A contemporary writer Yahya Sirhindi mentions in his Tarikh-i-Mubarak Shahi that Khizr Khan was a descendant of Muhammad.

[7] Members of the dynasty derived their title, Sayyid, or the descendants of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, based on the claim that they belonged to his lineage through his daughter Fatima.

However, Yahya Sirhindi based his conclusions on unsubstantial evidence, the first being a casual recognition by the famous saint Sayyid Jalaluddin Bukhari of Uch Sharif of his Sayyid heritage in the household of his adoptive grandfather Malik Mardan Daulat who is also referred to as Malik Mardan Bhatti by Yahya,[8][9][10] and the second being the Sultan's noble character which distinguished him as possessing the moral qualities of Muhammad's descendant.

[11] Abraham Eraly is of the opinion that Khizr Khan's ancestors were likely descendants of an Arab family who had long ago settled in the region of Multan during the early Tughluq period, but he doubts his Sayyid lineage.

[13] According to Richard M. Eaton and oriental scholar Simon Digby, Khizr Khan was a Punjabi chieftain belonging to the Khokhar clan, who was sent to Timur as an ambassador and negotiator from the most adjacent area, the Punjab, ultimately becoming the power holder in Delhi, thanks to the contacts he had acquired.

[29][30] After the accession of Khizr Khan, the Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and Sindh were reunited under the Delhi Sultanate, where he spent his time subduing rebellions.

Just before his death, he called his son Sayyid Ala-ud-Din Shah from Badaun, and nominated him as successor.

[citation needed] The last ruler of the Sayyids, Ala-ud-Din, voluntarily abdicated the throne of the Delhi Sultanate in favour of Bahlul Khan Lodi on 19 April 1451, and left for Badaun, where he died in 1478.

[38] He defeated the advancing Hoshang Shah Ghori, the ruler of the Malwa Sultanate and forced him to pay heavy tribute early in his reign.