When considering the status of a man and woman in the afterlife that were once spouses in this world, several possibilities can be considered:

1. Both the woman and man will be in heaven.

2. The woman will be in heaven and the man will be in hell.

3. The man will be in heaven and the woman will be in hell.

4. Both the woman and man will be in hell.

5. The woman, and both her husbands, will be in heaven.

6. The man, and both his wives, will be in heaven.

In the first case, if both of them choose one another; meaning that if the man has a higher status and chooses the wife or vice versa, they will be with one another. This topic has been mentioned in a narration from Imam Sadiq (as) in which he states: “If in heaven, a man has a higher status than a woman and he selects her, she will become one of the man’s spouses. And if a woman has a higher status than the man, and she selects him, the woman will become that man’s spouse.” [1]

In the second, third, and fourth case, we assume that either one or both of them are in hell. As a result, a person in hell cannot be with his or her spouse who resides in heaven. In the sixth case, when taking the mentioned narration into consideration, if a man has a higher status, he can select his spouses.

The fifth case which has been asked about, can fortunately be found within our traditions. A similar question was asked by Umme Salameh, the noble wife of the Prophet of Islam (pbuh). She asked him if a woman had several husbands in this world and on the Day of Judgment all of them entered heaven, which of those men will become the woman’s spouse? The Holy Prophet (saws) said: “O’ Salameh, pick the best of them in respect to their character and manner. Select the one who was the best amongst all for his family, because good character and manner brings both the good of this world and the hereafter for its bearer.” [2] As a result, in this case, a woman can pick whichever husband that she prefers.

This narration alone is sufficient in answering this question.