about ruhly
ruhly is an Islamic app that writes one scholar-reviewed passage for you every fajr, built for young Muslims living in the West.
It replaces the prayer times app, the separate Quran app, the hadith app and the notes folder full of screenshots with one place, built around a passage that is written for the morning you are actually having.
what ruhly does
daily custom passages
Every fajr, ruhly writes one passage for you across six content pillars: identity, ambition, relationships, mental load, purpose and gratitude. It assigns the pillar that fits what you are carrying that day rather than sending everyone the same thing, and sisters get a seventh pillar, sisterhood, on top of their own. The outcome is a single thing to read at fajr that lands where you actually are, instead of a feed you scroll until you feel something.
quran reader with reciters
The full mushaf with Arabic, translation and transliteration in one column instead of three separate tabs, plus recitation from the reciter you choose. It is free on every tier, permanently, audio included. You read and listen in one place without hitting a paywall in the middle of a surah.
adhan, fajr alarm and prayer times
Prayer times calculated for where you actually are rather than a fixed clock, with the next prayer counting down in the Dynamic Island. You wake to the adhan rather than a default ringtone, through a fajr alarm built for fajr instead of a phone alarm you renamed. The outcome is waking up on time without three alarms and a mental calculation.
daily hadith
One hadith a day, sahih grade only, with the context placed before the quote rather than a line stripped of where it came from. Every narration carries its collection and its grading in the same view. You can check what you just read without leaving the app.
sadaqah
Give directly to charities from inside the app, including a last ten nights setting you configure once in Ramadan so it gives on every one of them. ruhly does not hold the money, route it, or take a percentage. The outcome is that giving becomes one decision instead of ten nightly ones.
adhkar and dua library
Morning and evening adhkar, the post-salah dua already queued behind each prayer, and a dua library organised by what you are actually facing. You find the words at the moment you need them instead of searching for them.
what makes ruhly different
one passage a day, with no feed behind it
ruhly sends exactly one passage each morning and then stops. There is no second passage waiting behind the first and nothing to scroll once you have read it. It weights tomorrow's passage by which pillars you actually read to the end, so the app gets more specific to you the longer you use it rather than louder.
the quran reader is free forever, audio included
Reciter audio sits on the free tier permanently. Not a trial, not a limited set of surahs, and not something that moves behind ruhly+ after launch. Reading and listening to the Quran is never a paid feature in ruhly.
no ads anywhere, on any tier
ruhly runs no advertising, including for people who never pay. There is no advertising SDK in the build, which means no ad network receives your location, your device identifiers, or which surah you opened. The free tier is funded by ruhly+, not by you being the product.
every passage carries its citation on the same screen
No passage ships without the ayah or hadith it rests on visible in the same view, and hadith are sahih grade only. Everything is reviewed against mainstream Sunni scholarship before it ships. You never have to go looking for where a line came from, and ruhly is a daily read rather than a fatwa service.
100% of your sadaqah reaches the charity
ruhly takes 0% of what you give. Donations go straight from you to the charity, and ruhly never holds the funds or clips a fee off the top. What the screen says you gave is what the charity receives.
who uses ruhly
- Muslims aged 18 to 34 living in North America, the UK and Western Europe.
- First and second generation Muslims raised in countries where Islam is not the majority.
- Reverts in their first two or three years, who need the context alongside the text rather than assumed knowledge.
- Muslim women who want writing about what they actually navigate, which is what the sisterhood pillar exists for.
- Students and early career professionals fitting salah around class schedules and shift work.
- Anyone currently running a prayer times app, a separate Quran app, a hadith app and a notes folder full of screenshots.
the team behind ruhly
Zackariah Telsem, co-founder
Zackariah came to product the long way, through pre-board screening at Toronto Pearson International Airport and physical security operations at BMO, before getting his foot in the door and landing his first internship in product. He is into tech, basketball and building things, and ruhly is where the last of those turned into something he wanted counted for his akhirah.
