Ask an Alim

WA ALAIKUM AL_SALAM

Some points:

1. Understanding an ayah (especially when it comes to announce a sharia law or a farz فرض) is not an easy or simple thing to do; lots of steps must be taken in the path of fatwa. Lots of things must be considered for interpretating an ayah like: Asbāb al-nuzūl, historical background, etc. so understanding a sharia law cant happen by merely looking to translation or mujam.
2. Knowledge about the meaning of words in Arabic generally and in Quran specifically is one of the steps in understanding an ayah. There are different mujams (معجم) for Arabic and qur’anic words. But translations is not completely correct for various reasons like for example good mujam books are written in Arabic then translated to English. Even in mujams we see different methods and theories on expansion of language, for example some of authors (like the author of Maqaees al-Lugha) believed in single root for meaning of a word which other meanings are driven from that while others accept the theory of multiple meaning for a single word. So you have to see what mujam you looked for meaning of خمار. Also we must pay attention that sometimes the meaning of a word changes through time.
3. The ayahe in surah al-Noor is not the only ayah in Quran referring hijab; there is also ayah 59 of surah al-Ahzab that talks about hijab. From this ayah lots of intepretators (مفسرین) like al-Zuhayli in tafsee al-muneer, Mahmud al-Alusi in Rūḥ al-ma‘ānī, Ibn Kathir in his tafseer, Al-Jassas in Aḥkām al-Qur’ān concluded that hijab means not just covering the entire body but covering face as well.
4. About this ayah in surah al-Noor that you mentioned: there are points that must be considered as far that English language is capable (because Arabic is much richer language than English, so typically lots of nuance could be lost in the way of translation):
a. The term یضربن mean women must do this firmly because Allah s.w.t didn’t said یجعلن wcich is put, the command came with یضربن which has a sort tight or strict meaning within itself.
b. In Arabic علی means over so this part of ayah says that putting it (خمار) over is farz (فرض), ayah is not saying they must put in on (لیضربن بخمرهن), it says over (علی), cover over something is by putting a cover (cloth or something) on top of it, otherwise the point of coverage is gone (there is a reason that gifts usually comes within a box).
c. The rest of ayah is important as well, for example (وَلَا يُبْدِينَ زِينَتَهُنَّ إِلَّا مَا ظَهَرَ مِنْهَا; and not to display their charms, beyond what is [acceptably] visible) I think every woman accepts that hair is one of women’s charms.
5.Last but not least we must consider that in 70’s culture in countries like Egypt or Syria was coming from media authority not religious authority the unlike countries like Iraq, Iran or Saudi Arabia.

Regards
Mohhamad Mosayyebi.