Houri (Heavenly Virgin): Difference between revisions

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Although 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>, the matter of deliberate/pre-meditated [[Martyr|martyrdom]] in battle (e.g. suicide bombing) has, as is typical with [[Fiqh (Islamic Jurisprudence)|legal rulings]], left Islamic scholars divided.
Although 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>, the matter of deliberate/pre-meditated [[Martyr|martyrdom]] in battle (e.g. suicide bombing) has, as is typical with [[Fiqh (Islamic Jurisprudence)|legal rulings]], left Islamic scholars divided.


Notable scholars and 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 following 9/11 found that an [[Muslim Statistics - Terrorism|extremely large number]] of persons in Muslim-majority countries supported 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>  
Notable scholars and 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 following 9/11 found that an extremely large number of persons in Muslim-majority countries supported 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>  


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 exist hasan (good) hadith<ref name="QA 8511" /> which refer to the 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.  
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 exist hasan (good) hadith<ref name="QA 8511" /> which refer to the 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.  


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>
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",<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==
 
=== Qur'an ===
{{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; }}
 
=== Hadith ===
{{Quote|Sunan Ibn Majah, Zuhd (Book of Abstinence) 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'''.' "}}
 
{{Quote|Al-Tirmidhi, Vol. 4, Ch. 21, No. 2687|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.}}
 
=== Scholars ===
{{Quote|Al-Itqan fi Ulum al-Qur'an, p. 351|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'''.}}
 
{{Quote|Sifat al-Janna, al-`Uqayli in the Du`afa’, and Musnad of Abu Bakr al-Bazzar|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'''.”}}
 
{{Quote|1=Tafsir Ibn Kathir, Abridged, Volume 10 Surat At-Tagabun to the end of the Qur'an, 333-334|2=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.}}
 
{{Quote|al-Ghazzali, ''Ihya Uloom Ed-Din'', vol.4 p.4.|“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.”}}
 
==Apologetic Arguments==
==Apologetic Arguments==


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The Quran indicates that houris will be "untouched before them by both man and jinni" <ref>Untouched before them by man or jinni
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}}
[https://quranx.com/55.74 Quran - 55:74]</ref> Implying that they are females that are awarded to men.
==Relevant Quotations==
 
===Qur'an===
{{Quote|{{quran-range|36|55|58}}|Lo! those who merit paradise this day are <b>happily employed</b>, They and <b>their wives</b>, in pleasant shade, on thrones reclining; Theirs the fruit (of their good deeds) and <b>theirs (all) that they ask</b>; The word from a Merciful Lord (for them) is: Peace!}}{{Quote|{{Quran-range|37|48|49}}|And with them are those <b>of modest gaze</b>, with lovely eyes, <b>(Pure) as they were hidden eggs (of the ostrich)</b>.}}{{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; }}
 
===Hadith===
{{Quote|Sunan Ibn Majah, Zuhd (Book of Abstinence) 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'''.' "}}
 
{{Quote|Al-Tirmidhi, Vol. 4, Ch. 21, No. 2687|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.}}
 
===Scholars===
{{Quote|Al-Itqan fi Ulum al-Qur'an, p. 351|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'''.}}
 
{{Quote|Sifat al-Janna, al-`Uqayli in the Du`afa’, and Musnad of Abu Bakr al-Bazzar|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'''.”}}
 
{{Quote|1=Tafsir Ibn Kathir, Abridged, Volume 10 Surat At-Tagabun to the end of the Qur'an, 333-334|2=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.}}
 
{{Quote|al-Ghazzali, ''Ihya Uloom Ed-Din'', vol.4 p.4.|“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.”}}
{{Core Women}}


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