An Arabic majlis is the room where a family receives guests, and the raised seating that lines its walls: sofa-height upholstered units with a solid base, tall fixed backs and arm bolsters, set in a straight row, an L or a U. Sofhu manufactures majlis sets in Türkiye to each customer's wall measurements, with 32 kg/m³ foam and free worldwide shipping.
- Product
- Raised, sofa-height upholstered seating units
- Build
- Solid upholstered base, tall fixed backs, arm bolsters, piping and trim
- Maker
- Sofhu, manufacturer, made in Türkiye
- Sizing
- Made to measure from your wall lengths
- Layouts
- Single row, L-shape, U-shape
- Seat filling
- 32 kg/m³ (32 DNS) high-density foam, no springs
- Shipping
- Free worldwide
- Next step
- Quote by measurement or WhatsApp
On this page
An Arabic majlis is two things at once. It is the room in the house where guests are received, and it is the seating built for that room. At Sofhu, the Arabic majlis is the raised product: sofa-height units, fully upholstered, with a solid upholstered base, tall fixed backs, arm bolsters, piping and trim, usually made as an L or a U that lines the walls of a formal guest room. The word comes from jalasa, to sit, and its plural is majalis, though in English you will see majlises just as often. This page covers the furniture: what a set contains, which layout fits which room, what is inside and how Sofhu builds one to your walls in Türkiye.
Majlis or floor sofa?
Sofhu makes two different kinds of Arabic seating, and older pages on the web use “majlis” for both. They are not the same product.
| Arabic majlis | Arabic floor sofa | |
|---|---|---|
| Height | Raised, sofa height | Low, at floor level |
| Build | Structured upholstered units on a solid base | Seat mattress, loose back cushions, armrest blocks |
| Look | Tall fixed backs, arm bolsters, piping and trim | Kilim, star, medallion, sadu and striped fabrics |
| Suits | A formal guest room, lined wall to wall | Family rooms and flexible spaces, easy to rearrange |
If the low version is what you have in mind, go to the Arabic floor sofa page. The rest of this page is about the raised majlis.
For comparison, the navy set above is an Arabic floor sofa, not a majlis: a low seat with loose back cushions, an ottoman, a rug and floor pillows. Its eight-point star motif is a Sofhu design, not a claim about any country’s textile heritage.
What an Arabic majlis is
A majlis is perimeter seating. Everyone sits with their back to a wall and faces the centre, so nobody is behind anybody and the host can see every guest. UNESCO, which added the majlis to its list of intangible cultural heritage in 2015 on a joint file from the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Oman and Qatar, describes it as a large space with carpets on the floor and cushions against the wall. What was recognised is the gathering, not a furniture style, which is why an Arabian majlis in Riyadh, a diwan in Sana’a and a family sitting room in Detroit can look different and still be the same thing.
If you want the word itself explained, read our note on the meaning of majlis in English. For the background, the history of the Arabic sofa traces how the floor mattress became today’s upholstered set.
What a full Arabic majlis set contains
A set is a run of matching units, and the count follows your walls. The tradition names three parts, and on a Sofhu majlis all three are built into each upholstered unit:
- Seat (farsha): firm foam on a solid upholstered base, at sofa height.
- Backrest (masnad): a tall fixed back, not a loose cushion.
- Armrest bolster (markā): the bolster or shaped arm that divides one place from the next.
Around that core, a complete room adds throw pillows and a matching rug. Curtains and wall decor can be added for a full guest room.
The photo above shows the smallest version of the idea: a single majlis unit against one wall. Lengthen that run and turn it at the corner and you have every larger layout. Each piece is named and explained in parts of a majlis set, and the question of how many backrests and armrests a run needs has its own guide.
Majlis layouts: straight, L-shape and U-shape
The layout is decided by how many walls are free, not by how big the room is. Count the walls that have no door swinging into them and no radiator or low window in the way, then read across.
| Layout | Walls used | Suits | Watch for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Single row | One | Apartments, a family corner, an office | Fewer places for guests |
| L-shape | Two that meet | Most living rooms, rooms with a door on one side | The corner place is deep, not wide |
| U-shape | Three | A dedicated guest room, large family gatherings | Leave walking space at the open end |
The two photos show the same black and cream majlis as an L and as a U. An L keeps one side of the room open, so it is the layout that most often works in a Western floor plan where a doorway or a patio door takes up a wall. A U is the classic guest-room arrangement: three walls of seating around a rug, with a low table in the middle for the tray.
