For eight centuries, the conquest of Constantinople, now Istanbul
Turkey was a dream for the Muslim commanders. Ever since the era of
the revered companion, Mu`aawiyah Ibn Abu Sufyaan, there had been many
attempts to conquer it, but none had succeeded.
Every Muslim commander wantedto be the conqueror praised in the
narration in which the Prophet said: "You will conquer Constantinople
. Its commander is the best and its army (that will conquer it) is the
best."
Who was then the person about whom the Prophet gave glad tidings? It
was Muhammad Al-Faatih son of the OttomanSultan Murad II.
Muhammad Al-Faatih as a child and his excellent preparation:
Muhammad Al-Fatih was born on 27 th Rajab, 835 A.H., 30 th
March,1432. He was brought up under the supervision of his father,
Sultan Murad II, the seventh Ottoman Sultan. His father prepared and
trained him to shoulder the responsibilities of the position of a
Sultan. Muhammad Al-Fatih memorized all the Quran, learnt the
Propheticnarrations, Islamic jurisprudence,mathematics, astronomy and
theskills required for war.
He also learnt Arabic, Persian, Latin and Greek languages. He joined
his father in his battles and conquests.
His father appointed him as a ruler of a small emirate so that he
could receive practical trainingon administering state affairs under
the supervision of some of the top scholars of that time. This matter
influenced the character of the young prince andtinted his personality
with Islamic morals and manners.
Shaykh Aaq Shamsd-Deen, one of the scholars who supervised the
upbringing and education of Muhammad Al-Faatih, managed to inculcate
in his heart the spirit of Jihaad and the desire to be a person with
high ambition.
The Shaykh also told Muhammad Al-Faatih that he may be the one
referred to in the Prophetic narration mentioned above. All this
shaped the character of Muhammad Al-Faatih. He was devoted to Jihaad,
highly ambitious, widely cultured, and had deep knowledge of the
skills of war and combat.
Taking power and his efforts to achieve the glad tiding:
After the death of his father, Sultan Murad II on 5 th Muharram,852
A.H., 7 th February, 1451 A.C., Muhammad Al-Faatih took over and
became the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire . He was a strong young man,
only twenty years old, very enthusiastic and ambitious. He was
thinking of theconquest of Constantinople, the capital of the
Byzantine Empire . This dream overwhelmed him to the extent that he
would not talkabout any subject except for the conquest of
Constantinople . He would not even allow anyone who was sitting with
him to talk,except about the expected conquest.
The first step in achieving his dream was to take control of the
Strait of Bosporus so that he could prevent any support or supplies
that might come to Constantinople from Europe . So he built a huge
castle on the European seashore of the Strait of Bosporus . Along with
top senior officials, he personally participated in building the
castle. It took three months to build this castle that came to be
known as the Roman Castle. On the other bank of the Strait of Bosporus
there was the Castle of Anatolia . It then became impossible for any
ship to cross unless it obtained permission from the Ottoman forces.
At that time, a talented engineer managed to make a number of cannons
for the Sultan, Muhammad Al-Faatih . One ofthese cannons, never known
before that time, was 700 tons and its projectile weighed 1,500
kilograms.
The sound of its shell could be heard from a long distance away.It was
pulled by one hundred oxen aided by one hundred strong men. This giant
cannon was called the Sultanic Cannon.
The conquest of Constantinople and the realization of the glad tidings:
After completing his preparations, Sultan Muhammad Al-Faatih marched
to Constantinople with an army of two hundred and sixty-five thousand
fighters. This army had infantry forces as well as horsemen. Huge
cannons supported this army. The army besieged Constantinople and the
Ottoman cannons started to fire their missiles at the fortified walls
of the city day and night. From time to time, the Sultan surprised the
enemy with a new war plan until the city defenders lost control and
their forces gave up.
At dawn of Tuesday, 20 th Jumaadaa Al-Awwal, 827 A.H., 29 th May,
1453 A.C., the Ottoman forces managed to penetrate the walls and drive
away the defenders who fled. The people of Constantinople were taken
by surprise when they saw the Ottoman flags waving on their walls and
the soldiers flooding into the city.
After the Ottoman forces conquered the city, Sultan Muhammad arrived
on his horse in a great procession that included his ministers and
army commanders. Ever since that time, the Sultan was known as
Muhammad Al-Faatih (the Conqueror). The soldiers were shouting:
Mash-Allaah! Mash-Allaah! Long live our Sultan! Long live our Sultan!
