بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
The Liberator of Constantinople, Khaleefah Muhammad Al-Fateh, is an Inspiration for the People of Power, who Will Liberate Occupied Kashmir, Al-Aqsa and Rome
It was narrated by Ahmad in his Musnad and by Al-Hakim in Al-Mustadrak, on the authority of Abdullah ibn Amr ibn Al-As, who said, “When we are around the Messenger of Allah (saw) writing, the Messenger of Allah was asked, which of the two cities will be opened first, Constantinople or Rome?” RasulAllah (saw) said,
«مَدِينَةُ هِرَقْلَ تُفْتَحُ أَوَّلاً، يَعْنِي قُسْطَنْطِينِيَّةَ»
“The city of Heraclius will be opened first, meaning Constantinople.” It was in the Islamic month of Jumada Al-Awwal, that the Khaleeefah of Muslims, Muhammad Al-Fateh was honored with the Conquest of Constantinople, on 20 Jumada Al-Awwal 857 AH. The fulfilment of the glad tidings of RasulAllah (saw) smashed the resolve of the enemies, forcing them into retreat, after depriving them of their formidable capital. The Khaleefah Al-Fateh thus further extended Islam’s global dominance, consolidating the position of the Khilafah (Caliphate) as the unchallenged leading state. In our times, for the sincere in the people of power, whose hearts are torn by foreign policy humiliation, unmet enemy aggression, occupied lands and open slaughter of Muslims, the life of Sultan Al-Fateh is truly an inspiration.
As the Islamic political and military leader, the Khaleefah Muhammad al-Fateh was well versed in Islam, taught by the eminent Ulema of his time. Indeed, in the Khilafah, the training and education of the people of power, both military and political, is founded upon the knowledge of Islam. Islam is the sole basis for individual conduct, as well as military and political action, for any action devoid of Islam is rejected. As an aware and sincere believer, Sultan al-Fateh knew exactly how to regard the glad tidings of RasulAllah (saw). He did not regard the glad tiding of the Conquest of Constantinople passively, limiting his effort to making Dua alone. Being from the people of power, he felt his weighty responsibility due to the capability that was granted to him by Allah (swt). He yearned for the honor of being the leader of the armed forces that Allah (swt) would honor with achieving the glad tiding. Ahmad narrated on the authority of Abdullah bin Bishr Al-Khathami from his father that he heard RasulAllah (saw) say,
«لَتُفْتَحَنَّ الْقُسْطَنْطِينِيَّةُ فَلَنِعْمَ الْأَمِيرُ أَمِيرُهَا وَلَنِعْمَ الْجَيْشُ ذَلِكَ الْجَيْشُ»
“You will open Constantinople, its Amir is the best Amir, and the best army is that army.” Thus, let the people of power take inspiration from Al-Fateh and prepare themselves. In the coming Khilafah, the political and military leadership will spare no effort to achieve the glad tidings of RasulAllah (saw), whether it is the liberation of Rome or the Conquest of India or the resounding defeat of the Jews.
As the military leadership of the Islamic Ummah, the Khaleefah Al-Fateh ensured that the Khilafah was self-sufficient and mighty in military force. The Islamic economic system ensured that the Khilafah was not dependent on aid from any foreign power, but had ample funds and resources for full preparation for war, as mandated in the Deen. Allah (swt) said,
[وَأَعِدُّوا لَهُمْ مَا اسْتَطَعْتُمْ مِنْ قُوَّةٍ وَمِنْ رِبَاطِ الْخَيْلِ تُرْهِبُونَ بِهِ عَدُوَّ اللَّهِ وَعَدُوَّكُمْ وَآخَرِينَ مِنْ دُونِهِمْ لاَ تَعْلَمُونَهُمُ اللَّهُ يَعْلَمُهُمْ]
“Make ready against them all you can of force including steeds of war, to cast terror into the hearts of your enemy and the enemy of Allah and besides those whom you do not know but Allah knows.” [Surah Al-Anfal 8:60]. Since he was ruling by Islam, Al-Fateh never even considered borrowing military might or bases from the entities of the kuffar. RasulAllah (saw) said,
«لَا تَسْتَضِيئُوا بِنَارِ الْمُشْرِكِينَ»
“Do not seek light with the Fire of the polytheist.” (Ahmad, Nisai). Fire is a Kinaya (Metonym) for war and accordingly Islam prohibits all relations with the independent kafir warring entity, whether it is to do with intelligence sharing, troop movements, logistics, tactics or weaponry.
