Does the Concept of Having a “Soulmate” Exist in Islam?
Answered by Shaykh Faraz A. Khan
Question
Is there a concept of soulmate in Islam? If someone you love dies before getting married and the one living eventually gets married to another person, will the person you married be the person you will meet in the hereafter?
What would be your advise to someone who just lost a spouse-to-be through death before getting married?
Answer
I pray this finds you in the best of health and faith.
My advice to a person who lost a spouse-to-be would be not to underestimate the immeasurable pleasure Allah has placed in Paradise, as He states, “For them is anything whatsoever that they wish therein, and with Us is yet more.” (Qur’an 50:35)
The verse speaks for itself. And as most exegetes state, the “more” that is mentioned at the end of the verse refers to the beatific vision of Allah, a pleasure that has no equal. [Nasafi, Madarik al-Tanzil wa Haqa’iq al-Ta’wil]
Paradise is a place of ultimate bliss – no one will be let down therein, and Allah will inspire each inhabitant to seek what will be best and most joyous for him/her.
With respect to this life, such a person should be patient and trust in Allah’s decree. He/she should go ahead and marry someone else, as life should move forward despite our trials.
Our Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “Isn’t the believer’s affair amazing! Allah decrees nothing except that it is good for him.” [Musnad Ahmad] We do not see the full picture, yet we must rely on Allah and have a good opinion of Him, that He does only what is best for us.
As for the concept of a “soulmate,” some scholars mention that in Paradise, a woman will be married to her last husband in this world (assuming they both enter Paradise). And according to some, this is one of the wisdom that the wives of the Beloved Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) were prohibited from remarrying after his demise so that they could have the honor of being his spouses in Paradise. [Ibn Mulaqqin, Ghayat al-Sul fi Khasa’is al-Rasul]
And Allah knows best.
wassalam
[Shaykh] Faraz Khan
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani
Shaykh Faraz A. Khan has lived in Amman, Jordan, for several years studying and teaching traditional Islamic sciences, with a focus on Hanafi jurisprudence, hadith studies, theology, logic, and Arabic grammar. He translated and annotated the classical Hanafi primer “Ascent to Felicity” (Maraqi ‘l-Sa`adat) by Imam Shurunbulali, recently published by White Thread Press.