A Screen of Green and Gold

For more than 1,200 years textiles have played a vital role in the life of the Prophet’s Mosque in Al-Madinah al-Munawwarah. Textiles protected the most sacred spaces from dust and impurities, and were also an expression of respect. Patrons sent these textiles as an act of reverence that simultaneously affirmed their authority and religious legitimacy in the Muslim world.

The wife of the Abbasid Caliph Al-Mahdi (r. AH 158–69/775–85 CE), al-Khaizuran bint ‘Ata’ (d. AH 173/789 CE), is recorded as the first to cover the wall of the Prophet’s burial chamber (Al-Hujrah al-Sharifah) with textiles and lattice-patterned silk. The tradition of sending coverings continued, but it was the Mamluk sultans who established the practice of regularly replacing the Hujrah’s textiles. The Ottomans expanded the custom by sending coverings for the exterior of the Prophet’s burial chamber (maqsurah), the Rawdhah, the three principal mihrabs of the Prophet’s Mosque, and other significant sites such as the minaret door, the minbar, the Station of Gabriel (Maqam Jibril), and the chamber of Fatimah.

The coverings of the Prophet’s Hujrah remained in place for extended periods, while other textiles were used only during certain times of the year, primarily in the month of Rajab and between Dhu’l Qa‘dah 20 and Muharram 20. When not in use, they were stored in cabinets in the Hujrah. 

According to Ayyub Sabri Pasha, who died in AH 1308/1890 CE, the replacement of the coverings was performed by the two guardians (aghas), considered the most pious. One removed the old covering while the other fastened the new covering on the tomb wall. The old coverings were sent to Istanbul or distributed to pilgrims.