Khatam Quran Tracker
Khatam Quran Tracker
A personal Quran reading tracker built for understanding, not just completion.
Why I built it
Most Quran apps help you find a verse. Far fewer help you finish the book.
Most Quran apps are reference tools - built for lookup, not completion. Dedicated Khatam trackers do exist, but they're designed around the physical Quran: logging pages offline, not reading digitally. The apps that do offer a Khatam feature either come with a paywall, or lack the things I actually wanted - dark mode, word-by-word recitation, and a tracker that adapts when life gets in the way. So I built my own.
How it came together
Three decisions that shaped the build
Three decisions shaped how reading actually happens day to day.
A target that adjusts with you
Missed a day or read ahead? The app recalculates what you need for subsequent days - compensating for missed sessions, or reducing the load after a productive one.
Word-by-word, not just verse-by-verse
Most apps let you play a full verse. But sometimes a verse is long and you just want to hear one word to check the pronunciation. Word-by-word recitation lets you zoom in without sitting through the whole thing.
Two modes for different intents
An early problem we faced: exploring a different surah would overwrite your khatam progress. Browse mode fixes that - open any surah freely without it affecting your journey.
See it in action
Work in progress - but it works
The Khatam Quran Tracker is live and accessible. It's still being refined, but the core reading and tracking experience is functional.
Set up your Khatam journey
Pick a deadline or a daily reading pace, and the app works out exactly how much to read each day.
What I learnt
The quietest builds sometimes carry the most weight
The hardest UX problems are about trust, not pixels
The counter fix changed no visuals but mattered more than any screen redesign. A number the user believes beats a technically correct number that surprises them.
Values belong in the smallest controls
Rest days is one toggle that says "this app forgives you." Small defaults - flowers over photos, rest over broken streaks - shape who feels welcome.
Symptom is not cause
Users reported "wrong word playing." Their theory pointed at tajweed symbols. The real cause: resumed verse audio after a word tap was louder than the word itself, so that's what you remembered. The user's report was right; their theory wasn't.
What's next
On the roadmap
Physical reader support
For those who prefer reading from a physical Quran, log the page you're on to keep your Khatam journey synced - no need to read digitally to track your progress.
Cleaner onboarding
The current first-run experience needs work. New users should be able to understand what the app offers and get started in seconds, without having to figure it out themselves.
Verse reflections
A way to save personal notes alongside bookmarks, so a khatam becomes a record of what the journey meant - not just that it happened.