Be careful with essenceofblack

assalamu aleikum

I thought to post this and warn others ..
In many of the blogs and forums I read about this website ,which is scam ,according to people's comments .Unfortunately this websites always shows on the google or other search engines as popular web site .
I was almost tempted to buy from them few times ,but alhamdulillah I felt that something is just doesn't seem right about them...
Please everyone be careful with the following web site

http://www.essenceofblack.com/

Another 2 web sites ,which is according to my research , also owned by the same company are :
Barakallah.com
AlHadeeqah.com

Another web site ,that might be owned by the same company is this

http://www.myhijabshop.com/

If anyone had good experience with them , please comment ,because as I said, I haven't bought from them .I just know this from my own research on the forums and blogs..

If you take a close look at the websites I mentioned ,you can see that most of the pictures look like they taken from Shukr web site and from other different web sites .It was confusing me for a while ..

I just want to say ,before you order anything online , please make sure there is phone number for customer service , call and check that number before you order ..

Another tip for buying from online stores :
Be very careful , if ordering something from India or Pakistan (no offence please) .
Often on their web sites ,you see professional beautiful pictures ,BUT what happens is that ;they put the picture of the original dress , and then they try to make you one that *looks like* that.I'm talking from my personal experience .It happened to me twice ...


I hope someone will find this information useful.Please feel free to comment.

Fall Hijab Style

This is another great find ! Old Navy store http://oldnavy.gap.com/
Lots of Hijabs in different colors .Some of them are on sale $4.99,$8.00 and regular price for some is $12.50.



These are some nice Jackets I found in their store .
I like to wear jacket over my Jilbab if going to work or school ,just for more professional look .
But I always buy a jacket size bigger , so it doesn't show my figure.

And there is lots of sweaters ,that you may like .Its so easy to shop in the fall and winter time ,because finally you can find long sleeve clothes .


All these sweaters ,scarves and bags are from Old Navy.
Two sweaters on the top are $20.00 .The ones on the bottom are $44.95

Fall Hijab Style

I hope some of you may find this information useful .The store,New York and Company, has very nice accessories and Hijabs .They often have some nice coats and long sweaters , that you can wear in chilly weather ,which is soon to come in some places ...

Hijabs $11.86 -$16.95 City Style Plaid Trench $79.95 (I'm sure it will be on sale soon ,they have great discounts) You can find the rest of the accessories(purple purse ,rings ,bracelets) on their web site also www.nyandcompany.com


These are some wraps that are sold in the same store .You can just throw this over your jilbab in cold days ...The rest of the accessories are also on their web site ...
They often have Hijabs ,very soft in nice colors.
You can find this store in any Mall or check what they have online www.nyandcompany.com

Why Are Women Turning to Islam


At a time when Islam is faced with hostile media coverage particularly where the status of women in Islam is concerned, it may be quite surprising to learn that Islam is the fastest growing religion in the world, and even more ironic to discover that the majority of converts to Islam are WOMEN .The status of women in society is neither a new issue, nor is it a fully settled one. And where Islam is mentioned, for many the term 'Muslim Women' prompts images of exhausted mothers chained to the stove, 'victims' suppressed in a life of indoctrination, frantic to be westernized and so on. Others will go to great lengths to explain how the hijaab is an obstacle, clouding the mind, and comment that female converts are either brainwashed, stupid or traitors to their sex. I reject such accusations and pose to them the following question: why is it that so many women who have been born and brought in the so called 'civilized' societies of Europe and America are willing to reject their 'liberty' and 'independence' to embrace a religion that supposedly oppresses them and is widely assumed to be prejudicial to them?






As a Christian convert to Islam, I can only present my personal experience and reasons for rejecting the 'freedom' that women claim to have in this society in favour of the only Religion that truly liberates women by giving us a status and position, which is completely unique when compared with that of our non-Muslim counterparts. Before coming to Islam, I had strong feminist tendencies and recognized that where a woman was concerned, a lot of shuffling around had been going on, yet without being able to pin her on the social map. The problem was ongoing: new 'women's issues' being raised without the previous ones being satisfactorily resolved.



Like the many women who shared my background, I would accuse Islam of being a sexist religion, discriminating, oppressing and giving men the greater privileges. All of this, coming from a person who did not even know Islam, one who had been blinded due to ignorance and had accepted this deliberately distorted definition of Islam.


However, despite my criticisms of Islam, inwardly, I wasn't satisfied with my own status as a woman in this society. It seemed to me that society would define such terms as 'liberty' and 'freedom' and then these definitions were accepted by women without us even attempting to question or challenge them. There was clearly a great contradiction between what women were told in theory and what actually happened in practice. The more I pondered, the greater emptiness I felt within. I was slowly beginning to reach a stage where my dissatisfaction with my status as a women in this society, was really a reflection of my greater dissatisfaction with society itself. Everything seemed to be degenerating backwards, despite the claims that the 1990's was going to be the decade of success and prosperity. Something vital seemed to be missing from my life and nothing would fill this vacuum.




