Relics of Muhammad

Last updated
Box with a part of Muhammad's beard. Maulana Rumi mausoleum, Konya, Turkey Turkey.Konya043.jpg
Box with a part of Muhammad's beard. Maulâna Rumi mausoleum, Konya, Turkey

The Relics of Muhammad are a series of objects venerated in Islam that are associated with Muhammad.

Contents

Islam has had a long history of relic veneration, especially of veneration of relics attributed to the Islamic prophet Muhammad. [1] There exists historical evidence that some of the earliest Muslims practiced the veneration of relics, and the practice remained popular in many parts of the Sunni Islamic world until the 18th-century, when the reform movements of Salafism and Wahhabism began to staunchly condemn such practices, linking them with the Islamic sin of shirk (idolatry). As a result of the influence of these perspectives, some contemporary Muslims have rejected the traditional practice of relic veneration altogether. [1] Some of the most prominent relics include those housed in Istanbul's Topkapı Palace, [2] [3] [4] in a section known as Hirkai Serif Odasi (Chamber of the Holy Mantle), and those at Hazratbal, in the Vale of Kashmir including what is claimed to be a hair of Muhammad.

The 17th-century French explorer Jean-Baptiste Tavernier wrote about his discussions with two treasurers of Constantinople, who described the standard, mantle and the seal. [5] Two centuries later, Charles White wrote about the mantle, the standard, the beard, tooth, and footprint of Muhammad, the last of which he saw personally. [6]

Standard

The battle standard of Muhammad, known in Turkish as Sancak-ı Şerif ("Holy Standard"), is claimed to have served as the curtain over the entrance of his wife Aisha's tent. According to another tradition, the standard had been part of the turban of Buraydah ibn al-Khasib, an enemy who was ordered to attack Muhammad, but instead bowed to him, unwound his turban and affixed it to his spear, dedicating it and himself to Muhammad's service. [7]

Selim I (r.1512–1520) acquired it after the Ottoman conquest of Egypt, and had it taken to the Grand Mosque of Damascus where it was to be carried during the annual Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca. Murad III (r.1574–1595) had it sent to Hungary as an way to motivate his army. In 1595, Mehmed III (r.1595–1603) had it brought to Topkapı Palace, where it was sewn into another standard, alleged to be Umar's [7] and together they were encased in a rosewood box, inlaid with gems including tortoiseshell and mother of pearl. The keys to the box were traditionally held by the Kizlar Agha. [7] It became associated with the Ottoman Empire, and was exhibited whenever the Sultan or Grand Vizier appeared before the field army, such as at the 1826 Auspicious Incident and at the outset of Turkey's entrance into World War I. [7] Tavernier reported that the Lance[ clarification needed ] was kept outside the Sultan's bedroom in the 17th century, [5] by 1845 White said he saw it resting against a wall near the standard [6] and by 1920 its whereabouts were unknown. [7]

Holy Mantle

Inside the Chamber of the Blessed Mantle 4025 Istanbul - Topkapi - Sbirciando da finestra sala reliquie - Foto G. Dall'Orto 27-5-2006.jpg
Inside the Chamber of the Blessed Mantle

The Holy Mantle, Hırka-i Şerif, or Burda is an item of clothing that was given as a gift by Muhammad to Ka'b ibn Zuhayr, whose children sold it to Muawiyah I, the founder of the Umayyad dynasty. After the fall of the Umayyads, the Mantle went to Baghdad under the Abbasids, to Cairo under the Mamluks, and finally moved by Selim I to Topkapi Palace in 1595. [7]

The Poem of the Mantle was composed by Imam al-Busiri in praise of Muhammad and the mantle.

Tavernier described it as a white coat made of goat's hair with large sleeves, [5] or a cream fabric with black wool lines.

The Grand Seignor having taken it out of the Coffer, kisses it with much respect, and puts it into the hands of the Capi-Aga, who is come into the Room by his Order, after they had taken the Impressions of the Seal. The Officer sends to the Overseer of the Treasury, for a large golden Cauldron, which is brought in thither by some of the Senior-Pages. It is so capacious, according to the description which they gave me of it, as to contain the sixth part of a Tun, and the out-side of it is gamish'd, in some places, with Emeralds, and Turquezes. This Vessel is fill'd with water within six fingers breadth of the brink, and the Capi-Aga, having put Mahomet's Garment into it, and left it to soak a little while, takes it out again, and wrings it hard, to get out the water it has imbib'd, which falls into the Cauldron, taking great care that there falls not any of it to the ground. That done, with the said water he fills a great number of Venice-Chrystl Bottles, containing about half a pint, and when he has stopp'd them, he Seals them with the Grand Seignor's Seal. They afterwards set the Garment a drying, till the twentieth day of the Ratnazan, and then his Highness comes to see them put [it] up again in the Coffer. [5]

