Islam is much younger and much more "temperamental" than Christianity. Of course, the idea of paradise among Christians and Muslims also does not coincide. Angels with musical instruments are waiting for some in paradise, for others - banquet tables and houris.
The Garden of Eden, in the mind of Christians, is an ordered church garden bathed in light and cleansed of all filth. For Muslims, it is something like an oasis with lush vegetation, huge fragrant flowers and heavy ripe fruits hanging from the branches. And carnal joys are also abundant here.
Planned delights
In the Christian paradise, where only the righteous go, no enjoyment is provided except for a deeply spiritual comprehension of God. This is the only reward that a person receives - the opportunity to get rid of the flesh that seduces him, from all the temptations of the sinful material world, to completely become like heavenly creatures. No wonder the inhabitants of paradise are pure souls. Souls, you understand, do not need to drink or eat, much less have sex.
The feelings they experience are purely sublime. The life of the righteous on earth was difficult and painful, not only their bodies suffered, but also their souls. Now they are delivered from suffering and receive complete healing, eternal joy.
The Jewish Paradise, the forefather of the Christian, was also a garden. And only the souls of the righteous fell into this garden. There, these souls were waiting for the Messiah to appear and return the healed human bodies to them. One could get to the Garden of Eden only after passing through the seven heavenly spheres. In the first sphere, the righteous got rid of everything that made them miserable on earth.
In the second - from longing for the relatives left at home. In the third - from passions and desires. In the fourth - from all the needs of the body for food and comfort. In the fifth - from all earthly thoughts. In the sixth sphere, those who got rid of everything human began to hear heavenly music. In the seventh, they could contemplate angels and God.
Promotional video:
As a result, they found themselves in paradise - the garden of divine love, with virgin trees, fragrant wind, paths paved with emeralds, with a city behind golden walls.
Paradise in Islam is somewhat different. In Islam, there is no such name as "paradise" at all, it is always called "al-janna", that is, "garden". The Islamic Paradise is the same Garden of Eden where Adam was located before the Fall, an excellent fruitful garden of grace with fruit trees and vineyards. Those who deserve to get into the Garden of Eden will be served in full.
They will be offered to lie on comfortable beds and dressed in luxurious clothes, they will be given the opportunity to taste whatever they want, drink as much wine as they can. They will spend their days at the banquet table, walking on the spread out carpets, without suffering a headache or a hangover.
Wine, according to all Islamic sources, will not intoxicate. Paradise waiters - boys with cups, vessels and bowls - will anticipate their every desire. And everyone who enters paradise will be provided with full-breasted and big-eyed virgins, who are called houris.
Among the hadiths of Muhammad, there is a description of this blessed place with the virgins of paradise:
“In the midst of the gardens of eternity, palaces of pearls. In such a palace there are 70 rooms of red yacht, in each room of 70 rooms of green emeralds, in every room there is a bed, on every bed there are 70 beds of all colors, on each bed there is a wife of big-eyed, black-eyed. There is a table in each room, 70 types of food on each table. There are 70 servants and maids in each room. And every morning the believer is given such strength that he can handle it all."
In a word, the reward for earthly labors is not only aesthetic (contemplation of heavenly beauties), not only spiritual (comprehension of divine love), but also completely sensual - bodily pleasures. Trapped in "al-janna" enjoy food, drinks and all earthly joys.
From two to 144 thousand
Gurias (Arabic for "khurul") in Islamic al-janna are created to bring bliss. They are beautiful creatures with huge black eyes, like hidden pearls. They are eternal virgins (no one touched them and no one saw them). They live in the Garden of Eden in tents.
These houris are so beautiful that “if a woman who lives in Paradise looked into this world, she would illuminate the entire space between herself and him, and it would be filled with a fragrance. Truly, the kerchief on her head is better than this world with everything that is in it."
In other words, the houris are of a non-human nature, they are something like female angels, but of a lower rank - servants created for carnal pleasures. An interesting feature of the gurias: no matter how many men use them, each time they turn into virgins again.
If we take into account all the mentions of the gurias in the hadiths, then we can compose their "sketch": young age, height - 60 cubits (27.5 meters), shoulder width - 7 cubits (3.1 meters), smooth hairless body, white face with widely spaced black eyes with sparkling whites, full elastic breasts, seductively virgin, very beautiful, but behaves modestly and does not have any secretions (sweat, excrement, nasal mucus, vomit).
Initially, each man was supposed to receive two paradise girlfriends at the entrance to al-janna. According to al-Bukhari, men who have reached the gardens of grace “in their appearance will be like the moon on a full moon night … they will neither spit, nor blow their nose, nor defecate. Their vessels will be gold, and their crests will be gold and silver, and their sweat will smell like musk. Each of them will have two wives, and the marrow of each of them will be visible through the flesh because of their beauty. There will be no disagreement or hatred between them, and their hearts will be like one heart, and they will glorify Allah in the morning and evening."
Ideal paradise wives for transformed men, who, without exception, will be 33 years old in paradise. However, over time, the number of houris relying on believers after death began to increase.
The two houris soon became 70 (this number was already mentioned by Muhammad himself, referring to the servants and maids). Then someone remembered that two houris had already been issued upon entering paradise. The number of hourias reached 72. At first, this number confused the commentators of the texts a little, so the following explanation was given: the sexual powers of a man in the gardens of grace are unlimited.
And it is not surprising that the 72 houris were not the limit. In the end, the number of houris per man turned out to be a record 144,000. Paradise bliss!
After exploits
Gurias are gurias, but what to do with the lawful wives of those men who find themselves in the gardens of grace? Commentators of Islamic texts have had great difficulties with this. Many were inclined to believe that a woman did not need to end up in paradise, where their husbands would end up. Basically, al-janna was hit directly from the battlefield - Muslims waged many wars.
The Gurias could lure any Muslim into "al-janna" - from a beardless youth to a deep old man. Believers in anticipation of a comfortable life at full board and with unearthly beauties were ready to fit into any military adventure.
Some of the charismatic leaders of the time were eager to use the hurias as great bait. The creator of the order of the assassins, Hasan ibn Sabbah, lured young men precisely with the help of houris and drugs. However, not all Muslims dreamed of getting rid of their wives forever. Some wives loved and wanted to see them next to them after death. Moreover, they were promised the return of youth.
The question was difficult. The Gurias were considered barren by nature. But earthly wives were determined by nature to bear children. It was necessary to specifically stipulate that women, too, with good behavior, would end up in paradise, but would not be able to have children. But just like the houris, after every night with her husband, they will turn into virgins.
True, in "al-janna", where men are on a well-deserved rest, they are supposed to obey their husband in everything and fulfill all his whims. And share it with the houris. And a very weak consolation for them is the promise that during the joys of husbands with these creatures, lawful wives will not see or hear anything …
Nikolay KOTOMKIN, magazine "Riddles of history" №16 2017
