The shrine is believed to contain the tomb of Seth, third son of Adam, known by Muslims as Sheth or Shith.

[citation needed] The site originated as a modest 17th-century tomb of the prophet, Seth, and a small mosque was added during the 18th century Ottoman period.

In 1977, the entire complex, with the exception of the minaret, was demolished and a new concrete mosque was erected at its place.

[1][2] On 24 July 2014, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant detonated explosives inside the Al-Nabi Shith Mosque, destroying it completely.

[3][4] The militants had also allegedly removed artifacts from the shrine and took them to an unknown location.