Houri (Heavenly Virgin): Difference between revisions

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<metadesc>What the Qur'an, hadith and Islamic scholars say about the 72 Virgins, and popular misconceptions surrounding them</metadesc>
[[Image:72-houris.jpg|right|thumb|250px|An artist impression of the 72 virgins.]]
[[Image:72-houris.jpg|right|thumb|250px|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|Islamic]] scholars say about the 72 [[virgins]], and dispels popular misconceptions surrounding them.
==Sensual Paradise==


In Islam, the concept of 72 virgins (houri) refers to an aspect of Jannah ([[Heaven|Paradise]]). This concept is grounded in Qur'anic text which describe a sensual Paradise where believing men are rewarded by being wed<ref name="Sura 44 54"></ref> to virgins with "full grown", "swelling" or "pears-shaped" breasts.<ref>Several translators like Hilali-Khan ([http://al-quran.info/default.aspx#&&sura=1&trans=en-hilali-khan&show=both,quran-uthmani&format=rows&ver=1.00 Noble Quran, translated by Hilali-Khan]), Arthur John Arberry, Abdul Daryabadi, Umm Muhammad, Edward Henry Palmer, Ahmed Ali, John Medows Rodwell, Ali Ünal, George Sale, Muhammad Sarwar, and Tahir-ul-Qadri ([http://www.quranbrowser.com/ Quran browser], {{Qtt|78|33}}) have translated {{quran|78|33}} as referring to "full grown", "swelling" or "pears-shaped" breasts.</ref><ref name="Kathir7833">"''This [Qur'an 78:33] 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.''" - {{cite book |url=http://www.tafsir.com/default.asp?sid=78&tid=56825 |author=Ibn Kathir |title=Tafsir Ibn Kathir, Abridged, Volume 10 Surat At-Tagabun to the end of the Qur'an |pages=333-334}}</ref> Conversly, [[Islam and Women|women]] will be provided with only one man, and they "will be satisfied with him".<ref name="Jibreen">{{cite web|quote=This number is only for men. A woman will have only one husband in Paradise, and she will be satisfied with him and will not need any more than that. The Muslim woman – who is not influenced by the claims of those who propagate permissiveness and knows that she is not like men in her make-up and nature, because Allaah has made her like that – does not object to the rulings of Allaah or feel angry. Rather she accepts what Allaah has decreed for her. Her sound nature tells her that she cannot live with more than one man at a time. So long as she has entered Paradise, she will have all that she desires, so she should not dispute now about the delights and rewards that her Lord has chosen for her, for your Lord does not treat anyone unjustly.|url= http://islamqa.info/en/11419|title= The female martyr and the male martyr’s reward of seventy-two hoor al-‘iyn|publisher= Islam Q&A|author= Shaykh ‘Abd-Allaah ibn Jibreen|date= |series= Fatwa No. 11419|archiveurl= http://archive.is/IN1WL|deadurl=no}}</ref>
The '''72 virgins''' or 72 houri ([[Virgins|/ˈhʊəriz/]]<ref>[https://www.dictionary.com/browse/houris houri] ''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''.</ref>; from Persian: حُـورِی‎, ''ḥūrī''; plural of '<nowiki/>'''ḥaurāʾ'<nowiki/>''' or'<nowiki/>'''ḥūrīyah'<nowiki/>'''; Arabic: حُـورِيَّـة‎) refers to a celestial being that is an aspect of [[Heaven]] or [[Heaven|jannah]] ([[Arabic]]: جنّة‎ '<nowiki/>'''Jannah''''; plural: ''Jannat''). This concept is mentioned in [[Qur'an|Qur'anic]] text as a reward to believing men after death. According to the Quran, once in jannah, believers are wed to virgins with "full grown", "swelling" or "pears-shaped" breasts.<ref name="Sura 44 54">"''Even so (it will be). And We shall wed them unto fair ones with wide, lovely eyes.''" - {{Quran|44|54}}</ref><ref>Several translators like Hilali-Khan ([http://al-quran.info/default.aspx#&&sura=1&trans=en-hilali-khan&show=both,quran-uthmani&format=rows&ver=1.00 Noble Quran, translated by Hilali-Khan]), Arthur John Arberry, Abdul Daryabadi, Umm Muhammad, Edward Henry Palmer, Ahmed Ali, John Medows Rodwell, Ali Ünal, George Sale, Muhammad Sarwar, and Tahir-ul-Qadri ([http://www.quranbrowser.com/ Quran browser], {{Qtt|78|33}}) have translated {{quran|78|33}} as referring to "full grown", "swelling" or "pears-shaped" breasts.</ref><ref name="Kathir7833">"''This [Qur'an 78:33] 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.''" - {{cite book |url=http://www.tafsir.com/default.asp?sid=78&tid=56825 |author=Ibn Kathir |title=Tafsir Ibn Kathir, Abridged, Volume 10 Surat At-Tagabun to the end of the Qur'an |pages=333-334}}</ref> The Quran provides a physical and personal description of the houri and denotes them as awards to believers. [[Sahih]] (authentic) [[hadith]] detail the amount if houris and what they are for.<ref name=":0">[[Authenticity of 72 Virgins Hadith]]</ref>


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.<ref name="LI June 2003">{{cite web|url=http://mac.abc.se/home/onesr/f/Sex_w.slaves.a.women.html |title=Sex with slaves and women's rights |publisher=Living Islam |author=Shaykh Gibril Haddad |date=June 2, 2003 |quote=Qur'an does mention that for the inhabitants of Paradise - male and female - {There wait on them immortal youths} (56:17), {There serve them youths of everlasting youth, whom, when you see them, you would take for scattered pearls} (76:19). If this does not make a believing woman happy then, as Imam al-Shafi`i said to the one who is not moved by erotic poetry, "You have no feelings." As for the believing men, as one of the Awliya said, some of them will need ghusl just for hearing the verse {Same-age young-bosomed girls} (78:33). As for us hard-hearted analphabets we may read it and read it without effect. |archiveurl=http://www.webcitation.org/query?url=http://mac.abc.se/home/onesr/f/Sex_w.slaves.a.women.html&date=2011-05-22 |archivedate=2011-05-22 |deadurl=no}}</ref>
<nowiki/>'''<nowiki/>'''<nowiki/>'''<nowiki/>'''<nowiki/><metadesc>cosmic entities in Islam as depected in the Qur'an, hadith, and by Islamic scholars</metadesc><nowiki/>'''<nowiki/>'''<nowiki/>'''<nowiki/>'''


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 [[Slavery|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."<ref>"''Ali reported that the Apostle of Allah said, "There is in Paradise a market wherein there will be no buying or selling, but will consist of men and women. When a man desires a beauty, he will have intercourse with them.''" - Al Hadis, Vol. 4, p. 172, No. 34</ref><ref name=" Religious_Sciences3">{{cite web|url=http://www.nderf.org/islamic_views_death.htm |title=Ihya Uloom Ed-Din (The Revival of the Religious Sciences) Vol. 4 |author=Al Ghazzali|quote=A man asked the Prophet : 0 Prophet of God, will the inmates of Paradise have sexual intercourse ? He said: Anybody among them will be given sexual strength of seven, persons among you. The Prophet said : An inmate of Paradise will have five hundred hurs, four thousand unmarried women and eight thousand widowed women. Each of them will keep embracing him for the duration of his whole worldly life time. He also said: There will be markets in Paradise in which there will be no buy and sale, but there will be men and women. If any man will wish to have sexual intercourse with a woman, he will do at once. The Hurs will sing in Paradise on divine purity and praise-we are most beautiful Hurs and we are for the honoured husbands.|series=Death and Subsequent Events 430 |archiveurl=http://www.webcitation.org/query?url=http://www.nderf.org/islamic_views_death.htm&date=2012-12-03 |archivedate=2012-12-03 |deadurl=no}}</ref>  
<nowiki/>'''<nowiki/>'''<nowiki/>'''<nowiki/>'''


It is quoted by Ibn Kathir, in his [[Tafsir|Qur'anic Commentary]], the Tafsir ibn Kathir,<ref>[http://www.islam-universe.com/tafsir_ibn_kathir/55.51771.html These two gardens are lower, in virtue and in status than the two before them, as supported in the Qur'an]</ref> and they are graphically described by Qur'anic commentator and polymath, al-Suyuti (died 1505), who, echoing a [[hasan]] hadith<ref name="SP 4828"></ref> from Ibn Majah,<ref name="Ibn Majah 39"></ref> wrote that the perpetual virgins will all "have appetizing vaginas", and that the "penis of the Elected never softens. The [[Priapism - Permanent Erection|erection is eternal]]".<ref name="Al-Suyuti">"''Each time we sleep with a Houri we find her virgin. Besides, the penis of the Elected never softens. The erection is eternal; the sensation that you feel each time you make love is utterly delicious and out of this world and were you to experience it in this world you would faint. Each chosen one [i.e. Muslim] will marry seventy [sic] houris, besides the women he married on earth, and all will have appetizing vaginas.''" - Al-Suyuti, Al-Itqan fi Ulum al-Qur'an, p. 351</ref>
Orthodox Muslim theologians such as Al-Ghazali (1058 - 1111 CE) and Al-Ash'ari (874 - 935 CE) have discussed the rewards and pleasures found in [[heaven]]. Often scholars refer to hadiths that describe heaven as a [[Slavery|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."<ref>"''Ali reported that the Apostle of Allah said, "There is in Paradise a market wherein there will be no buying or selling, but will consist of men and women. When a man desires a beauty, he will have intercourse with them.''" - Al Hadis, Vol. 4, p. 172, No. 34</ref><ref name="Religious_Sciences3">{{cite web|url=http://www.nderf.org/islamic_views_death.htm |title=Ihya Uloom Ed-Din (The Revival of the Religious Sciences) Vol. 4 |author=Al Ghazzali|quote=A man asked the Prophet : 0 Prophet of God, will the inmates of Paradise have sexual intercourse ? He said: Anybody among them will be given sexual strength of seven, persons among you. The Prophet said : An inmate of Paradise will have five hundred hurs, four thousand unmarried women and eight thousand widowed women. Each of them will keep embracing him for the duration of his whole worldly life time. He also said: There will be markets in Paradise in which there will be no buy and sale, but there will be men and women. If any man will wish to have sexual intercourse with a woman, he will do at once. The Hurs will sing in Paradise on divine purity and praise-we are most beautiful Hurs and we are for the honoured husbands.|series=Death and Subsequent Events 430 |archiveurl=http://www.webcitation.org/query?url=http://www.nderf.org/islamic_views_death.htm&date=2012-12-03 |archivedate=2012-12-03 |deadurl=no}}</ref>  


The sensual pleasures between believers and houri in Paradise are also confirmed by the two [[Sahih]] collections of hadith, namely Sahih Bukhari<ref name="Bukhari455544">"''Narrated Abu Huraira: Allah's Apostle said, "The first group of people who will enter Paradise, will be glittering like the full moon... Their wives will be houris ...''" - {{Bukhari|4|55|544}}</ref> 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",<ref name="Bukhari454476">"''Narrated Abu Huraira: The Prophet said, "The first batch (of people) who will enter Paradise will be (glittering) like the full moon, and the batch next to them will be (glittering) like the most brilliant star in the sky. Their hearts will be as if the heart of a single man, for they will have neither enmity nor jealousy amongst themselves; everyone will have two wives from the houris, (who will be so beautiful, pure and transparent that) the marrow of the bones of their legs will be seen through the bones and the flesh.''" - {{Bukhari|4|54|476}}</ref> and that "the believers will visit and enjoy them".<ref>"''Allah’s Apostle (The blessing and peace of Allah be upon him) said: "In Paradise there is a pavilion made of a single hollow pearl sixty miles wide, in each corner of which there are wives who will not see those in the other corners; and the believers will visit and enjoy them.''" - {{Bukhari|6|60|402}}</ref>
It is quoted by Ibn Kathir, in his [[Tafsir|Qur'anic Commentary]], the Tafsir ibn Kathir,<ref>[http://www.islam-universe.com/tafsir_ibn_kathir/55.51771.html These two gardens are lower, in virtue and in status than the two before them, as supported in the Qur'an]</ref> and they are graphically described by Qur'anic commentator and polymath, Al-Suyuti (died 1505), who, echoing a [[Sahih]] [[hadith]]<ref name="SP 4828">Shaykh Gibril Haddad - [http://www.webcitation.org/64zXNO08I How Many Wives Will The Believers Have In Paradise?] - SunniPath, Question ID:4828, July 3, 2005</ref> from Ibn Majah,<ref name="Ibn Majah 39">"''Abu Umama narrated: "The Messenger of God said, 'Everyone that God admits into paradise will be married to 72 wives; two of them are houris and seventy of his inheritance of the [female] dwellers of hell. All of them will have libidinous sex organs and he will have an ever-erect penis.' ''" - Sunan Ibn Majah, Zuhd (Book of Abstinence) 39</ref> wrote that the perpetual virgins will all "have appetizing vaginas", and that the "penis of the Elected never softens. The [[Priapism - Permanent Erection|erection is eternal]]."<ref name="Al-Suyuti">"''Each time we sleep with a Houri we find her virgin. Besides, the penis of the Elected never softens. The erection is eternal; the sensation that you feel each time you make love is utterly delicious and out of this world and were you to experience it in this world you would faint. Each chosen one [i.e. Muslim] will marry seventy [sic] houris, besides the women he married on earth, and all will have appetizing vaginas.''" - Al-Suyuti, Al-Itqan fi Ulum al-Qur'an, p. 351</ref>
 
