Curtain of the Ka'ba: Difference between revisions

'''Curtain of the Kaʿba''', also known as '''Kiswa''' (Arabic: {{ia|الكسوة}}), is a black fabric that covers the walls of the [[Ka'ba]]. Covering the Ka'ba with a curtain is considered a sign of respect. The tradition of draping the Ka'ba with fabrics of various colors and materials dates back to ancient times, predating the advent of Islam. Historical sources record events related to the preparation and installation of the curtain of the Ka'ba. Additionally, the curtain of the Ka'ba is the subject of certain legal rulings in Islamic jurisprudence.

==Word and Concept==

The Arabic phrase "{{ia|كسوة الكعبة}}" means curtain or garment of the [[Ka'ba]]. This black covering adorns the structure of the Ka'ba, except the [[Black Stone]].<ref>Ibn Fāris. ''Muʿjam maqāyīs al-lugha'', vol. 3, p. 132; Fāsī al-Makkī, ''Shifāʾ al-gharām bi akhbār al-balad al-ḥarām'', vol. 1, p. 122.</ref>

Covering Ka'ba with a curtain is a symbol of respect.<ref>Baḥr al-ʿUlūm, ''Al-Tuḥfat al-kirām'', p. 159-160.</ref> And it constitutes a part of the history of the Ka'ba.<ref>Nāblusī,  ''Kashf al-nūr'', p. 14; Subḥānī, ''Al- Tawḥīd wa al-shirk'', p. 210.</ref> There has also been a specific position for the custodian of the curtain's affairs, known as [[hijabat]], from the past until now.

Additionally, the curtain of the Ka'ba is the subject of certain legal rulings, with the most significant being the permission to cover the Ka'ba with silk.<ref>Ḥillī, ''Taḥrīr al-aḥkām al-sharʿiyya ʿalā madhhab al-imāmiyya'', vol. 4, p. 363; Samhūdī, ''Wafāʾ al-wafā bi akhbār dar al-Muṣṭafā'', vol. 2, p. 140; Bahūtī, ''Kashf al-qināʿ'', vol. 3, p. 180.</ref> The Impermissibility of tearing, cutting, buying, and selling the curtain of the Ka'ba according to the viewpoint of some Shia Muslims and also some followers of the Shafi'i school, is contrary to the common perspective among Sunnis.<ref>Ḥillī, ''Tadhkirat al-fuqahāʾ'', vol. 7, p. 380; Rāfiʿī, ''Fatḥ al-ʿazīz'', vol. 7, p. 513.</ref> Permissibility or impermissibility of adorning it with gold and silver,<ref>Shirwānī, ''Al-Ḥawāshī'', vol. 1, p. 121; Ḥalabī, ''Al-Sīra al-ḥalabiyya'', vol. 1, p. 280.</ref>and permission to enter behind the curtain for supplication.<ref>Damyāṭī, ''Iʿāna al-ṭālibīn'', vol. 2, p. 95.</ref>

==History ==

There is a difference of opinion regarding who first covered the [[Ka'ba]]. Some narratives attribute this action to [[Prophet Adam]].<ref>Ṣadūq, ''Man lā yaḥḍuruh al-faqīh'', vol. 2, p. 235; Ḥurr al-ʿĀmilī, ''Wasāʾil al-Shīʿa'', vol. 13, p. 208.</ref> Some historical accounts suggest that one of the kings of Himyar in [[Yemen]] was the first to cover the Ka'ba, around the year 190 or 220 before the Bi'tha.<ref>Ibn Ḥajar al-ʿAsqalānī, ''Fatḥ al-bārī bi sharḥ ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī'', vol. 3, p. 365-366;  Ḥalabī, ''Al-Sīra al-ḥalabiyya'', vol. 1, p. 280; Bāslāma, ''Tārīkh al-kaʿba al-muʿaẓẓama'', p. 291; Fākihī, ''Akhbār Makka fī qadīm al-dahr wa ḥadīthih'', vol. 5, p. 230-231.</ref>

The weaving of new curtains for the [[Ka'ba]] continued by the [[Quraysh]], and after the advent of Islam, it was carried on by the Prophet (s) and later rulers. This practice experienced significant development during certain periods of the [[Abbasid era]], with the garment of the Ka'ba being occasionally replaced three times a year.<ref>Ḥalabī, ''Al-Sīra al-ḥalabiyya'', vol. 1, p. 281; Imām Aḥmad, ''Fī riḥāb al-bayt al-ʿatīq'', vol. 1, p. 211; Amīn, ''Kashf al-irtīyāb'', p. 360.</ref> Kings of other Islamic lands<ref>Ibn Kathīr, ''Al-Bidāya wa l-nihāya'', vol. 13, p. 26.</ref> and some wealthy individuals would occasionally procure a curtain for the Ka'ba and send it to [[Mecca]].<ref>Ibn Khaldūn, ''Tārīkh Ibn Khaldūn'', vol. 3, p. 513; Ibn Athīr al-Jazarī, ''Al-Kāmil fī l-tārīkh'', vol. 11, p. 65; Nawīrī, ''Nihāyat al-irb'', vol. 23, p. 284.</ref>

