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The concept of 72 virigins in Islam refers to an aspect of paradise. In the book of hadith by Al-Tirmidhi called Sunan al-Tirmidhi it is said that:
"It was mentioned by Daraj Ibn Abi Hatim, that Abu al-Haytham ‘Adullah Ibn Wahb narrated from Abu Sa’id al-Khudhri, who heard the Prophet Muhammad (Allah’s blessings and peace be upon him) saying, ‘The smallest reward for the people of Heaven is an abode where there are eighty thousand servants and seventy two wives, over which stands a dome decorated with pearls, aquamarine and ruby, as wide as the distance from al-Jabiyyah to San’a."
Dr. Margaret Nydell, a linguist and professor at Georgetown University, criticizes the popularization of this "obscure passage in the Qur'an" by Westerners, saying that the interpretation placed upon the passage is "quaint", "lurid", and "provocative". She notes a brochure produced by the Institute of Islamic Education which states that "The promise of '70 or 72 virgins' is fiction written by some anti-Islam bigots". She states that mainstream Muslims regard this belief about 72 virgins in the same way that mainstream Christians regard the belief that after death they will be issued with wings and a harp, and walk on clouds.
One radical new interpretation of the relevant passages of the Qur'an, widely rejected as revisionist scholarship by Muslim scholars, is The Syro-Aramaic Reading Of The Qur'an written by Christoph Luxenberg. In respect of this particular point Luxenberg argues that the relevant passage actually translate to a portrayal of paradise as a lush garden with pooling water and trees with rare fruit, including white raisins (considered to be delicacies at the time that the Qur'an was written), not virgin maidens.
Aziz notes the widespread use of this saying on web sites and elsewhere for the purposes, in his view, of "ridicule and mockery", to which he makes several counterpoints. First, he notes that the term "virgin" is used symbolically, not literally, in the Qur'an, pointing out that such usage is also common in the texts of Judaism and Christianity. (He notes as examples Jeremiah 31 and Amos 3 in the Bible, which describe the nation of Israel as a "virgin".) He argues that virgin girls for the sexual pleasure of men is thus "obviously" not meant by the text. Second, he points out that later in the very same text from Tirmidhi there is a discussion of the "seventy and something gates" of faith, and argues that it is those that are represented in the next life as maidens. Third, he points out that whilst the web sites and others talk of "72 virgins", the text actually talks of 72 wives. He makes a further point that elsewhere in the same text from Tirmidhi an explanation of the meaning of "virgins" in paradise, verses 56:35–37 of the Qur'an talking of "virgins, loving, equals in age"Template:Fn, is given by Muhammad, who explains that women enter paradise as "a new creation" and are thus restored to youth and virginity. He states that there is "no question of sexual relations in the next life as that life is not physical life which requires such relations", and that the resurrection of women as virgins is a spiritual representation of purity.
Qur'an
The part of the Qur'an that deals with paradise makes several mentions of the mates that inhabit paradise. They are described as "beautiful like rubies, with complexions like diamonds and pearls" and "voluptuous, dark eyed and lovely eyed" houris. In one of the passages of the Koran, it is said the martyrs and virgins shall "delight themselves, reclining on green cushions and beautiful carpets.".
Physical attributes of the virgins
Ibn Kathir, in his tafsir, writes that verse in the quran describes the physical attributes of women. He says the following about the verse: "This means round breasts. They meant by this that the breasts of these girls will be fully rounded and not sagging, because they will be virgins, equal in age.'"
Famous quotes
Hussam Abdo, a 14 year old would-be suicide-bomber, described by Israeli television as "mentally challenged", while being disarmed by the Israeli troops in 2004 was reported to have said:
Blowing myself up is the only chance I've got to have sex with 72 virgins in the Garden of Eden
See also
Footnotes
- Template:Fnb
,Quran History - Manuscripts
Divisions Content Reading Translations Exegesis Characteristics Related
,Quran History - Manuscripts
Divisions Content Reading Translations Exegesis Characteristics Related Quran History - Manuscripts
Divisions Content Reading Translations Exegesis Characteristics Related
References
- Houris
- Margaret Kleffner Nydell (2006). Understanding Arabs: A Guide for Modern Times. Intercultural Press. p. 109. ISBN 1931930252.
- "Professor Explains Complexities of Arab Culture in New Book". Georgetown University. Retrieved 2007-04-25.
- Vartan Gregorian (2003). Islam: A Mosaic, Not a Monolith. Brookings Institution Press. p. 19. ISBN 081573283X.
- Doris Sommer (2004). Bilingual Aesthetics: A New Sentimental Education. Duke University Press. p. 249. ISBN 0822333449.
- Alexander Stille (2002-03-02). "Scholars Are Quietly Offering New Theories of the Koran". New York Times. pp. A1.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - Zahid Aziz (2007). Islam, Peace and Tolerance. A.a.i.i.l. pp. 55–57. ISBN 1906109001.
-
Quran History - Manuscripts
Divisions Content Reading Translations Exegesis Characteristics Related -
Quran History - Manuscripts
Divisions Content Reading Translations Exegesis Characteristics Related -
,Quran History - Manuscripts
Divisions Content Reading Translations Exegesis Characteristics Related Quran History - Manuscripts
Divisions Content Reading Translations Exegesis Characteristics Related -
Quran History - Manuscripts
Divisions Content Reading Translations Exegesis Characteristics Related - Tafsir Ibn Kathir, Abridged, Volume 10, Surat At-Tagabun to the end of the Qur'an, pp. 333-334, also see ,
- Jerusalem Post as reported by BBC
Further reading
- Ibn Warraq (2002-01-12). "Virgins? What virgins?". The Guardian. Guardian News and Media Limited.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - Cecil Adams (2001-12-14). "Does the Koran really promise Islamic martyrs 72 virgins?". The Straight Dope.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help)
External links
- Description of al-hoor al-‘iyn in the Qur’aan and Sunnah
- Response from IslamQA team to a Muslim asking about sex with virgins in heaven
- Houris - Skepdic.com
- Afterlife and the Quran
- Mary the Mother of Jesus: A Houri in Paradise? - Answering-Islam.org
- A humourous look at the Seventy two virgins - From The New Yorker
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