Houris

Maher Jarrar has written an article under the theme of Houris and printed in the second volume of Leiden encyclopedia of the Quran, the present article reviews this paper of his. Maher Jarrar searches this term in Quran and traditions and after stating and examining the opinions of the early Islamic exegetes draws this conclusion that the root of the belief of Houris is either Zoroastrian or Christian creed. He adds that belief in Houris is effective in phases of Jihad (holy war) and martyrdom. But the translator criticizes this theory stating that firstly the sources of the article are weak and are almost from Sunni sources. Secondly, the similarity existing amongst Islamic beliefs with the precedent religions does not necessarily entail borrowing; rather means that the source of them had been one. Thirdly, in the Islamic sources the promise of Houris is has not come for the sake mere motivation because the purpose of Islamic Jihad is to firstly defend and secondly acquire the divine satisfaction.