Pakistani Scholar Transforms Kaaba-Inspired Gold-Leaf Art Into a Global Enterprise

NOWSHERA: A self-taught Pakistani religious scholar has built an international business creating artwork inspired by the Kiswa, the richly decorated black silk covering of the Kaaba in Makkah.

Based in Nowshera, in Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, 30-year-old Haleema Khattak reports having produced over 100 Kiswa-inspired canvases and selling them to clients in more than 13 countries since she began the craft in 2022.

The Kiswa covers the Kaaba, Islam’s holiest shrine and the direction of Muslim prayer. It is produced annually at the King Abdulaziz Complex in Makkah, featuring black silk adorned with Qur’anic verses and Islamic motifs embroidered in silver thread plated with 24-karat gold.

Seated before a black canvas at her home, Khattak meticulously applies sheets of gold leaf along Arabic calligraphic designs, effectively recreating the visual character of the Kiswa’s embroidered inscriptions through paint and gilding.

“My artwork has been sold to over 13 countries and displayed in various homes abroad,” she told Arab News.

Her clientele spans Saudi Arabia, other Gulf states, Europe, and the United States, with the majority of orders placed via her Instagram, Facebook, WhatsApp, and LinkedIn pages.

Khattak’s journey into artistry began with religious study rather than formal art training. She spent six years completing the Dars-e-Nizami through Wifaq ul Madaris, one of Pakistan’s principal boards of Islamic seminaries.

The curriculum traditionally encompasses the Qur’an and its interpretation, Hadith, Islamic jurisprudence, Arabic grammar, and other religious disciplines.

“I am an Islamic scholar,” she said. “I was drawn to calligraphy from the very beginning, particularly the script of the Qur’an.”

Khattak began experimenting with calligraphy using pens and markers in 2019. Her work shifted direction three years later when, while planning a painting of the Kaaba, she started studying the Kiswa’s calligraphic designs.

“I researched, found online courses, and began working upon completing them,” she said.

Unlike the original Kiswa, whose inscriptions are embroidered by Saudi artisans using gold-plated silver and pure silver thread, Khattak creates her designs using acrylic paint and gold leaf applied to canvas.

“Many people replicate it with thread,” she said. “I use acrylic colors on canvas and gold leaf.”

Her process starts with selecting and preparing a canvas. She marks the design with thin white paint, applies adhesive, and carefully lays gold leaf over the lettering before brushing away the excess and varnishing the finished piece.

Although similar materials are available locally, Khattak imports most of her supplies from China because she believes locally available leaf deteriorates too quickly.

“People purchase expensive artwork, and I cannot bear for it to be of poor quality.”

Her earliest pieces required more than two weeks to finish, but repetition has significantly accelerated the process.

“My first Kiswa took 17 to 18 days, and I sketched every detail,” she said. “But now, Alhamdulillah, I have completed 100 pieces, so I no longer need to sketch; I work directly on the canvas. Today, I can complete an artwork in a single day.”

Khattak sold her first commission for $7. Her pieces now range from $30 to $722, depending on their size and complexity.

She attributes much of the overseas demand to Muslim communities seeking Islamic artwork for their homes, particularly in the Gulf and Europe, where she believes relatively few artists produce comparable work.

However, for Khattak, the paintings represent more than a commercial enterprise.

“As a religious person, this brings me great honor,” she said. “It is a benefit for me in this world and the hereafter, and I hope to receive great reward from Allah for it.”

She now aspires to enter international calligraphy competitions and exhibit her work outside Pakistan.

“My future goal is to write the name of Allah so beautifully that no one else in the world can replicate it,” she said. “My second goal is to hold international exhibitions so that I can make my country, Pakistan, proud.”

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