Ajay Kumar at 20:12, 28 September 2023

2023-09-28T20:12:12Z

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{{Short description|Cloth cover over the Kaaba in Mecca}}
{{For|the town in Syria|Al-Kiswah}}

{{Infobox
| name = Kiswa
| above = Kiswa
| subheader = كسوة الكعبة
| image = [[File:Kaaba (1) Makkah (Mecca) (crop).png|200px|Kaaba Makkah (Mecca)]]
| caption = Kaaba Makkah (Mecca)
| headerstyle = background:lightgrey
| header1 = Information
| label2 = Religion
| data2 = [[Islam]]
| label3 = Rite
| data3 = [[Hajj]] (حَجّ)
| label4 = Patron | data4 = [[Salman of Saudi Arabia|Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud]] (سلمان بن عبد العزیز آل سعود)
| label6 = Manufacture
| data6 = [[Mecca]], [[Saudi Arabia]]
| header5 = Location
| label7 =
| data7 =
}}

'''Kiswa''' ({{lang-ar|كسوة الكعبة}}, ''kiswat al-ka'bah'') is the cloth that covers the [[Kaaba]] in [[Mecca]], [[Saudi Arabia]]. It is draped annually on the 9th day of the month of [[Dhu al-Hijjah]], the day pilgrims leave for the plains of [[Mount Arafat]] during the [[Hajj]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-07-08 |title=How the manufacturing of the Kaaba cover, kiswa, changed over the centuries |url=https://arab.news/gs4gw |access-date=2022-12-05 |website=Arab News |language=en}}</ref> A procession traditionally accompanies the ''kiswa'' to Mecca, a tradition dating back to the 12th century. The term ''[[wiktionary:كسوة|kiswa]]'' has multiple translations, with common ones being 'robe' or 'garment'. Due to the iconic designs and the quality of materials used in creating the ''kiswa'', it is considered one of the most sacred objects in Islamic art, ritual, and worship.<ref name=":2">{{Cite journal |last1=Kern |first1=Karen M. |last2=Rosenfield |first2=Yael |last3=Carò |first3=Federico |last4=Shibayama |first4=Nobuko |date=2017-12-01 |title=The Sacred and the Modern: The History, Conservation, and Science of the Madina Sitara |url=https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/696548 |journal=Metropolitan Museum Journal |volume=52 |pages=72–93 |doi=10.1086/696548 |s2cid=194836803 |issn=0077-8958}}</ref>

The annual practice of covering the Kaaba has pre-Islamic origins and was continued by [[Muhammad]] and his successors.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book |last=McGregor |first=Richard J. A. |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1128065777 |title=Islam and the devotional object : seeing religion in Egypt and Syria |date=2020 |isbn=978-1-108-59423-3 |location=Cambridge, United Kingdom |pages=18–53 |oclc=1128065777}}</ref> Historically, various types of cloth and textiles have been used as draping, but Egyptian produced ''kiswas'' would be popularized by early Islamic rulers.<ref name=":3">{{Cite journal |last=Mortel |first=Richard |date=1988 |title="The Kiswa: Its Origins and Development from Pre-Islamic Times until the End of the Mamluk Period" |journal=Al-'Usûr |volume=3 |issue=2 |pages=30–46}}</ref>[[File:Kiswah, Kaaba - 7 May 2016.jpg|thumb|Kiswah as pictured on May 7, 2016.|none]]
==History==
=== Pre-Islamic ===
The tradition of covering the Kaaba predates the emergence of Islam, with various Yemeni textiles composing the draping.<ref name=":1" /> According to [[Ibn Hisham]], King [[Tubba Abu Karab As'ad]] of the [[Himyarite Kingdom]], who is traditionally considered a convert to Judaism, clothed Kaaba for the first time during the rule of the [[Jurhum|Jurhum tribe]] of Mecca in the early fifth century CE.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Ibn Hishām, ʻAbd al-Malik, -834. |title=The life of Muhammad; |date=1955 |publisher=Oxford University Press |others=Ibn Isḥāḳ, Muḥammad, -approximately 768. |isbn=0-19-636034-X |location=London |oclc=3705122}}</ref> Tubba later covered the Kaaba in a red, striped woolen garment, layering it atop the already existing hangings. The [[Quraysh]] ({{lang-ar|قُرَيْشٌ}}), the ruling confederation of tribes in Mecca, later organized funding for the ''kiswa'' using annually collected payments from each of the tribes who worshipped there.<ref name=":3" />

