Qaafiyah Expert 2.0 | Shayar Helper – Urdu & Hindi Poet & Writer Assistant

QAafiyah Expert · Version 2.0

Qaafiyah Expert 2.0

قافیہ ایکسپرٹ 2.0

The complete poetry companion for Urdu, Hindi, Persian and Hindustani poetry.

Write. Search. Scan. Refine. Design. Share.

Version 2.0 — 20 Second Trailer

A quick look at what's new.

Qaafiyah Expert 2.0 is here. What started as a focused qafiya and poetry utility has grown into a complete digital workspace for poets, writers, students, researchers and lovers of Urdu and Hindustani poetry.

This is a complete Shayar Helper for Urdu, Hindi, Persian and Hindustani poetry — whether you write in the Perso-Arabic Urdu script, Devanagari, or Roman English. Find rhymes (qaafiyah), check taqti(scansion) and prosody(aruuz), explore dictionaries, design a digital diary (bayaz), get corrections (islaah) from Ustaad, and work on your poetry with professional tools in one app.

Iterating it again (many of you demanded this and here it is), you do not have to read the Perso-Arabic script to use it. Qaafiyah Expert supports English, Urdu and Hindi UI, along with multiple poetry word lists including Roman English and Devanagari.

معاونِ سخنوراں

A poetry toolkit for the way people actually write, search, learn and share poetry today.

شاعری کے سفر کا ایک مکمل ڈیجیٹل ساتھی

2.0 at a Glance

A surprisingly large poetry toolkit inside one app.

3 UI Languages

3 + 1 Themes + Dark Mode

5 Poetry Word Lists
+ Custom lists

3 Search Methods

9+ Dictionaries

3 Taqti Engines

7+ Sher Design Formats

50+ Available Fonts

A

Poetry for Readers of Urdu, Hindi & Hindustani

اردو، ہندی اور ہندوستانی شاعری

You don't need to read the Perso-Arabic script to benefit from Qaafiyah Expert.

Built for a multilingual poetry audience

Qaafiyah Expert 2.0 has three UI languages: English, Urdu and Hindi. This makes the app useful not only for traditional Urdu readers, but also for people who know Hindustani through Hindi or Roman script.

The rhyme search includes five major word-list options: Urdu, Farsi, Roman English, Devanagari and a pure Hindi Hunspell list.

The Devanagari list is particularly useful for people who understand Urdu vocabulary but prefer to read and write in Devanagari.

English UI Explore the complete toolkit without needing to navigate an Urdu interface.

Hindi / Devanagari A practical entry point for Hindi-speaking Hindustani poetry lovers.

Urdu UI A native experience for Urdu readers and poets.

زبان کوئی رکاوٹ نہیں — شاعری سب کے لیے ہے۔

Q

Qafiya Search: More Than a Rhyme Finder

قافیہ تلاش — صرف قافیہ ہی نہیں

Search thousands of words across multiple scripts and languages, then narrow the results exactly the way you need.

Qaafiyah Expert gives you three powerful ways to search:

Qafiya / Rhyme Search Custom Regex Presets

The Presets system includes 10 ready-made search patterns for quickly finding the words you need, while advanced controls let you narrow your results further.

Wazn Filtering Search by Weight Contains Letters Custom Word Lists Diacritic Tools Meter / Foot Filters Long-press Dictionary

Whether you're looking for a traditional qafiya, experimenting with a regex pattern, or using one of the ten ready-made presets, the search system is designed for both beginners and power users.

5

Five Poetry Word Lists

Search across scripts and vocabulary sources instead of being locked into a single writing system.

Urdu

The core Urdu poetry vocabulary for traditional Urdu-script writing.

Farsi

Persian vocabulary for poets working with Persian words and influences in Urdu poetry.

Roman English

Search and work with Roman-script vocabulary without requiring an Urdu keyboard.

Devanagari

A Devanagari representation of the Urdu word list, useful for Hindi-reading Hindustani speakers.

Pure Hindi

A dedicated Hindi vocabulary list based on Hunspell, separate from the Urdu-derived Devanagari list.

