“They shall have whatever they wish with their Lord.” (Qur’an 39:34)
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The Christian Heaven: Virgins, Violence, and Coup D’état!
Much seems to be made of the idea that the Qur’an mentions carnal pleasure in heaven, drinking of heavenly wine, and/or the eating of foods. Thus, the Qur’an is made out to be a depraved book that focuses on the lust and passions of men in particular.
This is unlike Christianity, where when we reach heaven we have an ‘eternal walk’ with the Lord. As Shabir Ally said in a debate with Jay Smith, “That’s going to be a long walk, Jay.”
First and foremost, it is absolutely imperative that anyone reading this should know that the Qur’an nowhere promises anyone 72 virgins in paradise! Nowhere!
This statement is in Hadith literature.
“It was mentioned by Daraj Ibn Abi Hatim, that Abu al-Haytham ‘Adullah Ibn Wahb narrated from Abu Sa’id al-Khudhri, who heard the Prophet (saw) saying, ‘The smallest reward for the people of Heaven is an abode where there are eighty thousand servants and seventy-two houri, over which stands a dome decorated with pearls, aquamarine, and ruby, as wide as the distance from al-Jabiyyah to San’a.”
Even then it should be noted that the above hadith is considered to have weak chain.
It is attributed to the Messenger of Allah (saw) that he said:
“In Paradise, there is a pavilion made of a single hollow pearl sixty miles wide, in each corner of which there are wives who will not see those in the other corners; and the believers will visit and enjoy their wives.”
Source: (https://sunnah.com/bukhari:4879)
So one hadith above mentions servants and houri (beings created for pleasure) and it is not mentioned if they are for those without spouses, those with spouses or not. The second hadith is addressing people who have wives. Now, if there was no decency involved, one would wonder the need to have distance? Again, the idea is that this is a reference to a man who has more than one wife and just as you would not make love to one wife in front of the other in this life (this is just etiquette and respect), you would not do as such in the next life.
“He it is Who has sent down the Book upon thee; therein are signs determined; they are the Mother of the Book, and others symbolic. As for those whose hearts are given to swerving, they follow that of it which is symbolic, seeking temptation and seeking its interpretation. And none know its interpretation save God and those firmly rooted in knowledge. They say, “We believe in it; all is from our Lord.” And none remember, save those who possess intellect.” (Qur’an 3:7)
“No soul knows what comfort is kept hidden for it as a recompense for that which they used to do.” (Qur’an 32:17)
Abu Hurairah reported that the Messenger of Allah (saw) said that Allah said:
“I have prepared for My righteous servants what no eye has seen and no ear has heard, nor has it occurred to the human heart. Thus, recite if you wish, ‘And no soul knows what joy has been kept hidden for them.”’
Source: (https://sunnah.com/bukhari:7498)
The above verse of the Qur’an coupled with the below hadith is often argued to say that the afterlife is allegorical. This is not true. The verse of the Qur’an coupled with the hadith says exactly what it says. That is that no soul knows what comfort is kept hidden from it. It does not mean we will not have that which we are familiar with or that we do not have a frame of reference for.
So now let’s get to two places in the Qur’an that the missionaries seem to be having a field day with.
Here is comparing three different translations of the Qur’an chapter 56, verses 35–37.
Now some Christian apologists, being embarrassed about details and language that the Holy Spirit supposedly inspired people to write in the Bible, are pulling out all the stops to make the verses above say ‘swelling breast’.
We think Christians like them are embarrassed that the Holy Spirit inspired someone to write the following in the Bible (according to their theology)…
“Yet she became more and more promiscuous as she recalled the days of her youth when she was a prostitute in Egypt. There she lusted after her lovers, whose genitals were like those of donkeys and whose emission was like that of horses.” (New International Version Ezekiel chapter 23 verse 20)
Ain’t nobody trying to hear that! We already got the picture that this woman was carried away.
The sad thing is that in the Bible you will never see a man match a woman in terms of lewdness or promiscuity.
Women are always used as symbols for evil, and that which is vile and filthy.
“The Whore of Babylon” …for example…
“All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags;….” (Isaiah 64:6)
Giving charity to the people of Haiti, or giving your organ to a dying child or spouse so that they may live, is simply described as a woman’s ‘filthy rag’ in Christianity. All good deeds on this Earth are compared to a woman’s menstrual cloth.
