among the Arabs, the choicest kind of egg. Others say the verse instead likens them to pearls before they are taken from their shells.

Allah, Exalted is He, also says:
“And on elevated couches (34), We created them in a special creation (35), then made them ever-virgins (36), affectionate, of equal age (37), for the people of the right (38).” (Sūrah al-Wāqiʿah, 34-38)

The meaning of “We created them” is that, after having been old, feeble and frail in worldly life, they will be recreated in Paradise as youthful, “ever-virgins, ʿurub” – that is, lovingly devoted to their husbands. Some explain ʿurub as coquettish; others say it means shapely. The verse, in fact, embraces all these shades of meaning and far more besides. “Atrab” means they are all of one age: neither older nor younger, but sharing the same stage of youth.

al-Ṭabarānī reported: Bakr ibn Sahl al-Dimyāṭī told us, ʿAmr ibn Hāshim al-Bayrūtī told us, Sulaymān ibn Abī Karīmah told us, from Hishām ibn Ḥabbān, from al-Ḥasan, from his mother, from Umm Salamah, who said:

I asked, “Messenger of Allah, tell me about Allah’s words, ‘and ḥūr ʿīn.’” He replied, “Al-ḥūr means fair-skinned; ʿīn means large-eyed, long-lashed (1) – the ḥawrāʾ’s eyelashes are like a vulture’s wing.”

I said, “Messenger of Allah, inform me about His words, ‘like hidden pearls.’” He said, “Their purity is the purity of pearls that remain in their shells, untouched by hands.”

I asked, “Messenger of Allah, explain His words, ‘In them are women who are good and beautiful.’” He said, “Good in character, beautiful in face.”

I said, “Messenger of Allah, what of His words, ‘as though they were well-protected eggs’?” He said, “Their delicateness is like the thin skin that lines the inside of an egg, next to the shell – the ghirqaʾ.”

I asked, “Messenger of Allah, what of His words, ‘ʿuruban atraba’?” He said, “They are the women who were taken from this world as aged, bleary-eyed (2), grey-haired crones. Allah will recreate them after old age, making them virgins – ʿurub, passionately in love and endeared to their husbands, atrab, all born in the same moment.”

I then asked, “Messenger of Allah, are the women of this world superior or the ḥūr al-ʿīn?” He replied, “The women of this world are superior to the ḥūr al-ʿīn, just as the outer garment is superior to the inner lining.”

I said, “Messenger of Allah, why is that?” He said, “Because of their prayer, their fasting, and their worship of Allah. Allah will cloak their faces in light and their bodies in silk: white of complexion, wearing green garments, adorned with yellow-gold jewellery. Their incense burners are of pearl and their combs of gold. They will say: ‘We are everlasting and shall never die; we live in bliss and shall never suffer; we abide and shall never depart; behold, we are pleased and shall never be displeased. Glad tidings to the one for whom we are and who is for us!’”

I said, “Messenger of Allah, a woman among us may marry two, three, or four husbands, then she dies and enters Paradise, and they enter with her. Which of them will be her husband?” He replied, “O Umm Salamah, she will be given the choice and will choose the one who was best in character,”