Custom Lists

Add your own remote word lists and build specialized vocabularies for your poetry projects.

T

Taqti & Aruz: Three Engines in One App

تقطیع و عروض

Analyze your poetry with three complementary approaches to Urdu poetry scansion.

01

Offline Taqti

A local beta engine with detailed scansion, meter tables, behr information, meter chips and a flow score.

02

aruuz.com

The existing online Aruz analysis engine remains available as part of the workflow.

03

Rekhta Scansion

Live scansion with example ghazals and verses in the corresponding meter.

D

Nine Dictionaries — Plus Your Own

لغت

A poet needs more than a rhyme. Sometimes the exact word, meaning, synonym or expression is what makes the verse work.

Qaafiyah Expert brings together nine dictionary resources, including offline HyperDict, online meanings, poetic dictionaries, thesaurus resources and other lookup tools.

You can also add a custom dictionary when your particular vocabulary or research project requires something beyond the built-in resources.

Offline HyperDict Online Meanings Poetic Dictionaries Synonyms Recent Words Custom Dictionary

B

Bayaz Design: Turn Poetry Into a Finished Page

بیاض ڈیزائن

Writing the poem is only half the story. Version 2.0 gives you a proper poetry design and publishing workflow.

Seven ready-made sher formats — plus custom patterns

Create professional poetry layouts using Shakeeb Justify, including sher, two-column poetry, musaddas, mukhammas and additional poetry-specific arrangements.

• Classic sher layouts
• Two-column poetry
• Musaddas
• Mukhammas
• Multiple pre-designed sher patterns
• Seven built-in design formats
• Custom poetry patterns

3 Preloaded fonts

50+ Available fonts

Custom Bring your own font

P

From Screen to Shareable Poetry

Design your page, preview it, and export it in the format that suits your workflow.

Five Page Sizes

Choose between A4, A5, Auto, Letter or define a completely custom size in pixels.

Three Image Actions

Once your poetry page is ready, you can download, print or share it directly.

Print-ready Preview

Paginated previews, typography controls, gradients, backgrounds, watermarking and page breaks.

Image Controls

Insert images and control their size, alignment, border, radius, shadow, grayscale and opacity.

C

Backup Your Bayaz

اپنی تخلیقی محنت محفوظ رکھیے

Google Drive

Sync your poetry library to Google Drive and preserve versions of your work.

OneDrive

Keep your work synchronized through Microsoft's cloud storage.

Offline JSON

Download your poetry data as JSON and keep a local backup independent of cloud services.

Version History

Cloud synchronization is designed around preserving previous versions instead of treating your latest file as the only copy.

I

Islah Workshop: A Place Where Poets Help Poets

اصلاح ورکشاپ

Share your poetry and get thoughtful feedback from teachers and experienced poets.

Poetry is a craft — and craft improves with feedback.

The Islah Workshop allows you to submit poetry for public or private feedback, with meter validation built into the submission workflow.

Track your questions, see responses, and follow detailed comments on individual shers.

Public or private questions

Automatic meter validation

Teacher / poet feedback

Per-sher comments

Pending / answered tracking

Community poetry ecosystem

شاعر، شاعر کی ترقی میں مدد کرتے ہیں۔

★

Daily Challenge: Keep Writing

A daily poetry prompt turns practice into a habit.

Daily Sher Prompt

Get a word and meter as the starting point for your daily verse.

Community Voting

Read other poets' entries and vote for the work that speaks to you.

Streaks & Achievements

Keep showing up and build your poetry streak.

Leaderboard & Winners

See community rankings and featured winning entries.

UI

Make the App Yours

Qaafiyah Expert 2.0 is not just feature-rich — much of its interface can be arranged around your workflow.

Three UI Languages

English, Urdu and Hindi. Choose the interface that makes the app easiest for you to navigate.

Three Themes + Dark Mode

Three colour themes plus a dedicated dark mode let you choose your preferred visual environment.

Tab Sorting

Reorder the five main tabs to put your most-used poetry tools where you want them.

