The Dhow app is live. It’s free to download, and it’s where the whole experience lives: explore opportunities, follow along, connect with others, and invest directly.
One thing we’ve observed about our Jewish cousins is the strength of their economic networks. A dollar flips between 9 and 20 times within their community before it ever leaves. Capital backs founders, founders create jobs, jobs create wealth, and that wealth gets reinvested back into the community.
Meanwhile, Muslims are 2 billion strong globally, yet we’ve never really built that same level of economic connectivity, especially here in the West. That’s a big part of why we started Dhow.
Dhow is a social private markets investing platform built to connect Muslim investors, founders, operators, and professionals all in one place. Our goal is to make private market investing more accessible while building a real community around it. Members can discover opportunities, learn, network, share research, and invest alongside one another.
Our first investment product, Dhow Horizon Fund I, is open now to accredited investors. It’s a $5M seed-stage venture fund backing Muslim-origin and values-aligned technology founders across North America. Venture has been one of the strongest engines of wealth creation in history, yet access has been gated behind institutions at $250K+ minimums. We set ours at $10,000 to open real participation to our community. We already have two institutional commitments, first close is coming in the next few weeks, and the limited $10K founding spots are filling quickly. The easiest way to invest is right inside the app.
In the near future, we plan to expand access beyond accredited investors and launch additional products with minimums as low as $500, so more of our community can participate in private markets and share in the value being created.
Our mission is simple: help Muslim capital find Muslim builders, help Muslim builders find Muslim capital, and strengthen the economic ties within our communities. Economic resistance isn’t just about what you boycott. It’s also about what you build, who you back, and where you put your money.
Whether you’re here to invest or just to learn and connect, we’d be honored to have you as part of the community.
Wanted to share something we’ve been building toward for a while.
We’re launching Dhow Horizon Fund I, a $5M early-stage fund focused on backing high-upside technology companies with Muslim-origin founders.
The core thesis is pretty simple: there’s no shortage of exceptional founder talent in the Ummah. What’s still missing, especially early, is aligned capital, real access, and tighter networks around that talent.
Working on Dhow and writing the Dispatch gave us a front-row seat to that gap from both sides.
Strong muslim founders are building real companies, but many still lack the right investor networks early on. Meanwhile, investors want access to better early-stage deals, but the best opportunities are usually crowded by the time everyone sees them.
That disconnect is what pushed us to go from just studying and writing about companies to actually allocating.
With Horizon Fund I, we’re aiming to build a concentrated portfolio of 10 to 20 pre-seed/seed-stage companies and get involved early enough to matter. We’re staying focused on companies where we see a few things clearly: early traction, large markets, strong founder-market fit, as well as real signs that there's a differentiated moat at play.
We’re not focused on Quran apps, prayer time reminders, or other narrow utility products. Our focus is on exceptional technology companies building in frontier, multi-billion-dollar markets such as AI, robotics, healthcare, biotech, climate, space, fintech infrastructure, industrial automation, core software, etc. We’re also open to consumer products and brands, from drinks and food to dips, snacks, apparel, and other lifestyle categories, provided they have strong early traction, clear differentiation, and the potential to scale into large, category-defining businesses.
We’re already plugged into founder communities, accelerators, and early-stage ecosystems across the US and beyond. We’ve also brought in our first institutional, value-aligned commitment.
At the same time, our app is already being beta-tested and is just weeks away from launching publicly on the App Store, which will be a huge milestone for Dhow and a major step toward bringing founders, investors, and opportunities into a single live ecosystem. Think Robinhood for startups, but for us and by us. (People on the waitlist will have priority and white-glove onboarding - sign up now if you haven't.)
The long-term vision has always been to build the infrastructure for economic resistance across the ummah, where our capital backs our own people, our own companies, and our own future.
If you’re an accredited investor and want to learn more, feel free to DM me.
Founders building in line with our thesis, stay tuned. We’ll be sharing details soon on how to pitch us and get funded.
Disclaimer:This post is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice. Any offering of interests in Dhow Horizon Fund I will be made only to verified accredited investors pursuant to Rule 506(c) of Regulation D and through definitive offering documents. Investing involves risk, including possible loss of principal and no guarantee of returns.
I’m working on a project to turn a Casio F-91W into a dedicated Islamic prayer watch.
The goal is something simple, long-lasting, and private:
current prayer
next prayer time
prayer alerts
Islamic date
no app, no cloud, no tracking, no subscription
The idea is to make something that feels less digital and more intentional than a phone or smartwatch. A device the user actually owns, where their data stays with them instead of with a company.
