# Does the Koran really promise Islamic martyrs 72 virgins?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-koran-really-promise-islamic-martyrs-72-virgins/417598
**Category:** Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports
**Created:** [August 31, 2007, 8:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-koran-really-promise-islamic-martyrs-72-virgins/417598 "2007-08-31T08:30:17Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 2
### Author:  [@cosmosdan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cosmosdan)
#### Post date: [September 6, 2007, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-koran-really-promise-islamic-martyrs-72-virgins/417598/21 "2007-09-06T13:18:08Z")
[QUOTE=John Vasar]
Go to Google: Keyword is “THIRD NEPHI” or “Nephi the son of Helaman”
Enjoy the next 30 chapters.
No quibble, no quarrel. If God is real, if God is true, He can really answer you.
Ask him if the story is true. Convince him that you need to know. Only in earnestness will He reply to you. I know. I’ve tried it. I am genuinely happy and at peace with God.
This is not a joke.
Please let me know the results.
[/QUOTE]
Lot’s of people who are just as sincere and convinced as you are, have asked God earnestly and still believe something quite different than you do. I’m glad that you’re genuinely happy and at peace with God but that doesn’t mean you’ve got all the details right. It means you feel good about where you are for now as in, at this point in your life. You’re not done learning and growing and the details of belief you embrace so enthusiastically now may seem different to you down the road. Have a good journey.
---
### Author:  [@sqweels](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sqweels)
#### Post date: [September 6, 2007, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-koran-really-promise-islamic-martyrs-72-virgins/417598/22 "2007-09-06T14:13:34Z")
[QUOTE=naita]
Apostles on the American continent? My guess would be something mormonic.
[/QUOTE]
There’s a slight typo there. 😉
---
### Author:  [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)
#### Post date: [September 6, 2007, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-koran-really-promise-islamic-martyrs-72-virgins/417598/23 "2007-09-06T14:30:03Z")
[QUOTE=John Vasar]
Enjoy the next 30 chapters.
[/quote]
Ehhr whuh?
Um, are there Cliffs Notes?
---
### Author:  [@Revenant\_Threshold](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revenant_Threshold)
#### Post date: [September 6, 2007, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-koran-really-promise-islamic-martyrs-72-virgins/417598/24 "2007-09-06T14:35:18Z")
It’s actually not that long, or so it seems.
Haven’t found any virgins as of yet, but I have found people being cursed so their skin turns black. And then uncursed and turned white again, for their good acts. So… yeah.
---
### Author:  [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)
#### Post date: [September 6, 2007, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-koran-really-promise-islamic-martyrs-72-virgins/417598/25 "2007-09-06T14:44:32Z")
Not long after 9-11, a friend forwarded me an email joke in which one of the hijackers shows up in the afterlife. He’s beaten up by an enraged George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, Patrick Henry and George C. Marshall for what he did to their beloved country. He complains through broken teeth, “I thought it was virgins, not Virginians!”
---
### Author:  [@naita](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/naita)
#### Post date: [September 6, 2007, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-koran-really-promise-islamic-martyrs-72-virgins/417598/26 "2007-09-06T14:52:20Z")
[QUOTE=sqweels]
There’s a slight typo there. 😉
[/QUOTE]
I know, but such typos are necessary here in CCC. 😛
---
### Author:  [@Revenant\_Threshold](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revenant_Threshold)
#### Post date: [September 6, 2007, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-koran-really-promise-islamic-martyrs-72-virgins/417598/27 "2007-09-06T14:58:51Z")
Ok, got the summong of the Twelve bit;
[QUOTE=3 Nephi 11 1]
And now it came to pass that there were a great multitude agathered together, of the people of Nephi, round about the temple which was in the land Bountiful; and they were marveling and wondering one with another, and were showing one to another the cgreat and marvelous change which had taken place.
[/QUOTE]
[QUOTE=3 Nephi 12 1]
And it came to pass that when Jesus had spoken these words unto Nephi, and to those who had been called, (now the number of them who had been called, and received power and authority to baptize, was twelve) and behold, he stretched forth his hand unto the multitude, and cried unto them, saying: Blessed are ye if ye shall give heed unto the words of these twelve whom I have chosen from among you to minister unto you, and to be your servants; and unto them I have given power that they may baptize you with water; and after that ye are baptized with water, behold, I will baptize you with fire and with the Holy Ghost; therefore blessed are ye if ye shall believe in me and be baptized, after that ye have seen me and know that I am.
