Makkah deputy emir leads washing of Holy Kaaba

Okaz/Saudi Gazette

MAKKAH — On behalf of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman, Deputy Emir of Makkah Prince Badr bin Sultan led the annual ceremonial washing of the Holy Kaaba on Wednesday morning.

Upon his arrival at the Grand Mosque, the deputy emir was received by Sheikh Abdul Rahman Al-Sudais, head of the General Presidency for the Affairs of the Two Holy Mosques, and a number of the presidency officials.

Prince Badr washed the Kaaba by wiping the walls of the Kaaba from inside with pieces of white cloth dipped in rose and musk perfumes, which were prepared earlier by the presidency. Zamzam water mixed with rose perfume is splashed on the floor and is wiped with bare hands and palm leaves.

After the washing ceremony, the deputy emir performed tawaf (circumambulation around the Kaaba) and then offered two rak’ahs of voluntary prayer. Sheikh Al-Sudais and senior keeper of the Holy Kaaba also joined the deputy emir in washing the Holy Kaaba.

The annual customary washing of Islam’s holiest shrine was held using Zamzam water mixed with rose water, oud and other perfumes. The washing of the Holy Kaaba is as per the example set by Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). It is customary for the Saudi monarch or his representative to wash the Holy Kaaba from inside.

Sheikh Al-Sudais stressed the Saudi leadership’s utmost keenness in taking care of the Two Holy Mosques. “The Kingdom, since its unification at the hands of the founder King Abdul Aziz and the periods of his righteous sons after him, until the current prosperous period of King Salman and Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman, has always cared about everything that concerns the issues of Islam and Muslims, especially the Two Holy Mosques and the Holy Kaaba,” he said.

Sheikh Al-Sudais noted that taking care of the Holy Kaaba is only one of the characteristics of the leaders of this blessed country, and that venerating and caring for it is part of the veneration of the sacred Islamic rituals,” he added.