|
In Islam, a houri, or hawra’ in Arabic, is a beautiful
virgin or nymph who awaits the devout Muslim in the paradise of afterlife. According
to the Qur'an (55.56), houri have never been touched by man or jinn. The usual etymology derives houri from the word
hawira, to be black-eyed, like a gazelle (but see alternative etymology, below).
This belief in an afterlife replete with houris is based upon a hadith:
"collected by Imam at-Tirmidhi in "Sunan" (Volume IV, Chapters on "The Features of Heaven as described by the Messenger of
Allah", Chapter 21: "About the Smallest Reward for the People of Heaven", hadith 2687) and also quoted by Ibn Kathir in his Tafsir (Koranic
Commentary) of Surah Rhman (55), ayah (verse) 72:
"It was mentioned by Daraj Ibn Abi Hatim, that Abu al-Haytham ’Adullah Ibn Wahb narrated from Abu Sa'id al-Khudhri,
who heard the Prophet Muhammad (Allah's blessings and peace be upon him) saying, 'The smallest reward for the people of Heaven is
an abode where there are eighty thousand servants and seventy two wives, over which stands a dome decorated with pearls,
aquamarine and ruby, as wide as the distance from al-Jabiyyah to San'a."1
The Houri also appears in Bahá'í literature. For an example, see
the provisional translation of the "Tablet of the Houri" by Baha'u'llah
here: http://www-personal.umich.edu/~jrcole/houri.htm
It is also the word given for engravings of women in ancient stonework such as the temples at Angkor Wat.
Alternative etymology
A German scholar studying Islam has lately published, using the pseudonym
Christoph Luxenberg, controversial findings that include his assertion that "Houri" is actually not an Arabic, but an Syro-Aramaic word and that it does not
mean "virgin of paradise" at all but rather "white raisins" or "juicy fruits". Early eastern Christian writings (such as those of
Papias) often referred to giant bunches of grapes in paradise, and Luxenberg asserts
that the Qur'an simply adapted that vision. Further discussion of a Newsweek article on Luxenberg's book.
|