Abdulghanî Nâblusî (1641-1731 CE) was one of the Ulama (Islamic scholars) in the 18th century (CE) who lived during the reign of Sultan Ahmed III of the Ottomans. He wrote in his Hajj travel notes named, “Al-Haqiqat wal- Majaz fi’r Rihlah, ila Bilâdi’sh-Sham wa Misr wal-Hijaz":
“When I was in Madinah al-Munawwarah in Ramadân in 1105 AH, (1694 CE), a group of Ulama would visit us, and we would exchange our knowledge going through Bukhârî Sharîf and Fiqh books till Zuhr time. Among them was an Indian Alim named Ghulam Muhammad, who would attend the Durûs (lessons) from Zuhr to Asr. His father was one of the renowned Fiqh Alims of India and was among the group of scholars who Sultan Aurangzeb charged to write “Fatawa al-Hindiyyah”. This work is well known in Muslim countries, particularly in Haramayn al-Sharîfayn (Makkah al-Mukarramah and Madinah al-Munawwarah). It is a huge work that includes the most reliable Fatwas (verdicts) of the Hanafî Madhhab.
According to what Gulam Muhammad told me, many people in India possess the strands of blessed beard (bâl mubarak) of Rasûlullâh (sallallâhu alayhi wa sallam). Some have a single strand; some have two or more of them. They allow their visitors to visit them.
Another righteous person from India also informed me that the strands of the blessed beard were taken out of their cases to display (to the visitors) on the ninth of Rabî‘ al-Awwal. Many Ulama and righteous people would gather for this ceremony of visit, they would conduct Dhikr and visit the blessed beard while reciting Salawât (Durûd) al-Sharîfah. He mentioned that they were kept in special cases that were perfumed with musk and ambergris. He told me that he had sometimes seen the hairs move on their own. He also said that they continued to grow and that some new strands began to grow from the other strands.
This is not a strange thing at all because the spiritual effect of Rasûlullâh (sallallâhu alayhi wa sallam) during his lifetime spread to every cell of the parts of his body.
According to the reports of historians, Nuruddin Zanki, a Seljuk Atabeg (government official), had possessed some blessed strands of the beard of Rasûlullâh (sallallâhu alayhi wa sallam). He had willed after his death that he be buried with the hairs covering his eyes. Hence when Nuruddin Zanki’s grave is visited, the visitor should intend to make Ziyarah of (visiting) the blessed hairs as well so that he can earn blessings."