The sensual nature of the houri awarded to believers are also confirmed by the two Sahih collections of hadith, namely [[Sahih Bukhari]]<ref name="Bukhari455544">"''Narrated Abu Huraira: Allah's Apostle said, "The first group of people who will enter Paradise, will be glittering like the full moon... Their wives will be houris ...''" - {{Bukhari|4|55|544}}</ref> and Sahih Muslim,<ref>Citation and new article needed</ref> 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",<ref name="Bukhari454476">"''Narrated Abu Huraira: The Prophet said, "The first batch (of people) who will enter Paradise will be (glittering) like the full moon, and the batch next to them will be (glittering) like the most brilliant star in the sky. Their hearts will be as if the heart of a single man, for they will have neither enmity nor jealousy amongst themselves; everyone will have two wives from the houris, (who will be so beautiful, pure and transparent that) the marrow of the bones of their legs will be seen through the bones and the flesh.''" - {{Bukhari|4|54|476}}</ref> and that "the believers will visit and enjoy them".<ref>"''Allah’s Apostle (The blessing and peace of Allah be upon him) said: "In Paradise there is a pavilion made of a single hollow pearl sixty miles wide, in each corner of which there are wives who will not see those in the other corners; and the believers will visit and enjoy them.''" - {{Bukhari|6|60|402}}</ref>
 
==Authenticity==
 
The concept of [[houri]] can be found in major Islamic scriptures. The Quran, states believing males will be rewarded with virgins.<ref>"Verily for the Righteous there will be a fulfilment of (the heart's) desires; Gardens enclosed, and grapevines; And voluptuous women of equal age"
 
Qur'an 78:31-33</ref> Often put under question is the authenticity of the hadiths regarding houri.<ref name=":0" /> A common misconception is that there is only one [[List of Fabricated Hadith|da`if]] (weak) hadith that refers to the exact number of houri awarded. These narrations are in fact found in many hadith collections with varying levels of authenticity, ranging from [[hasan]] (good) to [[sahih]] (authentic).<ref name=":0" />
 
For example, in the Sunan Ibn Majah, one of the six major hadith collections,<ref name="VIRH">{{cite web|url=http://www.abc.se/~m9783/n/vih_e.html |title=Various Issues About Hadiths |publisher=Living Islam |author=Shaykh Gibril Haddad |date=April 4, 2003 |archiveurl=http://www.webcitation.org/query?url=http://www.abc.se/~m9783/n/vih_e.html&date=2011-05-22 |archivedate=2011-05-22 |deadurl=no}}</ref> it states in a hasan (good)<ref name="SP 4828" /> narration that every male admitted into [[heaven]] will be given eternal erections and wed to 72 wives, all with libidinous sex organs.<ref name="Ibn Majah 39" /> Similarly in another hadith with multiple narrators that has been graded hasan (good), it states that the [[shahid]] (martyr) will be married to seventy-two of al-hoor al-‘iyn.<ref name="alMiqdaam">''It was reported in the hadeeth of al-Miqdaam ibn Ma’di Karb that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said:'' ''“The martyr (shaheed) has seven blessings from Allaah: he is forgiven from the moment his blood is first shed; he will be shown his place in Paradise; he will be spared the trial of the grave; and he will be secure on the Day of the Greatest Terror (the Day of Judgement); there will be placed on his head a crown of dignity, one ruby of which is better than this world and all that is in it; he will be married to seventy-two of al-hoor al-‘iyn; and he will be permitted to intercede for seventy of his relatives.”'' ''According to another report, the martyr has six blessings from Allaah. According to other reports (the number is) six, or nine, or ten'' - Narrated by al-Tirmidhi, who said it is a hasan hadeeth. Also narrated by Ibn Maajah in al-Sunan, by Ahmad, by ‘Abd al-Razzaaq in al-Musannaf, by al-Tabaraani in al-Kabeer, and by Sa’eed ibn Mansoor in al-Sunan</ref><ref name="QA 8511">{{cite web|url=http://www.islam-qa.com/en/ref/islamqa/8511 |title=The six blessings of the martyrs |publisher=Islam Q&A|series= Fatwa No. 8511 |author=Shaykh Waleed al-Firyaan |archiveurl=http://www.webcitation.org/query?url=http://www.islam-qa.com/en/ref/islamqa/8511&date=2011-11-21 |archivedate=2011-11-21 |deadurl=no}}</ref>
 
In the Sunan al-Tirmidhi, another of the six major hadith collections,<ref name="VIRH" /> it states that the smallest reward for the people of heaven is an abode with seventy-two houri.<ref>"''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 PBUH saying, 'The smallest reward for the people of Heaven is an abode where there are eighty thousand servants and seventy-two houri, over which stands a dome decorated with pearls, aquamarine and ruby, as wide as the distance from al-Jabiyyah to San'a.''" - Al-Tirmidhi, Vol. 4, Ch. 21, No. 2687</ref> Note that this is not a da'if (weak) hadith and has sanad (a chain of narrators)", contrary to common misconception.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://theuglytruth.wordpress.com/2007/03/04/debunking-the-suicide-for-72-virgins-myth/ |title=Debunking the ‘Suicide for 72 Virgins’ Myth |publisher=TheUglyTruth |author=Nashid Abdul-Khalliq |date=March 4, 2007 |archiveurl=http://www.webcitation.org/query?url=http://theuglytruth.wordpress.com/2007/03/04/debunking-the-suicide-for-72-virgins-myth/&date=2012-02-20 |archivedate=2012-02-20 |deadurl=no}}</ref> It has been graded hasan sahih,<ref name="SP 4828" /> meaning this hadith is hasan (good) since it has several chains of transmitters, it is also sahih (authentic) as the chains are all declared authentic delivered by Imam Tirmidhi.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sunnah.org/history/Scholars/imam_tirmidhi.htm |title=Imam Tirmidhi (209 - 279 H) |publisher=As-Sunnah Foundation of America |author= |date=February 20, 2012 |quote= |archiveurl=http://www.webcitation.org/query?url=http://www.sunnah.org/history/Scholars/imam_tirmidhi.htm&date=2012-02-20 |archivedate=2012-02-20 |deadurl=no}}</ref>
 
Also reported in Sunan Al-Kubra and Musnad Ahmad Ibn Hanbal, and declared sahih (authentic)<ref name="SP 4828" /> by Ibn Abi Shayba, Ibn Hibban, and Al-Hakim is the hadith that states that [God's] servants will be [[Marriage|married]] in heaven with seventy wives and that they'll be given the sexual strength for a hundred.<ref name="al Janna">"''Anas said, Allah be well-pleased with him: The Messenger of Allah said, upon him blessings and peace: “The servant in Paradise shall be married with seventy wives.” Someone said, “Messenger of Allah, can he bear it?” He said: “He will be given strength for a hundred.” From Zayd ibn Arqam, Allah be well-pleased with him, when an incredulous Jew or Christian asked the Prophet, upon him blessings and peace, “Are you claiming that a man will eat and drink in Paradise??” He replied: “Yes, by the One in Whose hand is my soul, and each of them will be given the strength of a hundred men in his eating, drinking, coitus, and pleasure.”''" - Sifat al-Janna, al-`Uqayli in the Du`afa’, and Musnad of Abu Bakr al-Bazzar</ref>
 
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 heaven will have eighty thousand servants and seventy two wives."<ref name="Religious_Sciences4">{{cite web|url=http://www.nderf.org/islamic_views_death.htm |title=Ihya Uloom Ed-Din (The Revival of the Religious Sciences) Vol. 4 |series=The Book of Constructive Virtues 431|author=Al Ghazzali|quote=The Prophet said to a man: 0 servant of God, if you enter Paradise, you will get what you will desire, what your eyes will be pleased with. The Prophet said : If an inmate of Paradise will wish to have a son born to him, he will get it. Its stay in womb, its weaning away from milk and its youth will come to pass at the same time. He also said : The inmantes of  Paradise will be beardless and hairless. Their colour will be white and their eyes painted with collyrium. They will be youths of 33 years of age. They will be sixty cubits long and seven cubits broad. He also said : The lowest rank of an inmate of Paradise will have eighty thousand servants and seventy two wives. In short there will be such bliss in Paradise which no eye has seen, no ear has heard and no heart has conceived. |archiveurl=http://www.webcitation.org/query?url=http://www.nderf.org/islamic_views_death.htm&date=2012-12-03 |archivedate=2012-12-03 |deadurl=no}}</ref>


==Descriptions==
==Descriptions==
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'''Physical Attributes''':
'''Physical Attributes''':
:* Wide and beautiful/lovely eyes <ref name="Sura37_48"/><ref name="Sura52_20">"''They will recline (with ease) on Thrones (of dignity) arranged in ranks; and We shall join them to Companions, with beautiful big and lustrous eyes.''" - {{Quran|52|20}}</ref><ref name="Sura56_22"></ref>
[[File:78 33-Kawaiba.jpg|thumb|right|In addition to Quranic translations of 78:33 specifying the virgins will be [[wiktionary:voluptuous|'''voluptuous''']]<ref name="Sura78_33">"''And voluptuous women of equal age;''" - {{Quran|78|33}}</ref>, Sahih International translates it as ''"'''full-breasted''' [companions] of equal age"''. Tafsir al-Jalalayn says ''"and '''buxom''' maidens (kawā‘ib is the plural of kā‘ib) 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"''.<ref name="Sunan_al-Tirmidhi_v2" /><br />]]
:* Wide and beautiful/lovely eyes <ref name="Sura37_48" /><ref name="Sura52_20">"''They will recline (with ease) on Thrones (of dignity) arranged in ranks; and We shall join them to Companions, with beautiful big and lustrous eyes.''" - {{Quran|52|20}}</ref><ref name="Sura56_22">"''And (there are) fair ones with wide, lovely eyes,-''" - {{Quran|56|22}}</ref>
:* White skinned <ref name="Religious_Sciences">{{cite web|url=http://www.nderf.org/islamic_views_death.htm |title=Ihya Uloom Ed-Din (The Revival of the Religious Sciences) Vol. 4 |author=Al Ghazzali|archiveurl=http://www.webcitation.org/query?url=http://www.nderf.org/islamic_views_death.htm&date=2012-12-03 |archivedate=2012-12-03 |deadurl=no}}</ref>  
:* Like pearls <ref>"''Like unto Pearls well-guarded.''" - {{Quran|56|23}}</ref>  
:* Like pearls <ref>"''Like unto Pearls well-guarded.''" - {{Quran|56|23}}</ref>  
:* Hairless except the eye brows and the head <ref name=Sunan_al-Tirmidhi_5638/>
:* Hairless except the eye brows and the head <ref name="Sunan_al-Tirmidhi_5638" />  
[[File:78 33-Kawaiba.jpg|thumb|right|In addition to Quranic translations of 78:33 specifying the virgins will be [[wiktionary:voluptuous|'''voluptuous''']]<ref name="Sura78_33">"''And voluptuous women of equal age;''" - {{Quran|78|33}}</ref>, Sahih International translates it as ''"'''full-breasted''' [companions] of equal age"''. Tafsir al-Jalalayn says ''"and '''buxom''' maidens (kawā‘ib is the plural of kā‘ib) 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"''.<ref name=Sunan_al-Tirmidhi_v2></ref><br /><br />[[Image:Brsts.jpg|167px|right]]]]
:* 60 cubits [27.5 meters] tall <ref name="Ibn_Kathir">[http://www.tafsir.com/default.asp?sid=56&tid=51961 Ibn Kathir: The Reward of Those on the Right After]</ref><ref name="Religious_Sciences" />  
:* Beautiful <ref name="Bukhari454476"></ref>
:* 7 cubits [3.2 meters] in width <ref name="Religious_Sciences" />  
:* White skinned <ref name=" Religious_Sciences">{{cite web|url=http://www.nderf.org/islamic_views_death.htm |title=Ihya Uloom Ed-Din (The Revival of the Religious Sciences) Vol. 4 |author=Al Ghazzali|archiveurl=http://www.webcitation.org/query?url=http://www.nderf.org/islamic_views_death.htm&date=2012-12-03 |archivedate=2012-12-03 |deadurl=no}}</ref>  
:* Transparent to the marrow of their bones <ref name="Sunan_al-Tirmidhi_v2" /><ref name="Bukhari454476" />
:* 60 cubits [27.5 meters] tall <ref name="Ibn_Kathir">[http://www.tafsir.com/default.asp?sid=56&tid=51961 Ibn Kathir: The Reward of Those on the Right After]</ref><ref name=" Religious_Sciences" />  
:* Eternally young <ref name="Sunan_al-Tirmidhi_5638">Al-Tirmidhi, Sunan al-Tirmidhi, hadith: 5638</ref>  
:* 7 cubits [3.2 meters] in width <ref name=" Religious_Sciences" />  
:* Companions of equal age <ref name="Sura78_33" /><ref name="Muhammad Asad - atrab">Muhammad Asad, The Message of the Qur'an,Publisher: The Book Foundation; Bilingual edition (December 2003), Language: English, ISBN 1904510000,Chapter (Surah) Al-Waqiah (That which must come to pass)(56):38, note 15</ref>  
:* Transparent to the marrow of their bones <ref name=Sunan_al-Tirmidhi_v2/><ref name="Bukhari454476"></ref>
:* Eternally young <ref name=Sunan_al-Tirmidhi_5638>Al-Tirmidhi, Sunan al-Tirmidhi, hadith: 5638</ref>  
:* Companions of equal age <ref name="Sura78_33"/><ref name="Muhammad Asad - atrab"> Muhammad Asad, The Message of the Qur'an,Publisher: The Book Foundation; Bilingual edition (December 2003), Language: English, ISBN 1904510000,Chapter (Surah) Al-Waqiah (That which must come to pass)(56):38, note 15</ref>  


