I am very Muslim-friendly and have a question for Muslims only. Why the 72 virgins?

Question

I promise this is not hateful.

Let me say that if writes any pot shots against Muslims or Islam or Muhammad (pbuh) or the Qur'an or anything like this, each person will be reported MORE THAN ONCE. Bigotry of any kind makes my blood boil, I will have no problem doing the reporting.

Muslims....
Why the 72 virgins? This is something I've never understood. Why virgins? Why 72? Why not 34? Why not 1? Why the virgins at all? Please help me understand, I'm sure there is a good answer, but I don't know it.

All hate mongers will be reported, remember. I know it'll happen, just trying to prevent it. I hope it doesn't happen.

**sigh** I knew it would happen. I kept my word, had to do it.

Meh, thank you for your answer. I love it!

Answer 1

I agree on your bigotry post, I don't like it either, and I hope you aren't offended by any of this, but on to your question.

According to Cecil Adams, a syndicated columnist, auteur of "The Straight Dope."

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I realize I'm treading on dangerous ground here. But I figure, Salman Rushdie got a fatwa, and I want one too.

A couple observations. First, nonfundamentalist Muslims don't take the cosmological parts of the Koran any more literally than nonfundamentalist Christians take the biblical story of Genesis. They understand the bits about virgins and so on as metaphors for the ineffable joys of the afterlife. Second, while dreams of celestial babes may motivate the impoverished Palestinian kids who blow themselves up on Israeli street corners, a number of the 9-11 terrorists were older and had known something of earthly delights. That these middle-class types nonetheless were suicidal fanatics is yet another indication that we've entered a scary new phase.

Now to your question. The difficulty in determining what the Koran has to say about virgins and such is establishing what the Koran says, period. Translators vary widely in their rendering of the spare and often opaque text. For example, we find the following passage in a Web-based version of Islam's holy book (www.unn.ac.uk/societies/islamic/index.htm): "Verily, for the Muttaqun [righteous], there will be a success (paradise); gardens and grapeyards; and young full-breasted (mature) maidens of equal age; and a full cup (of wine)" (An-Naba 78:31-34). Whoa, one thinks--the Kingdom of Heaven meets the Playboy Advisor! However, most other English translations, both on-line and in print, replace "full-breasted maidens" with some tame construction such as "companions." Inquiring further, we find that the Arabic word at issue is WakawaAAiba, which appears nowhere else in the Koran. The French, less prudish in these matters, usually render it as something like des belles aux seins arrondis, "beautiful women with round breasts," so I think it's pretty clear what the Prophet, or at least his stenographers, had in mind.

Nothing in the Koran specifically states that the faithful are allotted 72 virgins apiece. For this elaboration we turn to the hadith, traditional sayings traced with varying degrees of credibility to Muhammad. Hadith number 2,562 in the collection known as the Sunan al-Tirmidhi says, "The least [reward] for the people of Heaven is 80,000 servants and 72 wives, over which stands a dome of pearls, aquamarine and ruby."

A little hype from the marketing department, you may say. Fine. Let's return to the Koran, Islam's font of religious authority. Even if we leave out the racy detail and make allowances for metaphor, we're obliged to admit that Islamic heaven is a pretty rockin' place, with an emphasis on sensual pleasures. The provision of virgins in indeterminate quantities is alluded to at numerous points, and you know they're not just there to fluff the pillows. (In fairness to the Prophet, the physical quality usually attributed to the houris, as they're called, is "wide lovely eyes.") The food, service, ambience., etc, are great. You're allowed to enjoy things the Koran explicitly denies you on earth, such as alcohol, and you won't even get sick. ("Wine . . . delicious to those who drink it . . . will neither dull their senses nor they will become drunk.") Granted, the whole thing is skewed toward the male idea of a good time, a defect by no means confined to Islam. Were Muhammad to found a religion today, I'm confident that each female arrival in heaven would be assigned a comely stud who would provide fabulous sex and in addition hang the curtain rods the first time he was asked. Granted, also, the emphasis on virgins is a little weird. (Think back on the first nights you've been party to. Was this your idea of great sex?) Still, you have to admit, heaven as Party Central sure beats the Christian idea of angels with harps.

Does this make Islamic cosmology "unsophisticated and juvenile"? Maybe. (Oh, let's not be lame about this. Of course it does.) But don't be too quick to judge. Christianity, after all, invented the idea of paradise in the first place. Looking at things from the point of view of a cynical materialist, which is the more outrageous proposition--luring the proles with the promise of eternal life, or throwing 72 virgins into the bargain?

http://www.straightdope.com/columns/011214.html

Answer 2

To be short. The Arabs were and are fond of virgins. Sex with daughters, sisters, and wives (exception to virgins) of the kaffirs (Infidals) was a biggest temptatioan for the beduoans (jehadies) to raid on thier towns and kill them ruthlessly. And if during the process, they get kill, the temptation was even bigger (144 huge t**s plus other fringe benefits). The same mentality pervails even now and suiside bombers have strong believe that they are going to met these 72 virgins plus beautiful boys soon after the expoltion as it will take them to heaven immediatly without passport or visa. No matter how may innocent kaffirs may get killed

Answer 3

i'm a muslim n there is NO mention of 72 virgins anywhere in the Quran..
some idiot has spread this bullshit..... u shud only listen to what the Quran or the Hadith says!!!!!
some ppl try to give a bad name to islam thru stuff like this to make it look pathetic.. on the other hand... islam is a beautiful religion... actually its a WAY OF LIFE!!!... n if we follow it completely we can prosper in both these worlds...

when the muslims followed the quran n sunnah ..they exelled in everything.... but when they left quran... they have gone to a down fall!!!

Answer 4

I've never heard of anything like 72 virgins in heaven, I've read the quran and I found nothing that says anything about 72 virgins.
I'm a moslem by the way. :)
I like the way you asked, I can see that you are wise and open minded.

Answer 5

Hello, I am happy you asked this. LOL this is the 3rd time I have answered this question in the last 2 days. The information is really long, so I will just give you the links. You can read it all to understand it fully. Non-Muslims have twisted this so bad it is not even funny. There is much good behind this, and believe it or not, women have similar rewards to. The links I have provided will explain it all. Any more questions feel free to email me.

http://63.175.194.25/index.php?ln=eng&ds...

http://63.175.194.25/index.php?ln=eng&ds...

Answer 6

Never heard of it but I saw this singer on TV his name was Johnny Abdul. He had a record collection and was singing songs . All I remember were the songs Beruit Suede Shoes and Stairway to Mecca.

Answer 7

raheel
all u said is definitely LIE!! and extremely rude and Anti-Arab and Anti-Muslims and i will report u. if u believe incest (which is serious sin in both Islam as a religion of God and Arab as people)
Yahoo.answers must stop haters like you trying to spreading lies to ruin the image of Islam and Arab. this is really outragious!

Answer 8

Nothing to do with muslims, everyone is lovely...

However vigrins are nicer...72 why not...the more the merrier

Answer 9

Could you please provide me with the source as to were you got the number 72 virgins from. E-mail me.

Answer 10

because anybody that believe that s h i t have troubles counting to more that 72.