Relics of Muhammad

A series of objects are venerated in Islam because of associations with the Islamic prophetProphet Muhammad.

Islam has had a long history of relic veneration, especially of veneration of relics attributed to Muhammad. 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. Some of the most prominent collections of relics include Sacred Relics at Topkapı Palace in Istanbul, Moi-e-Muqqadas at Hazratbal in the Vale of Kashmir, the Cloak of Muhammad at Kirka Sharif in Kandahar, and the relics at Badshahi Mosque in Lahore.

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. 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.