[/QUOTE]
I’m guessing the “land Bountiful” is America, although it could be the wrong bit.
As for the meeting in heaven, apparently we may be met by 9 of these apostles…
[QUOTE=3 Nephi 28 2-3]
And they all spake, save it were three, saying: We desire that after we have lived unto the age of man, that our ministry, wherein thou hast called us, may have an end, that we may speedily come unto thee in thy kingdom.
And he said unto them: Blessed are ye because ye desired this thing of me; therefore, after that ye are seventy and two years old ye shall come unto me in my kingdom; and with me ye shall find rest.
[/QUOTE]
…but not the other three, who aren’t dead.
Couldn’t find anything on virgins though, 72 or otherwise.
---
### Author:  [@chorpler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chorpler)
#### Post date: [September 6, 2007, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-koran-really-promise-islamic-martyrs-72-virgins/417598/28 "2007-09-06T15:33:53Z")
[QUOTE=Revenant Threshold]
Ok, got the summong of the Twelve bit;
I’m guessing the “land Bountiful” is America, although it could be the wrong bit.
[/quote]
It’s just a particular part of the Nephite/Lamanite territory.
> [@](#):
>
> As for the meeting in heaven, apparently we may be met by 9 of these apostles…
> …but not the other three, who aren’t dead.
And you’d be surprised how many good deeds they perform for Mormons!
---
### Author:  [@OneCentStamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OneCentStamp)
#### Post date: [September 6, 2007, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-koran-really-promise-islamic-martyrs-72-virgins/417598/29 "2007-09-06T22:12:35Z")
[QUOTE=chorpler]
And you’d be surprised how many good deeds they perform for Mormons!
[/QUOTE]
Oh yeah, MULs ( **M** ormon **U** rban **L** egends) about the Three Nephites are legion.
For some reason, LDS culture loves those kind of apocryphal stories. When I was in the Missionary Training Center, there was one circulating around, probably old even at the time, about how Wilford Woodruff (4th Mormon prophet) met Cain (son of Adam, cursed) on the road one day…and Cain looked like Bigfoot. 😛
---
### Author:  [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hilarity_N.Suze)
#### Post date: [September 6, 2007, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-koran-really-promise-islamic-martyrs-72-virgins/417598/30 "2007-09-06T22:36:17Z")
So the virgins have to be pure and clean, but do they have to be young?
I’m thinking Mother Teresa here. And 71 like her.
---
### Author:  [@Scuba\_Ben](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scuba_Ben)
#### Post date: [September 7, 2007, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-koran-really-promise-islamic-martyrs-72-virgins/417598/31 "2007-09-07T20:29:36Z")
[QUOTE=Elendil’s Heir]
Not long after 9-11, a friend forwarded me an email joke in which one of the hijackers shows up in the afterlife. He’s beaten up by an enraged George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, Patrick Henry and George C. Marshall for what he did to their beloved country. He complains through broken teeth, “I thought it was virgins, not Virginians!”
[/QUOTE]
The full joke is available at the rec.humor.funny [archive](http://www.netfunny.com/rhf/jokes/04/Feb/binladen.html). I’m glad to hear how old the joke really is in its current form.
---
### Author:  [@andros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/andros)
#### Post date: [September 7, 2007, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-koran-really-promise-islamic-martyrs-72-virgins/417598/32 "2007-09-07T21:24:37Z")
[QUOTE=chorpler]
It’s just a particular part of the Nephite/Lamanite territory.
[/QUOTE]
[It certainly is.](http://www.bountifulutah.gov/)
I love Utah.
.
---
### Author:  [@chorpler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chorpler)
#### Post date: [September 7, 2007, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-koran-really-promise-islamic-martyrs-72-virgins/417598/33 "2007-09-07T21:32:33Z")
[QUOTE=andros]
[It certainly is.](http://www.bountifulutah.gov/)
I love Utah.
.
