How Quran Ayah Timing Works (and How to Sync Ayahs with Audio)
Where ayah timings come from — provider timestamps, Auto Sync and Tap to Sync — how word highlighting works, and how to fix a boundary by hand.
Last updated: 2026-10-03
A Quran video only feels right when each ayah appears as it is recited. Quran MP4 stores this as one timing row per ayah: a start and an end time in your audio. This guide explains where those times come from and how to correct them.
Provider timestamps
Many chapter recitations from Quran Foundation come with the provider’s own start and end time for every ayah. When you load such a recitation for your ayahs, Quran MP4 cuts the audio to the passage and converts those times to your video, labelled Provider timestamps. They come from the provider, not from AI. They are usually accurate, but it’s still worth one listen.
Auto Sync
For uploaded audio, Auto Sync analyses the recording on our server and looks for the pauses between ayahs, then places the boundaries there. Reciters pause in different places — sometimes inside an ayah, sometimes not between two short ones — so Auto Sync marks uncertain ayahs as low confidence and asks you to review them.
Tap to Sync
Press Tap to sync, play the audio and tap (or press T) at the moment each ayah begins. It’s quick and very reliable for short passages because you are listening yourself.
Fixing a boundary by hand
- Drag the edge of an ayah block on the timeline; the waveform shows the pauses, and edges snap to useful points.
- Select a row and nudge it with Alt + arrow keys for fine steps.
- Rows you change are marked as edited, and Lock protects finished timing from accidental changes.
Word timing
Some provider recitations also include a start and end time for every word. When the provider times every word of every selected ayah, the Effects tab offers Word highlight, which lights up the word being recited, and the typewriter effect uses those word times. If any word is missing a timing, word highlight is not offered: the app never guesses word timings.
Ready to try? Create a project, load a recitation and watch the timeline.
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