72 Virgins in Islam

Atheist: Moslem men will get 72 virgins each in paradise. What will Moslem women get in paradise?

Muslim: First, The Quran and sahih hadith (Bukhari and Muslim) don’t say that Muslim men will get 72 virgin girls in paradise. The Quran says God will marry Muslim men with beautiful women in paradise. Sex outside of marriage is not allowed in Islam. This is why God mentions of marriage. The Quran says- “And We will marry them to fair women with large, [beautiful] eyes” (44:54).

Second, you asked what Muslim women get in paradise. Both Muslim men and women will get whatever they want in paradise. The Quran says–“…they will get everything they desire, and wherein they will dwell forever.   This is a promise which your Lord has taken upon Himself to fulfill” (25:16).

Atheist: You're a hypocrite. The Arabic pronoun for the English pronoun “they” used in verse 25:16 is “masculine”, not “feminine”. Therefore, the verse 25:16 means only men will have everything they want in paradise, not women.

Muslim: I heard that allegation before. The critics of Islam say the Quran's audience is essentially male because most of the time God uses masculine pronoun when he says “they”.

There are two forms of “they” in Arabic based on gender – (i) masculine (ii) feminine. There is no gender-neutral form of “they” in Arabic. This is why when you want to address both men and women using the word “they” in Arabic, you have to choose either “masculine form of they” or “feminine form of they”. In the Quran, God uses “masculine form of they” when addressing both men and women. For this reason, there is more uses “masculine form of they” in the Quran than “feminine form of they”. The critics of Islam are wrong when they say the Quran's audience is essentially male. The truth is the Quran’s audience is both male and female.

Atheist: Are you saying that the pronoun “they” used in the verse 25:16 means both men and women although the Arabic pronoun for the English pronoun “they” used in verse 25:16 is “masculine”? If so, then how do you know God addresses both men and women by using the “masculine form of they in verse 25:16”? God may address only men by using the “masculine form of they” in verse 25:16, may not he?

Muslim: That’s a very good question, my friend. You asked me how I know that God addresses both men and women by using the “masculine form of they” in verse 25:16 when the God uses “masculine form of they” to address only men in other places of the Quran.

Whenever you take a verse out of a chapter, you fail to understand the meaning of that excerpt in the light of that entire chapter. To understand the verse 25:16 in the light of the entire chapter, let’s read the next verse which is 25:17.

The verse 25:17 says God will gather misguided people on the judgement day who worshiped false gods. Again, God uses the “masculine form of they” to address misguided people in the verse 25:17. Does this mean only men go astray and go to hell? No, we know that both men and women go astray.

Therefore, it is very clear that in verse 25:16, God talks about righteous people (both men and women) who will enter paradise. And in verse 25:17, God talks about misguided people (both men and women) who will enter hell.

If you still doubt that God treats men differently from women when awarding them for their righteousness, then I would love to quote the Quran 4:124 to you. God says in the Quran that he is gender blind when rewarding the righteous people - "And whoever does righteous deeds, whether male or female, while being a believer - those will enter Paradise and will not be wronged, [even as much as] the speck on a date seed" (4:124).