Mu' meneen Brothers and Sisters,

As Salaam Aleikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh.  (May Allah's Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon all of you)

One of our brothers/sisters has asked this question:

There is a verse in the quran about a martyr getting 70 virgins. Few days back I received an email from one of my friend saying that this is a plot against Islam by the enemies and they have twisted the quranic verse. The email said that the quran mentions about 70 angels in paradise and the enemies has translated it as 70 virgins in order to riducule Islam. What is the truth? If the quran does mentions about 70 virgins for a believing men who dies as martyr than what about a believing women who dies as a martyr? 

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Answer:

Hoor seventy virgins martyr

In the name of Allah, We praise Him, seek His help and ask for His forgiveness. Whoever Allah guides none can misguide, and whoever He allows to fall astray, none can guide them aright. We bear witness that there is no one (no idol, no person, no grave, no prophet, no imam, no dai, nobody!) worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that Muhammad (saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.

Your Statement: There is a verse in the quran about a martyr getting 70 virgins.

Dear and beloved brother in Islam, without an iota of a doubt one who is chosen and accepted as a ‘martyr’ by Allah Subhanah will be abundantly and generously rewarded by the Lord Most Bounteous, but to the best of our knowledge there is absolutely no verse in the Glorious Quran which specifies specifically that the ‘martyrs’ will get seventy virgin wives as a reward in Paradise.

But Allah Subhanah does Declare in His Glorious Quran that one amongst the innumerable rewards that the Lord Will bestow upon the fortunate dwellers of Paradise is that He will wed them to the ‘hoor-al-ayn’ or the chaste maidens in Paradise; but this reward is for all the fortunate dwellers of Paradise and not specific to the noble ‘martyrs’ whose martyrdom was accepted by Allah Subhanah.

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 44 Surah Dukhan verses 51-57:

51 As to the Righteous (they will be) in a position of Security

52 Among Gardens and Springs;

53 Dressed in fine silk and in rich brocade they will face each other;

54 So; and We shall join them to companions with beautiful big and lustrous eyes.

55 There can they call for every kind of fruit in peace and security;

56 Nor will they there taste death except the first death; and He will preserve them from the penalty of the Blazing Fire

57 As a Bounty from thy Lord! That will be the Supreme Achievement!

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 55 Surah Rahmaan verses 56-59:

56 In them (Paradise) will be (maidens) chaste restraining their glances whom no man or Jinn before them has touched

57 Then which of the favors of your Lord will ye deny?

58 Like unto rubies and coral.

59 Then which of the favors of your Lord will ye deny?

60 Is there any Reward for Good other than Good?

61 Then which of the favors of your Lord will ye deny?

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 56 Surah Waqiah verses 27-38:

27 The Companions of the Right Hand! What will be the Companions of the Right Hand?

28 (They will be) among lote trees without thorns

29 Among Talh trees with flowers (or fruits) piled one above another

30 In shades, long-extended

31 By water flowing constantly

32 And fruit in abundance

33 Whose season is not limited nor (supply) forbidden

34 And on Thrones (of Dignity) raised high.

35 We have created (their Companions) of special creation.

36 And made them virgin-pure (and undefiled)

37 Beloved (by nature) equal in age

38 For the companions of the Right Hand.

Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 52 Surah Tur verses 17-20:

17 As to the Righteous they will be in Gardens and in Happiness

18 Enjoying the (Bliss) which their Lord hath bestowed on them, and their Lord shall deliver them from the Penalty of the Fire.

19 (To them will be said:) "Eat and drink ye with profit and health because of your (past good) deeds."

20 They will recline (with ease) on Thrones (of Dignity) arranged in ranks; and We shall join them to Companions with beautiful big and lustrous eyes.

Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 38 Surah Saad verses 49-53:

49 This is a Message (of admonition): and verily for the Righteous is a beautiful place of (final) Return.

50 Gardens of Eternity, whose doors will (ever) be open to them;

51 Therein will they recline (at ease); therein can they call (at pleasure) for fruit in abundance and (delicious) drink;

52 And beside them will be chaste women restraining their glances (companions) of equal age.

53 Such is the promise made to you for the Day of Account!

Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 37 Surah Saafaat verses 48-49:

48 And beside them will be chaste women; restraining their glances with big eyes (of wonder and beauty).

49 As if they were (delicate) eggs closely guarded.

It is in the authentic and established hadiths of the Messenger of Allah, where the mention of seventy-two chaste wives is found; and again that reward is only one amongst the innumerable rewards of the Lord Most Bounteous which He will bestow on His obedient slave and not specific to the ‘martyrs’:

