# How to use Qiraa Canvas: the complete guide > Turn an open mushaf into a personal study space. A hands-on guide to pages, notes, colour cues, hidden-word recall, live recitation, and the next useful practice—with real iPad screenshots. - URL: https://qiraa.io/posts/how-to-use-qiraa-canvas - Language: en - Published: 2026-10-14 - Updated: 2026-10-14 - Section: Product guides - Reading time: 15 min --- You know the moment: an āyah reads easily while the page is open, but its next words become less certain when you look away. Or two familiar passages share an opening, and your memory follows the wrong continuation. You need somewhere to slow down, notice the difference, and try again. **Qiraa Canvas gives that work a place.** The mushaf sits on a spacious board, with room beside it for a meaning card, a reminder, a comparison, or the result of a recitation. You can read a passage, mark what needs attention, cover its words, and recite without rebuilding your study space between each step. This guide follows that process from the first page to the next sitting. The screenshots were taken on an iPad in landscape, using mushaf pages 603 and 604. Those pages contain Al-Kafirun, An-Nasr, Al-Masad, Al-Ikhlas, Al-Falaq, and An-Nas. You can follow the same steps with the passage you are learning. **Start small:** one page, one question, one attempt. A useful canvas does not need to be full. It needs to make your next practice clear. ## 1. Open Canvas and get your bearings Open **Learn** in Qiraa and choose **Canvas** from the practice tools. The board can begin from your current learning context. If you are opening a saved canvas, its pages and study material give you a familiar place to return. On the iPad, the workspace has three main areas: - **The top bar** holds the canvas name and page range, Undo and Redo, the sparkle button for Smart moves, the microphone for Recite, and the three-dot board menu. - **The floating tool rail** holds selection, drawing, word colours, covering, notes, text, Qiraa tools, and Pages. The illustrations below show the rail on the right; you can move it to the other side. - **The lower-left zoom controls** let you fit the board to the screen or use minus and plus to change your view. The percentage tells you how closely you are looking. Pinch to zoom on the iPad and drag through the empty space to move around. Zoom out to see the relationship between pages and cards; zoom in to work with individual words. If you lose your place, use **Fit to screen** rather than trying to drag everything back by hand. The light and dark screenshots show the same kind of workspace. Choose the appearance you find comfortable, then keep the page large enough to read without strain. ## 2. Put the right pages on the board Open **Pages** from the tool rail. The panel gives you a search field and three ways to browse: **On the board**, **Sūrahs**, and **Juzʼ**. 1. Search for a sūrah, a page, a juzʼ, an āyah reference such as **2:255**, or words you remember from the passage. 2. Check the page preview, then tap **Add**. Adding from a sūrah brings the relevant mushaf page onto your board; use the page preview to see exactly what you are adding. 3. Return to **On the board** to find a page you already have. The target icon brings it into view. The lock keeps it in place, and the bin removes an unlocked page. A locked page is useful when you want to work over the text without moving the paper accidentally. Unlock it before rearranging or removing it. Canvas keeps at least one page, and the panel shows the page capacity for your device. If it is full, use the offered swap to replace a page you no longer need. For your first sitting, add only the page you intend to practise. A second page earns its place when it helps you compare a continuation, review the preceding passage, or keep a transition in view. ## 3. Tap an āyah to bring its actions closer Choose the **Select** tool—the pointer icon—and tap an āyah. A floating action bar appears beside the selection, with the āyah number and actions for that passage. **Recite from here** starts at the selected āyah. **Look-alikes**, or **Map the look-alikes** where that action is offered, helps you inspect similar wording. The translation icon opens a **Meaning** card; the note icon adds a note beside the passage. The crossed-eye action covers it, and the colour dots give it a colour cue. This is the fastest route when your question is already specific. Instead of opening a general menu, begin with the āyah you are trying to understand or remember. For example, select the opening āyah of Al-Ikhlas and place its meaning beside the page. Read the Arabic, read the translation, and return to the Arabic. The card keeps the reference nearby while the mushaf remains the centre of the work. ## 4. Give your notes a job The **Pen and highlighter** tool opens drawing controls. Choose a pen or highlighter, pick a stroke size and colour, and draw on the board. Use the eraser to remove freehand marks, or Undo to take back the last edit. With an Apple Pencil, use the Pencil for marks and your finger to move around the page once Canvas has recognised the Pencil. That makes it easier to annotate a detail, pan to the next line, and continue without changing tools each time. Use **Sticky note** for a short reminder and **Text** for a heading or a longer explanation. Choose the tool, tap the board to place it, and type. **Shapes and arrows** let you connect a reminder to a passage or outline an area you want to revisit. The strongest notes tell your future self what to do. Try “Repeat the transition into āyah 3” or “Ask my teacher about this stopping point.” A vague “Practise more” gives you less to act on when you return. Leave some space around the page. Put headings above, reminders beside the relevant passage, and longer cards farther out. Use Select to move items, and lock a page when its position is settled. ## 5. Build a colour language you can read later Tap **Colour words**, the palette icon. Choose a category, then tap a word on the mushaf page. The menu gives you five labels: - **Green · Tajwīd:** a pronunciation detail to