At Last He Was Informed That The Veil
Applied On The 10th Of Muharram Was Too Closely Followed By The Red
Brocade In The Next Month, And That It Required Renewing On The 1st Of
Shawwal.
This he ordered to be done.
Al-Mutawakkil (ninth century),
when informed that the dress was spoiled by pilgrims, at first ordered
two to be given and the brocade shirt to be let down as far as the
pavement: at last he sent a new veil every two months. During the
Caliphat of the Abbasides this investiture came to signify sovereignty
in Al-Hijaz, which passed alternately from Baghdad to Egypt and
Al-Yaman. In Al-Idrisi’s time (twel[f]th century A.D.) the Kiswah was
composed of black silk, and renewed every year by the Caliph of
Baghdad. Ibn Jubayr writes that it was green and gold. The Kiswah
remained with Egypt when Sultan Kalaun[FN#33] (thirteenth century A.D.)
conveyed the rents of two villages, “Baysus” and “Sindbus,[FN#34]” to the
expense of providing an outer black and an inner red curtain for the
Ka’abah, with hangings for the Prophet’s tomb at Al-Madinah. When the Holy
Land fell under the power of Osmanli, Sultan Salim ordered the Kiswah
to be black; and his son Sultan Sulayman the Magnificent (sixteenth
[p.215] century A.D.), devoted considerable sums to the purpose. The
Kiswah was afterwards renewed at the accession of each Sultan. And the
Wahhabis, during the first year of their conquest, covered the Ka’abah
with a red Kiswah of the same stuff as the fine Arabian Aba or cloak,
and made at Al-Hasa.
The Kiswah is now worked at a cotton manufactory called Al-Khurunfish,
of the Tumn Bab al-Sha’ariyah, Cairo. It is made by a hereditary family,
called the Bayt al-Sadi, and, as the specimen in my possession proves,
it is a coarse tissue of silk and cotton mixed. The Kiswah is composed
of eight pieces—two for each face of the Ka’abah—the seams being concealed by
the Hizam, a broad band, which at a distance looks like gold; it is
lined with white calico, and is supplied with cotton ropes. Anciently
it is said all the Koran was interwoven into it. Now, it is inscribed
“Verily, the First of Houses founded for Mankind (to worship in) is that
at Bekkah[FN#35]; blessed and a Direction to all Creatures”; together
with seven chapters, namely, the Cave, Mariam, the Family of Amran,
Repentance, T.H. with Y.S. and Tabarak. The character is that called
Tumar, the largest style of Eastern calligraphy, legible from a
considerable distance.[FN#36] The Hizam is a band about two feet broad,
and surrounding the Ka’abah at two-thirds of its height. It is divided
into four pieces, which are sewn together. On the first and second is
inscribed the “Throne verslet,” and on the third and fourth the titles of
the reigning Sultan. These inscriptions are, like the Burka, or door
curtain, gold worked into red silk, by the Bayt al-Sadi. When the
Kiswah is ready at Khurunfish, it is carried in
[p.216] procession to the Mosque Al-Hasanayn, where it is lined, sewn,
and prepared for the journey.[FN#37]
After quitting the Ka’abah, I returned home exhausted, and washed with
henna and warm water, to mitigate the pain of the sun-scalds upon my
arms, shoulders, and breast. The house was empty, all the Turkish
pilgrims being still at Muna; and the Kabirah—the old lady—received me with
peculiar attention. I was ushered into an upper room, whose teak
wainscotings, covered with Cufic and other inscriptions, large carpets,
and ample Diwans, still showed a sort of ragged splendour. The family
had “seen better days,” the Sharif Ghalib having confiscated three of its
houses; but it is still proud, and cannot merge the past into the
present. In the “drawing-room,” which the Turkish colonel occupied when at
Meccah, the Kabirah supplied me with a pipe, coffee, cold water, and
breakfast. I won her heart by praising the graceless boy Mohammed; like
all mothers, she dearly loved the scamp of the family. When he entered,
and saw his maternal parent standing near me, with only the end of her
veil drawn over her mouth, he began to scold her with divers
insinuations. “Soon thou wilt sit amongst the men in the hall!” he
exclaimed. “O, my son,” rejoined the Kabirah, “fear Allah: thy mother is in
years!”—and truly she was so, being at least fifty. “A-a-h” sneered the youth,
who had formed, as boys of the world must do, or appear to do, a very
low estimate of the sex. The old lady understood the drift of the
exclamation, and departed with a half-laughing “May Allah disappoint thee!”
She soon, however, returned, bringing me water for ablution; and having
heard that I had not yet sacrificed a sheep at Muna, enjoined me to
return and perform without delay that important rite.
[p.217]After resuming our laical toilette, and dressing gaily for the
great festival, we mounted our asses about the cool of the afternoon,
and, returning to Muna, we found the tent full of visitors. Ali ibn Ya
Sin, the Zemzemi, had sent me an amphora of holy water, and the carrier
was awaiting the customary dollar. With him were several Meccans, one
of whom spoke excellent Persian. We sat down, and chatted together for
an hour; and I afterwards learned from the boy Mohammed, that all had
pronounced me to be an ’Ajami.
After their departure we debated about the victim, which is only a
Sunnat, or practice of the Prophet.[FN#38] It is generally sacrificed
immediately after the first lapidation, and we had already been guilty
of delay. Under these circumstances, and considering the meagre
condition of my purse, I would not buy a sheep, but contented myself
with watching my neighbours.
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