[/QUOTE]
Heh heh … just so nobody’s confused, **that** Bountiful is a [modern city in Utah](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bountiful%2C_Utah), named after the [Land Bountiful](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bountiful_(Book_of_Mormon)) in the Book of Mormon, a territory supposed to be somewhere in the Americas which was in turn named after a location near Jerusalem. I think there’s a polygamist-colony Bountiful up in Canada, too.
---
### Author:  [@JimOfAllTrades](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JimOfAllTrades)
#### Post date: [September 8, 2007, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-koran-really-promise-islamic-martyrs-72-virgins/417598/34 "2007-09-08T03:01:28Z")
[QUOTE=andros]
[It certainly is.](http://www.bountifulutah.gov/)
I love Utah.
.
[/QUOTE]
This isn’t “The Land of Zion” for nothing, baby!
> **[Zion (Latter Day Saints)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zion_%28Latter_Day_Saints%29)**
>
> Within the Latter Day Saint movement, Zion is often used to connote an association of the righteous. This association would practice a form of communitarian economics, called the United Order, which were meant to ensure that all members maintained an acceptable quality of life, class distinctions were minimized, and group unity achieved.\[not verified in body\] While Zion has often been linked with theocracy, the concept of Zion did not theoretically require such a governmental system.\[not verified...
---
### Author:  [@Little\_Plastic\_Ninja](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Plastic_Ninja)
#### Post date: [September 15, 2007, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-koran-really-promise-islamic-martyrs-72-virgins/417598/35 "2007-09-15T04:13:35Z")
[QUOTE=Wendell Wagner]
Itwelve apostles, plus another twelve apostles from the American continent, plus 72 virgins, all of who will meet us in heaven
[/QUOTE]
Is it somehow bad if I first thought of those “they’re my network” commercials for that wireless company?
---
### Author:  [@rowrrbazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rowrrbazzle)
#### Post date: [September 16, 2007, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-koran-really-promise-islamic-martyrs-72-virgins/417598/36 "2007-09-16T20:57:54Z")
[QUOTE=Hilarity N. Suze]
So the virgins have to be pure and clean, but do they have to be young?
I’m thinking Mother Teresa here. And 71 like her.
[/QUOTE]
“Much to Zarqawi’s surprise, the virgins who awaited him in Paradise were not quite what he expected.”
> **[Go Blog and Multiply](http://sixdaywar.blogspot.com/2006/11/i-havent-seen-anything-about-this.html)**
>
> I haven't seen anything about this, which was buried in an article in today's Times: After accounting for inflation, hourly wages for blue-...
😃
---
### Author:  [@Slander\_Q.Libel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slander_Q.Libel)
#### Post date: [September 21, 2007, 7:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-koran-really-promise-islamic-martyrs-72-virgins/417598/37 "2007-09-21T07:18:37Z")
No, they got it all wrong… according to recent corrected translations, Islamic martyrs aren’t greeted by 72 virgins, but by only [six](http://www.gentheoryrubbish.com/archives/images/nuns.jpg).
---
### Author:  [@OneCentStamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OneCentStamp)
#### Post date: [September 21, 2007, 11:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-koran-really-promise-islamic-martyrs-72-virgins/417598/38 "2007-09-21T11:46:38Z")
[QUOTE=Slander Q. Libel]
No, they got it all wrong… according to recent corrected translations, Islamic martyrs aren’t greeted by 72 virgins, but by only [six](http://www.gentheoryrubbish.com/archives/images/nuns.jpg).
[/QUOTE]
Dude, that’s only five. :dubious:
---
### Author:  [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)
#### Post date: [September 21, 2007, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-koran-really-promise-islamic-martyrs-72-virgins/417598/39 "2007-09-21T14:22:47Z")
[Turns out there’s some confusion about the exact number of virgins](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vt_tv7t79WY).
---
### Author:  [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)
#### Post date: [September 21, 2007, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-koran-really-promise-islamic-martyrs-72-virgins/417598/40 "2007-09-21T14:26:51Z")
[QUOTE=OneCentStamp]
Dude, that’s only five. :dubious:
[/QUOTE]
One of them has been a virgin twice.
[Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-koran-really-promise-islamic-martyrs-72-virgins/417598.md?page=1)
[Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-koran-really-promise-islamic-martyrs-72-virgins/417598.md?page=3)