Please explain the concept of Hurul ‘In and if they relate to women as well.
SHAFAQNA-- One of the great blessings that Allah (swt) has prepared for his pious and believing servants, is heaven, and all the abundant and never-ending blessings that are contained therein. Of course the pleasure and contentedness of Allah (swt) towards them is the greatest reward. The only thing that grants entrance to paradise is faith and good deeds in this current world. However much the faith and good deeds are greater, that person’s status and position in paradise will likewise be higher; in this regard there are no differences between men and women and every human being can reach such a position. Allah (swt) has said, “Every human being, either from men or women, who does good deeds and also has faith will enter heaven and will be given freely from the bounties of heaven.[1]
Of course, expecting the future world to have the same rules and way of life of this world this is totally incorrect and baseless. Sometimes in the verses of the Quran and in Hadith we hear of such concepts like the pleasure of eating and drinking and having beautiful and young wives or being next to streams and lush trees, but these are only for us to be able to somewhat comprehend the realities of the next world and we have to understand that they are not just duplicates of this worlds pleasures.[2]
From the collection of Quranic verses and hadiths it is understood that whatever the people of heaven want will be given to them freely,[3] and one of these mentioned blessings are the Huris of paradise.
Numerous hadiths and Quranic verses refer to heavenly mates as “Hurul ‘In”[4].
The word Hur is the plural of Howra’ which means a women whose whiteness of the eye is exceedingly white and the blackness of her eyes is exceedingly black or it can be taken to mean a women who has very dark eyes like the eyes of a deer, and ‘In is the plural of the word Ainaa’, which means large eyed (in a good-looking sense).
The Quran has mentioned the Huris as the ‘Pearls of Paradise’[5] and it seems that they are a creation that is separate and distinct from the women of this world.[6] Allah (swt) says about them, “We will give them in marriage to the Hurul ‘In”.[7]
Many verses[8] are found that describe the heavenly companions: “Beautiful angels in the form of youthful men and women at the peak of beauty and vigor.”
According to the opinion of most commentators (mufassirs), marriage does not have the same worldly connotation when speaking about this subject. So here the real aim is the giving of a gift from Allah (swt) of these Huris and matching them with the believers.[9]
We should pay attention to the point that Hur and ’In apply to both the masculine and the feminine; thus covering both male and female heavenly mates; female ones for male believers and male ones for the female believers.[10]
Another interesting point is that for the purpose of serving those in heaven, there are Ghilmans who have been explained to be very beautiful heavenly servants ; it is said that when people see these Ghilman they think they are looking at a carved jewel[11] or a round natural pearl.[12] The verses that speak of them apparently say that they have been created for the sole purpose of serving those in heaven.
What can be concluded from all the above is that: All of the blessings of Allah (swt) in heaven are for all pious and faithful men and women living there, the Huris as beautiful companions and the Ghilman as handsome servants being no exception.
For further information, see: Heavenly Huris and marriage, Question 848.
[1] Ghafir:40.
[2] Husein Eskandari, Ayehaye Zendegi, vol. 5, pg. 302.
[3] Fussilat:31.
[4] Dukhan:54; Tur:22; Waqi’ah:22 and 23.
[5] “و حور عین؛ کامثال اللؤلؤ المکنون” (And there will be maidens with large Black eyes [to be their wives], They are like pearls preserved In shells) Waqi’ah:23-24.
[6] Translation of Al-Mizan, vol. 18, pg. 228.
[7] Dokhan:54.
[8] Saffat:47; AlRahman:58, 70 and 72; Insan:19; Tur:24.
[9] Biharul-Anwar, vol. 8, pg. 99; Translation of Al-Mizan, vol. 18, pg. 228.
[10] Didare Yar (Ma’ad dar Kalame Vahy9), Ibid.
[11] یطوف علیهم ولدان، مخلدون اذا رأیتهم حسبتهم لولوءً منثوراً Insan:19.
