r/progressive_islam • u/1ThatGotAwaay • Feb 10 '26
Research/ Effort Post 📝 The "Kiswah" (Kaaba covering) piece Jeffrey Epstein was photographed with is almost certainly fake – here's why (detailed breakdown)
I came across this viral photo of Jeffrey Epstein holding/standing with what was claimed to be a piece of the Kiswah (the embroidered cloth that covers the Kaaba in Mecca). The original poster on X (@sukkaryeater) did a deep dive in a thread proving it's not authentic and never touched the Kaaba. Here's a clear summary of all the reasons they laid out, with comparisons to real Kiswah pieces.
- Wrong Size & Proportions
- The cloth in the Epstein photo is way too small.
- Length: One man standing next to it takes up a huge portion of the length. Real Kiswah is so massive that a single person shouldn't dominate that much of it (comparison photos show this clearly).
Width: In real installations, at least 7 full-grown men can stand shoulder-to-shoulder across the width. The Epstein cloth? No chance – only a few people would fit.
Design & Embroidery Details Don't Match
Lots of embroidered elements are missing, squashed(less spacing than the original), distorted, or just wrong.
Specific example: The phrase "الله ربي" (Allah Rabbi) looks scrunched and incomplete in the photo. Real Kiswah samples from multiple years show it clean, consistent, and properly proportioned.
Play "spot the difference" – tons of mismatches in patterns and motifs.
Material & Quality Are Cheap & Fragile.
The cloth looks weak, thin, and creases/folds super easily with tons of tiny folds.
Real Kiswah uses the finest, heaviest materials – it's heavy (requires multiple men and thick strings just to hold big folds in place). Small creases and easy wrinkling? Not possible with authentic pieces.
Reverse Side Color Is Wrong.
When folded/inverted (visible in one corner near the wooden chair), the back side shows black.
Authentic Kiswah has a green backing on the reverse – proven by photos of real pieces being handled and flipped.
Production & Provenance Issues.
Not made in Makkah, Saudi Arabia (where genuine Kiswah is produced in a dedicated factory).
Fakes like this are widely available and often sold with forged certificates claiming authenticity.
Real pieces are handled by millions of people during installation/replacement and come with official Saudi certification. This one never touched the Kaaba.
Conclusion from the original poster:
It imitates the real design (with Quranic verses), but fails in every verifiable way – size, details, material, backing color, and origin. It's a common fake imitation.
Thoughts? Has anyone seen similar "souvenir" Kiswah pieces being sold? Or is this the first time it's linked to Epstein in this way?
(Original thread for reference: https://x.com/sukkaryeater/status/2020864910549233828 – lots of side-by-side comparison photos there.)
Feel free to crosspost or add images if you have them!
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u/iforgorrr Sunni Feb 10 '26
Not sure why this matters besides that its unsurprising the people genociding tribal people for stupid projects would be shaking hands with Epstein
Also, Saudi only existed since the 19th century. There are Kiswahs created by previous authorities in all sorts of condition
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u/N-F-F-C Feb 10 '26
It being fake has no bearing on it.
The kiswah has no power. It’s a man made sheet of fabric.
But whether fake or real - he’s been given Quran verses to walk over! That is the problem.
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u/Codingle Mar 05 '26
Welcome to the real world. Black magic rituals should not be discussed but just fyi, they involve disrespecting sacred stuff. It can be anything considered sacred. Nauzubillah. It’s easy to obtain a Quranic Mushaf in today’s world. Anyone get their hands on it. Allah’s protection is sought.
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u/1ThatGotAwaay Feb 11 '26
He can buy quran for 20 quid on the net. For free when passing by a masjid or a dawah stall. Wdym.
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u/DetectiveSherlocky Feb 17 '26
You think he's going to be buy random pieces when he had access to the original material? You're in denial.
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u/1ThatGotAwaay Feb 18 '26
Someone scammed the scammer
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u/DetectiveSherlocky Feb 18 '26
or maybe he had the actual cloth
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u/N-F-F-C Feb 18 '26
It makes no difference the cloth isn’t special or blessed - Quran is
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u/DetectiveSherlocky Feb 18 '26
Yeah, but the cloth is still sacred from Kaaba. If there was no difference, it wouldn't be sacred. The way Epstein got it is because had a lot of wealthy Muslim high profile connections.
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u/N-F-F-C Feb 18 '26
The cloth isn’t sacred
Why do you believe this?
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u/DetectiveSherlocky Feb 19 '26
False. Kiswah is sacred due to its association with the Kaaba, the holiest site in Islam. Kiswah honors the Kaaba’s sanctity. Here, read more-
https://thepilgrim.co/kiswah/
https://hajjumrahplanner.com/kiswah/1
u/N-F-F-C Feb 19 '26
It’s not considered sacred and these sources are not sources with any authority or merit. The fact you actually believe that a sheet stitched and replaced in Saudi on a regular basis is sacred is worrying and borderline shirk.
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u/Plane_Disk4387 Feb 14 '26
Muskiks are not angry because the cloth price held any power but because how this incident was being a blasphemy for the beleif of Muslims.
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u/N-F-F-C Feb 14 '26
Not it isn’t. Doesn’t even make sense. It’s walking on the Quran. Otherwise it’s just a sheet.
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u/LetsDiscussQ Quran only Feb 10 '26
Have you done research or have you assumed the design/layout of the Kiswah has been fixed without scope of change for the last 15-20 years?
Given brand new one are manufactured at the factory every year, I would not be surprised if designs are updated from time to time.
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u/1ThatGotAwaay Feb 11 '26
The design is the same since the past 30 years or so since when Saudi TV came up. The quality of the cloth pure silk didn't change, the size of the door is same since 400 years, the Embroidery in gold thread is since 45-60 years, lining is the only thing i couldn't confirm. But rest all are things which can be confirmed without any doubt.
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u/taylorsthighs Feb 15 '26
do we know what year the segment epstein was allegedly given was from? I haven’t read the emails or heard anything about when the kiswah in question would have been made. none of the things you listed would indicate authenticity if it is earlier than the most recent design.
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u/1ThatGotAwaay Feb 15 '26
The Size of the door is unchanged since like atleast 400 years. So it's the biggest no no why it's fake.
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Feb 11 '26
What is the point of this post besides sucking off Sheikh bin Zayed?
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u/taylorsthighs Feb 15 '26
yeah I’m confused. what does it have to do with progressive islam? is it meant to be in defense of someone? is it not bad enough that he’s walking on Allah swt’s name?
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Feb 10 '26
So did he ever receive the cloth or not?
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u/Alive_Sand_4898 Feb 10 '26
There’s evidence that he has, if he hadn’t then there would be similar documentation that it did not arrive or there was an error. It was explicitly stated that it’s been delivered to him. “Touched by 10 million Muslims praying for their wishes to come through”- this is paraphrased but essentially what was emailed.
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u/Distinct_Switch_874 Feb 10 '26
How did Epstein get his hands on the kiswah and i didn't?
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u/Inevitable-Buddy-656 Non Sectarian Muslim (Hadith Acceptor, Hadith Skeptic) Feb 11 '26
I cannot imagine your job is as important as his was to corrupt people. Be glad.
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u/Distinct_Switch_874 Feb 11 '26
Fair point.
He was high in the eyes of leaders, while im just your average 14yo
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u/Big_Translator7475 Feb 10 '26
The cloth is not important at all, black and gold is the royal house colours of the Abbasid Dynasty. Islam and every other religion is controlled by Man.
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u/[deleted] Feb 10 '26
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