[h=1]72 Virgins[/h] From WikiIslam, the online resource on Islam
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An artist impression of the 72 virgins. The Qur'an, hadith and Islamic scholars all mention that virgins will be awarded to Muslim men in Paradise.
This article discusses what the
Qur'an,
hadith and
Islamic scholars say about the 72
virgins, and dispels popular misconceptions surrounding them.
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[TD][h=2]Contents[/h]
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[h=2]Sensual Paradise[/h] In Islam, the concept of 72 virgins (houri) refers to an aspect of Jannah (
Paradise). This concept is grounded in Qur'anic text which describe a sensual Paradise where believing men are rewarded by being wed[SUP]
[1][/SUP] to virgins with "full grown", "swelling" or "pears-shaped" breasts.[SUP]
[2][/SUP][SUP]
[3][/SUP] Conversly,
women will be provided with only one man, and they "will be satisfied with him".[SUP]
[4][/SUP]
Contemporary mainstream Islamic scholars, for example;
Gibril Haddad, have commented on the erotic nature of the Qur'anic Paradise, by saying some men may need ghusl (
ablution required after sexual discharge) just for hearing certain verses.[SUP]
[5][/SUP]
Orthodox Muslim theologians such as al-Ghazali (died 1111 CE) and al-Ash'ari (died 935 CE) have all discussed the sensual pleasures found in Paradise, relating hadith that describe Paradise as a
slave market where there will be "no buy and sale, but... If any man will wish to have sexual intercourse with a woman, he will do at once."[SUP]
[6][/SUP][SUP]
[7][/SUP]
It is quoted by Ibn Kathir, in his
Qur'anic Commentary, the Tafsir ibn Kathir,[SUP]
[8][/SUP] and they are graphically described by Qur'anic commentator and polymath, al-Suyuti (died 1505), who, echoing a
hasan hadith[SUP]
[9][/SUP] from Ibn Majah,[SUP]
[10][/SUP] wrote that the perpetual virgins will all "have appetizing vaginas", and that the "penis of the Elected never softens. The
erection is eternal".[SUP]
[11][/SUP]
The sensual pleasures between believers and houri in Paradise are also confirmed by the two
Sahih collections of hadith, namely Sahih Bukhari[SUP]
[12][/SUP] and Sahih Muslim, where we read that they will be virgins who are so beautiful, pure and transparent that "the marrow of the bones of their legs will be seen through the bones and the flesh",[SUP]
[13][/SUP] and that "the believers will visit and enjoy them".[SUP]
[14][/SUP]
[h=2]Descriptions[/h] There are several descriptions related to houri that are found in various Islamic references. Some include:
Physical Attributes:
- Wide and beautiful/lovely eyes [SUP][15][/SUP][SUP][16][/SUP][SUP][17][/SUP]
- Like pearls [SUP][18][/SUP]
- Hairless except the eye brows and the head [SUP][19][/SUP]
In addition to Quranic translations of 78:33 specifying the virgins will be
voluptuous[SUP]
[20][/SUP], Sahih International translates it as
"full-breasted [companions] of equal age". Tafsir al-Jalalayn says
"and buxom maidens (kawāib is the plural of kāib) of equal age (atrāb is the plural of tirb)". Several Islamic scholars explain that they will have
"large, round breasts which are not inclined to hang".[SUP]
[21][/SUP]
- Beautiful [SUP][13][/SUP]
- White skinned [SUP][22][/SUP]
- 60 cubits [27.5 meters] tall [SUP][23][/SUP][SUP][22][/SUP]
- 7 cubits [3.2 meters] in width [SUP][22][/SUP]
- Transparent to the marrow of their bones [SUP][21][/SUP][SUP][13][/SUP]
- Eternally young [SUP][19][/SUP]
- Companions of equal age [SUP][20][/SUP][SUP][24][/SUP]
Sexual Attributes:
- Untouched / with hymen unbroken by sexual intercourse [SUP][25][/SUP][SUP][26][/SUP]
- Virgins [SUP][27][/SUP]
- Voluptuous/full-breasted [SUP][20][/SUP]
- With large, round breasts which are not inclined to hang [SUP][21][/SUP][SUP][3][/SUP]
- Appetizing vaginas [SUP][11][/SUP]
Personality Attributes:
- Chaste [SUP][15][/SUP]
- Restraining their glances [SUP][15][/SUP][SUP][25][/SUP]
- Modest gaze [SUP][28][/SUP]
Other Attributes:
- Splendid [SUP][29][/SUP]
- Pure [SUP][13][/SUP]
- Non-menstruating / non-urinating/ non-defecating and childfree [SUP][21][/SUP][SUP][30][/SUP]
- Never dissatisfied [SUP][30][/SUP]
- Will sing praise [SUP][7][/SUP]
[h=2]Authenticity[/h] Whilst there are numerous sources, including the Qur'an, which tell us believing males will be rewarded with virgins, many who are concerned about the
authenticity of the 72 virgins concept are under the misconception that there is only one weak (
da`if) reference to the exact number of houri given to them. These narrations are in fact found in many hadith collections with varying levels of authenticity, ranging from hasan (good) to
sahih (authentic).
