The Kiswa, the finely embroidered black cloth that covers the holy Kaaba at the center of the Grand Mosque in Makkah, was replaced, as it is customary every year, on the eve of second day of Hajj when most worshipers have made the trek to Mount Arafat. One of the most beloved events of Hajj, the Kiswa replacement process, which took place on Wednesday night, is administered by the staff of the General Presidency for the Affairs of the Grand Mosque and the Prophet Mosque.
The Kiswa is replaced once a year during Hajj after the pilgrims go to Mount Arafat for the peak day of Hajj in preparation for receiving worshippers the next morning, which coincides with Eid Al-Adha. Pilgrims marked on Thursday the second day of Hajj, known as Day of Arafat, as they left the holy site of Mina for Mount Arafat, where pilgrims stand in contemplation, praying and asking God for forgiveness of their sins amid continuous chanting of the Talibyah prayer.
The Kiswa is replaced on the ninth of Dhul Hijjah follows in the footsteps of the Prophet Muhammad and his companions. It was reported that after the conquest of Makkah in the ninth Hijri year, the Prophet covered the Kaaba in Yemeni clothes as he performed his farewell pilgrimage. The tradition of the Kiswa, it is generally believed, began with Taba’ Alhemyari, king of a civilisation that existed in Yemen from 1000 BC to 550 CE. Making a pilgrimage to pre-Islamic Makkah – a common practice even before the advent of Islam — he made the decision to cover the Kaaba with a crude cloth, thus beginning a tradition that continues today. Today’s Kiswas, however, are anything but crude.
The Kiswa consumes about 670 kilograms of raw high-quality silk and 120kg of gold threads and 100kg of silver threads. To complete the Kiswa, 47 pieces are sewn together to create five separate parts of the covering. For each of the 4 sides of the Kaaba, a part of the Kiswa is custom-made and measured as the Kaaba, not being a geometrical cube, has sides with different dimensions. Once completed, the pieces are sewn together. The fifth section covers the Kaaba’s door.
The final Kiswa is about 1 meter wide and 14 meters high. On top is a 95cm-wide belt that comprises 16 pieces of Islamic embroidery. Selected verses of the Quran are written under the belt, and also cover every side of the Kaaba. These embroideries are carefully sewn using gold-plated silver thread. As many as 200 Saudi craftsmen are engaged in producing the black curtain at the King Abdul Aziz Complex for The Kiswa.
Holy Kaaba was donned with a new Kiswa, constituted of four sides and a sitar (curtain) for the door. Each of the four parts of the Kiswa were separately raised, in preparation for stretching it on the old side. The side was consolidated from above by tying it and dropping at the other end after the old side’s ropes were untied by moving the new side up and down. Then, the old side was removed from the bottom and the new side remained, with the process repeated four times for each section until the operation was complete and the belt was sewn in a line, straight with the four sides.
The cladding is externally woven with inscriptions woven with black textile threads. The Kaaba belt is made up of 16 pieces, in addition to six pieces, 12 lamps under the belt, four bumpers placed in the corners of the Kaaba and five lamps above the Black Stone, along with an outer curtain for the Kaaba’s door.
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