Hur

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The Orientalists have translated the Arabic word Hur in an erotic pornographic way, which suited the cultures they came from and suited the funding they needed to continue with their professions. The iconic imprint in the mind of the Westerner is particularly remarkable when it comes to the word Hur: images conjured of ‘virgins of paradise’.

This small note researches the origins of the word in Qur’an and Christianity in order to allow the readers a room to breathe some new thoughts and hopefully defeat the iconoclastic ceaseless tempest of attacks on Islam in American/Western media. As the reader follows the lexicon of meanings from ancient collection of quotes, discovers that the concept has no sexuality in nature, specially when applied to women.

All references from Lisan Al-Arab by Ibn Manzour Afriqi (African):

Ha-Wa-Ra anything that is intensely white and its dark (colors) is quite blackened e.g. white of the cornea contrasted against the black of the iris.

Originally applied to cows and antelopes with dark eyes and white bodies, by means of the construct of ‘Isti’ara (Borrowing) in the language of Arab, the word borrowed and applied exclusively to the female of human species.

The Bedouin called certain women Hawwariyyat (Plural of Hur) for their personal hygiene and cleanliness, as opposed to the untidiness of Bedouins:

والأَعْرابُ تسمي نساء الأَمصار حَوَارِيَّاتٍ لبياضهن وتباعدهن عن قَشَفِ الأَعراب بنظافتهن؛

Remark 1: White color does not necessarily mean white as the color of cotton, it means anything that is pure and has its original color:

وكل شيء خَلَصَ لَوْنُه، فهو حَوارِيٌّ

Remark 2: The purity of a woman can then be rendered by borrowing the word Hur contrasting the whiteness of cornea to blackness of the iris. From the dictionaries of the ancient Arab it is clear that the word does not refer to erotic women with black eyes!

 

Hawwary: Bleacher, follower of Prophet Jesus (peace be upon him and his virgin mother)

Hawwary is the bleacher or the launderer who washes the people’s garments and makes them white (or clean) again. In linguistic context those are purified from all defects. Those who help others to purify themselves as well.

Remark 3: Perhaps this explains the Christian tradition of baptism and perhaps the fact that disciples of the Jesus were making a living working the river to wash garments (?).

Hawwary is also mentioned as the Chosen(s) by the prophets i.e. those exclusively preferred by the prophets, being so pure:

The Prophet Mohammad said: Zubair is Hawwary of my nation.

Therefore this word Hur, in another derivative form, applied to Christians and male Muslims, strictly in a spiritual context.

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