Every noble act ever committed by any human being anywhere is simply a ‘filthy rag’
Feeding a starting child. Giving comfort to an orphan. Providing a blanket for the homeless cold and feeble old man. All of it is likened to a woman’s menstrual cloth!
So no better image could be conjured up in the mind of the Holy Spirit than a woman having her monthly bleeding – bleeding we might add that was given to her as a punishment by God according to Christianity.
However, later we find out that God gets cheated on. That the ‘wife’ of God became like a prostitute.
“‘But you trusted in your beauty and capitalized on your fame by becoming a prostitute. You offered your sexual favors to every man who passed by so that your beauty became his. You took some of your clothing and made for yourself decorated high places; you engaged in prostitution on them.” (Ezekiel 16:15-16)
Prima Qur’an: We have always wondered why many Christian and Jewish men had a very unhealthy relationship and attitude towards women. When the Creator of Heaven and Earth gets cheated on, then who is the average man compared to God?
Even some Christian polemist who got cheated on may feel a kindred spirit with God.
So here are the verses that Christians think are embarassing for Muslims.
(Qur’an 56:35)
YUSUFALI: We have created of special creation.
PICKTHAL: Lo! We have created them a creation
SHAKIR: Surely We have made them to grow into a growth,
(Qur’an 56:36)
YUSUFALI: And made them virgin – pure, –
PICKTHAL: And made them virgins,
SHAKIR: Then We have made them virgins,
(Qur’an 56:37)
YUSUFALI: Beloved, equal in age,-
PICKTHAL: Lovers, friends,
SHAKIR: Loving, equals in age,
And let us look at the next set of verses in the Qur’an comparing three different translations. (Qur’an chapter 78 verses 31-33)
(Qur’an 78:31)
YUSUFALI: Verily for the Righteous there will be a fulfillment of desires;
PICKTHAL: Lo! for the duteous is an achievement –
SHAKIR: Surely for those who guard is an achievement,
(Qur’an 78:32)
YUSUFALI: Gardens enclosed, and grapevines;
PICKTHAL: Gardens enclosed and vineyards,
SHAKIR: Gardens and vineyards,
(Qur’an 78:33)
YUSUFALI: And voluptuous women of equal age;
PICKTHAL: And voluptuous women of equal age;
SHAKIR: And voluptuous women of equal age;
You can see for yourself how various translators have rendered the text: https://www.islamawakened.com/quran/78/33/
In talking about the Qur’an mentioning of physical pleasure in heaven, a Lebanese Christian convert to Islam, Hajji Gibril Houdad, says the following,
“The perfection of Islam dictates that it have a motivation for every type of person including those that are not motivated except through sensory reward, which is the common lot whether Christians deny it or not and that the principle of Paradise as a reward for martyrs is also very much present in their doctrine. However, Paradise in Islam also describes a higher level called Ridwan i.e. the lavishing of Divine good pleasure, to which we pray that Allah guides us.”
What about Muslim women? What will they get in paradise?
“And whoever does righteous deeds, whether male or female, while being a believer – those will enter Paradise and will not be wronged, even as much as the speck on a date seed.”(Qur’an 4:124)
“Women shall derive benefit from what they acquired. Ask, therefore, Allah out of His bounty: behold, Allah has indeed full knowledge of everything.” (Qur’an 4:32)
One of the scholars said that the rewards of women in the Quran are implied (rather than specifically stated)because they are more bashful than a man. A man needs it to be spelled out to him and a woman can read between the lines.
Allah mentions some of the pleasures of Paradise. The translation of the verse is: “And round about them will (serve) boys of everlasting youth. If you see them, you would think of them as scattered pearls.” (Qur’an 76:19)
“These are creatures that are created for service. This is what they love to do. There is no exploitation or anything like that in the modern politically-correct world we live in. These people are created for this. This is their Ibadah (worship) to Allah. If you –the prophet SAAWS- saw them you would consider them scattered pearls and this is just indicating how beautiful they are” -Shaykh Hamza Yusuf.
“They shall have whatever they wish with their Lord.” (Qur’an 39:34)
So in Islam, we are not crude people. We are taught to be refined and to be cultured. Allah says that women will have what they wish from Allah. If a person wants to ask for details, this just shows the level of their own civility. We don’t speak about our mothers, sisters, and daughters in such an open way as many people do today. May Allah give them more shyness, modesty, and refinement! Amin!