'''Sexual Attributes''':
'''Sexual Attributes''':
:* Untouched / with hymen unbroken by sexual intercourse <ref name="Sura55_56"/><ref name="Sura55_72_74">"''Companions restrained (as to their glances), in (goodly) pavilions;- Then which of the favours of your Lord will ye deny?- Whom no man or Jinn before them has touched;-''" - {{Quran-range|55|72|74}}</ref>  
:* Untouched / with hymen unbroken by sexual intercourse <ref name="Sura55_56" /><ref name="Sura55_72_74">"''Companions restrained (as to their glances), in (goodly) pavilions;- Then which of the favours of your Lord will ye deny?- Whom no man or Jinn before them has touched;-''" - {{Quran-range|55|72|74}}</ref>  
:* Virgins <ref name="q56_36"></ref>  
:* Virgins <ref name="q56_36" />  
:* Voluptuous/full-breasted <ref name="Sura78_33"/>  
:* Voluptuous/full-breasted <ref name="Sura78_33" />  
:** The word used is كواعب (''kawaa'ib''), which is a plural of كاعب (''kaa'ib'') and the meaning accordig to the dictionary is نَاهِدَةُ الثَّدْيِ (''naahida thadee''), "buxom breast" <ref>https://www.almaany.com/ar/dict/ar-ar/%D9%83%D9%88%D8%A7%D8%B9%D8%A8/</ref>.
:** The word used is كواعب (''kawaa'ib''), which is a plural of كاعب (''kaa'ib'') and the meaning accordig to the dictionary is نَاهِدَةُ الثَّدْيِ (''naahida thadee''), "buxom breast" <ref>https://www.almaany.com/ar/dict/ar-ar/%D9%83%D9%88%D8%A7%D8%B9%D8%A8/</ref>.
:* With large, round breasts which are not inclined to hang <ref name=Sunan_al-Tirmidhi_v2> Al-Tirmidhi, Sunan al-Tirmidhi, Vol. 2.</ref><ref name="Kathir7833"></ref>  
:* With large, round breasts which are not inclined to hang <ref name="Sunan_al-Tirmidhi_v2">Al-Tirmidhi, Sunan al-Tirmidhi, Vol. 2.</ref><ref name="Kathir7833" />  
:* Appetizing vaginas <ref name="Al-Suyuti"></ref>
:* Appetizing vaginas <ref name="Al-Suyuti" />


'''Personality Attributes''':
'''Personality Attributes''':
:* Chaste <ref name="Sura37_48">"''And besides them will be chaste women, restraining their glances, with big eyes (of wonder and beauty).''" - {{Quran|37|48}}</ref>  
:* Chaste <ref name="Sura37_48">"''And besides them will be chaste women, restraining their glances, with big eyes (of wonder and beauty).''" - {{Quran|37|48}}</ref>  
:* Restraining their glances <ref name="Sura37_48"/><ref name="Sura55_56">"''In them will be (Maidens), chaste, restraining their glances, whom no man or Jinn before them has touched;-''" - {{Quran|55|56}}</ref>  
:* Restraining their glances <ref name="Sura37_48" /><ref name="Sura55_56">"''In them will be (Maidens), chaste, restraining their glances, whom no man or Jinn before them has touched;-''" - {{Quran|55|56}}</ref>  
:* Modest gaze <ref name="Muhammad Asad-modest gaze"> Muhammad Asad, The Message of the Qur'an,Publisher: The Book Foundation; Bilingual edition (December 2003), Language: English, ISBN 1904510000,Chapter (Surah) Sad (38):52</ref>  
:* Modest gaze <ref name="Muhammad Asad-modest gaze">Muhammad Asad, The Message of the Qur'an,Publisher: The Book Foundation; Bilingual edition (December 2003), Language: English, ISBN 1904510000,Chapter (Surah) Sad (38):52</ref>  


'''Other Attributes''':
'''Other Attributes''':
:* Splendid <ref name="Muhammad Asad -Kawa'ib"> Muhammad Asad, The Message of the Qur'an, Publisher: The Book Foundation; Bilingual edition (December 2003) Language: English, ISBN 1904510000,Chapter (Surah) An-Naba (The Tiding)(78):33, note 16</ref>
:* Splendid <ref name="Muhammad Asad -Kawa'ib">Muhammad Asad, The Message of the Qur'an, Publisher: The Book Foundation; Bilingual edition (December 2003) Language: English, ISBN 1904510000,Chapter (Surah) An-Naba (The Tiding)(78):33, note 16</ref>
:* Pure <ref name="Bukhari454476"></ref>
:* Pure <ref name="Bukhari454476" />
:* Non-menstruating / non-urinating/ non-defecating and childfree <ref name=Sunan_al-Tirmidhi_v2/><ref name=" Religious_Sciences2">{{cite web|url=http://www.nderf.org/islamic_views_death.htm |title=Ihya Uloom Ed-Din (The Revival of the Religious Sciences) Vol. 4 |author=Al Ghazzali |quote=The Prophet said: If a woman of Paradise would have peeped up into this world everything therein would have been illuminated and filled up with fragrance. Every hair of her head is better than than the earth and its treasures. God says : They are like Eakut and Marjan. If their faces are seen within screen, they will be more clear than mirrors and the smallest jewel therein will illuminate what is in the heaven and earth. The Prophet said : In the night in which I was taken to heaven, I entered a place in Paradise named Baidakh whose camps are of emeralds and green pearls and red Eakut. They asked : 0 Prophet of God, Salam to you. I asked : 0 Gebrail, whose sound is there ? He said : of the beautiful women in camps. They seek your permission to salute you. So give them permission. They will be saying : We are pleased therewith. We will never be dissatisfied. We will remain here forever, we will never travel. Then he recited the verse : The beautiful damsels detained in camps. In another verse : Pure women. Muzaher explained this by saying that they will be free menstruation, urine, stool, cough and children. |series=Death and Subsequent Events 430 |archiveurl=http://www.webcitation.org/query?url=http://www.nderf.org/islamic_views_death.htm&date=2012-12-03 |archivedate=2012-12-03 |deadurl=no}}</ref>
:* Non-menstruating / non-urinating/ non-defecating and childfree <ref name="Sunan_al-Tirmidhi_v2" /><ref name="Religious_Sciences2">{{cite web|url=http://www.nderf.org/islamic_views_death.htm |title=Ihya Uloom Ed-Din (The Revival of the Religious Sciences) Vol. 4 |author=Al Ghazzali |quote=The Prophet said: If a woman of Paradise would have peeped up into this world everything therein would have been illuminated and filled up with fragrance. Every hair of her head is better than than the earth and its treasures. God says : They are like Eakut and Marjan. If their faces are seen within screen, they will be more clear than mirrors and the smallest jewel therein will illuminate what is in the heaven and earth. The Prophet said : In the night in which I was taken to heaven, I entered a place in Paradise named Baidakh whose camps are of emeralds and green pearls and red Eakut. They asked : 0 Prophet of God, Salam to you. I asked : 0 Gebrail, whose sound is there ? He said : of the beautiful women in camps. They seek your permission to salute you. So give them permission. They will be saying : We are pleased therewith. We will never be dissatisfied. We will remain here forever, we will never travel. Then he recited the verse : The beautiful damsels detained in camps. In another verse : Pure women. Muzaher explained this by saying that they will be free menstruation, urine, stool, cough and children. |series=Death and Subsequent Events 430 |archiveurl=http://www.webcitation.org/query?url=http://www.nderf.org/islamic_views_death.htm&date=2012-12-03 |archivedate=2012-12-03 |deadurl=no}}</ref>
:* Never dissatisfied <ref name=" Religious_Sciences2"></ref>
:* Never dissatisfied <ref name="Religious_Sciences2" />
:* Will sing praise <ref name=" Religious_Sciences3"></ref><BR><BR>
:* Will sing praise <ref name="Religious_Sciences3" />


==Authenticity==
==Association with Terrorism==


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 72 Virgins Hadith|authenticity of the 72 virgins concept]] are under the misconception that there is only one weak ([[List of Fabricated Hadith|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).
[[Suicide]] is clearly forbidden in Islam<ref>''"Do not kill yourselves. Verily, Allah is merciful to you. And, whoever does that, out of animosity and , We shall burn him in a Fire. And that is easy for Allah."'' Qur'an, 4:29-30</ref>, but the permissibility of [[Istishhad]] ([[Martyr|martyrdom]]) has scholars split on the issue.


For example, in the Sunan Ibn Majah, one of the six major Hadith collections,<ref name="VIRH"></ref> it states in a hasan (good)<ref name="SP 4828"></ref> narration that every male admitted into Paradise will be given eternal erections and wed to 72 wives, all with libidinous sex organs.<ref name="Ibn Majah 39">"''Abu Umama narrated: "The Messenger of God said, 'Everyone that God admits into paradise will be married to 72 wives; two of them are houris and seventy of his inheritance of the [female] dwellers of hell. All of them will have libidinous sex organs and he will have an ever-erect penis.' ''" - Sunan Ibn Majah, Zuhd (Book of Abstinence) 39</ref> 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.<ref name="alMiqdaam">''It was reported in the hadeeth of al-Miqdaam ibn Ma’di Karb that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said:'' ''“The martyr (shaheed) has seven blessings from Allaah: he is forgiven from the moment his blood is first shed; he will be shown his place in Paradise; he will be spared the trial of the grave; and he will be secure on the Day of the Greatest Terror (the Day of Judgement); there will be placed on his head a crown of dignity, one ruby of which is better than this world and all that is in it; he will be married to seventy-two of al-hoor al-‘iyn; and he will be permitted to intercede for seventy of his relatives.”'' ''According to another report, the martyr has six blessings from Allaah. According to other reports (the number is) six, or nine, or ten'' - Narrated by al-Tirmidhi, who said it is a hasan hadeeth. Also narrated by Ibn Maajah in al-Sunan, by Ahmad, by ‘Abd al-Razzaaq in al-Musannaf, by al-Tabaraani in al-Kabeer, and by Sa’eed ibn Mansoor in al-Sunan</ref><ref name="QA 8511">{{cite web|url=http://www.islam-qa.com/en/ref/islamqa/8511 |title=The six blessings of the martyrs |publisher=Islam Q&A|series= Fatwa No. 8511 |author=Shaykh Waleed al-Firyaan |archiveurl=http://www.webcitation.org/query?url=http://www.islam-qa.com/en/ref/islamqa/8511&date=2011-11-21 |archivedate=2011-11-21 |deadurl=no}}</ref>  
Notable scholars and apologists such as Shaykh Yusuf Al-Qaradawi, the world's most quoted independent Islamic jurist,<ref name="Faisal">{{cite web|url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2001/aug/28/comment.israelandthepalestinians |title=Bombing for God (Special report: Israel and the Middle East) |publisher=The Guardian |author=Faisal Bodi |date=August 28, 2001 |archiveurl=http://www.webcitation.org/query?url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2001/aug/28/comment.israelandthepalestinians&date=2012-02-21 |archivedate=2012-02-21 |deadurl=no}}</ref> and [[Dr.]] [[Zakir Naik]], known for his advocacy of "[[Islam and Science|Qur'anic science]]", have justified the use of suicide bombing in Islam.<ref>Sheikh Yusuf Al-Qaradawi - [http://www.islamonline.net/servlet/Satellite?pagename=IslamOnline-English-Ask_Scholar/FatwaE/FatwaE&cid=1119503545134 Palestinian Women Carrying Out Martyr Operations] - Islam Online, November 6, 2006</ref><ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JtZxNqxpb8s Is Suicide Bombing allowed in Islam? By Dr. Zakir Naik] (a YouTube video posted by PeaceTVUK on September 20, 2008</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tolonews.com/en/afghanistan/9627-pakistan-ulema-permits-suicide-attacks |title=Pakistan Ulema Permits Suicide Attacks |publisher=TOLOnews |author=Abdul Haq Omari |date=March 2, 2013 |archiveurl=http://www.webcitation.org/query?url=http://www.tolonews.com/en/afghanistan/9627-pakistan-ulema-permits-suicide-attacks&date=2013-03-05 |archivedate=2013-03-05 |deadurl=no}}</ref> Opinion polls have further shown that an [[Muslim Statistics - Terrorism|extremely large number]] of Muslims from around the world support the practice.<ref name="Faisal" /><ref name="JP">Michael Freund - [http://web.archive.org/web/20070210015156/http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1167467849587&pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull Right On: The straightforward arithmetic of jihad] - The Jerusalem Post, January 31, 2007</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://web.archive.org/web/20040412010339/http://web.mid-day.com/news/world/2004/march/79639.htm |title=65% Pakistanis support Osama, says report |publisher=Mid Day |author=Khalid A-H Ansari |date=March 27, 2004 |archiveurl=http://www.webcitation.org/query?url=http://web.archive.org/web/20040412010339/http://web.mid-day.com/news/world/2004/march/79639.htm&date=2012-02-11 |archivedate=2012-02-11 |deadurl=no}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.scotsman.com/news/international/one_in_eight_uk_muslims_support_terrorist_attacks_1_517610 |title=One in eight UK Muslims 'support terrorist attacks' |publisher=Scotsman.com |author= |date=March 15, 2004 |quote= |archiveurl=http://www.webcitation.org/query?url=http://www.scotsman.com/news/international/one_in_eight_uk_muslims_support_terrorist_attacks_1_517610&date=2012-02-04 |archivedate=2012-02-04 |deadurl=no}}</ref>