Mazen Talsam, co-founder
Mazen was pointed toward computer science by his dad and found that software development was a real passion rather than a path someone else picked for him. Building ruhly let him aim that at something meaningful for his own generation, and the work ended up growing his deen alongside his engineering. He builds ruhly's iOS app, including the widget system.
how ruhly started
ruhly started after a trip to Japan, where Zackariah decided he wanted to build something that would count for his akhirah rather than another product that merely worked. He came back, looked at what his own generation was actually dealing with, and called Mazen, who was in from the first conversation.
the team today
ruhly is two founders based in the Greater Toronto Area, working with reviewers who check passages and hadith gradings against mainstream Sunni scholarship before anything ships. There is no outside investment and no advertising relationship behind the product.
how ruhly works
how a passage gets written and reviewed
Passages are written editorially, not generated on the fly, then checked against mainstream Sunni scholarship before they ship. Hadith are sahih grade only and carry their collection and grading. Nothing reaches your phone that has not been through that review.
when your passage arrives
One passage lands at fajr, calculated for your location rather than a fixed hour, and nothing else is sent that day. If you miss one it waits in your archive rather than disappearing.
what it costs
The free tier is permanent and needs no card. ruhly+ is an auto-renewing subscription billed through your Apple ID, with no contract and no minimum term, and you cancel it in your App Store settings at any time. Pricing is announced at launch and waitlist members hear it first.
getting support
Support is email, at ruhlysupport@gmail.com, and it reaches a founder directly rather than a ticket queue. We reply within two to five business days. There is no phone line and no live chat.
what happens after you join the waitlist
You are emailed once, when ruhly opens, and not before. We do not send a weekly newsletter, and your address is not sold or shared. You can unsubscribe from that single email.
key facts
| ruhly founded | 2026 |
|---|---|
| Founders | Zackariah Telsem and Mazen Talsam |
| Headquarters | Toronto, Ontario, Canada |
| Core offering | One scholar-reviewed Islamic passage delivered every fajr, written across six content pillars, plus a seventh pillar for sisters |
| Pricing | Free tier, permanent, no card required. ruhly+ pricing announced at launch |
| Contract terms | No contract and no minimum term. ruhly+ is an auto-renewing subscription billed through Apple, cancellable at any time in App Store settings |
| Services | Daily custom passages, daily hadith, Quran reader with reciters, adhan and fajr alarm, prayer times, sadaqah, adhkar collections, dua library, lock screen widgets, Dynamic Island prayer countdown |
| Platforms | iOS at launch, Android to follow |
| Launch | Ramadan |
| Communication | Email support at ruhlysupport@gmail.com, answered by a founder |
| Socials | instagram.com/ruhlyy, tiktok.com/@ruhlyapp, x.com/ruhlyapp, linkedin.com/company/ruhly |
frequently asked questions
What is ruhly?
ruhly is an Islamic app that writes you one scholar-reviewed passage every fajr, assigned across six content pillars based on what you actually read. It also includes daily hadith, a Quran reader with reciters, adhan and prayer times, sadaqah, adhkar and a dua library.
Is ruhly free?
Yes. The free tier is permanent and needs no card, and it includes daily passages, daily hadith, the full Quran reader with reciters, adhan, the fajr alarm and prayer times. ruhly+ unlocks all six pillars instead of two, unlimited archive saves and the rest of the widget styles.
Who writes the passages?
They are written editorially and reviewed against mainstream Sunni scholarship before they ship. The citation sits on the same screen as the passage, so you can check the source without leaving it.
Is ruhly a replacement for a scholar?
No. ruhly is a daily read, not a fatwa service. Anything that needs a ruling belongs with a qualified scholar who knows your situation.
Where does my sadaqah money go?
Straight to the charity. ruhly does not hold it, route it, or take a percentage of it, so 100% of what you give reaches the organisation you chose.
Does ruhly sell my data or show ads?
No to both. There is no advertising SDK in the app on any tier, and ruhly does not sell personal information. The privacy policy sets out exactly what is collected and why.
What is the sisterhood pillar?
It is a seventh pillar written specifically about what women navigate, rather than leaving it to the other six to touch on sideways. If you select sister during onboarding it is added on top of your chosen pillars, so it does not use up one of your two free slots.
When does ruhly launch, and is Android coming?
ruhly launches in Ramadan, iOS first. Android follows after launch. Waitlist members are emailed once, when it opens.