72 Virgins in Heaven

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72 Virgins in Heaven

was watching a the Larry King show on CNN which was hosting a panel of people from different faiths. The Jewish Rabbi made a comment about how it was reprehensible that a religion could lure men to commit acts of terrorism using 73 virgins in heaven as a bait. The muslim representative gentleman, apparently a well educated physician as well as a senior member on the Board of American Muslims said not a word!!! to refute this. I dialed into the show like a madwoman but could not get through, unfortunately.

My question to everyone out there is this that where and when did this fantasy come from? I'm sure it is a wonderful fantasy for men but why is it becoming part of this American pop culture thing against the muslims, every comedian has a joke about this in their stand-up. If any of you happen to believe in this, let me just say that there is absolutely no such promise in the Quran like this, and nothing supercedes the Quran. Let me quote the the Quran in this regard, the Quran mentions that we will be reunited with our spouses in heaven and they will be restored to a young age, and it makes mention of houris, beautiful gazelle-eyed women, and youthful boys as beautiful as well guarded pearls. I suppose those who never married, or divorced, or whose spouses never made it to heaven will have these men and women as their companions, who knows. But no where is there any mention that martyrs will be gifted with 72 virgins. If you know the source of this fallacy please let me know.

I request anyone who cares about the repuataion of Islam to please spread the word and deny all this emphatically. I am going to try to be proactive and go to my university to the professors who teach religion courses and request them to let me visit their classes and say a few words about this fallacy and some other fallacies I'm concerned about. It would be great if some other students did this as well.

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It makes absolutely no sense from a logical point of view. I mean think about it - in heaven, we are promised whatever our heart desires! So in that case, if someone wants 3000 virgins or 5000 non-virgins, they will get it! So if we can have anything we want anyone, God would not need to specify 72 virgins for martyrs!

Also, will the concept of 'virginity' really be an issue in heaven? I mean, sex before marriage is not allowed as a safety mechanism for ourselves and wider society. In heaven this would be an non-issue - there would be no such thing as sins, or negativity, or jealousy, or STD's or abortion or rape, and adultary!

Sis Mindovermatter ? Are you alright sis? I understand that it?s hard for us to comprehend the wisdom of it all now but Allah does as He Wills. Besides there will be no jealousy in paradise. As for the mockery we receive from others, just let them be. If it?s not the issue of the 72 virgins, they will surely scheme up something else to attack our belief. I guess that?s only natural. Remember what our beloved Prophet (saw) said: ?Islam began as something strange and will return to being strange as it began, so give glad tidings to the strangers.?

Br Ridwan ? Mashaallah such a good name you?re blessed with! :)

Brother Oasis_asu emailed me and pointed out that the Hadith concerning 70 Houris is authentic and it is reported as regards the one who dies as a martyr in the Cause of Allah.

www.islamonline.net cid=1119503543756

p.s. by the way my name is Ridwan in arabic, or Rizwan in Urdu...so jazakAllah for describing the meaning of 'Ridwan':)

Hadith Tirmidhi is classed as one of the most authentic hadiths after Bukhari and Muslim. It saddens me to see some Muslims using this blown up issue of the 72 virgins to justify why they don?t believe in the teachings of the hadiths all together. This is Shaykh Gibril F Haddad?s respond to the criticisms by non-Muslims regarding the 72 virgins:

?the perfection of Islam dictates that it have a motivation for every type of person including those that are not motivated except through sensory reward, which is the common lot whether Christians deny it or not, and that the principle of Paradise as reward for martyrs is also very much present in their doctrine. However, Paradise in Islam also describes a higher level called ridwan i.e. the lavishing of Divine good pleasure, to which we pray that Allah guide us.?

Respond found at: qa.sunnipath.com ID=3613& CATE=1

Qrizwan ? I guess it?s possible to include Hagan Daz ice cream as one of the lavishing good pleasures! Allahualam. :P

p.s.: Could someone pls teach me how to embed links in my posts? I don't know how to. -:-

I also came to know that in arabic a number that high simply would mean to imply a high # of servants...not specifically 72 but a digit just used to signify a greatness in #.

though, I would say no to any speculations until someone comes up and quotes an authentic hadith on the matter. i guess if there isn't one, then it was just a fantasy of male species perhaps. of course, most of the things mentioned in Quran are metaphorical which makes them all universe for all mankinds...so the talk about green land and fruits maybe enticing for Arabs from desert, but a general stance should be that everything our heart may desire will be available..

am i thinking huge ponds of Hagen Daz? Amen:)

I think it is now clear that there is no mention of the 72 virgins in the Quran but it is found in the hadith that is collected by al-Tirmidhi as mentioned by Qrizwan. I am however unsure if it is saheeh (authentic) or hasan (acceptable).

Refer to this link for another hadith on this: 63.175.194.25 ds=qa& lv=browse& QR=8511& dgn=4

Well I think that the hadith that has been identified as the source of this is very questionable, in my opinion at least. Why 72 of all numbers and why not 1000 wives then. Secondly, what would one be doing in Heaven with 80,000!!! servants. As per Quran, isn't one supposed to be reclining on couches with tree branches of fruit hanging overhead with the fruits in reach and canals of milk and honey flowing nearby. What would 80,000 servants be doing for every individual. I think I'll be ok with 5 :) Sorry cannot digest this one and unfortunately it has become a public joke. Already we were considered freaks and now this to add to it.

i'll repost here my comment i posted on your je about this...

ok, this is confusing. there is no Quranic ayat that talks of 72 virgins, there are many Quranic ayats that talk of virgins in heaven who will be wed with the companions, etc.

the only hadith I came across online is collected by Imam at-Tirmidhi and also quoted by Ibn Kathir in his Tafsir (Koranic Commentary) of Surah Rhman (55), ayah (verse) 72:

?It was mentioned by Daraj Ibn Abi Hatim, that Abu al-Haytham ?Adullah Ibn Wahb narrated from Abu Sa?id al-Khudhri, who heard the Prophet Muhammad (Allah?s

blessings and peace be upon him) saying, ?The smallest reward for the people of Heaven is an abode where there are eighty thousand servants and seventy two wives, ..."

now there are already 3 narrators in this chain before Prophet Muhammad swas, so that puts a significant doubt on the authenticity of this hadith. I don't have much knowledge on this subject so I won't speculate anything. I would be interested in someone's view who does have knowledge about this.

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72 Virgins in Heaven

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