The Sultan's procession marched until it reached Hagia Sophia church
where the people of the city had gathered. When they knew that the
Sultan had arrived,they bowed and prostrated and they were all weeping
and crying because they did not know their fate; what Sultan Muhammad
Al-Faatih would do to them.
When the Sultan arrived, he dismounted from his horse and prayed two
Rak`ahs thanking Allaah Who had blessed him withthis conquest. Then
the Sultan addressed the people of the city who were still bowing and
prostrating in tears:
Stand up! I am Sultan Muhammadand I would like to tell you, your
brothers, and all the people present that your lives and freedoms are
protected.
The Sultan ordered that the church be turned into a mosque and for the
first time, the call for prayer was heard from this place.Until now,
this mosque is still known as the Mosque of Hagia Sophia. He also
decided to take Constantinople as a capital of his country. It was
called Islambul, meaning the House of Islam. Later on the word was
viciously twisted to become Istanbul .
The Sultan was very tolerant and merciful with the people of the city,
and acted according to the teachings of Islam. He commanded his
soldiers to treat their prisoners of war in a good manner. The Sultan
himself paid the ransoms for a large number of prisoners of war from
his own money. He also allowed those who left the city when it was
under siege to return home.
The aftermath of the conquest of Constantinople :
Muhammad Al-Fatih attainedthis victory when he was twenty three years
old. This indicated hisearly military genius. He also deserved the
glad tidings of the Prophet who foretold that a good person would
conquer that city.
Later on, Muhammad Al-Faatih headed to complete his conquests in the
Balkan. He managed to conquer Serbia Greece Romania Albania and Bosnia
Herzegovina. He also looked forward to conquering Rome so that he
would have another source of pride in addition to the conquest of
Constantinople .
In order to achieve this great hope, he needed to conquer Italy . He
prepared a tremendous fleetfor this mission. He managed to land his
forces and a large number of cannons near the Italian city Otarant.
Consequently he managed to capture its castle in Jumaadaa Al-Awwal 885
A.H., July 1480 A.C.
Muhammad Al-Fatih decided to take Otarant as a base for his northern
military operations untilhe could reach Rome . The European world was
terrified because of this attempt and they expected the fall of the
historical city, Rome into the hands of Muhammad Al-Fatih . However,
he died suddenly (on 4 th Rabee' Al-Awwal, 886 A.H., 3 rd May, 1481
A.C.) while he was preparing to realize this dream. All Europe was
very happy when they knew about his death. The Pope of Rome ordered
that thankfulness prayer be held in churches as a means of expressing
joy and happiness over the news.
Muhammad Al-Fatih as a statesman and a sponsor of civilization
During the reign of Muhammad Al-Faatih and because of his wise
leadership and well-planned policy, the Ottoman State
reachedboundaries that it had never done before.
All these conquests were not the only achievements of
MuhammadAl-Faatih may Allaah have mercy on him. Through the help of
some of his loyal men, he managed to establish a constitution based on
the Book of Allaah and the Sunnah of His Prophet and the Ottoman state
adhered to this constitutionfor about four centuries.
Although he was very busy, he managed to establish more than 300
mosques, 192 of which were in Istanbul alone. He also built 57
schools. Among his most famous architectural monuments are the Mosque
of Sultan Muhammad, the Mosque of Abu Ayyoob Al-Ansaari, and Sarai
Tub-Qabu Palace .
Muhammad Al-Faatih was known for his love for literature. He was a
good poet and a regularreader. He liked the company of scholars and
poets and made some of them ministers. Whenever he heard about a
greatscholar in any field, he would help and support him or ask him to
come to Istanbul in order to benefit of his knowledge.
The character of Muhammad Al-Faatih :
Muhammad Al-Faatih was a committed Muslim who abode bythe rulings of
Islamic jurisprudence. Because of the way he was brought up, he was
apious man. As for his military conduct, it was very civilized and it
was unfamiliar to Europe in its Medieval Ages.
Owing to his ambition fostered by his teachers who always encouraged
him to be the conqueror of Constantinople he managed to make the
greatest ofhis achievements by conquering this city.
Muhammad Al-Faatih managed to realize his dreams through hard,
continuous work, and well-organized planning. For example, before
besieging Constantinople he prepared for the war by making cannons,
preparing his fleet, and making use of all the factors that might
render him victorious.
Through high ambition, determination, and the effort to achieve his
goals, he managed to materialize his dream, make his hope an existing
reality which made him one of the great Muslim heroes and conquerors.
