Sebak
The App
What is Sebak?
Sebak is an iPhone app for learning the Quran a few verses a day. Each daily lesson, a sebak, has four steps: listen to the recitation, read the translation of the meanings, recite aloud while the listening teacher follows, and seal the lesson. Sebak is made by Commercium Limited in London.
What does “sebak” mean?
A sebak is the daily lesson a Quran teacher gives: a few new lines that the student learns and recites aloud to the teacher. The word comes from the Arabic sabaq, “lesson”, and is used in Turkey and, as sabaq, across South Asia.
Who is Sebak for?
For anyone who wants to learn the Quran step by step: beginners who are learning to read Arabic letters, adults returning to the Quran, and families learning together. Coloured letters show where every Arabic letter begins.
What does the daily path teach?
The path follows the traditional Quran course: Al-Fatiha, then the short surahs read in prayer, then Ayat al-Kursi.
Does Sebak replace a Quran teacher?
No. The listening teacher compares your recitation with the text, but a human teacher hears what no model can. If you can learn with a teacher, do. Sebak is for the days in between, and for everyone who has no teacher nearby yet.
Where can I get Sebak?
Sebak is coming soon to the App Store for iPhone.
Sources
Where does the Arabic text come from?
From the Tanzil Quran Text (Uthmani, version 1.1) by the Tanzil Project, licensed CC BY 3.0. Sebak shows it without changing a single letter.
Which translations of the meanings does Sebak use?
For each of its 55 languages, Sebak quotes one translation exactly as published on QuranEnc.com, with its translator and version written under the verse. In English it is the translation of the Rowwad Translation Center.
Does AI write or translate any of the Quran in Sebak?
No. No AI writes, translates, summarises or explains a single word. The only model in Sebak is the speech model of the listening teacher, which compares your recitation with the text and never produces any.
Whose recitation is in Sebak?
Sheikh Mahmoud Khalil Al-Husary's murattal recitation, from quranicaudio.com, with word timings from Quran.com. Every verse was checked against the text.
Which school of thought does Sebak follow?
Sebak is prepared in the way of Ahl al-Sunnah wal-Jama'ah, and its sources were chosen with that care.
What if I find a mistake?
Write to support@thecommercium.com with the surah, the verse and the language. We check it against the source and correct Sebak if it differs. We never correct the source itself.
Using Sebak
How does the listening teacher work?
Tap the microphone and recite the verse aloud. A speech model on your iPhone compares what it hears with the text and marks the words to try again. Tap a marked word to hear it recited.
Is my recitation recorded or uploaded?
No. Your voice is processed on your iPhone and discarded. It is never saved to a server or sent to anyone.
Does Sebak work offline?
Yes. Once the speech model has been downloaded, the listening teacher works without a connection.
Which languages does Sebak speak?
55 languages, each with its own translation of the meanings, among them English, Arabic, Urdu, Hindi, Indonesian, Turkish, Persian, French, German, Spanish, Dutch, Bosnian, Albanian, Swahili, Hausa, Somali, Chinese and Japanese.
Is there a home screen widget?
Yes. Today's sebak, the surah and its verses, waits on your home screen in ivory lace on black velvet.
Free, subscription and family
What is free in Sebak?
The whole Quran in the Read tab, the translations of the meanings and the recitation are free for everyone.
What does the subscription include?
The listening teacher and the daily path of sebaks. The subscription is monthly or yearly, and prices are shown in the App before you buy.
Can my family share one subscription?
Yes. With Apple's Family Sharing, one subscription opens the listening teacher and the daily path for everyone in your iCloud family group, up to six people, at no extra cost. Each person keeps their own progress.
Do I need an account?
No. Sebak has no sign-up. Your progress and notes stay on your iPhone.
Still have a question?
Write to support@thecommercium.com. We answer every message.