In the Sunan al-Tirmidhi, another of the six major Hadith collections,<ref name="VIRH">{{cite web|url=http://www.abc.se/~m9783/n/vih_e.html |title=Various Issues About Hadiths |publisher=Living Islam |author=Shaykh Gibril Haddad |date=April 4, 2003 |archiveurl=http://www.webcitation.org/query?url=http://www.abc.se/~m9783/n/vih_e.html&date=2011-05-22 |archivedate=2011-05-22 |deadurl=no}}</ref> it states that the smallest reward for the people of Heaven is an abode with seventy-two houri.<ref>"''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 PBUH saying, 'The smallest reward for the people of Heaven is an abode where there are eighty thousand servants and seventy-two houri, over which stands a dome decorated with pearls, aquamarine and ruby, as wide as the distance from al-Jabiyyah to San'a.''" - Al-Tirmidhi, Vol. 4, Ch. 21, No. 2687</ref> Note that this is not a "weak Hadith that has no Sanad (chain of narrators)", as some have claimed.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://theuglytruth.wordpress.com/2007/03/04/debunking-the-suicide-for-72-virgins-myth/ |title=Debunking the ‘Suicide for 72 Virgins’ Myth |publisher=TheUglyTruth |author=Nashid Abdul-Khalliq |date=March 4, 2007 |archiveurl=http://www.webcitation.org/query?url=http://theuglytruth.wordpress.com/2007/03/04/debunking-the-suicide-for-72-virgins-myth/&date=2012-02-20 |archivedate=2012-02-20 |deadurl=no}}</ref> It has been graded hasan sahih gharib,<ref name="SP 4828">Shaykh Gibril Haddad - [http://www.webcitation.org/64zXNO08I How Many Wives Will The Believers Have In Paradise?] - SunniPath, Question ID:4828, July 3, 2005</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sunnah.org/history/Scholars/imam_tirmidhi.htm |title=Imam Tirmidhi (209 - 279 H) |publisher=As-Sunnah Foundation of America |author= |date=February 20, 2012 |quote= |archiveurl=http://www.webcitation.org/query?url=http://www.sunnah.org/history/Scholars/imam_tirmidhi.htm&date=2012-02-20 |archivedate=2012-02-20 |deadurl=no}}</ref>
The Quran states that all Muslim males, not only martyrs, will be rewarded with virgins.<ref name="q56_36">"''Then We have made them virgins''" - {{Quran|56|36}}</ref> However, the Quran does also mention that those who [[The Meaning of Qatal|fight]] in the way of Allah ([[jihad]]) and get killed will be given a "great reward",<ref name="Sura4 74">"''Let those (believers) Who sell the life of this world for the hereafter fight in the cause of Allah and whoso fights in the cause of Allah, - and is slain or gets victory, We shall bestow on him a great reward.''" - {{Quran|4|74}}</ref> and there are also hasan (good) hadith<ref name="QA 8511" /> which refer to 72 virgins as one of the "seven blessings from Allah" to the martyr.<ref name="alMiqdaam" /> This has lead to the 72 virgins concept being widely used as a way to entice martyrdom.  


Also reported in Sunan al-Kubra and Musnad Ahmad ibn Hanbal, and declared sahih (authentic)<ref name="SP 4828"></ref> by Ibn Abi Shayba, Ibn Hibban, and al-Hakim is the hadith that states the servant in Paradise will be [[Marriage|married]] with seventy wives and that they'll be given the sexual strength for a hundred.<ref name="al Janna">"''Anas said, Allah be well-pleased with him: The Messenger of Allah said, upon him blessings and peace: “The servant in Paradise shall be married with seventy wives.” Someone said, “Messenger of Allah, can he bear it?” He said: “He will be given strength for a hundred.” From Zayd ibn Arqam, Allah be well-pleased with him, when an incredulous Jew or Christian asked the Prophet, upon him blessings and peace, “Are you claiming that a man will eat and drink in Paradise??” He replied: “Yes, by the One in Whose hand is my soul, and each of them will be given the strength of a hundred men in his eating, drinking, coitus, and pleasure.”''" - Sifat al-Janna, al-`Uqayli in the Du`afa’, and Musnad of Abu Bakr al-Bazzar</ref>
This phenomena can be witnessed in [[Palestinian Authority area|Palestine]], where the actions of a mother who sends her son to die as a martyr is sometimes seen as "marrying him off",<ref>{{cite web|url=http://palwatch.org/main.aspx?fi=565 |title=The model Palestinian mother sends her son to die as Martyr, thereby marrying him off |publisher=Al-Hayat Al-Jadida |author= |date=January 8, 2012 |quote= |archiveurl=http://www.webcitation.org/query?url=http://palwatch.org/main.aspx?fi=565&date=2012-02-21 |archivedate=2012-02-21 |deadurl=no}}</ref> and where the concept is used in Friday sermons and [[music]] [[videos]], both airing on official television.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://palwatch.org/main.aspx?fi=565 |title=72 wives await the Martyrs for Allah: Six rewards quoted in Hamas TV sermon |publisher=Al-Aqsa TV (Hamas) |author= |date=January 1, 2010 |quote= |archiveurl=http://www.webcitation.org/query?url=http://palwatch.org/main.aspx?fi=565&date=2012-02-21 |archivedate=2012-02-21 |deadurl=no}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://palwatch.org/main.aspx?fi=565 |title=Beautiful virgins await Muslim Martyrs in Paradise |archiveurl=http://www.webcitation.org/query?url=http://palwatch.org/main.aspx?fi=565&date=2012-02-21 |archivedate=2012-02-21 |deadurl=no}} - Palestinian TV (Fatah), February 7, 2010 (1 min)</ref> 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 heaven if they died as religious martyrs.<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/2687797.stm British martyrs 'promised 72 virgins'] - BBC News, January 23, 2003</ref>
 
==Relevant Quotations==
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."<ref name=" Religious_Sciences4">{{cite web|url=http://www.nderf.org/islamic_views_death.htm |title=Ihya Uloom Ed-Din (The Revival of the Religious Sciences) Vol. 4 |series=The Book of Constructive Virtues 431|author=Al Ghazzali|quote=The Prophet said to a man: 0 servant of God, if you enter Paradise, you will get what you will desire, what your eyes will be pleased with. The Prophet said : If an inmate of Paradise will wish to have a son born to him, he will get it. Its stay in womb, its weaning away from milk and its youth will come to pass at the same time. He also said : The inmantes of  Paradise will be beardless and hairless. Their colour will be white and their eyes painted with collyrium. They will be youths of 33 years of age. They will be sixty cubits long and seven cubits broad. He also said : The lowest rank of an inmate of Paradise will have eighty thousand servants and seventy two wives. In short there will be such bliss in Paradise which no eye has seen, no ear has heard and no heart has conceived. |archiveurl=http://www.webcitation.org/query?url=http://www.nderf.org/islamic_views_death.htm&date=2012-12-03 |archivedate=2012-12-03 |deadurl=no}}</ref>
 
==Virgins or Raisins?==
 
This false myth of "white raisins" originated from Christoph Luxenberg, a modern author writing under a pseudonym.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christoph_Luxenberg |title=Christoph Luxenberg |publisher=Wikipedia |author= |date=February 19, 2012 |quote= |archiveurl=http://www.webcitation.org/query?url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christoph_Luxenberg&date=2012-02-19 |archivedate=2012-02-19 |deadurl=no}}</ref> His anti-Islamic claim,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Syro-Aramaic_Reading_of_the_Koran |title=The Syro-Aramaic Reading of the Koran |publisher=Wikipedia |author= |date=February 19, 2012 |quote= |archiveurl=http://www.webcitation.org/query?url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Syro-Aramaic_Reading_of_the_Koran&date=2012-02-19 |archivedate=2012-02-19 |deadurl=no}}</ref> which has been accused of having a "Christian apologetic agenda",<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.livius.org/opinion/Luxenberg.htm |title=Missionary, dilettante or visionary? A review of Ch. Luxenberg, Die Syro-Aramäische Lesart des Qur'an |publisher=Livius |author=Richard Kroes |date=February 19, 2012 |archiveurl=http://www.webcitation.org/query?url=http://www.livius.org/opinion/Luxenberg.htm&date=2012-02-19 |archivedate=2012-02-19 |deadurl=no}}</ref> is that the Qur'an was drawn from [[Islam and the People of the Book|Christian]] Syro-Aramaic texts in the early 8<sup>th</sup> century, in order to evangelize the Arabs,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://chiesa.espresso.repubblica.it/articolo/7025?eng=y |title=The Virgins and the Grapes: the Christian Origins of the Koran |publisher=Chiesa press |author=Sandro Magister |date=March 17, 2004 |archiveurl=http://www.webcitation.org/query?url=http://chiesa.espresso.repubblica.it/articolo/7025?eng=y&date=2012-02-19 |archivedate=2012-02-19 |deadurl=no}}</ref> and that the Aramaic word 'hur' (white raisin) had been [[Mistranslated Verses|mistranslated]] by later Arab commentators into the Arabic word 'houri' (virgin).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2002/03/02/MN128985.DTL |title=Revisionist historians argue Koran has been mistranslated |publisher=New York Times |author=Alexander Stille |date=March 2, 2002 |archiveurl=http://www.webcitation.org/query?url=http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2002/03/02/MN128985.DTL&date=2012-02-19 |archivedate=2012-02-19 |deadurl=no}}</ref>
 
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,<ref name="Sura56_22">"''And (there are) fair ones with wide, lovely eyes,-''" - {{Quran|56|22}}</ref> big breasts,<ref name="Sura78_33">"''And voluptuous women of equal age;''" - {{Quran|78|33}}</ref> cannot restrain their glances,<ref name="Sura55_56"></ref> cannot be described as chaste,<ref name="Sura55_56"></ref> or have any of the characteristics listed above. The Qur'an further states that men will be wed to these houri.<ref name="Sura 44 54">"''Even so (it will be). And We shall wed them unto fair ones with wide, lovely eyes.''" - {{Quran|44|54}}</ref> 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.
 
