Lantern Nureen is your personal Quran trainer, offering targeted exercises tailored to your learning style and pace. Visualize your progress and review surahs in a world-building game with Nureen and her friends. App development is completed in stages to cover all age groups starting with adults. Note that the descriptions of stages 2 to 4 are still in the concept phase and will likely transform further as we move into building these parts of the app.
Stage 1: Manual Full Functionality
A fully functional app that you operate manually, with features such as reciting yourself with feedback, listening to the reciter of your choice, viewing translations and transliterations, and practising in a puzzle mode. This stage is suitable for Muslims who can read the Qur'an clearly and correctly. We are preparing the app for the Play Store and for download on the computer.
The app works offline. For now, while you recite, it checks the words: a word you skip or change is marked. Harakāt and pronunciation come in a next update, followed by tajwīd. We also want to extend the app to other languages. Because the app works offline, it takes at least 700 MB of storage and needs at least 4 GB of RAM on the device.
Stage 2: Adaptive Learning Program
An automated program that customizes to your needs and adjusts based on session performance. This stage will include a teacher and parent dashboard to track learners’ progress in real time.
In this stage we want lantern Nureen to feel like a human instructor and the app will be better suited to muslims that are not native to the Arabic language. For example, she notices difficulty in pronunciation of غ (ghayn). She then refers you to a video teaching this letter and then trains you specifically on words with ghayn in the surah before you start memorizing.
Huda's plan
Sūrah Al-Baqarah
- Mon80%
Al-Baqarah · 1–5
- Tue55%
Al-Baqarah · 6–10
- Wed30%
Al-Baqarah · 11–15
Next lesson:Review Al-Baqarah 1–15
“You have made a lot of progress with surah Al-Baqarah! Let's focus tomorrow's exercise on review.”
Stage 3: Gamification & World-Building
We are designing a multiplayer world-building game for Muslims aged seven and above who can read. Through play, exploration and collaboration, players strengthen their bond with the Qur’an.
Players memorise surahs by doing classic training exercises (see stage 2), which earn them points. After memorising each surah they unlock a lantern that comes to life in their own world. With barakah points they build desert villages and other fantasy worlds. Classes and families can build and explore one world together, each player with lanterns in a colour of their own. The lanterns in the villages they build talk with players about the tafsīr of the surahs they have learned by heart.
At the edge of their worlds lives the Darkness, a creature embodying fitnah, shayṭān and the loss of īmān. When the Darkness attacks and captures lanterns, players must recite the Qur’an alone or together to free the lanterns and drive the darkness back. A victory reveals new land to build on. Those who explore can find chests that unlock new building options. As players progress and work together, they unlock new worlds and deepen their bond with the Qur’an as nūr.
Stage 4: Early Learner Mode
Designed for young children who cannot yet read (age 3-6). Tafsir becomes integrated into a playful narrative where memorization drills are woven into fun, interactive games. Each surah will have a different game and story associated with it. The example below illustrates how gameplay, story and memorization can be merged.
Example game for Surah Al-Ikhlas: Nureen says she will visit her family and wants to give them a colored postcard as a gift. The child player is asked to recite Surah Al-Ikhlas with Nureen’s guidance in order to unlock colors for coloring a postcard of Nureen’s family. Once the child finishes with the coloring, Nureen glides toward her family’s house. Nureen’s motion is powered by the child’s recitation. With each repetition of the surah, Nureen says less and the child recites more from his or her own memory.
When Nureen arrives, a small animation plays. She gives the postcard to her family, and they rejoice at the gift. The child lantern, Manara, says to Nureen, “I love our family! Does Allah also have a family?” Nureen responds, “That is a wonderful question! No, Allah has no family. He is One. He is eternal, perfect and lives forever. He does not have children, nor was He born. Nothing and no one is comparable to Allah.” Manara says, “Ohhh… I didn’t know that! Nureen, please tell me more about Allah!” Nureen replies, “Of course! I will tell you more about Allah as we learn Surah Al-Fatiha!”
What’s next?
Nureen’s aim is to cover the main aspects of Islam in an interactive and fun way. We plan to develop an adventure game to learn Arabic reading and a caretaking game to learn Islamic habits. With sufficient support and funding, we may create all three apps.