Thus, Al-Fateh crossed the Dardanelles, leading his troops along the Asian side of the strait to the Bosphorus and crossing over to the European side from Anadolu Hisarı, to the place that came to be known as Rumeli Hisarı where he had decided to build a fortress for the Khilafah. Al-Fateh hired a Hungarian military engineer named Urban, who built a large cannon for the Khilafah the likes of which had never been seen before. As soon as fortress was finished, on 31 August 1452, the cannon was placed on one of its main towers. Al-Fateh then set in motion an ingenious stratagem that he had devised to get his fleet into the Golden Horn. At the beginning of his siege he had ordered engineers to build a road that led over the hills from the Bosphorus to the Golden Horn, passing behind the town of Galata. On 22 April, the Khilafah’s engineers used teams of oxen to drag seventy-two ships on greased rollers up this road and then down to the shore of the Golden Horn at the Valley of the Springs (Kasımpaşa), where they were mounted with guns that had been stored there. The kuffar forces in Constantinople were shocked by the surprise entry of the Khilafah’s warships into the Golden Horn, which now exposed the northern side of Constantinople to attack. The European historian Kritoboulos writes that the Greeks, seeing the Turkish fleet in the Golden Horn, “were astounded at the impossibility of the spectacle, and were overcome by the greatest consternation and perplexity. They did not know what to do now, but were in despair.” Striking fear in the heart of the kuffar was only possible because the Khilafah did not depend on the kuffar for any matter, but was truly independent in its affairs, depending upon Allah (swt) alone.
So, let the people of power take inspiration from Al-Fateh and prepare themselves. In the coming Khilafah, the political and military leadership will ensure that the Muslims are independent in economy and industry, as well as in military equipment, logistics and tactics, so that they can perform their duty to liberate lands for Islam, without obstacles or excuses.
As the political leadership of the Ummah, the Khaleefah Muhammad al-Fateh ensured the consolidation of the Conquest of Constantinople, for the spreading of Islam through Dawah and Jihad is an obligation. It is upon the Khaleefah to ensure the continuous expansion of the territories of the Khilafah, liberating new lands from the oppression of ruling by kufr, so that Islam can be implemented over the non-Muslims. Thus, the non-Muslims can see and experience, firsthand and unobscured, Islam’s splendor, majesty and justice, paving the way for them to embrace Islam both willingly and in droves. Indeed, this is how the current Islamic Ummah expanded from the time of the Khulafa’a Rashideen, until the decline and eventual abolition of the Khilafah in 1924. Allah (swt) said,
[هُوَ الَّذِىۡۤ اَرۡسَلَ رَسُوۡلَهٗ بِالۡهُدٰى وَدِيۡنِ الۡحَـقِّ لِيُظۡهِرَهٗعَلَى الدِّيۡنِ كُلِّهٖۙ]
“It is He Who has sent His Messenger (saw) with guidance and the religion of truth (Islam), to make it dominate over all other ways of life.” (Surah at-Tauba 9:33)
On the Friday following the Conquest of Constantinople, the Muslims were summoned to prayer, with the Khaleefah declaring ‘Praise be to God, the Lord of all the world,’ upon which the victorious Muslims lifted up their hands and cried with joy. The mosques and other structures built by the Khilafah marked the first phase of the transition in which Greek Constantinople, capital of the Byzantine Empire, became Islamic Istanbul, capital of the Khilafah. The city saw the construction of castles of Rumeli Hisarı and Yedikule, the Mosques of the Conqueror and Mahmut Pasha, the palaces of Eski Saray and Topkapı Sarayı, the Covered Bazaar, the naval arsenal on the Golden Horn, the cannon foundry on the Bosphorus, and even the minaret on what was now the Great Mosque of Haghia Sophia.
