There is a story behind how the Prophet’s relic reached India and was enshrined in the Hazratbal Mosque. It is said that the relic was first in the possession of Saiyid Abdullah, who hailed from Medina in Arabia and had served as the custodian (mutwali) of the Prophet's grave (rouza-e-muthara) at Medina. He had rebelled against the king of Rome and was thus banished from Arabia. As per the Tarikh-i-Hasan (Prof. Ibrahim's Translation, Vol-III, pg. 480), when he departed from  Saudi Arabia, he carried three holy relics with himself. These were the Prophet’s Hair (Moi-E-Muqqadas), His Turban (dastar-i-sharif) and the saddle of the horse used by Hazrat Ali (cousin and son-in-law of the Prophet).

He came to India and was warmly welcomed by the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan, who gave him a jagir (property) in Bijapur. After Saiyid Abdullah passed away, his son Syed Hamid threw his lot with Shah Jahan’s elder son, Daro-Shikoh. However, the latter was killed and Aurangzeb ascended the throne. The Jagir was seized by Aurangzeb and ... More

There is a story behind how the Prophet’s relic reached India and was enshrined in the Hazratbal Mosque. It is said that the relic was first in the possession of Saiyid Abdullah, who hailed from Medina in Arabia and had served as the custodian (mutwali) of the Prophet's grave (rouza-e-muthara) at Medina. He had rebelled against the king of Rome and was thus banished from Arabia. As per the Tarikh-i-Hasan (Prof. Ibrahim's Translation, Vol-III, pg. 480), when he departed from  Saudi Arabia, he carried three holy relics with himself. These were the Prophet’s Hair (Moi-E-Muqqadas), His Turban (dastar-i-sharif) and the saddle of the horse used by Hazrat Ali (cousin and son-in-law of the Prophet).

He came to India and was warmly welcomed by the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan, who gave him a jagir (property) in Bijapur. After Saiyid Abdullah passed away, his son Syed Hamid threw his lot with Shah Jahan’s elder son, Daro-Shikoh. However, the latter was killed and Aurangzeb ascended the throne. The Jagir was seized by Aurangzeb and was not released even upon the intervention of Shah Jahan, who was now a prisoner of Aurangzeb. Conditions got worse with time and Syed Hamid had to pawn the hair relic due to a heavy debt to Khawaja Nur-ud-Din, who was a Kashmiri businessman. 

After acquiring the relic Nur-ud-Din decided to set out to Kashmir but before he could reach the destination, spies conveyed the news to Emperor Aurangzeb. Nur-ud-din got arrested in Lahore and along with his servant Ghulam Hassan, was presented before the royal court.  The Emperor, after viewing the holy relic, ordered it to be kept at the shrine of Khawaja Moinuddin Chishti, in Ajmer. Khawaja Nur ud din died of shock when the relic was taken away from him. However, before his death, he had told his last wish to Khawaja Ghulam Hasan that in case the relic got recovered it should be kept in Kashmir. After few days, it is believed that the Emperor had a dream in which he had a vision of Prophet Mohammad ordering him to take the relic to Kashmir, along with the dead body of Khawaja Nur-ud-Din.

Scholars, Muslim dignitaries and a mass of commoners under the guidance and leadership of Sheikh Mohammad Radhu reached Hirpur (Shopian) to welcome and receive the relic (Moi-E-Muqqadas). In Kashmir, the daughter of Khwaja Nur-ud-Din, Inayat Begum, became the custodian of the relic. Shaikh Mohammad Radhu was the first person to display the holy relic to people at the Qazi Mosque in Chishti Street. After this, it was exhibited at the Khanah of Naqshband Sahib where thousands of people came to pay homage. Since then the descendants of Inayat Begum, who married into a prominent Kashmiri family known as Banday, have been the keepers of the relic, and are known as Nishandehs.

The limited area of Naqshaband Sahib Shrine made it very difficult to accommodate the growing number of devotees. Governor Fazil Khan was approached by the people to shift the relic to a more spacious place for its public exhibition. That is how the relic got shifted to the Bagh-i-Sadiqabad in 1699. Prophet's holy hair was placed in the innermost chamber of this exquisite building. Aurangzeb bestowed upon the Khadims (Priests) three village as Jagir for the maintenance and preservation of the holy relic.