I do apologise for bringing up a really old thread but I’ve been effected by remarks like this personally just recently. Anyway i did notice that quite alot of members were already active who participated. I want to bring forward my point of view.
This thread reminded me of what happened when I was at a family gathering (cousins engagement) in pakistan wearing an abaya, this one to be precise -
Now I did try my best to fit in into the occasion as was a bit nervous because alot of the women there from middle class families and they dont really cover their heads and quite stylish - not that i think they are bad muslims, they can choose to wear what they like just like i can wear what i want. I wanted to look presentable but at the same time wanted to wear something I felt comfortable in. I’ve been wearing abayas, kaftan dresses, long full arm english dresses whenever I go outside or in front of non mahram men since I started puberty when i was 13. Inside the home i wear my shalwar kameez as i feel more comfortable but i wouldnt feel comfortbale wearing it outside mainly because of the slits at the side, if i find a long salwar kameez with no slits and not too tight like a frock i would wear it.
An uncle (not closely related) there came up to me and laughed at my choice of dress telling me that i should have worn something a bit more pakistani and not copying saudi form of dress. He then went on about how arrogant saudis were and his experiences working with them. I didnt really argue or debate with him because i didnt want to cause a scene especially at someone else’s celebration, i just told him that i felt more comfortable in these clothes and not copying saudi women, they tend to wear all black.
Anyway I never wore this dress at that party because i want to be an arab, just in my opinion it looked really beautiful and fulfilled on what I felt comfortable in. I didnt go out there to be a “poser” and say that in order to be a good muslim you have to dress like an arab. I wore it because I wanted to look nice and be confident in myself and express what i believe in NOT IMPOSE. Ironically this dress is called Persian petals lol. (from aabuk.com, http://www.aabuk.com/persian_petals-293.html)
Now onto the whole islamic part of it all. I myself believe that people can have differnt interpretations on what is islamically correct to wear. These are a few snippets which formed by opinion.
Narrated Umm Atiyya: We were ordered to bring out our menstruating women and screened women to the religious gatherings and invocation of the Muslims on the two Eid festivals. These menstruating women were to keep away from the musalla. A woman asked, “O Messenger of Allah! What about one who does not have a jilbab?”. He said, “Let her borrow the jilbab of her companion”.
“Jilbab, plural of Jalabib: an outer garment or a cloak with which a woman covers her head and chest. And it is said: It is a long cloak that covers a woman completely.” (Ibn Manzur, Lisan al-Arab, 2/317)
Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) states:
“Jilbab is long cloak that covers a woman from her head to her feet.” (Ruh al-Ma’ani, 22/88)
After the revelation of the verse (surah al ahzab) , many female Companions (Allah be pleased with them all) used to emerge outside their homes with complete reticence as though birds were sitting on their heads. They used to cover themselves with long black cloaks. (See: Ruh al-Ma’ani, 22/89)
I know the dress i wore to the engagement can be deemed by some as not suitable islamically, too pink flowerly, expensive etc again im not perfect, so dont sue me on that please.
I’m not trying to impose anything here but I’m just trying to explain to the OP on why i wear long robes, not because i think the arabs are better than us but because it is something I believe is part of islam to wear a one piece outer garment. I dont want a debate on whether jilbab is farz or not, just im trying to explain why i wear this form of attire. And I cant speak for every other abaya wearing woman out there, some do wear it becasue they want to be like a the gulfies, some wear it becasue it becasue they want to go out in their PJs, some wear it for religion, some because of culture etc.
Just next time you see a woman in an abaya dont be quick to analyse and judge her. And don’t use your hatred for arabs or wahabis to ridicule a whole group of women who happen to wear that form of dress on a regular basis.
you;re invited to click on this link, if you’re interested in reading more about the evidences about jilbab in islam
http://www.sunniforum.com/forum/showthread.php?15657-why-do-some-Muslims-say-jilbab-is-a-fard