Shortcut Sorting

Organize your Android home-screen shortcuts around the actions you use most frequently.

Built to Keep Evolving

Qaafiyah Expert 2.0 uses remote configuration and hot-reloadable settings for many parts of the ecosystem. That means announcements, selected content, sponsors, search resources, presets and other configurable elements can evolve without waiting for a full app update every time.

In other words, version 2.0 isn't meant to be a static collection of tools. It is a foundation for a growing poetry platform.

Chef's Kiss — The Top 12

The features that make Qaafiyah Expert 2.0 especially interesting for serious poetry workflows.

1. Deep multi-script qafiya search Wazn, regex, presets, search-by-weight and custom word lists across multiple scripts.
2. Triple taqti stack Offline Taqti, aruuz.com and Rekhta scansion together in one app.
3. Offline HyperDict A substantial Urdu dictionary workflow without depending entirely on an internet connection.
4. Shakeeb Justify Poetry-specific layout blocks for creating professional sher and multi-column designs.
5. 50+ fonts + custom fonts A large selection of Urdu typography with the ability to bring your own font.
6. Print-ready paginated preview A4, A5, Letter, Auto and custom pixel dimensions with proper multi-page output.
7. Islah Workshop Meter-aware poetry submissions with public or private feedback from teachers and poets.
8. Daily Challenge Prompts, voting, streaks, leaderboard and featured poetry.
9. Cloud backup + versions Google Drive and OneDrive synchronization alongside offline JSON backups.
10. Offline-first architecture Rhyme lists, Aruz data and dictionary resources can be synchronized and used locally.
11. Power-user customization Reorderable tabs, reorderable shortcuts, themes, languages and a phonetic Urdu keyboard.
12. Creator-friendly monetization Points, rewarded ads and premium options designed around giving poets practical ways to access tools.

∞

Urdu Poetry Doesn't Belong to One Script

شاعری کسی ایک رسم الخط کی پابند نہیں

There is a huge audience that loves Urdu poetry, shayari and Hindustani poetry but is more comfortable reading Hindi or Roman script than the Perso-Arabic Urdu script.

Qaafiyah Expert 2.0 is designed to make that audience feel included rather than excluded. With an English interface, Hindi interface, Devanagari word resources and Roman-script search, you can explore the vocabulary and mechanics behind Urdu poetry without first having to learn a new script.

That makes it useful whether you're searching for Urdu poetry in Hindi, exploring Urdu poetry in English, looking for Hindi poetry, writing Urdu shayari, or simply trying to find the right qafiya for your next sher.

urdu poetry in urdu poetry in urdu hindi poetry english poetry urdu poetry in hindi urdu poetry in english best poetry best urdu poetry urdu shayari shayari urdu urdu qafiya qafiya finder urdu rhyme finder urdu poetry app hindi shayari hindustani poetry

A Timely Tool for Poetry Season

With Independence Day poetry and patriotic poetry searches rising across India, Qaafiyah Expert can also be useful when you're looking for the right words, rhymes and meters for an Independence Day poem, 15 August poetry or Urdu poetry for Independence Day.

And if you're studying classic poetry, exploring Allama Iqbal poetry in Urdu, composing two-line Urdu poetry, or simply collecting vocabulary for your next ghazal, the same search and dictionary tools remain useful year-round.

independence day poetry independence day poetry urdu urdu poetry for independence day urdu poetry on independence day 15 august poetry in urdu poetry on independence day in urdu poetry of Allama Iqbal in Urdu 1000 Urdu words for poetry 2 line Urdu poetry

Write More. Search Better. Create Beautifully.

لکھیے، تلاش کیجیے، سنواریے، سجائیے۔

Qaafiyah Expert 2.0 brings the tools of the Urdu poet, researcher and poetry enthusiast together in one place — whether you read Urdu, Hindi, Devanagari or Roman script.

If you write shayari, study poetry, search for qafiyas, practice aruz, design poetry pages or simply love the Hindustani poetic tradition, this release is for you.

