HOURI

also spelled huri, Arabic Hawra', plural Hur in Islam, a beautiful maiden who awaits the devout Muslim in paradise. The Arabic word hawra' signifies the contrast of the clear white of the eye to the blackness of the iris. There are numerous references to the houri in the Qur'an describing them as purified wives and spotless virgins. Tradition elaborated on the sensual image of the houri and defined some of her functions; on entering paradise, for example, the believer is presented with a large number of houris, with each of whom he may cohabit once for each day he has fasted in Ramadan and once for each good work he has performed. Some theologians, such as al-Baydawi, preferred to give the houri a metaphoric interpretation. It has also been suggested that Muhammad reinterpreted angels he saw in pictures of Christian paradise as houris.