Wedding reading
Surah An-Nisa 4:1 — created from a single soul
The Qur’an, tr. Marmaduke Pickthall (1930)
“Surah An-Nisa 4:1 — created from a single soul” by The Qur’an, tr. Marmaduke Pickthall (1930) is a scripture reading read at a wedding ceremony. It takes about 35 seconds read aloud, usually by the officiant. It is in the public domain, so the full text is printed on this page and goes straight into a ceremony script.
The full text
O mankind! Be careful of your duty to your Lord Who created you from a single soul and from it created its mate and from them twain hath spread abroad a multitude of men and women. Be careful of your duty toward Allah in Whom ye claim (your rights) of one another, and toward the wombs (that bare you). Lo! Allah hath been a watcher over you.
Public domain, so these words can be printed in a ceremony script or an order of service.
What it is about
The verse the khutbah opens with at a nikah. Pickthall’s 1930 English, which is the wording most families already have on the shelf.
Read at a wedding ceremony. Themes: created from a single soul · the khutbah at a nikah · Muslim wedding · a Muslim family · the ties of kinship · two families joining · an interfaith wedding with a Muslim family.
Questions about reading it aloud
How long does “Surah An-Nisa 4:1 — created from a single soul” take to read aloud?
“Surah An-Nisa 4:1 — created from a single soul” takes about 35 seconds read aloud at a ceremony pace, which is slower than conversation — roughly 130 words a minute. That is the figure the run-sheet uses when it works out the timing for the whole service.
Who usually reads “Surah An-Nisa 4:1 — created from a single soul”?
Usually the officiant rather than a guest reader. “Surah An-Nisa 4:1 — created from a single soul” runs about 35 seconds, which sits inside the part of the service the officiant is already leading, and keeping it there means it is carried by the person who has rehearsed it.
Can “Surah An-Nisa 4:1 — created from a single soul” be printed in a ceremony script?
Yes. It is in the public domain, so the full text is on this page and can be printed in a script or an order of service.
Can a friend or family member lead “Surah An-Nisa 4:1 — created from a single soul”?
One of the verses recited at the opening of a nikah, so if there is an imam or a Muslim officiant leading the marriage itself, this is theirs and they will have their own wording. Ask the couple which translation they read at home before printing this one, and ask whether they would like the Arabic recited alongside it.
Where this text was checked
Checked word for word against a full-text edition that is itself the authority — a Project Gutenberg or Wikisource transcription, a publisher’s own edition, or the issuing body’s page.
Checked
A reading is two minutes of the hour.
The rest is the welcome, the vows, the ring exchange, the pronouncement — and the timing that holds them together. Answer some questions about the couple and get the whole ceremony, written out, with this reading in its place.
Other readings that suit the same service
- Surah Ar-Rum 30:21 — the verse of love and mercy30 secondsThe Qur’an
- 1 Corinthians 13:4–8a45 secondsKing James Bible
- 1 Corinthians 13:1–13two minutesKing James Bible
- Genesis 2:18–24a minute and a halfKing James Bible
- Ruth 1:16–17a30 secondsKing James Bible
- Song of Solomon 2:10–1340 secondsKing James Bible