of rivers and fruits, the soul’s delight in purified spouses, and the heart’s delight and joy in knowing that this life will last for ever and ever, never coming to an end.
Azwāj (spouses) is the plural of zawj (spouse). A woman is a man’s zawj, and he is her zawj. This is the most eloquent usage and the dialect of Quraysh. It is the usage in which the Quran was revealed, as in His words: “Dwell in Paradise, you and your wife” (2:35). Some Arabs say zawjah, but this is rare; they hardly ever use it.
As for mutahharah (purified), if it is used as an adjective qualifying a singular noun, it may also qualify a broken plural, treating that plural as a collective. Examples include the Most High’s words, “And pleasant dwellings” (61:125), the expression quwā zāhirah (manifest powers), and similar expressions.
The purified woman is one who has been purified of menstruation, urine, postpartum discharge, feces, mucus, saliva, and every impurity and affliction experienced by women in this world. Her inner being is also purified of bad character and blameworthy traits; her tongue is purified of obscenity and foul speech; her gaze is purified of straying toward anyone other than her husband; and her clothes are kept free of stains and dirt.
‘Abd Allāh ibn al-Mubārak said: Shu‘bah narrated to us, from Qatādah, from Abū Nadrah, from Abū Sa‘īd, from the Prophet ﷺ, concerning “They will have purified spouses there”: purified of filth. He said: “Of menstruation, feces, phlegm, and saliva.”
‘Abd Allāh ibn Mas‘ūd and ‘Abd Allāh ibn ‘Abbās said: “Purified: they neither menstruate nor relieve themselves nor become soiled.” Ibn ‘Abbās also said: “Purified of filth and impurity: they do not urinate, defecate, emit arousal fluid or ejaculatory fluid, menstruate, spit, cough up phlegm, or give birth.” Qatādah said: “Purified of sin and impurity: Allah, glorified be He, has purified them of all urine, feces, filth, and sin.” ‘Abd al-Rahmān ibn Zayd said: “The purified woman is one who does not menstruate. The wives of this world are not purified. Do you not see that they bleed and refrain from prayer and fasting?
He said: “Eve, too, was created in this state, until she disobeyed. When she disobeyed, Allah said to her: ‘I created you, and I shall make you bleed just as you made this tree bleed.’”