Fanar

fanar-mcp

A Model Context Protocol server for Fanar, the Arabic-centric generative AI platform built by QCRI at Hamad Bin Khalifa University. It gives any MCP client (Claude Desktop, Claude Code, Cursor, and other agent harnesses) Fanar's chat models, cited Islamic question answering, Qur'an and hadith quotation checks, deep research, Arabic-English translation, Arabic speech in both directions, and image generation.

Built for the Islamic finance community first: ask a fiqh question and get the sources, check every quotation in a draft before it is published, and translate classical Arabic texts.

Independent open-source project by Blade Labs. Not affiliated with or endorsed by QCRI or HBKU. Status: alpha.

Tools

Tool	What it does	Fanar model	Default limit per key
fanar_list_models	Models your key may call. Start here: entitlements differ per key
fanar_chat	Chat in Arabic (MSA and dialects) or English, optional step-by-step thinking	Fanar-C-2-27B, Fanar	50 a minute
fanar_islamic_qa	Islamic Q&A with references; madhab and source filters on Sadiq-2	Fanar-Sadiq, Fanar-Sadiq-2	50 a minute
fanar_validate_quotations	Finds and verifies Qur'an and hadith quotations in any text	Fanar-Sadiq-2	200 a minute
fanar_deep_research, fanar_deep_research_result	Structured, cited research report on an Islamic topic (minutes)	Fanar-Sadiq-2	20 a day
fanar_translate	Arabic-English translation, including classical texts	Fanar-3.0-Shaheen-Translate	20 a day
fanar_text_to_speech	Arabic or English speech in ten voices; Qur'an reciters on Sadiq-TTS	Fanar-Aura-TTS-2	20 a day
fanar_transcribe	Arabic (with dialects) or English speech to text; long-form option	Fanar-Aura-STT-1, STT-LF-1	20 a day, 10 long-form
fanar_generate_image	Culturally aware image generation	Fanar-Oryx-IG-2	20 a day
fanar_moderate	Safety and cultural-awareness scores for a prompt and response	Fanar-Guard-2	50 a minute
fanar_poem	Arabic poetry in the classical tradition	Fanar-Diwan	50 a minute

Limits are Fanar's published defaults; every result carries the remaining quota Fanar reports. A tool that needs a model your key lacks returns a clear error with the link to request access.

Prompts: islamic_finance_question (answer with sources and checked quotations) and verify_islamic_quotations (check a text before publishing).

Get a key

Request API access at https://api.fanar.qa/request. Fanar deactivates keys after 90 days without use.

Install and configure

Requires Python 3.10 or later.

pip install fanar-mcp          # or run it without installing: uvx fanar-mcp
uvx --from git+https://github.com/Blade-Labs/fanar-mcp fanar-mcp   # straight from GitHub

Claude Desktop (claude_desktop_config.json):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "fanar": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": ["fanar-mcp"],
      "env": { "FANAR_API_KEY": "your-key" }
    }
  }
}

Claude Code:

claude mcp add fanar -e FANAR_API_KEY=your-key -- uvx fanar-mcp

Cursor and other clients take the same command (uvx fanar-mcp) and the FANAR_API_KEY variable. For a shared server, run fanar-mcp --transport streamable-http --port 8765.

Environment variables: FANAR_API_KEY (required), FANAR_BASE_URL (default https://api.fanar.qa/v1), FANAR_MCP_OUTPUT_DIR (where audio and images are saved; default ~/fanar-mcp-output).

Responsible use

• Answers from fanar_islamic_qa are cited answers, not fatwas. Show the references, note differences between schools, and refer binding questions to a qualified scholar or Shariah board.
• A quotation that fanar_validate_quotations leaves untagged was not verified. Treat it as unverified.
• Your use of the API is governed by Fanar's own terms. Read them before using Fanar in a commercial product.
• The server never logs or returns your API key.

Development

pip install -e ".[test]"
pytest                        # offline tests, no network or key needed
FANAR_API_KEY=... python scripts/smoke.py   # live check through a real MCP client

License

Apache-2.0. See LICENSE.