Sacred Seal

The Sacred seal, or Mühr-ü Şerif in Turkish, was reported by Tavernier, who said it was kept in a small ebony box in a niche cut in the wall by the foot of a divan in the relic room at Topkapi. [5]

The seal itself is encased in crystal, approximately 3"x4", with a border of ivory. [5] It has been used as recently as the 17th century to stamp documents. [5]

The seal is a rectangular piece of red agate, about 1  cm in length, inscribed with الله / محمد رسول (i.e., Allah "God") in the first line, and Muḥammad rasūl "Muhammad, messenger" in the second). According to Muslim historiographical tradition, Muhammad's original seal was inherited by Abu Bakr, Umar, and Uthman, but lost by Uthman in a well in Medina. Uthman is said to have made a replica of the seal, and this seal was supposedly found in the capture of Baghdad (1534) and brought to Istanbul. [8]

Beard of Muhammad

Known in Ottoman Turkish as the Sakal-ı Şerif, the beard was said to have been removed from Muhammad's face by his favorite barber in the presence of Abu Bakr, Ali and several others. Individual hairs were later taken away, but the beard itself is kept in a glass case. [9]

Tooth of Muhammad

Muhammad lost four teeth at the Battle of Uhud, after being struck with a battle axe. Two of the teeth were supposedly lost, one was preserved at Topkapi, and another was held by Mehmed II. [7]

Blessed Sandals

The Blessed Sandals, Nalain Shareef in Urdu, [10] have traditionally been used to gain the blessings of Muhammad. [11]

Muhammad's Bowl

An almost 1500-year-old bowl supposedly used by Muhammad which after his death was kept by his daughter Fatimah and her husband Ali, the fourth Caliph and Muhammad's cousin. After their death, the bowl was kept by their children Hasan and Hussein. The bowl was passed from generation to generation by descendants of Muhammad until it finally reached Britain. On 21 September 2011 the bowl was delivered to Chechnya and now is kept in "Heart of Chechnya" Mosque named after Ahmad Haji Kadyrov in Grozny. [12]

Regarding the bowl, Ibn Kathir, the Islamic scholar and commentator on the Qur'an, writes in his book Wives of the Prophet Muhammad: [13]

It had been related by Abu Hurairah that on one occasion, when Khadijah was still alive, Jibril came to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and said, "O Messenger of Allah, Khadijah is just coming with a bowl of soup (or food or drink) for you. When she comes to you, give her greetings of peace from her Lord and from me, and give her the good news of a palace of jewels in the Garden, where there will be neither any noise nor any tiredness."

Hazratbal

The Dargah Sharif of Hazratbal in Srinagar contains strands of what is believed by many Kashmiri Muslims to be Muhammad's hair. The relic named Moi-e-Muqqadas was first brought to Kashmir by Syed Abdullah Madani, a purported descendant of Muhammad who left Medina (in present-day Saudi Arabia) and settled in the South Indian city of Bijapur in 1635, at a time when the Islamic Mughal Empire was rapidly expanding across India. [14]

Hadithic references to physical blessings from Muhammad

A number of hadith refer to blessings resulting from physical contact with Muhammad's person, or bodily fluids. Generally in Islam, Muhammad is the only person who people can seek blessings from, whether through his body, what touches his body or bodily fluids. [15]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Relic</span> Object of religious significance from the past

In religion, a relic is an object or article of religious significance from the past. It usually consists of the physical remains or personal effects of a saint or other person preserved for the purpose of veneration as a tangible memorial. Relics are an important aspect of some forms of Buddhism, Christianity, Islam, shamanism, and many other religions. Relic derives from the Latin reliquiae, meaning "remains", and a form of the Latin verb relinquere, to "leave behind, or abandon". A reliquary is a shrine that houses one or more religious relics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Topkapı Palace</span> Palace museum in Istanbul, Turkey

The Topkapı Palace, or the Seraglio, is a large museum and library in the east of the Fatih district of Istanbul in Turkey. From the 1460s to the completion of Dolmabahçe Palace in 1856, it served as the administrative center of the Ottoman Empire, and was the main residence of its sultans.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ibn Qudamah</span> Arab Muslim scholar and jurist (1147–1223)

