What is the meaning of Allah Almighty's saying in verse 26 of Surat An-Nur: ﴿الْخَبِيثَاتُ لِلْخَبِيثِينَ وَالْخَبِيثُونَ لِلْخَبِيثَاتِ وَالطَّيِّبَاتُ لِلطَّيِّبِينَ وَالطَّيِّبُونَ لِلطَّيِّبَاتِ أُوْلَئِكَ مُبَرَّؤُونَ مِمَّا يَقُولُونَ لَهُم مَّغْفِرَةٌ وَرِزْقٌ كَرِيمٌ﴾ [Evil women are for evil men, and evil men are for evil women. And good women are for good men, and good men are for good women. Those [good people] are innocent of what the slanderers say. For them is forgiveness and a noble provision], and does it mean that a religious person cannot be with a non-religious person and vice versa? And how is this understood with His saying in Surat At-Tahrim: ﴿وَضَرَبَ اللَّهُ مَثَلاً لِّلَّذِينَ آمَنُوا اِمْرَأَةَ فِرْعَوْنَ إِذْ قَالَتْ رَبِّ ابْنِ لِي عِندَكَ بَيْتاً فِي الْجَنَّةِ وَنَجِّنِي مِن فِرْعَوْنَ وَعَمَلِهِ وَنَجِّنِي مِنَ الْقَوْمِ الظَّالِمِينَ﴾ [And Allah presents an example for those who believed: the wife of Pharaoh, when she said, "My Lord, build for me near You a house in Paradise and save me from Pharaoh and his work and save me from the wrongdoing people"]? And does that indicate that a man does not deserve a woman who is religiously better than him?
Source: FtawySummarized from the full answer at Ftawy · imported Sep 2, 2026
It is advisable to be keen on marrying a religious woman, even if she is more religious, and to strive to achieve righteousness and sincere repentance from past mistakes, concealing them.
It is known that the wife of Pharaoh was his spouse before she embraced Islam. When she embraced Islam, she sought refuge in Allah from him, and Allah honored her with martyrdom. There are weak narrations, mentioned by Al-Tabarani and others, stating that she will be among the wives of the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, in Paradise.
Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · imported
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