What du'a is said to congratulate a newly married couple?

The du'a

بَارَكَ اللَّهُ لَكَ وَبَارَكَ عَلَيْكَ وَجَمَعَ بَيْنَكُمَا فِي خَيْرٍBarak Allahu laka wa baraka 'alayka wa jama'a baynakuma fi khayr."May Allah bless you, and shower His blessings upon you, and join you together in goodness."

What each phrase asks for

The wording is not a single blessing but three, and each one covers a different part of what a new marriage needs.

• "Barak Allahu laka" — a blessing for you, asked on the groom's behalf: that Allah place barakah in the marriage itself.
• "Wa baraka 'alayka" — a blessing upon you, descending on him rather than simply granted to him. The two prepositions together ask for blessing both in what he has been given and in what rests on him.
• "Wa jama'a baynakuma fi khayr" — that Allah bring the two of them together, and specifically in khayr, in good. The scholars note that the Prophet ﷺ placed this supplication for blessing in the place of the pre-Islamic congratulation "bi'l-rifa' wa'l-banin" (prosperity and sons), which he forbade.

When it is said

It is said at the time of congratulation — when you meet the groom after the marriage, or offer your good wishes to the couple. The narration describes the Prophet ﷺ doing this "when he congratulated a man on marrying."

"When the Prophet ﷺ congratulated a man on his marriage, he said: 'Barak Allahu laka wa baraka 'alayka wa jama'a baynakuma fi khayr.'"— Sunan Abu Dawud 2130, from Abu Hurayrah

The same wording is narrated in Jami' at-Tirmidhi 1091, where al-Tirmidhi grades it hasan sahih, and in Sunan Ibn Majah 1905. The version in Ibn Majah has the plural "Barak Allahu lakum wa baraka 'alaykum" — blessing for you all — which is why some scholars say the plural form may be used when addressing a group.

The wording that was forbidden

The pre-Islamic Arabs used to congratulate a newly married man with "bi'l-rifa' wa'l-banin." The Prophet ﷺ forbade this and replaced it with the supplication above. Ibn al-Athir explained that rifa' means harmony, agreement, blessing and increase — and it was disliked because it was the custom of the pre-Islamic era, which is why the Prophet ﷺ established something else in its place.

Key takeaways

• The Sunnah congratulation is "Barak Allahu laka wa baraka 'alayka wa jama'a baynakuma fi khayr" — a supplication for blessing, not merely a social greeting.
• It is said when congratulating the groom or the couple on the marriage.
• The plural form "Barak Allahu lakum wa baraka 'alaykum" is also narrated and may be used for a group.
• Avoid the pre-Islamic formula "bi'l-rifa' wa'l-banin," which the Prophet ﷺ prohibited.

Further reading

• Sunan Abu Dawud, Book of Marriage (Kitab al-Nikah), hadith 2130
• Jami' at-Tirmidhi, hadith 1091
• 'Awn al-Ma'bud, commentary on the chapter "What is said to the newly married by way of supplication"

And Allah knows best.