===Era of Muhammad===
[[Muhammad]] and the Muslims in Mecca did not participate in the draping of the [[Kaaba]] until the conquest of the city at 630 AD (7 AH), as the ruling tribe, [[Quraysh (tribe)|Quraish]], did not allow them to do so. When the Muslims took Mecca, they left the old hangings in place, with Muhammad adding his own ''kiswa'' of Yemeni origin. Muhammad’s successors would continue the tradition of draping the ''kiswa'', with [[Umar|Umar al-Khattab]] ({{lang-ar|عمر بن الخطاب}}) being the first caliph to send an Egyptian ''kiswa'' made out of a white linen known as ''qubati'' ([[Arabic]]: قُبْطِيّ), a type of embroidered linen manufactured by Coptic Christians living in Egypt.<ref name=":1" />

=== Umayyads and Abbasids ===
[[File:Egypt,_Abbasid_period_-_Tiraz_with_animated_band_-_1982.90_-_Cleveland_Museum_of_Art.tif|thumb|Example of Egyptian ''tiraz'' cloth that was used by Abbasid caliphs to make the ''kiswa''.]]
The pre-Islamic hangings covering the Kaaba would remain until the rule of [[Umayyad Caliphate|Umayyad]] caliph [[Mu'awiya I|Mu’awiya]] ({{lang-ar|معاوية بن أبي سفيان|}}), who removed the old hangings after receiving complaints that they were religiously impure. A new ''kiswa'' was sent by Mu’awiya made out of silk, ''qubati'', and striped wool.<ref name=":1" /> Following the original replacement of the old hangings, the caliph sent two ''kiswas'' annually, with one being made out of ''qubati'' and the other silk; the silk ''kiswa'' is reported to have been draped over the former which would arrive in Mecca at least three months prior. Successive Umayyad caliphs would adhere to the precedent set by Mu’awiya and continue to supply ''kiswas'' made either of Egyptian linen or silk and drape them over the coverings from previous years.<ref name=":3" /> Much like their Umayyad predecessors, the [[Abbasid Caliphate|Abbasids]] continued to rely on Egyptian factories for the production of the ''kiswa''.<ref name=":4">{{Cite book |last=Nassar |first=Nahla |url=http://archive.org/details/TheHajj |title=The Hajj. Collected Essays |publisher=The British Museum |isbn=9780861591930 |editor-last=Porter, Venetia |editor-first=Seif, Liana |location=London |pages=175–183 |chapter=Dar al-Kiswa al-Sharifa: Administration and Production|year=2013 }}</ref> However, the Abbasid caliph [[Al-Mahdi]] would establish the precedent of annually removing and replacing the old ''kiswa'' after realizing the accumulated weight from the old ''kiswas'' could structurally compromise the Kaaba following his pilgrimage to Mecca in 777 CE.<ref name=":3" />

=== Location of manufacture===
From the time of the [[Ayyubid dynasty|Ayyubid]]s, precisely during the reign of [[as-Salih Ayyub]], the ''kiswa'' was manufactured in Egypt, with material sourced locally as well as from Sudan, India, and Iraq.<ref name="Aramco">{{Cite web |title=Saudi Aramco World : A Gift from the Kingdom |url=http://www.saudiaramcoworld.com/issue/198505/a.gift.from.the.kingdom.htm |access-date=2016-07-18 |website=www.saudiaramcoworld.com}}</ref> The [[Amir al-Hajj]] (commander of the ''hajj'' caravan), who was directly designated by the sultans of the Mamluk, and later, Ottoman Empires, transported the ''kiswa'' from Egypt to Mecca on an annual basis.<ref>{{Citation |last=Dunn |first=Robert |title=The Adventures of Ibn Battuta, a Muslim Traveler of the Fourteenth Century |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZF2spo9BKacC&pg=PA66 |page=266 |year=1986 |publisher=University of California Press |isbn=9780520057715}}</ref> [[Muhammad Ali of Egypt|Muhammad Ali Pasha of Egypt]] ordered the expenses for making the ''kiswa'' to be met by his state treasury in the early 19th century. Since then, [[Dar al-Kiswa|Dar Al-Khoronfosh]], a workshop in Cairo’s Al-Gamaleya district, had been selected for the task of making the ''kiswa'', and continued this role throughout the reign of the Egyptian monarchy. After the take over of the Hijaz region, and from 1927 onward, its manufacture was partially moved to Mecca and then fully moved in 1962, when Egypt stopped manufacturing.<ref name="Aramco" />

