VoiceOver Guide — Accessible Quran
المصحف الميسّر was built for VoiceOver from the ground up. Every feature — reading, listening, athkar, the daily wird, prayer times, and qibla — is meant to be reached and understood by ear. This guide walks through the gestures and actions available in each part of the app. Throughout, the names shown in «guillemets» are exactly what VoiceOver speaks, so you can recognize each action when you hear it.
Gestures that work everywhere
A few conventions are consistent across the whole app:
- Move between items with a one-finger swipe right or left, and activate the focused item with a double-tap.
- Magic Tap (a two-finger double-tap) plays or pauses the recitation in the Mushaf, in Listen, in Search, and in Bookmarks. In the athkar counter, the same gesture switches Direct-Touch mode on or off.
- The two-finger scrub (a quick back-and-forth, Z-shaped motion) closes the current screen or sheet.
- To reach an item's actions, swipe up or down on it with one finger; this opens its list of custom actions — for example, the actions on an ayah.
- When you close a sheet, focus returns to the control that opened it, so you never lose your place.
The Mushaf: reading
The Mushaf is the heart of the app. Swipe one finger to move through the page ayah by ayah. Each ayah carries a set of actions you reach by swiping up or down on it:
- «القراءة من هنا» starts continuous reading from that ayah, and «إيقاف القراءة» stops it.
- «التفسير» opens the interpretation of the ayah.
- «غريب الكلمات» opens the meanings of rare or difficult words, and appears only on ayahs that have such entries.
- «سبب النزول» shows the reason for the ayah's revelation, on the ayahs that have one.
- «تكرار» loops the recitation of the ayah, and «إيقاف التكرار» ends the loop.
- «الاستماع إلى السورة» plays the full surah, while «الاستماع من هنا» begins from that ayah.
- «إشارة مرجعية» saves your place, and «إزالة الإشارة المرجعية» removes it.
- «نسخ» copies the ayah's text, and «مشاركة» opens the share sheet.
A Magic Tap on the Mushaf plays the recitation of the focused ayah on its own — useful for checking a pronunciation — which is different from continuous listening.
Each ayah also carries extra information you can read through VoiceOver's rotor, under "more content": the surah and ayah number, the juz and hizb, the page and rub', a sajda note on the ayahs of prostration, and the reason for revelation where there is one.
The rotor offers seven ways to move quickly through the Mushaf: «السور»، «الأجزاء»، «الأحزاب»، «الأرباع»، «السجدات»، «آخر موضع»، and «علاماتي». Choosing an entry jumps you there and speaks its name.
Reading markers are optional stops woven into the page — surah, basmala, juz, hizb, rub', sajda, and reason of revelation — that read as headings, so you can swipe to them or jump to them from the rotor. On a surah or juz marker you will find a «مشاركة السورة» or «مشاركة الجزء» action.
To turn the page, swipe with three fingers — to the right for the next page, or to the left for the previous page. To change the text size, use the zoom gesture, which steps through four sizes. The toolbar title is itself a button, offering «الانتقال السريع» to open quick navigation, «مشاركة الصفحة» to share the current page, and a way to go to a specific page. The two-finger scrub closes the Mushaf.
Tafsir, rare words, and reason of revelation
These three sheets open from an ayah's actions. Each one offers a copy action — «نسخ التفسير»، «نسخ غريب الكلمات»، or «نسخ سبب النزول». The two-finger scrub closes the sheet.
The daily wird
The wird is a full-screen reader like the Mushaf, for your daily reading portion. It announces the boundaries of each reading session, and shows a completion screen when you finish today's portion. The two-finger scrub exits and returns focus to the wird banner on the home screen.
Listen
The Listen tab plays continuous recitation. A double-tap on the mini player bar opens the full player. In the full player, «سرعة التشغيل» is adjustable — swipe up or down to move through the speeds from 0.75 up to 1.5. You will also find «السورة السابقة» and «السورة التالية», and the two-finger scrub closes the player. A Magic Tap toggles play and pause and announces the new state, and «فتح في المصحف» opens the Mushaf at the position currently being recited.
Search
Swipe through the results, and double-tap a result to open that ayah in the Mushaf. A Magic Tap plays the result's ayah, and a «نسخ» action copies its text. The filters are adjustable controls you change by swiping up or down: the scope (the whole Quran, a chosen surah, or a chosen juz), the type of search, and the surah selection.
Bookmarks
In the Marks tab, swipe through your bookmarks and double-tap one to go to it; a Magic Tap plays its ayah, and you also have «نسخ» and «تعديل».
Athkar
The athkar counter has two modes. In the normal mode, the counter is a single item: double-tap to count, and use the «الذكر السابق» and «الذكر التالي» actions to browse without disturbing your count. A Magic Tap switches on Direct-Touch mode, and the two-finger scrub closes the counter.
In Direct-Touch mode, the whole surface responds to your touch. A single tap counts. Swipe left for the previous thikr, right to hear the remaining count, up for the total count, and down to hear the thikr itself. A two-finger swipe to the left copies the current thikr, and a two-finger single tap speaks its short name. A Magic Tap returns you to the normal mode.
Qibla
The qibla screen is a live compass. As you turn the device, VoiceOver speaks the direction. When you are aligned with the qibla, a gentle vibration and tone confirm it and VoiceOver announces «القبلة أمامك».
Prayer times
On the home screen, the prayer card shows the next prayer; a double-tap toggles between the prayer time and the remaining countdown, and the «عرض أوقات الصلاة للأيام القادمة» action opens the detailed view. In the detailed view, you choose the day with a selector you adjust by swiping up or down.
Settings
Many settings are adjustable controls you change by swiping up or down, and the notification sounds offer a sample you can preview before choosing.
المصحف الميسّر was built by a blind developer, for those who read and listen by ear. Take your time exploring it; every part was made to be reached with VoiceOver, and to stay out of the way of the Book itself.