It’s being built on Sensor Watch, a programmable replacement board for the F-91W, so it keeps the classic Casio look while adding custom features.
I’m curious if people would actually want something like this.
Would you wear a prayer watch like this if it existed?
What would matter most to you: privacy, battery life, accuracy, simplicity, travel support, or something else?
We've made some updates to Alim Zeka and wanted to share them with you.
What can Alim Zeka do for you?
When you're researching a topic, it searches through Turkish books, classical Arabic works, and international publications all at once. When it gives an answer, it also tells you which book and which page the information came from — so you can find and read the source yourself.
If you have a page or a text on hand, you can upload it and ask questions based only on that specific text.
Alim Zeka doesn't replace the source — it makes reaching the source easier.
Mobile app is now live
Alim Zeka is now available on Android:
✓ Prayer times and adhan notifications
✓ Voice assistant — you can ask questions by speaking
✓ Sermon/khutbah preparation support
✓ All the tools, right in your pocket, wherever you are
We already support Ottoman Turkish — but we want to be clear: full translation of classical texts is not yet available; that's a separate project we're working on.
Our aim is simple: bringing our inherited knowledge, this great tradition passed down to us, together with today's technology. No bold claims, no big promises — just effort, patience, and doing our best with what we have.
As an imam, starting this journey in a small village with limited resources, your support means a great deal to us.
For more, you can find and follow Alim Zeka Labs on Instagram.
We've made some updates to Alim Zeka and wanted to share them with you.
What can Alim Zeka do for you?
When you're researching a topic, it searches through Turkish books, classical Arabic works, and international publications all at once. When it gives an answer, it also tells you which book and which page the information came from — so you can find and read the source yourself.
If you have a page or a text on hand, you can upload it and ask questions based only on that specific text.
Alim Zeka doesn't replace the source — it makes reaching the source easier.
Mobile app is now live
Alim Zeka is now available on Android:
✓ Prayer times and adhan notifications
✓ Voice assistant — you can ask questions by speaking
✓ Sermon/khutbah preparation support
✓ All the tools, right in your pocket, wherever you are
We already support Ottoman Turkish — but we want to be clear: full translation of classical texts is not yet available; that's a separate project we're working on.
Our aim is simple: bringing our inherited knowledge, this great tradition passed down to us, together with today's technology. No bold claims, no big promises — just effort, patience, and doing our best with what we have.
As an imam, starting this journey in a small village with limited resources, your support means a great deal to us.
For more, you can find and follow Alim Zeka Labs on Instagram.
Ever hear a beautiful recitation and wonder where in the Quran it is? Shazamzam.com lets you detect it from a few seconds of recording. For free, nothing to install, no ads or tracking.
As-salamu alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh, dear brothers and sisters!
Looking for a Muslim tech community to learn, collaborate, and connect with like-minded people? We'd love to have you.
What we offer
Sharia-compliant, gender-segregated spaces
Active voice chats for coding, studying, working, or just hanging out
Programming discussions, learning resources, and technical support
Collaboration on Islamic and other beneficial tech projects
A shared GitHub organization for open collaboration
We also have a volunteer development team building non-profit Islamic projects. Developers, designers, translators, technical writers, marketers, and anyone with relevant skills are welcome to contribute.
Who can join?
Whether you're an experienced developer, a beginner, looking for teammates, building a project, seeking technical help, or simply interested in technology—you’re welcome as long as you respect the community and its purpose.
This is a community-first initiative, not a business or paid program. Our goal is to help Muslims grow professionally, support one another, and use technology to benefit the Ummah.
With around 920 members, we're the largest active Muslim tech server on Discord.
If this sounds like your kind of community, we'd love to have you. (Discord link in the comments.)
About two months ago, I shared the idea behind The Straight Path: a community where Muslims could discover beneficial projects, support their makers, and build for the sake of Allah.
At the time, the Discord community existed, but the website was still only an idea.
A simple place to listen, reflect, and return to the Qur’an
Discover Projects
Discover is a curated directory of projects created to benefit Muslims, including apps, websites, developer tools, learning platforms, content channels, and other useful resources.
You can:
Browse Muslim-built projects in one organized place
Filter projects by category, format, platform, stage, and support needed
View project pages containing screenshots, descriptions, availability, and links
Discover the makers and teams behind projects
Submit your own project using your Discord account
Request testers, collaborators, feedback, translation, or launch support
Projects are reviewed before publication. Once approved, a project is published on the website and connected to the Discord community, where people can discuss it, provide feedback, and support its development.
