Kiswah is the place to make the ka’aba cloth. It is located next to the museum of the Two Holy Mosque Architectures in Makkah. Because the Ka’aba is the centre (Kiblah) for Muslims praying worldwide, many parties such as kings, sultans, and leaders rush to make kiswah. It is said that long time ago (before Islam) King Abu Karab Asa’ad AlHamiri was the one who made kiswah until Islam came. Prophet SAW then took over and subsequently AlRasidin caliphs, (after the kings accepted Islam and followed the Prophet) until now.
The first Kiswah Ka’aba made in Makkah AlMukarramah, Saudi Arabia was during government of the late AlMalek Abdul Aziz bin Abdul Rahman Alsaud in 1346 H. At the beginning of the reign of AlMalek Fahd bin Abdul Aziz, slender inside the Ka’aba was exchanged in 1403 H and 1417 H. with Silk that is used to make kiswah approximately 670 kg.
Production of the kiswah starts with the coloring silk yarns and ensuring that the materials are durable. In the past, kiswah was made by hand, but recently they use new and sophisticated tools/ machines with the ability to create as many as 9986 thread for each one meter in a short time.
Once it is prepared and stitched, then the Qur’an stamped with verses to the fabric by using a computer and machine. The stamped cloth then is embroidered in gold and silver thread. After cutting and embroidering fabric is ready, next is to stitch and splice using a special machine. The whole process to make kiswah takes about 8 to 10 months to finish.
Kiswah of Ka’aba is exchanged at 9 Dhulhijjah every Hijri year. The new kiswah will hand on to the Masjidil Haram official at the beginning of Dhulhijjah in each year, while the old cloth will be distributed (in pieces) to country representatives around the world.
In the past, usually we could bring home a very small piece of kiswah (the black cloth) or the gold yarn, but to prevent shirk, it is not allowed anymore.
