A free, searchable library of trusted Islamic books, audiobooks and study notes, with classical texts beside their translations and East African works preserved for future generations.
Good Islamic books are hard to find in many places, and even harder to find in Kiswahili. Many valuable works by East African scholars are out of print or exist only as fragile copies. The Sakeenah Digital Library will bring trusted books together in one free place that works on any phone.
We will only publish books that are in the public domain, or that authors and publishers have given us permission to share. Every book will be catalogued properly, so that readers can search by title, author, subject and language.
What the library will hold
- Classical texts in Arabic, shown beside English and Kiswahili translations where they exist.
- Books by contemporary scholars and writers, shared with their permission.
- Audiobooks, narrated by volunteers and, where suitable, by clearly labelled AI voices.
- Digitised East African works — books, pamphlets and teaching notes — preserved with the permission of their owners.
Collections
Translations and explanations of the Qur'an.
The major collections and their commentaries.
Belief and Islamic law, for beginners and students.
The life of the Prophet ﷺ, the companions and Islamic history.
Grammar books, readers and dictionaries.
Books for parents, young people and children.
Works by scholars of the Swahili coast and the wider region.
What it will offer
- Free to read online and download for offline reading
- Search across titles, authors, subjects and the full text
- Read the Arabic original beside its translation
- Audiobooks with a sleep timer and playback speed
- Bookmarks, highlights and notes that follow you between devices
- Only public-domain books or books shared with permission
Roadmap
- Phase 1
Catalogue and publish the first 500 public-domain and permitted books, with a reading app.
- Phase 2
Add audiobooks and side-by-side reading of originals and translations.
- Phase 3
Digitise East African manuscripts and out-of-print works with partner libraries and families.