Praise be to Allah.
There is nothing in the Qur’an or in the Sunnah that describes the physical shape of the breasts of al-hoor al-‘iyn, either in Sunan at-Tirmidhi or Jaami‘ al-Tirmidhi or any of the other books of Musnad.
The hadith that describes the breasts of al-hoor al-‘iyn as being large or round is something that is most commonly propagated by the haters of Islam and fanatical atheists, and the followers of false religions. In doing so they seek to make Islam appear to be a religion of sex and desire, and as if the sublime and sacred texts – namely the Qur’an and Sunnah – came to give detailed descriptions of women’s bodies, seeking to provoke desire. All of that comes under the heading of falsehood that is doomed to be defeated, and our Lord, may He be glorified and exalted, will surely punish those who propagate it and spread it, on the Day of Judgement when all people will be gathered for judgement.
The Holy Qur’an is a book of sublime values and principles, which instils in the hearts of those who recite it and memorise it the best and noblest of manners and attitudes. It even uses subtle metaphors that are very far removed from blatant descriptions, when speaking of marital relationships and the shar‘i rulings concerning them. This is something to which those who seek to cast aspersions upon the Qur’an pay no attention, those whose hearts and minds are dominated by desires, so that their minds cannot look at anything except through a lens of desire, and they do not seek anything except ways of fulfilling desires.
Think about how beautiful these modest and refined metaphors are in the verses in which Allah, may He be glorified and exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning:
“They are Libaas (i.e. body cover, or screen, or Sakan, (i.e. you enjoy the pleasure of living with her), for you and you are the same for them”
[al-Baqarah 2:187]
“And among His Signs is this, that He created for you wives from among yourselves, that you may find repose in them, and He has put between you affection and mercy. Verily, in that are indeed signs for a people who reflect”
[ar-Room 30:21]
“or you have been in contact with women”
[an-Nisa’ 4:43].
In each of these cases, the Arab would understand the sublime nature of the marital relationship and how the love and harmony between spouses should be.
The same is applicable with regard to what is mentioned about al-hoor al-‘iyn in the Holy Qur’an, such as the verses in which Allah, may He be exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning):
“Wherein both will be those (maidens) restraining their glances upon their husbands, whom no man or jinn have touched before them.
Then which of the Blessings of your Lord will you both (jinns and men) deny?
(In beauty) they are like rubies and coral”
[ar-Rahmaan 55:56-58]
“And (there will be) Houris (fair females) with wide, lovely eyes (as wives for the pious),
Like unto preserved pearls”
[al-Waaqi‘ah 56:22-23].
All of these are descriptions of beauty, using the most refined words, likening them to rubies, coral and pearls, which reminds the reader of the greatness of Allah’s creation, far removed from any coarse description of women’s bodies, contrary to the claims of those who have ulterior motives.
With regard to the verse which may be literally translated as (interpretation of the meaning), “And young full-breasted (mature) maidens of equal age” [an-Naba’ 78:33], we have previously given a detailed answer with clear evidence, explaining that in Arabic the word kawaa‘ib [which may be translated literally as “young full-breasted”] is used to refer to one who is young in age only, far removed from giving any description of the shape or size of the breast. Concerning that, you may refer to the lengthy answer in question no. 193409.
Conclusion:
We consulted Sunan at-Tirmidhi and whatever else we could of the six books, and we did not find in them a single hadith or a single report that speaks about the breasts of al-hoor al-‘iyn being large. What is widespread on some English-language websites attributing that to at-Tirmidhi is a distortion that has been transmitted deliberately or otherwise from websites written by some promoters of falsehood who said: “A houri is a girl of tender age, having large breasts which are round.”
Then they commented on that by saying: “At-Tirmizi, volume 2, pg 35-40.”
This is a blatant lie, because at-Tirmidhi did not narrate anything about women’s breasts being large or round. Whoever is asking us to confirm that, let him bring the text of the report, and not only mention the number of the volume or page, fabricating falsehood against the Prophet’s Sunnah. Mentioning random numbers is something that anyone can do. Rather what matters is that the numbers be in accordance with real texts, and this is something that is not the case here.
And Allah knows best.
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