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 commanderwanted to 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 personabout whom the Prophet gave glad tidings? It
was Muhammad Al-Faatih son of the Ottoman Sultan 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. Hewas 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 Prophetic
narrations, Islamic jurisprudence, mathematics, astronomy and the
skills 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 training on administering state affairs under
the supervision of some of the top scholars of that time. This matter
influenced the character of the young prince and tinted 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 thisshaped
the character of Muhammad Al-Faatih. He was devoted to Jihaad, highly
ambitious, widely cultured, and had deep knowledge of the skills ofwar
and combat.
Taking power and his efforts to achieve the glad tiding:
After the death of his father, Sultan Murad II on5 th Muharram, 852
A.H., 7 th February, 1451 A.C., Muhammad Al-Faatih took over and
became the Sultan of the OttomanEmpire . He was a strong young man,
only twenty years old, very enthusiastic and ambitious. He was
thinking of the conquest of Constantinople, the capital of the
Byzantine Empire . This dream overwhelmed him to the extent that he
would not talk about 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 achievinghis dream was to take control of the Strait
of Bosporus so that he couldprevent 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 tocross
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 of these 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 witha 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 (theConqueror). 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 with this conquest. Then
the Sultan addressed the people of the city who were still bowing and
prostrating in tears:
Stand up! I am Sultan Muhammad and 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 intoa 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. Itwas
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
hisown 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 attained this victory when he was twenty three years
old. This indicated his early military genius. He also deserved the
glad tidingsof the Prophet who foretold that a good person would
conquer that city.
Later on, Muhammad Al-Faatih headed to complete his conquests inthe
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 toconquer Italy . He
prepared a tremendous fleet for 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
northernmilitary operations until he could reach Rome . TheEuropean
world was terrified because of this attempt and they expected the fall
of the historical city, Rome , intothe 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 andbecause of his wise
leadership and well-planned policy, the Ottoman State reached
boundaries that it had never done before.
All these conquests were not the only achievements of Muhammad
Al-Faatih mayAllaah have mercy on him. Through the help of some of his
loyal men, he managed to establish a constitution based on theBook of
Allaah and the Sunnah of His Prophet and the Ottoman state adhered to
this constitution for about four centuries.
Although he was very busy, he managed to establish more than 300
mosques, 192 of which were in Istanbul alone. Healso 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 regular reader. He liked the company of scholars and
poets and made some of them ministers. Whenever he heard about a great
scholar in any field, he would help and support him or ask him to come
to Istanbul inorder to benefit of his knowledge.
The character of Muhammad Al-Faatih :
Muhammad Al-Faatih was a committed Muslim who abode by the rulingsof
Islamic jurisprudence. Because of the way he was brought up, he was a
pious man. As for his military conduct, it was very civilized and it
was unfamiliar to Europe in itsMedieval 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 of his 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 warby making cannons,
preparing his fleet, and making use of all the factors that might
renderhim 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.
'' Our Lord ! grant us good in this world and good in the hereafter and save us from the torment of the Fire '' [Ameen]
-
{in Arab} :->
Rabbanaa aatinaa fid-dunyaa hasanatan wafil aakhirati hasanatan waqinaa 'athaaban-naar/-
(Surah Al-Baqarah ,verse 201)
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