The du'a was:
"Ya Allah, Satukanlah hati kedua mempelai ini seperti Engkau satukan hati Adam dan Hawa, Yusuf dan Zulaikha dan seperti Engkau satukan hati Muhammad SAW dan Siti Khadijah."
The catch phrase was:
Tidak perlu mencari secantik Balqis, andai diri tak sehebat Sulaiman.
Mengapa mengharap teman setampan Yusuf, jika kasih tak setulus Zulaika
Tak perlu mengharap teman seteguh Ibrahim, andai diri tak sehebat Siti Hajar
Dan mengapa didambakan teman hidup yang sempurna Muhammad, jika ada keburukan pada diri.....
Those phrases were undoubtedly catchy and romantic, and would seem to sit perfectly well in a wedding card. Problem was, in my limited knowledge, I never knew that Yusuf (pbuh) married Zulaika.
And as yesterday I was reading Surah Yusuf, I decided to read the seerah of this prophet a bit more, particularly the part about him and Zulaika. So lets take a brief look into this story.
For starters, there is no mention, what so ever, of the name Zulaika in the Quran, with the only women being mentioned by name is Maryam, mother of Isa (pbuh). In the Quran, what is mentioned is 'the wife of the Al-Aziz (ruler). So where did this name, Zulaika come from? Most say its from isra'iliyyat's traditions but then a quick glance at Wikipedia says that the Bible simply mentions her name as the Potiphar's wife. Allah knows best.
The first part of the story of Yusuf (pbuh) and The Al-Aziz's wife is narrated in the Quran from verse 21 to verse 33. It starts with the Al-Aziz buying Yusuf (pbuh) and introduced him to his wife. He asks his wife to receive Yusuf honorably and that they might find him useful or even adopt him as a son. The story continues with the wife inviting Yusuf unto herself and commit adultery. Yusuf (pbuh) rejects her advances and tries to reason with her, saying that the Al-Aziz had treated him honorably and that wrong doers never prosper.
And Allah said, "She verily desired him and he would have desired her if it had not been that he saw the argument of his Lord." and "...Lo! he was of Our chosen slaves."
When the Al-Aziz discovers his wife's bad intentions (even after she pleads her innocence), he asks that Yusuf (pbuh) forgets about the incident and that his wife ask for forgiveness for her sin.
But alas, in such high society were gossips and rumours tend to spread faster than forest fires (yup, even back then!), the women in the city learned about the incident. And when the wife heard of this, she wanted to make a point and called upon the women to her palace for a feast and gave them fruits and knives to cut the fruits with. Then she called upon Yusuf to enter the room. Stricken by Yusuf's beauty, the women cut their own fingers and went as far as to claim that "...This is not other than some gracious angel." The women made advances towards Yusuf, which lead to Yusuf praying, "O my Lord! Prison is more dear than that unto which they urge me, and if Thou fend not off their wiles from me, I shall incline unto them and become of the foolish."
The second part of the story is narrated from verse 50 to verse 53 of the same surah. When the king of Egypt requested that Yusuf be brought to him, Yusuf asked the king inquire about the incident with the women who cut their hands. So the king summoned the ladies and asked about the incident. The wife of the Al-Aziz then proclaimed, "...Now the truth is out. I asked of him an evil act, and he is surely of the truthful.....I do not exculpate myself. Lo! the (human) soul enjoineth unto evil, save that whereon my Lord hath mercy. Lo! my Lord is Forgiving, Merciful."
That was the end of the mention of Yusuf and the Al-Aziz's wife. No where did the Quran mention about Yusuf (pbuh) later marrying the woman. Nor was it mentioned in any Hadith. So where is this Romeo and Juliet-esque love story coming from? Allah knows best.
With regards to this wife of the Al-Aziz, was she an evil person? Lets put ourselves in her boots. She was wife to a very important person in the Egyptian hierarchy, a very busy man. She was probably most of the times alone in the house, with only the ever so beautiful Yusuf (pbuh). So beautiful was Yusuf that the prophet Muhammad once said, “When I met Yusuf (pbuh), I saw that Allah (swt) has blessed him with half of the beauty of the whole world, while the other half has been spread over the rest of it.” (Sahih Muslim).
And if the two decided to commit that sinful act, they could've easily concealed it from everyone's knowledge. Temptations could bring the worse of mankind. That was what the wife thought. But it was not to be for Yusuf was a prophet.
As narrated in the second part of the story, the wife later acknowledged her sins and asked Allah for forgiveness. And Allah is most forgiving. So that is that. Wallahualam.
