Kiswah

Kiswa (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. A procession traditionally accompanies the kiswa to Mecca, a tradition dating back to the 12th century. The term 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. The annual practice of covering the Kaaba has pre-Islamic origins and was continued by Muhammad and his successors. Historically, various types of cloth and textiles have been used as draping, but Egyptian produced kiswas would be popularized by early Islamic rulers. The tradition of covering the Kaaba predates the emergence of Islam, with various Yemeni textiles composing the draping. 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 tribe of Mecca in the early fifth century CE. Tubba later covered the Kaaba in a red, striped woolen garment, layering it atop the already existing hangings. The Quraysh (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. 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, 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 al-Khattab (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.