United Arab Emirates · Sacred / Ritual / Religious Craft Objects
No single standardized local term documented beyond general reference to the carpet
The hand-knotting of a monumental Islamic medallion prayer carpet for the main prayer hall of the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque, Abu Dhabi, certified by Guinness World Records as the largest hand-knotted carpet in the world. Third-generation carpet maker and artist Dr. Ali Khaliqi was directly responsible for the carpet's intricate Islamic medallion design; the single-piece, predominantly wool-and-cotton carpet, reported variously as between 5,400 and 5,700 square meters in size and weighing approximately 35 tons, was hand-crafted by roughly 1,200 artisans working for Iran's Carpet Company over the course of two years, with approximately eight months dedicated to designing and around twelve months to knotting, the remainder of the time spent weaving nine separately produced pieces together and transporting them by air to Abu Dhabi for final installation. The carpet's complex medallion-based Islamic design radiates outward in symmetry and harmony, its circular arabesque motifs echoed directly overhead in the design of the prayer hall's chandeliers, guiding the worshipper's eye and, according to the mosque's own visitor materials, the soul, toward the center of worship. The mosque's wider decorative program directly complements the carpet: its 82 domes feature interior artwork in reinforced plaster decorated with verses from the Holy Quran rendered in multiple named Arabic calligraphy styles, including Naskh, Thuluth, and Kufi, while a specific mihrab wall panel, covered in premium Italian marble, features an elaborate pentagonal floral pattern with each petal containing one of the 99 Beautiful Names of Allah rendered in Kufic script, centered on a large circle inscribed with the word 'Allah' itself. Since Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan's death in 2004, the Quran has been recited within the mosque 24 hours a day, seven days a week in his honor, paused only during the five daily prayer times. The mosque itself, commissioned by Sheikh Zayed, the UAE's founding father, and completed in 2007, blends architectural influences from Moroccan, Mughal, Ottoman, Mamluk, and Fatimid Islamic traditions, and functions as a genuine international craft collaboration, its carpet specifically produced in Iran for permanent installation in the UAE.
Risk level: Stable · Not independently inscribed; the carpet itself is certified by Guinness World Records as the largest hand-knotted carpet in the world
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