AURAT In The Quran

- From the blog Outsyed The Box, here's something that I wanted to write about but looks like Syed had said it better: 

Muslims must ask themselves this simple question :
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i. Do you believe in the Quran?
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ii. What does it mean when you say you believe in the Quran? Is it just lip service or do you really believe in the Quran?
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iii. If the Quran says something different from what you have been taught by your religious scholars (Nauzubillah - May Allah protect us) then which one will you follow - the Quran or your religious scholars?
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iv. If you prefer your religious scholars over the Quran, then who is your "god" ?
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Bear this in mind when we discuss Aurat from the Quran.
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The word aurat is mentioned only in three verses in the Quran. Here they are :
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24:31 And say to the believing women that they should lower their gaze and guard their chastity (furooja); that they should not display their beauty (zeenata) except what appears thereof; that they should draw their veils over their bosoms (juyoob) and not display their beauty (zeenata) except to their husbands, their fathers, their husband's fathers, their sons, their husbands' sons, their brothers or their brothers' sons, or their sisters' sons, or their women, or the slaves whom their right hands possess, or male servants free of physical needs, or small children who have no knowledge of women's nakedness (aw al tifli allazheena lam yaz-haroo ala awrati al-nnisa-i); and that they should not strike their feet in order to draw attention to their hidden ornaments (zeenata). And O ye Believers! turn ye all together towards God, that ye may attain Bliss.
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24:58 O ye who believe! let those whom your right hands possess, and the (children) among you who have not come of age ask your permission (before they come to your presence), on three occasions: before morning prayer; the while ye doff your clothes for the noonday heat; and after the late-night prayer: these are your three times of undress (thalaathu awraatin lakum): outside those times it is not wrong for you or for them to move about attending to each other: Thus does God make clear the Signs to you: for God is full of knowledge and wisdom.
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33:13 Behold! A party among them said: "Ye men of Yathrib! ye cannot stand (the attack)! therefore go back!" And a band of them ask for leave of the Prophet, saying, "Truly our houses are bare and exposed (inna buyootana awraatun)" though they were not exposed (wa maa hiya bi awraatin) they intended nothing but to run away.
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In 24:31 above, aurat refers to women's nakedness.

In 24:58 it speaks of domestic etiquette whereby children must ask permission first and not barge into their parents private quarters at three times in a day when parents are most likely to be in a state of undress (thalaathu awraatin lakum).
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Lastly in 33:13 some people looking for an excuse not to help the Prophet say that their own houses are exposed or naked (inna buyootana awraatun) and they want to stay and protect their own houses. But their houses were not exposed (wa maa hiya bi awraatin).
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Now folks, you have just read ALL the FOUR occurences of the word AURAT in THREE verses only in the Quran. You are now expert in Aurat as per the Quran - maybe better than any scholar (Nauzubillah - may Allah save us).
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Aurat means nakedness, exposing the private parts (24:31 and 24:58 above) or being overly exposed (33:13).
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There is no mention anywhere in the Quran that a woman's hair is her nakedness or aurat. Also the Quran cannot discuss the issue of woman's hair because there is absolutely no mention of women's hair in the Quran at all. FULL STOP.
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The only hair that is mentioned in the Quran refers to animal hair. Here is the verse :
16:80 "It is God Who made your habitations homes of rest and quiet for you; and made for you, out of the skins of animals, (tents for) dwellings, which ye find so light (and handy) when ye travel and when ye stop (in your travels); and out of their wool, and their soft fibres, and their HAIR (ash'aa-ri), rich stuff and articles of convenience (to serve you) for a time.
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This is the only mention of hair (ash'aa-ri) ever in the Quran. And it refers to animal hair that is used to make useful stuff like coats, gloves, rugs and so on.
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So there is absolutely no mention of HUMAN HAIR in the Quran. There is no mention of WOMAN'S HAIR in the Quran. There is certainly no mention of woman's hair as aurat in the Quran - and this is the end of the story.
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But just to backtrack a little, please see 24:31 again. Here it is :
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24:31 And say to the believing women that they should lower their gaze and guard their chastity (furooja); that they should not display their beauty (zeenata) except what appears thereof; that they should draw their veils over their bosoms (juyoob) and not display their beauty (zeenata) except to their husbands, their fathers, their husband's fathers, their sons, their husbands' sons, their brothers or their brothers' sons, or their sisters' sons, or their women, or the slaves whom their right hands possess, or male servants free of physical needs, or small children who have no knowledge of women's nakedness (aw al tifli allazheena lam yaz-haroo ala awraati al-nnisa-i); and that they should not strike their feet in order to draw attention to their hidden ornaments (zeenata). And O ye Believers! turn ye all together towards God, that ye may attain Bliss.
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Since the subject is AURAT, please pay attention to the word aurat in this verse :
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"..or small children who have no knowledge of women's nakedness (aw al tifli allazheena lam yaz-haroo ala awrati al-nnisa-i).."
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A woman CAN expose herself to small children (toddlers or tifli) who have no knowledge of women's aurat or nakedness (awraati al-nisaa).
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However, when the children grow older, a woman CANNOT expose her aurat or nakedness to them. This is common sense. I think all cultures and civilisations know this already. For example, whether you are hindu, buddhist, christian, muslim etc after your young child reaches a certain age, you do not bathe with your child anymore.
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Again this verse in the Quran confirms that AURAT refers to nakedness or private parts and NOT hair.
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Because if AURAT also includes a woman's hair, then a mother cannot expose her hair even to her children when they grow older (referring 24:31). This does not sound feasible. So referring the Quran alone - this means that HAIR is not part of a woman's aurat.
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So you can believe in the Quran or you can reject it. The choice is yours. People who believe the Quran are Muslims.
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http://syedsoutsidethebox.blogspot.com/2011/12/aurat-in-quran.html