Read the Quran Word by Word

What word by word means here

Most Quran translations give you a whole ayah in one block of English. That is useful, but it hides which Arabic word carried which idea.

So on every page here each Arabic word sits directly above its own English meaning. Read a few pages and common words start to stick without you studying them on purpose.

There is a transliteration under each ayah too, which spells the Arabic sounds using English letters. You can follow along even if you cannot read the Arabic script yet.

Audio for every word

Tap a single word to hear just that word. Tap the play button on an ayah to hear the whole ayah, recited by Mishary Rashid Alafasy.

You can also play a surah straight through, and the page follows the recitation as it moves from ayah to ayah.

Explanations in plain English

A translation often leaves you wondering why an ayah says what it says.

So every ayah carries a short explanation written for beginners. These are simplified from three well-known tafsirs, which are scholarly commentaries on the Quran: Tafsir Ibn Kathir, Ma'arif al-Quran by Mufti Muhammad Shafi, and Tazkirul Quran by Maulana Wahiduddin Khan.

If you want more depth, the full Ibn Kathir commentary for any ayah is one tap away.

Where to start

Surah Al-Fatihah is the usual first stop. It is only seven ayahs long, and it is recited in every prayer, so it is the passage Muslims say most often. (Sahih Muslim 777)

Surah Al-Mulk has 30 ayahs and Surah Al-Ikhlas has 4, so both are short enough to finish in one sitting.

If you would rather read by theme than by chapter, the thematic collections group ayahs by topic, including patience, mercy and dua (supplication).

Do I need an account?

No. Every surah, translation, word audio and explanation is free to read without signing in.

An account only adds saved favourites, the ayah you stopped reading at, and a personal vocabulary list.