No Hijab for Women in the Quran!

Contrary to the belief of some, there is not a single verse in the Quran which commands women to wear a hijab in the sense of clothing that is mean to cover their heads and/or faces. Rather, the term hijab is used in the context of veiling, and the mode of veiling differs widely. I list all of the term’s occurrences so the readers can see this for themselves.

On two occasion the word is used in reference to a curtain, which a woman uses to keep men from approaching and/or looking at her:

O Muhammad), recite in the Book the account of Mary, when she withdrew from her people to a place towards the east and drew a curtain (hijaban), screening herself from people whereupon We sent to her Our spirit and he appeared to her as a well-shaped man Mary exclaimed: "I surely take refuge from you with the Most Compassionate Lord, if you are at all God-fearing." He said: "I am just a message-bearer of your Lord, I have come to grant you a most pure boy." Mary said: "How can a boy be born to me when no man has even touched me, nor have I ever been unchaste?" The angel said: "Thus shall it be. Your Lord says: ´It is easy for Me; and We shall do so in order to make him a Sign for mankind and a mercy from Us. This has been decreed.´" S. 19:16-21 Maududi

O Ye who believe! Enter not the dwellings of the Prophet for a meal without waiting for the proper time, unless permission be granted you. But if ye are invited, enter, and, when your meal is ended, then disperse. Linger not for conversation. Lo! that would cause annoyance to the Prophet, and he would be shy of (asking) you (to go); but Allah is not shy of the truth. And when ye ask of them (the wives of the Prophet) anything, ask it of them from behind a curtain (hijabin). That is purer for your hearts and for their hearts. And it is not for you to cause annoyance to the messenger of Allah, nor that ye should ever marry his wives after him. Lo! that in Allah's sight would be an enormity. S. 33:53 Pickthall

Note that the hijab is used in the aforementioned verse in relation the wives of Muhammad, where men are told to only speak to them from behind a curtain.

In two other verse, the phrase is used in the sense of a metaphorically veiling over the hearts/minds of disbelievers. As such, the hijab is not something visible or tangible:

When thou dost recite the Qur'an, We put, between thee and those who believe not in the Hereafter, a veil (hijaban) invisible: S. 17:45 Y. Ali

Giving good news and admonition: yet most of them turn away, and so they hear not. They say: "Our hearts are under veils (hijabun), (concealed) from that to which thou dost invite us, and in our ears in a deafness, and between us and thee is a screen: so do thou (what thou wilt); for us, we shall do (what we will!)" S. 41:4-5 Y. Ali

In a related context, hijab is used for the veil which will be placed over the disbelievers on the day of judgement will be tortured in hell:

To those who reject Our signs and treat them with arrogance, no opening will there be of the gates of heaven, nor will they enter the garden, until the camel can pass through the eye of the needle: Such is Our reward for those in sin. For them there is Hell, as a couch (below) and folds and folds of covering above: such is Our requital of those who do wrong. But those who believe and work righteousness, - no burden do We place on any soul, but that which it can bear, - they will be Companions of the Garden, therein to dwell (for ever). And We shall remove from their hearts any lurking sense of injury; - beneath them will be rivers flowing; - and they shall say: "Praise be to God, who hath guided us to this (felicity): never could we have found guidance, had it not been for the guidance of God: indeed it was the truth, that the apostles of our Lord brought unto us." And they shall hear the cry: "Behold! the garden before you! Ye have been made its inheritors, for your deeds (of righteousness)." The Companions of the Garden will call out to the Companions of the Fire: "We have indeed found the promises of our Lord to us true: Have you also found Your Lord's promises true?" They shall say, "Yes"; but a crier shall proclaim between them: "The curse of God is on the wrong-doers; – Those who would hinder (men) from the path of God and would seek in it something crooked: they were those who denied the Hereafter." Between them shall be a veil (hijabun), and on the heights will be men who would know every one by his marks: they will call out to the Companions of the Garden, "peace on you": they will not have entered, but they will have an assurance (thereof). S. 7:40-46

Woe, that Day, to those that deny – Those that deny the Day of Judgment. And none can deny it but the Transgressor beyond bounds the Sinner! When Our Signs are rehearsed to him, he says, "Tales of the ancients!" By no means! but on their hearts is the stain of the (ill) which they do! Verily, from (the Light of) their Lord, that Day, will they be veiled (lamahjooboona). S. 83:10-15 Y. Ali

In another place, it refers to the covering which Allah uses to prevent folks from glazing upon him:  

It is not fitting for a man that God should speak to him except by inspiration, or from behind a veil (hijabin), or by the sending of a messenger to reveal, with God's permission, what God wills: for He is Most High, Most Wise. S. 42:51 Y. Ali

The final example has to the sun being veiled by the darkness of the night:

To David We gave Solomon (for a son), - How excellent in Our service! Ever did he turn (to Us)! Behold, there were brought before him, at eventide coursers of the highest breeding, and swift of foot;            And he said, "Truly do I love the love of good, with a view to the glory of my Lord," –

 until (the sun) was hidden in the veil (of night) (bialhijabi): S. 38:30-32 Y. Ali

As the readers can see, there isn’t a single Quranic verse where hijab refers to some type of clothing that Muslim women must cover themselves with.

Further Reading

The Correct Islamic Greeting