The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions (1042 page)

(1707–91).
Founder of the ‘Countess of Huntingdon's Connexion’, an association of Christian evangelicals. Desiring to reach the upper classes, she opened chapels where the
Calvinistic
preaching of her chaplains was combined with a liturgical form of worship. The Countess of Huntingdon's Connexion, formed in 1790, united her churches. In 1980, twenty-nine of these survived, with membership of 860.

 
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(Heb., ‘canopy’). Jewish marriage canopy. In the Jewish marriage service, the huppah represents the marriage chamber.

 
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r
, pl.
awr
’

(Arab., ‘white ones’). The beautiful maidens of
paradise
, who are described in the
Qur’
n
e.g. 2. 25, 3. 15, 4. 57, 55. 56 ff. They are often transliterated as ‘houris’. Not all commentators (e.g.
al-Bai
w
) take the passages literally, and the
S
f
s
spiritualize the huris.