Get Qaafiyah Expert 2.0

Qaafiyah Expert 2.0 is a growing project, and your feedback directly helps shape what comes next.

If you've tried the app, leave a review and tell us what you would like to see in future versions.

ایپ کیسی لگی ضرور بتائیں۔ کچھ تجاویز ہوں تو بھی ریویو دیجیے۔

Regards — مع السلام
Shakeeb شکیبؔ

Perfect ffmpeg commands that I use regularly for audio/video conversion

Ffmpeg is a gigantic library with customizations that makes people like me happy. I'm a man of 'give me life customization' kind, so it's a treat for me. 

I do the same when I build my own software and apps - most people don't even realize what I keep hidden in my apps, because layman don't need them or don't want to go into complexities of learning them. But for power users it's a blessing.

Ffmpeg is backbone of every video/audio/downloader tool out there. Every app that you see for YouTube download, Audio or Video manipulation online, be it web app, android app, iOS app or desktop app, it's all based on ffmpeg more or less.

Anyway, over the years I have accumulated quite a lot of ffmpeg commands that I use, and when I make something work/tweak perfectly according to my liking, it goes into number of note taking apps that I have (scattered everywhere). 

This blog post is to keep a track of all those commands so that I can come back here and pick those instead of going through my stuff looking for 'that perfect command' again.

Mp4 to Mp3 (or any other format)

Simple and useful, one format to another.

ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -vn output.wav

The vn flag is optional - it's to say `video no` meaning drop the video. Of course you can convert video to another video format, or audio to another audio format or any permutation that you like.

Slow down the video/audio

I have experimented quite a lot of things, stretching the time and the pitch shift etc. What gives us exact speed control is knowing your source, which is usually 41 or 48 kHz. 

Here's the command for an audio file that goes kaboom.

ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -vn -af "asetrate=24000,aresample=48000" output_slow.wav

YouTube video

There's another lib made on top of ffmpeg, for everything YouTube or any online video grabbing. You'll see a port of it in every language. It's called `yt-dl` or another famous fork of it, `yt-dlp`. 

You can get the whole video or a part of it. Example:

yt-dlp -f "(bestvideo+bestaudio/best)[protocol!*=dash]" --external-downloader ffmpeg --external-downloader-args "ffmpeg_i:-ss 815 -to 903" "https://youtu.be/gwjFSonRzno"

Will keep adding commands here. Until then, thanks for the visit.

Rab raakha. 

#LearnedToday 21 to 30

#LearnedToday 21 by shakeeb.in

All those who are impressive orators imo, have this one thing in common: they have normal SPEAKING tone while they speak in public. Not that painfully formal and obviously fake one. 

Be it Muzaffar Master or Imteyaz bhai in Kamptee markaz, or internationally recognised like Nouman Ali Khan, Qasim Ali Shah, Mufti Tariq Masood and Dr. Israr Ahmad. 

Remember: it doesn't necessarily mean they use very simple words either. Dr. Israr for example. 

Tags:  Public Speaking

#LearnedToday 22 by shakeeb.in

Bookmarks in browsers are not just bookmarks.🎉😄

Ever copied from Wikipedia? Those references are annoying, aren't they? 

I used to  remove them using regular expressions, which I'm not an expert at, but manage to do stuff I want with Google's help. 

The other day, I randomly checked it on SuperUser and found that you can use a browser's bookmark to run JavaScript code. 

Tada. I have a bookmark now, and when I click it, it removes all references from Wikipedia text. Will write a short blog post and teach you guys how to use it. 

Tags:  Technical

#LearnedToday 23 by shakeeb.in

Tags:  GK

Soaps are considered as self-cleaning. So if you were not sharing it with anyone because of your hygiene, well, don't be a douche bag and let them use it. 

You don't even have to wash it before use. Gross? I know, but that's how it is.

Even if some bacteria stays on the soap, it is still soap. And you're are going to use water eventually, so don't worry.

#LearnedToday 24 by shakeeb.in

Tags:  Philosophy, Life

Fish-love vs True-love

To sum up, he says that it's not actually love when we love something/someone because it pleases us. Love teaches you to be selfless. 

