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Majlis^[a] is an Arabic term meaning ‘sitting room’. it refers to spaces designated for hosting guests and families in homes or for holding conversations in pub buildings, such as legislative and council assemblies. Generally, majlis refers to both spaces for hosting and socialization in homes and for conducting administrative roles in legislative councils and assembilies.^[2][3][4]

Majlis is the Arabic word for a “sitting room.”^[5] Its Semitic root is the verb جَلَس jalas meaning ‘to sit’, (cf. British English ‘sitting room‘ and ‘seat of government‘).^[6]

It is also romanized as Mejlis or Majles.^{[citation needed]}

In pre-Islamic Arabia, a majlis was a tribal council in which the male members participated in making decisions of common interest.^[7] As a domestic space, majlis were common in the pre-Islamic period when Bedouins lived in tents, in which they also welcomed and hosted guests. In administrative councils, meetings in the majlis were typically presided over by the chief (Sheikh).^[8] During the period of the Rashidun Caliphate, the Majlis al-Shura was formed to elect a new caliph. Al-Mawardi has written that members of the majlis should satisfy three conditions: they must be just, they must have enough knowledge to distinguish a good caliph from a bad one, and must have sufficient wisdom and judgement to select the best caliph. Thus, the majlis represents not only the history of Arab societies, but also symbolizes efforts to accommodate all family members and elect good leaders.

Majlis is also used to refer to a private place where guests are received and entertained. This designation of the majlis highlights Arab hospitality as homes were designed to provide comfort to family members and guests..^[4] Notably, rooms designated as majlis often have cushions placed along the walls where vistors sit, either with the cushions placed directly on the floor or upon a raised shelf. This elaborate preparation to host guests demonstrates the accomdating nature of the Arab culture, contrary to media stereotypes portraying Arabs as violent and unwelcoming to outsiders.

In typical Arab homes, the majlis is the meeting room or front parlor used to entertain visitors. Arab architecture integrates this use into building design by ensuring the front parlor is large enough to accommodate and entertain guests, making it the equivalent of the living room in the Western context. However, there is a distinction between the two: Whereas the former has a cultural and social significance, the latter places emphasis on functional and esthetic aspects.

The role of women in determining the majlis’ appearance and aesthetics suggests the recognition of women’s place in Arab cultures, contrary to the stereotyped nation that women are marginalized and their voices suppressed ¹⁰. For example, in Saudi Arabia, the decoration of the majlis in the home is often the responsibility of the women of the house, who either decorate the area themselves or barter with other women to do it for them. In Asir Province and in the neighboring Saada Governorate of Yemen, geometric designs and bright colors are used in al-Qatt Al-Asiri, a style of painting the majlis.^[4] This control over decoration of the majlis aligns with the role of women as home makers in the Arab world ¹¹.

Majlis also function as public waiting rooms, since it’s an area where people meet and visit. Integrating majlis to public spaces such as waiting rooms symbolizes a continuation of the Arab hosting and hospitality culture borne in the desert hundreds of years ago when Bedouins lived in tents. For example,The provincial airport in Abha has recently been designed to reflect the cultural heritage of the region, an airport official said: “Abha is the first city in the Kingdom to have its airport decorated in a local-heritage style,” said Provincial Airport Director Abdul Aziz Abu Harba. “The seating arrangement at the airport lounge has been in the form of a traditional majlis and the walls are painted in various colors reflecting the natural beauty of Asir.”^[9] creating such spaces in public buildings not only celebrates the rich cultural history of Arab societies arounf the world, but demonstrates how the architecture and the built enviroment can serve as platforms for cultural preservation.

Saudi Arabia is arguably one of the modern societies where the Arab culture runs deep and is interwined with everyday life. Notably, In the Najd of Saudi Arabia, wall coverings include star shapes and other geometric designs carved into the wall covering itself. Courtyards and upper pillared porticoes are principal features of the best Nadjdi architecture, in addition to the fine incised plaster wood called jis and painted window shutters that decorate the reception rooms. Good examples of plasterwork can often be seen in the gaping ruins of torn-down buildings- the effect is light, delicate and airy. It is usually around the majlis, around the coffee hearth and along the walls above where guests sat on rugs, against cushions. This designgning, the courtyards and reception rooms highlight the enduring legacy of Arab hospitality even in the face of modernity ¹¹. Moreover, Suggestions that this tradition may have been borrowed from elsewhere has been refuted with comparative evidence. For example, one scholar (Doughty) wondered if this “parquetting of jis”, this “gypsum fretwork… all adorning and unenclosed” originated from India. However, Najdi fretwork seems very different from that seen in the Eastern Province and in Oman, which are linked to Indian traditions, and resembles instead the motifs and patterns found in ancient Mesopotamia. The rosette, the star, the triangle and the stepped pinnacle pattern of dadoes are all ancient patterns and were found all over the Middle East in antiquity. Al-Qassim Region seems to be the home of this art, and there it is normally worked in hard white plaster, although what you see is usually begrimed by the smoke of the coffee hearth. In Riyadh, examples can be seen in unadorned clay.^[10]

At the legislative level, mails typically function as a space for making decisions of national importance. As some scholars observe, “majlis is seamlessly integrated into both the most local, as well as the most expansive, decision making in both formal and informal settings”¹⁰. For example, the majlis refers to the National Assembly in Azerbaijan, while in Kuwait it is associated with political participation¹¹. However, the factions vary in different countries.

