72 Virgins
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The Origins of the 72 Virgins Legend

Islamic leaders, seeking to motivate would be suicide bombers, inducing  them to
commit murder in the name of Allah, have been quoting Islamic  sources, which
promise 72 Virgins in Paradise to those who kill and are  killed in Jihad for
Allah.

  Many Muslims, especially those exposed to Western culture, are
aware of the jokes and the ridicule that the 72 Virgins legend has
brought upon them and upon their brother believers.  Consequently, they blame
the Jews for spreading the myth in an attempt  to downgrade the image of the
Islamic "freedom fighters".

  Despite the disclaimer by some Muslims, the
truth is very clear. The 72 Virgins notion has its origins in the
Qur'an. Although the holy book does not  specify the number as 72, it does say
that those who fight in the way of Allah and are killed will be given a great
reward. It goes on to  stipulate that Muslims will be awarded with women in
Islamic heaven. It  even describes their physical attributes—large eyes (Q
56:22) and big,  firm, round "swelling breasts" that are not inclined to sagging
(Q  78:33). The Qur'an refers to these virgins as houri, companions of equal
age, but the highly-flavored emphasis of their bodily characteristics, including their virginity, gave rise to many hadiths and other Islamic 
writings.

  Hadith 2687 is where the number 72 is mentioned.  "The
smallest reward for the people of Heaven is an abode where there  are eighty
thousand servants and 72 houri, over which stands a dome decorated
with pearls, aquamarine and ruby, as wide as the distance from al-Jabiyyah to
San'a."

  Qur'anic commentator Al-Suyuti (died 1505) and Orthodox Muslim theologians such as al Ghazali (died 1111 CE) and Al-Ash'ari (died 935  CE)
graphically elaborated sensual pleasures attributed to Muslims in  paradise".
Al-Suyuti wrote, "Each time we sleep with a Houri we find her virgin. Besides,
the penis of the Elected never softens. The erection  is eternal; the sensation
that you feel each time you make love is  utterly delicious and out of this
world and were you to experience it in this world you would faint. Each chosen
one [i.e. Muslim] will marry  seventy houris, besides the women he married on
earth, and all will have appetizing vaginas."

  On the whole, the Qur'an and the hadiths  are filled with sexual fantasies that Muslim men are awarded
when they  reach Islamic heaven. Anas bin Malik, an Islamic scholar, claimed
that  "The Prophet used to visit all his wives in a round, during the day and  night and they were eleven in number… The Prophet was given
the strength of thirty (men)." Muhammad (hadith 24) apparently claimed
that devout Muslims would be given the sexual strength of 100 persons upon
their arrival in Heaven. (This is apparently more than what was attributed to
the  prophet himself).

The sexual obsession by Muslim men as
conveyed by Islamic writings, takes its cue from the founder of the religion. 
The description depicts him as a sexual predator. Aisha,
Muhammad's wife  since she was a nine-year-old girl, described her sexual
experiences  with the prophet. When she was six years old, he could not have 
intercourse with her due to her young age. As a consolation prize, he  placed
his penis between her thighs and massaged it softly. Aisha  explained that
unlike other believers, the prophet had control over his penis."

Being consistent with its sexual  obsession and
predatory practices, the Qur'an permits pedophilia (sura  65:4). It also
discusses rape in detail. It lets you know that men can  rape female slaves and
captives (Q 23:6), even in front of their  husbands (Q 4:24). Other writings
advise that when having sex with  captives, it's better if you don't pull out at
the end (Sahih Bukhari 3:46:718).


It's no wonder that 72 Virgins in Paradise are a
fundamental piece of Islamic culture. Sex, sex abuse, pedophilia, and
enslavement of women take central stage within that  religion. Encouraging
martyrdom by pointing to sexual rewards in heaven  is a natural corollary of
that tradition. Although the Qur'an may not be as specific, it nevertheless,
offers many clues, which subsequent  inscriptions reinforced, interpreted, and
broadened.

I have written this article in response to many
questions I had been asked by book club members who'd read my book 72
Virgins
. In that book, I did not discuss the roots of that evil thinking. 
Instead, I told a story, a thriller about a group of Jihadi terrorists  and
their quest for martyrdom. The story builds on the Jihadists'  motivation for
targeting so many innocents and exploiting the victims'  massacre as a
stepping-stone to their dream of eternal paradise next to  Allah's throne. The
real question I've tried to answer is not whether  Jihadists' plots will ever
cease to emerge. There's no chance of that.  The question the book seeks to
answer is—will the next one be stopped  before it's too late?

                                                           72 Virgins

by Avi Perry, Ph.D.