Ahkeyah Ahmad
Ahkeyah Ahmad | Bay Area Muslim Community Member
Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, said, “Verily, Allah is beautiful and He loves beauty.”
Source: al-Mu’jam al-Awsaṭ 6906, Grade: Sahih (authentic) according to Al-Albani
Written statement submitted by Sister Ahkeyah Ahmad:
بِسْمِ ٱللَّٰهِ
Bi-smi llāh [with G-d’s name].
When I accepted Islam, in 1979, I was twenty-seven years old. I lived in my hometown of Danville, Illinois, a very small town about 100 miles south of Chicago. There was only two other families in the African American community of my hometown that were Muslims. I learned about them and the religion of Al-Islam through my then fiancé, who was incarcerated at the time.
I’ve always been drawn to the dress and fabrics from my people who were still in the Motherland, Africa. So, when choosing clothing to adorn myself in I always looked for bright African prints. I especially loved Kente cloth, and later learned of Mudcloth, which I love as well.
At the time of my Shahada it was around July/August and temperatures were in the 80’s,90’s even up to 100 degrees. But I was honestly very proud to wear clothes that covered me from head to toe, even when I may have been overheated from the draps of clothing sometimes. It actually gave me a chance to tell people about Islam, because I was asked on a very regular basis, one: “aren’t you hot!?!” and two: “why are you dressed like that?!”
I remember one afternoon seeing a friend who I hadn’t seen in a few years and during the course of our conversation and I said, “So I’m a Muslim now!” And the response was… “It’s 95 degrees with 97 percent humidity, I assumed you were now a Muslim by the way you’re dressed!” we both laughed.
It was difficult to find clothes that I really liked, so when taking trips to Chicago I would shop for them there because there was a larger Muslim population. There were also various Muslim conferences in Chicago, and so when I had the opportunity I would solicit the vendors that carried beautiful African prints and garments.
In 1997 I moved to Oakland, CA. And I was like, oh my goodness, I’ve hit the jackpot!
In the San Francisco Bay Area, one of the most diverse places, one can dress in almost any style you would like because there are so many options, and now with all of the online stores, there’s even more choices!
I love dressing in beautiful flowing garments and walking, in a way that it’s obvious that I’m proud that Allah chose me to receive the gift of Al-Islam. So I do my best to be the most attractive example of that, inside and out.