revisit. - **Violet · Look-alike:** wording you might confuse with another passage. - **Orange · Slip:** a place where your recall stumbled. - **Blue · Meaning:** a word whose meaning deserves attention. - **Red · Stop:** a stopping point you want to study or discuss. These are **your study cues**. Choosing Tajwīd does not automatically identify a rule, and choosing Stop does not decide whether a stop is correct. Use the colours to preserve a question or something you have learned, so you can revisit it deliberately. Choose **Clear a colour** to remove an individual word cue. The board menu also offers **Clear my colours** when you want to clear your colour layer. Freehand drawing and the feedback from a checked recitation serve different purposes; keep your own colour notes easy to interpret. Begin with one or two categories. If every word is marked, the important places become harder to find. One violet word at the point where two passages separate can be more useful than a fully coloured line. ## 6. Cover the words and make room for memory Reading with the text visible and reciting without it are different tasks. Canvas lets you move between them while keeping the printed page in the same place. Tap **Cover āyāt**, the crossed-eye tool. Tap an āyah to cover or show it, or choose **Cover all** and **Show all** in the panel. Covered words become quiet placeholders; the page structure, sūrah headings, and āyah markers remain available to orient you. 1. Read a short passage with the words shown. Settle any uncertainty before testing it. 2. Cover just that passage and recite from memory. Let yourself attempt the next phrase before seeking help. 3. If you need a small hint, tap a covered word for a brief peek. If you need the whole āyah, show it, read it carefully, then cover it again. 4. Repeat the passage with less help, and include the transition into the following āyah. You do not have to hide the whole board. Leave an opening āyah visible and cover the following āyāt, or uncover one difficult āyah while keeping the rest hidden. Use the amount of support that makes the attempt worthwhile. A peek is useful help. After using it, try the phrase again without the hint so you can tell which words you can retrieve independently. ## 7. Place a study tool beside its passage Open **Qiraa tools** from the tool rail, choose a tool, and tap the board to place its card. When you want a card for a particular āyah, select that āyah first or use its action bar. - **Similar phrases** helps you examine where look-alike āyāt share wording and where they part. Give your attention to the point of difference, then practise the correct continuation. - **Openings** keeps the first words and the joins between āyāt close by. It is useful when you know individual āyāt but hesitate between them. - **Meaning** places the translation beside the āyah. The card identifies the translation source; in these screenshots, it is Pickthall. - **Notes** keeps a note about the āyah for your next visit. - **Mistake map** gathers places where checked slips occurred, helping you choose a smaller area for review. - **Sitting summary** offers a short account of what Qiraa noticed in the sitting. The crown beside a tool indicates Premium access. Use the availability shown in your app: an upgrade gives you additional tools, while a useful first board can begin with a page, a note, a colour cue, and a recall attempt. Cards that could give away a covered passage may hide their contents during recall. A translation or an opening can be helpful while studying, but it should not silently supply the answer during a memory attempt. ## 8. Let Smart moves prepare the next exercise Tap the **sparkle button** at the top of the board. **Smart moves** gathers actions that work with the pages in front of you. Some depend on the selected āyah, and some are marked Premium. - **Map the look-alikes:** start with one selected āyah and bring its indexed comparisons onto the board. - **Map every look-alike · Premium:** explore the indexed similarities across the pages you have open. - **Pin the openings · Premium:** place the first word of each āyah on the board as a study cue. - **Colour the echoes · Premium:** mark the supported qalqalah letter patterns at a sukūn or a stop for closer study. - **Test me:** open a recitation test from memory. - **Your mistake map · Premium:** bring relevant past slips onto these pages. The comparison and pattern moves use the mushaf text and Qiraa’s look-alike index. Treat a map as material to examine: read both passages, locate the difference, and recite the continuation that belongs to the passage you are learning. Choose one move that answers today’s question. If the problem is an uncertain opening, pin the openings. If you keep switching into another passage, map that look-alike. If you already know what needs attention, go straight to recitation. ## 9. Recite without leaving your study space Select the āyah you want to begin with and tap **Recite from here**, or use the microphone in the top bar. Give Qiraa microphone permission when requested, then begin at a comfortable pace. The floating recitation controls show **Listening**, the current āyah reference, and elapsed time. Use Pause when you need to stop briefly, the play control to resume, and **Stop** to finish the attempt. With the words visible, Qiraa follows your place on the page. With āyāt covered, the display supports recall without revealing the next word ahead of your voice. You can keep a meaning card or a reminder nearby while you practise, then cover the support you no longer need. Choose a quiet place and let one person recite into the microphone. AI checking depends on the listening mode and available access; **Lite** follows your place without providing an AI-scored check. A session that was not checked should not be read as a clean AI result. Work on a manageable stretch. If you want to practise a particular transition, starting from its preceding āyah gives you more useful information than starting only at the word where you usually hesitate. ## 10. Turn the result into one useful retry A checked recitation can leave a **Recitation** card beside the passage and feedback attached to the words on the page. In the example below, the card says **Clean recitation** and offers **Recite again**. Clean recitation means Qiraa found no counted slips in the portion it checked. It does not certify every aspect of pronunciation or tajwīd. If a result marks a possible issue, examine that word in context and compare it with a trusted recitation or your teacher’s guidance. 