference of the Books The Prophet's Pulpit Series: Commentaries on the State of Islam The Palestine Sermons Reasoning with God: Reclaiming Shari'ah in the Modern Age Speaking in God's Name: Islamic Law, Authority and Women Love the music at the end? By the gifted Wietske Merison from her album REMINDER, produced by Usuli Music! This beautiful track is called, "I Don't Have Time for That." For more: https://wietskemerison.hearnow.com/ #muslimconvert #islam #muslim #muslimrevert #usuli #americanmuslim #hijab