Badr was born at his ancestral home in the Qashashiya quarter of Makkah in 1920. After studying at the local Falah school he joined his father at his gold and silver workshop at the age of 15.

He had been working at his father’s shop  in the Goldsmiths’ street all his life. He belonged to a family of artists known for exquisite gold works.

He   made the Kaaba door using 300 kg of pure gold at the orders of King Khaled in October 1979. The work was carried out at a workshop prepared exclusively for the project. He also refurbished the meezab (the spout at the top of Kaaba) and the Black Stone’s
silver frame.

He learned his art from his father Ibrahim Badr who originally designed and built the door when King Abdul Aziz ordered him to in 1942.

Badr and two relatives, Mahmoud and Ibrahim Badr, cast the door in pure gold, taking a full year to complete the work.

The interior pillars and the meezab, made with 25 kg of 24-carat gold, were also completed during that time.

The prayer ‘Ya Hayy Ya Qayyum’ (Oh the Living Oh the Lasting), verses of the Holy Quran and the words ‘Allah’ and ‘Muhammad’ were inscribed on
the door.

Their work also included a silver frame for the Black Stone.


habib@khaleejtimes.com