Being a Christian did not do anything for me, and I began to question the validity of only remembering God one day a week - Sundays! As with many other Christians too, I had become disillusioned with the hypocrisy of the Church and was becoming increasingly unhappy with the concept of Trinity and the deification of Jesus.



Eventually, I began to look into Islam. At first, I was only interested in looking at those issues, which specifically dealt with women. I was surprised. What I read and learned, taught me a lot about myself as a woman, and also about where the real oppression of a woman lies: in every other system and way of life outside of Islam. Muslim women have been given their rights in every aspect of the religion with clear definitions of their role in society - as had men - with no injustice against either of them. As Allah says: «"Whoever does deeds of righteousness, be they male or female, and have faith, they will enter paradise and not the least injustice will be done to them"» [Nisaa 4:124
So having amended my misconceptions about the true status of women in Islam, I was now looking further. I wanted to find that thing which was going to fill the vacuum in my life. My attention was drawn towards the beliefs and practices of Islam. It was only through establishing the fundamentals that I would understand where to turn and what to prioritize. These are often the areas, which receive little attention or controversy in society, and when studying the Islamic Creed, it becomes clear why this is the case: such concise, faultless and wholly comprehensive details cannot be found elsewhere.

Different styles of Hijab

The Shayla, Al-Amira, Khimar and Square...

What is it?
The shayla, al-amira, and khimar are the three most popular types of headscarves.

How, why, and where is it worn?

The shayla is a rectangular piece of cloth (favored by women in the Gulf region and making a surge in North America) wrapped around the head and pinned in place on the shoulder. The al-amira is a two-piece veil consisting of a cap or extra-large headband and a tube-like scarf worn over that. Women around the world wear this style. The khimer is a long cape-like veil with an opening for the face that falls over the bosom often to the hands. Many Muslim women don the khimer for prayers or for the Hajj pilgrimage.

Probably the most popular style and my favorite, is Shayla style.

Usually small under scarf and pins are used to keep Hijab in place .
























The next popular style is Amirah Hijab ,which mostly worn by younger sisters ,as a starter Hijab ..
Its very easy to wear .Its two piece Hijab ,that doesn't require pins and stays perfectly on its place..
it may look little bit tight sometimes and not have enough coverage for some ...














































































The next style is Khimar ,which is the almost the same style as Amirah Hijab ,but its much longer and looks like this:



















































Some khimars are worn with face veil(niqab)








































































face veil (niqab)





















There is another popular style of Hijab :is square Hijab .It is also easy to wear .













































Some of them come in very rich ,feminine colors and designs .For example :square turkish Hijabs.

What is the Hijab and Muslim Dress All About?






















If you think that muslim woman is oppressed, then think twice.

There is nobody in this earth more beautiful then a muslim woman .
What makes Muslim woman beautiful is her Faith and her purity ,her respect for herself and people around her ..
I'm not any less then other women .I'm proud of who I am and proud of my Faith .
I have my freedom , i have my choice to cover my body.
The difference between me and you ,is that I obey My Creator ,and you obey the creation ..
With the way I look I'm pleasing Him and not the eyes of strange men ...
I'm free from the worldly obsessions .My only worry, is will my God be pleased with me ?

Do not judge me for the way I look ,but instead ask me and I welcome questions ..

Some questions you may have :

Q. Is Islamic dress appropriate for modern times?

A: Islamic dress is modern and practical. Muslim women wearing Islamic
dress work and study without any problems or constraints.

Q. Does Islamic dress imply that women are submissive or inferior to men?

A: Islamic dress is one of many rights granted to Islamic women. Modest
clothing is worn in obedience to God and has nothing to do with
submissiveness to men. Muslim men and women have similar rights and
obligations and both submit to God.

Q. But aren't there Muslim women who do not wear Islamic Dress, or hijab?

A: Some Muslim women choose not to wear hijab. Some may want to wear it
but believe they cannot get a job wearing a head scarf. Others may not
be aware of the requirement or are under the mistaken impression that
wearing hijab is an indication of inferior status.

Cheap abayas and very beautiful !!!

salam aleikum

I want to share my good experience shopping online ..

This is my favorite store on the net

http://eastessence.com/

Eastessence.com

I ordered from them 3 times so far and all of the items were great ... They have really nice and unexpencive abayas and tunics ,in different colors .. They recently updated their website with some new clothes ,and its really beautiful ... Another good thing about them is that you can choose your length and add matching hijab for abaya if you like...

They have really nice cotton tunics in lots of colors , and they start only from $ 9.99 ,12.99 and up .. Regarding shipping ,I never had any problems .From my understanding items are shipped from India ,but a year ago when I ordered before they used to be shipped from New York ,I think..

When you order it says that shipping takes 12-14 days ,but all my orders I received with 8-9 days ,and the last one was shipped from India and I received it on the 8th day of purchase ...
I really recommend them and these are some abays I have bought and really like ...








$21.99