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Urdu marriage biodata format: Urdu field names, heading and a bilingual sample

Many Muslim families in Hyderabad, Lucknow, Bhopal, Rampur and Mumbai prefer a biodata in Urdu, or in Urdu and English side by side, especially when elders will read it. Urdu brings two problems English does not: right-to-left layout and letters that break on other people’s phones. Here is an Urdu marriage biodata format with field names, wording, fonts and a sample.

The opening line: Bismillah or 786

Most Urdu biodatas open with بسم اللہ الرحمٰن الرحیم (Bismillah ir-Rahman ir-Rahim), centred at the top. Some families write 786 instead. The number is the sum of the letters of the Bismillah in abjad, the old system that gives each Arabic letter a numerical value, and it is used as a shorthand across South Asia.

Families choose for different reasons. Some prefer 786 because a biodata gets printed, forwarded and eventually thrown away, and they do not want the sacred words on paper that may be discarded. Others prefer the full Bismillah because they feel a number is no substitute for the words. Neither is a rule; use what your family writes on wedding cards. A crescent or a Bismillah calligraphy emblem does the same job without any text.

Field names in Urdu

Some families write the heading as بائیو ڈیٹا (biodata) or کوائف (kawaif, particulars). Either is understood.

Sect, maslak and religious practice

These rows tell a family whether your outlook fits theirs. Keep each to one factual line, and include them only if your family considers them. The main Muslim marriage biodata format covers the English wording.

• Sect and maslak: families commonly write Sunni or Shia, and then a maslak such as Hanafi or Shafi‘i, or Deobandi, Barelvi or Ahl-e-Hadith. Shia families may write Isna Ashari or Bohra. If it does not matter, write مسلک کی کوئی قید نہیں (no restriction of maslak).
• Practice: صوم و صلوٰۃ کا پابند for a man, or صوم و صلوٰۃ کی پابند for a woman (regular in prayer and fasting), is the usual phrase.
• Hijab and beard: optional and personal. If included, one word or phrase — حجاب کرتی ہیں (wears hijab), باریش (keeps a beard).
• Islamic education: حافظِ قرآن (hafiz-e-Quran) or عالم / عالمہ, if completed.
• Biradari: some families mention it and others write برادری کی کوئی قید نہیں (no restriction of biradari). Leave it out if your family does not consider it.

Right-to-left layout that stays readable

• The page runs right to left: labels on the right, details to their left, and the photo at the top left — the mirror image of an English biodata.
• Keep phone numbers, dates and heights in their own table cell. Typed into an Urdu sentence, “+91 98XXXXXX12” can appear as “98XXXXXX12 +91”, and brackets can flip.
• Use ordinary digits (0–9) for numbers. Urdu digits such as ۱۲ are fine for elders but harder for younger or non-Urdu readers to check.
• Write degrees, college and company names and email addresses in English letters. “B.Pharm, Deccan School of Pharmacy” is easier to recognise and verify than a transliteration.
• For a bilingual biodata, use three columns: English label, the detail, Urdu label. Every reader finds their own language at the edge of the row.

Fonts, and why screenshots and Word files break

Urdu is normally written in Nastaliq, the slanting, stacked style of Urdu newspapers and wedding cards. Naskh, the upright style used for Arabic, is easier to read at small sizes but looks less familiar to Urdu readers.

• Fonts: Noto Nastaliq Urdu is free from Google Fonts; Jameel Noori Nastaleeq is widely used for Urdu typing; Noto Naskh Arabic if you prefer Naskh.
• Word files: if the other phone does not have your font, it substitutes one. Letters stop joining, dots shift, or the text turns into boxes. A PDF with the font embedded looks the same everywhere.
• Screenshots and photos: WhatsApp compresses images, and the small dots of Nastaliq are the first thing to blur. After a few forwards, ب, پ and ت start to look alike.
• Spacing: Nastaliq letters rise and fall more than English, so give lines extra spacing and use a size one step larger than you would for English.
• Typing on a phone: add the Urdu keyboard in Gboard (Settings › Languages).

Marriage Biodata Maker supports Urdu among its 13 languages, has Bismillah and Crescent emblems, and exports a PDF, so the fonts travel with the file.

Bilingual Urdu–English sample

Where the biodata fits before the nikah

The biodata is only the first step. Families exchange it, talk on the phone, and meet if both sides are interested; some families pray istikhara before giving an answer. After that come the engagement and the nikah. That is why the contact on the biodata is usually the father, a brother or another guardian (wali), not the girl or boy directly.

Leave mahr expectations, jahez and anything about the other family’s wealth out of the biodata. Dowry is illegal in India, and these lines put off exactly the families you hope to hear from.

Last updated 27 September 2026 · Biodata for Marriage team