Description of al-hoor al-‘iyn in the Qur’aan and Sunnah
What
is the description of al-hoor al-iyn as stated in the Qur'aan and Sunnah? If a
wife is righteous in this world, what will her form or attributes be in
Paradise if Allaah wills that she should enter Paradise?.
Praise be to Allaah.
Firstly:
Pleasing
the most Merciful and entering Paradise are the ultimate aim that believing men
and women should wish for. If a person departs this world having won the
pleasure of Allaah, then he will have the glad tidings of all that is good
after that. When he enters Paradise he will have delights and pleasures such as
no eye has seen, no ear has heard and it has not entered the mind of any man.
He will have all that he wishes for in the best ways. Everything that he asks
for will be granted, and everything that he longs for he will get. He will
never find anything to upset or disturb him, because he is in the care of the
Most Merciful, as Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
“Therein
you shall have (all) that your inner‑selves desire, and therein you shall have
(all) for which you ask.
32. An
entertainment from (Allaah), the Oft‑Forgiving, Most Merciful”
[Fussilat
41:31-32]
One
of the best things that people long for in the Hereafter is, for men, the women
of Paradise, namely al-hoor al-‘iyn, and for women there is an equivalent delight.
By His great wisdom, Allaah has not mentioned what the women will have as the
equivalent of al-hoor al-‘iyn for men, and that is due to modesty and shyness.
How can He encourage them to seek Paradise by mentioning something that they
are too shy and modest to mention or speak about themselves? So He has simply
hinted at it, as in the verse (interpretation of the meaning):
“Therein
you shall have (all) that your inner‑selves desire
[Fussilat
41:31-32]
The
description of al-hoor al-‘iyn is mentioned in more than one place in the Book
of Allaah, such as the following:
1
– Allaah says, describing the reward of the people of Paradise (interpretation
of the meaning):
“And
(there will be) Hoor (fair females) with wide lovely eyes (as wives for
Al-Muttaqoon – the pious).
23. Like
unto preserved pearls”
[al-Waaqi’ah
56:22, 23]
al-Sa’di
(may Allaah have mercy on him)said:
“And
(there will be) Hoor (fair females) with wide lovely eyes”. Al-Hawra’
is a woman in whose eyes are lined with kohl, beautiful and bright. Al-‘iyn
refers to beautiful and huge eyes. The beauty of eyes in the female is one of
the greatest signs of beauty.
“Like
unto preserved pearls” means, as if they are pure, white, shining pearls,
which are covered and protected from people’s eyes, the wind and the sun. Their
colour is one of the most beautiful of colours and they have no fault or
blemish of any kind. This is how al-hoor al-‘iyn are: they have no faults of
blemishes of any kind, rather they are beautiful in all ways.
Every
time you gaze upon her, you see nothing but that which gladdens the heart. End
quote.
Tafseer
al-Sa’di, p. 991
2
– Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
“(In
beauty) they are like rubies and coral”
[al-Rahmaan
55:58]
al-Tabari
(may Allaah have mercy on him) said:
Ibn
Zayd said concerning the words “they are like rubies and coral” it is as
if they are rubies in their purity and like coral in their whiteness. So their
purity is that of rubies and their whiteness is that of pearls. End
quote.
Tafseer
al-Tabari, 27/152
3
– Allaah says describing the women of Paradise, in Soorat al-Waaqi’ah
(interpretation of the meaning):
“Verily,
We have created them (maidens) of special creation.
36. And
made them virgins.
37. Loving
(their husbands only), (and) of equal age”
[al-Waaqi’ah
56:35-37]
Ibn
Katheer (may Allaah have mercy on him) said:
With
regard to the word “loving (‘uruban)”, Sa’eed ibn Jubayr said, quoting
from Ibn ‘Abbaas that it means: they are loving towards their husbands. It was
narrated from Ibn ‘Abbaas that al-‘urub are those who love their
husbands and their husbands love them.
With
regard to the word “of equal age (atraaban)”, al-Dahhaak said, quoting
from Ibn ‘Abbaas, that it means: of the same age, thirty-three years.
Al-Saddi
said: “atraaban” means that they are equal in temperament and they do
not resent or envy one another, i.e., they are not like hostile co-wives. End
quote.
Tafseer
Ibn Katheer, 4/294
Al-Haafiz
Ibn Hajar said:
It
was narrated that Mujaahid said concerning the verse “Loving (their husbands
only), (and) of equal age”: i.e., those who are dear to their
husbands.
Fath
al-Baari, 8/626
4
– Allaah says, describing them (interpretation of the meaning):
“Therein
(Gardens) will be Khairaatun‑Hisaan [fair (wives) good and beautiful]”
[al-Rahmaan
55:70]
Ibn
al-Qayyim said:
They
are described as being fair and beautiful. The word khayraat (fair and good) is
derived from the word khayyarah, which refers to the woman who combines all
good qualities, both outward and inward, and whose physical appearance and
attitude are perfect. So they are good in attitude and fair of face.
