First off, many Muslims don't believe in that. In fact, most don't. It's much like in Leviticus (the Holy Bible of Christians) where it states a man who touches a woman with her period will be unclean until evening, and he must bathe. Also, the Koran never explicitly says anything about "72 virgins". The proper verse is ""The least [reward] for the people of Heaven is 80,000 servants and 72 wives, over which stands a dome of pearls, aquamarine and ruby."

72 = 8 x 9 = (2 x 2 x 2) x (3 x 3) = 2^3 x 3^2 So, 72 is the product of 2 cubed and 3 squared. Not that random. :)

It's possibly raisins, not virgins, and the 72 is part of oral tradition and written commentary ABOUT the Koran, not in the Koran itself. A recent translation of the Koran published in Germany argues that the word for the benefit was mistranslated, and instead of "virgins" or "dark-eyed houris," the sura (verse) is actually referring to raisins, and/or chilled drink made from raisins -- i.e., wine, which is forbidden to Muslims on earth. The translation caused quite the fuss, as you will read by entering virgins raisins into Google.com. There was even a 2005 movie made by the title "Raisins Not Virgins: Abdul" which tells the story of cultural confusion among American Muslims. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0487268/plotsummary This is the most useful article, a 2002 piece from THE GUARDIAN newspaper of London in Britain: http://www.guardian.co.uk/religion/Story/0,2763,631357,00.html It mentions: "First, there is no mention anywhere in the Koran of the actual number of virgins available in paradise, and second, the dark-eyed damsels are available for all Muslims, not just martyrs. It is in the Islamic Traditions that we find the 72 virgins in heaven specified..." and that the new translation, "to the probable horror of all Muslim males dreaming of sexual bliss in the Muslim hereafter, to conjure away the wide-eyed houris promised to the faithful in suras XLIV.54; LII.20, LV.72, and LVI.22. Luxenberg 's new analysis, leaning on the Hymns of Ephrem the Syrian, yields "white raisins" of "crystal clarity" rather than doe-eyed, and ever-willing virgins - the houris. Luxenberg claims that the context makes it clear that it is food and drink that is being offerred, and not unsullied maidens or houris." "In Syriac, the word hur is a feminine plural adjective meaning white, with the word "raisin" understood implicitly. Similarly, the immortal, pearl-like ephebes or youths of suras such as LXXVI.19 are really a misreading of a Syriac expression meaning chilled raisins (or drinks) that the just will have the pleasure of tasting in contrast to the boiling drinks promised the unfaithful and damned." No info on why 72 instead of 70 (as some imams have said), or any other number, but I thought you'd find the raisin translation interesting. The Guardian article also points out that this version of Heaven is --extremely-- male-oriented.

There was a committee involved.

have you not heard about the rule of 72 in economics or personal finance class?

Really?What if an woman dies for g-d?

and who believes this? not me...

72 probably has some historical meaning.

Worth bearing in mind 1 The 72 is not mentioned in the HQ. I don't think any number is. 2 It is accepted usage to say 'man' when we mean 'person' 3 'virgins' does not define sex so perhaps women too could have virgin men. and 4 The delights of paradise are supposed to be what no eye has seen nor ear heard, meaning perhaps that the words used are the best descrption the earthly vocabulary will allow.

Um ... they have an exxagerated idea about their endurance? : D

I'm glad this question has so far only drawn a few people to throw a fit about Islam. One of the Hadiths mentions virgins in heaven but it is not a reference to sexually charged nymphomaniacal busty women that are going to spend eternity servicing someone. Virgin meaning "pure" and in this case it means "pure of earth". Like, never having been to earth. Heavenly creatures created by God to serve someone. It's not a sexual thing at all. Unfortunately in todays society the word "virgin" immediately makes people think about sex.

73 would be too many.

The Jewish Sanhedrin, or religious counsel of ancient times, used to have 72 elders in it I believe, but I don't know the significance of the number for middle easterners.

Would it make a difference if it was 27 or 107 instead?

Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhh - but only for whacked-out extremists. The many, many NICE Muslim folks aren't in for this.

Rinky Dinky Do: 76,Its a deal then, so how does this sound? THE BURKA BAND Seventy-six Virgin Flutists led the big parade With a hundred and ten cornets close at hand. They were followed by rows and rows of the finest virtuo- Sos, the cream of ev'ry famous band. Seventy-six Virgin Flutists caught the morning sun With a hundred and ten cornets right behind There were more than a thousand reeds Springing up like weeds There were horns of ev'ry shape and kind. There were copper bottom tympani in horse platoons Thundering, thundering all along the way. Double bell euphoniums and big bassoons, Each bassoon having it's big, fat say! There were fifty mounted cannon in the battery Thundering, thundering louder than before Clarinets of ev'ry size And trumpeters who'd improvise A full octave higher than the score

4*3*2*3= 72

The concept of 72 virgins in Islam refers to an aspect of paradise. In a collection by Imam at-Tirmidhi in his "Sunan" (Volume IV, Chapters on "The Features of Heaven as described by the Messenger of Allah", chapter 21: "About the Smallest Reward for the People of Heaven", hadith 2687) and also quoted by Ibn Kathir in his Tafsir (Qur'anic Commentary) of Surah Qur'an 55:72, it is stated that: "It was mentioned by Daraj Ibn Abi Hatim, that Abu al-Haytham 'Adullah Ibn Wahb narrated from Abu Sa'id al-Khudhri, who heard the Prophet Muhammad saying, 'The smallest reward for the people of Heaven is an abode where there are eighty thousand servants and seventy-two houri, over which stands a dome decorated with pearls, aquamarine and ruby, as wide as the distance from al-Jabiyyah to San'a http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Houri#.2272_Virgins.22

A dozen 6 pacs?