It's been 572 years since the conquest of Istanbul, or who was the conqueror who deserves praise?

Today is the day Constantinople was conquered: starting from the twenty-sixth Rabi' al-Awwal in the year 857 AH, the year 1453 AD, Muhammad the Conqueror besieged the city and finally, on this very day that we are remembering, to be more precise, the twenty-third Jum'ul-Awwal, in the early morning, he succeeded in conquering the city. That is, the siege lasted for about two months. After Muhammad the Conqueror entered the city in triumph, he got down from his falcon, prostrated himself, and thanked God for making this work possible, which is recorded in the annals of history. After that, he went to the Hagia Sophia. The Byzantine people and monks had gathered in the church. Muhammad the Conqueror granted them safety and ordered that the Hagia Sophia be converted into a mosque. The sermon of conquest was delivered during the first Friday prayer.

Sultan Muhammad, who had been granted the prophecy of the Prophet Muhammad, tolerantly did not allow the city to be plundered.

He also ordered the construction of a mosque near the grave of the great companion Abu Ayyub al-Ansari, who had participated in the first campaign to conquer the city, was martyred, and was buried there.

After the conquest of the city, Mehmed the Conqueror, who received the nickname Fatih, decided to make Constantinople the capital of his state. He changed the name of Constantinople to Istanbul, which means "City of Islam" or "Land of Islam."

Thus, the prophecy of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) in this hadith narrated by Abdullah ibn Amr ibn Al-As came true:

"Abdullah ibn Amr ibn Al-As said: We were sitting in the presence of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) writing, and he was asked: Which city will be conquered first, Constantinople or Rome? He said:

He blessed them by saying, "The city of Heraclius, that is, Constantinople, will be conquered first." This hadith was narrated by Ahmad in his Musnad and by Hakim in his Mustadrak, and it was declared authentic.

Abdullah ibn Bishr al-Khasami narrated from his father that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said:

"Certainly Constantinople will be conquered. What a good emir its commander is, what a good army that army is." Bishr also said: "Maslama ibn Abdul Malik called me and asked me, so I told him the hadith, so he marched on Constantinople" (Narrated by Ahmad). "Majmauz Zawaid" comments on this hadith, saying, "Those who narrated it, Ahmad, Bazzar, and Tabarani, and its narrators, are reliable."

Thus, this prophecy came true at the hands of Muhammad Fatih, a young man who was not yet twenty-one years old. But he had been prepared for this task from a young age. After all, his father, Sultan Murad II, paid him great attention. Therefore, Muhammad Fatih studied under the best teachers of his time. One of them was Ahmad ibn Ismail Gurani, who, according to Suyuti, was Muhammad Fatih's first teacher. Suyuti says about him: "Gurani was a scholar of jurisprudence. The scholars of his time testified to his superiority and skill. They even called Gurani the Abu Hanifa of his time."

The first person who instilled in Muhammad Fatih the hadiths of the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) about the conquest of Constantinople (Istanbul) from his youth was Sheikh Aq Shamsiddin. As the young man grew up, he sought to achieve this conquest with his own hands. Aq Shamsiddin taught Muhammad Fatih the basic sciences such as the Quran, Hadith, Sunnah of the Prophet and jurisprudence, as well as Arabic, Persian and Turkish. He also taught him other subjects such as mathematics, astronomy and history. In addition, Muhammad Fatih was a brave horseman who had mastered the art of war...

Finally, by His grace and mercy, Allah fulfilled the praises of His Messenger through this young man. Indeed, what a good commander Muhammad Fatih was, what a good army his army was...

Because they were people whose hearts were full of faith, whose bodies were strong, and who were sincerely prepared for jihad. They helped Allah, and Allah helped them with such a great victory...