MAKKAH: The Kaaba is to receive a new Kiswa — the specially adorned black silk cloth covering the entire structure — on Dhul Hijjah 9. According to the Saudi Press Agency, Saleh ibn Abdul Rahman Al-Hosayen, head of the Presidency of the Two Holy Mosques, is to hand over the new Kiswa to the Kaaba’s senior keeper, Abdul Aziz Al-Shaibi, at the Kiswa factory in Makkah on Nov. 29.
The handover ceremony will also be attended by Muhammad Al-Khozaim, vice president of the presidency, Ziyad Khoja, general supervisor of the Kiswa factory, and the Grand Mosque’s keepers.
The Kaaba is draped in a new Kiswa every year during the Haj. Expert artisans embroider the cloth with gold and silver threads to create calligraphy using the verses from the Qur’an. The Kiswa is made of approximately 670 kilograms of pure white silk, which is later dyed black, and around 150 kilograms of gold and silver. It costs more than SR20 millions and is considered one of the most exquisite works of Islamic art.
The Kiswa is composed of three parts: a Sitaar (curtain) of the Kaaba door, an inner lining curtain inside the Kaaba and a Hizam (the belt). It is manufactured at the Kiswa factory, which is located in Makkah’s Umm Al-Joud suburb. More than 240 people work in the factory. Skilled craftsmen use a combination of the latest technology, ancient looms and artistic calligraphy to produce a work of exotic beauty.
The Kiswa consists of 47 pieces of cloth and each piece is 14 meters long and 101 cm broad. The Kiswa is wrapped around the Kaaba and fixed to the ground with copper rings. Because of the spiritual significance of the Kaaba, an official Kiswa factory was established during the reign of King Abdul Aziz in 1926 with Sheikh Abdul Rahman Muzhar as its first manager.
During the time of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), the Kiswa was made of cloth from Yemen; it was changed and renewed twice a year — before Ramadan and during Haj. Later, during the reign of the four caliphs, providing the Kiswa was formally undertaken as a state obligation.