As a Khaleefah, Muhammad al-Fatah ensured that the non-Muslims were secured and represented as citizens, so that their hearts could be softened towards accepting Islam. The non-Muslims were grouped into millets, or ‘nations’, according to their religion. Thus the Greek millet was headed by the Orthodox patriarch, the Armenian by the Gregorian patriarch and the Jewish by the chief rabbi. The millet system formed the core of the Khilafah’s multi-ethnic character, allowing the non-Muslims to take care of their religious affairs, whilst demanding their rights from the Khilafah.
So, let the people of power take inspiration from Al-Fateh and prepare themselves. In the coming Khilafah, the armed forces will boldly march for the continuous expansion of the Islamic territories, liberating people from the oppression of man-made law, easing their acceptance of the Deen of Truth, trampling all notions of Westphalian nation states, restraint and normalization, under their feet.
Yes, let the people of power take inspiration from Al-Fateh! Indeed, he was neither of the Prophets (as) nor the Companions (ra), but a pious and aware Muslim from later generations. He was true to his covenant with Allah (swt), applying Islam strictly to his individual conduct, as well as to all the affairs of state, including warfare and dealing with citizenry. At a time when Occupied Kashmir is being defiled by Modi in the East, whilst glorious Masjid Al-Aqsa is under the occupation of the Jewish entity, the people of power of today, too, can achieve glad tidings of RasulAllah (saw) through their implementation of Islam. So let the people of power come forwards and fulfill the glad tiding of the return of the Khilafah, by granting their Nussrah to Hizb ut Tahrir, under its Ameer, the eminent jurist, Ata Bin Khalil Abu Al-Rashtah. Ahmed narrated that RasulAllah (saw) said,
«ثُمَّ تَكُونُ مُلْكًا جَبْرِيَّةً فَتَكُونُ مَا شَاءَ اللَّهُ أَنْ تَكُونَ ثُمَّ يَرْفَعُهَا إِذَا شَاءَ أَنْ يَرْفَعَهَا ثُمَّ تَكُونُ خِلَافَةً عَلَى مِنْهَاجِ النُّبُوَّةِ ثُمَّ سَكَتَ»
“Then there will be rule of force, and it will remain as long as Allah will it to remain. Then Allah will end it when He wills. Then there will be a Khilafah (Caliphate) on the Method of Prophetood.” Then he fell silent. [Ahmed]And let the people of power look forward to achieving the glad tiding of the dominance of Islam within the Indian Subcontinent on the way to achieving the Conquest of Rome. It was reported by Abu Hurairah:
«وَعَدَنَا رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ غَزْوَةَ الْهِنْدِ، فَإِنْ أَدْرَكْتُهَا أُنْفِقْ فِيهَا نَفْسِي وَمَالِي، وَإِنْ قُتِلْتُ كُنْتُ أَفْضَلَ الشُّهَدَاءِ، وَإِنْ رَجَعْتُ فَأَنَا أَبُو هُرَيْرَةَ الْمُحَرَّرُ»
“RasulAllah (saw) promised us the conquest of India. If I was to come across that, I will spend my soul and my wealth. If I am killed then I am among the best of martyrs, and if I return then I am Abu Huraira the freed.” [Ahmad, An-Nisa'i, Al-Hakim]. And reported by Thawban, RasulAllah (saw) said,
«عِصَابَتَانِ مِنْ أُمَّتِي أَحْرَزَهُمَا اللَّهُ مِنْ النَّارِ: عِصَابَةٌ تَغْزُو الْهِنْدَ، وَعِصَابَةٌ تَكُونُ مَعَ عِيسَى ابْنِ مَرْيَمَ عَلَيْهِمَا السَّلَام»
“Two groups of my Ummah Allah has protected from the Hellfire: a group that will conquer India and a group that will be with 'Isa ibnu Maryam.” [Ahmad and An-Nisa'i].
#ConquestofIstanbul
#Constantinople