The Final Truth About 72 Virgins In Paradise
The myth of the 72 virgins in Paradise is a common theme for terrorist and violent extremist groups, and the final truth is anything but a myth. The reality is that there are no 72 virgins in Paradise. Numerous Islamic sources and my own interviews with religious figures across the Muslim and Western world confirm this truth. Here’s why:
Heaven in the Muslim faith does not include 72 wide-eyed sex goddesses. The number ‘72’ does not appear anywhere in the Quran. Nor does the word “suicide” or intihar in Arabic appear, although this word is used interchangeably with martyrdom.
The confusion that exists arises over one oral tradition by Imam Tirmidhi.
He explicitly mentions “72 virgins” that has now become instilled in the minds of extremists and misinformed Muslim men. A well-known and widely transmitted hadith of imam al-Tirmidhi explicitly notes that male martyrs will enjoy the pleasure of seventy-two virgins in Paradise. According to al-Tirmidhi, a martyr has seven special favors from Allah, to include:
He [or she] is forgiven his sins with the first spurt of blood.
He sees his place in paradise; he is clothed with the garment of faith.
He is wed with seventy-two wives from the beautiful Maidens of paradise.
He is saved from the Punishment of the Grave.
He is protected from the Great Terror (Judgment Day).
On his head is placed a Crown of Dignity, better than any jewel.
The world and all it contains, and he is granted intercession.
And seventy people of his household will enter paradise.
Of the seven favors listed above, the most controversial but at the same time widely accepted among violent jihadis is the promise of 72 “maidens of paradise” for the male martyr. The promise of 72 virgins is even “reminiscent of the medieval Assassins” doctrine, involving the paradise that awaits the holy terrorists,” but the concept is not recognized by all Muslim scholars. The translation of the word “virgin” in the hadith is characterized in a sexual manner, but other scholars insist that the word houri is closer to ”the most pure,” a likely reference to the Prophet’s pious companions.
Outside of Tirmidhi’s narrative, the Qur’an makes no reference to the black-eyed virgins or admitting 70 of the martyr’s relatives to heaven. And yet extremist literature continues to cite this reference to incite would-be male terrorists to conduct terrorist operations and call on women to join them.
https://farhanaqazi.com/the-final-truth-about-72-virgins-in-paradise/