February 6, 2009

Islam's Afterworld; Reflecting on the Humanities

By NINA C. AYOUB and EVAN R. GOLDSTEIN

Seventy-two virgins for each man deemed a martyr. If there is a fixed idea in the West about paradise in Islam, it can be found in that numbered bevy, and little else. Yet while these women — houris — exist in Islamic ideas of heaven, their natures vary, their cultural history is complex, they are not just for martyrs, and they may appear as everything from numerous companions to one faithful wife. They are also not the only otherworldly beings sharing paradise with the