===Weaving of the Curtain in Egypt===

After the fall of the Abbasids (in 659/1258), providing the cloth for the Ka'ba became the exclusive responsibility of the rulers of [[Egypt]] from 661/1260-1 onward.<ref>Amīn, ''Kashf al-irtīyāb'', p. 360.</ref> During the Ottoman era, the weaving of the curtain also took place in Egypt.<ref>Sakhāwī, ''Al-Dhaw ʾ al-lāmiʿ'', vol. 4, p. 26; Bāslāma, ''Tārīkh al-kaʿba al-muʿaẓẓama'', p. 320.</ref> In Egypt, since the [[Mamluk era]], endowments and special workshops were allocated for the production of materials for fabric weaving.<ref>Sakhāwī, ''Al-Tuḥfat al-laṭīfa fī tārīkh al-Madīna al-sharīfa'', vol. 2, p. 107; Fāsī al-Makkī, ''Shifāʾ al-gharām bi akhbār al-balad al-ḥarām'', vol. 1, p. 123; Bāslāma, ''Tārīkh al-kaʿba al-muʿaẓẓama'', p. 317; Imām Aḥmad, ''Fī riḥāb al-bayt al-ʿatīq'', p. 216; Ḥamdī, ''Mawsū ʿa  al-mafāhīm'', vol. 1, p. 553.</ref>

With the establishment of the [[Saud dynasty]], a workshop in [[Mecca]] was dedicated to the weaving of the curtain.<ref>Daqan,  ''Kaʿba wa Jamie ān'', p. 172; Bāslāma, ''Tārīkh al-kaʿba al-muʿaẓẓama'', p. 347.</ref> This practice continued until 1358/1939-40 when the Egyptian government requested Abdulaziz to allow the transportation of another curtain from Egypt. Abdulaziz accepted this request, and the workshop was closed. The curtain was once again brought from Egypt. This continued until 1382/1962-3 when, due to the disagreement between Egypt and Saudi Arabia, the sending of the Ka'ba's covering from Egypt was halted. Since then, the curtain weaving in Mecca has continued in the remaining workshop.<ref>Imām Aḥmad, ''Fī riḥāb al-bayt al-ʿatīq'', vol. 1, p. 215; Bāslāma, ''Tārīkh al-kaʿba al-muʿaẓẓama'', p. 331-332; Daqan, Kaʿba wa Jamie ān, p. 175-178.</ref>

The curtain of the Ka'ba is composed of five main parts, each covering a wall of the Ka'ba. The fifth part encompasses the Kaaba's door, known as the Burqa'. In total, the curtain consists of 54 pieces, each piece measuring 14 meters in length and 95 centimeters in width. The total area of the curtain is 2650 square meters, and its weight reaches two tons.<ref>Imām Aḥmad, ''Fī riḥāb al-bayt al-ʿatīq'', vol. 1, p. 215; Bāslāma, ''Tārīkh al-kaʿba al-muʿaẓẓama'', p. 474.</ref> Many of the pieces, inscriptions, and patterns on curtain of the Ka'ba are adorned with gilding.<ref>Sādiqī Ardistānī, ''Hajj az mīqāt tā mīʿād'', vol. 55, p. 133.</ref>

The "Hizam" refers to the belt or band around the curtain of the Ka'ba. The belt is made of black silk fabric and is adorned with patterns and Quranic verses in Thuluth script. The belt is composed of 16 pieces, with a circumference of 47 meters and a width of 95 centimeters. Quranic verses are inscribed on the belt, and at specified intervals, "{{ia|یا حی یا قیوم}}," "{{ia|یا رحمن یا رحیم}}," and "{{ia|الحمد لله رب العالمین}}" are written with golden letters.<ref>Imām Aḥmad, ''Fī riḥāb al-bayt al-ʿatīq'', vol. 1, p. 215; Bāslāma, ''Tārīkh al-kaʿba al-muʿaẓẓama'', p. 474.</ref>

 

 

 

 

 

Additionally, other verses, chapters, and phrases are written on the curtain and belt.<ref>Bāsalāma, ''Tārīkh al-kaʿba al-muʿaẓẓama'', p. 311-352; ''Mawsūʿa al-ʿArabīyya al-ʿālamīyya'', vol. 19, p. 319; Qāʾidān, ''Tārīkh wa āthār-i Islāmī-yi Makka wa Madīna'', p. 89.</ref>

*''Mawsū ʿa  al-ʿArabīyya al-ʿālamīyya''. Riyadh: Muʾassisa Aʿmāl al-Mawsūʿa li-l-Nashr, 1419 AH.