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The truth is that the main reason for describing the Maidens in
detail was to target our younger generation, living in an environment of
vulgarity, nudity and other similar evils. The people who criticise the
Qur’an should first try to stop the rampant exploitation of women on
the electronic media and the Internet, both of which have excessively
abused the female figure and form. If that is considered acceptable on
the basis of freedom of action and liberty, then what is the excuse for
criticising the Qur’an? In fact, in my opinion these criticisms indirectly
endorse the stance of the Qur’an. By using women for this purpose,
they have clearly demonstrated one of the main psychological
weaknesses and needs of men and have revealed how men are
different from women in this respect. To demand absolute equality in
this issue is unnatural.
The answer to the criticisms by Orientalists also lies in the human
psychology. The objection from the Christian school of thought, to
remind the readers, is that the mention of Maidens in the spiritual
environment of the Paradise is inappropriate. This raises the question
that if spirituality can be lost so easily, then why criticise the poor
Maidens. Even the presence of women in the Paradise would lead to
the loss of this so-called spirituality. They should either ask women to
leave the paradise as well or force them to also live there as celibates.
Qur’an does not believe in such spirituality. Neither is the concept
of spirituality as stated by Qur’an affected by the presence of beauty
and aesthetic charm. In fact, we believe that God has created all things
beautiful. It takes us closer to our Lord. It makes us more grateful to
him. The only limitation is to avail it within the set bounds. I am amazed
at the concept of spirituality in Islam every time I read a prayer narrated
from the last Prophet
PBUH
The truth is that Islam has revolutionised the concept of spirituality.
Spirituality in Islam does not represent rejection of the worldly
blessings, aesthetic charms, and pleasures. Islam does not promote
celibacy or abstinence from conjugal relations, either in this world or in
the Hereafter. In Islam, spirituality is to remember one’s Lord in the
midst of everything. This is how we are supposed to behave in this
world and it is also the concept of the Paradise that we learn from
Qur’an. According to this concept, the servants of the Lord will live in
the Paradise in his attendance and will thank him abundantly every time
they will avail his blessings.
in the books of
Bukhari
and
Muslim
; it is a
prayer to be said before intimate contact between a married couple (“
O
God, protect us from the Devil and protect whatever you give to us from
the Devil
”).
On account of the above reasons, it is my considered opinion that
the Maidens of Paradise stand for what is clearly obvious from the
statements of the Qur’an. That is, in addition to other blessings and
gifts, the Maidens will be married to the dwellers of Paradise as reward
(Qur’an 44:54, 52:20). The Qur’an has especially described their beauty
and charm in many places (56:22-23, 55:69-72). The study of the
statements of the Qur’an indicates that they would not be the ordinary
women of Paradise. Rather, they would be those women who would be
conferred upon the male inhabitants of the Paradise as gifts. It also
indicates, among other things, that their marriage to these men would
be the first such occasion in their lives (55:74).
Criticism on Romance and Humour
Some readers criticised humour and some romantic aspects of the
novel. As far as I can understand, the objections were not to these two
aspects per se, as they are essential components of human life and are
difficult to criticise on a rational basis. They are the indispensable facets
of human life without which one cannot remain human. They are found
indispensably in this world and would be present in a more
sophisticated form in the Paradise. Perhaps the objection was to their
association with the main character of the novel.
I would like to put forward a few points in response. Firstly, my
main purpose was to keep the size of the book small so that it is easy to
read in this age of low readership of books. For this reason, I kept the
number of characters limited. Therefore, various dialogues involving
jokes, romance, and other similar delicate ideas had to be expressed
through the same characters in the novel. The only other way was
either to remove such aesthetic ideas from the Paradise or to create
more characters. The Paradise would have been a boring place in case
of former and the novel would have significantly increased in size in
case of the latter option.
Some people have the notion that a person of high calibre who
manages to achieve the exalted status of being close to the Almighty
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