alfanous3-mcp 1.5.12

An MCP (Model Context Protocol) server that exposes the Alfanous Quranic search engine as tools and resources for AI assistants.

Alfanous MCP Server

An MCP (Model Context Protocol) server that exposes the Alfanous Quranic search engine as a set of tools and resources for AI assistants, enabling them to search, explore, and retrieve information from the Holy Qur'an.

Features

• Search Quranic verses with full support for Arabic text, Buckwalter transliteration, boolean operators, phrase search, wildcards, fuzzy matching, field filters, and facets.
• Retrieve metadata – chapter names, available translations, recitations, search field descriptions, and API defaults.
• Query auto-completion – get suggestions while typing a search query.
• AI query-translation guide as an MCP resource (quran://ai-rules) that helps AI assistants convert natural-language questions into Alfanous query syntax.

Installation

Prerequisites

1. Install the Alfanous core library and build the indexes:

   pip install alfanous3
   # or from source:
   pip install pyparsing whoosh
   cd /path/to/alfanous && make build
   

2. Install the MCP Python SDK:

   pip install mcp
   

Running the Server

stdio transport (default – works with Claude Desktop and most MCP clients)

python -m alfanous_mcp.mcp_server

Streamable-HTTP transport (for testing/development)

python -m alfanous_mcp.mcp_server --transport streamable-http

Configuring Claude Desktop

Add the following to your claude_desktop_config.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "alfanous": {
      "command": "python",
      "args": ["-m", "alfanous_mcp.mcp_server"]
    }
  }
}

Tools

search_quran

Search for verses in the Holy Qur'an.

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
query	string	(required)	Arabic text or Buckwalter transliteration
unit	string	"aya"	"aya", "word", or "translation"
page	int	1	Page number
perpage	int	10	Results per page (1–100)
sortedby	string	"relevance"	"relevance", "score", "mushaf", "tanzil", "ayalength"
fuzzy	bool	false	Enable approximate matching
view	string	"normal"	"minimal", "normal", "full", "statistic", "linguistic"
highlight	string	"bold"	"bold", "css", "html", "bbcode"
translation	string	null	Translation identifier
facets	string	null	Comma-separated facet fields
filter	string	null	Field filter expression

get_quran_info

Retrieve Qur'an metadata.

category value	Description
"chapters" / "surates"	Chapter names and numbers
"translations"	Available translation identifiers
"recitations"	Available recitation identifiers
"defaults"	Default search parameter values
"domains"	Valid values for each parameter
"fields"	Available search fields
"flags"	All supported API flags
"help_messages"	Human-readable help for parameters
"hints"	Search tips and examples
"ai_query_translation_rules"	Full query-syntax guide for AI
"all"	Everything at once

suggest_query

Get auto-completion suggestions for a partial query.

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
query	string	(required)	Partial search string
unit	string	"aya"	"aya", "word", or "translation"

Resources

quran://ai-rules

A plain-text guide that teaches AI assistants how to translate natural-language questions about the Qur'an into Alfanous query syntax. Covers all operators, field names, Arabic-specific features (synonyms, antonyms, root derivations), and over 100 practical examples.

Query Syntax Quick Reference

Pattern	Example	Meaning
Arabic word	الله	Verses containing "الله"
Buckwalter	Allh	Same, using transliteration
AND	الله رحمة	Both words present
OR	الله OR رحمن	Either word
NOT	الله NOT عذاب	First without second
Phrase	"بسم الله"	Exact phrase
Wildcard	رحم*	Words starting with رحم
Field filter	sura_number:2	Surah 2 only
Fuzzy	الله~	Approximate match

License

LGPL v3 or later – see the root LICENSE file.