[12] یطوف علیهم غلمان لهم کانهم لولوء مکنون Tur:24.
For Chinese Women, Marriage Depends On Right 'Bride Price'
SHAFAQNA (Shia International News Association) Women hold up half the sky, China's Chairman Mao famously said. But in China, the one-child policy and the traditional preference for boys mean that 117 boys are born for every 100 baby girls. By one estimate, this means there could be 24 million Chinese men unable to find wives by the end of the decade.
As China's economy booms, the marriage market has become just that: a market, with new demands by women for apartments and cars.
Let's Make A Deal
It's Derek Wei's big day: his wedding day. He arrives at his bride's house early in the morning, knocking on the door accompanied by his groomsmen. It's locked, as tradition demands.
This wedding ritual, called chuangmen has resurfaced recently, along with other traditional practices like demands for a betrothal gift, sometimes known as "bride price."
"Red packets! Red packets!" shouts the niece of Lucy Wang, the bride, demanding the men stuff red packets full of money through the door.
"Not enough!" shouts the head bridesmaid, who wants more money before she'll open up. The women play along, complaining noisily about Wei's stinginess. This is the last in a series of financial transactions that accompanies this — and every Chinese — wedding.
"It's like a negotiation," Wei says. "What do you need to get married? What can I provide? When we reach a deal, we discuss: What does your family want? What does my family have to bargain with?"
Minutes tick slowly, and Wei is getting nervous they'll be late.
"I love you, wife!" he shouts, thumping the door. "Let me in!"
From the other side of the door, his future wife, Lucy Wang, demands a song. He complies, singing a soppy old-time love song to the closed wooden door, along with a groomsman who takes pity on him. The women giggle. But Wang's demands have been for more than just music.
Wang has an office job in Beijing, she's from Shanxi province. Wedding customs there demand the groom to give his future in-laws a big betrothal gift, traditionally known as the bride price. Wei handed over 68,888 yuan — an auspicious number — which is more than $11,000.
Wang, however, is not so impressed. "There are lots of coal mine owners where I come from, so they push the prices up," she explains. "In an ordinary family, the betrothal gift is about $10,000. To be honest, where I'm from, that's hardly anything."
Finally, the men lose patience and brace their shoulders against the door, noisily forcing their way into the room with battle cries.
Wei is on his knees. It's the first time he's seen his wife on their big day: He has a massive grin on his face and a bouquet of pink roses for Wang.
His first thought on hearing of the betrothal gift was pure fear. But his situation is very common. Most young men getting married in China today are expected to fork out, often providing an apartment, sometimes a car and a betrothal gift, too. Things were much easier when his parents got married four decades ago.
"My parent's wedding was very simple," Wei says wistfully. "You can't even imagine how simple it was. They had a bed, a cupboard, a bike and a sewing machine. That was China in the '70s."
That Was Then, This Is Now
And this is China in the 21st century. Weddings involve two photographers and a videographer and firecracker displays and MCs, as well as the financial negotiations leading up to the celebration.
Wang's former classmate, Frank Zhang, who got married 12 years ago, is the master of ceremony for their wedding. He's amazed at how much difference one decade has made in terms of wedding customs.
On his wedding day, Zhang and his new wife celebrated by inviting their friends home for a meal. He didn't give her an apartment or a car or any money.
And when she first met his parents, they gave her 888 yuan — another auspicious amount — or roughly $100 about one-hundredth of the bride price Wei paid. It's a sobering reminder of how the gender imbalance and new wealth is changing China.
For his part, Wei spent about one year's salary on the bride price and gold jewelry, which also formed part of Wang's betrothal gift. On top of that, he's expected to provide an apartment for his new wife; his parents' home is about to be demolished, and they'll get two new flats in compensation. Wei is counting on them to give him one as the marital home.
