A friend (non-muslim) and I were speaking about religion and the topic of paradise came up. My friend said that the Quran could not be the word of God because of the statement about men being rewarded with hoors in paradise. She said that paradise will be how God initially intended when he created Adam and Eve ? one man with only one woman. That God created only one woman from the rib of Adam (AS) ? if God intended for a man to be with more than one woman he would have created many women for Adam (AS) which would have made their job of reproducing and filling the earth much easier. I am a revert and do not have much Deeni knowledge and I did not know how to respond to this. She was basically implying that this would be the paradise of a male chauvinist pig ? not of the Almighty Allah (SWT).
Jazakallah for communicating with the institute regarding the concept of ‘hoors’ in Jannah.
Alhamdulillah, you had the insight to avoid getting too involved about the topic. Brother, you will find that from time to time, a person who is so-called “interested in Islam” will come along to throw you off balance and create doubt in your mind. As you rightly point out, you are not sufficiently equipped to deal with these challenges. This is shaitaan’s way of distracting you and trapping you. His way is to create doubt in your mind as to whether you made the right move in becoming a Muslim. Do not allow negative comments about Islam, Allah Ta’ala, the Quran and your practices offend or mislead you. You have to virtually allow these comments to “go in the one ear and out the other”. By all means, do your own research but avoid getting caught in debates on deen with any person, even a Muslim, who is out to cause doubt rather than to learn more and to benefit from that information.
One has to understand how Allah Ta’ala addresses mankind in the Quran. Whilst reading the Quran you may have noted that when Allah Ta’ala refers to, or mentions ‘man’ He includes women in the address without specifically mentioning women each time. Women have a very high status in Islam and since Allah Ta’ala has granted women a greater sense of Modesty, He refers to women alongside men in the Quran. Do understand that the rights of men and women are secured in the Quran, of that there is no doubt. Paradise is for both men and women. A paradise in which both will be rewarded according to what they have earned. So the comfort, joy, treasure, pleasure reward will not be distributed unequally. Men and women with earn what they have sent forward in good deeds from this world. Allah Ta’ala is mindful of the many sacrifices, toil, patience and many other lofty characteristics women have in this world.
Women of this earth will be the Queens of the Hoors in Jannah. Women of this earth will be the leaders of the hoors of Jannah. The ladies of this earth who will have been through so many trials and tests, that their Lord with Grant them the highest stages in Jannah. They will be the envy of the hoors who have been untouched by any man. We women will take precedence over the hoors in Jannah.
One has to also understand that Jannah is a place in which sensory pleasures, financial, physical and emotional desires and wants as we know them will be meaningless. Jannah is not a place of pain, jealousy, ambition, grief, hurt, base desires etc. Jannah is what Allah Ta’ala rewards us with for the losses and sacrifices suffered on this earth. The slogan of chauvinism does not hold where Allah Ta’ala’s plans are concerned. The deeds of men and women will be weighed on the same “scale” on the day of Judgment. The comment that the Quran cannot be the word of Allah Ta’ala is baseless and cannot be used as a criterion as to whether it is/ is not Allah Ta’ala’s speech. The Quran has withstood the test of time for more than 1400 years. It has not been changed and it remains as it was when it was revealed.
The fact that Adam (AS) had only one woman at his side was within Allah Ta’ala’s plans. It is not for us to question how Allah Ta’ala created Adam(as) nor any other creation. If one goes with the logic that he would have had more than one woman, then by extension it means that every child of Adam(as) would have been attached to the body of Adam(as). What and how Allah Ta’ala has prepared in Jannah is also not for us to question as we cannot begin to understand the true nature of His generosity and powers. May Allah Ta’ala increase you in deeni knowledge, grant you the ability to practice on your knowledge and also grant you the ability to teach others and to invite others to Islam. Ameen.
and Allah Ta’ala Knows Best
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CHECKED & APPROVED: Mufti Ebrahim Desai