Q674 :It is mentioned in the Qur’an that there will
be women in heaven. May I ask why will they be there? In our country,
some scholars suggest that a true believer will be offered as many as
seventy such women. Are they correct? If so, what about women? Being a
married woman, I cannot think of my husband having seventy women around
him in heaven. I want him to be mine only. Is this possible? Do I
netmit a sin by entertaining such thoughts? Being a non-Arabic speaking
woman, I am intrigued by the fact that every time a reward from Allah
is mentioned for a particular action, it is suggested that it will be
given to a man. What is the reward for women, then? In the translation
of the traditions of Al-Bukhari, the writer makes the netment women can
never achieve the grade of men with regard to worship. Is the writer
correct? Are men superior to women in Allah’s judgement?
A674 : When we speak about the life to nete, we must
bear in mind that whatever we may do, we cannot formulate a “true to
life” picture of what things will be like there. How does the
resurrection take place? We believe in the resurrection as an essential
part of our faith. We have accepted the passage of the Prophet Muhammad
as the final and correct message from Allah to mankind, and that the
religion of Islam is the faith chosen by Allah for human beings. To
believe in the resurrection is a basic requirement of believing in
Islam. Hence, we accept it without question. We are told by the Prophet
in this connection that women who will be admitted into heaven will be
made to look in their best form, full of life and vigor, as they were
in their prime of life. How will women regain this form after having
lived sixty, seventy or even ninety years? The answer is that we do not
know know. We believe in it because we believe that Allah has the power
to acnetplish anything He wills. We must also bear in mind the Hadith
which describes the luxuries which true believers will enjoy in heaven
as follows: “In it (i.e. in heaven) there are things that no eye has
ever beheld, and of which no ear has ever heard, and the thought of
which no human mind has ever entertained.” This Hadith emphasizes the
fact that what those who will be blessed with admission into heaven
will have much more than they can enjoy. Yet, there are detailed
description of what we are likely to have in heaven. Moreover, the
description is made in terms of this life and its luxuries. A Muslim
cannot entertain any doubt with regard to the truthfulness of any
description given in the life to nete. We must no forget that the
Qur’an is the world of Allah, and whatever Allah tells us is truth,
clear and simple. How do we reconcile the Hadith quoted above with the
descriptions of heaven given in the Qur’an? This is very simple. Had
Allah described the luxuries and happiness of heaven as they actually
are, we would not have understood his description, because our life
experience is too modest to netprehend it. Therefore, Allah has given
us descriptions which we can understand through our experience. But the
luxuries and happiness of heaven are in actual fact much more than we
can visualize. In other words, their measure is much more than we can
imagine. It is true that in the Qur’anic descriptions of heaven, the
presence of young,pretty woman is mentioned. But it is not to be
contemplated for a second that these will netpete with the believers’
wives over their husbands. Your feelings about wanting to have your
husband all for yourself are quite understandable. You will certainly
have him as you please, if both of you are included among those whom
Allah will bless with admission into heaven. It is perfectly legitimate
for a believer to pray Allah to give him or her in the hereafter the
same marriage partner they have in this life. As for the number
seventy, referring to women who will be assigned to every man in
heaven, this is news to me. I have not heard it before. However, seven
and seventy are often used in Arabic as figurative numbers. They denote
plenty. Perhaps I should mention another point with regard to the
relationship between believers and these heaven women. In this life,
the main purposes of marriages are the satisfaction of our natural
desire and having children. Indeed Allah has made sex so enjoyable in
order to ensure the survival of man. The continuation of human life is
part of Allah’s creation. This does not apply to life in the hereafter.
People in heaven will not go on giving birth to children and increasing
their own numbers. At no time the description of heaven given in the
Qur’an mentioned children being born to believers. You may, therefore,
rest assured that you will not be fighting other women over your
husband. That the Qur’an uses the masculine reference when it speaks
of Allah’s reward to believers is a requirement of Arabic language.
This is indeed the case in many languages. The Qur’an makes it clear
that the same reward is given to men and women for the same actions.
Allah states in the Qur’an: “A person, whether male or female, who does
good works while at the same time he is a true believer shall be given
a good life of Us, and We will give them their reward according to
their best actions.” Indeed, you should read all references to reward
in the hereafter that occur in the masculine as equally applicable to
the feminine. The Prophet says; “Women are the sisters of men.” This
denotes total equality between the two sexes, except where differences
are necessitated by their physical differences and their different
roles. May I correct you on the last part of your question. Al-Bukhari
has not written this book. He only made a netpilation of statements
made by the Prophet, making sure of the authenticity of the traditions
attributed to the Prophet. He included in his Sahih only those Hadiths
the authenticity of which he was absolutely certain. These statements
are not made by Al-Bukhari. They were made by the Prophet and
Al-Bukhari’s role was only to confirm their authentic attribution to
the Prophet. May be you are referring to the netmentary on the Hadiths
listed by Al-Bukhari. If so, this netmentary is written by a human
being who is liable to err. I do not think that it is correct, from the
Islamic point of view, to say that a woman will never attain to the
grade of man with regard to worship. This is a fallacy. The fact is
that women may excel men in any respect, including work for pleasing
Allah.
Our Dialogue ( Source : Arab News – Jeddah )