THE MAIDENS OF JANNA The Women (wives) of Paradise ( Hur, Houris, Hur al-Ayn)

The temporary life of this world is a great test for man. Temptations are many and man is weak. The possibilities of faltering and sinning are not remote. Of all the temptations, the temptation relating to the opposite sex is the highest. If the sexual urge of man is left unchecked and unregulated, there will be total anarchy and mischief in the world. Therefore, Almighty Allah SWT placed various restrictions upon man in this regard.

To control and regulate this desire, any form of illicit affiliation with the opposite sex is strictly forbidden. To maintain a high level of morality, Islam has ordained very strict laws and many restrictions to curtail the unlawful desires of man.

All of these strict restrictions weigh heavily on the Nafs, the bestial self -of man. The Nafs constantly seeks carnal gratification and indulgence of its desire. To control the wild desires of the Nafs is no easy task. It can be likened to riding a strong, wild horse. Either the rider will keep the horse in check with great effort or the horse will throw the rider off. This is the constant struggle that exists between man and his desires in this world. For the youth, the struggle is even more intense and great.

For those people who restrain and control the desires of the Nafs in this world, Allah SWT has promised immense rewards in the Akhira (hereafter). Man sometimes forgets these rewards and becomes inclined to sin. If he is reminded about these rewards, his resolve to control the Nafs becomes stronger and more vigorous. It becomes easier to sacrifice the desires in view of these great rewards of the Hereafter.

Besides the promise of these eternal rewards of the Hereafter, there is little that can control the desires of man, especially the desires of the youth.

In this book, some of the rewards of the Hereafter, especially those relating to the gorgeous, celestial, wide-eyed beauties -the hurs -of Janna, have been set out in a clear and concise manner. By reading and pondering about the bounties of Janna and its beautiful virgins, the youth will feel a renewed vigor to fight the carnal desires and strive for the pleasure of Allah SWT by doing righteous deeds. Furthermore, the beauty of the women of this world will appear pale and insignificant before the beauty of those stunning damsels of Janna. There is not much authentic literature on this specific topic, and hence this book fulfills this requirement in a captivating way. I would recommend every youngster to acquire a copy of this book, to read it, and ponder over its contents. May Allah ~ accept and reward the efforts of MI. Abdullah Nana of the US in compiling this beneficial book and may Allah ~ inspire him to produce many beneficial writings in the future as well. Amin.

The Maidens of Janna (Paradise) and other bounties in the light of the Quran and Hadith

Introduction

Allah SWT has placed in every human being the natural desire and inclination for gold, silver, money, transportation (cars), land, and other items of this world. The test for a person is how he responds to his desire for these items. If he uses these items to prepare for the hereafter, he will be successful. On the other hand, if he devotes himself to fulfilling his desire for these items and forgets about his purpose in this world, he will be amongst the losers in the hereafter.

Similarly, Allah SWT has placed in every person the natural desire for the opposite sex, and out of all the desires found in a person, the greatest test for a Muslim is how he fulfills this desire. He can either fail this test by spending all his energy to unlawfully satisfy this desire, or pass this test by remaining chaste and fulfilling this desire lawfully through marriage. The Prophet (SAW) said regarding the severity of this test, "I have not left a more harmful and severe temptation for men than women. , This test is even greater for us today because of the generally evil environment in which we are living in. It has become very easy to commit evil and it has become somewhat difficult to do good deeds because of this environment. As the Prophet (SAW) predicted, holding on to the commands of Allah SWT and staying away from evil during this time has become like holding on to a burning coal.

In order to motivate us to pass this test, it is very important for us; to know what is the reward for controlling one's desires and staying away from evil. It becomes very easy for a person to undergo difficulty and hardship to carry out an action when he knows what reward he will receive for doing this action. For example, a person will happily go to work every day and tire himself because he knows that he will receive his paycheck at the end of the month. In the same way, Allah SWT and his Prophet (SAW) have given us a detailed description of the reward for controlling one's desires in this world, i.e. Janna (paradise).

Janna is a place where a person will have all that he desires, and he will live a perfect (lad ever-lasting life. Each pleasure of Janna will be far more superior to the comparable pleasure found in this world, and a person will be able to completely fulfill his desire for that pleasure. For example, a person in this world is always drinking liquids to quench his thirst. No matter how many delicious and tasty beverages he consumes, he will always become thirsty again in a few hours. But, in the hereafter, a person will be able to drink as much as he desires and quench his thirst permanently. Similarly, the women of Janna will be far more superior to the women of this world. Once a person comes to know of this, it will become very easy for him to stay away from evil and work towards the hereafter. This book contains a detailed description of these women based on the verses of the Quran, tafsir (explanation of the Quran), Hadith, and stories of the pious.

The purpose of this book is to motivate us to work towards the hereafter and to control our desires in this world through marriage. We should not read this book as a fairy tale or a fantasy; rather we should understand that the contents of this book are a reality for which we should all work towards. It is our fundamental belief that Janna (paradise) and Jahanam (hellfire) are already in existence and a person will fulfill all his desires in Janna both physically and spiritually.

The two types of women in Jannat

Human woman

The first type is the human woman of the world who will be re-created according to the beauty of Jannat. Allah SWT, says,

"We created them as a new creation. And we made them virgins, loving to their husbands, equal in age."

17

Allah will make old women into young women and non virgins into virgins. No matter how their appearance was in this world, Allah SWT will make them all beautiful and good-looking in accordance to the beauty of Jannat.

18

What will a woman of this world receive in Jannat?

Mufti Mahmud was asked that if men will receive hurs, what will women receive? He replied that the wives of the believers will stay with their own husbands. Women who never married in this world will be given a choice to get married with any (unmarried) man they wish. If they do not like any of them, a special man will be created for them (similar to the hurs) and Allah SWT will join both of them in marriage. Allamah Alusi, also mentions in his tafsir that a person's wife in this world will remain his wife in the hereafter. 20 The love between a Muslim husband and wife is a true love because it will last forever.

Umm Salamah narrates that she said to Rasulullalh (SAW) " O Rasullalah , are the women of this world superior or the hurs?" He replied, "The women of this world will have superiority over the hurs just as the outer lining of a garment has superiority over the inner lining." Umm Salamah then asked, "0 Rasullalah, What is the reason for this?" He answered, "Because they performed salah (prayer), fasted, and worshipped [Allah]. Allah will put light on their faces and silk on their bodies. [The human women] will be fair in complexion and will wear green clothing and yellow jewelry. Their incense-burners will be made of pearls and their combs will be of gold. They will say, 'We are the women who will stay forever and we will never die. We are the women who will always remain in comfort and we will never undergo difficulty. We are the women who will stay and we will never leave. Listen, we are happy women and we will never become sad. Glad tidings to those men for whom we are and who are for us.' ,,21

Allah will make the women of this world more beautiful and attractive than the hurs. Wherever in this book the 'women of Janna' are mentioned, both the hurs and the human women could be meant.

Janna, Jannat, Jannah (Paradise, Heaven) is called by eight names in the Qur'an: Jannatu al-Khuld, Darul as-Salam, Darul al-Qarar, Jannatu al-`Adn, Jannatu al-Ma`wa, Jannatu an-Na`im, `Illiyin, and Jannatu al-Firdaus. Janna is the Arabic word for "garden." They have been translated into English as: paradise, a garden on high, a home that will last, garden of eternity, garden of everlasting bliss, gardens of delight, home of peace, home of the righteous, etc.

Want to know more?

Download the complete book from www.islamicbulletin.com