Judging from the posts of some of the younger ladies on thoughts, the news shows, and other articles on STD's and teen sex, to come up with 72 virgins for each so called martyr you would have to find some seriously ugly folks who nobody wanted to have a relationship with. Kind of makes me wonder if the original translation was "72 Olive trees"?

Islam does not promise 72 virgins for those who kill themselves. Suicide is regarded as disgraceful in Islam. The condemnation Islam has towards suicide is so grave that it would be unthinkable for its followers to regard sex as a reward if they were to take their lives.

It comes from an alleged saying of the Prophet which has not been
verified nor authenticated. Muslims refer to these dubious sayings as
Gharib Hadiths and largely do not believe in them. Even then, nothing
in it mentioned virgins:

The Prophet Muhammad was allegedly heard as saying: %u201CThe smallest reward for the
people of Paradise is an abode where there are 80,000 servants and 72
wives, over which stands a dome decorated with pearls, aquamarine, and
ruby, as wide as the distance from Al-Jabiyyah (a Damascus suburb) to
Sana%u2019a (Yemen)%u201D

Again, it must be stressed upon that the above saying cannot be
verified as authentic due to the fact that there is a discrepancy in
its Sanad, or chain of transmitters. As such, Muslims are not required
to believe in these Hadith for there is a chance that it may have been
fabricated or corrupted along the way.

Today, the myth of the 72 virgins remains potent ammunition for those
who wish to see their point of view prevail against Islam. Entities
like the media have twisted this alleged saying to suit their fancies
and smear Islam with ridicule and humiliation.

Suicide killing is a phenomenon of desperation. From the days Kamikaze
pilots fly themselves onto American ships, to Tamil rebels exploding
themselves in political rallies, to wayward fanatics flying into
buildings %u2013 suicide killers are people driven to the edge.

While the act of committing suicide to kill others should be deplored,
it is perhaps more important to examine what drives them to do it. Men
with wives and families do not just kill themselves. Very often,
people fail to see the real reason why such an act of desperation is
undertaken but instead conveniently believes in myths such as the 72
virgins.

Bottom line? Everyone's a moron and needs to study more.

Thanks for your insight as always. Very interesting information and I'll take your word for it. But the fact remains that not all Muslims are terrorists but all the terrorists on 9/11 were Muslim. Today's terrorists are Muslims that hijacked Islam. They believe in suicide to take out innocent victims. They are not depressed because they are downtrodden. They are depressed because the world isn't Islamic according to their wishes and the sharia. These are mentally diseased people. And it doesn't matter what you and I believe. They think they are martyrs and will be rewarded for their horrible acts. They've been brain-washed.

I'm not anti-Islamic. I have a friend who is Muslim and he even looks out for me. I am against religious radicals of any kind and right now the Muslim terrorists are the ones creating misery all over the world. There is no justification for it. Back in the 1400's it was Christians doing it. In the 1600's we were burning women at the stake for being accused of being witches.

Also I don't want the responsibility for 80,000 servants. Their health care alone would break you and I can't think of 80,000 things that need to be done by servants. Also, I have one wife. That is all I can handle. 72 wives would drive me completely insane because I probably wouldn't be able to make any of them happy. I still think that virgins apply to the Koran's promise though. Muslim's sharia law demands women who have sex outside of marriage should be killed. That means all 72 wives would have to be virgins to be acceptable.

You have a very dark outlook on life so you and I will always disagree. I really like to receive your comments though.

Gary

I think the world would be better off without religion. It's done more harm than good. If anything, I say become a member of The Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster.

Have you ever seen Robin Williams' Live on Broadway performance. He says something very similar regarding the virgins, it is VERY funny... You should check it out!

I will. Thanks. :)