What Numbers Show
Nowadays, 70 percent of Chinese women believe a man should provide an apartment, along with a marriage offer, according to a 2011 survey. In economic terms, the relative scarcity of women is giving them bargaining power. These women's demands are making China's economy grow even faster.
"Rising sex ratios contribute to two percentage points of GDP growth," says Xiaobo Zhang, a professor of economics at Peking University, who also works at the International Food Policy Research Institute.
His studies have found that up to 25 percent of the growth in China's economy stems back to the effect of the rising sex ratio. Together with Shang-Jin Wei, from Columbia University, he's also found that 30 to 48 percent of the real estate appreciation in 35 major Chinese cities is directly linked to a man's need to acquire wealth — in the form of property — to attract a wife.
Zhang has found families with sons in areas with higher gender imbalances are more likely to be unhappy, and to have to work harder in order to be able to afford that all-important wedding gift — the apartment.
"In order to save more, families with sons must work harder. They are more likely to become entrepreneurs, more likely to take risky jobs — like working in the construction sector — more likely to work longer hours. All this contributes to economic growth," Zhang says.
Are Gender Roles Unbalanced?
Wei borrowed money for this wedding; most young men have no choice due to the soaring cost of real estate. An urban apartment costs around 15 times the average annual income of a homebuyer. So parents like Wei's often start saving up from the moment their son is born.
But some argue that women aren't necessarily benefiting. Leta Hong Fincher is writing a book on gender and home ownership in China. She believes women are being excluded from what may be the biggest accumulation of real estate wealth in history.
"There are three main ways in which I argue that women have been shut out of the accumulation of real estate wealth: the first is that parents tend to buy homes for sons, not daughters; the second is that homes tend to be registered in men's names only; the third is that women often transfer their life savings over to the man to finance the purchase of a marital home, which is then often registered solely in the man's name," she says.
Back at the wedding, all of this is beside the point. Lucy Wang and Derek Wei are planning to register their home in both their names. As a toy tank bearing the couple's rings trundles down the aisle, they drink from a champagne fountain and share a kiss. Their life together is only just starting.
But soon they'll be three. Just a few weeks have passed since the wedding, and they're already expecting their first child. They hope it will be a girl.
"We wouldn't have to buy her an apartment," Wang says, "and she'd cost us less than a boy."
Saudi prince makes case for women drivers
SHAFAQNA (Shia International News Association) -- Saudi billionaire Prince Alwaleed bin Talal has indicated support of allowing women there to drive.
He said on Sunday that if women were allowed to drive in Saudi Arabia, it would help the kingdom's campaign to cut down on the number of foreign workers.
Saudi Arabia follows an ultraconservative interpretation of Islam and bans women from driving.
"The question of allowing women to drive in Saudi Arabia will save more than 500,000 jobs in addition to the social and economic benefits," the prince wrote Sunday on his Twitter account.
Thousands of foreign workers have been fired from their jobs and then deported, part of a government campaign against foreigners who illegally reside and work in the kingdom.
Last week King Abdullah gave workers three months to try to legalise their presence. There are more than eight million foreign workers in Saudi Arabia.
Is it permissible for men to listen to a woman’s singing?
SHAFAQNA (Shia International News Association) As you have rightly mentioned, men are different from women in a lot of ways. For this reason, different rules have been legislated for each group. When it comes to a woman reciting eulogies and narrating the sad stories of the infallibles, Grand Ayatollah Khamenei says: “If a woman’s voice is provocative and is likely to excite a man sexually, it is not permissible.”[1] In regards to a lady reciting the Quran in the tartilmethod, he has said: “If a woman’s recitation in front of non-mahram men entails evil (mafsadah), it is haram irrespective of whether the tartil recitation is made individually or collectively.”[2]
Therefore, if even hearing a woman’s recitation of the Quran, tawashih and collective reading entail evils especially those mentioned in your email (promotion of obscenity and degradation of modesty, assault of the female reciter because of attractive voice, abandoning of husband and getting attracted to other men), they are not permissible. Also, listening to a man’s song is allowed only when it is not included in the category of ghina (haram type of song) and does not entail evil. Those religious authorities, who have said that listening to a woman’s voice is permissible when it does not entail evil, do not include the instances which you have pointed in your message. Certainly, no Mujtahid has said that it is permissible to listen to a woman’s singing voice. For further information please refer to the following indexes:
1. Index: The Islamic law about listening to a woman’s voice in the past and at present, question 3034 (site: 3280).
2. Index: Listening to music with woman voice, question 2832 (site: 3064).
[1] Husseini, Sayyid Mujtaba, Student Resalah, p. 182.
[2] Ibid, Mahmoodi, Sayyid Mohsen, New Issues from the Perspective of Scholars and Religious Authorities, vol.1, p. 124.
What is the Islamic law regarding a song sung by a woman with music instruments? What is ghinā?
SHAFAQNA (Shia International News Association) Office of Grand Ayatollah Khamenei (may Allah grant him long life):
1. If the singing is ruled as ghinā, it is ḥarām and the content makes no difference. Similarly, if one listens to her voice with the intention of seeking pleasure or if it entails evil or it is accompanied with licentious and forbidden music, it is not permissible.
2. Ghinā is a kind of singing accompanied by vocal undulation and rapture so that it is suitable for gatherings of lahw and sin. It is haram for a singer to sing [ghina] and the listener to listen to it.
Office of Grand Ayatollah Sistani (may Allah grant him long life):
Singing (ghinā) is harãm: doing it, listening to it, or living of it are not allowed. The money received by the singer does not become his property. By “singing — ghinā,” we mean an amusing statement expressed in the tunes that are suitable for those who provide entertainment and amusement. In this prohibition, we should include the recitation of the Holy Qur’ãn, supplications (du‘ãs) uttered to the accompaniment of those tunes [that are used by the entertainers]. The prohibition of reciting other non-entertaining expressions —like songs intended to lift the morale [of fighters]— is based on compulsory precaution. As for music, it is not permissible to play or listen to music that is suitable for entertainment and amusement gatherings. [The crucial line is in it [music] being commensurate with the gatherings of entertainment and moral depravity.] Playing such music and receiving money for it are also haram and the money does not become the property of recipient. Teaching and learning it are haram and listening to a woman’s song with the intention seeking pleasure is not permissible.
Office of Grand Ayatollah Makarem Shirazi (may Allah grant him long life):
1. In any case, there is an objection (ishkal) to a woman singing singly.
2. As for the definition of ghinā and the philosophy of its prohibition, refer to book “180 Questions and Answers”, page 510 which is accessible on the Farsi web page under Works section.
3. Answered above.
Office of Grand Ayatollah Saafi Gulpaigani (may Allah grant him long life):
Generally speaking, all kinds of music which are played with instruments which are for joyful ecstasy (tarab) is haram. Ghinā means "prolongation and vibration of sound with variation of the pitch to such an extent that people may say that ‘he/she is singing’. It is also haram to listen to her.
An answer given to the above the question by Ayatollah Mahdi Hadavi Tehrani (may Allah grant him long life) is as under:
1. Ghinā is a song which makes a person go out of normal condition causing him sexual excitement. Generally such songs are commensurate with gatherings of entertainment and debauchery.
2. Ghinā is haram irrespective of whether the singer is a man or a woman.
3. Music accompanied with ghinā has no role in prohibition of ghinā.
4. If music makes a person go out of normal mood and causes him sexual excitement, it is haram. Such music is normally appropriate for gatherings of entertainment and debauchery. Such music is proven to be haram even if it is not accompanied with a son.
Related indexes:
Question 6185 (site: 6364) (What is meant by ‘evil’ in respect of Ghinā and Music?))
