Two hand-knotted carpets, each covering thousands of square metres, hold the records. Here is what is known about them — and what they have in common with an ordinary mosque carpet.
The two largest carpets ever woven for a mosque lie in the Gulf: one in Abu Dhabi, one in Muscat. Both were hand-knotted in Iran, both cover thousands of square metres, and both had to be cut into sections and pieced together around the columns of the prayer hall. Published figures for them vary from source to source, so the numbers below are given as ranges where they disagree.
Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque, Abu Dhabi
The carpet of the main prayer hall is widely described as the largest hand-knotted carpet in the world.
- Size: about 5,400–5,700 m², most often quoted as 5,627 m² (around 60,500 sq ft).
- Knots: about 2.2–2.5 billion; the 2.5 billion figure is the one associated with its Guinness World Records certification in 2007.
- Weight: around 35 tonnes of wool and cotton.
- Made by: the Iran Carpet Company, to a design by Ali Khaliqi, with some 1,200 weavers working mostly around Mashhad.
Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque, Muscat
Before Abu Dhabi, the record belonged to Muscat — and its carpet is still the second largest.
- Size: roughly 70 × 60 metres, with the area reported at about 4,200–4,300 m².
- Knots: about 1.7 billion, in 28 colours drawing on the Tabriz, Kashan and Isfahan traditions.
- Weight: about 21 tonnes.
- Made by: the Iran Carpet Company, over roughly four years.
It was woven in sections, transported to Muscat and joined in place around the prayer hall's columns.
Hand-knotted versus machine-woven
Record carpets like these are hand-knotted: every knot tied by hand, which is why they take years and hundreds of weavers. Almost every other mosque in the world is carpeted with machine-woven carpet, made on computer-controlled looms that place every tuft exactly where the design says. It is woven in weeks rather than years, at a fraction of the cost, and can still be made to the exact size of the hall. Our guide to how mosque carpets are made follows the process from yarn to prayer hall.
What every mosque carpet shares with the giants
- It is planned on the hall's drawing. Muscat's carpet was designed around its columns; so is every made-to-measure carpet.
- It arrives in pieces. Even the record carpets were joined on site. Ordinary mosque carpet arrives as rolls, and the seams are planned to fall where the design hides them — see mosque carpet rolls.
- The design faces the qibla. Whatever the size, the layout starts from the qibla wall.
Frequently asked questions
Which mosque has the largest carpet in the world?
Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi, with a hand-knotted carpet of about 5,600 m².
How heavy is the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque carpet?
Around 35 tonnes, according to most published sources.
What is the second largest mosque carpet?
The carpet of Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque in Muscat, about 4,200–4,300 m² and 21 tonnes.
Planning a carpet for your own hall? Start with our mosque carpet calculator or browse the model catalogue.