“Now that part of me has become in you, there's part of me in you that I love.” - Abraham Twerski

Ref: True love explained  by Abraham Twerski [YouTube]

#LearnedToday 25 by shakeeb.in

(AsIs)

Tags: Life, Philosophy

Is having a complex vocabulary a sign of superior intelligence?

There is a correlation, but having a complex vocabulary won't make you more intelligent. Intelligent people are viewed as intelligent because they can communicate their ideas effectively, which requires a complex vocabulary. Intelligent thought in itself has no value, unless it can be communicated in an idea or manifested into action.

Having a complex vocabulary also shows that you're probably well-read and you have a wide range of knowledge, which are signs of an intelligent person.

So, intelligent people aren't intelligent because they have large vocabularies, they have large vocabularies because they are intelligent.

Ref: r/insightfulquestions, Michael Eric Dyson and Jordan Peterson Debate on YT

#LearnedToday 26 by shakeeb.in

Tag: Psychology

Expertise Bias

All sorts of specialized knowledge can make experts see everybody around them as morons. 

You might think what you're explaining is obvious, or the work you told them to do is easy; but it is 'obvious' and 'easy' for YOU, not for them. Be patient.

If you're the expert on something, try to recognize that other people aren't experts and cut them some slack. And if you know an expert who gets frustrated when they have to field the same basic requests or questions again and again, cut them some slack, too.

Ref: Psychology Today

#LearnedToday 27 by shakeeb.in

Tag: Biology

What is exactly is the "lump" in throat before you start to cry?

Your throat, which starts as a single tube eventually splits into two tubes: one going to your lungs and the other going to your GI tract. 

"The expansion of the glottis in and of itself does not create a lumpy feeling, until we try to swallow. Since swallowing involves closing the glottis, this works against the muscles that open the glottis in response to crying. We experience the resulting muscle tension as a lump in the throat." 

Basically the glottis is the vocal chords and their opening.

Ref: eli5 Reddit

#LearnedToday 28 by shakeeb.in

Tag: Philosophy

Islam promotes the idea that the materialistic world is just not worth the attention we give to it. So the pain we get isn't that big of a deal tbh. 

“Stoicism” has the same ideology - the fortune of pain and pleasure. And most of the world out there is basically leveraging on it to fight anxiety, stress, low self-esteem and the likes. 

How much do you care about the world and people around you? All the time. And how often do you try to make yourself happy? Answer yourself.

I disagree with a few points in Stoicism, however. But that's just because we associate religion with what happens, which Stoicism doesn't require. 

Ref: Wiki, YT

#LearnedToday 29 by shakeeb.in

Tag: Language, Linguistics

Had always wondered why isn't there a proper representation of letters in latin alphabets. The charts before dictionaries used to confuse me. 

For example, why do they assume that "a p sound already has an h attached to it" etc.

Phew. Apparently there IS a standard. Maybe will help me someday in some project. 

Quote from wiki:

"The International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) is an alphabetic system of phonetic notation based primarily on the Latin alphabet. It was devised by the International Phonetic Association in the late 19th century as a standardized representation of the sounds of spoken language." Unquote.

P.s: Came across this going through some farsi stuff.

Ref: Wikipedia

#LearnedToday 30 by shakeeb.in

Tag: Language, Linguistics

The letter "w" is pronounced "double u" because back in the days, they literally used to write two u's in its place. 

Later, they replaced uu by w. Invention of typewriter promoted it even more.

Ref: Reddit 

Rekhta Reader & Downloader (Web App) – Thousands of Books on Mobile and Desktop

I come bearing good news today. By now you have already guessed it from the title, and I strongly suspect some of you have been waiting impatiently for the day a proper Rekhta tool with an actual user interface would finally arrive.

This post is also available in Urdu here.

What can I say? The things we like for ourselves, we like for our friends as well. And I like sharing.

So, without further ceremony, here it is:

Rekhta Reader & Downloader

A complete tool that allows you to read and download books from Rekhta.org on both desktop and mobile devices.

