Le dépôt sacré: la vénération des reliques du prophète Muḥammad en islam entre dévotion et fondement du pouvoir

The veneration of the relics of the prophet Muḥammad constitutes one of the main forms of devotion to his person throughout the centuries. Approaching the Prophet’s relics, touching them directly or touching objects that have been in contact with them, as well as drinking liquids that carry the blessing of those relics, means for the believer to enter into the very presence of the Prophet. As in other religious and political contexts, the Prophet’s relics have also played a role in legitimising political power in Islamic societies, as some rulers have used them to strengthen their connection to the source of authority in Islam, the Prophet himself. They also transferred these relics to peripheral areas of the Islamic world, using them as foundational elements of religious and civil buildings and thereby conferring them a central role in the development of Islamic societies.