Is there in the Almighty’s saying (and maidens of equal age) a description of the chests of the houris?

 we say that every critic of any text, whether sacred texts or human literary texts, must take into account in his criticism the environment of the text represented by time, place, people and all conditions. When the critic requires a precise understanding of a certain expression, he must also scrutinize the root of that structure and its origin in the language in which it appears, its multiple uses, and the meaning and general context for which that word is used.

The fair researcher is the one who always assumes the inability of translation to convey the intended meaning as it is, and its inability to select the word that conveys the word with all of its connotations, taking into account the environment in which that word was used. If he does not do that, he has risked the truth he seeks, and has not obtained for himself the document for what he requested.
Hence, we say to you: The literal translation of the word (Kawa’ib) is the plural of (Ka’ib), which is “the one whose breasts protrude,” as in “Mujmal al-Lughah” (1/787).
Ibn Faris, may God have mercy on him, says:
“(Ka’b) the letters kaf, ‘ayn, and ba’ are a sound root that indicates a protrusion and elevation in something. From this is the ka’b: the heel of a man, which is the bone at the ends of the leg at the junction of the foot and the shin. The Ka’bah: the House of God Almighty, it is said that it was named so because it is protruding and square. A woman’s heel is a ka’abah, and she is a ka’ib, if her breasts protrude.” End quote from “Miqyas al-Lughah” (5/186). See also “Al-Qamoos al-Muhit” (p. 131), “Lisan al-Arab” (1/719).
This is the literal meaning of the word in its linguistic origin.
However, it is very shameful for the observer to limit himself to the literal dictionary meaning of the root of the word in any language. Rather, one must take into account the context in which the people of the language themselves use it. Do you not see that the Arabs use the word (al-ha’idh) in a meaning other than its literal meaning? Rather, they mean by this description: a woman who has reached the age of menstruation, and they do not mean the one who has her monthly period at that time. This is as was proven from ‘Aa’ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) from the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) that he said: “Allah does not accept the prayer of a menstruating woman except with a khimar.” Narrated by Abu Dawood (641). It is known in Islamic law that a woman’s prayer is not valid during her menstruation. Rather, it is forbidden for her to do so, according to the consensus of the scholars, until her period ends and she is purified from it.
Whoever interprets the word according to its literal dictionary meaning has fallen into this contradiction and error. Whoever interprets it as the Arabs use it in their speech, meaning a woman who has reached the age of menstruation, even if she is not actually menstruating, has understood the hadith in its proper context and has realized the Arabs’ way of using speech.