Israel detains women over prayer practices
SHAFAQNA (Shia International News Association) Israeli police have arrested five women at the Western Wall, one of Judaism's holiest sites, for wearing prayer shawls and amulets - observances which Orthodox tradition sees as solely for men.
Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said about 120 woman arrived for their monthly prayer service on Thursday and five were detained for wearing the tallits (prayer shawls) and tefillin (phylacteries).
Those arrested were part of the "Women of the Wall" group which campaigns for gender equality in religious practice.
They routinely convene for prayer sessions around the start of each month at the Western Wall, revered by Jews as a perimeter wall of the Biblical Temple in Jerusalem, and several are routinely arrested and often released without charge.
The site, under strict Orthodox ritual law, bars women from wearing the religious clothing or publicly reading from the holy scriptures and is divided into men's and women's sections.
Orthodox rabbis, who control Israel's religious institutions, oppose mixed prayers.
Mixed-gender section
The latest round of arrests come a day after Israeli authorities proposed a compromise to diffuse tensions by establishing a new section at the site where men and women can pray together.
"One Western Wall for one Jewish people," said Natan Sharansky, chairman of the quasi-governmental Jewish Agency and mastermind of the proposal.
He expressed hope that the site "will once again be a symbol of unity among the Jewish people, and not one of discord and strife".
The new proposal still needs government approval.
Rabbi Gilad Kariv, who heads Israel's Reform Jewish movement, said that the proposal could become a watershed moment for liberal Judaism.
"If the Israeli government embraces the solution, I think it's a breakthrough of relations between the Israeli government and the progressive Jewish world," Kariv said.
He said he believed "there are good chances" that Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's new cabinet, which does not include any ultra-Orthodox parties, will support the plan.
Saudi Arabia: Huge Obstacles for First Woman Lawyer
SHAFAQNA (Shia International News Association) Saudi authorities need to lift the many obstacles facing the first woman to train as a lawyer in Saudi Arabia before she can enter the profession on an equal basis with men. The Justice Ministry on April 8, 2013, licensed Arwa al-Hujaili, a King Abdulaziz University graduate from Jeddah, as a legal trainee, which allows her to practice law and, after a three-year apprenticeship, to become a fully licensed lawyer.
“By licensing a female lawyer, Saudi Arabia has opened up a key profession to women,” said Eric Goldstein, deputy Middle East director at Human Rights Watch. “But for Saudi women to practice law on anything close to an equal footing with men, they need protection from discrimination against women in the courtroom, freedom to travel and to drive, and the ability to make their own decisions about their work lives.”
Any woman seeking to practice law in the kingdom will have major hurdles to overcome, Human Rights Watch said. Saudi judges have wide discretion to remove a lawyer from a case before them, and nothing would prevent them from using al-Hujaili’s gender to do that. Some judges continue to segregate men and women in their courtrooms.
In addition to potential discrimination in the courtroom, female lawyers will also face the severe discrimination that the male guardianship system imposes on all working Saudi women, Human Rights Watch said. This system requires a woman’s designated male guardian to approve her decisions to work and travel, among other things. Moreover, women lawyers are not allowed to drive themselves to work since all women remain banned from driving in Saudi Arabia.
Australia gets first Muslim woman MP
SHAFAQNA (Shia International News Association) – Making history in the multicultural country, a Pakistani-origin Muslim has been appointed as the first Muslim woman in the Australian parliament, breaking new grounds for politics in Australia.
"We do need a spectrum of diverse politicians in Australian parliaments who can represent our communities,” Mehreen Faruqi told 9MSN News on Sunday, April 7.
"It shows the world that we really value multiculturalism.”
Faruqi, a Muslim academic, will represent the Greens Party in the Upper House in the New South Wales.
She will replace Cate Faehrmann, who will resign in June to run for a seat in the Senate.
“Mehreen's Pakistani heritage not only breaks new ground for the Greens but it breaks new grounds for politics in NSW, and indeed the whole country,” Faehrmann said in a statement.