Rawdat
al-Muhibbeen, p. 243.
5
– Allaah describes them as pure, as He says (interpretation of the
meaning):
“and
they shall have therein Azwaajun Mutahharatun (purified mates or
wives), and they will abide therein forever”
[al-Baqarah
2:25]
Ibn
al-Qayyim said:
Allaah
describes them as pure: “and they shall have therein Azwaajun Mutahharatun
(purified mates or wives)”, pure from menses, urine and the like
(stools) and all off-putting features that may exist in the women of this
world. And their hearts are pure from envy, annoyance of their husbands,
meanness or wishing for husbands other than them.
Rawdat
al-Muhibbeen, p. 243, 244
6
– Allaah describes them as refraining from looking at anyone except their
husbands (interpretation of the meaning):
“Wherein
both will be Qaasiraat‑ut‑Tarf [chaste females (wives) restraining their
glances, desiring none except their husbands]”
[al-Rahmaan
55:56]
“Hoor
(beautiful, fair females) guarded in pavilions”
[al-Rahmaan
55:72]
Ibn
al-Qayyim said:
Allaah
describes them as being “guarded in pavilions”, i.e., they are prevented
from making a display of themselves before anyone except their husbands. They
are guarded for their husbands and they do not go out of their houses, and they
restrain themselves for them and do not desire anyone else. And Allaah
describes them as “Qaasiraat‑ut‑Tarf [chaste females (wives) restraining
their glances”. This description is more complete than the first, for one
of them restrains her gaze and focuses her love upon her husband, she is
content with him and does not look beyond him at anyone else.
Rawdat
al-Muhibbeen, p. 244
This
is a brief look at what has been said about them in the Qur’aan. In the Sunnah
there are descriptions of their beauty and fairness which defy the imagination,
such as the following:
1
– It was narrated that Abu Hurayrah (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: The
Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “The
first group will enter Paradise looking like the moon on the night when it is
full, and those who follow them will be like the brightest shining star in the
sky. Their hearts will be as one, and there will be no hatred or jealousy among
them. Each man will have two wives from among al-hoor al-‘iyn, the marrow of
whose calves can be seen from beneath the bone and flesh.” (Narrated by
al-Bukhaari, no. 3014; Muslim, 2843.
Ibn
Hajar (may Allaah have mercy on him) said:
The
stunning beauty of the hoori is such that the marrow of her calves can be seen
from beneath her clothes, and a man will be able to see his face in the liver
of one of them, like a mirror because of the fineness of her skin and the
purity of her colour.
Fath
al-Baari, 8/570
2
– It was narrated that Anas (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: The
Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “If a
woman from among the people of Paradise were to look out over the earth, she
would illuminate everything that is in between them, and would fill everything
that is in between them with fragrance. And the scarf on her head is better
than this world and everything in it.”
If
she were to show her face, it would shine between heaven and earth; how
beautiful is the light of her face and how beautiful the scent that is filling
the space between heaven and earth. As for her garments, the scarf that she
places on her head is better than the beauty of this world and all that is in
it of delights and pleasure and natural beauty and splendid palaces and other
kinds of luxuries. Glory be to their Creator, how great He is, and
congratulations to the one for whom she is and he is for her.
Secondly:
The
situation of the believing woman in Paradise will be better than the situation
of the hoor al-‘iyn; she will be higher in status and more beautiful. Several
ahaadeeth and reports have been narrated concerning that, but none of them can
be proven to be sound. But if a righteous woman from among the people of this
world enters Paradise, then she will do so as a reward for her righteous deeds
and as a honour from Allaah to her for her religious commitment and
righteousness. As for the hoori who is one of the delights of Paradise, she has
only been created in Paradise for the sake of someone else, and has been made
the reward for the believing man for his righteous deeds. There is a great
difference between one who enters Paradise as a reward for her righteous deeds
and the one who was created as a reward for one who did righteous deeds. The
former is a queen and a princess, and the latter, no matter how beautiful she
is, is undoubtedly lower in status than a queen, and she is subject to the
command of her believing master for whom Allaah created her as a reward.
Shaykh
Ibn ‘Uthaymeen (may Allaah have mercy on him) was asked: Does the description
of the hoor al-‘iyn include the women of this world?
He
replied:
It
seems to me that the women of this world will be better than the hoor al-‘iyn,
even in outward appearance, and Allaah knows best.
Fataawa
Noor ‘ala al-Darb.
We
ask Allaah the Almighty to give us the best of that which He gives to His believing
slaves.
And
Allaah knows best.