Most learning management systems fail Islamic academies because they assume pre-recorded videos rather than live Halaqah recitation. Al-Ibiewi LMS was engineered to bring live classes, Quran progress, attendance, and payments into one unified operating system.
- 10Registered AcademiesOnboarded within 24 hours of launch
- ₦500Monthly Per StudentBilled monthly through Paystack
- 0Third-Party FeesSelf-hosted Docker Compose on Contabo VPS
- Role
- Founder, Product Designer & Full-Stack Software Engineer
- Timeline
- Shipped & Live
- Client
- Proprietary Multi-Tenant SaaS Platform
- Stack
- Next.js 16, TypeScript, Tailwind CSS, Prisma ORM, PostgreSQL
The discovery and structural gap
AfterbuildingAl-AmānahAcademyandworkingcloselywithonlineQuraninstitutes,Isawtherecurringoperationalheadachedirectorsfaced.TheystartedwithaWhatsAppgroupandaspreadsheet,whichworkedfineforfivestudents.Butastheacademygrewpasttwentyorfiftylearners,administrationfellapart.Directorsweretrackingattendanceinonesheet,paymentsinanother,classlinksinWhatsApp,andstudentQuranprogressinhandwrittennotes.Traditionalschoolmanagementsystemsassumedphysicalbrick-and-mortarbuildingswithbusroutes,whileWesternLMSplatformschargedexpensivedollarfeeswithoutsupportingNigerianpaymentrailsorlive1-on-1recitationpedagogy.
A modular monolith and deep pedagogical integration
Ratherthanstitchingtogetherthird-partySaaStoolsthatdriveupcosts,IengineeredamodularmonolithwithNext.js16,TypeScript,andPrismaonPostgreSQL,whereeveryqueryisscopedtoasingleschool.Teacherslogeachclassononeshortscreen:attendance,theSurahandayahrange,whetheritwasanewlessonorarevision,Tajweednotes,andhowitwent.IintegratedPaystacksoeachacademypaysonemonthlybillof₦500peractivelearner,builtWebPushremindersthatreachteachersandparentsattherightmoment,generatedmonthlyprogressreportsandreportcardsstraightfromtheclasslogs,andauthoredazero-dependencyWordPresscompanionpluginsoacademiescouldembedtrialbookingformsandstudentloginbuttonsontheirexistingwebsiteswithoutmigratingdomains.
10 academies within 24 hours of launch
Theresponsefromacademydirectorswasimmediate.Within24hoursoflaunch,10independentIslamicacademiesregisteredtheirschoolsontheplatform.Directorsgainedaninstantcommandcenterfortuitiontrackingandattendanceaudits,teacherssavedhourspreviouslylosttomanualreporting,andparentsreceivedtheirowndedicatedportaltomonitortheirchildren'sQuranmemorizationandjoinliveclassesinoneclick.Bypairingrigorousengineeringdisciplinewithdeepdomainunderstanding,Al-IbiewiLMStransformedacomplexadministrativeburdenintoareliable,self-sustainingdigitalengine.
Under the hood
The decisions that made the outcome possible.
- 01Next.js 16 App Router Modular Monolith Architecture
- 02PostgreSQL 17 with Mandatory Per-School Query Scoping and a Least-Privilege Database Role
- 03Monthly Paystack Billing on Peak Active Learners (₦500/learner)
- 04Web Push API and Service Worker Integration for Class Alerts
- 05Timezone-Aware Scheduling, Including Classes That Run Past Midnight
- 06Monthly Progress Reports and PDF Report Cards Generated from Class Logs
- 07Zero-Dependency Custom PHP WordPress Companion Plugin
- 08Installable PWA on Phone and Desktop
- 09Docker Compose Deployment on Contabo VPS with Zero Extra Overhead
Current captures from the live product: the public site, the director's dashboard, Paystack billing, teacher tools, and the phone apps for families and teachers.
Looking back
Abubakar Zubair Okhayole
BuildingAl-IbiewiLMSprovedthatsoftwareismostpowerfulwhenitisbuiltfromdirectdomainempathy.HavingworkedwithIslamiceducatorsfirsthand,Iknewtheirfrictionpointsintimately.DesigningtheUIwithcalmrestraint,writingtype-safeNext.jsserveractions,enforcingmulti-tenantisolation,anddeployingoncost-effectiveVPSinfrastructureallowedustoshipaproductionsystemthatsolvesgenuineoperationalproblemswithoutunnecessaryoverhead.
