‘Allah u Akbar’: Post Hajj, Prince Mohammed bin Salman washes Holy Kaaba

RIYADH: Post Hajj, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman washed the Holy Kaaba in Makkah’s Grand Mosque on behalf of King Salman, Saudi Press Agency reported.

Prince Mohammed bin Salman performed Tawaf and prayed ahead of the washing ceremony.

He was accompanied by Saudi minister of sports, Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki Al-Faisal. They were received by president of the General Presidency for the Affairs of the Two Holy Mosques, Sheikh Abdulrahman Al-Sudais. Senior officials also participated in washing the Kaaba.

Early this month, Ghilaf-e-Kaaba (Kiswa) was changed on the first of Muharram, the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported

It is usually draped annually on the ninth day of the month of Zul Hijjah, the day pilgrims leave for the plains of Mount Arafat while performing the Hajj.

Sheikh Abdulrahman Al Sudais, General President of the Affairs of the Grand Mosque and the Prophet’s Mosque, said last month that the change of date was based on a royal decision.

Around 200 craftsmen and administrators work at the King Abdulaziz Complex for Holy Kaaba Kiswa in different sections including departments that deal with dyeing and automatic weaving, manual weaving, printing, sewing and assembly, and the belt and gold section of the Kaaba.

The sewing department houses the longest sewing machine in the world that has a length of 16 meters and operates with a computer system.

The Kiswa is made with about 670 kilograms of raw silk which is dyed black at the complex, 120 kilograms of gold wire, and 100 kilograms of silver wire.

The upper third of it 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.”