The never-ending myth revolving around the "72 virgins" in Islam has been at the center of debate for decades ... and one imam recently decided to bring that dispute to an end.
Mohammad Tawhidi, an Australian-Iraqi Muslim preacher, recently shared a tweet in which he dissed the "72 virgins" theory which many believe to be an Islamic notion.
Tawhidi debunked the concept and explained how its sole purpose is to perpetuate misogyny.
The tweet has since gone viral, garnering over 2,000 re-tweets at the time of writing.
"God cannot 'reward' men with women, because women aren't objects," Tawhidi said in a statement to StepFeed.
"God informed us of grapes, rivers, delicious food and other things that will be in heaven. He also informed us of opposite genders. It doesn't mean that they're at our disposal," he added.
"Women aren't objects"
The concept of a "virgin" is grounded in Quranic texts which describe a sensual Paradise where men are promised someone with physical and sexual attributes such as "full grown" breasts, "hairless," and "untouched."
However, Tawhidi asserted that "there is no verse in the Quran indicating such a reward," in a statement to StepFeed.
"God does promise 'women' in paradise, but he also promised 'lads' for females. The details of 'large breasts' and 'hairless bodies' with 'amazing scents' comes from the unauthentic Hadith," he explained.
However, there is no mention anywhere in the Quran of the actual number of virgins. There is also no mention of virgins being rewarded only to martyrs.
But, there is a mention of "72 wives" - not virgins - in one of the six major Hadith (a collection of reports describing the life of the Prophet Mohammed) entitled Sunan Ibn Majah.
It states that "every male admitted into Paradise will be given eternal erections and wed to 72 wives."
However, the hadith is considered to be weak and unreliable.
"These are fabricated scriptures used to attract a sexually hungry society, providing them with empty hope. In return, they fight till death for their religious leaders," Tawhidi said.
People on social media nodded in agreement with Tawhidi
"The imam that tells the truth"
"Some sense at last"
"We need more men like [Tawhidi]"
"Amazing"
"The most feminist Islamic learning is the ruling that: 'Paradise is under the feet of your mother'" - Tawhidi
One verse in the hadith emphasizes the importance of "mothers" in Islam, which Tawhidi believes to be the most feminist Islamic learning.
There have been various interpretations of this hadith, one of which states Muslims "earn paradise by serving our mother throughout her life."
The verse was uttered by Prophet Muhammed when advising one companion to be kind and dutiful to his mother.
"Be dutiful to your mother, as Paradise is at her foot," according to Islam Web.
Not the first time a Muslim debunks the concept of "72 virgins"
In 2017, Muslim-American human rights activist and U.S. lawyer, Qasim Rashid, was trolled online by a white supremacist who asked him how he could redeem his "72 Virgins."
Rashid responded with an answer that put the white supremacist to shame.