What Do Women Get in Paradise?

Question: What do women get in Paradise? I feel uncomfortable, confused, and upset with the concept of the beautiful, virgin maidens of Paradise. In the Qur’an, they are mentioned regularly as a reward for believing men. As a Muslim woman, I am getting the impression that women are a reward for men, and it makes me feel almost objectified. I know that I’m misinterpreting something. It feels unfair to me that a Muslim woman who loves her husband will have to share him in Paradise,  A person, male or female, doesn’t usually like to share their spouse. I know that men tend to be polygamous and women monogamous, but women don’t want to share. What do we get as Muslim women?

Answer:

Assalamu alaykum,

Thank you for your question.

A similar question was asked to the Prophet, may Allah bless him and give him peace, by a woman who was concerned about the reward of women in Paradise. Please see this answer:
https://seekers.flywheelstaging.com/answers/islamic-belief/will-a-person-have-what-he-prefers-in-paradise/

See these links as well, regarding this topic:
https://seekers.flywheelstaging.com/answers/tafsir/women-part-quranic-narrative/
https://seekers.flywheelstaging.com/answers/general-counsel/how-does-the-reward-of-women-in-paradise-compare-to-the-reward-of-men/

Note that we try to understand the rewards of Paradise according to our limited view of this world and its problems. The whole dynamic of the akhira is something unimaginable to us and its pleasures will be unbelievable and un-ending. Although you may perceive that there will be inequality there, I assure you that there will not be. The very essence of Paradise is perfection.

Finally consider this hadith about the man with the lowest status in Paradise:

The Prophet, may Allah bless him and give him peace, said, “I know the person who will be the last to come out of the Hellfire, and the last to enter Paradise. He will be a man who will come out of the Hellfire crawling, and Allah will say to him, ‘Go and enter Paradise.‘ He will go to it, but he will imagine that it had been filled, and then he will return and say, ‘O Lord, I have found it full.’      Allah will say, ‘Go and enter Paradise, and you will have what equals the world and ten times as much (or, you will have as much as ten times the like of the world).’ On that, the man will say, “Do you mock at me though You are the King?” I saw Allah’s Messenger, may Allah bless him and give him peace, while saying that, smiling that his premolar teeth became visible. It is said that will be the lowest in degree amongst the people of Paradise.”

I pray that you work hard and strive to get into Paradise in the first place because once you are within its gates, you will see what no eye has seen, and hear what no ear has heard, and you will have what no mind has ever imagined.

[Ustadha] Shazia Ahmad

Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Ustadha Shazia Ahmad lived in Damascus, Syria for two years where she studied aqidah, fiqh, tajweed, tafseer, and Arabic. She then attended the University of Texas at Austin, where she completed her Masters in Arabic. Afterward, she moved to Amman, Jordan where she studied fiqh, Arabic, and other sciences. She recently moved back to Mississauga, Canada, where she lives with her family.