==Terrorism==
 
[[Suicide]] is clearly forbidden in Islam, but the [[The Islamic Ruling on the Permissibility of Martyrdom Operations|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,<ref name="Faisal">{{cite web|url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2001/aug/28/comment.israelandthepalestinians |title=Bombing for God (Special report: Israel and the Middle East) |publisher=The Guardian |author=Faisal Bodi |date=August 28, 2001 |archiveurl=http://www.webcitation.org/query?url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2001/aug/28/comment.israelandthepalestinians&date=2012-02-21 |archivedate=2012-02-21 |deadurl=no}}</ref> and [[Dr.]] [[Zakir Naik]], known for his advocacy of "[[Islam and Science|Qur'anic science]]", have justified the use of suicide bombing in Islam.<ref>Sheikh Yusuf Al-Qaradawi - [http://www.islamonline.net/servlet/Satellite?pagename=IslamOnline-English-Ask_Scholar/FatwaE/FatwaE&cid=1119503545134 Palestinian Women Carrying Out Martyr Operations] - Islam Online, November 6, 2006</ref><ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JtZxNqxpb8s Is Suicide Bombing allowed in Islam? By Dr. Zakir Naik] (a YouTube video posted by PeaceTVUK on September 20, 2008</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tolonews.com/en/afghanistan/9627-pakistan-ulema-permits-suicide-attacks |title=Pakistan Ulema Permits Suicide Attacks |publisher=TOLOnews |author=Abdul Haq Omari |date=March 2, 2013 |archiveurl=http://www.webcitation.org/query?url=http://www.tolonews.com/en/afghanistan/9627-pakistan-ulema-permits-suicide-attacks&date=2013-03-05 |archivedate=2013-03-05 |deadurl=no}}</ref> Opinion polls have further shown that an [[Muslim Statistics - Terrorism|extremely large number]] of Muslims from around the world support the practice.<ref name="Faisal"></ref><ref name="JP">Michael Freund - [http://web.archive.org/web/20070210015156/http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1167467849587&pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull Right On: The straightforward arithmetic of jihad] - The Jerusalem Post, January 31, 2007</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://web.archive.org/web/20040412010339/http://web.mid-day.com/news/world/2004/march/79639.htm |title=65% Pakistanis support Osama, says report |publisher=Mid Day |author=Khalid A-H Ansari |date=March 27, 2004 |archiveurl=http://www.webcitation.org/query?url=http://web.archive.org/web/20040412010339/http://web.mid-day.com/news/world/2004/march/79639.htm&date=2012-02-11 |archivedate=2012-02-11 |deadurl=no}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.scotsman.com/news/international/one_in_eight_uk_muslims_support_terrorist_attacks_1_517610 |title=One in eight UK Muslims 'support terrorist attacks' |publisher=Scotsman.com |author= |date=March 15, 2004 |quote= |archiveurl=http://www.webcitation.org/query?url=http://www.scotsman.com/news/international/one_in_eight_uk_muslims_support_terrorist_attacks_1_517610&date=2012-02-04 |archivedate=2012-02-04 |deadurl=no}}</ref>
 
The Qur'an states that all Muslim males, not only martyrs, will be rewarded with virgins.<ref name="q56_36">"''Then We have made them virgins''" - {{Quran|56|36}}</ref> However, the Qur'an does also mention that those who [[The Meaning of Qatal|fight]] in the way of Allah ([[jihad]]) and get killed will be given a "great reward",<ref name="Sura4 74">"''Let those (believers) Who sell the life of this world for the hereafter fight in the cause of Allah and whoso fights in the cause of Allah, - and is slain or gets victory, We shall bestow on him a great reward.''" - {{Quran|4|74}}</ref> and there are also hasan (good) hadith<ref name="QA 8511"></ref> which refer to 72 virgins as one of the "seven blessings from Allah" to the martyr.<ref name="alMiqdaam"></ref> 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 [[Palestinian Authority area|Palestine]], where the actions of a mother who sends her son to die as a martyr is sometimes seen as "marrying him off",<ref>{{cite web|url=http://palwatch.org/main.aspx?fi=565 |title=The model Palestinian mother sends her son to die as Martyr, thereby marrying him off |publisher=Al-Hayat Al-Jadida |author= |date=January 8, 2012 |quote= |archiveurl=http://www.webcitation.org/query?url=http://palwatch.org/main.aspx?fi=565&date=2012-02-21 |archivedate=2012-02-21 |deadurl=no}}</ref> and where the concept is used in Friday sermons and [[music]] [[videos]], both airing on official television.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://palwatch.org/main.aspx?fi=565 |title=72 wives await the Martyrs for Allah: Six rewards quoted in Hamas TV sermon |publisher=Al-Aqsa TV (Hamas) |author= |date=January 1, 2010 |quote= |archiveurl=http://www.webcitation.org/query?url=http://palwatch.org/main.aspx?fi=565&date=2012-02-21 |archivedate=2012-02-21 |deadurl=no}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://palwatch.org/main.aspx?fi=565 |title=Beautiful virgins await Muslim Martyrs in Paradise |archiveurl=http://www.webcitation.org/query?url=http://palwatch.org/main.aspx?fi=565&date=2012-02-21 |archivedate=2012-02-21 |deadurl=no}} - Palestinian TV (Fatah), February 7, 2010 (1 min)</ref> 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.<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/2687797.stm British martyrs 'promised 72 virgins'] - BBC News, January 23, 2003</ref>  
 
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.<ref>{{cite book|title=Understanding Arabs: A Guide for Modern Times|author=Margaret Kleffner Nydell|pages=109|year=2006|publisher=Intercultural Press|isbn=1931930252}}</ref>
 
The Bible (and more specifically [[Jesus]] in the [[Injil|four Gospels]]) does not discuss the issue of wings and a harp being provided for Christians upon their arrival in Heaven. However, both the Qur'an and Muhammad in the hadith literature do discuss the issue of virgins being provided for Muslim men upon their arrival in Paradise. So the claim made by Margaret Nydell, equating the belief in receiving heavenly virgins to that of believing in receiving heavenly wings and harps, is inaccurate and misleading.
 
==Conclusion==
 
The Qur'anic Paradise is sensual in nature,<ref name="LI June 2003"></ref> promising Muslim men voluptuous<ref name="Sura78_33"/> virgins<ref name="q56_36"/> but does not specify their exact number. This cannot possibly be a mistranslation because raisins do not have large eyes<ref name="Sura56_22"></ref> or cannot be wed to men.<ref name="Sura 44 54"></ref>
 
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 [[#Descriptions|characteristics]]. These narrations are not weak but vary in strength from good to authentic.<ref name="SP 4828"></ref><ref name="QA 8511"></ref><ref>[http://www.webcitation.org/query?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.islam.tc%2Fcgi-bin%2Faskimam%2Fask.pl%3Fq%3D7007%26act%3Dview&date=2012-01-09<!-- http://www.islam.tc/cgi-bin/askimam/ask.pl?q=7007&act=view --> The number of Hoors (70 or more) in Jannah for a Shaheed or a Jannathi is fixed by which hadeeth, and in which book] - Mufti Ebrahim Desai, Ask-Imam, Question No. 7007, October 29, 2002</ref>
 
We are also given details on the physical attributes given to men to sustain 72 virgins, namely, [[Priapism - Permanent Erection|ever-erect penises]] that never soften<ref name="Ibn Majah 39"></ref><ref name="Al-Suyuti"></ref> and the sexual strength to satisfy 100.<ref name="al Janna"></ref><ref name="Masabih XLII"></ref><ref name=" Religious_Sciences5">{{cite web|url=http://www.nderf.org/islamic_views_death.htm |title=Ihya Uloom Ed-Din (The Revival of the Religious Sciences) Vol. 4 |author=Al Ghazzali|quote=Once a Jewish learned man came to the Prophet and asked him : Who will first cross the Bridge? He said : The poor refugees : The Jew asked again : When they will enter paradise, what food will be served to them first? He said : Roasts of the livers of fish. He asked again : What will be their morning lunch? He said : Cows of paradise will be slaughtered for them. He said : What drink will be given to them? He said They will be given drink of Salsabil. The Jew said : You have spoken the truth. Once a Jew asked the Prophet : Do you think that the inmates of paradise will eat and drink? The Prophet said Yes, by One in whose hand there is my life, each one of them will be given food, drink and strength of one hundred man to have sexual intercourse. The Jew asked : Will he have any necessity of passing urine and stools? The Prophet said : In place of urine and stool, perspiration will come out of them like camphor and as a result their stomach will be cleared therefor. |archiveurl=http://www.webcitation.org/query?url=http://www.nderf.org/islamic_views_death.htm&date=2012-12-03 |archivedate=2012-12-03 |deadurl=no}}, The Book of Constructive Virtues 429</ref>
 
Although it does say they will receive a "great reward",<ref name="Sura4 74"></ref> and there are also hasan hadith<ref name="QA 8511"></ref> which refer to 72 virgins as one of the "seven blessings from Allah" to the martyr,<ref name="alMiqdaam"></ref> 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.<ref name="q56_36"></ref>
 
==Selected Quotations==


{{Quote|{{Quran-range|56|35|38}}|Lo! We have created them a (new) creation, And '''made them virgins, Lovers''', friends, For those on the right hand; }}  
{{Quote|{{Quran-range|56|35|38}}|Lo! We have created them a (new) creation, And '''made them virgins, Lovers''', friends, For those on the right hand; }}  
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Muhammad said that an inmate of Paradise will have the sexual strength of 70 men. Muhammad said, “An inmate of Paradise will have 500 Hurs, 4,000 unmarried women and 8,000 widowed women. Each of them will keep embracing him for the duration of his whole worldly life.”}}
Muhammad said that an inmate of Paradise will have the sexual strength of 70 men. Muhammad said, “An inmate of Paradise will have 500 Hurs, 4,000 unmarried women and 8,000 widowed women. Each of them will keep embracing him for the duration of his whole worldly life.”}}


==Responses to Apologetics==
==Apologetic Arguments==
# '''''"The Qur'an doesn't talk about 72 virgins, only the hadiths"'''''<BR> Even though the Qur'an does not mention the number of virgins, it does say in verse 56:36<ref name="q56_36"/> that Muslim men will be awarded with virgins in Paradise. The Qur'an describes their physical attributes, for example they will have large eyes (56:22) and big breasts (78:33)<ref name="Sura78_33"/> and so on. The actual number of houri is thus a minor issue and 72 is the number of those houris confirmed in multiple hadith. The [[hadiths]] are a [[Qur'an Only Islam - Why it is Not Possible|crucial part of Islam]] and certain Muslims ignore them because sometimes they contain uncomfortable details about Islam. There are many hadiths and Qur'anic verses which talk about various issues of a sexual nature. According to {{Bukhari|1|5|268}} which belongs to the most authentic collection of hadiths, Muhammad himself was given the sexual strength of 30 men and so on.
# '''''"The 72 virgins hadith has been classified as Da'if (weak) or Maudu (fabricated)"'''''<BR>This is not true. The hadith from Sunan al-Tirmidhi has been graded hasan sahih gharib (a “fair, sound, single-chained hadith”).<ref name="SP 4828"></ref> Additionally there is not only one "72 virgins" hadith. We have quoted narrations here that have been graded both hasan (good) and sahih (authentic), and there are [[Authenticity of 72 Virgins Hadith|many others]].
# '''''"Obviously this hadith has been made up, is unreliable and/or is a lie"'''''<BR>See answers to #1 and 2 above.
# '''''"The Qur'an doesn't talk about the number of virgins being seventy two"'''''<BR>See answer to #1 above.
# '''''"It is talking about (white) raisins, not virgins"'''''<BR>This is a myth originating from Christoph Luxenberg, a recent author with a pseudonym who has no known qualifications or authority on Islamic issues, and has been shown to be in error for [[#Virgins or Raisins?|various reasons]].
# '''''"Islam prohibits suicide"'''''<BR>Yes, hadith do exist that prohibit suicide ([[The Islamic Ruling on the Permissibility of Martyrdom Operations|Suicide ''bombing'']] however is a separate issue) but this has nothing to do with the fact that Islam promises women in Paradise as a reward for the "righteous" (i.e. Muslims).
# '''''"If the seventy two virgins thing was something big in Islam it would be talked about more frequently."'''''<BR>Women in Islamic heaven as a reward are talked about frequently in the Qur'an as evidenced by the various places in the Qur'an where their characteristics are talked about. Also if the Qur'an talks about a certain issue only once, it cannot be taken lightly in any way as every word and sentence in the Qur'an is important and holy to Muslims.
# '''''"The houri are for both men and women"'''''<BR> The Qur'an explicitly talks about female virgins with large eyes as rewards for men. On the contrary there is not a single "women will get guys as a reward" verse. Some gender neutral verses do exist but they talk about general rewards only (such as "companionship" etc). Also, according to Shaykh ‘Abd-Allaah ibn Jibreen, who was a leading cleric and a member of the Senior Clerics Association, "This number is only for men. A woman will have only one husband in Paradise, and she will be satisfied with him and will not need any more than that."<ref name="Jibreen"></ref>
# '''''"The houri are only servants and not for sexual purposes"'''''<BR> If that was true, Qur'an 56:36<ref name="q56_36"/> wouldn't say they are virgins and it wouldn't mention they have big breasts. In addition, while the Qur'an does not explicitly say they're for sexual purposes, [[Qur%27an, Hadith and Scholars:Sexuality#Paradise|other Islamic sources]] mention that. One hadith says "The believer will be given such and such strength in Paradise for sexual intercourse". Other sources state that "the penis of the Elected never softens" and that men in heaven will have the sexual strength of 100 men.<ref name="Masabih XLII">"''The Holy Prophet said: 'The believer will be given such and such strength in Paradise for sexual intercourse. It was questioned: O prophet of Allah! can he do that? He said: "He will be given the strength of one hundred persons.''" - Mishkat al-Masabih Book IV, Chapter XLII, Paradise and Hell, Hadith Number 24</ref><ref name=" Religious_Sciences5"></ref>
# '''''" If we bear in mind that the Qur'anic descriptions of the blessings of paradise are always allegorical, we realize that, in the above context, the term kawa’ib can have no other meaning than glorious or splendid beings." &ndash;[[w:Muhammad Asad|Muhammad Asad]]'''''<br>Verse 3:7 says that some verses of the Qur'an are literal and others are allegorical, without specifying any.<ref>{{Quran|3|7}}</ref> Asad has no basis for his claim that the Quran's descriptions of paradise are ''always'' allegorical. If they were, then no Muslim to this day would have received a satisfactory answer to the simple question of what is going to happen to him after death. Instead, the Qur'an frequently gives graphic descriptions of paradise and hell, along with limitless materialistic pleasures for Muslims who reach paradise and never-ending torture in hell for non-Muslims. Such descriptions rule out any chance of allegory or symbolism.