For example, in the Sunan Ibn Majah, one of the six major Hadith collections,[SUP]
[31][/SUP] it states in a hasan (good)[SUP]
[9][/SUP] narration that every male admitted into Paradise will be given eternal erections and wed to 72 wives, all with libidinous sex organs.[SUP]
[10][/SUP] Similarly in another hadith with multiple narrators that has been graded hasan (good), it states that the martyr (
shahid) will be married to seventy-two of al-hoor al-iyn.[SUP]
[32][/SUP][SUP]
[33][/SUP]
In the Sunan al-Tirmidhi, another of the six major Hadith collections,[SUP]
[31][/SUP] it states that the smallest reward for the people of Heaven is an abode with seventy-two houri.[SUP]
[34][/SUP] Note that this is not a "weak Hadith that has no Sanad (chain of narrators)", as some have claimed.[SUP]
[35][/SUP] It has been graded hasan sahih gharib,[SUP]
[9][/SUP] meaning this hadith is hasan since it has several chains of transmitters, it is sahih as the chains are all authentic and it is gharib in the words that Imam Tirmidhi narrated.[SUP]
[36][/SUP]
Also reported in Sunan al-Kubra and Musnad Ahmad ibn Hanbal, and declared sahih (authentic)[SUP]
[9][/SUP] by Ibn Abi Shayba, Ibn Hibban, and al-Hakim is the hadith that states the servant in Paradise will be
married with seventy wives and that they'll be given the sexual strength for a hundred.[SUP]
[37][/SUP]
Orthodox Muslim theologians have related further hadith that give us the exact number of 72, such as al-Ghazali who wrote, "[The Prophet said] the lowest rank of an inmate of Paradise will have eighty thousand servants and seventy two wives."[SUP]
[38][/SUP]
[h=2]Virgins or Raisins?[/h] This false myth of "white raisins" originated from Christoph Luxenberg, a modern author writing under a pseudonym.[SUP]
[39][/SUP] His anti-Islamic claim,[SUP]
[40][/SUP] which has been accused of having a "Christian apologetic agenda",[SUP]
[41][/SUP] is that the Qur'an was drawn from
Christian Syro-Aramaic texts in the early 8[SUP]th[/SUP] century, in order to evangelize the Arabs,[SUP]
[42][/SUP] and that the Aramaic word 'hur' (white raisin) had been
mistranslated by later Arab commentators into the Arabic word 'houri' (virgin).[SUP]
[43][/SUP]
The Qur'an describes the physical characteristics of the houri in many places, and a reading of relevant verses show that Luxenberg's theory regarding heavenly white raisins is in error.
Raisins, which are dried grapes, cannot have large eyes,[SUP]
[17][/SUP] big breasts,[SUP]
[20][/SUP] cannot restrain their glances,[SUP]
[25][/SUP] cannot be described as chaste,[SUP]
[25][/SUP] or have any of the characteristics listed above. The Qur'an further states that men will be wed to these houri.[SUP]
[1][/SUP] Men cannot be married to raisins or white grapes.