Let us take a quick tour of the tool.

As soon as you open the application, you will be greeted with an interface similar to this:

Requirements

Before using this tool, you must install a CORS bypass extension in your browser.

Download the extension here. I have included the complete usage instructions again near the end of this article, so if anything feels unclear, you will find a detailed guide there as well.

You can also see the complete workflow in the diagram below. ( Full-size image )

Extension page for reference:

When the extension is active, its logo appears in color. If it turns black, the extension is disabled.

Back to the tool itself.

Paste the URL of a book into the first field and click GO. The book pages will immediately open inside the reader for browsing and reading.

Search Books Directly — No Need to Visit Rekhta Separately

You can search Rekhta's book collection directly from within the application.

As you can see, the search results appear right inside the tool. Simply click the book you want to open and close the dialog window afterwards.

Click on any page image and start reading. This lets you browse a book before committing to downloading the whole thing — which may save some of us from downloading a dozen books simply because they looked interesting.

Clicking the PDF button downloads the entire book.

I will repeat the usage instructions again near the end of this article, though the screenshots above should already make things fairly self-explanatory.

Before that, however, it might be worth explaining how this tool came into existence in the first place.

The Story Behind This Tool (and a Few Dry Technical Details)

A while back, inspired by the work that Falsafi Bhai and Muhammad Umar Bhai had done on Urdu Mehfil, I put together a Node.js (JavaScript) version of the tool. It worked, and I used it regularly, but it came with three rather annoying problems:

1. It still had to be run from the command line. There was a graphical interface at one point, but it never really worked properly.
2. It only worked on a computer. So whenever a book was needed, the routine was always the same: open the laptop first, then download the book.
3. There was no reading facility. One had to download books blindly. And before downloading a dozen books out of sheer curiosity, it is usually nice to know whether a book is actually worth reading in the first place.

The original plan was to package the entire JavaScript library as an NPM package. Partly because it would be useful, and partly because it seemed like a good opportunity to gain some experience in that area as well.

Then, as often happens with side projects, life intervened and the idea quietly slipped out of mind.

I remember mentioning it to Umar Bhai during a private conversation on Mahfil. A few months later the idea resurfaced, so naturally I opened Mahfil again and started digging through the old discussion threads to refresh my memory and reconstruct the project's history.

Eventually I landed on Muhammad Umar Bhai's GitHub profile and discovered that he had already published a JavaScript version of the tool.

Suffice it to say, I sat there feeling slightly defeated.

(For the record, the Windows version of this tool still exists and continues to work perfectly well. The only catch is that it has no graphical user interface. Think of it as a traditional command-line application that you run through Command Prompt. Not particularly difficult, but an interface certainly makes life easier.)

Then fate decided to intervene.

Looking back at that old codebase sparked a new idea: why not port the entire thing to the frontend and make it work directly as a web application? If successful, everything could happen inside the browser without requiring users to install or run anything complicated.

There was, however, one obstacle.

Browser security policies generally do not allow one website to freely interact with another website's resources. In technical terms, the browser gets quite protective and starts throwing what developers lovingly call CORS errors.

To work around that limitation, I considered two possible solutions and built support for both into the web application.

1. Proxy Backend
   
   The first approach was to use a proxy backend. In simple terms, a backend service fetches the data on your behalf and returns the response to the application. Since the browser sees the request as originating from your own backend, it usually has no reason to object. In theory, this should solve the problem quite neatly. For the sake of accuracy, I should mention that I never fully tested this route in production. My expectation is that it should work, but because the real challenge involves loading images rather than ordinary API responses, there is always the possibility of running into the same CORS restrictions further down the chain. Which brings us to the second and far simpler workaround...
2. CORS Bypass Extension
   
   This is by far the easiest solution. Browser extensions exist specifically for bypassing CORS restrictions, and several of them are freely available. Install one, enable it when needed, and the application can access the resources it requires. The extension linked in this article is the one I have been using myself.

