Do You Want an Afterlife?
Quote: 24BingoThe whole "72 virgins" thing is blown way out of proportion. If you read the relevant verses and hadiths (the one containing the number being accompanied by a note questioning its authenticity in the oldest extant source), mentions of virginal companions are usually part of a list of exaggerated earthly pleasures, and their own beauty is also exaggerated to the point that, if taken literally, they would become grotesque - the point is just that heaven is unimaginably good. It's my understanding very few Muslims, even the most literal-minded ones regarding other aspects of their religion, take this literally; the comparison is often drawn to men with wings standing on clouds.
opps, 24Bingo covered this perfectly. I got upset and wrote without finishing the rest of the thread. Kudos to 24Bingo!
Nothing in the Koran specifically states that the faithful are allotted 72 virgins apiece. For this elaboration we turn to the hadith, traditional sayings traced with varying degrees of credibility to Muhammad. Hadith number 2,562 in the collection known as the Sunan al-Tirmidhi says, "The least [reward] for the people of Heaven is 80,000 servants and 72 wives, over which stands a dome of pearls, aquamarine and ruby."
Quote: FrGambleThere is NO reference to 72 virgins in the Qu'ran, this phrase is often used as a prejudicial stereotype. Muslims believe in the Last Judgment and Heaven and Hell. Like Christians the ultimate joy of Heaven is God's presence and the ultimate pain of Hell is the absence of all love.
This was not claimed, that it was in the Qu'ran.
It's a part of the Hadith Narrations, also Holy texts.
Some even say that it is in the Quran.
References (Wiki Islam).
Still 1/2 Credit
Quote: FrGambleThere is NO reference to 72 virgins in the Qu'ran, this phrase is often used as a prejudicial stereotype. Muslims believe in the Last Judgment and Heaven and Hell. Like Christians the ultimate joy of Heaven is God's presence and the ultimate pain of Hell is the absence of all love.
According to The Straight Dope, one of my favorite sources for answers to questions we all wonder about, the Quran says about the afterlife:
Quote: An-Naba 78:31-34Verily, for the Muttaqun [righteous], there will be a success (paradise); gardens and grapeyards; and young full-breasted (mature) maidens of equal age; and a full cup (of wine)
Where do I sign up?
Regarding exactly 72 "maidens":
Quote: Hadith number 2,562The least [reward] for the people of Heaven is 80,000 servants and 72 wives, over which stands a dome of pearls, aquamarine and ruby.
Quote: WizardI think it was opiate.
The original statement was made by Marx in the German language; I believe the most literal translation would be "religion is the opiate of the masses," but we have anglicized it to:
Quote: Bukhari, Vol 1, Book 2, Number 28"I was shown the Hell-fire and the majority of its dwellers were women."
Funny stuff, but it reveals a low regard for women.
Quote: TankoQuote: WizardQuote: An-Naba 78:31-34Verily, for the Muttaqun [righteous], there will be a success (paradise); gardens and grapeyards; and young full-breasted (mature) maidens of equal age; and a full cup (of wine)
Quote: Hadith number 2,562The least [reward] for the people of Heaven is 80,000 servants and 72 wives, over which stands a dome of pearls, aquamarine and ruby.
Funny stuff, but it reveals a low regard for women.
I've read the Koran and much of Bukhari Hadiths as well as others.
I have yet to find any mention of what awaits a female in Paradise.
The only reference I found regarding women and the afterlife was this:
Bukhari, Vol 1, Book 2, Number 28
"I was shown the Hell-fire and the majority of its dwellers were women."
I've heard, and don't hold me to this, but that the reward for female martyrs - their equivalent of the 72 virgins or whatever male martyrs get - is their husbands. Yeah, that's it.
As for if I want an afterlife...I'd very much like one as long as it's not of the "eternity of hellfire" variety. My ideal afterlife would be kind of like Quantum Leap, in which I live a new life every 80-100 years, and when I die, I hit the reset button and start over. (Yes, I know I'm probably describing Quantum Leap inaccurately, but it's the closest thing I could think of.)
Quote: An-Naba 78:31-34
Verily, for the Muttaqun [righteous], there will be a success (paradise); gardens and grapeyards; and young full-breasted (mature) maidens of equal age; and a full cup (of wine)
Where do I sign up?
Some critical scholarship suggests that these passages are partially written in Syro-Aramaic, not Arabic. In Aramaic, the word would mean "white raisins." A prized delicacy in ancient Arabia. Much less exciting today.
Quote: FrankScobleteOff the top of my head:
Ancient Hebrews: Two major schools of thought:
1. Pharisees (Heaven and Hell and Ressurection of the dead; Jesus would have been a Pharisee; Christianity is partially based on these beliefs with a big infusion of pagan ideas)
More accurately, Pharisees (and modern Rabbinic Jews) believe in Heaven, Purgatory, and Resurrection of the Dead. The Jewish conception of Hell much more closely resembles the Christian Purgatory than the Christian Hell. It's goal is to reform, not punish. And it's not eternal. Only the most wicked stay there longer than 11 months (which is why the Kaddish is said for only 11 months, so that you do not count your parents among the wicked).
Quote: MrVQuote: WizardI think it was opiate.
The original statement was made by Marx in the German language; I believe the most literal translation would be "religion is the opiate of the masses.
At least opium is mellow. You don't want religion to be the meth of the people.