We do not publish seat counts per set, because a made-to-measure run is divided to fit your walls. The guides on how many people a majlis seats and L-shape and U-shape layouts explain how to estimate it yourself, and the U-shape gallery and L-shape gallery show real proportions.
What is inside an Arabic majlis set
The seats are solid foam under upholstery. There are no springs in the cushions.
| Part | What Sofhu uses |
|---|---|
| Seat filling | 32 kg/m³ (32 DNS) high-density polyurethane foam |
| Feel | Firm as standard, softer or firmer on request |
| Base | Solid and fully upholstered, at sofa height |
| Back and arms | Tall fixed backs, arm bolsters, piping and trim |
The number 32 is a density, the weight of one cubic metre of the foam in kilograms. It says how much material is in the cushion, not how hard it feels. The Polyurethane Foam Association puts it this way: the higher the polymer density, the better the foam retains its original properties. In practice, denser foam is better at keeping its height and support under daily sitting. Our guide to foam density for floor seating goes through the figures.
A majlis sits at sofa height, which makes it easy to rise from; a floor sofa sits close to the ground in the old way. The majlis seat height guide compares the two before you decide.
Regional majlis styles
The guest room is dressed differently from one country to the next, and the seating in it ranges from floor level to bench height. These are the styles customers ask us for most.
- Saudi. A formal guest hall with seating around the walls; in Najd and the north the coffee hearth is part of the room. See the Saudi majlis.
- Emirati. The word here is often jalsa, and the room extends outdoors and into the tent as readily as into the villa. See the Emirati and Dubai jalsa.
- Kuwaiti. The diwaniya is a standing social institution with its own street door, commonly a U-shaped hall. See the Kuwaiti diwaniya.
- Yemeni. The top-floor mafraj and the diwan of the tower house, built for long afternoon sittings at floor level. Read about Yemeni diwan and mafraj seating or see Sofhu’s own Yemeni range.
- Moroccan. The sedari is bench height on a wooden base, around a central table. Sofhu’s raised majlis and wooden-frame sets are the closest match. See the Moroccan sedari.
- Afghan. The toshak is a thin floor mattress that serves as seat and bed, with loose pillows instead of fixed armrests. It belongs to the floor sofa family. See Afghan toshak floor seating.
For a side-by-side reading of three traditions, see Yemeni vs Saudi vs Moroccan majlis. Sofhu also builds frame-based sets: the carved-wood Turkish majlis and the wooden bench sets shown on the cedar majlis page.
Fabrics and colours
Fabric decides how a majlis looks on the first day and how it wears after that. Velvet gives depth of colour and is the usual choice for a formal guest room. Linen breathes and suits hot climates and rooms used all day. Woven jacquard and chenille carry medallion and kilim-style patterns in the weave itself. The series names are listed on our fabrics page, and velvet vs linen vs jacquard compares them for heat, children and cleaning.
Colour follows the room’s purpose. Cream and beige keep a small room light. Navy, teal and burgundy hide everyday marks and feel settled in the evening. Black with gold is what many shoppers mean by a royal majlis: a formal room meant to impress, usually a full U with matching rug. Browse by colour in the navy and blue, green and teal, cream, beige and gold and black and grey galleries. The galleries show majlis sets and floor sofas side by side, each named.
How ordering a made-to-measure majlis works
Sofhu is the manufacturer, so the order goes from your measurements straight to the workshop.
- Measure. Write down the length of each wall the seating will run along, and mark doors, windows, radiators and sockets. A phone photo of the room helps. The steps are in how to measure a room for a majlis.
- Choose. Pick the layout, a colour and a fabric type. A screenshot of a set you like is enough to start, and it tells us at once whether you mean a majlis or a floor sofa.
- Send it. Use the quote by measurement form or WhatsApp. We reply with a layout for your walls and a price for that exact set.
- Confirm the details. Fabric, trim, soft or firm foam, accessories. Designers are available by video call if you want to walk through the room together.
- Production and delivery. The set is made in Türkiye, inspected, packed and shipped free to your door.
The full walk-through is in how to order a custom majlis online, and custom majlis lists everything that can be changed.
Where Sofhu delivers Arabic majlis furniture
Shipping is free worldwide. Sofhu has no local shops abroad; every set is built to order and sent from Türkiye to the customer’s address. Import duties or taxes may apply depending on the destination, and you can ask us about your country before ordering.
Country pages give local detail on homes, climate and delivery: Canada, the United Kingdom, the UAE and Saudi Arabia, with more on the United States in our import guide. If you already know your measurements, get a quote or contact us and we will take it from there.