As inelegant as browser workarounds sometimes feel, they have one undeniable advantage: they save everyone from setting up servers, configuring proxies, maintaining infrastructure, and generally turning a simple reading tool into a full-time engineering project.

In the end, the goal was not to build a monument to software architecture. The goal was much simpler:

Open a book. Read a book. Download a book if you want.

Preferably from a phone while lying comfortably on a sofa.

How to Use the Tool

To use the tool, simply follow the steps below in order.

1. Install a CORS bypass extension. Download it here .
   
   If you intend to use the tool on Android, make sure you are using a browser that supports extensions. One such browser is Kiwi Browser. Kiwi Browser for Android You can download the APK from the Assets section of the release page, or obtain it from any other trusted source you prefer.
2. Open the Rekhta Reader web application. Rekhta Reader (https://tools.shakeeb.in/rekhta-reader/)
3. Enable the extension and start using the web application.

If you run into any issues, feel free to leave a comment below. Suggestions and feedback are equally welcome.

These days I find myself reading most books directly inside the tool, and rarely need to download them anymore. On mobile, however, I still download books occasionally simply because the reading experience is sometimes more comfortable that way.

What Comes Next?

This is not my first Rekhta-related project.

Some time ago I released another tool for Rekhta content in the form of a script and an Android application.

Related blog post:

dRekhta – Rekhta Content Scraper for Android (Release)

That project was designed for text content rather than books.

Now that the books side of the equation has been sorted out as well, the plan is to merge the text-focused tool into this same online platform.

The idea is simple: instead of maintaining separate tools for separate tasks, everything should live under one roof.

Once that happens, you will be able to browse and download Rekhta's poetry, short stories, prose content, and books from a single portal.

One search box, one interface, and hopefully a lot less jumping between websites.

Whether I can stop myself from adding even more features after that remains an entirely different question.

Shakeeb Ahmad

May 23, 12:35 AM

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slug: rekhta-reader-downloader-web-app-read-download-urdu-books-mobile-desktop

og title: Rekhta Reader & Downloader (Web App) – Read and Download Thousands of Urdu Books on Mobile and Desktop

og description: Rekhta Reader & Downloader is a simple web application that lets you read Urdu books online and download them for offline use. Works on both mobile phones and desktop computers, with built-in book search and a clean reading experience.

keywords: rekhta reader, rekhta downloader, rekhta book downloader, rekhta books, urdu books online, read urdu books, download urdu books, urdu ebook reader, rekhta web app, rekhta reader online, urdu literature, urdu ebooks, mobile urdu books, desktop urdu books, rekhta reader downloader

Quran: Hifz Helper (App Release)

Assalamualaikum!

The Quran Hifz Helper app, which has been in development for over 6 years, is now complete. Alhamdulillah, we are releasing it this Ramadan. May Allah make it beneficial for everyone! Insha’Allah.

- Shakeeb Ahmad

Quran Hifz Helper

The ultimate Quran app — read, memorize, explore translations, and view scanned mushafs. A full digital experience, just like a real mushaf.

Play Store Open Web App

Official User Guide

Key Features

Full Quran

Page-by-page reading, browse by Juz/Surah, smooth navigation.

Scanned Mushaf

High-quality scans of authentic Quranic mushafs for digital viewing.

Audio Recitation

Beautiful recitation by famous Qaris with background playback.

Hifz Tracker

Track progress, streaks, and spaced repetition review.

Translation & Tafsir

Multiple English/Urdu translations, word-by-word meanings, and tafsir support.

Dark Mode

Eye-friendly light and dark themes.

Install on Any Device

Android

Install directly from Play Store or add PWA to home screen.

iPhone / iPad

Add to home screen via Safari for a full app-like experience.

Desktop

Install via Chrome or Edge for offline use.

Spread the Benefit

If you find this app useful, share it with others. Contributing to Quran service is ongoing charity.

Developer: Shakeeb Ahmad — May Allah accept this effort. Ameen.

