The Kiswah of the Ka'bah
Reflecting the sanctity of the Ka’bah, it has long been a tradition to cover the structure appropriately. Kiswah is a cloth that covers the Ka’bah in Mecca. Kiswah was first installed since pre-Islamic era. There is disagreement about the earliest makers of Kiswah between Prophet Ismail and Adnan bin Ad, the ancestor of Prophet Muhammad. Kiswah of the first woven fabric was made by the King of Yemen, called Tubba’ (As’ad Al-Himyari) 2,500 years ago after having tried and failed to destroy that ancient structure for three times.
During the time of Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessing be upon him), Kiswah was left without a replacement (because the Quraish did not let them) until the city of Mecca, dominated by Muslims (630AD/7AH). Once a time, Kiswah was burned inadvertently by a woman who is lighting incense in the Ka'bah. Since then, Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessing be upon him) covers the Kiswah with a brocade, a Yemeni cloth and a thin white Egyptian cloth known as Qibati.
During the reign of Caliph Mu'awiyyah bin Abi Sufyan (Umayyad Dinasty 662-750AD/41-132AH), Kiswah was suspended on the Ka’bah twice a year with brocade on the day of 'Ashura' and with Qibati at the end of Ramadhan. Then, Yazid bin Mu'awiyyah, Abdullah Bin Al-Zubair and Abdul Malik bin Marwan, cover the Ka'bah with brocade during the 8th of Zulhijjah (the day of At-Tarwiyah) and the other with Qibati for celebrating Eid Al-Fitr.
During the reign of Caliph Abbasiyah, the Al-Nasir began a tradition of suspending only one Kiswah at a time not like before, where a new Kiswah was put on top the old Kiswah. Kiswah suspension in several layers was feared could damage the Ka’bah structure.
During the reign of Caliph Ma'mun, Kiswah was suspended three times a year with different color of red in Zulhijjah, white Qibati in the month of Rejab and white brocade on the 29th of Ramadan. It was further 600 years before black was to become a standard colour of Kiswah and last until today.
Initially, Kiswah was made in Egypt. Materials used to make Kiswah was brought in from several countries including Sudan, Iraq, India and Egypt. Transporting Kiswah to Mecca from Egypt was always a celebration. For centuries, a huge annual parade consisting of the Mahmal and military escorts carrying the Kiswah would precede the Hajj season.
Ka’bah is a cube-shaped building with a height of 15 m and each wall have a different widths that is the northern wall known as al-Rukn Shanmi of 10:02 m, western wall or al-Rukn Gharbi of 11:58 m, southern wall or al-Rukn al-Yamani of 10:13 m and the eastern wall or al-Rukn al-Aswad of 10:22 m. Within a year, they could only complete a piece of Kiswah cloth to cover the walls of the Ka’bah. Kiswah consists of 47 pieces of cloth attached together with a laser guided sewing machine (Largest in the world). In addition to Kiswah, the factory also makes nets for the tomb of the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessing be upon him) in Masjidi Al-Nabawi.