You can read more about that here:
https://sheikhynotes.blogspot.com/2010/01/womens-reward-in-paradise-in-islam.html
So now we come to it… The Christian paradise…
In this article, we ask: Does the Christian Heaven have a place for women? We were hard-pressed to find any verse in the Bible that unequivocally stated this as such:
Women are little more than an afterthought in the Christian salvific scheme.
It also seems to me that the Christian paradise is not really something to look forward to but simply a refuge away from something.
Unlike the Qur’an, where Allah is inviting people to paradise, Christians never use descriptions of paradise or ‘long walks with God for all eternity’ as a means of bringing people close to God.
Christianity is more or less about being ‘saved’. Saved from what? Saved from eternal everlasting hellfire.
In Christianity, heaven is not something to be invited to, rather it is an escape from.
It’s as if someone is telling you that you have the choice between:
A) Go into a room and be burned alive forever and ever for all eternity.
Or
B) You can go into a room and eat potato soup for all eternity.
Only a glutton for punishment would choose option A.
Now the analogy of spending time with God to potato soup is most definitely lacking. Yet this is what Christianity does. For all its doctrine and evangelical teaching, none of it is about calling people to God. It’s all about fleeing from wrath!
Now, obviously the Qur’an teaches that hellfire is eternal. Those who dwell therein will dwell forever. Yet as Shaykh Gibril mentioned above, some people are motivated by reward/punishment and others may not be so.
Early Christianity and, indeed, western civilization seem to have some rather unhealthy feelings towards sex and sexuality in general.
So there you are, long walks with the heavenly father, the lion lays down with the sheep (how nice for the sheep) and so forth…
So there you have it….paradise ….heaven, a place of eternal peace, with everyone singing kumbaya……OR IS IT?
War and Coup D’état in heaven!
“And there was WAR IN HEAVEN. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back.” (Revelation 12:7)
Good grief!
Is heaven a place of war and violence? Let’s keep reading…
So much for Jesus’ argument that he wasn’t casting out devils by the power of Satan!
“So Jesus called them together and began to speak to them in parables: “How can Satan drive out Satan? If a kingdom is divided against itself, it cannot stand. If a house is divided against itself, it cannot stand.” (Mark 3;23-25)
“And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force.” (Matthew 11:12)
Well, apparently you don’t have to be saved after all! If you’re violent enough, you can simply take the kingdom of heaven by force!
What on Earth is going on?
“He replied, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.” (Luke 10:18)
“The great dragon was hurled down–that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him.” (Revelation 12:9)
Ahh yes, Sunday school days. As one of our colleagues recalls the story. There was an angel named Lucifer who apparently got jealous of God. Lucifer wanted to run things, and so he had a secret meeting with some angels, and together they tried to sack the boss!
Now the story itself is nowhere in the Bible. It’s not Biblical! We have no idea who cooked this up. Allah knows best. There are a lot of problems with this story. It makes you wonder where the idea to rebel against God came from? If everything was as pure as the driven snow.
It also makes a mockery of God, as if Allah wouldn’t know that the angels were plotting against him. Not only this, but this is NOT Islamic theology. We have NO concept of fallen angels.
“O believers! Protect yourselves and your families from a Fire whose fuel is people and stones, overseen by formidable and severe angels, who never disobey whatever Allah orders—always doing as commanded.” (Qur’an 66:6)
“who do not speak until He has spoken, acting at His command.” (Qur’an 21:27)
As we asked before what is to stop the next disgruntled angel from wanting to sack the boss!
So we don’t know about you but as a believing man or woman, we would much prefer the heaven in which we are relaxing on a couch, with handsome servant boys (if we are a women) and beautiful young maidens (if we are men) than to be witness to the next Coup D’état!
Jesus, heaven, and virgins…
Let’s open our Bibles to Matthew chapter 25 verses 1-13
Matthew 25
“The Parable of the Ten Virgins”
1 “At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. 2 Five of them were foolish and five were wise. 3 The foolish ones took their lamps but did not take any oil with them. 4 The wise ones, however, took oil in jars along with their lamps. 5 The bridegroom was a long time coming, and they all became drowsy and fell asleep.
6 “At midnight the cry rang out: ‘Here’s the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!’
7 “Then all the virgins woke up and trimmed their lamps. 8 The foolish ones said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil; our lamps are going out.’
