Misaq / Blog / Misaq / the United Arab Emirates

Misaq UAE: the marriage app, and the ground it is landing on

2 October 2026 · Misaq · 5 min read

A majority-Muslim country where most Muslims are expatriates and almost nobody's wali lives in the same time zone.

If you searched for Misaq UAE, 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 the United Arab Emirates.

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 the United Arab Emirates

Pew Research Center puts the Muslim population of the United Arab Emirates at around 6.9 million in 2020, 72.9 percent of the country. Over the decade from 2010 that number grew by 32%, with the community concentrated in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah.

The UAE is close to three-quarters Muslim, but the composition is unlike anywhere else in this list: the great majority of residents are expatriates, and the Muslim population is drawn from South Asia, the Levant, North and East Africa, and the rest of the Gulf.

What that produces is a city full of practising Muslims in their late twenties and thirties, working long hours, living away from their families, and looking for someone from a specific background who may be two buildings away or in another country entirely.

The wali question is the practical blocker. Nearly everyone's guardian is elsewhere, so any serious process has to work with a wali who participates remotely from the start. That is the default assumption Misaq is built on, not an edge case bolted on afterwards.

Among the 23 countries in this series, the United Arab Emirates has the 11th largest Muslim population and the 9th 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 the United Arab Emirates?

Not yet. Misaq has not launched in any country. The waitlist is open to people in the United Arab Emirates now, and the app opens to the waitlist first.

How many Muslims live in the United Arab Emirates?

Around 6.9 million as of 2020, or 72.9% of the population, according to Pew Research Center, "How the Global Religious Landscape Changed From 2010 to 2020" (June 2025). That is a +32% change on 2010.

Will Misaq work if my wali is not in the United Arab Emirates?

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 the United Arab Emirates?

A majority-Muslim country where most Muslims are expatriates and almost nobody's wali lives in the same time zone.

Misaq elsewhere

• Misaq Qatar — Misaq in Qatar
• Misaq Kuwait — Misaq in Kuwait
• Misaq Turkey — Misaq in Türkiye
• 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 the United Arab Emirates, 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 the United Arab Emirates, check it with someone qualified in that jurisdiction before you rely on it.