Ibn Qudāmah al-Maqdisī Muwaffaq ad-Dīn Abū Muḥammad ʿAbd Allāh ibn Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad , better known as Ibn Qudāmah, was an Arab Sunni Muslim scholar, jurist, theologian, traditionist, and ascetic from the Palestine region. Having authored many important treatises on Islamic jurisprudence and religious doctrine, including one of the standard works of Hanbali law, the revered al-Mughni, Ibn Qudamah is highly regarded in Sunni Islam for being one of the most notable and influential thinkers of the Hanbali school of orthodox Sunni jurisprudence. Within that school, he is one of the few thinkers to be given the honorific epithet of Shaykh of Islam, which is a prestigious title bestowed by Sunnis on some of the most important thinkers of their tradition. A proponent of the classical Sunni position of the "differences between the scholars being a mercy," Ibn Qudamah is famous for saying, "The consensus of the leaders of jurisprudence is an overwhelming proof, and their disagreement is a vast mercy."

Al-Muqawqis is mentioned in Muslim history as a ruler of Egypt who corresponded with Muhammad. He is widely identified with the last prefect of Egypt, Cyrus of Alexandria, who was the Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Alexandria of the second era of Byzantine Egypt (628-642).

<i>Siyer-i Nebi</i> Turkish epic about the life of Muhammad

Siyer-i Nebi is an Ottoman epic on the life of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, completed around 1388, written by Mustafa, a Mevlevi dervish on the commission of Sultan Barquq, the Mamluk ruler in Cairo. The text is based on the 13th-century writings of Abu’l Hasan al-Bakri and Ibn Hisham. This epic would later be illustrated by Mustafa ibn Vali in the late 16th century, as commissioned by his patron, Sultan Murad III.

<i>Al-Burda</i> Poem in praise of Muhammad

Qasīdat al-Burda, or al-Burda for short, is a thirteenth-century ode of praise for Muhammad composed by the eminent Shadhili mystic al-Busiri of Egypt. The poem, whose actual title is "The Celestial Lights in Praise of the Best of Creation", is famous mainly in the Sunni Muslim world. It is entirely in praise of Muhammad, who is said to have been praised ceaselessly by the afflicted poet, to the point that Muhammad appeared in a dream and wrapped him in a mantle or cloak; in the morning the poet discovers that God has cured him.

Zāyd bin Thābit bin al-Ḍaḥḥāk was the personal scribe of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, serving as the chief recorder of the Quranic text. He hailed from the ansar (helpers), later joined the ranks of the Muslim army at age 19. After Muhammad's passing in 632, he was ordered to collect the Quran into a single volume from various written and oral sources. He was a noted expert on the Quran and spent much time reciting it.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Samarkand Kufic Quran</span> Uzbek Quran manuscript (dated 765–855)

The Samarkand Kufic Quran is an 8th or 9th century manuscript Quran written in the territory of modern Iraq in the Kufic script, where it was later taken by Tamerlane to Samarkand. Today it is kept in the Hast Imam library, in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.

Ubayy ibn Ka'b, also known as Abu Mundhir, was a companion of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and a person of high esteem in the early Muslim community.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sacred Relics (Topkapı Palace)</span> Islamic religious relics

The Islamic Sacred Relics, also known as the Holy Relics, known collectively as the Sacred Trust, consist of religious relics sent to the Ottoman Sultans between the 16th century to the late 19th century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Topkapi manuscript</span> Early Quranic manuscript

The Topkapi manuscript or Topkapi Quran is an early manuscript of the Quran dated to the early 2nd century AH.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Turkish art</span>

Turkish art refers to all works of visual art originating from the geographical area of what is present day Turkey since the arrival of the Turks in the Middle Ages. Turkey also was the home of much significant art produced by earlier cultures, including the Hittites, Ancient Greeks, and Byzantines. Ottoman art is therefore the dominant element of Turkish art before the 20th century, although the Seljuks and other earlier Turks also contributed. The 16th and 17th centuries are generally recognized as the finest period for art in the Ottoman Empire, much of it associated with the huge Imperial court. In particular the long reign of Suleiman the Magnificent from 1520 to 1566 brought a combination, rare in any ruling dynasty, of political and military success with strong encouragement of the arts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Staff of Moses</span> Walking stick used by Moses

The Staff of Moses, also known as the Rod of Moses or Staff of God, is mentioned in the Bible and Quran as a walking stick used by Moses. According to the Book of Exodus, the staff was used to produce water from a rock, was transformed into a snake and back, and was used at the parting of the Red Sea. Whether the staff of Moses was the same as the staff used by his brother Aaron has been debated by rabbinical scholars.