== Historic procession ==
[[File:Kaaba (1910)-2.jpg|thumb|The 1910 kiswa covering the [[Kaaba]] in [[Mecca]]]]
The procession of the ''kiswa'' and its journey to Mecca dates back to 1184 CE from an account by [[Ibn Jubayr]]. According to Ibn Jubayr, the ''kiswa'' was brought to Mecca via camel from its place of creation along with an elaborate procession of drums and flags. The ''kiswa'' was then placed on the roof of the Kaaba once it reached Mecca, still folded. On the 134th day of the month of [[Dhu al-Hijjah]], the [[Banu Shayban|Banu Shayba]] completely unfolded the cloth to fully display the embroideries and their inscriptions.<ref name="textiles2">{{Cite book |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/709670348 |title=Hajj : journey to the heart of Islam |date=2012 |others=Venetia Porter, M. A. Abdel Haleem |isbn=978-0-674-06218-4 |location=Cambridge, Mass. |pages=261–262 |oclc=709670348}}</ref>

The tradition of the ''kiswa'' being accompanied by a covering called the ''[[mahmal]]'' during the trip to Mecca is said to have started during the rule of Queen [[Shajar al-Durr]], however the practice was not widely accepted as tradition until the 15th century.<ref name=":6">{{Cite journal |last=Robinson |first=Arthur E. |date=1931 |title=The Mahmal of the Moslem Pilgrimage |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/25194179 |journal=Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland |volume=63 |issue=1 |pages=117–127 |doi=10.1017/S0035869X00066259 |jstor=25194179 |s2cid=155485062 |issn=0035-869X}}</ref> It is unclear whether the ''mahmal'' carries the ''kiswa'' itself or simply accompanies the cloth to Mecca due to the lack of access to the processional covering,<ref name=":6" /> however it is said that in modern times the ''mahmal'' carries the new ''kiswa'' to Mecca and then takes the old ''kiswa'' to Cairo after the Hajj is completed.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2019-08-01 |title=When the Kaaba's Kiswa came from Egypt |url=https://www.arabnews.com/node/1533841/saudi-arabia |access-date=2022-12-05 |website=Arab News |language=en}}</ref>

== Design and textiles ==

=== Design ===
[[File:تطريز_كسوة_الكعبة_بالأسلاك_الفضية_والذهبية.JPG|thumb|189x189px|Artisan embroidering cloth with gold thread.]]
Today the ''Kiswa’s'' design features the colors black, gold, and silver. Black silk linen comprises the entirety of the garment, displaying large unaccented sections and providing background to the portions with inscriptions. The gold and silver comprise the inscriptions and accents that embellish the garment. Rendered in the [[Thuluth]] calligraphy style, these characters overlap each other and protrude slightly from the ''kiswa'' itself. The ''Sura Ikhlas'' appears in circular medallions inscribed within squares at each of the four corners of the ''kiswa'': ''Rukn al-Hajjar al-Aswad'' ([[Arabic]]: ركن الحجر الأسواد), ''Rukn al-'Iraqi'' ([[Arabic]]: الركن العراقي), ''Rukn al-Yamani'' ([[Arabic]]: الركن اليميني), ''Rukn ush-Shami'' ([[Arabic]]: الركن الشامي). These are beneath the ''hizam'' where longer Qur’anic verses appear. Artisans carefully interweave gold and silver wire to create these elements which appear brilliant on the black silk. Previous iterations have featured more colorful and varied design programs. However, ''kiswas'' dating earlier than the Ottoman period are rare due to natural degradation as well as a now defunct practice of cutting the ''kiswa'' and selling the pieces to pilgrims.

=== Textiles ===
The textile covering of the Kaaba has multiple parts including, the ''hizam'' ([[Arabic language|Arabic]]: حزام) and ''[[Sitara (textile)|sitara]]'' ([[Arabic language|Arabic]]: سِتَارَة) or ''burqu''' ([[Arabic language|Arabic]]: برقع). The earliest known still-extant ''sitara'' was manufactured in Egypt and dates to 1544, and the earliest Ottoman ''hizam'' was made for [[Selim II]] in the late 16th century. The basic designs of the ''hizam'' and ''sitara'' have changed little over time, although the embroidery in gold and silver wire has become more ornate.<ref name="textiles">{{Cite book |last=Porter |first=Venetia |title=Hajj : journey to the heart of Islam |publisher=The British Museum |year=2012 |isbn=978-0-674-06218-4 |editor-last=Porter |editor-first=Venetia |location=Cambridge, Mass. |pages=257–258 |chapter=Textiles of Mecca and Medina |oclc=709670348}}</ref> All inscriptions on the ''kiswa'', ''hizam'', ''sitara'', and supplemental textiles use the [[Thuluth]] ([[Arabic language|Arabic]]: ثُلُث) style of calligraphy. Between 1817 and 1927, the ''kiswa'' was manufactured at the [[Dar al-Kiswa]], a dedicated workshop in [[Cairo|Cairo, Egypt]]. In 1927 textile manufacturing moved to a workshop in Mecca.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Ghazal |first=Rym |date=28 August 2014 |title=Woven with devotion: the sacred Islamic textiles of the Kaaba |url=https://www.thenationalnews.com/arts-culture/woven-with-devotion-the-sacred-islamic-textiles-of-the-kaaba-1.258782 |access-date=2021-01-07 |website=The National |language=en}}</ref>

