I'm not a native Arabic speaker. I grew up learning to read Quranic Arabic, but full comprehension has always been a gap — especially in Taraweeh, standing in prayer while ayahs I only half-understand wash over me. I knew something profound was being said. I just couldn't fully reach it.
The vision came gradually. Imagine mixed reality glasses that could show you a live translation of exactly what the imam is reciting — right in front of your eyes, without pulling you out of the experience of prayer. A technology that doesn't compete with the sacred moment, but quietly deepens it.
That future isn't here yet. But last year, with the AI tools now available, I realised I could build the first step toward it on my own. No team, no funding — just a year-long idea and the determination to ship something real.
So I built Rawi.
I called it Rawi راوي — Arabic for narrator. In Islamic scholarship, a rawi is the transmitter who carries knowledge from teacher to student across generations, preserving every word with precision and care. The entire Quran was memorised and passed down through rawis for centuries before a single letter was ever printed.
That felt like the right name. Rawi doesn't replace the human connection to the Quran — it acts as your personal narrator, passing the ayah from the recitation to your hands, so you can carry it forward yourself.