The fourth panel from the kiswah of Maqam Ibrahim, embroidered on a section of the kiswah of the Ka‘bah on Collections Sphere from

The Maqam Ibrahim (the Station of Abraham) as mentioned in the Qur’an, is taken to be the stone Abraham stood on whilst building the Ka‘bah. During the Ottoman period this stone was placed inside a four-sided structure, which was in turn covered by an embroidered textile, generally referred to as its kiswah. Its kiswah, like the Ka‘bah’s, had been supplied annually by Egypt since Mamluk times. It consisted of four panels, of which the present example is the last. They were embroidered with Qur’anic verses that read across from one to the other, in addition to the names of God, Muhammad, the four Orthodox caliphs, and the Prophet’s grandchildren, Hasan and Husayn. The verses, drawn from surahs al-Baqarah (II, verses 125, 127 and 260) and Al ‘Imran (III, verses 96–97), refer to the building of the Ka‘bah, to the Station of Abraham and to the duty men owe God in performing their Pilgrimage. This piece is embroidered on a section of the kiswah of the Ka‘bah.