Question

My mother's mother told me once that only one woman will be left old in paradise and her name is Zulaikha the wife of Prophet Yusuf-Pbuh because she was given her hereafter's share in this world by having double young age. Is this true?

Answer

All perfect praise be to Allah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allah, and that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger.

We did not find any evidence for such a statement; rather, it is apparently from the Israa'eeliyyaat (narrations from Jews and Christians) which are abundant in many Tafseers about the story of Yousuf (Joseph), may Allah exalt his mention. Here, we deem it appropriate to mention this precious statement that Shaykh As-Sa’di mentioned at the beginning of his interpretation of Chapter "Yousuf" (Quran 12): “You should know that Allah stated that He narrates to His Prophet the best of stories in this Book, and then He mentioned this story in an easy style and He mentioned what happened in it, so it is known from this that it is a perfect, complete and good story. Therefore, whoever wants to complete it and make it more beautiful with what is mentioned in the Israa'eeliyyaat whose chains of narrators are not known, and whose narrators are not known, and most of them are lies, then he is correcting something which he claims to be wrong of what Allah has mentioned, and he is completing something which he claims to be imperfect. So, what a very obscene and abominable act this is! Indeed, in many Tafseers of this Chapter, there are lies and grotesque matters that contradict what Allah has stated about it to a great extent. Hence, a person should understand what Allah has narrated and leave what is not reported from the Prophet .”

Moreover, we did not find any evidence that proves what is said that Yousuf, may Allah exalt his mention, married the wife of Al-‘Azeez, and whoever mentioned it could have taken its source from the Israa'eeliyyaat. Likewise, there is a difference of opinion in regard to the name of the wife of Al-‘Azeez being "Zulaykhah" as some scholars stated that this is her surname.

On the other hand, there is no old woman in Paradise, as Allah Says (what means): {Indeed, We have produced them [i.e. the women of Paradise] in a [new] creation. And made them virgins.}[Quran 56:35-36]

Indeed, there is a Hadeeth narrated by Anas, may Allah be pleased with him, that the Prophet said to an old woman: “No old woman will enter Paradise.” She (the old woman) said: “Why is it so?” And she was a reader of the Quran. So, the Prophet asked her: “Don’t you read the Quran (i.e. the two Quranic verses which mean) {Indeed, We have produced them [i.e. the women of Paradise] in a [new] creation. And made them virgins.}? At-Tabreezi attributed it [the Hadeeth] in his book "Mishkaat Al-Masaabeeh" to Razeen, and Al-‘Iraaqi classified it as Dha’eef when classifying the Ahaadeeth of "Ihyaa’ ‘Uloom Ad-Deen".

Allah Knows best.

Fatwa answered by: The Fatwa Center at Islamweb