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Whats this about 72 virgins - Myth or Truth?
aljazeera.com ^
| 24/04/2004 15:00:00 GMT
| Open Mind, USA + Dr.Kareem
Posted on 04/25/2004 9:36:59 AM PDT by TaxPayer2000
I simply wanted to ask what is the background of the stories I hear about 72 virgins and automatically going to heaven. Are these based in facts? Are they documented in authorized religious texts?
I have also seen reports on the internet where Muslims are allowed to break promises to Jews and not repay loans.
Are these acts of propaganda?
I would like to know what are the truths according to Islamic teachings about Jihad's and also about what I have read about some of the more violent things I have read.
I admit I know nothing about Islam and with that admission I request that someone can help to answer my questions.
Open Mind, USA
Dr Kareems Responce
This 72 virgins story has been abused and used as a propaganda tool by Muslims and non-Muslims alike. As with most things, the answer is in the interpretation.
Firstly with respect to suicide and therefore suicide bombers, suicide is not referred to in the Quran but is forbidden in the Traditions (Hadith in Arabic), which are the collected sayings and doings attributed to the Prophet and traced back to him through a series of trustworthy witnesses.
However a distinction needs to be between the martyr and the suicide bomber. A martyr killed in a real Jihad is an honorable thing to do in Islam, and rewards in paradise for this are offered. What occurred on 911 was not a Jihad, but mass murder. In Iraq Ayatollah Ali Sistani - the leader of the majority of Shia's has not declared a Jihad, similarly in Afghanistan and its religious authorities.
The Quran does make reference to virgins, though the definition of the word virgin is disputed. Some claim the definition of the Arabic word "Abkarun" is not virgins, but Angels.
Christopher Luxenberg's book, Die Syro-Aramaische Lesart des Koran, available only in German, has an enjoyed an enthusiastic reception, particularly among those scholars with a knowledge of several Semitic languages at Princeton, Yale, Berlin, Potsdam, Erlangen, Aix-en-Provence, and the Oriental Institute in Beirut.
Luxenberg tries to show that many obscurities of the Quran disappear if we read certain words as being Syriac and not Arabic. Luxenberg claims that the context makes it clear that it is food and drink that is being offered, and not unsullied maidens or houris (virgins).
In Syriac, the word hur is a feminine plural adjective meaning white, with the word "raisin" understood implicitly.
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To: TaxPayer2000
It is correctly translated as 72 Raisins, infidel... 72 RAISINS!!!!!
2
posted on
04/25/2004 9:39:12 AM PDT
by
FormerACLUmember
(What is behind and what is before is irrelevant compared to what is within)
To: FormerACLUmember
LOL!
3
posted on
04/25/2004 9:43:02 AM PDT
by
tiamat
("Just a Bronze-Age Gal, Trapped in a Techno World!")
To: FormerACLUmember
May they all look like Raisin Numbah One:
4
posted on
04/25/2004 9:44:17 AM PDT
by
ErnBatavia
(Because Democrats are liars, they assume Republicans are too...)
To: FormerACLUmember
Or 72 virgins who resemble raisins?
5
posted on
04/25/2004 9:46:13 AM PDT
by
silverleaf
(Fasten your seat belts- it's going to be a BUMPY ride.)
To: TaxPayer2000; All
"Whats this about 72 virgins - Myth or Truth?" A friend of mine tells me that the Muslims have been lying to these young men who blow themselves up. In reality, there is only one virgin. She's 72 years old and looks just like Janet Reno. That also explains why she is still a virgin.
6
posted on
04/25/2004 9:47:39 AM PDT
by
davisfh
To: TaxPayer2000
I still think they should meet up with 72 Virginians.
7
posted on
04/25/2004 9:48:23 AM PDT
by
R. Scott
(Humanity i love you because when you're hard up you pawn your Intelligence to buy a drink.)
To: silverleaf
Ewww! Now I understand why they cover the women's faces!
To: TaxPayer2000
re: I have also seen reports on the internet where Muslims are allowed to break promises to Jews and not repay loans. )))
Mohammed said--"War is deceit"--that it is warfare to lie, part of jihad.
9
posted on
04/25/2004 9:50:27 AM PDT
by
Mamzelle
(for a post-Neo conservatism)
To: ErnBatavia
If that face isn't something that should turn Muslim into a true Religion of Peace, I don't know what would.
To: FormerACLUmember
11
posted on
04/25/2004 9:54:17 AM PDT
by
b4its2late
(It's not hard to meet expenses, they're everywhere.)
To: TaxPayer2000
The Quran does make reference to virgins, though the definition of the word virgin is disputed. Some claim the definition of the Arabic word "Abkarun" is not virgins, but Angels.
72 fallen angels maybe.
12
posted on
04/25/2004 9:57:55 AM PDT
by
gitmo
(Thanks, Mel. I needed that.)
To: FormerACLUmember
72 raisins?!? And for this I died? I could have reached paradise at Quickie Mart.
13
posted on
04/25/2004 10:06:18 AM PDT
by
Sender
(It is not always the same thing to be a good man and a good citizen. -Aristotle)
To: ErnBatavia
I just about fell off my chair with laughter. Almost a ROFL!
14
posted on
04/25/2004 10:09:39 AM PDT
by
tob2
(Old Fossil and proud of it!)
To: R. Scott
Count me out on this one.
15
posted on
04/25/2004 10:10:55 AM PDT
by
tob2
(Old Fossil and proud of it!)
To: Allan
Christopher Luxenberg's book, Die Syro-Aramaische Lesart des Koran, available only in German, has an enjoyed an enthusiastic reception, particularly among those scholars with a knowledge of several Semitic languages at Princeton, Yale, Berlin, Potsdam, Erlangen, Aix-en-Provence, and the Oriental Institute in Beirut.
Luxenberg tries to show that many obscurities of the Quran disappear if we read certain words as being Syriac and not Arabic. Luxenberg claims that the context makes it clear that it is food and drink that is being offered, and not unsullied maidens or houris (virgins). Ping.
16
posted on
04/25/2004 10:10:59 AM PDT
by
Mitchell
To: silverleaf
If you post any more pictures of my ex-wife, please don't insinuate that she is a Muslim.
Her coven would not appreciate it.
To: silverleaf
And all 72 virgins have permanent PMS.
18
posted on
04/25/2004 10:14:17 AM PDT
by
birdsman
To: ErnBatavia
Hey, it's Casey Stengell himself.
19
posted on
04/25/2004 10:14:23 AM PDT
by
kylaka
(The Clintons are the democRATS crack cocaine. They know they're bad for them, they just can't stop.)
To: TaxPayer2000
The myth that the Koran promises "72 virgins" is an urban legend that was widely promoted by the Wahhabi sect of the Muslim religion, to be recited as a sort of marching chant.
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