Zekr is a free and open-source desktop application for studying, browsing, and researching the Holy Quran. It was developed by Mohsen Saboorian and registered on SourceForge on January 10, 2005. After roughly a decade of active development, the project became unmaintained: the official website (zekr.org) expired around 2021, the last official release was published in July 2012, and the developer has not been active since. The project is licensed under the GNU General Public License v2.0 (GPLv2).
This repository serves as a community preservation resource. It provides the Windows 64-bit installer, Java Runtime Environment, Quran translation packs, and Arabic fonts needed to install and run Zekr on Windows, since the original project resources are scattered or unavailable.
Tested on: Windows 10 and Windows 11 (64-bit)
| Zekr 1.0.0 (Windows) | Zekr 0.7.1 (Linux) |
|---|---|
 |
 |
- Quran Text — Uses the highly verified digital Quran text provided by tanzil.net
- Advanced Search — Full-text search with Boolean operators, wildcards, fuzzy search, and scoped search across Quran and/or translations
- Root Search — Search through Quran Arabic roots and stems
- Multiple Translations — Display and compare multiple translations simultaneously
- Recitation (Audio) — Online and offline playback with multi-recitation support; play by aya or sura; repeat and pause controls; native media key support on Windows
- Bookmarks — Create, manage, import, and export bookmark sets; export to HTML
- Navigation — Browse by Sura, Juz, Hizb quarter, revelation order, or fixed aya count; advanced Go To dialog
- Themes — Multiple themes including the Uthman Taha calligraphy theme (uses
me_quranfont) - Transliteration — Built-in transliteration treated as a translation pack
- Printing — Print Quran pages with translations
- System Tray — Minimizes to system tray (where supported)
- Localization — Available in Arabic, Bosnian, Dutch, English, French, German, Indonesian, Malay, Persian, Russian, Spanish, Turkish, Urdu
- Cross-platform — Originally supported Windows, Linux, macOS, and BSD
| Version | Release Date | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 0.1.0 | Early 2005 | Initial release |
| 0.3.0 | May 2006 | SWT graphics update, Russian language pack |
| 0.4.0 | October 2006 | Navigation bar, scoped search, Mac app bundle |
| 0.5.0 | Feb 2007 | Bookmark support, print enhancements, transliteration |
| 0.6.0 | Jul 2007 | Lucene-based advanced search, Uthman Taha theme, fuzzy search |
| 0.6.5 | Sep 2007 | Ramadan Edition — first online/offline recitation support |
| 0.6.6 | Oct 2007 | Advanced navigation, XULRunner support, bug fixes |
| 0.7.0 | Aug 2008 | Ramadan Edition 2 — translation search, root database, paging modes |
| 0.7.1 | Sep 2008 | Bug fixes; improved online recitation buffering |
| 0.7.5 | Apr 2010 | Redesigned audio player, keyboard shortcuts, seek/volume controls, Mac Cocoa |
| 1.0.0 | Aug 2010 | Major milestone — ~6 years of development; released for Ramadan 1431 |
| 1.1.0 | Jul 2012 | Last official release — multiple recitation support, system tray, media keys; devoted to Muslims of Rohingya |
The last file uploaded to SourceForge was on January 13, 2014 (a macOS package for 1.1.0). No updates have been made since. The project has been unmaintained for over a decade.
