Why Did Abu Ayyub al-Ansari Come to Istanbul?

Medina and Istanbul lie about three thousand kilometres apart. Today a plane covers that distance in a few hours, but in the seventh century it meant a gruelling journey of months across deserts, mountains and seas. Abu Ayyub al-Ansari, who had hosted the Prophet in his home in Medina, made this journey when he was past eighty and drew his last breath before the walls of Istanbul. What brought him to this distant city when he could have lived peacefully in the city of the Prophet, among his family? In this article we look for the answers in the sources.

The Short Answer

Abu Ayyub al-Ansari came with the army sent in the Umayyad period, between 49 and 52 AH (669-672 CE), against Constantinople (Istanbul), the capital of Byzantium. The main reasons that set him on this campaign were:

• the Prophet's glad tidings about the army that would campaign against Caesar's city and the army that would conquer Constantinople,
• his lifelong determination never to stay behind from campaigns in the way of Allah,
• his understanding of the Quran: his conviction that the real danger lay in sinking into comfort and giving up striving.

1. To Share in a Glad Tiding

The first and strongest reason that drew Abu Ayyub to Istanbul was the glad tidings of the Prophet. One of them is recorded in the Sahih of al-Bukhari. The Prophet had fallen asleep in the house of Umm Haram bint Milhan and woke up smiling, saying: "The first army of my community to campaign against the city of Caesar is forgiven." (al-Bukhari, Kitab al-Jihad 93) Caesar was the title of the Byzantine emperor, and his city was the imperial capital, Constantinople.

The second is the famous hadith in the Musnad of Ahmad ibn Hanbal: "Constantinople will surely be conquered. What an excellent commander its commander will be, and what an excellent army that army will be." (Ahmad ibn Hanbal, al-Musnad) Hadith scholars have assessed its chain of transmission differently, but for centuries it was one of the strongest sources of the Muslims' longing for Istanbul.

Abu Ayyub was a Companion who had heard these glad tidings from the Prophet himself or from those closest to him. Whatever his age, being part of an army the Prophet had called "forgiven" was a chance he would not miss.

2. A Lifelong Practice of Campaigning

Abu Ayyub had taken part in every campaign of the Prophet from Badr onwards. He did not abandon this path after the Prophet's death. The sources relate that he joined a campaign almost every year and served in the armies of the conquests under Umar and Uthman. For him, setting out in the way of Allah was a practice he had learned from the Prophet and kept all his life.

Seen this way, the campaign to Istanbul was not an exception in Abu Ayyub's life but the last stop of a lifelong journey. He was old, but he believed that it was Allah's decree, not his age, that would decide when this path would end.

3. Understanding "Do Not Throw Yourselves Into Destruction"

The words that best explain why Abu Ayyub came to Istanbul were spoken before the walls themselves. During the siege, when a Muslim charged alone into the Byzantine ranks, some recalled verse 195 of Surah al-Baqara and said, "He has thrown himself into destruction." Abu Ayyub objected at once and explained that the verse had actually been revealed about the Ansar: once Islam had grown strong, they had thought of turning to their property, vineyards and gardens and giving up spending and striving in the way of Allah. The verse was revealed to show that this was the real destruction (Abu Dawud, Kitab al-Jihad 22; al-Tirmidhi, Kitab al-Tafsir).

This explanation sums up Abu Ayyub's outlook: for him the real danger was not standing before the enemy but sinking into comfort and laying down responsibility. His coming to Istanbul at eighty was this understanding put into practice.

4. Historical Background: The Umayyad Campaigns Against Constantinople

The campaign Abu Ayyub joined was part of a major military effort against Byzantium under the Umayyad caliph Mu'awiya ibn Abi Sufyan. Constantinople was one of the strongest and best-defended cities of the age; with its land walls, sea walls and the Byzantine fleet it was considered almost impregnable. Mu'awiya sent an army to Constantinople under the command of his son Yazid; most sources place this campaign between 49 and 52 AH (669-672 CE). This first siege was followed by a longer one between 674 and 678.

Many Companions took part in these campaigns. Names such as Abdullah ibn Abbas, Abdullah ibn Umar and Abdullah ibn al-Zubayr are reported among these armies. Abu Ayyub was one of the oldest and most respected among them.

5. The Last Wish: Why at the Foot of the Walls?

Abu Ayyub fell ill during the siege. When the commander Yazid visited him and asked whether he had any wish, he asked to be buried at the farthest point they could reach in enemy land (Ibn Sa'd, al-Tabaqat). After his death his wish was fulfilled and he was buried near the walls.

This wish shows once more why he came to Istanbul: Abu Ayyub understood that he would not live to see the promised conquest, but he wanted his body to rest as close to it as possible. For centuries his grave waited at the foot of the walls as a silent sign of hope. According to some historical reports, the Byzantines too respected it and prayed there for rain in times of drought.

6. Eight Centuries Later: The Fruit of His Wish

About eight centuries after Abu Ayyub's death, in 1453, Sultan Mehmed the Conqueror took Istanbul. Akshamsaddin, the Sultan's teacher, identified Abu Ayyub's grave, and in 1458 Mehmed built a mausoleum over it and a mosque beside it. The first great complex founded in Istanbul after the conquest thus bore the name of this Companion. Read the story of the discovery in Akshamsaddin and the Discovery of the Tomb.

The Ottoman sultans girding the sword at Eyup Sultan when they came to the throne, the people of Istanbul calling him "Sultan", and his mausoleum being the city's most visited spiritual site today: these are the doors his coming to Istanbul opened centuries later.

The Lesson That Remains

Abu Ayyub al-Ansari's coming to Istanbul is not just the story of a military campaign. It tells of faith in a glad tiding, of a sense of service in which age is no obstacle, and of the courage to sow the seed of a good whose fruit one will never see. Everyone who visits Eyup Sultan today is, in truth, visiting the last stop of that long journey.

For Eyup Sultan's full life see Who Was Eyup Sultan?, for his place in the conquest Eyup Sultan and the Conquest of Istanbul, and for moments from his life 10 Lessons From the Life of Eyup Sultan.

Frequently Asked Questions

When did Eyup Sultan come to Istanbul?
He came with the army commanded by Yazid ibn Mu'awiya in the Umayyad period, between 49 and 52 AH (669-672 CE).

How old was he when he came to Istanbul?
The sources say he was over eighty; there are different reports about his exact age.

Why did he not return to Medina?
He fell ill and died during the siege. At his request he was buried at the farthest point the army could reach, near the walls of Istanbul.

Is the hadith foretelling the conquest of Istanbul authentic?
The hadith "Constantinople will surely be conquered" is found in the Musnad of Ahmad ibn Hanbal, and scholars have expressed different views on its chain. The hadith "The first army to campaign against the city of Caesar is forgiven" is in the Sahih of al-Bukhari.