Clarification Regarding the Marriage of Zulaikha and Prophet Yusuf (peace be upon him)
Question:
Did Prophet Yusuf (peace be upon him) and Zulaikha get married? Some people say that Zulaikha repented and then became young again, as is also mentioned in Ahsan al-Tafasir, where it is stated that the two of them got married. Please clarify so that I may be rewarded by Allah.
Answer:
الحمد لله، والصلاة والسلام علىٰ رسول الله، أما بعد!
Some tafsirs, such as Ahsan al-Tafasir and other books of tafsir, contain the statement that Prophet Yusuf (peace be upon him) and Zulaikha got married. However, this account is completely baseless and unreliable.
The following reference explains this matter:
In Ruh al-Ma’ani, Page 5, Volume 13, it is written:
«وَشَاعَ عِنْدَ الْقُصَّاصِ أَنَّهَا عَادَتْ شَابَةً إِکْرَامًا لَّه عَلَيْهِ السَّلاَمُ بَعْدَ مَا کَانَتْ ثَيِّبًا غَيْرَ شَابَةٍ وَهٰذَا مِمَّا لاَ أَصْلَ لَه ، وَخَبْرُ تَزَوُّجِهَا أَيْضًا مِمَّا لاَ يَعُوْلُ عَلَيْهِ الْمُحَدِّثِيْنَ۔۱هـ»
“Among storytellers it has become widely known that she (Zulaikha) became young again, as an honour to Prophet Yusuf (peace be upon him), after having been a widow who was no longer young. But this is among the things that have no basis. And the report of her marriage is also of the kind on which the muhaddithin do not rely.”
Conclusion:
◈ The mention of the marriage of Prophet Yusuf (peace be upon him) and Zulaikha is found only in storytellers’ narrations.
◈ In the view of the muhaddithin, these narrations are unreliable, and no religious or historical reliance can be placed on them.
◈ The account of Zulaikha becoming young again and repenting is without a chain of narration and baseless.
ھذا ما عندي والله أعلم بالصواب
