I owned and used a Nokia 6310i cellphone for almost 5 years. It was perfect for its intended use which was talking and was built like a tank. It survived numerous falls and even worked after a cycle in my washer.

My cousin got the iPhone 3G when it first came out and showed me this (amazing) program called iQuran and I was sold immediately.

I already had a Quran MP3 player and even though these little devices were great to read and listen to the Quran, the iPhone is a lot better…

I finally decided to buy an iPhone 3G late last year and have Muslim-ized it!

This post will cover the excellent application iQuran and other cool features of the iPhone that will allow you to also Muslim-ize your phone. Also, everything mentioned here can also be done on the iPod Touch.

iQuran – Best Quran Program on a Portable Player. Period.

Photo by guidedways.com

iQuran can be found in the App Store of your iPhone. Just search for it and install it (there is both a free and a $9.99 paid version).

The coolest feature I like about this program is that you can easily scroll to any verse of a Surah with a touch of a finger.

If you want to go to verse 255 of Surah Baqara, you just have to put your finger on the left of the screen and move it down to 255. This is much easier than moving to a specific verse of a long Surah in my old Quran mp3 player.

You can read both Arabic and English in iQuran and can scroll easily by flicking your finger on the screen. I found this very intuitive and simple to use.

The default Quran reciter is Sheikh Husary but if you get the paid version, you can download audio from other famous Quran reciters like Abdul Basit, Ghamdi and my personal favorite, Mishary Al-Afasy.

Because of the easy-to-use and patented scrolling on the iPhone, you can easily choose any Chapter from the Quran when you go to the Index. This is far better than moving from one surah to another in old Quran MP3 players.

If you want me to talk more about iQuran, let me know in the comments and I’ll write another article just on this program.

iPray

Photo by guidedways.com

iPray comes from the same producers as iQuran. This is a simple program that can tell you the five daily prayer times for the city you live in. (It comes either in free version or a $2.99 paid version.)

You can also adjust your prayer calculation method and find out the Qibla direction of your selected city. (It is not a compass; it tells you how many degrees from North the Qibla should be.)

Quran MP3s from Websites

If your favorite Quran reciters are not available in iQuran and you want to listen to them, you can download their mp3s and place them into your iTunes library and then syncronize to your iPhone.

A great website to listen and download to reciters is IslamWay.com.

Muslim Podcasts

Photo from iTunes

A podcast is like a radio broadcast that you proactively subscribe to from iTunes. There are many Muslim Podcasts available that you can tune in to.

After subscribing to a podcast, new audio will automatically be downloaded and synchronized the next time you connect your iPhone to your computer.

Now, you can be listening to your favorite scholar or lecture series when you are on a bus or out jogging with your iPhone.

Watching Islamic Videos on YouTube

YouTube is accessible on your iPhone or iPod Touch by clicking the YouTube icon. From here, you can search for Islamic videos on the Internet’s biggest video collection.

Nasheeds from iTunes

Yusuf Islam page on iTunes

Many Nasheed artists like Yusuf Islam, Sami Yusuf and Shaam can all be found on iTunes. You can download and purchase their Nasheeds from iTunes and place them easily onto your iPhone.

It is a great Islamic alternative than other music that could be played on these devices.

Browse your favorite Muslim Websites on Safari

iPhone 3G and iPod Touch are both internet-enabled using WIFI and the new iPhone also have 3G internet. This means you can browse your favorite Muslim Websites on the built-in browser, Safari.

So you can type in www.muslimworker.com and easily read all the newest articles on there! ( Sorry, shameless promotion )

Learn Arabic

Some sample Arabic applications from the app store on iTunes

If you are interested in learning or improving your Arabic, there are both free and paid applications you can get from the iPhone app store.

Two that I have are “Arabic Word of the Day” ($0.99) and “MyWords – Arabic” ($9.99). These applications will allow you to learn basic Arabic vocabulary that can help you understand the root language of your religion.

Set Multiple Alarms to remind you of Prayer

The built-in application “Clock” has a nifty alarm feature that allows you to set multiple alarms and have each repeat on different days of the week.

So if it is easy for you to wake up every day for Fajr prayer except Sunday, you can set a special alarm that only goes off every Sunday at 5am. You can also choose what type of sounds to wake up too as well.

Any other ways?

I’ve given you a quick overview of how you can use your iPhone or iPod Touch to make you a better Muslim. If you know of other ways, please tell me in the comments below!

Related Posts:

1. 5 Muslim Video Alternatives to YouTube
2. Top Two Websites to Read and Listen to the Quran
3. 2 Classic Muslim Websites still going strong today
4. How To Muslim-ize your House Today

This post brought to you by Abu Nura Abu Nura is a blogger, entrepreneur, engineer and designer. He also started a publishing company, Gentle Breeze Books, with his wife, Umm Nura, author of an amazing chapter book series for kids called Jannah Jewels. Connect with me on Facebook and Twitter.

 

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