{{Core Women}}
=== White Rasins ===
This claim originated from Christoph Luxenberg, a modern author writing under a pseudonym.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christoph_Luxenberg |title=Christoph Luxenberg |publisher=Wikipedia |author= |date=February 19, 2012 |quote= |archiveurl=http://www.webcitation.org/query?url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christoph_Luxenberg&date=2012-02-19 |archivedate=2012-02-19 |deadurl=no}}</ref> It suggests that the term houri actually meant to describe "white raisins." His previous literature,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Syro-Aramaic_Reading_of_the_Koran |title=The Syro-Aramaic Reading of the Koran |publisher=Wikipedia |author= |date=February 19, 2012 |quote= |archiveurl=http://www.webcitation.org/query?url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Syro-Aramaic_Reading_of_the_Koran&date=2012-02-19 |archivedate=2012-02-19 |deadurl=no}}</ref> which has been accused of having a "Christian apologetic agenda",<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.livius.org/opinion/Luxenberg.htm |title=Missionary, dilettante or visionary? A review of Ch. Luxenberg, Die Syro-Aramäische Lesart des Qur'an |publisher=Livius |author=Richard Kroes |date=February 19, 2012 |archiveurl=http://www.webcitation.org/query?url=http://www.livius.org/opinion/Luxenberg.htm&date=2012-02-19 |archivedate=2012-02-19 |deadurl=no}}</ref> is that the Quran was drawn from [[Islam and the People of the Book|Christian]] Syro-Aramaic texts in the early 8<sup>th</sup> century, in order to evangelize the Arabs,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://chiesa.espresso.repubblica.it/articolo/7025?eng=y |title=The Virgins and the Grapes: the Christian Origins of the Koran |publisher=Chiesa press |author=Sandro Magister |date=March 17, 2004 |archiveurl=http://www.webcitation.org/query?url=http://chiesa.espresso.repubblica.it/articolo/7025?eng=y&date=2012-02-19 |archivedate=2012-02-19 |deadurl=no}}</ref> and that the Aramaic word 'hur' (white raisin) had been [[Mistranslated Verses|mistranslated]] by later Arab commentators into the Arabic word 'houri' (virgin).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2002/03/02/MN128985.DTL |title=Revisionist historians argue Koran has been mistranslated |publisher=New York Times |author=Alexander Stille |date=March 2, 2002 |archiveurl=http://www.webcitation.org/query?url=http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2002/03/02/MN128985.DTL&date=2012-02-19 |archivedate=2012-02-19 |deadurl=no}}</ref>
 
The Quran describes the physical characteristics of the houri in many places, such as, large eyes,<ref name="Sura56_22" /> big breasts,<ref name="Sura78_33" /> chaste,<ref name="Sura55_56" /> and restraining their glances.<ref name="Sura55_56" /> The Quran further states that men will be wed to these houri.<ref name="Sura 44 54" /> These relevant verses suggest that Luxenberg's "white rasins" theory is in error.
 
=== Virgins only mentioned in hadith not Quran ===
Although the Quran does not mention the exact number of virgins, it does state that Muslim men will be awarded with (multiple) virgins in heaven.<ref name="q56_36" /> The Quran describes some of their physical attributes and personality traits<ref name="Sura56_22" /><ref name="Sura78_33" /><ref name="Sura55_56" />. 
 
The number of houri are confirmed in multiple hadiths.<ref name=":0" /> Also worth noting is that hadiths are a [[Qur'an Only Islam - Why it is Not Possible|crucial part of Islam]] but can be ignored by certain Muslims who disagree with hadiths on details about Islam.
 
=== The 72 virgins hadith has been classified as Da'if (weak) or Maudu (fabricated) ===
The hadith from Sunan al-Tirmidhi has been graded hasan sahih gharib (a “fair, sound, single-chained hadith”).<ref name="SP 4828" /> Additionally there is not only one "72 virgins" hadith. There are many quoted narrations that have been graded both hasan (good) and sahih (authentic)<ref name=":0" />
 
=== Houri are only servants and not for sexual purposes ===
The Quran details that houri are chaste virgins that have big breasts.<ref name="q56_36" /> While the Quran does not explicitly state they are for sexual purposes this is mentioned in [[Qur%27an, Hadith and Scholars:Sexuality#Paradise|other Islamic sources]] . One such hadith states "The believer will be given such and such strength in heaven for sexual intercourse". Other sources state that "the penis of the elected never softens" and that men in heaven will have the sexual strength of 100 men.<ref name="Masabih XLII">"''The Holy Prophet said: 'The believer will be given such and such strength in Paradise for sexual intercourse. It was questioned: O prophet of Allah! can he do that? He said: "He will be given the strength of one hundred persons.''" - Mishkat al-Masabih Book IV, Chapter XLII, Paradise and Hell, Hadith Number 24</ref><ref name="Religious_Sciences5">{{cite web|url=http://www.nderf.org/islamic_views_death.htm |title=Ihya Uloom Ed-Din (The Revival of the Religious Sciences) Vol. 4 |author=Al Ghazzali|quote=Once a Jewish learned man came to the Prophet and asked him : Who will first cross the Bridge? He said : The poor refugees : The Jew asked again : When they will enter paradise, what food will be served to them first? He said : Roasts of the livers of fish. He asked again : What will be their morning lunch? He said : Cows of paradise will be slaughtered for them. He said : What drink will be given to them? He said They will be given drink of Salsabil. The Jew said : You have spoken the truth. Once a Jew asked the Prophet : Do you think that the inmates of paradise will eat and drink? The Prophet said Yes, by One in whose hand there is my life, each one of them will be given food, drink and strength of one hundred man to have sexual intercourse. The Jew asked : Will he have any necessity of passing urine and stools? The Prophet said : In place of urine and stool, perspiration will come out of them like camphor and as a result their stomach will be cleared therefor. |archiveurl=http://www.webcitation.org/query?url=http://www.nderf.org/islamic_views_death.htm&date=2012-12-03 |archivedate=2012-12-03 |deadurl=no}}, The Book of Constructive Virtues 429</ref>
 
=== Hour are for both men and women ===
The Quran indicates that houris will be "untouched before them by both man and jinni" <ref>Untouched before them by man or jinni
 
[https://quranx.com/55.74 Quran - 55:74]</ref> Implying that they are females that are awarded to men.{{Core Women}}


==See Also==
==See Also==


{{Hub4|Virgins|Virgins}}
{{Hub4|Virgins|Virgins}}
* [[Numbers of Islam]] ''- other number-related facts about Islam''


{{Translation-links-english|[[72_Huri_-_Bakirə|Azerbaijani]], [[:bg:72 девственици|Bulgarian]], [[72_Pannen|Czech]], [[72 Jungfrauen|German]], [[72 Huri - Bakire|Turkish]], [[Le 72 vergini|Italian]], [[:ru:72 девственницы|Russian]]}}
{{Translation-links-english|[[72_Huri_-_Bakirə|Azerbaijani]], [[:bg:72 девственици|Bulgarian]], [[72_Pannen|Czech]], [[72 Jungfrauen|German]], [[72 Huri - Bakire|Turkish]], [[Le 72 vergini|Italian]], [[:ru:72 девственницы|Russian]]}}
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* {{external_link|url=http://weaselzippers.typepad.com/blog/2009/09/video-saudi-cleric-extols-the-virtues-of-allahs-virgins-in-paradise-they-are-white-women-who-are-men.html |title=Saudi Cleric Extols the Virtues of Allah's Virgins in Paradise, "They are White Women who are Menstruation-Free, Free of Feces, Urine, Phlegm" |archiveurl=http://www.webcitation.org/query?url=http://weaselzippers.typepad.com/blog/2009/09/video-saudi-cleric-extols-the-virtues-of-allahs-virgins-in-paradise-they-are-white-women-who-are-men.html&date=2012-02-23 |archivedate=2012-02-23 |deadurl=no}}
* {{external_link|url=http://weaselzippers.typepad.com/blog/2009/09/video-saudi-cleric-extols-the-virtues-of-allahs-virgins-in-paradise-they-are-white-women-who-are-men.html |title=Saudi Cleric Extols the Virtues of Allah's Virgins in Paradise, "They are White Women who are Menstruation-Free, Free of Feces, Urine, Phlegm" |archiveurl=http://www.webcitation.org/query?url=http://weaselzippers.typepad.com/blog/2009/09/video-saudi-cleric-extols-the-virtues-of-allahs-virgins-in-paradise-they-are-white-women-who-are-men.html&date=2012-02-23 |archivedate=2012-02-23 |deadurl=no}}
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B5pqQIyQfa8 72 wives await the Martyrs for Allah: Six rewards quoted in Hamas TV sermon]
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B5pqQIyQfa8 72 wives await the Martyrs for Allah: Six rewards quoted in Hamas TV sermon]
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aolf7qrTM1E ABC's Islam Deception--Part One: Raisins or Virgins in Paradise?]
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aolf7qrTM1E ABC's Islam Deception--Part One: Raisins or Virgins in heaven?]
*[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zb326lP5RPg Dark eyed virgins greet Muslim Martyrs in Paradise]
*[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zb326lP5RPg Dark eyed virgins greet Muslim Martyrs in heaven]


;Muslim links:
;Apologetics links:
* {{external_link|url=http://theuglytruth.wordpress.com/2007/03/04/debunking-the-suicide-for-72-virgins-myth/ |title=Debunking the ‘Suicide for 72 Virgins’ Myth |archiveurl=http://www.webcitation.org/query?url=http://theuglytruth.wordpress.com/2007/03/04/debunking-the-suicide-for-72-virgins-myth/&date=2012-02-23 |archivedate=2012-02-23 |deadurl=no}} ''(see [[#Responses_to_Apologetics|Response]] section above)''
* {{external_link|url=http://theuglytruth.wordpress.com/2007/03/04/debunking-the-suicide-for-72-virgins-myth/ |title=Debunking the ‘Suicide for 72 Virgins’ Myth |archiveurl=http://www.webcitation.org/query?url=http://theuglytruth.wordpress.com/2007/03/04/debunking-the-suicide-for-72-virgins-myth/&date=2012-02-23 |archivedate=2012-02-23 |deadurl=no}} ''(see [[#Responses_to_Apologetics|Response]] section above)''


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*[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_cRmPO07U_M Atheist Comedian 72 Virgins in Heaven] ''(5:32)''
*[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_cRmPO07U_M Atheist Comedian 72 Virgins in Heaven] ''(5:32)''
*[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1dxpMTFBg48 Family guy - 72 Virgins] ''(0:25)''
*[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1dxpMTFBg48 Family guy - 72 Virgins] ''(0:25)''
Pictures: [http://jot.amid.com/post/51544807/much-to-their-surprise-the-virgins-awaiting much to their surprise...]
==References==
==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}
{{Reflist|30em}}

Revision as of 13:47, 28 December 2018

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An artist impression of the 72 virgins.