Al-Tirmidhi Hadith 5648 Narrated by Abu Sa'id

Allah's Messenger (saws) said, "The lowliest of the inhabitants of Paradise will be he who has eighty thousand servants, seventy-two wives, and for whom a round pavilion of pearls, chrysoprase and rubies as large as the distance between al-Jabiyah and San'a will be set up. Those who are to go to Paradise, who die whether young or old, will come into Paradise aged thirty and never grow older. The same applies to those who will go to Hell. They will wear crowns, the smallest pearl of which will illuminate the space between the east and the west. When a believer in Paradise wishes for a child, its conception, delivery and growth to full age will be accomplished in a moment as he wishes."

Al-Tirmidhi Hadith 3834 Narrated by Al-Miqdam ibn Ma'dikarib

Allah's Messenger (saws) said, "The martyr receives six good things from Allah: he is forgiven at the first shedding of his blood; he is shown his abode in Paradise; he is preserved from the punishment in the grave; he is kept safe from the greatest terror; he has placed on his head the crown of honour, a ruby of which is better than the world and what it contains; he is married to seventy-two wives of the maidens with large dark eyes; and is made intercessor for seventy of his relatives."

Your Statement: The email said that the quran mentions about 70 angels in paradise and the enemies has translated it as 70 virgins in order to riducule Islam.

Beloved brother, again to the best of our knowledge there is no specific mention of seventy angels in the Glorious Quran!

Your Question: If the quran does mentions about 70 virgins for a believing men who dies as martyr than what about a believing women who dies as a martyr? 

All the fortunate people who will be rewarded Paradise by Allah Subhanah, will get an abundance of things from their Lord: eternal life of pleasure, gardens, wealth, properties, palaces, servants, canals of milk and honey, natural springs, abundance of food and fruits, and loving husband/wives, children, family, etc. And above all, they will get the Pleasure and Good Will of their Lord and Creator!

The ‘hurs’ are only a part of the bounty that the men of Paradise will receive from their Generous Lord.

Allah has promised the fortunate dwellers of Paradise, whether men or women, that they will receive whatever their hearts desire. Whatever they may ask for, no matter how small or big, will be provided for them instantly. They will be treated like honored and VVIP guests of the Lord of the worlds! Forever!

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 50 Surah Qaaf verse 35:

There they (the men and women of Paradise) shall have all that they will desire, and We have with Us yet more for them!

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 25 Surah Furqan verses 15-16:

Ask them, “Is this (the Fire) better, or the Everlasting Gardens which have been promised to the God-fearing, righteous people (men and women)?”. That will be the recompense of their good deeds and the final destination of their journey, wherein, they will get everything they desire, and wherein they will dwell forever. This is a promise which your Lord has taken upon Himself to fulfill.

As regards the rewards that the successful people of Paradise (whether men or women) will receive from their Bounteous and Generous Lord, they will be the same. But since man and woman are created with different likes, dislikes, and preferences, Allah will reward each of them according to their nature or ‘fitrah’, and whatever each of them asks for, Allah will provide for them immediately.

Allah Subhanah, Who Created everything in existence, also created its nature. And since man was created polygamous by nature, one of the rewards which The All Knowing and All Wise Lord has promised the fortunate men of Paradise is the companionship of many chaste, beautiful, and obedient wives in that Eternal Abode of the Hereafter.

The nature granted by Allah to women is not the same that was granted to men. Unlike men, a woman is not polygamous by nature. The things that a woman desires most from her husband is that he love her, cherish her, honor her, respect her, and treat her like a queen. And every woman also has the desire to be the most beautiful of all!

Thus, of all the heavenly wives of the righteous men of Paradise, Allah will make his righteous wife of this world to be the most beautiful amongst all of his heavenly wives! And she will be like the queen of the household and live with her husband in abundance, peace, harmony, bliss, and joy for ever! She will be granted whatever she desires, as promised by Allah Subhanah in His Glorious Quran.

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 32 Surah Sajdah verse 17:

No living being knows what comfort of the eyes has been kept hidden from them, as a recompense for their (righteous) deeds!

Sahih Al-Bukhari Hadith 4.467 Narrated by Abu Huraira

Allah's Messenger (saws) said, "Allah, The High and Exalted He is, said, 'I have prepared for My pious slaves (men and women) things which have never been seen by an eye, or heard by an ear, or imagined by a human being.'

Whatever written of Truth and benefit is only due to Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error is of me alone. Allah Alone Knows Best and He is the Only Source of Strength.

Your brother and well wisher in Islam,

Burhan