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FOUR SEASONS BREEZE | DECEMBER 2025 19 By Steve Beno Judaism, Christianity, and Islam agree on at least two things. There is only one God and that Abraham is a revered prophet. Thus, the three are classified at Abrahamic religions. I covered Jewish apps a lot last year and Christian apps last month. This month I want to focus on Islam. Again, I've again relied on ChatGPT as a starting point. Keep in mind, as with the Christian apps, I have not downloaded these apps. My information is sourced from ChatGPT and the Apple App Store. Ayat – Al Quran is a strikingly beautiful app which I assume is offered in English even though the app store examples are all in gorgeous Arabic. The developer is King Saud University. At least one review calls it the best Quran app. ChatGPT lauds its multiple translations and audio recitations: "best for Quran reading, memorization, and learning." Muslim Pro Quran Athan Prayer: When I see the word Pro, I think payment required. There is a free version, but I wouldn't be surprised if there were constant reminders to upgrade at $13 per month or the more than reasonable $35 for the year. In any case, this app "offers prayer times, Qibia direction, Quran (with translations and audio), and Islamic calendar." The developer claims over 170 million users (reviews total just over half a million) and describes it as "the most comprehensive app designed to support your daily prayer, inspirational recitations, fasting, and personal journey." It's available in 22 languages. iQuran: Interesting developer description; it opens with "NO adverts. NO subscriptions. iQuran is absolutely free to use." Shortly after it mentions this, you can upgrade to the Pro version. "iQuran offers you the complete Quran with coded Tajweed (Pronunciation), verse by verse and word by word translation, recitation, bookmarks, notes, tags, filters, search, awesome navigation, and more." There are more than 35 translations. ChatGPT says it's "A stunning Quran app with beautiful typography, multiple translations, and audio recitations … Best for Quran study and beautiful reading experience." Learn Quran: The developer says "Learn Quran helps in developing a deeper understanding of the Quran through its translation and explanation by Dr. Farhat Hashmi. The app can be used to explore the Quran, memorize its word-by-word translation and gain an in-depth understanding of it by listening to the explanation of any of the verses." ChatGPT says, "best for learning Quran with proper pronunciation and understanding." iSalam: Salah Times – (Note: I couldn't find the Salah – Prayer Times app ChatGPT recommended. Perhaps it made it up. But there are a number of prayer time apps; I've chosen iSalam as an example). "iSalam: Salah Timings automatically determines the current location and calculates the daily prayer (salat/salah/namaz) timings for your local city (supports millions of cities worldwide) for the next 12 days and gives configurable Azan/Athan notification on your iPhone." Hijri Calendar & Prayer Times: (Note: again, the Al-Hijri – Islamic Calendar app recommended by ChatGPT couldn't be found. But the one I chose seems to represent the calendar style.) Hijri Calendar "displays the Hijri and Gregorian calendars; compatible with Umm Al-Qura calendar; conversion from Gregorian to Hijri or vice versa; add, edit, delete calendar events; move between months by swiping left or right; calculate the difference between two dates in Hijri or Gregorian calendars." Zabihah – ChatGPT describes this app as helping "you find Halal restaurants, groceries, and stores nearby." The developer says, "Zabihah lets you find halal places and prayer spaces near you or around the world … We pioneered halal search with the ability to browse over 50,000 halal restaurants and markets around the world … Our unique service guides you to the nearest mosque, musallah, or restaurant with available prayer space. Works anywhere in the world." The ChatGPT list may not be perfect, but it does manage to point one in the right direction for a variety of apps, each with a different emphasis. Even if you're not Muslim, some of these apps offer what seems to me to be a pretty good introduction to Islam. If you use an app you'd like to share with others, let me know at steve.benoff@verizon.net. THERE'S AN APP FOR THAT! exploring apps for Muslims

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