Migrating from Pakistan with her family in 1992, Mehreen describes herself as an “environmental engineer, climate change and education activist, proud union member and feminist.”
She won the Greens pre-election on Saturday following a postal ballot from among a field of seven women-only candidates, in another first for the party.
The move makes Dr Faruqi the first Muslim woman appointed to any parliament in Australia, the party said.
“As the first Greens MP in NSW from a migrant background, I'm also excited about building stronger relationships between the Greens and migrant communities,” Faruqi said.
Politics & Religion
Taking pride in her multicultural background, Faruqi said her Islamic faith was only "one element" of her background.
"I am proud of my culture and heritage but I'm also proud of my professional achievements,” she told 9MSN.
"I believe I might be the first environmental engineer in the NSW parliament as well."
Dr Faruqi said her appointment was a "very progressive" move for Australia, and she would seek to build stronger relationships with migrant communities in her new role.
Though being the first Muslim woman in any Australian parliament, she is not the first Muslim to hold a parliamentary seat.
In 2010, Ed Husic, of Bosnian origin, was elected a member of parliament for western Sydney.
He took the oath with his hand put on a copy of the Noble Qur’an.
New South Wales is home to 168,788 Muslims, about 4.96 percent of the total population, making the state a habitat to the largest Muslim population, according to the 2006 government Census.
Muslims, who have been in Australia for more than 200 years, make up 1.7 percent of its 20-million population.
In post 9/11-era, Australian Muslims have been haunted with suspicion and have had their patriotism questioned.-www.shafaqna.com/English
Source: On Islam
Saudi Arabia eases ban on women riding bikes
SHAFAQNA (Shia International News Association) -- Saudi Arabia will now allow women to ride motorbikes and bicycles but only in restricted areas, a local newspaper has reported.
The al-Yawm daily on Monday cited an unnamed official from the religious police as saying women can ride bikes in parks and recreational areas but they have to be accompanied by a male relative and dressed in the full Islamic head-to-toe abaya.
Saudi Arabia follows an ultraconservative interpretation of Islam and bans women from driving.
Women are also banned from riding motorcycles or bicycles in public places. The newspaper didn't say what triggered the lifting of the ban.
The official says women may not use the bikes for transportation but “only for entertainment'' and that they should shun places where young men gather “to avoid harassment.''
Do people in paradise marry Hurul ‘In (Huris) and do Huris have only one spouse there? And do male Huris exist for women as well?
SHAFAQNA (Shia International News Association) One of the rewards that Allah (swt) gives to people who believe and do good deeds in this world is heaven and all the blessings that it contains. There isn’t any difference between men or women for entering into heaven and for people who have this good fortune, one of the blessings that Allah (swt) grants is that of Hurul ‘In; this is explained in detail in Hadiths and Quranic verses. According to most commentators, marriage in heaven doesn’t exist in the form that we have here in this world; Marriage with Hurul ‘In has been interpreted as being granted them and being matched with them; not that there will actually be marriage contracts like what we have in this world.
As for the question about women having multiple husbands in heaven, in short it has to be said that according to the collection of verses in the Holy Quran and the hadiths (traditions) it is understood that mu’minah and believing women who are in heaven do not desire such things, but if they do then this would definitely be given to them.
Detailed Answer
One of the great blessings that Allah (swt) has given to his pious and believing servants is that of paradise and all of the many things that are contained within it. Of course the pleasure and satisfaction of Allah (swt) with these servants is the highest and greatest of rewards that anyone could have (this is something that the Quran tells us, although many of us might not be able to comprehend it now). The only way to be granted entrance into heaven is through the good actions that we do and the beliefs that we hold; the better our actions and the more pure our beliefs, the higher our status will be in the next world. There are no differences whatsoever in regards to men or women in this matter and everyone is free to reach the highest status and position possible. Allah (swt) has said: “And whoever does good, whether male or female, and he is a believer, shall enter paradise, in which they shall be given sustenance without measure.”[1]
Paradise isn’t a place of accountability or test; if it was then there would have to be another heaven and hell in order to reward those who passed that second test and this would continue ad infinitum; while heaven and its many blessings have been made as the result of the faith and the good works of the people in this very world. From the verses of the Holy Quran and the traditions it is understood that whatever the people of paradise wish for will be granted to them[2], and one of these things will be that of Hurul ‘In that will be given to the men of paradise.
