Every practicing Muslim knows that Islam encompasses every aspect of one’s life. So, it should be no surprise that in the modern world, where technology fits in our pockets, our smartphones provide access to unlimited knowledge and know-how for our daily needs, including our Islamic needs.
We’ve done the research, and have combed through Google Play Store and iOS App Store to find for you the best Islamic apps for every occasion in 2021. Our recommendations are based on data, and not just on our own opinions.
Our selection criteria are based on their popularity, average ratings, functionality (such as being available offline). We’ve chosen two for each category for users who are mindful of app sizes, with a larger and a smaller size for apps in each category.
Best Islamic Apps Overall
The best Islamic apps overall are Muslim Assistant and CollabDeen, available for both Android and iPhone users, as these apps have the most features. In addition, CollabDeen app provides users with the best user privacy and ad-free experience. If your phone is constrained by app size, then you may prefer the smaller app, Muslim Assistant, which has all the features, with only a small app size of 24.0 MB. We’ve listed their features side by side to easily compare between the two.
A 2021 update: We’ve included a new app – CollabDeen, which is not in the list below – because of its outstanding commitment to user privacy and ad-free experience. The app requires minimal user data and even allows anonymous access. Some of CollabDeen’s app new features include:
- AR Qibla, for locating the direction of Mecca in Augmented Reality,
- Prayer Times based on city,
- Listen to Quran radio, read the Quran,
- Prayer requests,
- Special dates in the Muslim calendar,
This app has been around for a while as a community platform app, that enables local mosques to go digital with their communities, and now is offering extra features for individual users. Among the community features for masajid and charities include:
- user-to-community chat,
- RSVP to community events and booking slots,
- admin can announce community updates and engage with community members on the go.
It’s both available for Android and iPhone users.
These new app features are in response to the news of user data breaches by some other popular Islamic apps (see below).
Note: We’ve updated this article to remove our recommendation of the a very popular Muslim app, which has over 98 million downloads due to previous user data breaches as first reported by Vice.com, and has been picked up by various other news sites, such as Business Insider and TRT. We’ve also ensured that another prayer app that has been reported to have user data breaches is not in our list.
The following app was chosen as they contain all the requirements of a Muslim to perform their ibadah, from reading the Quran, translation of the Quran, Tajweed, Prayer Times, Azan, Qiblah direction, and Tasbih counter, and for Android users, the additional authentic Hadiths.
| Muslim Assistant | Muslim Prayer Times, Azan, Quran & Qibla By Al Hiwar | |
| Number of downloads | 10,000,000+ | 5,000,000 |
| Size | 24.0 MB | 20.0 MB |
| Average Rating | 4.6 | 4.8 |
| Quran | Yes | Yes |
| Quran Translation | Yes (English Only) | Yes |
| Tajweed | Yes | Yes |
| Prayer Times | Yes | Yes |
| Azan | Yes | Yes |
| Qiblah direction | Yes | Yes |
| Tasbih (dhikr) counter | Yes | Yes |
| Find Mosques, Islamic Holidays, Watch Kaa”ba live | 30 Azan voices, Hadith books – Sahih Bukhari, Sahih Muslim , Sunan Ibn Majah , 40 Hadith Nawawi Find Mosques Find Halal Restaurants Islamic Knowledge News Feed | |
| Use Offline? | Yes | Yes |
| App Developer | Muslim Assistant | Al-Hiwar |
| Download link | Google Play | Google Play |
| Download link | iOS App Store | Not Available |
Best Azan Apps & Islamic Prayer Apps
The best Azan apps and Islamic prayer apps are al-Moazn Lite and iPray for iPhone and Android phones, and for Athan Now app for Android users only. These apps focus on enabling Muslims to perform the obligatory prayer (the solah) such as Azan, Prayer Times and Qiblah direction and if available, the after prayer ibadah such as du’a and dhikir count. The best Islamic apps overall have azan features and more, which we’ve listed in the above category.
| al-Moazin Lite | iPray | Athan Now | |
| Number of downloads | 10,000,000 | 10,000 | 1,000,000 |
| Size | 28.4 MB | 16.0 MB | 35.0 MB |
| Average Rating | 4.6 | 4.6 | 4.7 |
| Prayer Times | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Azan | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Qiblah direction | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Tasbih (Dhikir) counter | No | Yes | Yes |
| Du’a | No | Yes | Yes |
| Other functions? | Hijri calendar, 6 different calculations prayer time, | Offline prayer times, Selection of azan sounds, No Ads, | Offline prayer times, Offline qibla direction |
| Use offline | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| App Developer | Parfield Software | Beehive Innovations | Athan Now Limited |
| Android Download | Google Play | Google Play | Google Play |
| iPhone Download | iOS App Store | iOS App Store | N/A |
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Best Quran Apps
There are so many Quran apps available now, that its a shame if we don’t at least try to use one to bring us closer to Allah s.w.t through his blessed book. In this section, we’ve identified the three best Quran apps for the purpose of reading, listening, and understanding of the Quran which are Quran Pro, The Holy Quran- English, and Quran Majeed, which are all available in both the Google Play Store as well as in the iPhone’s App Store.
We have not included any Quran apps that are meant for deeper knowledge or education, which we will update in another article inshaAllah.
| Quran Pro | The Holy Quran – English | Quran Majeed | |
| Number of Downloads | 1,000,000 | 1,000,000 | 5,000,000 |
| Size | 29M | 31M | 183MB |
| Average Rating | 4.6 | 4.6 | 4.8 |
| Quran Text | Yes | Yes | Yes -3 fonts ( Uthmani, Mushaf, and Indo-Pak ) |
| Color-Coded Tajweed | No | No | Yes |
| Translations | Yes – 30 languages | Yes – English only | Yes – 45 languages |
| Tafseer | Yes – text & audio | Yes | Yes – text & audio |
| Quran Audio | Yes – many reciters | Yes – 10 reciters | Yes – 18 reciters |
| Other functions? | Bookmark Quran | Search Quran function, Set Quran goals | Zoom Quran text, HD Quran visualization, Hijri Calendar, Prayer Times |
| Use offline | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| App Developer | Quanticapps Ltd | Noor Foundation USA, Inc. | Pak Data |
| Google Download | Google Play | Google Play | Google Play |
| iPhone Download | iOS App Store | iOS App Store | iOS App Store |
Best Islamic Browser App
This app is in its own category, as there are no other similar apps that aim to protect the Muslim’s faith while browsing the internet. It is a browser, with safety features, suitable for all family members including children, as well as have the main Islamic app features such as Islamic Prayer Times, Qibla direction, and news aggregator. It’s available in both the Google Play Store and in Apple App Store.
Think of it as an alternative to Google Chrome browser or Safari browser, with the added benefits of protecting the user from entering non-halal websites, as well as the usual Islamic app features. It is quite large in size, at 123.6 MB, and has been downloaded by 1,000,000 users, and with an average rating of 4.6.
In Summary
You can also consider switching technology to Muslim or Islamic friendly tech. We’ve listed ten of the technologies in this post.
If you want to learn Quran via a mobile app, consider the list we’ve prepared for you in this article.
If you want to practice Islam, smartphone apps have been a great enabler for us Muslims to practice it fully. The choice is truly ours to make.
Farah Ishak is a Content Writer at Halalop. She grew up in the United Kingdom where she obtained her Bachelor’s degree in Management. Later, she completed her MBA and held senior-level positions in Malaysian based MNC. She left the corporate world to be with her young kids. She is passionate about issues concerning Muslim women, Startups and Muslim businesses in general.
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