Huri
The Huris ( Arabic حور, DMG ḥūr , [mu] f. pl .; Minor forms f. so called u. pl. [not in the Koran] Arabic حورية, DMG ḥūrīya , pl. According to Islamic belief, ḥūrīyāt ) are virgins ( al-Blūr , "the blinding whites") in paradise who are added to the blessed.
- The Koran speaks of “Huris” in only four verses: of “wide-eyed” in 44:54, 52:20, 56:22, without this attribute in 55 : 72.
- Without the designation “Huris” he mentions “big-eyed” paradise women in 37:48, men “of the same age” in 38:52, 78:33.
- He speaks of virgins in 55: 56.74 and 56:35 f. (but also here without the name “Huris”).
The popular number 72 for the number of Huris given to a man in paradise is not in the Koran. It has a mystical / magical function and means something like "abundant".
Huris are, according to the description in the Koran, of dazzling beauty (55:58: "like rubies and corals"; 56:23: "like well-kept pearls") and with swelling breasts (78:33).
Interpretations
The descriptions of the Huris in the Koran have been given details and embellished over time by traditional tradition and exegesis . From the verse that says they were touched neither by humans nor by jinn , some commentators have inferred the existence of two kinds of huris, human and jinn. Two names are inscribed on her chest: the name of God and the name of her husband. They are named after the feminine form of their husband's name. Again and again the young age is emphasized and the constantly renewed virginity. In her purity, a Huri knows neither menstrual cramps nor human needs nor the pains of labor, since she does not bear children.
The well-known Koran exegete a-Ṭabarī quotes a prophetic saying, according to which the Huris are deceased Muslim women who, even if they died in old age, regain their virginity and youth in paradise and remain young there forever.
The ideas regarding life in the hereafter differ very much in the different directions of Islam. This applies, among other things, to the Huris (masculine in the Arabic language!), Which according to various directions have nothing to do with femininity, as well as to the so-called Gilmans ( Ar. غِلْمانُ الْجَنَّةٌ), which are intended for pious women. Concerns about overly materialistic and sensual interpretations of the pleasures of paradise were expressed early on in Islamic history. The Shafiite Koran exegete al-Baidawi from the 13th century AD was of the opinion that the substances of which women and also the food of paradise are made, differ fundamentally from their earthly counterparts. A similar interpretation is also held by the Islamic philosophers and the Sufis (Islamic mystics), who give the specific information from the Koran an esoteric meaning.
The Persian poet Omar Chayyam wrote quite critically in the 12th century: “When it is said that a paradise beckons with Huris, I praise the wine that is drunk on earth. It's hard cash. I don't give a damn about hope! From afar the brave drum sounds beautiful. "
In his book The Syro-Aramaic Reading of the Koran , the author, who writes under the pseudonym Christoph Luxenberg , assumes a faulty interpretation of the term “Hur” and interprets it with “white, crystal clear grapes”: fruits that have long been found in the oriental conceptions of paradise were seen as a symbol of well-being and comfort. However, since the “marriage” of the people with the Huris ( وَزَوَّجْنَاهُمْ بِحُورٍ) is described in the Koran 44:54 , one cannot safely speak of “white, crystal clear grapes” in this context. His theses in this regard have met with some fierce criticism. (See Christoph Luxenberg # Academic Reception of the Syro-Aramaic Reading of the Koran )
Meaning in the present
In the present day the huris are used several times as a means of motivating young male Muslims to commit suicide bombings . For example, the September 11th assassins were given the prospect in the spiritual instructions that were found in their luggage that the gardens of paradise had already been decorated for them and that the Huris would summon them.
Individual evidence
- ↑ See Tor Andrae: Mohammed. The Man and his Faith . Routledge, 2013. p. 57 with reference to aṭ-Ṭabarī's comment at 56:36 ( available online ): hunna allawātī qubiḍna fī 'd-dunyā ʿaǧāʾiza rumṣan šumṭan, ḫalaqahunna Allāhu baʿda' l-kārār faǧaʿalahunna ʿaḏibar faǧaʿalahunna ʿaḏibar
- ↑ See Arent Jan Wensinck, Charles Pellat: Ḥūr . In: The Encyclopaedia of Islam. New Edition . Volume 3. Brill, 1971. p. 581b
- ↑ Is there Gilman for women in Paradise? ( Memento of the original from February 23, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (Turkish)
- ↑ The Hakim of Nishapur Omar Chajjám and his Rubaijat. , based on old and recent Persian manuscript finds by Manuel Sommer, Pressler, Wiesbaden 1974, p. 54
- ↑ Christoph Luxenberg: The Syro-Aramaic reading of the Koran. A contribution to deciphering the Koran language . Hans Schiller, 2015
- ^ Quran word for word by the University of Leeds, Surah 44:54. Accessed in 2019 .
- ↑ Cf. Albrecht Fuess, Moez Khalfaoui and Tilman Seidensticker: "The 'Spiritual Instructions' of the assassins of September 11th" in Hans G. Kippenberg, Tilman Seidensticker (ed.): Terror in the service of God: The 'Spiritual instructions' of the assassins September 11, 2001 . 2004. pp. 17-27, here pp. 22 and 24.
