Riyadh: More than 410 kilograms of cotton and 15 kilos of gold threads were used to stitch Ghilaf-e-Kaaba.
Under-Secretary-General for the Affairs of King Abdulaziz Complex for Holy Kaaba Kiswa, Amjad Bin Ayed Al Hazmi said 410 kilograms of cotton was used for stitching Kiswa. The total weight of the Ghilaaf-e-Kaaba is 1,300 kilograms.
Al-Hazmi said cotton is used in the production of gilded pieces of the covering of the Kaaba as a filling to highlight the embroidered letters of the verses from the Holy Quran that is used in the Kaaba Kiswah.
The cotton used in the Kiswah is woven in the sections of the King Abdulaziz Complex for the Holy Kaaba Kiswa, using the latest weaving machines, and the cotton is used as a lining for the Kiswah’s cloth.
Media reports said Kiswa cloth is made from high-quality silk and features holy verses of the Quran weaved into its pattern with gold and silver threads. It covers an area of about 658 sqm and requires about 137 workers and eight months of hard work for its completion. Around 15 kg of gold threads are used for Kiswa.
In the upper third of it, there is a belt 95 centimeters wide and 47 meters long. Under the belt, there are Qur’anic verses written, each of them within a separate frame, and in the intervals between them there is a shape of a lamp on which is written “O live, O Qayyum,” “Oh, Most Merciful, O Most Merciful.” “Praise be to God, Lord of the Worlds.”
Since 1958 the Kiswa has been manufactured in Makkah Al Mukarramah. Kiswa holds great significance in the Muslim culture and is symbolic of the reverence and divinity of the Kaaba.