# criterion

A hosted MCP server that answers natural-language questions over 6,236 Quran verses and hadith from six collections. Every hit comes with a source link.

- MCP server · `type=mcp` · Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, GitHub Copilot, Windsurf (Devin Desktop), Cline, Zed, Gemini CLI · ★ 20
- Author: BalajSaleem
- License: not stated · policy=link-only · description only; the file stays with the author
- Source: https://github.com/BalajSaleem/criterion
- Updated: 2026-10-23
- HTML: https://affpapa.org/en/nevibecode/mcp/criterion

## What it does

Two tools ship with it: one searches the Quran, the other searches hadith. You ask in plain language and get passages back, each tied to Quran.com or Sunnah.com. Hadith results can be narrowed by collection and by authenticity grade.

There is nothing to install locally and no API key to obtain. Point the client at `https://criterion.life/api/mcp` over HTTP and the tools appear. That also sets the failure mode: the search runs on someone else's host. When the endpoint is down, the tools go quiet in your session and there is no local copy to fall back on.

Results lean on canonical texts rather than on whatever the model remembers, and the project stays away from sectarian argument by design. Handy if your assistant has to quote scripture and prove where the quote came from.

## Requirements
- Remote server: `https://criterion.life/api/mcp`

## Install

### Claude Code (native platform)

**Platform CLI: remote server**
```bash
claude mcp add --transport http criterion https://criterion.life/api/mcp
```

### Codex

**Platform CLI: remote server**
```bash
codex mcp add criterion --url https://criterion.life/api/mcp
```

### Cursor

**Config file**
File `.cursor/mcp.json`:
```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "criterion": {
            "url": "https://criterion.life/api/mcp"
        }
    }
}
```

### GitHub Copilot

**Config file**
File `.vscode/mcp.json`:
```json
{
    "servers": {
        "criterion": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://criterion.life/api/mcp"
        }
    }
}
```

### Gemini CLI

**Platform CLI: remote server**
```bash
gemini mcp add -t http criterion https://criterion.life/api/mcp
```

## When to use it
- pull verses by meaning instead of exact wording
- narrow hadith results by collection and authenticity grade
- get a citation that points back to Quran.com or Sunnah.com
- show the surrounding verses so a passage is not read out of context

## Example prompts
- Find Quran verses about patience and give me the references
- Search hadith on charity, but only from Sahih Bukhari
- Look up hadith about kindness to parents with Sahih grade

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