Ali Huda is a multilingual Muslim kids app that is user friendly, entertaining as well as educational. In short it is a safe haven for every Muslim family. Kids will learn to love their deen in a relaxed, ad free setting. No need to fret about inconvenient pop ups and no sudden disruptions.
It is worth mentioning as well that it is a goodwill project. 10 percent from its profits go to orphans in need. It is a charity based in the UK but operating globally.
But how did Ali Huda come to life? Who is the founder?
Muslim Netflix?
Maruf, father of 3 kids, says that his children are growing up on YouTube, watching hours of videos. As a parent, his worry stems from the lack of control over what his children watch and what they are exposed to via ads.
Unlike his parents and unlike all of our parents, children in today’s day and age most likely do not read as many books, and rather learn from the interactive medium of videos.
“It’s this world of trending technology that we can’t fight – and neither should we, he says. Instead, Maruf wants to use this to the benefit of Muslim parents. Imagine there was an app similar to YouTube or Netflix, where kids can watch entertaining videos and learn new things based on core Islamic values?”
Ali Huda Content & Layout
The app is divided into the following sections: Exclusives, Quran and Arabic, Prophets and Messengers, Free Videos, Songs and Nasheeds, No Music, English, Arabic, Malay, French, Urdu, Non Dialogue, Islamic TV Channels, Science and Craft, Travel and Outdoors and different Age Range groupings. Basically, it caters to kids from 2-12.
Some featured shows are Saladin, The Azharis, Misri Bunch, Hafiz & Hafizah, A Drop of Wisdom, Happy Ummah, Read Quran for kids, Aya & Yusuf, etc.
Basically, the content is available in diverse languages to reach out globally. As well as in the form of entertaining nasheeds and rhymes with a moral such as Happy Ummah and Misri Bunch.
Teaching the Quran in a simplified way in Read Quran and more advanced for the older ones in Maryam Masud’s own show A Drop of Wisdom.
It also has a touch of history in the form of series such as Saladin. Surprise, Ali and Huda even have their own show! Ali & Huda 1001 Adventures where they take us back in time to the Islamic Golden Age.
The app also sheds light, through the series Aya and Yusuf, on the importance of celebrating family values as well as reaching out to the community while protecting the environment and embracing Allah’s creations.
My Family’s Feedback
Some shows were high quality when it came to graphics, as well as entertaining and catchy in their content. My kids enjoyed these specifically.
My daughter Mariam, 12, says:
“Ali Huda is a nice app that is very well made, and easy to use. It has many things to watch, and all have a very good insertion of Islam in them. My favourite show is Saladin. However, in some of its other animations, there are a lot of unnecessary noises, and it doesn’t get to the point. It could be improved in that section.”
My son Omar, 9, adds:
“The thing I like in Ali Huda app is the Azharis. My favorite part is the Azharis Nasheed Rabbi Zidni Ilma. I also like Misri Bunch”
Personally, and in a nutshell, Ali Huda App is an excellent resource and alternative for Muslim kids around the world. I personally felt at ease when I left my son watching it knowing I Ieft him in safe hands. Any parent would want their kids to stay away from inappropriate and meaningless content. This I believe is Ali Huda’s strongest feature.
On the other hand, with some more content catered to the older ones and improvement in the quality of some of the graphics and features, it could reach its full potential.
Last but not least, I was both surprised and sad that no one amongst the acquaintances and friends I reached out to in the US had heard about Ali Huda, which is indeed frustrating, as so many would benefit from it.
Perhaps a suggestion would be to gather ‘Ali Huda volunteers’ in some parts of the world to reach out and spread the word.