22 THE MAIDENS OF JANNAT 23 THE MAIDENS OF JANNATworld will remain his wife in the hereafter. 20 The lovebetween a Muslim husband and wife is a true lovebecause it will last forever.Superiority <strong>of</strong> the human women over the hurs~\ ~I y..i.l.ll•.l.....J~I JY-"J Y ~ : w.l124S ~I ~J ~ ~!~~ 0J~I ~ ~I J~\ ()A ~l y..i.l.ll•.l.....JJ.i J12~I J~Iu-u:J1 ~.l~ -.9~~ -.9~~ J12\jIA: ~I JY-"J Y ~ AJ\J¥I~ ~~I ~ 01~1 ~ J:!~l ~.l~\ -.9J~I ~~-.9 ~I-.9wy.l ~ wl.l.lWI ~ ~ yAl.llI ~~\ J.l.ll ~jA4--a u-bJ1~ .' -.9 ~\ 1.lJ\ , U""""'-' •._1.:.: ~ wL.Ui.JI _ ~ " -.9 (j.JJ, L..i ~ wW:-WI'·' ~ ,~.J ~I JG- l:J 0lS -.9Jj ill ()Al ~~ \~\ ~ ')Ij wy...al)\~p ~\ 0! uL,,;L w..llw) c}) .6,3'11) pi c} ~1y.hJ\ 013.J.Jil1(418/10 ~\) ~.~ jUmme Salamah narrates that she said toRasulull:lh "0 RaSlllullah, are the women <strong>of</strong> thisworld superior or the hurs?" He replied, "The women <strong>of</strong>this world will have superiority over the hurs just as theouter lining <strong>of</strong> a garment has superiority over the innerlining." Umme Salamah then asked, "0 RasUlullah,what is the reason for this?" He answered, "Becausethey performed salah, fasted, and worshipped [Allah].Allah will put light on their faces and silk on theirbodies. [The human women] will be fair in complexionand will wear green clothing and yellow jewelry. Theirincense-burners will be made <strong>of</strong> pearls and their combswill be <strong>of</strong> gold. They will say, 'We are the women whowill stay forever and we will never die. We are thewomen who will always remain in comfort and we willnever undergo difficulty. We are the women who willstay and we will never leave. Listen, we are happywomen and we will never become sad. Glad tidings tothose men for whom we are and who are for us.' ,,21Allah will make the women <strong>of</strong> this world morebeautiful and attractive than the hurs. Wherever in thisbook the 'women <strong>of</strong> <strong>Jannat</strong>' are mentioned, both th ~ hursand the human women could be meant.2, HilrsWhat is a hur?The second type <strong>of</strong> women will be those celestial womenspecially created for the people <strong>of</strong> <strong>Jannat</strong> known as thehur a'yn. A hur is a young, beautiful, fair-skinnedwoman with intensely dark eyes. Another interpretationis that there will be a sharp contrast between thewhiteness and darkness <strong>of</strong> her eyes which is consideredto very beautiful. Or it could also mean that her beautywill dumbfound and astonish others. The meaning <strong>of</strong>a'yn is a woman with big, attractive eyes, which is alsoconsidered a sign <strong>of</strong> beauty. 22What will the hurs be made <strong>of</strong>?The following is a narration <strong>of</strong> two Sahabah(<strong>Com</strong>panions <strong>of</strong> the Prophet),6:\ W -.9 ~~ ~ LS-.9jA l~ -.9 01~j.I1 ()A ~I J~l ~: rl-.9J~1 LS.ll::.).lkl~ -.9'~ ~I W -.9~u ~ -.9u-JI -.9 (j.JJ~(274It is narrated from Ibn Abbas Anas Abu Salamahand Mujahid that the hurs will be created fromsaffron. Saffron is an orange-coloured product extractedfrom a flower and it is used to add colour and flavour to2\ (Tab ranI)20 (RClhul Man125/ 136 - Dar Ihya At-Tawrath AI-A'rabi, Beirut)~~~~~~~~~~==~====~~=======~~~~~===--~-.n (Hadiyul Arwah 259 - Daru! Kutubu! A'raby, Beirut)
24 THE MAIDENS OF JANNAT 25 THE MAIDENS OF JANNATfood. When the present creation <strong>of</strong> mankind (which iscreated from sand) has the best <strong>of</strong> forms and beauty,then you can imagine the beauty <strong>of</strong> women created fromsaffron! 23There will be no jealousy between co-wivesAnother interpretation <strong>of</strong> the verse "equal in age" is thatthe women <strong>of</strong> <strong>Jannat</strong> will all be equal in age, which willensure that they get along with one another and make thebeliever's life peaceful. 24 It is normally the case in thisworld that co-wives have quarrels and arguments whichmake the husband's life miserable. However, in <strong>Jannat</strong>there will not be any jealousy, malice, or hatred betweenthe people. A hadith in Sahih Bukhilri and Sahih Muslimmentions that the hearts <strong>of</strong> the people <strong>of</strong> <strong>Jannat</strong> will beone and there will not be any difference between them.Allah ~ also says in this regard,~ ()A ~ JJ..l..a .) La ts.j.i -J"And we will take out all [mutual] hatred from theirhearts. ,,25This will ensure that all <strong>of</strong> a person's wives will getalong and will never become jealous <strong>of</strong> one other.\Chapter 5: A description <strong>of</strong> theadornments and external features <strong>of</strong> themaidens <strong>of</strong> <strong>Jannat</strong>Internal and external purity <strong>of</strong> the maidens <strong>of</strong> <strong>Jannat</strong>Allah ~ says,lH.llL. ~ ~ -J;;~ (!l-Jjl ~ ~ J"And they will have pure wives in <strong>Jannat</strong> and they willstay there forever. ,,26 Qatadah mentions that thesewomen will be pure from all external impurities such asmenstruation, urine, excreta, and saliva. They will alsobe free from all evil internal qualities such as malice,hypocrisy, swearing, evil character, etc. Thus, they willnot have within them the smallest amount <strong>of</strong>disobedience to their husbands. 27The lovely skin colour <strong>of</strong> the women <strong>of</strong> <strong>Jannat</strong>Allah ~ says,6~1 )3).UIJti..1S ~ JF- -J"And they will have fair females with big, lovely eyeswho will be like hidden pearls. ,,28 The women <strong>of</strong> <strong>Jannat</strong>will be like fresh pearls because <strong>of</strong> their cleanliness andfair skin colour.Allah ~ states in another verse,6~~~1S"[These women will be delicate and pure as if! they werepreserved eggs. ,,2923 (Hadiyul Arwah)24 (RCihul Mani 13/220)25 (7:43)26 (2:25)27 (Hadiyu1 Arwah pg. 257)28 (56:22)29 (37:49)