Construction of Kiswa?
A minimum of 670 kg of silk is needed for the kiswak to cover the center of the mosque, which is 15 meters high and 10-12 meters long. Silk imported from Italy would be blended with cotton. The embroidery is done using silver and gold plated thread imported from Germany.
Kiswah was originally made by traditional Egyptian craftsmen. In 1962, the Saudi government took over the construction of the Kiswa. A new Kiswa is made every year by dozens of workers. The cost of sewing and embroidering this holy mantle is around Rs 50 crore.
The silk and threads used to make Kiswa are subjected to various tests to ensure their strength and durability. Resilience to climate change will also be examined.
Officials are monitoring Kiswa 24 hours a day. Dust and other particles are wiped away immediately.
Tradition of Kiswa
Arab News reports that Tubbaa Al-Humairi, the king of Yemen, was the first to cover the Kaaba. It was in pre-Islamic times. Kiswa’s model has been changed multiple times. Different colored cloths have also been used to cover the mosque.
Prophet Muhammad is believed to have covered the Kaaba with a white and red striped Yemeni cloth. After that white cloth, green cloth, red brocade, yellow brocade and black brocade were also used. Now black cloth is used to make Kiswa.
At the end of the Hajj season, the kizwa is cut into several pieces and distributed to religious institutions or other dignitaries. Believers consider these as very valuable cloth.
This year, 10 lakh pilgrims are participating in Hajj. 850,000 of them are from outside Saudi Arabia. Due to Covid, the number of people who could participate in Hajj was reduced in the last two years.
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