Questions We Carry: An Interview with Samir Patil (Part 1)

Setting Up OCR for Windows and Linux: A Comprehensive Guide

Automating repetitive tasks like extracting text from images can save valuable time (unless you don't value it, in that case it will save some worthless time). This process, known as Optical Character Recognition (OCR), is a powerful tool for converting text in images into editable formats. Here, I’ll walk you through setting up custom OCR solutions for both Windows (that we all have) and Linux (mostly used in offices) systems, complete with keyboard shortcuts for seamless integration.

I primarily use OCR for Urdu in my personal work, but professionally it is also required for English. Using Google Lens is a fine option, except if you dislike repeating those clicks and key presses just to copy text from an image. And to be honest - I kind of feel bad even for giant corps like Google when I unnecessarily utilize their 'precious' resources.

Why not use a browser extension you ask? Well, because it's limited to browser - and we do need text from other apps as well. You can argue that one can take a screenshot of that app and then go to browser and run OCR, but if you have opened a browser and afford to take a screenshot just for that, why not run Google Lens instead of an extension. You get the point.

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Background

OCR technology is invaluable for tasks such as digitizing printed documents, extracting text from screenshots, or processing scanned images. By automating OCR, you can:

• Instantly access extracted text.
• Improve productivity.
• Simplify your workflow.

This guide provides a step-by-step walkthrough for setting up OCR on Windows and Linux, ensuring a smooth and user-friendly experience.

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Introduction

Why Automate OCR?

Manual text extraction is time-consuming and error-prone. Automating the process ensures:

• Faster access to text data.
• Minimal effort for repetitive tasks.
• A consistent and reliable workflow.

How It Works

We’ll create scripts for Windows and Linux that:

1. Capture an image or utilize an existing one.
2. Perform OCR using Tesseract (an open-source OCR engine).
3. Copy the extracted text directly to the clipboard.

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Setup

Prerequisites

Before getting started, ensure you have the following:

1. Tesseract OCR

   • Download and install from Tesseract’s official page.
   • Install necessary language packs (e.g., -l eng for English, -l ara+eng for Arabic and English).

2. Clipboard Utilities

   • Windows: Use nircmd for clipboard operations.
   • Linux: Install xclip for clipboard management.

3. Screenshot Tools

   • Windows: Use built-in snipping tools or third-party software.
   • Linux: Install flameshot for advanced screenshot functionality.

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Procedure

For Windows

1. Create the OCR Script

Create a batch file named sstoocr.bat and save it in a convenient location:

@echo off
:: Save clipboard to image
start nircmd/nircmd.exe clipboard saveimage screenshot.png

:: Run Tesseract OCR on the image
tesseract screenshot.png output -l ara+eng

:: Copy extracted text to clipboard
type output.txt | clip

:: Optionally, clean up
:: del screenshot.png
:: del output.txt

2. Assign a Shortcut

1. Place the script on your desktop.
2. Right-click the script and select Create Shortcut.
3. Right-click the shortcut, go to Properties, and under the Shortcut tab, assign Ctrl + Alt + O as the shortcut key.

3. Use the Script

1. Copy an image to the clipboard or take a screenshot.
2. Press Ctrl + Alt + O.
3. The extracted text will automatically be copied to your clipboard.

For Linux

1. Create the OCR Script

Create a shell script named flameshot_ocr.sh:

#!/bin/bash
flameshot gui --raw | tesseract -l eng stdin stdout | xclip -selection clipboard

Make the script executable:

chmod +x flameshot_ocr.sh

2. Assign a Shortcut

1. Open your desktop environment’s keyboard settings.
2. Add a custom shortcut:
   • Command: /path/to/flameshot_ocr.sh
   • Shortcut: Ctrl + Shift + O

3. Use the Script

1. Press Ctrl + Shift + O to open the Flameshot GUI.
2. Select the area to capture.
3. The text will be extracted and copied to your clipboard.

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Conclusion

By following this guide, you can set up a streamlined OCR solution for both Windows and Linux. With a simple keyboard shortcut, you’ll have quick access to extracted text directly on your clipboard, saving time and effort.

Feel free to customize these scripts to better suit your needs. Happy automating, and may your workflows become ever more efficient!