My Quran Links
A while ago I had created a list of fabulous online Qur'an tools which I wanted to share with others. Here is a development of that list; Qur'an links that I regularly use and recommend:
There are definitely more strong contenders out there but I think depending on many for your Arabic and Qur'an studies is overwhelming. It isn't really about which ones are better but rather which ones are suited to you and your pace. My ratings are personal, recommendations for you. I make du`a they benefit you.
- Ayat.in - The Social Qur'an. As featured in Muslimness.com's Link Love. My rating: 7/10
- Bayyinah.com - Fully integrated with audio and online courses, Bayyinah.com is very much like having 2 tutors (Nouman Ali Khan), ready to teach memorised lessons at the click of a button. Download the podcasts to make independent notes or watch the videos on learning Arabic just 10 minutes a day. The really unique part about Bayyinah is that is is an actual faculty building with real classes of high quality. I haven't seen any transcriptions of talks though which might be asking too much, ma-sha-Allah. My rating: 9/10
- Holy Quran - An interactive and dedicated site to collating various translations, downloadable chapters and embedded YouTube videos for listening to Qur'an recitation. To listen click on the speaker icon for a pop-up window. Search options are available for a particular word within a surah, which other sites fail at AND you can download the whole Qur'an FREE in any of the languages listed. That's fantastic! (If you speak Greek) My rating: 7/10
- IslamiCity.com - Perhaps the most extensive and comprehensive Qur'an source online, I get lost in all of it! There is a list of searches - phonetically, by topic, translation and so on. A list of translations to the Qur'an include Chinese, Korean and Dutch. There are tools also for listening and memorising the Qur'an. Nifty. My rating: 8/10
- Islamic Nature - My most recent favourite online source for reading Quran easily, memorising short prophetic sayings, the Prophet Muhammad's biography, embedding Quran widgets (gadgets) onto our blog [check top-right sidebar] and bookmarking tool. (Islamic Nature is from iKnowledge). Check out the Muslimness.com review of Islamic Nature here. My rating: 9/10
- iKnowledge - iKnowledge is a web application covering 4 key areas of Islamic studies: the Qur'an, Tafsir (interpretations of Quran) Hadith and Seerah (biography of Prophet Muhammad). iKnowledge is 'edgier' than your average Qur'an source, with share buttons, website coding, a Facebook fan page and Twitter account. In addition the dozen plus features rock in the sidebar such as bookmarking, audio recitations and video AND a free islamicnature.blog for users. Basically, this has everything short of a cushion and cup of coffee.
- IslamiTexts.org - A wonderfully straight forward Qur'an. Links on the homepage to each Qur'an chapter take you to an English translation with Qur'an Arabic, commentaries for each verse and ten main translation options. This is perhaps best for new students to Qur'an or those with less computer geek know-how. My rating: 5/10
- Light Upon Light.com - Light upon Light has a Qur'an Reader feature, with approved Arabic by Tanzil.info. LUL uses an embedded Qur'an tool in the webpage with drop-down menu options so you can choose a chapter and verse, as well as listen to recitation, shift the volume and font size controls. It's a little fiddly but great for reading one verse at a time. My rating: 5/10
- Multilingual Qur'an - Now this is a novelty; the link provides 20+ languages on the homepage. You select one, choose a chapter, select from the 11 Qari (Qur'an reciters) and click on any verse or the 'play' icon for instant recitation. Also provided is a highlighting search box and a tafsir option. It's very interesting reading the Qur'an in another language or cross-translating words. My rating: 8/10
- Online Quran Project - A great easy-to-use online Qur'an tool with search, audio and translation options (currently in only a handful of European languages) My rating: 7/10
- Muslim Web - Arabic only. I'm still figuring this one out. Qur'an text on left, chapter menu on right. Search and what not above. My rating: 4/10 (because I suck at it)
- Quranic Audio - A huge database of Qur'an reciters is compiled here for instant replay or downloading FREE! Possibly every single Qari is stashed here. There's also a {Cafe Salam} blog for you to post your feedback. My rating: 5/10
- Qur'an Explorer - I thoroughly adore this source; click on the red 'Launch' button to open up a new explorer window where you can listen to 8 different Qari (Qur'an reciters), 11 different translations, including Malay and French, and select Arabic scripts, pause and skip recitation to help with reading along or memorising. My rating: 9/10
- Quran Flash - The most interactive Quran website to date! The 3D book on screen creates a 'real-time' experience with turning pages, 12 Quran to choose from varying in tajweed and script, options in changing the background image, selecting chapters, bookmarking and loads more! Basically, it's brilliant. I've yet to find a weakness. My rating: 10/10
- Quranic Realm - This is basic in comparison to others but still a valuable interactive source. Select any surah, check every single box in the top menu and compare the translations and Arabic script without tashkeel (that means punctuation, vowels for joining sounds). It takes time being able to read Qur'an without tashkeel. To listen to recitation however the site takes you to another website where you can download MP3 formats or listen online to various reciters. My rating: 7/10
- Quran.com - this has to be my favourite for functionanily, the translation and short URL for easy copy and pasting. According to our shaykh Suhaib Webb, Quran.com uses the closest translation to the Qur'an Arabic - Sahih International. I love the look, a quick and clever search box, the large Arabic script and that the tafsir in Arabic (interpretation) is added by default. The only thing missing is a full English tafsir translation and Arabic text that is copyable. My rating: 9/10
- Search Truth - Very similar to the Online Qur'an Project - an embedded Qur'an tool with menus, recitation and font/type size options. My rating: 6/10
- Tajweed English - Brilliant resource site with 3 learning programs for non-Arabic speakers and beginners who want to learn the Arabic rules of the Qur'an. A clean, chic design layout and truckloads of audio and visual sources to learn from. Love it. My rating: 9/10
- The University of South California - A search feature and index is included, the full ahadith from four main collections and other holy scriptures from other faiths. The Qur'an is in English only but from three popular translators. Easy to use for quick referencing. My rating: 6/10
- The Tanzil Project - Tanzil's mission is to "produce a standard Quran text and serve as a reliable source" for this standard text on the web. The Tanzil Project was launched to standardise a highly verified error-free Quran text for interface applications to prevent further spreading of the erroneous texts. Sites such as Quran Source and Social Religion use this Arabic. My rating: 8/10.
There are definitely more strong contenders out there but I think depending on many for your Arabic and Qur'an studies is overwhelming. It isn't really about which ones are better but rather which ones are suited to you and your pace. My ratings are personal, recommendations for you. I make du`a they benefit you.
Zaufishan.co.uk ★