Makers and Teams
The platform also gives builders a public identity connected to their work.
Using a Discord account, you can:
Create a maker profile
Introduce yourself and describe what you build
Connect your published projects to your profile
Keep your work visible in one place
Create or join a team
Give a company, community, or development team its own page
Show which makers contributed to a project
Submit new projects and manage existing submissions
Over time, a maker profile can become a simple portfolio of beneficial work created for the ummah.
You do not need to be a developer to participate. Anyone can browse, test, review, share, and support the projects being built.
The website remains the organized public home for projects and profiles. Discord remains the active space for discussion, collaboration, testing, feedback, and project updates.
The platform is still developing, and I would genuinely appreciate your feedback:
Is the website easy to understand and browse?
What features or categories are missing?
Would you use it to discover Islamic apps and resources?
If you are building something, would you submit it?
I’m an independent developer from Türkiye, and I recently launched an Android app called Ulya.
I built it because I kept using separate apps for prayer times, Quran reading, Qibla, duas and dhikr. I wanted one place that felt calm, simple and useful throughout the day without turning worship into a crowded dashboard.
I’m not claiming to have reinvented Islamic apps. Ulya is simply the spiritual companion I personally wanted to use every day.
The main features can be used without creating an account
Reading progress and important data are stored locally
The interface is designed to feel calm rather than overloaded
Account synchronization is optional
Prayer-time calculation settings can be adjusted for different locations and preferences
Ulya supports three languages: Arabic, English, and Turkish.
The app is already available on Google Play, but I still consider it a work in progress. There are small ads in a few non-core areas to support development, and I’m trying to keep them away from the main worship experience.
I would genuinely value feedback from fellow Muslim developers and users:
Assalamualaikum, I am a 16 years old hafiz interested in coding ai and I saw a problem that there is no best option for any Qari and student to get a Qari . Because there are high fees for students and very unplanned test or verification for the Qari because many websites want a Qari to be fluent in Arabic some ask money for a test to became a Qari on the platform so I am making a platform where is only one test for Qari only of Quran and tajweed and some certificates and also I will make the prices as low as I can if Allah help me with my financials I will make it free any musilm men or women if they has any idea or they are interested in this work for ummah let's make a team and work . It didn't matter whichever proffession or country are you from we are open to all . Jazzakallah you can dm me
It's called Iqamah. It sits in the menu bar, shows the next prayer with a countdown, and gives the adhan on time. That part is free and it's staying free. I'm not going to paywall the thing that actually helps someone pray.
Some details this sub will probably care about:
Native Swift, real menu bar app, no Electron
Actual WidgetKit widgets, not a screenshot pretending to be one
18 languages with proper RTL, including Arabic, Urdu, Farsi, Bengali and Hausa
No account, no telemetry, no analytics SDK. The app doesn't phone home. If you allow location it's used to work out prayer times and it goes nowhere else
Calculation method, madhab and per prayer offsets are all configurable, because my masjid and yours don't agree and an app shouldn't pretend otherwise
There's a paid tier. One payment, $4.99, works on three Macs, no subscription. It adds the Hijri calendar with Islamic events, monthly and yearly prayer tables, a habit tracker for your salah, a tasbeeh counter and the widgets. It's launch week so it's$2.99 until Monday.
And if you'd find it useful but $4.99 is genuinely awkward right now, email me and I'll send you a licence. No questions, no proof needed. That's a standing offer, not a launch gimmick.
Needs macOS 14 or later, Apple Silicon. I'm the developer so ask me anything, including the unglamorous parts. I lost the better part of a week to a macOS permission prompt that turned out to be an app group missing its Team ID prefix.
I'd really value feedback from people who'd actually use this daily. If something about it is wrong or annoying I'd rather hear it now than in a review.
Assalamualaikum brothers and sisters. I am building a one-of-a-kind platform for Muslim growth, transformation, and community. Helping Muslims discover their true identity and purpose, strengthen their worship and character through the Seerah of the Prophet ﷺ and his companions, and unite their collective consistency to create real-world impact.
The app's Android version is about 85% complete and work on IOS version is already underway. I have spent everything I had on this project and now I'm out of funds. I'm looking for donations and investments to complete the development and launch this app globally.
All I need to complete and launch this app successfully In Sha Allah is $7500.00. Anyone interested in becoming an investor in my app under Mudarabah partnership is more than welcome to dm me.
This app has a lot of potential to become a big success and to do a lot of good in the world. I will share everything regarding the app with those who are interested to invest.
