More and more Pakistani families keep the wedding to one main day: the nikah in the early evening, dinner, and the rukhsati before the hall closes. One card can invite guests to all of it, as long as the wording makes both parts clear.
Quick answer: nikah and rukhsati card wording names the event as "Nikah & Rukhsati" (بسلسلہ تقریبِ نکاح و رخصتی), lists the couple with their parents, then gives two separate times: the nikah (for example 7:00 pm) and the rukhsati (for example 10:00 pm), with the venue for each. It is usually sent by the bride's family and ends with a Muntazir or RSVP line.
When the nikah and rukhsati are held together
In a same-day wedding, the nikah is read first, either at the bride's home, a mosque, or the hall itself. After dua and dinner, the bride leaves with the groom and his family: the rukhsati, often with the Quran held over her head. Families choose this when they want a smaller wedding, when relatives are travelling from abroad for a short stay, or when the nikah was planned close to the barat anyway.
The bride's family usually hosts, so the card is in their voice. The groom's family may send their own version for relatives travelling with the barat; our barat card wording guide covers that side.
The order of the day
Guests like to know roughly what is happening and when. A typical evening in Lahore or Karachi looks like this:
- 6:30 pm: guests arrive; the barat is received.
- 7:00 pm: nikah: khutba, ijab o qubool, signing the nikahnama, chhuaray handed round.
- 7:45 pm: dua and mubarakbad.
- 8:30 pm: dinner.
- 9:30 pm: rasmein such as doodh pilai.
- 10:00 pm: rukhsati.
Many halls have a fixed closing time, so check your venue's closing time before you print the rukhsati time.
What nikah and rukhsati card wording should include
- Bismillah at the top, in Arabic or written out.
- The heading: "Nikah & Rukhsati", "Nikah o Rukhsati" or "بسلسلہ تقریبِ نکاح و رخصتی".
- Hosts: the bride's parents.
- The couple: the bride first on her family's card, then the groom with his father's name.
- Day and date, written out in full.
- Two times: one for the nikah and one for the rukhsati. Add dinner if you like.
- Venue and city for each part, if they differ.
- Muntazir or RSVP: a name and one phone number.
Leave out the haq mehr and other nikahnama details. They belong in the nikah itself, not on a card that will be forwarded around.
Formal nikah and rukhsati card wording in English
Bismillah ir-Rahman ir-Raheem
Mr & Mrs Tariq Mehmood
request the pleasure of your company
at the Nikah and Rukhsati of their daughter
Sana
with
Bilal
son of Mr Usman Ghani
on Saturday, 12 December 2026
Nikah: 7:00 pm · Rukhsati: 10:00 pm
Royal Palm, Lahore
Muntazir: Tariq Mehmood & family · 0300 0000000
When the two venues are different
If the nikah is at home or a mosque and the rukhsati is from the hall, give each its own line:
Nikah: Saturday, 12 December 2026 · 5:00 pm (after Asr)
Jamia Masjid, F-7, Islamabad
Rukhsati: 9:30 pm
Bride's home, F-7/2, Islamabad
Short English version
With the blessings of Allah
Nikah & Rukhsati
Sana & Bilal
Saturday, 12 December 2026
Nikah 7:00 pm · Rukhsati 10:00 pm
Royal Palm, Lahore
Nikah o rukhsati card in Urdu
For many families the Urdu card is the main one. The standard pattern:
بسم اللہ الرحمن الرحیم
بسلسلہ تقریبِ نکاح و رخصتی
ہماری صاحبزادی عزیزہ ثناء
ہمراہ عزیزم بلال ابنِ عثمان غنی
آپ کی شرکت ہمارے لیے باعثِ مسرت ہوگی
بروز ہفتہ، ۱۲ دسمبر ۲۰۲۶
نکاح: شام ۷ بجے
رخصتی: رات ۱۰ بجے
بمقام: رائل پام، لاہور
منتظرین: طارق محمود و اہلِ خانہ
A shorter version for the WhatsApp picture:
بسم اللہ الرحمن الرحیم
نکاح و رخصتی
ثناء و بلال
ہفتہ، ۱۲ دسمبر · نکاح شام ۷ بجے · رخصتی رات ۱۰ بجے
رائل پام، لاہور
Write times the Urdu way ("شام ۷ بجے", "رات ۱۰ بجے") rather than dropping "7:00 PM" into an Urdu line. The Urdu nikah card designs set this in Nastaliq for you.
Rukhsati card wording when the nikah was earlier
Many couples have their nikah months before, sometimes quietly at home, and hold the rukhsati later. Then the card is a rukhsati invitation on its own, and it helps to say the couple are already married:
Alhamdulillah, Sana and Bilal were married in a private Nikah.
We invite you to her Rukhsati
Saturday, 12 December 2026 · Dinner 8:30 pm · Rukhsati 10:00 pm
Pearl Continental, Lahore
— Tariq Mehmood & family
بسم اللہ الرحمن الرحیم
بسلسلہ تقریبِ رخصتی
عزیزہ ثناء ہمراہ عزیزم بلال
بروز ہفتہ، ۱۲ دسمبر ۲۰۲۶ · رات ۱۰ بجے
بمقام: پرل کانٹینینٹل، لاہور
طالبِ دعا: طارق محمود و اہلِ خانہ
WhatsApp message for a rukhsati invitation
Assalam o Alaikum! Alhamdulillah, Sana's nikah and rukhsati are on Saturday, 12 December at Royal Palm, Lahore. Nikah at 7:00 pm, rukhsati at 10:00 pm. Please join us and keep her in your duas. Card attached. — Tariq Mehmood & family
In Roman Urdu for the family group: "Sana ka nikah aur rukhsati Hafta 12 December ko Royal Palm mein hai. Nikah 7 baje, rukhsati 10 baje. Duaon mein yaad rakhiye ga."
The nikah and rukhsati card maker shows ready wording in English and Urdu next to the card, so you can copy the message once you download.
One combined card or two separate cards?
Use one card when everything is on the same day and the same guests are invited to both. It is simpler to send and harder to misread.
Use two cards when the guest lists differ (for example a small nikah for close family and a bigger rukhsati dinner), when the nikah and rukhsati are on different days, or when the nikah is at a mosque and you only want close family there. Make both in the same design so they still look like a set. For more nikah-only lines, see our nikah invitation card wording guide or the nikah invitation card page.
Common mistakes on nikah and rukhsati cards
- One time only. Guests who come at the printed time may miss the nikah. Give both.
- No day of the week. "Saturday, 12 December" beats "12-12-26".
- A rukhsati time after the hall closes. Check with the venue.
- Mismatched English and Urdu. Names, dates and venues must be identical.
Designs, downloads and an invitation website
There are 40 designs (25 free, 15 Premium) in emerald and maroon with gold, with an illustrated couple, a faceless or back-view couple, or no picture; Premium adds your own photo. Put up to four events on one card, make one card per event, or the whole set, in English or Urdu. Download a 1080×1920 picture for WhatsApp or a PDF to print, free, no sign-up.
For guests coming from other cities, an invitation website puts the nikah and rukhsati times in one link with Google Maps directions, Add to calendar and RSVP with guest count.
Keep the card short, give both times, and let the day itself carry the emotion.