9 “‘No,’ they replied, ‘there may not be enough for both us and you. Instead, go to those who sell oil and buy some for yourselves.’
10 “But while they were on their way to buy the oil, the bridegroom arrived. The virgins who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet. And the door was shut. ???
11 “Later the others also came. ‘Lord, Lord,’ they said, ‘open the door for us!’
12 “But he replied, ‘Truly I tell you, I don’t know you.’
13 “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour.
Now did you notice that it says, “The Parable”? It does not say that in the Greek Text. This is a heading that someone has put into the story. Anyhow, there are a number of things about this story that are odd. If Jesus is the bridegroom, then are these the brides,plural—polygamy?
“In the parable of the ten virgins (Matt 25:1-13), there is no mention of the bride simply because the virgins are the brides. In fact, copyists of New Testament manuscripts recognized the straightforward meaning and added “and bride” to a number of manuscripts at the end of Matthew 25:1. As mentioned above in the quote from Maimonides, Jewish law permitted marrying multiple wives at the same time and no doubt some Israelite kings built their polygamous households in this manner.” -Blaine Robinson
Source: (http://www.blainerobison.com/concerns/polygamy.htm)
Now it gets strange because, apparently, these virgins go with Jesus, “The virgins who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet. And the door was shut.”
Now, of course, there is no mention of sex, but there is a picture of virgins being married to Jesus. If people say that the brides refer to both men and women, you’re not helping your case. You are actually painting a picture which, indeed, would be even more bizarre.
So who are these virgins that go with Jesus?
144,000 Virgin Men Offered To Jesus In Heaven!!!!
Move over Islam and your paltry sum of “72 virgin women” you ain’t seen anything yet! Here comes’ Jesus with 144,000 virgin men!
“Then I looked, and there before me was the Lamb, standing on Mount Zion, and with him 144,000 who had his name and his Father’s name written on their foreheads.” (Revelation 14:1)
*note* Jesus and the Father do not share the same name!
“No one could learn the song except the 144,000 who had been redeemed from the earth. These are those who did not defile themselves with women, for they remained virgins(parthenos). They follow the Lamb wherever he goes. They were purchased from among mankind and offered as first fruits to God and the Lamb.” (Revelation 14:3-5)
Now, if we allowed ourselves to enter into the minds of perverted polemicists like many of the Christians who assail Islam, we could allow our imaginations to just run wild with passages like the ones above. Like why are 144,000 virgin men likened to fruit?
Why is sex (as we mentioned above) seen as something dirty in Christian theology? Remember it says “who did not defile themselves with women” –This also means sex in marriage.
Why the emphasis upon virgin men?
Does the Bible ever give us a clue anywhere else as to the use of virgins?
“Now, therefore, kill every male among the little ones, and kill every woman who has known a man by sleeping with him. But all the young girls who have not known a man by sleeping with him, keep alive for yourselves.” (Numbers 31.17-18)
According to the Christians, “Jesus” orders the Israelites to keep alive the young virgin girls for themselves because they have special purposes (shrugs shoulders).
Take a look at the the weak hadith that mentions the 72 houri again.
“It was mentioned by Daraj Ibn Abi Hatim, that Abu al-Haytham ‘Adullah Ibn Wahb narrated from Abu Sa’id al-Khudhri, who heard the Prophet (saw) saying, ‘The smallest reward for the people of Heaven is an abode where there are eighty thousand servants and seventy-two houri, over which stands a dome decorated with pearls, aquamarine, and ruby, as wide as the distance from al-Jabiyyah to San’a.”
The text does not say the houri are for pleasure. But if it is assumed to be the case, then…
“But while they were on their way to buy the oil, the bridegroom arrived. The virgins who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet. And the door was shut. ???
Thus, it is hoped that Christians will take our understanding of the Qur’an based upon its chief principle of interpretation of chapter 3 verse 7 a little more seriously.
The Christian heaven: Wars, Sedition, Violence, and filled with 144,000 lucky virgin men!
The Islamic heaven: Eternal peace. The sovereignty of Allah reigns supreme, mind-blowing cosmic orgasmic sex with earthly beings and celestial beings on a level you could never have imagined! A place where delights await both men and women.
Choose wisely!
May Allah Guide the Ummah.
May Allah Forgive the Ummah.
Prima Quran 