Saudi Gazette report
MAKKAH — The Normal Authority for the Care of the Affairs of the Grand Mosque and the Prophet’s Mosque has accomplished on Thursday the annual customary ceremony of changing the Kiswa (cowl) of the Holy Kaaba, persevering with a practice of care that spans over 100 years.
The Kiswa was crafted on the King Abdulaziz Advanced for the Holy Kaaba Kiswa with expert palms over the course of 11 months to make sure the very best requirements of precision and high quality. The Kiswa substitute ceremony passed off at daybreak Thursday, marking the start of the brand new Hijri yr, and was broadcast dwell to the Islamic world.
Earlier in a ceremony on June 8, Deputy Emir of Makkah Prince Saud bin Mishaal handed over the brand new Kiswa to Abdul Malik bin Taha Al-Shaibi, the senior keeper of the Grand Mosque. The brand new Kiswa was produced utilizing pure black-dyed silk, embroidered in gold and silver threads.
A specialised staff of 154 Saudi professionals from the King Abdulaziz Advanced for the Holy Kaaba Kiswa carried out the substitute course of. The staff was strategically assigned to varied sides and the roof of the Kaaba based mostly on their areas of experience. The method started with dismantling the previous Kiswa and putting in the brand new one, which was then secured on the corners and throughout the roof of the Kaaba.
The brand new Kiswa weighs roughly 1,415 kilograms and stands 14 meters excessive. It consists of 4 separate panels together with the door curtain (sitara). Every panel was individually raised and aligned over the earlier one, with the brand new Kiswa being regularly lowered because the previous one was eliminated. This course of was repeated for all 4 sides. As soon as in place, the ornamental band (hizam) was aligned and stitched alongside a straight line across the Kaaba.
Subsequent, the corners had been sewn vertically from prime to backside to make sure a seamless and safe end. The sitara, which requires precision and appreciable time, was then put in. A reduce was made within the black silk material to suit the curtain—measuring 3.30 meters huge and 6.35 meters lengthy—and three openings had been created beneath the material to insert the curtain. It was then sewn into the Kiswa from each the within and out of doors to make sure correct placement.
The making of the Kiswa consumed roughly 825 kilograms of uncooked silk, dyed black on the complicated, 120 kilograms of gold-plated silver thread, 60 kilograms of pure silver thread, and 410 kilograms of uncooked cotton.
It’s noteworthy that the Thuluth Jali Murakkab Arabic calligraphy is utilized in writing the Qur’anic verses on the Kiswa of the Holy Kaaba in numerous sizes and kinds. This script was chosen for its distinction as essentially the most stunning of Arabic scripts and its use in honorable and ceremonial contexts. It’s a foundational script with exact guidelines, able to accommodating complicated constructions and interweaving, which permits a better variety of phrases to be composed inside a restricted house, giving the Kiswa an distinctive look befitting the sanctity and majesty of the location.