Answer: First of all, we ask Allah to protect you, keep you safe in your religion, make you firm upon it, and make you a light of guidance for your family and the people around you. If you're doing the right thing, it doesn't matter who opposes you or mocks you. In reality, this is because they are a people who don't know.
As the Prophet ﷺ said about his people:
اللَّهُمَّ اغْفِرْ لِقَوْمِي فَإِنَّهُمْ لَا يَعْلَمُونَ
"O Allah, forgive my people, for they do not know."
For someone to say that you should not wear an Abaya, that you should wear makeup, or that you should stop dressing like an old woman—this comes from a person not knowing the religion of Islam and the honour Allah bestowed upon a Muslim woman. Allah gave you freedom: freedom from enslavement to the Shaytan, freedom from being enslaved to the desires of men, and freedom from enslavement to your own soul.
Those who oppose that freedom and seek it elsewhere only enslave themselves. As Imam Ibn al-Qayyim said in his Nūniyyah:
هَرَبُوا مِنَ الرِّقِ الَّذِي خُلِقُوا لَهُ فَبُلُوا بِرِقِّ النَّفْسِ وَالشَّيْطَانِ
"They ran away from the slavery they were created for—slavery to Allah—and they became slaves to themselves and to Shaytan."
This is the reality of the battle for freedom for our sisters. The truth is, the freedom you seek is in Islam: the freedom to worship Allah, to please Allah, and to do what Allah tells you is best for you. That is the greatest honour Allah can bestow upon you: the ability to worship Him as He deserves to be worshipped.
There is no doubt that the Hijab, with all of its rules and regulations, is a huge part of that. People will often stand in your way. Some of those people want good for you:
وَكَم مِّن مُرِيدٍ لِلْخَيْرِ لَمْ يُصِبْهُ
"How many people want good for you but fail to achieve it."
Some people want good for you but don't know what good is. Others don't want good for you at all. But ultimately, if you focus on pleasing Allah, it will not harm you whether people are pleased with you or not. Allah will place contentment in the hearts of people:
إِنَّ ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ وَعَمِلُوا۟ ٱلصَّـٰلِحَـٰتِ سَيَجْعَلُ لَهُمُ ٱلرَّحْمَـٰنُ وُدًّا
Indeed, those who have believed and done righteous deeds - the Most Merciful will appoint for them affection. (Surah Maryam 96)
The Prophet ﷺ explained that when Allah loves a person, He calls Jibreel, saying, "I love this person, so love him." Then Jibreel announces to the inhabitants of the heavens, "Allah loves this person, so love him." And the angels love him, and Allah places acceptance for him on the earth.
After that, it doesn't matter if some people think you're not doing the right thing, think you're not acting your age, or want to call you names or discourage you. If Allah loves you, Jibreel loves you, the angels love you, and the people of faith and righteousness love you, it doesn't matter who opposes you.
As for your family, I advise you to treat them with kindness, softness, and gentleness. Explain your choices to them, but remain firm and resolute in your decision to continue wearing the Abaya and Hijab, abstaining from makeup, and striving to be a guiding light for your family, In shā'Allah.
Remember that when the Sahāba رضي الله عنهم practised Islam at the beginning, they were alone. There was no one in their society or family like them. They suffered greatly, but through the help of Allah, they brought Islam to everyone else. So, you should not feel sad to be someone who is strange or alone.
The Prophet ﷺ said:
بَدَأَ الإِسْلاَمُ غَرِيبًا وَسَيَعُودُ غَرِيبًا فَطُوبَى لِلْغُرَبَاءِ
"Islam began as something strange and will go back to being strange, so glad tidings to the strangers." (Sunan Ibn Majah 3986)
And Allah knows best.
— Answered by Ustadh Muhammad Tim Humble
