Commercial use of Qur'an audio & text via your CDN/API — educational app

hatimbarry

🇸🇦 Arabe
السلام عليكم ورحمة الله وبركاته،

فريق Islamic Network الكريم،

أنا ألفا حاتم باري، مسؤول منصة لتعليم القرآن الكريم واللغة العربية عبر الإنترنت (www.arabic-quran.com)، ونطوّر حاليًّا تطبيقًا للهواتف في مرحلة متقدّمة (قابل للتثبيت على أندرويد عبر رابط، ويمكننا تزويدكم به). أشكركم على خدمتكم القيّمة (API وCDN) لنصّ القرآن الكريم وتلاواته.

أرجو إفادتي: هل يجوز استخدام تلاوات القرآن الكريم ونصّه المتاحة عبر خدمتكم داخل تطبيقٍ يتضمّن ميزات مدفوعة (استخدام تجاري)؟ وما القُرّاء المسموح باستخدام تلاواتهم تجاريًّا؟ وما شروط النَّسْب والحدود إن وُجدت؟ مع التزامي بذكر المصدر وبجميع شروطكم.

وأنا رهن إشارتكم لأي معلومة. وأكون شاكرًا لموافقةٍ خطيّة. جزاكم الله خيرًا،
ألفا حاتم باري
www.arabic-quran.com · Alphahatim2000@gmail.com · واتساب ‎+1 619 714 9021

🇫🇷 Français
Assalâmu alaykum wa rahmatullâhi wa barakâtuh,

Chère équipe d'Islamic Network,

Je suis Alpha Hatim Barry, responsable d'une plateforme d'enseignement du Coran et de l'arabe en ligne (www.arabic-quran.com). Nous développons une application mobile à un stade avancé (installable sur Android via un lien, que nous pouvons vous fournir). Merci pour votre précieux service (API et CDN) pour le texte et les récitations du Coran.

Pourriez-vous me confirmer si les récitations et le texte du Coran fournis via votre service peuvent être utilisés dans une application comportant des fonctionnalités payantes (usage commercial) ? Quels récitateurs sont autorisés pour un usage commercial ? Quelles conditions d'attribution et limites éventuelles s'appliquent ? Je m'engage à créditer la source et à respecter toutes vos conditions.

Je reste à votre disposition. Un accord écrit me serait très utile. Qu'Allah vous récompense,
Alpha Hatim Barry
Site : www.arabic-quran.com · E-mail : Alphahatim2000@gmail.com · WhatsApp : +1 (619) 714-9021

🇬🇧 English
Assalāmu ʿalaykum wa raḥmatullāhi wa barakātuh,

Dear Islamic Network team,

My name is Alpha Hatim Barry, and I run an online platform for teaching the Qur'an and Arabic (www.arabic-quran.com). We are developing a mobile app at an advanced stage (installable on Android via a link, which we can provide). Thank you for your valuable API and CDN service for the Qur'an text and recitations.

Could you confirm whether the Qur'an recitations and text provided via your service may be used in an app that includes paid features (commercial use)? Which reciters are cleared for commercial use? What attribution requirements or limits apply? I commit to crediting the source and respecting all your conditions.

I remain at your disposal. A written confirmation would be greatly appreciated. May Allah reward you,
Alpha Hatim Barry
Website: www.arabic-quran.com · Email: Alphahatim2000@gmail.com · WhatsApp: +1 (619) 714-9021

gokboru

hatimbarry wa 3laykum salaam wa raḥmatullāhi ta'āla wa barakātuhu,

There is nothing stopping you from commercial usage according to our terms and conditions. Whilst the audio and text is public domain, the copyright still belongs to the translator and the reciter - they can choose to to contact you and ask you to remove it if they so wish.

Our advice is always to not gate content that is available for free behind a paid feature - that has so many moral and legal implications in Islam itself that it should be no-go territory. You can have other paid features, sure, but gating content available via the API and CDN behind a paywall is something that a copyright owner make take issue with (not sure this has ever happened, but that does not mean it cannot).

There are no attribution requirements from our side.

I hope this helps.

hatimbarry

Assalāmu ʿalaykum wa raḥmatullāhi wa barakātuh,

Thank you for your answer in thread 257 on commercial use, and for your answer to Nurafiq in thread 255 about bundling an Adhan. I would like to confirm that the same answer applies to me, because one detail differs: Nurafiq is completely free, and my app has paid features.

To be precise about where that line falls in my app (arabic-quran.com): reading the Qur'an, listening to every reciter, searching, and downloading for offline use are all free. Nothing that comes from your API or CDN sits behind the paywall. The paid features are only AI tools we generate and pay for ourselves — a tutor, pronunciation correction, and per-verse commentary. The Adhan would be a free feature too, never gated.

With that in mind:

May I bundle one Adhan file from your Download Adhans page inside the app package, so that it plays offline?
Are there files you would rather I use, or avoid?
Do you know who holds the rights to those recordings? If they are not yours, I would like to write to them as well before we publish.
I will credit Islamic Network / AlAdhan.com in the app's "Sources and Licences" screen either way.

JazākumAllāhu khayran,

Alpha Hatim Barry — arabic-quran.com

gokboru

hatimbarry Wa 3laykum salaam wa raḥmatullāhi wa barakātuh.

The same rule stands - there is no objection from our side if you bundle the files in - just make sure anyone wants to know can easily find out you are not putting them behind a paywall.

The mu'addhins who recited the adhans are likely the copyright owners, so you would need to contact them directly.

hatimbarry

Assalāmu ʿalaykum wa raḥmatullāhi wa barakātuh,

Thank you again for your answers on commercial use and on the Adhan. Your point that the mu'addhins are likely the copyright owners was exactly what I needed to hear before publishing rather than after, and I am now applying the same logic to the recitations.

You also asked me to make sure anyone can easily find out that I am not putting your files behind a paywall. That is now done: reading the Qur'an, listening to every reciter, search, offline download and the call to prayer are free in my app, and this is stated both in the app's "Sources and Licences" screen and inside the subscription window itself.

My app currently offers 20 reciters served from your CDN. Rather than assume anything, I would like to write to the right people myself. Could you tell me:

Which of the reciters on your CDN provided their recordings to you directly — personally, or through their estate or publisher?
For those, do you know what they agreed to: free redistribution generally, or specifically non-commercial redistribution?
Are there any you would advise me not to bundle in an app that has paid features elsewhere?
Even a partial answer would help a great deal. Knowing which names are settled and which I should approach directly is enough for me to act. I am happy to paste the full list of the 20 if that makes it easier to answer.

One last thing, in case you happen to know: three of my reciters are served from everyayah.com rather than your CDN. I understand that is outside your remit, but if you know who to ask there, I would be grateful for a pointer.

JazākumAllāhu khayran,

Alpha Hatim Barry — arabic-quran.com

hatimbarry

Assalam Alaykoum

gokboru

hatimbarry 3laykum salaam.

hatimbarry Which of the reciters on your CDN provided their recordings to you directly — personally, or through their estate or publisher?

Off the top of my head, Russian audio translations and audio has come from 1Muslim App directly. This is free general distriubtion, although you can write to them on https://1muslimapp.com/en/. Most of the other surah by surah audio files can be traced back to everyayah.com (even if that isn't where we originally got them from).

hatimbarry Are there any you would advise me not to bundle in an app that has paid features elsewhere?
No, as long as these are not behind a paywall, personally I don't think there is a problem.

Everyayah.com, I believe, is operated by the quran.com team served by Bunny CDN. You can reach out to them at https://quran.zendesk.com/hc/en-us.

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