Additionally, for someone to accept this "72 raisins" theory, they would also have to accept that the Qur'an was not written by
Allah or revealed to the Prophet
Muhammad in Arabic during the 7[SUP]th[/SUP] century, but was in fact written by Christian evangelists in Syro-Aramaic during the 8[SUP]th[/SUP] century.
[h=2]Terrorism[/h]
Suicide is clearly forbidden in Islam, but the
permissibility of martyrdom operations (Istishhad) is an altogether different topic, with scholars being split on the issue.
Notable scholars and apologists such as Shaykh Yusuf Al-Qaradawi, the world's most quoted independent Islamic jurist,[SUP]
[44][/SUP]
Dr. Zakir Naik, known for his advocacy of "
Qur'anic science", and Tahir Ashrafi, the Chairman of the
All Pakistan Ulema Council, have justified the use of suicide bombing in Islam.[SUP]
[45][/SUP][SUP]
[46][/SUP][SUP]
[47][/SUP] Opinion polls have further shown that an
extremely large number of Muslims from around the world support the practice.[SUP]
[44][/SUP][SUP]
[48][/SUP][SUP]
[49][/SUP][SUP]
[50][/SUP]
The Qur'an states that all Muslim males, not only martyrs, will be rewarded with virgins.[SUP]
[27][/SUP] However, the Qur'an does also mention that those who
fight in the way of Allah (
jihad) and get killed will be given a "great reward",[SUP]
[51][/SUP] and there are also hasan (good) hadith[SUP]
[33][/SUP] which refer to 72 virgins as one of the "seven blessings from Allah" to the martyr.[SUP]
[32][/SUP] This has lead to the 72 virgins concept being widely used as a way to entice other Muslims into carrying out "martyrdom operations" for Islam.
This is witnessed in
Palestine, where the actions of a mother who sends her son to die as a martyr is sometimes seen as "marrying him off",[SUP]
[52][/SUP] and where the concept is used in Friday sermons and
music videos, both airing on official television.[SUP]
[53][/SUP][SUP]
[54][/SUP] It has even been used in the
United Kingdom, where, in one event, Muslim teens were told to train with Kalashnikov rifles with the promise that the would receive 72 virgins in paradise if they died as religious martyrs.[SUP]
[55][/SUP]
Contrary to what the Qur'an, hadith, scholars and Muslims themselves say, a Western author named Margaret Nydell in a book that "promotes understanding between modern-day Arabs and Westerners", states that mainstream Muslims regard the belief of 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.[SUP]
[56][/SUP]
However, both the Qur'an and Muhammad in the hadith literature discuss the issue of virgins being provided for men in Paradise. So, unless the Bible, and more specifically
Jesus in the
four Gospels, claims Christians will indeed be issued with wings and a harp upon their arrival in Heaven, this claim is inaccurate and misleading.
[h=2]Conclusion[/h] The Qur'anic Paradise is sensual in nature,[SUP]
[5][/SUP] promising Muslim men voluptuous[SUP]
[20][/SUP] virgins[SUP]
[27][/SUP] but does not specify their exact number. This cannot possibly be a mistranslation because raisins do not have large eyes[SUP]
[17][/SUP] or cannot be wed to men.[SUP]
[1][/SUP]
The hadith literature compliment the Qur'anic text by specifying the exact number of virgins as 72 and providing us with detailed descriptions of their
characteristics. These narrations are not weak but vary in strength from good to authentic.[SUP]
[9][/SUP][SUP]
[33][/SUP][SUP]
[57][/SUP]
We are also given details on the physical attributes given to men to sustain 72 virgins, namely,
ever-erect penises that never soften[SUP]
[10][/SUP][SUP]
[11][/SUP] and the sexual strength to satisfy 100.[SUP]
[37][/SUP][SUP]
[58][/SUP][SUP]
[59][/SUP]
Although it does say they will receive a "great reward",[SUP]
[51][/SUP] and there are also hasan hadith[SUP]
[33][/SUP] which refer to 72 virgins as one of the "seven blessings from Allah" to the martyr,[SUP]
[32][/SUP] the Qur'an does not specify these virgins are a reward for jihadists/martyrs, but rather for any Muslim male who gains admittance to Paradise.[SUP]
[27][/SUP]