<i>Hilya</i>

The term ḥilya denotes both a visual form in Ottoman art and a religious genre of Ottoman-Arabic literature each dealing with the physical description of Muhammad. Hilya means "ornament". They originate with the discipline of shama'il, the study of Muhammad's appearance and character, based on hadith accounts, most notably al-Tirmidhi's Shama'il al-Muhammadiyya "The Sublime Characteristics of Muhammad". In Ottoman-era folk Islam, there was a belief that reading and possessing Muhammad's description protects the person from trouble in this world and the next, it became customary to carry such descriptions, rendered in fine calligraphy and illuminated, as amulets. In 17th-century Ottoman Turkey, ḥilān developed into an art form with a standard layout, often framed and used as a wall decoration. Later ḥilān were written for the four Rashid caliphs, the Companions of the Prophet, Muhammad's grandchildren Hasan and Husayn, and walis or saints.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Seal of Muhammad</span> Sacred Islamic relic

The Seal of Muhammad is one of the relics of Muhammad kept in the Topkapı Palace by the Ottoman Sultans as part of the Sacred Relics collection.

The possessions of the Islamic prophet Muhammad are a group of his items and possessions such as weapons, armor and clothing, including those known with unique names. There is doubt about the attribution of these possessions to Muhammad, as many of them were lost during wars and tribulations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Talismanic shirt</span> Shirt functioning as a talisman in Islamic culture

A talismanic shirt is a worn textile talisman. Talismanic shirts are found throughout the Muslim world. The shirts can be grouped to four types which differ in style and the symbols used: an Ottoman, a Safavid, a Mughal and a West African one.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hırka-i Şerif Mosque</span>

Hırka-i Şerif Mosque is a historic mosque in Istanbul, Turkey. It takes its name from a relic, the mantle of Muhammad, which is preserved in the mosque.

The Sancak-ı Şerif is the alleged original standard of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. It is kept along with other relics of Muhammad, in the treasury of the Topkapı Palace, in Istanbul.

References

  1. 1 2 Goldziher, I. and Boer, Tj. de, "At̲h̲ar", in: Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition, Edited by: P. Bearman, Th. Bianquis, C.E. Bosworth, E. van Donzel, W.P. Heinrichs.
  2. "Topkapi Web Page". www.ee.bilkent.edu.tr.
  3. "The 2002 Smithsonian Folklife Festival: Connecting Culture, Creating Trust". Archived from the original on 2009-09-24. Retrieved 2008-04-14.
  4. "Islamic Picture Gallery - Home > Islamic Relics". 28 January 2017.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Tavernier, Jean-Baptiste. "Nouvelle Relation de l'Intérieur du Sérail du Grand Seigneur", 1675
  6. 1 2 White, Charles (1845). Three Years in Constantinople; or, Domestic Manners of the Turks in 1844. Henry Colburn. three years in constantinople.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Penzer, Norman Mosley. "The Harem", Chapter XI
  8. Rachel Milstein, "Futuh-i Haramayn: sixteenth-century illustrations of the Hajj route" in David J Wasserstein and Ami Ayalon (eds.), Mamluks and Ottomans: Studies in Honour of Michael Winter , Routledge, 2013, p. 191 (on the point of the tradition being controversial referencing 15th-century scholar al-Samhudi). William Muir in The Caliphate: Its Rise, Decline and Fall (1892) gives an account of the legend on Uthman's loss of the seal, the fruitless search for it, the calamity of the omen, and Uthman's eventual consent "to supply the lost signet by another of like fashion".
  9. Bozkurt, Nebı (2009). SAKAL-ı ŞERİF - An article published in 36th Volume of Turkish Encyclopedia of Islam (in Turkish). Vol. 36. Istanbul: TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi. pp. 2–3. Retrieved 4 January 2022.
  10. "In Arabic, the Holy Prophet's sandal is known as Na'al. The Na'layn are the blessed sandals worn by Blessed Messenger, Muhammad". 2013. Archived from the original on 2018-12-26. Retrieved 2013-12-25.
  11. "Nalain shareef". April 21, 2013.
  12. Prophet Muhammad's relics arrived in Chechnya Archived April 6, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
  13. "Ibn Kathir: Wives of the Prophet Muhammad (SAW)". www.islamawareness.net.
  14. "Hazratbal". Department of Tourism Govt of Jammu & Kashmir. Archived from the original on 18 August 2021. Retrieved 10 October 2021.
  15. محمد بن صالح العثيمين (2003). مجموع فتاوى ورسائل الشيخ محمد بن صالح العثيمين -ج 17 - الفقه 7 الجنائز. دار الثريا للنشر والتوزيع. pp. 66–67.

Further reading