Nikkah card wording and design: simple, dignified, and correct

A Nikkah card has one job: to invite people to witness the most important part of the wedding. It is usually the calmest card of the week, and the wording and the design should both feel that way.

Opening lines families use

• بسم اللہ الرحمٰن الرحیم
• النکاح من سنتی (Nikkah is from my Sunnah): a hadith reported in Sunan Ibn Majah, used on many Nikkah cards.
• وَخَلَقْنٰكُمْ اَزْوَاجًا (And We created you in pairs, Surah An-Naba 78:8)
• English: In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful

If you put a verse on the card, write it correctly and give the reference. Ask someone in the family to check the Arabic before you send it; it is much easier to fix a digital card than a printed one, but it is better to get it right the first time.

Urdu wording

تقریبِ نکاح — اللہ تعالیٰ کے فضل و کرم سے ہمارے صاحبزادے [دولہا کا نام] کا نکاح [دلہن کا نام] بنت [والد کا نام] کے ساتھ ان شاء اللہ [تاریخ] بروز [دن] بعد نمازِ [عصر/مغرب] [مقام] میں ہوگا۔ آپ سے شرکت اور دعا کی درخواست ہے۔

Roman Urdu and English

• Roman Urdu: Allah ke fazl se hamare betay [naam] ka Nikkah [naam] binte [walid ka naam] ke saath In sha Allah [date] ko baad namaz-e-[Asr/Maghrib] [jagah] mein hoga. Aap se shirkat aur dua ki darkhwast hai.
• English: With the blessings of Allah, we invite you to witness the Nikkah of [Name] and [Name] on [day, date] after [Asr/Maghrib] prayers at [venue].

Timing after a prayer

Many Nikkahs are held after Asr or Maghrib, and the time moves with the season. Write the prayer and an approximate clock time ('after Maghrib, around 6:15 PM') so guests who are not coming from the mosque know when to arrive. If it changes, a digital card can be corrected once and every guest sees the new time.

Design: less is more

• Ivory, white, sage or soft gold rather than bright colours.
• Plenty of empty space around the names.
• A calligraphy or geometric motif instead of busy floral borders.
• No music, or a soft nasheed at most.

Noor was designed for exactly this, and Naqsh works well if you want something a little more traditional.

Nikkah and Rukhsati on the same day

Many families now hold the Nikkah and the Rukhsati together, or the Nikkah months before the Rukhsati. Either way, put each on the card as its own function. Guests invited to the Nikkah in the masjid but not the dinner can be given a private link showing only the Nikkah. See what a private guest link is, then browse the Nikkah cards.