Quran Apps vs. a Real Teacher: What Apps Can't Do

There are excellent Quran apps for reading, listening to reciters, tracking a khatm and memorizing. Many of our students use them daily. But apps and teachers do different jobs.

What apps do well

• Access: the whole mushaf and translations in your pocket.
• Listening: hear world-class reciters repeat a verse as many times as you like.
• Tracking: streaks, reading plans and bookmarks.
• Convenience: read on the train, at lunch, anywhere.

Our own Quran pages and Sahih al-Bukhari library are free to use in the same way.

What apps can't do (yet)

• Hear your mistakes reliably. Speech recognition may accept a word even when the ‘ayn is missing or a madd is too short.
• Explain why. A teacher shows you how to move your tongue for ق or ض.
• Adapt to you. A teacher notices you're tired, confused or ready to move faster.
• Keep you accountable. A booked lesson gets done; an app notification gets swiped away.

The best combination

1. Teacher: two or three short lessons a week for new material and correction.
2. App: daily listening and practice between lessons.
3. Routine: our 15-minute daily practice.

For children

Apps can be distracting for children. Keep app time focused (listening only), and let the teacher handle reading and correction.

See do online Quran classes really work? and common Tajweed mistakes. Book a free trial lesson.