And so we say in describing a woman as (ka’ib) in the Arabic language, it does not mean a physical sexual description of any of the woman’s parts, as much as what is meant is describing a girl with signs of femininity appearing in her, indicating her young age and the freshness of her youth, such that men can become attached to her. At this age, the signs of femininity begin to appear and emerge in a girl, but what is meant by this word is not to mention a specific size of the breast, nor to note its shape and description, but rather what is meant is to emphasize the age of youth and the freshness of age.
Ibn al-Jawzi, may God have mercy on him, said:
“A woman is a child as long as she is young; then a newborn when she moves; then a young woman when her breasts are full; then a breast when they are large; then a young woman when she reaches puberty; then a young woman when she reaches middle age.” End quote from “Akhbar al-Nisa” (p. 228).
It was stated in “Sharh Ma’ani Shi’r Al-Mutanabbi” by Ibn Al-Iflili - the first volume (2/270): “The young man among them is a young man, and the young girl is a maiden.” End quote.
Imam Al-Zajjaj - one of the great scholars of language - said:
“(And young maidens of equal age) meaning their teeth are the same, and they are at the peak of youth and beauty.” End quote from “Ma’ani Al-Qur’an wa’I’rabuhu” (4/338). And
the scholar Al-Tahir Ibn Ashur, may God have mercy on him, said:
“Al-Kawa’ib: the plural of Ka’ib, which is the young girl who has reached the age of fifteen years or so. She was described as Ka’ib because her breasts became cupped, i.e. became like heels, i.e. rounded and protruded.” End quote from “Al-Tahrir wa’l-Tanwir” (30/44).
So look at how the scholars, may God have mercy on them, explain that this description (Ka’ib) only refers to a stage in a girl’s life, and does not mean a sexual description of her body, even though that is the literal meaning.
Just as the Arabs use the word (menstruating woman) to indicate puberty, and they do not mean to notice the presence of menstruation itself.
Another clear evidence is that the Arabs use this description in poetry and prose in the context of mentioning the chastity and honor of women, and not in the context of a sexual description to arouse desire and pleasure. When the Arab poet describes a girl as a virgin, he does not look at her breasts, nor does he see their size and enormity, nor their roundness or hanging, but it is a description given to every young woman, and this is from the most chaste and delicate of chaste poetry.
From that is the saying of Bishr bin Abi Hazim, also attributed to Qais bin Asim:
How many noble horses have we had *** And how many virgins did not know what misery is, pressed.
Al-Tha’labi mentioned it in “Al-Kashf wa Al-Bayan” (10/118).
For this reason, Al-Mawardi, may God have mercy on him, said - in his interpretation of (Kawa’ib) in the noble verse -: “Virgins, said Ad-Dahhak.” End quote from “An-Nukat wa Al-Uyoon” (6/188). Then he mentioned the previous evidence.
This trace from Al-Dahhak was included by Ibn Al-Mundhir, as in “Al-Durr Al-Manthur” (8/398).
If you ponder the Noble Qur’an, you will find that it always uses euphemisms that reach the utmost in allusion and eloquence, such as the Almighty’s saying in describing the marital relationship: “They are clothing for you and you are clothing for them” (Al-Baqarah 2:187), and His saying: “And among His signs is that He created for you mates from among yourselves, that you may find tranquility in them, and He has put between you affection and mercy. Indeed in that are signs for a people who give thought” (Al-Rum 30:21), and His saying: “Or you have touched women” (An-Nisa’ 4:43). If these words were translated literally, their meaning would not be known. Because the literal translation of (clothing), (housing), and (touching) does not convey the intended meaning, but the context of the verses indicates that they are intended as a metaphor, or a figurative meaning for the reality of marital relations, but from the perspective of the spiritual value of this practice, if these words are translated into English to mean physical sexual intercourse, this may lead to the illusion that the Holy Quran speaks a lot about the desires of the body and uses direct words in them, while the truth is otherwise.
We state this so that you realize the importance of the critic taking into account the Arabic usage of the word according to its precedence and its succession, and the importance of taking into account the gap that the literal translation creates between the real meaning and the semantic root of the word.
After referring to a group of translations of the meanings of the Holy Qur’an into the English language, it became clear that the translators differed in conveying the meaning of the noble verse (And maidens of equal age) in Surat An-Naba into two groups:
The first team: It was conveyed in the literal sense of the word, without taking into account the Arabic language in using it in the context of age indication only. This translation was as follows, which was difficult for the questioner:
(And young full-breasted (mature) maidens of equal age.)
It was translated with this expression by Dr. Taqi al-Din al-Hilali and Dr. Muhammad Muhsin Khan, as in “Translation of the Meanings of the Great Qur’an” which was printed by the “King Fahd Complex for the Printing of the Holy Qur’an” (p. 811).
This is the link to their official website:
http://www.qurancomplex.org/?Lan=ar
. It was also translated by (Ibrahim Walk) and (Laleh Baktiar).
It is not an accurate enough translation, not only because it did not take into account what was previously detailed in the Arabic commentary on the word (Kawa’ib), but also because it did not take into account the semantic lexical meaning. The word (full-breasted) in English means (full-breasted or full-chested), so it suggested a meaning that includes an estimate of the size of a woman’s chest, and a description of it as large and full, while the literal lexical meaning of Ka’ib is the one whose breasts are full, or breasts, as previously quoted from Arabic dictionaries, this means the beginning of the emergence and prominence to take its feminine form, not the complete completion and fullness that requires the use of the word (full).
It was translated by (Arther J. Arberry) as:
(and maidens with swelling breasts, like of age)
and also translated by (Sarwar) as:
(maidens with pears-shaped breasts who are of equal age)
and also translated by (Pickthal A. Shakir) as:
(And voluptuous women of equal age(
and all of them are translations inspired by the sensual meaning, and the description of the breast as pear-shaped or huge or exciting. These are inaccurate expressions of what the Arabic language intended.
The second group: They took into account what we decided previously, and translated the meaning of the word (Kawa’ib) within its context that the Arabic language intended, and not in the literal meaning that was not intended. We are citing these translations here, with the translator’s name next to them, and we call for correcting the translation to them. The best of them – in our opinion – is the translation of (Maulana) with his saying:
(And youthful (companions), equals in age(
and the rest of the correct translations are:

Marmaduke Pickthall….(And maidens for companions)
Abdullah Yusuf Ali….. (Companions of equal age)
Muhammad Taqi Uthmani….(and buxom maidens of matching age)
and God knows best.