Assyafaah Mosque is an attempt to create a distinctively modern mosque as an alternative to the Middle Eastern model, with its dome, arches and ornate minarets. The inspiration for the building is the universally recognisable Muslim art form of the arabesque, which is used on aluminium screens to create shadows, as well as on floor tiles and carpets. The mosque provides a naturally ventilated main prayer hall for 730 people – with a four-storey-high canted ‘mihrab’ wall – a female prayer gallery, 16 classrooms, ablution areas, administrative offices and a car park.

The design of this mosque adapted traditional elements to create contemporary versions of the arch, the minaret and the arabesque. The eight fair face concrete arches are three-dimensional and act to provide a free-span prayer space by transferring the load of the upper three levels. The minaret is designed as a sculpture held together by overlapping 25mm curved steel plates. The arabesque represents the Quran in its multiplicities nature. It appears on the gates, fencing and even the custom-designed carpet. The design brings forth universal attributes of spiritual attainment like calmness, a sense of oneness and a relationship with God. Natural light from slit-skylights creates an ethereal ambience.  In the main prayer hall, this is created with an inward tilting four-storey wall to create a sense of awe.