• Azerbaijan — the National Assembly is known as Milli Məclis
• Crimea (Ukraine-aligned) — Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People
• Cyprus — Temsilciler Meclisi, Republic of Cyprus’ House of Representatives
  • Northern Cyprus — Cumhuriyet Meclisi, Northern Cyprus’ Assembly of the Republic
• Indonesia — The People’s Consultative Assembly of Indonesia is, in Indonesian language, Majelis Permusyawaratan Rakyat (MPR)
• Iran — The Islamic Consultative Assembly is known as Majles-e Showrā-ye Eslāmī
• Iraq — The Parliament is called “Majlis an-Nuwwāb”
• Jordan — The Parliament of Jordan is known in Arabic as Majlis Al-Umma, and its lower House of Representatives is also known as Majlis Al-Nuwaab
• Kazakhstan — Majilis
• Kuwait — The National Assembly of Kuwait is known in Arabic as Majlis-al-Umma
• Malaysia – There are lots of meaning of Majlis in Malaysia because Malaysia is a dominant Muslim multiracial country. Malaysians often refer the word Majlis in the national Malay language to the local authorities such as the town council (Majlis Perbandaran) or the city council (Majlis Bandar Raya). The word Majlis can also refer to government agencies such as the People’s Trust Council (Majlis Amanah Rakyat) among the indigenous and Bumiputra Malays, the National Security Council (Majlis Keselamatan Negara), the Malaysian Examination Council (Majlis Peperiksaan Malaysia) among local students and foreigners, and for the Muslims in the country the word Majlis often relates to Islamic affairs and customs of the Malays (Majlis Hal Ehwal Agama Islam dan Adat Istiadat) and among the nine Kings of Malaysia (Majlis Raja-Raja).
• Maldives — People’s Majlis
• Oman — Majlis of Oman
• Pakistan — The Parliament of Pakistan is officially known as the Majlis-e-Shoora
• Saudi Arabia — Majlis of Saudi Arabia
• Tajikistan – the bicameral Supreme Assembly is known as the Majlisi Oli, the upper house National Assembly being known as the Majlis-i Milli, while the Assembly of Representatives, the lower house, is known as the Majlis-is Namoyandagon
• Turkey — the Grand National Assembly is known as Türkiye Büyük Millet Meclisi
• Turkmenistan — the Assembly of Turkmenistan is known as the Türkmenistanyň mejlisi
• UAE — Federal Supreme Council and Federal National Council, both called “majlis” in Arabic
• Uzbekistan — The Oliy Majlis
• Majlis Idara was the name of the administrative council of a sanjak, responsible for its general administration as part of the Ottoman Empire.
  • Majlis ‘Umumi was the name of a general council of the Sanjak of Jerusalem in the Ottoman Empire, established in Jerusalem in 1913 by representatives of different qadaas with main meetings once a year to decide on a budget for the sanjak.

On 4 December 2015, the majlis was inscribed on UNESCO’s List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in a joint file involving the participation of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Sultanate of Oman, and Qatar.^[11] The inscription is a testament to the value of the majlis as a social and cultural function, as well as a living tradition, and secures its preservation and continuity as the seat of family, social and political gatherings throughout history.

• Assembly (disambiguation)
• Board of directors
• Council (disambiguation)
• Diet (assembly)
• Parliament
• Senate

1. Mahmoud, S., & Mahmoud, S. (2015). The Majlis metamorphosis: Virtues of local traditional environmental design in a contemporary context. Theses and Dissertations. https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=4916&context=etd/
2. Arabic Majlis Dubai. (2025). Majlis vs. Living Room: What’s the Real Difference?. https://arabicmajlisdubai.com/majlis-vs-living-room-whats-the-real-difference/
3. Abhyanka, S. (2021). What we can learn from the Arab tradition of majlis. House Beautiful.
4. Brookshaw, D. (2003). Palaces, Pavilions and Pleasure-gardens: the context and setting of the medieval majlis. Middle Eastern Literatures, 6(2), 199-223. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14752620306890
5. Pal, L., & Mohamed, A. (2025). 10: The Majlis al-shura tradition in Islamic public Administration. Islamic Public Value, pp. 148-176. Edward Elgar Publishing.
6. Segal, E. (2012). Political Participation in Kuwait: Dīwāniyya, Majlis and Parliament. Journal of Arabian Studies: Arabia, the Gulf, and the Red Sea, 2(2), 127-141.