Nikah invitation wording: 10 samples in English (UK & Canada)

A Nikah invitation in English has one job that a Pakistani card does not: half the people reading it may never have been to a Nikah. Colleagues, neighbours, the groom's university friends. So the wording has to do two things at once: carry the dignity the elders expect, and quietly tell everybody else what will happen, where, and when to arrive. The samples below are written for families in the UK and Canada, where the Nikah is often a daytime ceremony at the masjid or at home, followed by a meal, and where the Walima may be the same evening, the next weekend, or in Pakistan altogether.

Copy any of them as they are, or take the opening from one and the practical lines from another. Square brackets are yours to fill. On a Dawatnama card the wording goes in the greeting and the function note; the date, time, venue and map are separate fields.

What every Nikah invitation needs

• Who is inviting: usually the parents, sometimes the couple, occasionally an elder brother or the family together.
• Both names, and in most Pakistani families the fathers' names too: 'Ahmed, son of Mr Tariq Khan'.
• The day and the date. Many families add the Islamic date as well.
• The time, and a word about the prayer it follows if it does: 'after Zuhr prayers, approximately 1:30 pm'.
• The venue with a full address and, on a digital card, a map link. Masjids in Britain often have two entrances; say which.
• What follows the ceremony: lunch, dinner, nothing. Guests plan their day around that line.
• How to reply, and by when.

1. The formal card, from both families

Bismillah ir-Rahman ir-Rahim. Mr and Mrs Tariq Khan and Mr and Mrs Imran Siddiqui request the honour of your presence at the Nikah ceremony of their children Ahmed and Maryam, on Saturday the fourteenth of March, after Zuhr prayers at approximately half past one, at [Masjid name], [address]. Lunch will follow at [venue]. We would be grateful for your reply by the twenty-eighth of February.

2. From the bride's parents, hosting at home

With the blessings of Allah, Mr and Mrs Imran Siddiqui invite you to witness the Nikah of their daughter Maryam to Ahmed, son of Mr and Mrs Tariq Khan, on Sunday 15 March at 2 pm at our home, [address]. Please join us afterwards for lunch. Parking is available on [street]; the Nikah will begin promptly, so do arrive by 1:45.

3. From the couple

We are getting married, and we would love you to be there when we do. Please join us for our Nikah on Saturday 14 March at 1:30 pm at [Masjid name], followed by lunch at [venue]. Ahmed and Maryam. With the duas and blessings of our parents, Mr and Mrs Khan and Mr and Mrs Siddiqui.

4. Nikah and Walima on the same day

Mr and Mrs Tariq Khan request the pleasure of your company at the Nikah of their son Ahmed to Maryam, daughter of Mr and Mrs Imran Siddiqui, at 1 pm on Saturday 14 March at [Masjid name], and at the Walima reception that evening from 7 pm at [banqueting suite], [address]. Dinner will be served at 8:30 pm. On a digital card these are two functions with two map pins, so guests invited to the evening alone see only the evening.

5. Nikah here, Rukhsati and Walima in Pakistan

Join us for the Nikah of Maryam and Ahmed on Saturday 14 March at 2 pm, [Masjid name], [UK address], followed by lunch. The Rukhsati and Walima will take place in Lahore on 20 and 21 December, and the family would be honoured to welcome you there too; details and travel notes are on the card. This is the most common two-country pattern; how to invite guests across the UK and Pakistan with one link goes through the practical side.

6. A small Nikah, close family only

Maryam and Ahmed will be married in a small Nikah ceremony on Saturday 14 March at 11 am at [address]. We are keeping it to immediate family and would be so glad to have you among them. Lunch follows at home. A larger celebration will be held later in the year, and we will send you that invitation separately.

7. With a verse

'And among His signs is that He created for you spouses from among yourselves, that you may find tranquillity in them, and He placed between you affection and mercy.' (Qur'an 30:21). Mr and Mrs Tariq Khan and Mr and Mrs Imran Siddiqui invite you to witness the Nikah of Ahmed and Maryam on Saturday 14 March after Asr prayers at [Masjid name]. Ask someone who reads Arabic to check any Arabic you type; on a digital card you can correct it after sending and every link updates.

8. For colleagues and friends who have not been to a Nikah

We would love you to join us for our Nikah, the Islamic marriage ceremony, on Saturday 14 March. The ceremony itself is short, about twenty minutes, and begins at 1:30 pm at [Masjid name]; please arrive by 1:15 and dress modestly (women are kindly asked to cover their heads inside the prayer hall; scarves will be available). Shoes are removed at the door. Lunch follows next door at [venue] from 2:15 pm. You are very welcome, and no gifts are expected.

9. The ladies' and gents' arrangements

Please join us for the Nikah of Ahmed and Maryam on Saturday 14 March at 1:30 pm at [Masjid name]. Gentlemen will be seated in the main prayer hall and ladies in the upstairs hall, where the ceremony will be shown on screen. Lunch for all guests follows at [venue] from 2:30 pm. Families are welcome to sit together at lunch.

10. The two-line WhatsApp version

Assalamu alaikum! Ahmed and Maryam's Nikah is on Saturday 14 March, 1:30 pm, [Masjid name], lunch to follow. The invitation with the map and a reply button is here: [link]. We would love to see you there. For more short messages in this register see Nikah invitation messages and the fifteen wedding invitation messages for WhatsApp.

Spelling, dates and the small decisions

• Nikah or Nikkah: both are common in Britain; Pakistani families often write Nikkah. Pick one and use it everywhere on the card.
• Give the clock time even when the ceremony follows a prayer. 'After Zuhr' means nothing to a colleague; 'after Zuhr, approximately 1:30 pm' works for everyone.
• If you add the Islamic date, put the Gregorian date first. People book trains by the Gregorian one.
• Say what happens after the ceremony. 'Lunch will follow' or 'Refreshments only' changes whether guests eat before they come.
• In winter, if the Nikah follows Maghrib, say so and give the time. Maghrib in Manchester in December is before 4 pm; in Mississauga it is closer to 5.
• A dress-code line saves ten messages: 'modest dress; ladies are asked to bring a scarf for the prayer hall'.

Putting it on a card

A Nikah card on Dawatnama has the greeting at the top, the function (date, time, venue, map, calendar button) beneath it, and a note field under each function for the practical lines: parking, which entrance, scarves. The whole thing switches to Urdu for the elders with one button, and if you give each household a private guest link their page shows their own name and seat count. The Nikkah card page has the Urdu and Roman Urdu versions and the designs that suit a quiet ceremony; design notes are in Nikkah card wording and design. Families in the UK pay in pounds on the UK page, families in Canada in dollars on the Canada page.