Tadabbur vs Critica
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Tadabbur
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Tadabbur - تَدَبُّر - means to reflect deeply on the words of Allah. This app is built around that intention. Listen to the Quran recited by some of the most beloved reciters in the world, and after each āyah, hear its English meaning read aloud. Verse by verse, recitation followed by translation - so you can absorb what you're hearing without pausing, without looking down, without breaking the flow of tilāwah. Whether you're commuting, walking, or sitting in reflection, Tadabbur lets you engage with the Quran the way it deserves - with both the ear and the mind. Features: - Verse-by-verse audio: Arabic recitation then English translation - A selection of world-renowned reciters - Full Arabic text in the Uthmani script alongside the Sahih International translation - Download surahs for offline listening - ideal for travel or areas with no signal - Lock screen and earphone controls for hands-free listening - Search across all 114 surahs, reciters, and verses No ads, no account, and completely free - just download and start listening.
Critica
This app provides critical annotations for Islamic texts, including the Quran, Hadith, Sira, Fiqh, and Tafsir. It flags and explains issues like violence, misogyny, and historical errors, citing specific sources for verification. Designed for readers seeking a deeper, critical understanding of Islamic tradition.
- Annotated Quran (Meccan/Medinan)
- Six Sunni & Twelver Shia Hadith collections
- Event-based biography of Muhammad (Sira)
- Classical jurisprudence (Fiqh) on contested topics
- Major classical Tafsir commentaries
- Source citation for every claim
- Filterable flags for critical issues
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Critica is a critical-edition reference covering the full primary sourcebase of Islam across five tabs: • QURAN — All 114 surahs, grouped Meccan / Medinan, with section-by-section annotations. • HADITH — The six Sunni books (Bukhari, Muslim, Abu Dawud, Tirmidhi, Nasa'i, Ibn Majah) and the Twelver Shia al-Kafi, with the most consequential and most-cited narrations. • SIRA — Muhammad's biography by event cluster — Mecca, Hijra, Badr, Uhud, the Jewish-tribe encounters, Khaybar, the conquest of Mecca, the Farewell Sermon. • FIQH — Classical jurisprudence on contested topics across the four Sunni madhabs (Hanafi, Maliki, Shafi'i, Hanbali) and the Twelver Ja'fari school: apostasy, marriage age, hudud, polygamy, jizya, FGM, and more. • TAFSIR — Major classical exegetes (Tabari, Ibn Kathir, Qurtubi, Razi, Tabarsi, Zamakhshari) with their distinctive readings of famous verses. Every flag is sourced. Each section cites a specific ayah (Q surah:verse), a hadith number (Bukhari 5134), a sira page (Ibn Hisham 2:240), or a madhab manual (al-Mughni 9:486) so a curious reader can verify the claim in any translation. The eleven flag categories: • Violence • Misogyny • Slavery • Hostility to unbelievers • Anti-LGBTQ teaching • Harm to children • Scientific errors • Historical errors • Contradictions • Moral problems • Logical issues Filter by flag to focus on one kind of issue at a time. Tap any flag to expand its full annotation. The reading level is middle-school to high-school. The tone is editorial, not polemical — the reader assumed throughout is someone who was told the tradition was perfect and noticed otherwise, and wants substantive engagement with what mainstream critical scholarship has actually said. SOURCES Patricia Crone, Michael Cook, John Wansbrough, Gerd-R. Puin, Christoph Luxenberg, Tom Holland, Robert G. Hoyland, Fred Donner, Joseph Schacht, G.H.A. Juynboll, Ignaz Goldziher, Jonathan Brown, Wael Hallaq, Ibn Warraq, and the Skeptic's Annotated Quran. Classical sources cited directly include the Six Books of Sunni hadith, al-Kafi, Ibn Hisham's recension of Ibn Ishaq, al-Tabari's history, and the classical tafsirs of Tabari, Ibn Kathir, Qurtubi, Razi, Tabarsi, and Zamakhshari. Critica is the Islamic-tradition companion to Decanon (the same critical-edition treatment applied to the Protestant Bible).
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Tadabbur at none against Critica's 1. Tadabbur also leads on iOS requirement (15.1 vs 17.0). On price, ads and device support there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Both are free to download. Critica sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Tadabbur asks for nothing beyond the download.
| Parameter | Tadabbur | Critica |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | — | 5.0 (1 ratings) — better |
| Number of ratings | — | 1 — better |
| Update frequency | — | Monthly |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | — | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 15.1 — better | 17.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 36 MB | 19 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 17+ |
| Developer | Abrar Rashid | OMAR DANIEL GRAZIANO |
In-app purchases
Tadabbur
No in-app purchases
Critica
- Full Access$9.99









