Prayer trackers and zakat calculators offered on apps to help residents observe holy month

Technology is reshaping how Ramadan is observed, with UAE residents increasingly using mobile apps dedicated to helping Muslims during the holy month.

The free-to-use apps, available through App Store and Google Play, offer a contemporary approach so Muslims’ Islamic duties thrive in the digital age.

Uzma Harun, 24, a British-Pakistani said she uses the Pillars application, which helps her track her mandatory five daily and voluntary prayers.

The app has more than 100,000 downloads on Google Play and a 4.5-star rating.

On the App Store, it has a rating of 4.8.

“They also have a handy feature to help me keep track of the days I’ve missed fasting because of menstruation and then remind me that I have X number of days to make up,” she said.

“They have a little tick box that I can click on every time I’ve made it up.”

Ms Harun, who is studying to be a lawyer, said she used the Quran Majeed app last year which had verses from the holy book that Muslims can recite throughout the day.

It also has an alarm that rings when it is time for prayer.

“I don’t have it this year because of phone storage,” she said. “Instead, I use a website which shows me the Arabic and an easier tafsir I need. It’s called Quran.com.”

An app that Ms Harun had hoped to download and use this year was a Quran journaling tool that would help her write down lessons from certain verses.

Pakistani resident Dr Javairia Hassan, 33, said she uses apps such as Islam360, Muslim Pro and Athan to help her in observing Ramadan.

“We, being Muslims, use these apps frequently to be aware about prayer timings and to read and recite the Quran,” she said.

Islam360 is an app that offers a variety of features, including learning the Quran, a prayer tracker and a tasbeeh tracker for dhikr.

The app has more than 10 million downloads on Google Play, with a 4.5-star rating and a 4.8 rating on the App Store.

Muslim Pro has similar features but it includes an AI-powered chatbot, called AiDeen, which helps users get real-time information about Islam.

The chatbot answers questions based on the Quran and hadiths.

It has a guide to Hajj and Umrah. Umrah is an optional pilgrimage to Makkah, the birthplace of the Prophet Mohammed in Saudi Arabia, that can be done at any time, unlike Hajj, which has specific dates.

The app also features a calculator for zakat, one of the five pillars of Islam that requires Muslims above a certain financial threshold to donate 2.5 per cent of their wealth.

Zakat, which means to purify or to cleanse, can be given at home or abroad and is used for charitable acts.

Muslim Pro has more than 100 million downloads on Google Play, with a 4.1 rating. It is also available on the App Store.

Fasting is one of the five pillars of Islam and is mandatory for all Muslims who are in good health.