“Oh, come on! Don’t be so secretive. After all, I am your brother. Tell me, how will you solve this problem?” pleaded Ali with Samra Apa.
Samra Apa’s brown eyes twinkled mysteriously, as she whispered: “I take my inspiration from Sultan Mohammad Fateh, the great Ottoman caliph, who conquered Constantinople (Istanbul). It was his quality never to disclose his war strategy even to his chief army officers. Sultan believed that success in war lay in secrecy and following swift plans before the enemy discovered them.”
“Huh? Who was he and what did you say?” Ali twitched his nose and scratched his head.
“The Prophet (sa) stated: ‘The first army amongst my followers, who will invade Caesar’s city, will be forgiven their sins.’ (Bukhari) He predicted the fall of Constantinople at the hands of Muslims. Since then, many have attempted to conquer it. Such Prophet’s (sa) companions as Abu Ayub Ansari (rtam), Ubadah bin Samit (rtam), Abu Darda (rtam), Abdullah bin Umar (rtam), Abdullah bin Zubair (rtam) and Abdullah bin Abbas (rtam) were part of this expedition. But none could overcome Constantinople. It was a super power of Christians of those times.”
“Then what was so special about Sultan Mohammad Fateh that Allah (swt) granted him this noble victory?” Ali wondered.
“Well Constantinople earned a prominent position in the world, because of its geographical location, moderate climate, safe ports, spacious markets, high rise buildings and strong forts,” continued Samra Apa with intensity. “People from both the East and the West had laid their eyes on it for the last thousand years. It was Allah (swt), Who showed the founder of Ottoman Empire Osman (Fateh’s great great grandfather) in his dream that Muslims will benefit from his grandchildren, i.e., Sultan Fateh.
For many years, Fateh’s grandfathers attempted to make this dream come true. At the age of twenty-one, after his father’s death, Sultan Mohammad Fateh was crowned as the Ottoman caliph. He was wise: he did not remove any of his father’s senior officials and added new people on the basis of their capabilities.
Sultan Mohammad Fateh was very intelligent. He could speak Arabic, Persian, Latin, Hebrew, Greek and Turkish (his own mother tongue). He excelled in the art of writing and speaking. He memorized the best poetry of Turkish, Arab and Persian poets. Fateh read the heroic accounts of Alexander the Great. He loved the Quran. Besides religion, he understood the Greek philosophy, too. The idea was not to follow the disbelievers, as many of the Muslims today are doing; instead, he was determined to understand their beliefs and lifestyle, so they could be conquered.
In spite of being a prince, he had no desire for wealth or comforts. His best friends and advisors were God-fearing scholars of Islam, on whose advice he ran the country with justice and efficiency.
Fateh was not just knowledgeable. He was a brave warrior, who had exceptional skill in warfare and in devising military strategy. He set out to invade Constantinople at the age of twenty-three years.
Constantinople was triangular in shape. It had water on two sides and land on the third. After laying a 51 day siege, he stumped the forces of Constantine and attacked from a way unthinkable by their elite forces.
“Really… What happened?” Ali’s eyes nearly popped.
“When all naval and military strategies failed, Sultan had a tremendous idea. He asked his engineers to cut down trees and make planks from their trunks. Next, sacrifice animals and use their fat to grease the planks to enable them to move easily. After that, he ordered to mount his own fleet of boats and ships onto the planks. For an entire night, part of his army kept the enemy’s naval fleet occupied by firing cannon balls, while Sultan’s remaining army covered a distance of ten miles’ long strip of land, carrying ships on planks and gliding them into the harbour. The people of Constantinople were terrified to find Muslim boats in their waters next morning. Confusion and fear overtook them. After fierce battling, they broke down and lost Constantinople. This became one of the hardest earned and greatest victories for the Muslims of all times.”
“Wow! What a blast. I wish I were in the Sultan’s fleet that day…” dreamed Ali.
“Well, you still can join the navy and become a hero some day, protecting Islam,” agreed Samra Apa.
“What happened next?” Ali inquired curiously.
“It was Zuhr time when Sultan Fateh entered the conquered city with his generals, ministers and army. He headed toward Saint Sophia. At its gate, he took off his shoes and rubbed dust on his forehead as a sign of humility before the Creator. Next he entered the church and was awestruck by its beauty. He asked the chief officer of the church to continue with his former duties and help the new ruler resolve the legal matters of the Christian community. Fateh did not want the Christians to suffer as a minority.
Next he ordered a man to call out the Adhan in the church. For the first time in history instead of church bells ringing, words of Allah’s (swt) greatness echoed the magnificent structure. The church was later converted to a Masjid and served for hundreds of years in the Islamic world.”
“Wow! Mohammad Fateh remembered Allah (swt) when he could have easily forgotten Him while celebrating his incredible victory! Now I want to be a soldier just like him more than anything!” dreamed Ali.
“Yes, little brother. History has not known more merciful invaders than Muslims. Because they knew Allah (swt) is watching over them, they did their utmost to remain merciful even to their enemies.”
Samra Apa and Ali tried to imagine what it was like back then. Very different from today, I am sure.
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