 MAKING THE KISWAH ... About 260 people work on the'kiswah' (covering of the Kaabah) which has Quran verses embroidered on it in gold and silver threads |
| Magnificent Kaabah I REMEMBER hearing stories of people losing their minds upon entering the Kaabah and looking upwards. Apparently, whatever they saw was just too much for them. Whether this is true or not, I can't say. This was years ago, when the Kaabah had an open top. But what's for certain is that I recently met someone who has actually entered the Kaabah. I got to know him when I was performing my Umrah, a trip made possible by a consortium of companies - KSB Travel and Tours, MAS Golden Holidays, Elmona, Asari Murni and Utas Travel - which was promoting its Lembaian Kaabah package. Sabrah Sahram is a mutawif (religious guide) who has been living in Mecca for several years. He works for KSB Travel. We chatted as he was taking us on a trip to see how the kelambu Kaabah or Kiswah (the Kaabah covering) is made. I was envious of this man who could work and worship Allah in Mecca where the pahala (rewards) of praying at the Masjidil Haram in front of the Kaabah is 100,000 fold more than in any other mosque. (Of course, one should never feel that just because one has prayed here, that it's enough, and stop doing so altogether when one is back in Malaysia. God forbid! I will have no part in that!) Anyway, I started telling Sabrah about how wonderful and close I felt to Allah when I was there. It was then that he expressed his love for the Almighty too. This was also when he related his story about his chance in the Kaabah.
Sabrah had a dream one night. "It was strange. I was surrounded by people who were praying in my direction, as if towards me. They were all around me, like in a big circle. "There was an old man nearby and I tried to tell him that this was not the way or direction to pray. He just smiled and told me that I would know soon enough. "I woke up and remembered the dream vividly and began looking for religious books to see if it was an omen. In one of these books, I discovered that this was the way the angels prayed - in a circle facing the middle, in the Kaabah." Earlier, this writer found out that angels are constantly devoting themselves to God. And they too do the Umrah and Haj. But unlike us who circumambulate on the ground, angels circle the Kaabah from the sky. As for Sabrah, he is a person who does the tawaf or circumambulation as frequently as he can. One morning, a couple of days after his dream, on completing his tawaf sunat (optional circumambulation) he saw several people opening the Kaabah's golden doors. They were there to do maintenance work on it. "There was a crowd around me and everyone was clamouring to go in. Suddenly the guard pointed to me and called out. He invited me in. I was surprised as there were so many others in front of me. "It was then that I realised the significance of the dream. I got to pray in the middle of the Kaabah. And when you are in the Kaabah, you pray from the middle towards the corner ... any corner. "At that instance, I remembered the book I read, which told me how the angels prayed - from the circumference of the Kaabah facing the middle. I then understood that the dream was to tell me that I'd soon be getting my chance in the Kaabah." Earlier, at the Kiswah (Kaabah Cover) workshop at Ubaibiah, not far from Masjidil Haram, we were shown how the inside of the Kaabah looks. It has green wall coverings that are embroidered with holy verses.
On the outside, the covering is made of 860kg of silk in black, and 650kg of silk in white and yellow; 120kg of gold and silver threads are used for the embroidery of holy verses around the Kaabah. The Kaabah, which is 14m high and is 12.5m by 10.5m by 13m by 11m around, initially had wooden doors. Then the Saudi Arabian Rulers coated them in gold and later changed them to solid gold. The 280kg doors are now worth about 13 million riyal (about RM13 million). Two hundred and sixty people work on making the Kiswah, which takes about 10 months to complete and costs about RM17 million riyal. It is changed annually on Zulhijjah 9 (9th of the 12th month in the Islamic calendar, which is a day before Hari Raya Haji). The gold verses on the old kiswah are presented as gifts to dignitaries who come to Saudi Arabia, or as presents when the Arab dignitaries go abroad. The black covers are given to the Muazim (those who recite the Azan), the imam and his family members. CORRECTION: The distance between Jeddah and Medina is not two hours, by bus. It is six. Jeddah to Mecca is a two-hour ride while it is about five hours from Medina to Mecca. Also, Masjid Nabawi which is known as the Prophet's Mosque - where the Prophet is buried - is not the first one in Medina. Masjid Quba is. The errors in the last two parts are regretted. Extracted from:- Life&Times - New Straits Times Date:- Thursday, December 14, 2000 Writer: - Hisham Harun Previous page | HOME | Next page |