=== Kiswa ===
The term ''kiswa'' refers to the overall covering of the Kaaba. The fabric contains 670 kilograms of imported white silk thread that is then dyed black. Jacquard machines weave the black thread into either plain or patterned cloth equaling forty-seven pieces of cloth measuring 98 centimeters by 14 meters. The patterned cloth contains inscriptions taken from the [[Shahada]] ([[Arabic language|Arabic]]: ٱلشَّهَادَةُ) incorporated into the fabric during the weaving process. Each panel of cloth is then stretched over a loom and templates of verses from the [[Quran]] ([[Arabic language|Arabic]]: اَلْقُرْآنُ or ٱلۡقُرۡءَانُ) and Islamic ornamental patterns are applied using silk screens. Embroidered decorative elements, Quranic verses, and prayers are hand-embroidered by Saudi artisans using gold and silver thread. The only stylistic requirement for the text and decorations is that it must be visible from a distance. Once the embroidery is applied the cloth is sewn together and a white cotton calico backing is applied for support. The finished ''kiswa'' measures 658 square meters and costs 22 million [[Saudi riyal|SAR]] to produce.[[File:Khalili Collection Hajj Kabah curtain.jpg|thumb|right|upright|[[Sitara (textile)|Sitara]] for the door of the Kaaba, made in [[Cairo]], 1606AD ([[Khalili Collection of Hajj and the Arts of Pilgrimage]])]]

=== Hizam ===
Two-thirds of the way up the ''kiswa'' is an embroidered band called the ''hizam''. The band comprises 16 pieces of silk cloth with four pieces attached to each side of the Kaaba. Assembled, the ''hizam'' measures 47 meters in length and 95 centimeters in width. The text on the ''hizam'' consists of Quranic verses embroidered with gold and silver thread. Under the belt at each corner of the Kaaba is an additional set of square panels of cloth called the ''kardashiyyat'' containing the [[Al-Ikhlas|Surah of Ikhlas]] ([[Arabic language|Arabic]]: الْإِخْلَاص).[[File:Khalili_Collection_Hajj_and_Arts_of_Pilgrimage_txt_0251pan.jpg|center|thumb|880x880px|Section from the ''Hizam''; late 19th Century, Cairo, Egypt, Text contains the ''basmalah'', followed by verses 26 and 27 from ''Surat al-Hajj'']]
=== Sitara ===
Over the exterior door to the Kaaba is a cover called the ''burqu''' or ''sitara''. This panel is the most elaborately decorated portion of the ''kiswa''. The ''sitara'' has an average size of 7.75 meters by 3.5 meters and is assembled by sewing together four separate cloth panels. Each panel contains embroidered verses from the Quran and additional dedications.

=== Additional textiles ===
Other textiles used in covering portions of the Kaaba include a curtain hung over the ''Bab al-Tawba'' door in the interior of the Kaaba.<ref name="textiles2" /> Also remade each year is the green silk bag which holds the key to the Kaaba, a tradition introduced in 1987.<ref name=":0" /> Along with these textiles, the workshops send ropes for attaching the ''kiswa'' to the Kaaba, and spare silk in case the ''kiswa'' needs repair. Degradation and disfiguration caused by exposure to natural elements and popular rituals, such as the taking of a piece of the ''kiswa'', necessitate regular maintenance.<ref name=":1" />

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20050910185512/http://www.islamonline.net/English/hajj/2002/01/literature/article07.shtml A historical look at the Kiswah]

{{Islamic architecture}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Kaaba]]
[[Category:Islamic architectural elements]]
[[Category:Textiles]]
[[Category:Hajj terminology]]

Kiswah - Revision history

Ajay Kumar at 20:12, 28 September 2023