This building belonged to a French businessman by name Neal, who had to given up his entire trade and belongings as per the royal decree. As the then law provides confiscation of the properties of a foreigner, all the properties of Neal automatically went in to the government treasury. Later during the reign of Aurangazeeb, this flamboyant house was given to his Islamic consultant Mullah Asad bin Qutab Shaheed and to his brother Mullah Asad bin Qutab uddin Shaheed. They developed this house into a full fledged Islamic school, which was often compared with Oxford and the Cambridge universities.
As a dominant Islamic institution of the 18th century, Firangi Mahal served a lot in preserving the long tradition of the rich Islamic culture wide its well oriented curriculum and broad syllabus. In fact the heads of this great institution helped the muslims of India to overcome the trauma of colonial exploration and to preserve their spiritually oriented lifestyle.