Islamic Wall Art Ideas for a Majlis and Living Room

Most advice about hanging Islamic wall art stops at “choose a verse you love.” Useful, but it does not tell you how many pieces, what size, or how far apart. Here are nine arrangements that work, with numbers.

1. The single statement roundel

One large ornate circular piece, centred above the main seating. The most forgiving arrangement there is — there is nothing to align wrongly. Size it at two thirds the width of the sofa below, which on a three-seat run means 80 cm or larger. Leave 15–25 cm between the sofa back and the bottom of the piece.

Best for: a busy room. A single circle is quiet enough to sit over patterned majlis seating without competing.

2. The stepped trio

A 60 cm centrepiece with two 40 cm companions, the companions hung slightly lower so the group reads as a hang rather than a row. Gaps of 8–12 cm. Treat the whole group as one rectangle and centre that on the furniture.

Best for: a wide wall on a sensible budget — three pieces cover far more wall than one large one at the same spend.

3. The over-console band

A long panoramic piece — Bismillah or a du'a in flowing Thuluth — hung above a console or sideboard. Aim for the piece to be a little narrower than the console, never wider. Height: 20–30 cm of clear wall between the console top and the piece, so objects on the console do not crowd it.

Best for: entrance halls and the long low sideboards common in UAE apartments.

4. The Kufic set of three

Subhanallah, Alhamdulillah, Allahu Akbar in square Kufic, hung in a row at identical height with equal gaps. Because square Kufic forces each phrase into the same square outline, the three panels are automatically the same size — the tidiest arrangement in this list.

Best for: minimal, modern interiors where a Thuluth medallion would feel too ceremonial.

5. The vertical pair beside a door

Two tall narrow pieces — a Kalima teardrop, a sculptural Alhamdulillah — flanking a doorway or a window at matching heights. Keeps a wall that has no room for anything horizontal from being dead space.

6. Four Quls, four panels

The three Quls plus Ayat al-Kursi, or the four protective surahs, as a 2×2 grid. Equal gaps all round, 8–10 cm. A grid is more formal than a row; it suits a square wall where a horizontal line would look stranded.

7. The staircase climb

Three or four pieces following the rake of a staircase, each one hung at the same height above the step it sits over. The single most under-used wall in a UAE villa.

Keep them small — 40 cm — because you view them from close range.

8. The asymmetric gallery

One large ornate piece off-centre, with two or three smaller pieces clustered to one side at varied heights. Harder to get right and much more interesting when you do. The trick is to keep the outer edge of the group aligned — an invisible vertical line on the left and on the right — and let the heights vary inside it.

9. The mirror and calligraphy pairing

An acrylic mirror with a calligraphy piece beside it, at the same height. Works particularly well in an entrance hall where you want a mirror anyway, and it stops the mirror from looking purely functional.

Three things that ruin otherwise good arrangements

• Hanging too high. The centre of a piece, or of a group, belongs at 145–152 cm from the floor. Almost everyone goes higher, because they centre on the empty wall rather than relating the art to the furniture.
• Mixing finishes within one group. Gold and silver in the same hang almost never works. Pick one and let the room's metals agree with it.
• Too small. If you are deciding between two sizes on price, buy the larger one later rather than the smaller one now.

Choosing the finish for the room

Gloss piano black is the safe, architectural choice — it reads as structure, holds up against pattern, and works in any light. Mirror gold lifts a flat, pale wall and sits beautifully with warm stone and brass. Mirror silver is the cooler, more contemporary option and suits grey and white interiors. Mirror finishes are at their best on an inside wall or one catching morning light rather than a wall taking direct afternoon sun all year.

Everything here is cut to order in our own Dubai workshop. Browse Islamic wall art, or read the size guide and the guide to calligraphy styles. If your wall needs a size we do not list, send us the measurement.