Abstract
This chapter presents Islamic theological and historical texts about the houri and argues that the houri is an ambiguous reward of paradise that has developed multiple meanings. The chapter introduces the concepts of paradise, or the Garden, and hell, or the Fire, in Islamic history and surveys Qurʾanic commentaries, hadith collections, dictionaries, eschatological manuals, and book arts from the eighth to the fifteenth century. The chapter argues that there are multiple functions of the houri, including pure companion, sensual being, cosmic bride, and singing slave girl. These many functions of the houri arise because she is an ambiguous reward in paradise.
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