Mrs. F. Ansari of Makkah has written to me that she could not understand verses 70-72 of Surah 55, entitled “The Most Merciful”, as she feels that there could be something wrong with the translation. Several translators of the Qur’an include the word “maidens” in the translation of the last of these verses. She asks for a clarification.
Let us first of all look at the translation of these verses. Based on the translation by the late Muhammad Asad, we may render the meaning of these verses as follows: “In these (gardens) will be (all) things most excellent and beautiful. Which, then, of your Lord’s powers can you disavow? In them there will be (for the blest) companions pure and modest, in pavilions (splendid).”
These verses occur within the context of the blessings God will bestow on the dwellers of heaven. The first verse speaks of the beautiful and excellent things that the believers will enjoy in heaven.
The Qur’anic text does not specify these, but leaves them expressed in general terms, even with an indefinite article to add to the general sense of the verse. Commentators on the Qur’an mention some reports which give some explanation. For example a report attributed to the Prophet’s companion Abdullah ibn Massood mentions that “ Every Muslim will have one chosen lady, who has a tent (or a pavilion, to use Mr. Asad’s translation) with four doorways. Every day she will receive from God a precious article, a blessing and a gift that were not there previously.”
The way the verse is expressed admits such interpretation. However, if we leave it in general terms as expressed in the above translation, we remain closer to the sense of the Arabic original.
The third verse speaks of “companions pure and modest, in pavilions splendid.” The term “companions” is understood, as it occur in Arabic, to be feminine. Hence the added sense in some translations as “maiden companions” or “maidens” on its own. These are described as “pure and modest”, which dispels the carnal sense that people associate with the companions that the dwellers of heaven will have. These are described in some Hadiths as “spouses” which may be close to the sense we associate with the word in this life.
However, what we should understand in connection with what God grants to the believers whom He admits to heaven is that life there is pure and splendid. It is a life of complete and unadulterated happiness. The purity is ensured by the fact that the desires which we have in this world will not be the same.
In fact, when we read about the types of food there we realize that it is unlike anything we have in this world. Nor is it made to satisfy the same sort of hunger. It is given for pure enjoyment. The same applies with the other comforts and enjoyments that heaven offers. They serve a different purpose. For example, the often misinterpreted statements about white-eyed maidens, as in this instance, are not meant to satisfy the same sexual desire, as there will be no procreation in that life. All that is connected with the happiness and comforts in heaven are matters that we cannot understand fully, based on our earthly experience. Therefore, we accept them as they are expressed in the Qur’an and we leave their exact nature to God, trusting that His reward is most perfect, most enjoyable.