Terms of Service

These terms govern your use of Tilawa. By creating an account or using the app, you agree to them. Please read carefully. If you do not agree, please do not use the service.

1. The service

Tilawa is a platform that connects Qur'an students with verified teachers for live, one-to-one voice lessons. We provide the scheduling, matching, and signalling infrastructure. The teaching itself is between you and your teacher, offered as sadaqah jariyah, free of charge on both sides.

2. Who can use Tilawa

You may use Tilawa if you are:

• At least 13 years old, or younger with verifiable parental consent
• Able to enter into a binding contract under the laws of your jurisdiction
• Willing to follow our community guidelines

We reserve the right to refuse or terminate accounts that violate these terms.

3. Your account

You agree to:

• Provide accurate information when signing up
• Keep your account credentials confidential
• Not share your account with anyone else
• Notify us promptly if you suspect unauthorized access

Once set, your gender on Tilawa cannot be changed. This is a deliberate design decision to enforce gender segregation in matching. If you believe your gender was set incorrectly during signup, contact support.

4. Code of conduct

You may not use Tilawa to:

• Harass, harm, or exploit any other user
• Impersonate another person or misrepresent your credentials as a teacher
• Use the platform for any purpose other than Qur'anic learning
• Attempt to record, save, or redistribute any session audio
• Bypass our gender-segregation, age, or safety controls
• Solicit or accept payment for teaching, on or off the platform
• Spread misinformation, sectarian hatred, or content against Islamic ethics
• Attempt to access, probe, or disrupt our infrastructure

Violation may result in suspension or permanent removal. Serious violations involving the safety of any user, especially minors, will be reported to relevant authorities.

5. Teachers

Teachers undergo a verification process before being approved. By teaching on Tilawa you confirm that:

• The credentials, ijazah, and qualifications you provided are genuine
• You will teach to the best of your ability and within your stated specialties
• You will honour the schedule you commit to, and notify students promptly if you cannot
• You will follow Islamic ethics in all interactions with students
• You will not solicit or accept any payment from students for your teaching, on or off the platform

6. Donations

Tilawa is free for both students and teachers. Donations to the platform are entirely voluntary and cover server, signalling, and audio infrastructure costs. As a thank-you, donors receive a pool of bonus learning minutes each month. Donations are non-refundable except as required by law and are processed by Paystack under their terms.

7. Audio is ephemeral

Lesson audio is delivered peer-to-peer between participants. It is never recorded, transmitted, or stored by Tilawa. Both parties consent that no copy of the audio is made by the platform. Recording by participants is prohibited by these terms.

8. Intellectual property

The Tilawa app, branding, and content (excluding the Qur'an itself) are our property. You may not copy, modify, or distribute them without permission. The Qur'an itself, of course, belongs to no one and to everyone.

9. Disclaimers

Tilawa is provided "as is." We do our best to keep the service reliable and secure, but we cannot guarantee uninterrupted operation, particularly on poor network connections. We are not responsible for the specific religious instruction given by individual teachers; teachers are independent practitioners and you should evaluate their guidance using your own discernment and other learned sources.

10. Limitation of liability

To the maximum extent permitted by Ghanaian law, Tilawa and its operator will not be liable for indirect, incidental, or consequential damages arising from your use of the service. Our total liability for any claim will not exceed the amount you have paid us in the preceding 12 months, which for most users is zero.

11. Termination

You may delete your account at any time from inside the app. We may suspend or terminate accounts that violate these terms. Provisions that by their nature should survive termination (intellectual property, disclaimers, limitations, governing law) will continue to apply.

12. Changes to these terms

We may update these terms as the service evolves. Material changes will be announced inside the app and by email at least 14 days before they take effect. Continued use after that constitutes acceptance.

13. Governing law

These terms are governed by the laws of the Republic of Ghana. Any disputes will be resolved in the courts of Ghana, except where local consumer protection laws give you different rights.

14. Contact

Questions about these terms? Email salam@tilawaapp.com.