1. Start with one marked word or one uncertain transition. Read the whole phrase that contains it. 2. Listen to a trusted model where you need one, then repeat the phrase at a steady pace. 3. Use **Recite again** for another attempt. Cover the passage if you want to check recall rather than reading along. 4. Leave a short note only if it will help your next sitting—for example, “Begin from āyah 2 and practise the join.” Speech recognition can misunderstand a recitation. If a cue conflicts with what you intended, try the passage again in clearer conditions and bring persistent pronunciation questions to a qualified teacher. The point of the feedback is to make your attention more precise. ## 11. Use Test me when you are ready to recall For a dedicated memory check, stop any live recitation, open **Smart moves**, and choose **Test me**. The test opens over Canvas in a focused view, drawing its prompts from the passage on your board or the selected starting point. The opening countdown gives you a moment to get ready. The instruction is direct: **Recite what comes next, from memory.** Follow the cue, recite, and use the available controls if you need to hear the cue again or stop the test. Finish the test to return its result to the board. Completed checked tests can add a result card and mark slips beside the relevant words, so the review stays connected to the page you were studying. If you leave before completing the test, there is no completed result to add. When an attempt is checked by you rather than by listening, it is identified as a self-check and does not produce an AI score. Use that distinction when deciding what you have proved and what you still want to practise. A test is most useful when it changes the next action. If the opening was easy but the join was uncertain, return to the join. If you needed a hint, rehearse that phrase and make another independent attempt before moving on. ## 12. Keep a canvas worth coming back to Canvas saves your work **on the current device, for the current learner**. Reopen **Your canvases** from the name capsule or the three-dot menu to return to a board, rename it, or create another one. Give each canvas a name that describes its purpose, such as “Short sūrahs · transitions” or “Friday review · page 604.” Because the board is saved on the device, plan to reopen it there. Your annotations should not be assumed to appear automatically on another phone or tablet. The board menu offers **Fit the board** and **Tidy the cards** when the workspace has become scattered. You can also move the tools to the opposite side. Undo and Redo are useful while editing; your saved pages and notes are what make the next visit familiar. **Start again** clears notes, cards, ink, and colours while keeping the pages. Use it when you intend to rebuild the study space. For an ordinary new attempt, simply cover the passage again or tap Recite again. Before you leave, write one sentence your future self can act on. “Next time: cover Al-Falaq and recite from its opening” is enough. A saved board should help you begin. ## A simple first sitting—and a few helpful answers Here is a suggested **ten-minute practice**, rather than an automatic Canvas programme. Adjust the time and passage to suit your learning. 1. **Minutes 0–2 · Settle the page.** Open one page, fit it to the screen, and read the short passage you intend to practise. 2. **Minutes 2–4 · Notice one detail.** Add a meaning card, a precise note, or one colour cue. If you confuse a similar passage, map that comparison. 3. **Minutes 4–7 · Cover and recite.** Hide the passage, make an attempt, and use only the help you need. Try the uncertain phrase again with less support. 4. **Minutes 7–9 · Check.** Use Recite from here or Test me. Review one useful piece of feedback and retry that phrase. 5. **Minute 9–10 · Leave a next step.** Name the canvas clearly and write the passage or transition to revisit. ### Do I need an Apple Pencil? No. You can select āyāt, place cards, colour words, cover passages, type notes, and recite using touch. A Pencil is useful for freehand annotations. ### Why is a page refusing to move or disappear? Check its lock in **Pages → On the board**. Unlock it before moving or removing it. Canvas also keeps at least one page on the board. ### Why can I see placeholders instead of words? The āyāt are covered for recall. Open **Cover āyāt** and choose **Show all**, or show just the passage you need. ### Why does a tool show a crown? It requires Premium access. The screenshot shows crowns beside Mistake map and Sitting summary, and Premium labels beside several Smart moves. Follow the availability shown in your version of Qiraa. ### The screenshot’s canvas name differs from the sūrahs on its pages. Which should I follow? A canvas is a workspace whose name and pages can change independently. Use the page labels and printed sūrah headings to identify the passage you are practising. The examples in this guide use pages 603 and 604. ### What should I do if recitation feedback seems wrong? Retry a short phrase in a quieter setting, confirm which mode was listening, and compare the passage with a trusted model. For a pronunciation or tajwīd question, use the board to prepare a precise question for your teacher. The best canvas is one you understand at a glance: the passage in the centre, the detail that needs attention beside it, and a clear next attempt. Let the board grow from your practice. ## Make your first canvas useful today Open Learn → Canvas, choose one familiar passage, and add one reminder beside it. Cover the words, recite, then leave one specific next step for your return. Start with a small board you can use well.