Detailed Description of Hoor ul Ain? What is the meaning of "And full-breasted [companions] of equal age" (78:33) Can we get more Hoors by good deeds?

Please tell me the detailed description of Hoor ul Ain? What is the meaning of "And full-breasted [companions] of equal age" (78:33) Can we get more Hoor Ul Ain by doing good deeds and by pleasing ALLAH?

Dear Brother / Sister,

ANSWER 1

In the verse, the “puberty age of girls” is pointed out not “full breasts”. This meaning is more appropriate in terms of the rhetoric, literature and ethics of the Quran.

Allah gives an example to His slaves regarding the material-bodily delights that they most need, desire and love in the world based on their power of understanding as He does in many verses in order to make His slaves have some ideas about the otherworldly bounties and to make them desire those bounties.   

It can be said that the expectations of the first addressees of the Quran are taken into consideration in this description; it is also possible to deduce that any person who deserves to enter Paradise in the hereafter will be given whatever he wants and expects in accordance with his deeds in the world, his mental and spiritual perfection, his understanding of happiness and expectations. This description describes the spouses prepared for believers in Paradise. They are usually divided into two: The first ones are virgin spouses of the same age whose nature and qualities are not known by us and who were created when Paradise was created; they are called “houris” The others are righteous spouses in the world; when they enter Paradise, they become the same age as the houris and appear like young girls.

ANSWER 2

Various numbers are mentioned in the hadiths about the number of houris. This shows that the number of houris change according to the degree of a person in the paradise.

"The least of the people of Paradise in position is the one with eighty thousand servants and seventy-two wives. He shall have a tent of pearl, peridot, and corundum set up for him,(the size of which is) like that which is between Al-Jabiyyah and Sana'a." (Tirmidhi, Paradise)

Houris are girls whose eyes are large and their eyes’ iris is extremely black and it is quite white around iris. The word “hur” in Arabic is the plural form of “havra”. It is used as “houri” by adding the relative suffix “i” to it.

The word “iyn” which is used in Quran to express “houris” is derived from the word “ayn (eye)” and it refers to women with large eyes.

In technical term, “houri” refers to each of the beautiful girls Allah promised to the ones who deserve to enter Heaven.

We learn about Houris’ body structure, beauty, and moral values from Quran verses and hadiths.

“As to the Righteous (they will be) in a position of Security among Gardens and Springs; dressed in fine silk and in rich brocade, they will face each other. Moreover, We shall join them to Companions with beautiful, big, and lustrous eyes.” (ad-Dukhan, 51-54)

“Verily for the Righteous there will be a fulfillment of (the heart's) desires; Gardens enclosed, and grapevines; companions of equal age (girls); and a cup full (to the brim).” (an-Naba, 78/31-34).

“Therein will they recline (at ease): Therein can they call (at pleasure) for fruit in abundance, and (delicious) drink; and beside them will be chaste women restraining their glances, (companions) of equal age.” (as-Sad, 38/51-52).

“We have created (their Companions) of special creation and made them virgin - pure (and undefiled), beloved (by nature), equal in age, for the Companions of the Right Hand.” (al-Wa’iah).

What is meant by the expression of “equal in age” in verses above can be both that all of these women are at the same age and they are at the same age with their husbands.

Here is this Allah’s kind gift to His righteous and blissful slaves who arranged their lives in accordance with Allah’s orders and prohibitions; put up with all kinds of troubles, sorrows and torment in order not to abandon their religion; did not give in to arrogant ones and rioted against cruelty and cruel ones.

“In them will be fair (Companions), good, beautiful” (ar-Rahman, 55/70).

“In them will be (Maidens), chaste, restraining their glances, whom no man or Jinn before them has touched” (ar-Rahman, 55/56).

“And (there will be) Companions with beautiful, big, and lustrous eyes like pearls well-guarded.” (al-Waq’iah, 56/22-23).

The most important trait of a woman is her modesty and purity. For this reason, Allah the Glorious, while declaring the boons of Heaven, firstly mentioned their modesty and purity before their purity.

It can be deduced from the second verse above that there will be righteous women for righteous men from jinns in the Heaven.

These women will be wives for men of jinn, like righteous women of humankind will be for men of humankind. Neither these righteous women of jinn nor the righteous women of humankind will be touched by men.

The Prophet (pbuh) describes the inhabitants of Heaven as follows:

“Every one of them will have two wives; the marrow of the bones of the wives' legs will be seen through the flesh out of excessive beauty. They (i.e. the people of Paradise) will neither have differences nor hatred amongst themselves; their hearts will be as if one heart and they will be glorifying Allah in the morning and in the evening.” (Bukhari, Bed’al-Halk, 59, Sifatu’l Jannah)

In addition, women who believed in Allah and became one of righteous slaves of Allah while in earthly life are superior to houris, because they have to struggle against devils and their own lower-selves. They became victorious in this struggle, gained Allah’s consent and deserved to enter Heaven.  However, houris are not in Heaven because of their own deeds. Allah created them for the inhabitants of Heaven amongst other boons of Heaven. The Prophet’s hadith below confirms this:

“The women of this world will have superiority over the houris just as the outer lining of a garment has superiority over the inner lining."... "Because they performed salâh, fasted, and worshipped [Allah]. Allah will put light on their faces and silk on their bodies...” (narrated Tabarani; Mawdudi, Tafhimu’l Quran, VI. 81).

Questions on Islam