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Why Is the Kiswa of al-Kaaba Lifted During the Hajj Season?

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Why Is the Kiswa of al-Kaaba Lifted During the Hajj Season?
interrogative article
2 min read

Al-Kaaba's Kiswa (black cloth) is lifted to preserve its cleanliness and safety and to prevent tampering or veneration due to erroneous beliefs held by some pilgrims. This necessitates lifting the Kiswa and surrounding al-Kaaba with pieces of white fabric covering a circumference of forty-seven m. The Kiswa is then returned to its previous position after the conclusion of the Hajj season.

The Kiswa is typically lifted in the middle of the month of Dhu al-Qa'dah and its lower edges are wrapped to reveal approximately three m of al-Kaaba. Then, the raised portion is covered with a white cotton fabric that wraps around its four sides.

The Kiswa is manufactured at King Abdulaziz Complex for Holy Kaaba Kiswa, in Makkah al-Mukarramah. This complex is organizationally part of the General Presidency for the Affairs of the Grand Mosque and the Prophet's Mosque. The annual cost of the Kiswa exceeds SAR20,000,000, and the cloth weighs 850 kg, divided into forty-seven pieces of fabric each ninety-eight cm wide and fourteen m high.

King Abdulaziz Complex greatly cares for the Kiswa due to its connection to al-Kaaba al-Musharrafa, the Qibla of Muslims. It seeks to develop its manufacturing tools and ensure the quality of the materials used by testing them. The Kiswa is made of black silk, and adorned with threads of gold and silver. The manufacturing period extends from six to eight months, and about two hundred craftsmen work on it throughout the year.