Whats this about 72 virgins - Myth or Truth?

aljazeera.com ^ | 24/04/2004 15:00:00 GMT | Open Mind, USA + Dr.Kareem

[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.

[FormerACLUmember]

It is correctly translated as 72 Raisins, infidel... 72 RAISINS!!!!!

[tiamat]

LOL!

[ErnBatavia]

May they all look like Raisin Numbah One:

[silverleaf]

Or 72 virgins who resemble raisins?

[davisfh]

"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.

[R. Scott]

I still think they should meet up with 72 Virginians.

[realpatriot]

Ewww! Now I understand why they cover the women's faces!

[Mamzelle]

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.

[mtbopfuyn]

If that face isn't something that should turn Muslim into a true Religion of Peace, I don't know what would.

[b4its2late]

These guys?

[gitmo]

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.

[Sender]

72 raisins?!? And for this I died? I could have reached paradise at Quickie Mart.

[tob2]

I just about fell off my chair with laughter. Almost a ROFL!

[tob2]

Count me out on this one.

[Mitchell]

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.

[TexasCowboy]

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.

[birdsman]

And all 72 virgins have permanent PMS.

[kylaka]

Hey, it's Casey Stengell himself.

[alloysteel]

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.