Misaq India: the marriage app, and the ground it is landing on
Muslims in India · 2020
Source: Pew Research Center, "How the Global Religious Landscape Changed From 2010 to 2020" (June 2025). Counts are the published total population multiplied by the published Muslim share. See the report.
The world's second-largest Muslim population, living as a minority, with marriage customs that change every few hundred kilometres.
If you searched for Misaq India, you were probably trying to find out one of two things: what Misaq actually is, or whether you can use it where you live. Short answers first, then the part that is specific to India.
What Misaq is, briefly
A marriage app for Muslims where the wali registers before matching begins and has their own dashboard, every member is verified with government ID and a live selfie, you see one compatible match at a time rather than a feed, and it is free until a real connection happens.
The full explanation, and what the name means, is on the main Misaq page.
Muslim marriage in India
Pew Research Center puts the Muslim population of India at around 213.2 million in 2020, 15.2 percent of the country. Over the decade from 2010 that number grew by 20%, with the community concentrated in Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Bihar, Kerala, Maharashtra and Hyderabad.
India holds more Muslims than any country except Indonesia, yet they are roughly one in seven of the population and their circumstances vary enormously by state. A Malayali Muslim family in Kozhikode and a family in Lucknow or Murshidabad share a faith and little else in the way of marriage custom, language or expectation.
The rishta process broadly mirrors Pakistan's, with the added layer that community boundaries are often also linguistic. Families frequently restrict the search to their own state or mother tongue, which shrinks an enormous population down to a very ordinary-sized one.
Biodata circulated through family WhatsApp groups is now the dominant medium, and it carries all the old problems in a new format: unverified claims, a photograph doing most of the work, and no structure for what happens after interest is expressed.
Among the 23 countries in this series, India has the 3rd largest Muslim population and the 15th fastest growth over the decade.
What is available today
Misaq has not launched yet. We are saying that plainly because the alternative is letting a page like this imply otherwise.
Two things are open right now, and they are the same everywhere:
- The waitlist. Founding members get access before the app opens publicly.
- The community. We post the build as it happens and answer questions there.
When the app does open, it opens to the waitlist first.
Join the communityInvest in Misaq
Common questions
Is Misaq available in India?
Not yet. Misaq has not launched in any country. The waitlist is open to people in India now, and the app opens to the waitlist first.
How many Muslims live in India?
Around 213.2 million as of 2020, or 15.2% of the population, according to Pew Research Center, "How the Global Religious Landscape Changed From 2010 to 2020" (June 2025). That is a +20% change on 2010.
Will Misaq work if my wali is not in India?
Yes, that is the case it is designed for. The wali registers and takes part from wherever they live, which matters because for a large share of the people this is built for, the guardian is in another country.
What is the main obstacle to Muslim marriage in India?
The world's second-largest Muslim population, living as a minority, with marriage customs that change every few hundred kilometres.
Misaq elsewhere
- Misaq Bangladesh — Misaq in Bangladesh
- Misaq Indonesia — Misaq in Indonesia
- Misaq Malaysia — Misaq in Malaysia
- All countries, and what Misaq is
Related reading
- What Misaq is, in full
- How to get married in Islam, step by step
- The wali: what he is for, and what he is not
- The questions to ask before you say yes
Sources
- Pew Research Center, "How the Global Religious Landscape Changed From 2010 to 2020" (June 2025). pewresearch.org — population and religious-composition figures for India, 2010 and 2020.
- Qur'an 4:21, Uthmani text via quran.com — for the meaning of mithaq.
General information about marriage practice and population, not a religious ruling and not legal advice. Where this page touches marriage law in India, check it with someone qualified in that jurisdiction before you rely on it.
Stay with us while we build
We post the build as it happens. Follow whichever one you actually read.