Hur is the plural of Howra’ and takes the meaning of a woman whose whiteness of the eye is extremely white and the blackness of her eyes is extremely dark. Another meaning is that of a woman who has very black eyes that are like the eyes of a deer. The word ‘In is the plural of Ainaa’, which means very large eyes; apparently Hurul ‘In are a creation different than the woman of this world.[3] Allah (swt) has said about them: “We will give them in marriage to the Hurul ‘In”[4] According to the majority of commentators, marriage doesn’t take on the same meaning that is commonly used in this world; so here the giving of an Hurul ‘In as a gift is what is meant.[5]
One of the characteristics of Hurul ‘In that has been mentioned in the Holy Quran and certain hadiths is that they do not have more than one spouse. Speaking about these characteristics, Allah (swt) has said: “And no person before them (before the person who is in paradise) has ever touched them (Huris), from either men or jinn.”[6]
In interpretation of the term “Qaseraatal tharf” which has been mentioned in the beginning of this verse, the late Ayatollah Majlisi has mentioned: “This means that there are spouses whose glances are only for their husbands and are inclined to no one but their husbands.”[7]
As for the question of whether the women of this world will have something similar to Huris, it can be said that whatever the people of paradise desire will be made ready for them, but they will not desire multiple husbands. Just like the pious and pure women of this world don’t look at other than their husbands, in heaven, which is the home of pure people, there will be no desire for multiple husbands.
According to a tradition from Imam Sadiq (A) he was once asked about marriage of men and women in heaven and he responded: “If the status of the woman is higher and she wishes to marry her earthly husband then she can select him (but the man cannot select her) and he will become her spouse, but if the status of the man is higher then he can select his wife (here the wife doesn’t have such a right) and in this case the woman will become one of the man’s spouses”[8], but the man would be her only spouse; this matter has also been pointed to in other hadiths.
Likewise, in some hadiths it has been narrated from the Holy Prophet (S) where he said: “If a woman has two husbands in this world then in the next world she can select the better of the two (based on his akhlaq).[9] The Prophet (pbuh) never mentiones that she can select both, all he says is that she will select the better of the two.
Another point to mention is that in paradise there will be a special class of servants called ‘Ghilman’ and these are for both men and women without differentiation.
The Holy Quran has says concerning this matter: “Around them will be youth for serving them that resemble pearls in beauty”.[10]
The apparent meaning of this verse is that these handsome youth are created especially for serving the people of paradise.
[1] Ghafir:40.
[2] Fussilat:31.
[3] Al-Mizan (translation), vol. 18, pg.228.
[4] Dokhan:54.
[5] Biharul-Anwar, vol. 8, pg. 99; Al-Mizan (translation), vol. 18, pg. 228.
[6] فیهِنَّ قاصِراتُ الطَّرْفِ لَمْ یَطْمِثْهُنَّ إِنْسٌ قَبْلَهُمْ وَ لا جَان (In them are maidens of restrained glances, whom no human has touched before, nor jinn) Rahman:56.
[7] Biharul-Anwar, vol.8, pg. 97.
[8] Ibid, pg. 105.
[9] Biharul-Anwar, vol. 8, pg. 119.
[10] وَ یَطُوفُ عَلَیْهِمْ غِلْمانٌ لَهُمْ کَأَنَّهُمْ لُؤْلُؤٌ مَکْنُونٌ Tur:24.