The 72 virgins or 72 houri (/ˈhʊəriz/[1]; from Persian: حُـورِی‎, ḥūrī; plural of 'ḥaurāʾ' or'ḥūrīyah'; Arabic: حُـورِيَّـة‎) refers to a celestial being that is an aspect of Heaven or jannah (Arabic: جنّة‎ 'Jannah'; plural: Jannat). This concept is mentioned in Qur'anic text as a reward to believing men after death. According to the Quran, once in jannah, believers are wed to virgins with "full grown", "swelling" or "pears-shaped" breasts.[2][3][4] The Quran provides a physical and personal description of the houri and denotes them as awards to believers. Sahih (authentic) hadith detail the amount if houris and what they are for.[5]

Orthodox Muslim theologians such as Al-Ghazali (1058 - 1111 CE) and Al-Ash'ari (874 - 935 CE) have discussed the rewards and pleasures found in heaven. Often scholars refer to hadiths that describe heaven 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."[6][7]

It is quoted by Ibn Kathir, in his Qur'anic Commentary, the Tafsir ibn Kathir,[8] and they are graphically described by Qur'anic commentator and polymath, Al-Suyuti (died 1505), who, echoing a Sahih hadith[9] from Ibn Majah,[10] wrote that the perpetual virgins will all "have appetizing vaginas", and that the "penis of the Elected never softens. The erection is eternal."[11]

The sensual nature of the houri awarded to believers are also confirmed by the two Sahih collections of hadith, namely Sahih Bukhari[12] and Sahih Muslim,[13] 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",[14] and that "the believers will visit and enjoy them".[15]

Authenticity

The concept of houri can be found in major Islamic scriptures. The Quran, states believing males will be rewarded with virgins.[16] Often put under question is the authenticity of the hadiths regarding houri.[5] A common misconception is that there is only one da`if (weak) hadith that refers to the exact number of houri awarded. These narrations are in fact found in many hadith collections with varying levels of authenticity, ranging from hasan (good) to sahih (authentic).[5]

For example, in the Sunan Ibn Majah, one of the six major hadith collections,[17] it states in a hasan (good)[9] narration that every male admitted into heaven will be given eternal erections and wed to 72 wives, all with libidinous sex organs.[10] Similarly in another hadith with multiple narrators that has been graded hasan (good), it states that the shahid (martyr) will be married to seventy-two of al-hoor al-‘iyn.[18][19]

In the Sunan al-Tirmidhi, another of the six major hadith collections,[17] it states that the smallest reward for the people of heaven is an abode with seventy-two houri.[20] Note that this is not a da'if (weak) hadith and has sanad (a chain of narrators)", contrary to common misconception.[21] It has been graded hasan sahih,[9] meaning this hadith is hasan (good) since it has several chains of transmitters, it is also sahih (authentic) as the chains are all declared authentic delivered by Imam Tirmidhi.[22]

Also reported in Sunan Al-Kubra and Musnad Ahmad Ibn Hanbal, and declared sahih (authentic)[9] by Ibn Abi Shayba, Ibn Hibban, and Al-Hakim is the hadith that states that [God's] servants will be married in heaven with seventy wives and that they'll be given the sexual strength for a hundred.[23]

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 heaven will have eighty thousand servants and seventy two wives."[24]

Descriptions

There are several descriptions related to houri that are found in various Islamic references. Some include:

Physical Attributes:

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In addition to Quranic translations of 78:33 specifying the virgins will be voluptuous[25], Sahih International translates it as "full-breasted [companions] of equal age". Tafsir al-Jalalayn says "and buxom maidens (kawā‘ib is the plural of kā‘ib) 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".[26]
  • Wide and beautiful/lovely eyes [27][28][29]
  • White skinned [30]
  • Like pearls [31]
  • Hairless except the eye brows and the head [32]
  • 60 cubits [27.5 meters] tall [33][30]
  • 7 cubits [3.2 meters] in width [30]
  • Transparent to the marrow of their bones [26][14]
  • Eternally young [32]
  • Companions of equal age [25][34]

Sexual Attributes:

  • Untouched / with hymen unbroken by sexual intercourse [35][36]
  • Virgins [37]
  • Voluptuous/full-breasted [25]
    • The word used is كواعب (kawaa'ib), which is a plural of كاعب (kaa'ib) and the meaning accordig to the dictionary is نَاهِدَةُ الثَّدْيِ (naahida thadee), "buxom breast" [38].
  • With large, round breasts which are not inclined to hang [26][4]
  • Appetizing vaginas [11]

Personality Attributes:

Other Attributes:

  • Splendid [40]
  • Pure [14]
  • Non-menstruating / non-urinating/ non-defecating and childfree [26][41]
  • Never dissatisfied [41]
  • Will sing praise [7]

Association with Terrorism

Suicide is clearly forbidden in Islam[42], but the permissibility of Istishhad (martyrdom) has scholars split on the issue.

Notable scholars and apologists such as Shaykh Yusuf Al-Qaradawi, the world's most quoted independent Islamic jurist,[43] and Dr. Zakir Naik, known for his advocacy of "Qur'anic science", have justified the use of suicide bombing in Islam.[44][45][46] Opinion polls have further shown that an extremely large number of Muslims from around the world support the practice.[43][47][48][49]

The Quran states that all Muslim males, not only martyrs, will be rewarded with virgins.[37] However, the Quran does also mention that those who fight in the way of Allah (jihad) and get killed will be given a "great reward",[50] and there are also hasan (good) hadith[19] which refer to 72 virgins as one of the "seven blessings from Allah" to the martyr.[18] This has lead to the 72 virgins concept being widely used as a way to entice martyrdom.

This phenomena can be 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",[51] and where the concept is used in Friday sermons and music videos, both airing on official television.[52][53] 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 heaven if they died as religious martyrs.[54]

Relevant Quotations

Lo! We have created them a (new) creation, And made them virgins, Lovers, friends, For those on the right hand;
Quran 56:35-38
Abu Umama narrated: "The Messenger of God said, 'Everyone that God admits into paradise will be married to 72 wives; two of them are houris and seventy of his inheritance of the [female] dwellers of hell. All of them will have libidinous sex organs and he will have an ever-erect penis.' "
Sunan Ibn Majah, Zuhd (Book of Abstinence) 39
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 PBUH saying, 'The smallest reward for the people of Heaven is an abode where there are eighty thousand servants and seventy-two houri, over which stands a dome decorated with pearls, aquamarine and ruby, as wide as the distance from al-Jabiyyah to San'a.
Al-Tirmidhi, Vol. 4, Ch. 21, No. 2687
Each time we sleep with a Houri we find her virgin. Besides, the penis of the Elected never softens. The erection is eternal; the sensation that you feel each time you make love is utterly delicious and out of this world and were you to experience it in this world you would faint. Each chosen one [i.e. Muslim] will marry seventy [sic] houris, besides the women he married on earth, and all will have appetizing vaginas.
Al-Itqan fi Ulum al-Qur'an, p. 351
Anas said, Allah be well-pleased with him: The Messenger of Allah said, upon him blessings and peace: “The servant in Paradise shall be married with seventy wives.” Someone said, “Messenger of Allah, can he bear it?” He said: “He will be given strength for a hundred.” From Zayd ibn Arqam, Allah be well-pleased with him, when an incredulous Jew or Christian asked the Prophet, upon him blessings and peace, “Are you claiming that a man will eat and drink in Paradise??” He replied: “Yes, by the One in Whose hand is my soul, and each of them will be given the strength of a hundred men in his eating, drinking, coitus, and pleasure.”
Sifat al-Janna, al-`Uqayli in the Du`afa’, and Musnad of Abu Bakr al-Bazzar
This [Qur'an 78:33] 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.
Tafsir Ibn Kathir, Abridged, Volume 10 Surat At-Tagabun to the end of the Qur'an, 333-334
“According to Prophet Muhammad (SW), the Hurs of Paradise will be pure women, free of menstruation, urine, stool, cough and children. The Hurs will sing in Paradise on divine purity and praise—we are most beautiful Hurs and we are for the honored husbands. Muhammad said that an inmate of Paradise will have the sexual strength of 70 men. Muhammad said, “An inmate of Paradise will have 500 Hurs, 4,000 unmarried women and 8,000 widowed women. Each of them will keep embracing him for the duration of his whole worldly life.”
al-Ghazzali, Ihya Uloom Ed-Din, vol.4 p.4.

Apologetic Arguments

White Rasins

This claim originated from Christoph Luxenberg, a modern author writing under a pseudonym.[55] It suggests that the term houri actually meant to describe "white raisins." His previous literature,[56] which has been accused of having a "Christian apologetic agenda",[57] is that the Quran was drawn from Christian Syro-Aramaic texts in the early 8th century, in order to evangelize the Arabs,[58] and that the Aramaic word 'hur' (white raisin) had been mistranslated by later Arab commentators into the Arabic word 'houri' (virgin).[59]

The Quran describes the physical characteristics of the houri in many places, such as, large eyes,[29] big breasts,[25] chaste,[35] and restraining their glances.[35] The Quran further states that men will be wed to these houri.[2] These relevant verses suggest that Luxenberg's "white rasins" theory is in error.

Virgins only mentioned in hadith not Quran

Although the Quran does not mention the exact number of virgins, it does state that Muslim men will be awarded with (multiple) virgins in heaven.[37] The Quran describes some of their physical attributes and personality traits[29][25][35].

The number of houri are confirmed in multiple hadiths.[5] Also worth noting is that hadiths are a crucial part of Islam but can be ignored by certain Muslims who disagree with hadiths on details about Islam.

The 72 virgins hadith has been classified as Da'if (weak) or Maudu (fabricated)

The hadith from Sunan al-Tirmidhi has been graded hasan sahih gharib (a “fair, sound, single-chained hadith”).[9] Additionally there is not only one "72 virgins" hadith. There are many quoted narrations that have been graded both hasan (good) and sahih (authentic)[5]

Houri are only servants and not for sexual purposes

The Quran details that houri are chaste virgins that have big breasts.[37] While the Quran does not explicitly state they are for sexual purposes this is mentioned in other Islamic sources . One such hadith states "The believer will be given such and such strength in heaven for sexual intercourse". Other sources state that "the penis of the elected never softens" and that men in heaven will have the sexual strength of 100 men.[60][61]

Hour are for both men and women

The Quran indicates that houris will be "untouched before them by both man and jinni" [62] Implying that they are females that are awarded to men.

This page is featured in the core article, Islam and Women which serves as a starting point for anyone wishing to learn more about this topic
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See Also

  • Virgins - A hub page that leads to other articles related to Virgins

Translations

External Links

Articles
Videos
Apologetics links
Humor

Videos:

References

  1. ↑ houri Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Even so (it will be). And We shall wed them unto fair ones with wide, lovely eyes." - Quran 44:54
  3. ↑ Several translators like Hilali-Khan (Noble Quran, translated by Hilali-Khan), Arthur John Arberry, Abdul Daryabadi, Umm Muhammad, Edward Henry Palmer, Ahmed Ali, John Medows Rodwell, Ali Ünal, George Sale, Muhammad Sarwar, and Tahir-ul-Qadri (Quran browser, Qur'an Text/Transliteration 78:33) have translated Quran 78:33 as referring to "full grown", "swelling" or "pears-shaped" breasts.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 "This [Qur'an 78:33] 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." - Ibn Kathir. Tafsir Ibn Kathir, Abridged, Volume 10 Surat At-Tagabun to the end of the Qur'an. pp. 333-334. http://www.tafsir.com/default.asp?sid=78&tid=56825. 
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 Authenticity of 72 Virgins Hadith
  6. ↑ "Ali reported that the Apostle of Allah said, "There is in Paradise a market wherein there will be no buying or selling, but will consist of men and women. When a man desires a beauty, he will have intercourse with them." - Al Hadis, Vol. 4, p. 172, No. 34
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 "A man asked the Prophet : 0 Prophet of God, will the inmates of Paradise have sexual intercourse ? He said: Anybody among them will be given sexual strength of seven, persons among you. The Prophet said : An inmate of Paradise will have five hundred hurs, four thousand unmarried women and eight thousand widowed women. Each of them will keep embracing him for the duration of his whole worldly life time. He also said: There will be markets in Paradise in which there will be no buy and sale, but there will be men and women. If any man will wish to have sexual intercourse with a woman, he will do at once. The Hurs will sing in Paradise on divine purity and praise-we are most beautiful Hurs and we are for the honoured husbands.", Al Ghazzali, "Ihya Uloom Ed-Din (The Revival of the Religious Sciences) Vol. 4", Death and Subsequent Events 430 (archived), http://www.nderf.org/islamic_views_death.htm 
  8. ↑ These two gardens are lower, in virtue and in status than the two before them, as supported in the Qur'an
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 9.4 Shaykh Gibril Haddad - How Many Wives Will The Believers Have In Paradise? - SunniPath, Question ID:4828, July 3, 2005
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 "Abu Umama narrated: "The Messenger of God said, 'Everyone that God admits into paradise will be married to 72 wives; two of them are houris and seventy of his inheritance of the [female] dwellers of hell. All of them will have libidinous sex organs and he will have an ever-erect penis.' " - Sunan Ibn Majah, Zuhd (Book of Abstinence) 39
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 "Each time we sleep with a Houri we find her virgin. Besides, the penis of the Elected never softens. The erection is eternal; the sensation that you feel each time you make love is utterly delicious and out of this world and were you to experience it in this world you would faint. Each chosen one [i.e. Muslim] will marry seventy [sic] houris, besides the women he married on earth, and all will have appetizing vaginas." - Al-Suyuti, Al-Itqan fi Ulum al-Qur'an, p. 351
  12. ↑ "Narrated Abu Huraira: Allah's Apostle said, "The first group of people who will enter Paradise, will be glittering like the full moon... Their wives will be houris ..." - Sahih Bukhari 4:55:544
  13. ↑ Citation and new article needed
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 14.2 "Narrated Abu Huraira: The Prophet said, "The first batch (of people) who will enter Paradise will be (glittering) like the full moon, and the batch next to them will be (glittering) like the most brilliant star in the sky. Their hearts will be as if the heart of a single man, for they will have neither enmity nor jealousy amongst themselves; everyone will have two wives from the houris, (who will be so beautiful, pure and transparent that) the marrow of the bones of their legs will be seen through the bones and the flesh." - Sahih Bukhari 4:54:476
  15. ↑ "Allah’s Apostle (The blessing and peace of Allah be upon him) said: "In Paradise there is a pavilion made of a single hollow pearl sixty miles wide, in each corner of which there are wives who will not see those in the other corners; and the believers will visit and enjoy them." - Sahih Bukhari 6:60:402
  16. ↑ "Verily for the Righteous there will be a fulfilment of (the heart's) desires; Gardens enclosed, and grapevines; And voluptuous women of equal age" Qur'an 78:31-33
  17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 Shaykh Gibril Haddad, "Various Issues About Hadiths", Living Islam, April 4, 2003 (archived), http://www.abc.se/~m9783/n/vih_e.html. 
  18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 It was reported in the hadeeth of al-Miqdaam ibn Ma’di Karb that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “The martyr (shaheed) has seven blessings from Allaah: he is forgiven from the moment his blood is first shed; he will be shown his place in Paradise; he will be spared the trial of the grave; and he will be secure on the Day of the Greatest Terror (the Day of Judgement); there will be placed on his head a crown of dignity, one ruby of which is better than this world and all that is in it; he will be married to seventy-two of al-hoor al-‘iyn; and he will be permitted to intercede for seventy of his relatives.” According to another report, the martyr has six blessings from Allaah. According to other reports (the number is) six, or nine, or ten - Narrated by al-Tirmidhi, who said it is a hasan hadeeth. Also narrated by Ibn Maajah in al-Sunan, by Ahmad, by ‘Abd al-Razzaaq in al-Musannaf, by al-Tabaraani in al-Kabeer, and by Sa’eed ibn Mansoor in al-Sunan
  19. ↑ 19.0 19.1 Shaykh Waleed al-Firyaan, "The six blessings of the martyrs", Islam Q&A, Fatwa No. 8511 (archived), http://www.islam-qa.com/en/ref/islamqa/8511. 
  20. ↑ "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 PBUH saying, 'The smallest reward for the people of Heaven is an abode where there are eighty thousand servants and seventy-two houri, over which stands a dome decorated with pearls, aquamarine and ruby, as wide as the distance from al-Jabiyyah to San'a." - Al-Tirmidhi, Vol. 4, Ch. 21, No. 2687
  21. ↑ Nashid Abdul-Khalliq, "Debunking the ‘Suicide for 72 Virgins’ Myth", TheUglyTruth, March 4, 2007 (archived), http://theuglytruth.wordpress.com/2007/03/04/debunking-the-suicide-for-72-virgins-myth/. 
  22. ↑ "Imam Tirmidhi (209 - 279 H)", As-Sunnah Foundation of America, February 20, 2012 (archived), http://www.sunnah.org/history/Scholars/imam_tirmidhi.htm. 
  23. ↑ "Anas said, Allah be well-pleased with him: The Messenger of Allah said, upon him blessings and peace: “The servant in Paradise shall be married with seventy wives.” Someone said, “Messenger of Allah, can he bear it?” He said: “He will be given strength for a hundred.” From Zayd ibn Arqam, Allah be well-pleased with him, when an incredulous Jew or Christian asked the Prophet, upon him blessings and peace, “Are you claiming that a man will eat and drink in Paradise??” He replied: “Yes, by the One in Whose hand is my soul, and each of them will be given the strength of a hundred men in his eating, drinking, coitus, and pleasure.”" - Sifat al-Janna, al-`Uqayli in the Du`afa’, and Musnad of Abu Bakr al-Bazzar
  24. ↑ "The Prophet said to a man: 0 servant of God, if you enter Paradise, you will get what you will desire, what your eyes will be pleased with. The Prophet said : If an inmate of Paradise will wish to have a son born to him, he will get it. Its stay in womb, its weaning away from milk and its youth will come to pass at the same time. He also said : The inmantes of Paradise will be beardless and hairless. Their colour will be white and their eyes painted with collyrium. They will be youths of 33 years of age. They will be sixty cubits long and seven cubits broad. He also said : The lowest rank of an inmate of Paradise will have eighty thousand servants and seventy two wives. In short there will be such bliss in Paradise which no eye has seen, no ear has heard and no heart has conceived.", Al Ghazzali, "Ihya Uloom Ed-Din (The Revival of the Religious Sciences) Vol. 4", The Book of Constructive Virtues 431 (archived), http://www.nderf.org/islamic_views_death.htm 
  25. ↑ 25.0 25.1 25.2 25.3 25.4 "And voluptuous women of equal age;" - Quran 78:33
  26. ↑ 26.0 26.1 26.2 26.3 Al-Tirmidhi, Sunan al-Tirmidhi, Vol. 2.
  27. ↑ 27.0 27.1 27.2 "And besides them will be chaste women, restraining their glances, with big eyes (of wonder and beauty)." - Quran 37:48
  28. ↑ "They will recline (with ease) on Thrones (of dignity) arranged in ranks; and We shall join them to Companions, with beautiful big and lustrous eyes." - Quran 52:20
  29. ↑ 29.0 29.1 29.2 "And (there are) fair ones with wide, lovely eyes,-" - Quran 56:22
  30. ↑ 30.0 30.1 30.2 Al Ghazzali, "Ihya Uloom Ed-Din (The Revival of the Religious Sciences) Vol. 4" (archived), http://www.nderf.org/islamic_views_death.htm. 
  31. ↑ "Like unto Pearls well-guarded." - Quran 56:23
  32. ↑ 32.0 32.1 Al-Tirmidhi, Sunan al-Tirmidhi, hadith: 5638
  33. ↑ Ibn Kathir: The Reward of Those on the Right After
  34. ↑ Muhammad Asad, The Message of the Qur'an,Publisher: The Book Foundation; Bilingual edition (December 2003), Language: English, ISBN 1904510000,Chapter (Surah) Al-Waqiah (That which must come to pass)(56):38, note 15
  35. ↑ 35.0 35.1 35.2 35.3 35.4 "In them will be (Maidens), chaste, restraining their glances, whom no man or Jinn before them has touched;-" - Quran 55:56
  36. ↑ "Companions restrained (as to their glances), in (goodly) pavilions;- Then which of the favours of your Lord will ye deny?- Whom no man or Jinn before them has touched;-" - Quran 55:72-74
  37. ↑ 37.0 37.1 37.2 37.3 "Then We have made them virgins" - Quran 56:36
  38. ↑ https://www.almaany.com/ar/dict/ar-ar/%D9%83%D9%88%D8%A7%D8%B9%D8%A8/
  39. ↑ Muhammad Asad, The Message of the Qur'an,Publisher: The Book Foundation; Bilingual edition (December 2003), Language: English, ISBN 1904510000,Chapter (Surah) Sad (38):52
  40. ↑ Muhammad Asad, The Message of the Qur'an, Publisher: The Book Foundation; Bilingual edition (December 2003) Language: English, ISBN 1904510000,Chapter (Surah) An-Naba (The Tiding)(78):33, note 16
  41. ↑ 41.0 41.1 "The Prophet said: If a woman of Paradise would have peeped up into this world everything therein would have been illuminated and filled up with fragrance. Every hair of her head is better than than the earth and its treasures. God says : They are like Eakut and Marjan. If their faces are seen within screen, they will be more clear than mirrors and the smallest jewel therein will illuminate what is in the heaven and earth. The Prophet said : In the night in which I was taken to heaven, I entered a place in Paradise named Baidakh whose camps are of emeralds and green pearls and red Eakut. They asked : 0 Prophet of God, Salam to you. I asked : 0 Gebrail, whose sound is there ? He said : of the beautiful women in camps. They seek your permission to salute you. So give them permission. They will be saying : We are pleased therewith. We will never be dissatisfied. We will remain here forever, we will never travel. Then he recited the verse : The beautiful damsels detained in camps. In another verse : Pure women. Muzaher explained this by saying that they will be free menstruation, urine, stool, cough and children.", Al Ghazzali, "Ihya Uloom Ed-Din (The Revival of the Religious Sciences) Vol. 4", Death and Subsequent Events 430 (archived), http://www.nderf.org/islamic_views_death.htm 
  42. ↑ "Do not kill yourselves. Verily, Allah is merciful to you. And, whoever does that, out of animosity and , We shall burn him in a Fire. And that is easy for Allah." Qur'an, 4:29-30
  43. ↑ 43.0 43.1 Faisal Bodi, "Bombing for God (Special report: Israel and the Middle East)", The Guardian, August 28, 2001 (archived), http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2001/aug/28/comment.israelandthepalestinians. 
  44. ↑ Sheikh Yusuf Al-Qaradawi - Palestinian Women Carrying Out Martyr Operations - Islam Online, November 6, 2006
  45. ↑ Is Suicide Bombing allowed in Islam? By Dr. Zakir Naik (a YouTube video posted by PeaceTVUK on September 20, 2008
  46. ↑ Abdul Haq Omari, "Pakistan Ulema Permits Suicide Attacks", TOLOnews, March 2, 2013 (archived), http://www.tolonews.com/en/afghanistan/9627-pakistan-ulema-permits-suicide-attacks. 
  47. ↑ Michael Freund - Right On: The straightforward arithmetic of jihad - The Jerusalem Post, January 31, 2007
  48. ↑ Khalid A-H Ansari, "65% Pakistanis support Osama, says report", Mid Day, March 27, 2004 (archived), http://web.archive.org/web/20040412010339/http://web.mid-day.com/news/world/2004/march/79639.htm. 
  49. ↑ "One in eight UK Muslims 'support terrorist attacks'", Scotsman.com, March 15, 2004 (archived), http://www.scotsman.com/news/international/one_in_eight_uk_muslims_support_terrorist_attacks_1_517610. 
  50. ↑ "Let those (believers) Who sell the life of this world for the hereafter fight in the cause of Allah and whoso fights in the cause of Allah, - and is slain or gets victory, We shall bestow on him a great reward." - Quran 4:74
  51. ↑ "The model Palestinian mother sends her son to die as Martyr, thereby marrying him off", Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, January 8, 2012 (archived), http://palwatch.org/main.aspx?fi=565. 
  52. ↑ "72 wives await the Martyrs for Allah: Six rewards quoted in Hamas TV sermon", Al-Aqsa TV (Hamas), January 1, 2010 (archived), http://palwatch.org/main.aspx?fi=565. 
  53. ↑ "Beautiful virgins await Muslim Martyrs in Paradise" (archived), http://palwatch.org/main.aspx?fi=565.  - Palestinian TV (Fatah), February 7, 2010 (1 min)
  54. ↑ British martyrs 'promised 72 virgins' - BBC News, January 23, 2003
  55. ↑ "Christoph Luxenberg", Wikipedia, February 19, 2012 (archived), http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christoph_Luxenberg. 
  56. ↑ "The Syro-Aramaic Reading of the Koran", Wikipedia, February 19, 2012 (archived), http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Syro-Aramaic_Reading_of_the_Koran. 
  57. ↑ Richard Kroes, "Missionary, dilettante or visionary? A review of Ch. Luxenberg, Die Syro-Aramäische Lesart des Qur'an", Livius, February 19, 2012 (archived), http://www.livius.org/opinion/Luxenberg.htm. 
  58. ↑ Sandro Magister, "The Virgins and the Grapes: the Christian Origins of the Koran", Chiesa press, March 17, 2004 (archived), http://chiesa.espresso.repubblica.it/articolo/7025?eng=y. 
  59. ↑ Alexander Stille, "Revisionist historians argue Koran has been mistranslated", New York Times, March 2, 2002 (archived), http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2002/03/02/MN128985.DTL. 
  60. ↑ "The Holy Prophet said: 'The believer will be given such and such strength in Paradise for sexual intercourse. It was questioned: O prophet of Allah! can he do that? He said: "He will be given the strength of one hundred persons." - Mishkat al-Masabih Book IV, Chapter XLII, Paradise and Hell, Hadith Number 24
  61. ↑ "Once a Jewish learned man came to the Prophet and asked him : Who will first cross the Bridge? He said : The poor refugees : The Jew asked again : When they will enter paradise, what food will be served to them first? He said : Roasts of the livers of fish. He asked again : What will be their morning lunch? He said : Cows of paradise will be slaughtered for them. He said : What drink will be given to them? He said They will be given drink of Salsabil. The Jew said : You have spoken the truth. Once a Jew asked the Prophet : Do you think that the inmates of paradise will eat and drink? The Prophet said Yes, by One in whose hand there is my life, each one of them will be given food, drink and strength of one hundred man to have sexual intercourse. The Jew asked : Will he have any necessity of passing urine and stools? The Prophet said : In place of urine and stool, perspiration will come out of them like camphor and as a result their stomach will be cleared therefor.", Al Ghazzali, "Ihya Uloom Ed-Din (The Revival of the Religious Sciences) Vol. 4" (archived), http://www.nderf.org/islamic_views_death.htm , The Book of Constructive Virtues 429
  62. ↑ Untouched before them by man or jinni Quran - 55:74
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