Two Ahadith About Hijab
Peace! John is right. اختمرن بها means they wore that thing (thick outer garment) as a خمار, which is the traditional Arab headcover. It doesn’t mean to veil nor does it mean to cover. I already proposed two reasons as to why they would make a خمار out of their thick outer garments. Remember, the Hadith says that the Muhajir women did it and doesn’t mention the Ansar women doing it. This is probably because of the difference between the style of خمار of the people of Quraish and the people of Yathrib. Their خمار must have already done the job and, that is, to cover the جيب.