Devotee of the Blessed Prophetic Hair

There was a trader from the land of Balkh who was very wealthy. Alongside his worldly wealth, he possessed a unique treasure in the form of three blessed strands from the auspicious hair of the Messenger of Allah  صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم . The trader had two sons, and when he passed away, they divided his wealth between themselves equally. However, they encountered a difficulty as the blessed strands numbered three.

The elder brother said to his younger sibling, “You keep one, I will keep one also, and we will divide the third into two parts; one for each of us. In this way the blessed strands will also be equally divided amongst us.”

The younger brother, overwhelmed by his devotion to the beloved Prophet  صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم , exclaimed, “I cannot bear splitting the blessed hair of the beloved Prophet  صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم .”

The elder brother, overcome with love of worldly wealth, spoke, “If you have such love for the blessed hair, give me your share of the wealth and keep all three strands of the blessed hair.”

What else did a true devotee need? The younger brother immediately accepted the offer and took the blessed strands of hair, handing over all his wealth. Then, the younger brother began to live separately. Although he no longer had that worldly wealth, he had a unique treasure. He would view the blessed hair daily with great devotion and recite ṣalāt upon the Prophet in abundance. He also began a small business. The first blessing of the blessed stands manifested as his wealth began to increase every day.

On the other hand, the elder brother’s wealth began to diminish. Time passed in this way until that true devotee, the younger brother who had shunned worldly wealth, passed away. After his passing, a pious predecessor of that time was blessed with the vision of the beloved Prophet  صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم  in a dream. The beloved