The houri as a reward of paradise

The concept of the houri, mentioned in several places in the Qur’an as one of the rewards for true believers, is most commonly interpreted in a literal sense – as chaste women who will serve as an exceptional reward for true believers. While not categorically disputing such an interpretation, as only God knows what awaits true believers in the Hereafter, I prefer to understand the term houri as yet another distinct Qur’anic metaphor, specifically a cognitive metaphor through which the Text seeks to convey the exceptional sum of values of the Afterlife by correlating it with the particular value of this world. Therefore, this pertains to values rather than literalism. Since the Afterlife is beyond the scope of human knowledge and experience, the Qur’an often employs metaphors and allegories that, through an exceptional transfer, can „express” the values of the Hereafter, which are inexpressible through our language and descriptions in their literal form. The analysis of the term houri as a cognitive metaphor is also grounded in the semantics of the lexeme ḥūr (large-eyed/dark-eyed), which points, through the eyes, to spirituality rather than to physicality in a sensual or erotic sense.