| File | Description |
|---|---|
zekr-1.1.0-setup_64.exe |
Zekr 1.1.0 installer for Windows 64-bit |
jre-8u361-windows-x64.exe |
Java Runtime Environment 8 Update 361 (required to run Zekr) |
Translation packs (.trans.zip) that can be imported into Zekr:
| File | Translator / Translation |
|---|---|
en.yusufali.trans.zip |
English — Abdullah Yusuf Ali |
en.sahih.trans.zip |
English — Sahih International |
en.pickthall.trans.zip |
English — Marmaduke Pickthall |
en.shakir.trans.zip |
English — M. H. Shakir |
en.maududi.trans.zip |
English — Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi |
en.ahmedali.trans.zip |
English — Ahmed Ali |
en.ahmedraza.trans.zip |
English — Ahmed Raza Khan |
en.arberry.trans.zip |
English — A. J. Arberry |
en.daryabadi.trans.zip |
English — Abdul Majid Daryabadi |
en.itani.trans.zip |
English — Talal Itani |
en.qarai.trans.zip |
English — Ali Quli Qarai |
en.qaribullah.trans.zip |
English — Hasan Al-Fatih Qaribullah |
en.sarwar.trans.zip |
English — Muhammad Sarwar |
en.wahiduddin.trans.zip |
English — Wahiduddin Khan |
en.transliteration.trans.zip |
English — Transliteration |
bn.bengali.trans.zip |
Bengali — Standard Bengali |
bn.hoque.trans.zip |
Bengali — Hoque |
| File | Description |
|---|---|
me_quran.ttf |
me_quran font by Meor Ridzuan — used by the Uthman Taha theme |
ScheherazadeNew-3.300.zip |
Scheherazade New font v3.300 — a high-quality Arabic Unicode font |
Zekr requires Java Runtime Environment (JRE) 8 to run.
- Install Java — Run
Windows\jre-8u361-windows-x64.exeand follow the installer. - Install Zekr — Run
Windows\zekr-1.1.0-setup_64.exeand follow the installer. - Launch Zekr — Open Zekr from the Start Menu or desktop shortcut.
- Install the me_quran font (for the Uthman Taha theme) — Copy
Fonts\me_quran.ttftoC:\Windows\Fonts\. - Add translations — In Zekr, go to Tools → Configure → Translations, then click Add and browse to a
.trans.zipfile from theTranslation\folder.
Note: Zekr's online recitation and auto-update features will not work, as the servers (
zekr.org) are offline.
- zekr.org is offline — The official website, wiki, and update servers are no longer accessible (domain expired ~2021).
- Online recitation — Streaming recitation from online servers does not work. Only locally installed recitation packs will function.
- Auto-update — The built-in update checker will fail silently (no valid update server).
- macOS / Linux — This repository currently only includes Windows files. For Linux/macOS, see the SourceForge files page.
- Java compatibility — Zekr requires Java 8 specifically. Newer Java versions (9+) may cause startup errors due to removed legacy APIs.
Recitation (audio) packs for offline use were distributed via SourceForge and are still available there:
- SourceForge recit folder: https://sourceforge.net/projects/zekr/files/recit/
Download a .recit.zip file and import it via Audio → Manage Recitations → Import inside Zekr.
| Item | Status |
|---|---|
| Latest version | 1.1.0 (July 2012) |
| Developer | Mohsen Saboorian — inactive |
| Official website (zekr.org) | Offline (domain expired ~2021) |
| SourceForge project | Available (read-only archive) |
| Wiki | Offline (was at zekr.org/wiki) |
| Google Groups mailing list | Still accessible (last active ~2023) |
| Source code (CVS) | Available on SourceForge |
| Active development | None |
The community mailing list (Google Groups) remains the last active channel, though responses are rare: https://groups.google.com/g/zekr
| Resource | Link |
|---|---|
| SourceForge Project | https://sourceforge.net/projects/zekr/ |
| SourceForge Files | https://sourceforge.net/projects/zekr/files/ |
| SourceForge News | https://sourceforge.net/p/zekr/news/ |
| Google Groups | https://groups.google.com/g/zekr |
| Quran Text Source | https://tanzil.net/ |
| Wayback Machine (zekr.org) | https://web.archive.org/web/*/http://zekr.org/ |
Zekr is released under the GNU General Public License v2.0 (GPLv2). The original source code is hosted on SourceForge CVS: https://sourceforge.net/p/zekr/cvs/