{{Mergeto|Houri|Talk:72_Virgins#Merge.3F|date=April 2007}}

{{Islam}}

The concept of '''72 virgins''' in [[Islam]] refers to an aspect of [[Jannah|paradise]].

==Qur'an, Hadith and Tafsir==

In the [[Qur'an]], there are several descriptions of the mates that inhabit paradise. They are described as, {{cite quran|56|22|verseend=23|quote=fair ones with wide, lovely eyes, Like unto hidden pearls}} and {{cite quran|78|33|quote=voluptuous}}.

In a collection by [[Al-Tirmidhi|Imam at-Tirmidhi]] in his [[Sunan al-Tirmidhi|"Sunan"]] (Volume IV, Chapters on "The Features of Heaven as described by the Messenger of Allah", chapter 21: "About the Smallest Reward for the People of Heaven", hadith 2687) and also quoted by [[Ibn Kathir]] in his ''[[Tafsir ibn Kathir|Tafsir]]'' (Qur'anic Commentary) of [[Surah]] {{cite quran|55|72|style=nosup}}, it is stated that:

<blockquote>"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 [[Muhammad|Prophet Muhammad]] saying, 'The smallest reward for the people of Heaven is an abode where there are eighty thousand servants and [[72 (number)|seventy two]] [[houri]], over which stands a dome decorated with [[pearl]]s, [[aquamarine]] and [[ruby]], as wide as the distance from [[Damascus|al-Jabiyyah]] to [[Sanaá|San'a]].<ref>[http://www.livingislam.org/fiqhi/sp2-gfh_e.html#9 How Many Wives Will The Believers Have In Paradise?] - Questions answered by Islamic scholar [[Gibril Haddad]]</ref></blockquote>

[[Ibn Kathir]], in his [[tafsir]], writes that verse {{cite quran|78|33|style=nosup}} in the Qur'an describes the physical attributes of women. He says the following about the verse: "''This means round breasts. They meant by this that the breasts of these girls will be fully rounded and not sagging, because they will be virgins, equal in age.'''".<ref>{{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>

==Interpretations==

One radical new interpretation of the relevant passages of the [[Qur'an]], widely rejected as revisionist scholarship by Muslim scholars, is ''[[The Syro-Aramaic Reading Of The Qur'an]]'' written by [[Christoph Luxenberg]]. In respect of this particular point, Luxenberg argues that the relevant passage actually translates to a portrayal of paradise as a lush garden with pooling water and trees with rare fruit, including ''white raisins'' (considered to be delicacies at the time that the Qur'an was written), not virgin maidens.<ref>{{cite book|title=Islam: A Mosaic, Not a Monolith|author=Vartan Gregorian|pages=19|date=2003|publisher=Brookings Institution Press|id=ISBN 081573283X}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|author=Alexander Stille|title=Scholars Are Quietly Offering New Theories of the Koran|work=[[New York Times]]|date=[[2002-03-02]]|pages=A1}}</ref>

[[Margaret Nydell]] states that mainstream [[Muslims]] regard this belief about 72 virgins in the same way that mainstream [[Christians]] regard the belief that after death they will be issued with wings and a harp, and walk on clouds.<ref>{{cite book|title=Understanding Arabs: A Guide for Modern Times|author=Margaret Kleffner Nydell|pages=109|date=2006|publisher=Intercultural Press|id=ISBN 1931930252}}</ref>

==Notable uses of the term==

While being disarmed by the Israeli troops in 2004, would-be suicide bomber [[Hussam Abdo]], described by Israeli media as a "mentally challenged" boy, said: "Blowing myself up is the only chance I've got to have sex with 72 virgins in the Garden of Eden."<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3567791.stm Jerusalem Post as reported by BBC]</ref>

==See also==

*[[Jannah]]

*[[Houri]]

==References==

<references/>

== Further reading ==

* {{cite news|title=Virgins? What virgins?|date=[[2002-01-12]]|work=[[The Guardian]]|url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/religion/Story/0,2763,631357,00.html|author=Ibn Warraq|publisher=Guardian News and Media Limited}}

* {{cite web|title=Does the Koran really promise Islamic martyrs 72 virgins?|date=[[2001-12-14]]|author=Cecil Adams|work=[[The Straight Dope]]|url=http://www.straightdope.com/columns/011214.html}}

* {{cite book |url=http://www.scribd.com/doc/17568/Tafsir-Ibn-Kathir-Abridged-volume-10 |title=Tafsir Ibn Kathir, Abridged Volume 10 |author=Ibn Kathir}}

==External links==

* [http://www.islamqa.com/index.php?ref=60188&ln=eng&txt=virgins Description of al-hoor al-‘iyn in the Qur’aan and Sunnah]

* [http://www.islamqa.com/index.php?ref=10053&ln=eng Response from IslamQA team to a Muslim asking about sex with virgins in heaven]

*[http://skepdic.com/houri.html Houris] - Skepdic.com

*[http://www.apologeticspress.org/articles/2682 Afterlife and the Quran]

*[http://answering-islam.org/Shamoun/mary.htm Mary the Mother of Jesus: A Houri in Paradise?] - Answering-Islam.org

*[http://www.newyorker.com/humor/2007/01/29/070129sh_shouts_martin A humorous look at the Seventy two virgins] - From [[The New Yorker]]

*[http://www.unc.edu/~kurzman/Soc3264/Wiktorowicz_EXPLAINING_SUICIDE_BOMBINGS.doc Suicide Bombings - Do Beliefs Matter?] by Quintan Wiktorowicz

*[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/2687797.stm British martyrs 'promised 72 virgins'] - BBC

*[http://www.memri.org/bin/articles.cgi?Area=ia&ID=IA7401 '72 Black Eyed Virgins': A Muslim Debate on the Rewards of Martyrs] - Memri.org

*{{cite news|author=Joyce M Davis |date=[[2001-08-24]]|url=http://www.muslimnews.co.uk/news/news.php?article=996 |title='60 Minutes' quotations fabricated |publisher=Knight-Ridder Newspapers as reported by The Muslim News |accessdate=2007-04-27}}

*[http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3260578,00.html Cleric: Zarqawi's wedding with virgins has begun]

[[Category:Islamic eschatology]]