Lauren Booth – Islamic Heritage #7 Secrets of the Blue Mosque
AI: Summary ©
The new construction ofitant city is a symbol of pride against the Ottomans, who have been trying to surpass their success through military and political means. The construction of a palace in Islamic culture is a symbol of pride against the Ottomans, as it depicts a holy culture. The Royal quarters, a structure of buildings that depicts a holy culture, is a attraction that inspires people to come to prayer. The attraction is a "will tower" that inspires people to come to prayer.
AI: Summary ©
We are
going to be going inside the newly renovated
Sultan Ahmed.
Six years we've been waiting to see what
this great palace of Ibadah looks like after
significant renovations.
Who was Sultan Ahmed from the Islamic context?
Who was he inside himself and why did
he commission this epic piece of Ottoman architecture?
On my tour I was joined by Muslim
guides and historians who revealed secrets of the
Sultan as a believer and some secrets inside
the building itself.
Now Sultan Ahmed, he has a bad reputation
and one has to remember that he comes
into power, he comes at the throne at
a very young age and he comes into
power when the Ottomans are facing numerous rebellions,
wars on two fronts, one against the Austrians
in the west and one against the Safavids
or the Safavia in the east, the Persians
in the east.
And when Sultan Ahmed comes onto the throne,
he's following in the footsteps of great rulers,
of his forefathers, people of the likes of
Osman Ghazi, the son of Ertugrul, many of
you will know about Ertugrul, the son of
Osman Ghazi, Orhan Ghazi.
And here comes Sultan Ahmed, the 14th in
line to the Ottoman throne and he is
very young at the time, he is inexperienced
as a provincial governor but he comes into
power and he wants to leave his mark.
And what does he do?
One of the things that he does despite
the fact that the Ottomans in the field
of battle are now suffering from defeats, what
does he do?
He commissions this incredible grand mosque, something that
previous rulers had only done following victories.
And when they achieved these victories, they would
build these mosques, they would commission them through
the Ghanima or the spoils of war, the
spoils that were won through these great victories.
And Sultan Ahmed does not have these great
victories but he digs into the treasury of
the Ottomans and with that he starts to
lay down the foundations of this incredible peace,
something that he wants to do not for
his own ego but rather to boost the
morale and the ego of the Muslims.
You can see now when we enter the
spirituality, the atmosphere, you know, very peaceful.
He had a very good spiritual training.
He had a Sufi master called Aziz Mahmud
Hidayi, so he was trained by him.
He was a very spiritual person actually.
He was carrying earth with his own gown.
Can you imagine, put the earth through and
he was digging, you know, but you know
a kind of rivaling beauty against the, you
know, Christian art because Hagia Sophia, it was
turned into a mosque but it was a
church, isn't it?
So kind of people say that Ottomans are
trying to, you know, surpass Hagia Sophia which
actually might be true.
It's not easy to keep a sense of
peace and respect when you're amongst thousands of
tourists, most of whom are not aware of
Islamic etiquette for going inside the mosque.
But I tried to focus on entering a
space of worship and on the ifsan and
intentions of the great architect who had worked
on the project and brought it to the
world in just seven years.
The tiles all around are indeed a really
deep blue.
They depict the gardens of paradise and the
flowers, the water, the sky and the trees
that Inshallah we'll all see there.
So this special atmosphere here really, you know,
charm you, isn't it?
Look at this peace.
Of course there's a little bit of noise
around but normally it's very silent as well
because the Ottomans built mosques with deep gardens
so you don't hear the noise of the
town, you know, the noise of the cars.
So this is what's known as the royal
quarter and this is where the Sultan and
his family behind these, the gold railings up
there, that's where they'd have done their worship
and it was a safety issue as well
to keep them safe.
But there is a secret here because Sultan
Ahmed was also a humble believer and he
feared Allah.
So behind these gold railings inside the wall
is a little space with just some prayer
mats and a tap for wudu where he
would go into solitary worship, iftikaf we call
it.
Really overwhelming I think the intricacy of it
that every tile has its certain place, every
piece of glass is this incredible vibrant blue.
The amount of calligraphy here that tells you
about Allah and the holy Quran, it's layer
upon layer.
It's overwhelming.
When the Ottoman Turks built a mosque they
did not limit it only to a place
of worship but rather a kulia, a large
complex of buildings.
So the Sultan Ahmed mosque also included a
hospital, a madrasa which was a higher educational
institute and a soup kitchen to feed the
poor.
Plus there was a primary school and a
market.
The shops surrounding the complex still pay rent
today towards its upkeep.
In Ottoman tradition the waqf also took care
of the poor, the sick, students and even
travellers.
They would have been looked after in part
by these rents.
What a beautiful way to sustain caring society.
We were invited to lunch inside the former
kindergarten which today is now a centre for
tourists where they go to learn more about
the mosques and get some facts about Islam.
This is a very special place.
Mr Suleyman Hocam, he will explain you the
story of this building.
You know one of the things that we
can take from this is the fact that
this mosque is the most visited mosque.
Look at the people who are coming here.
There's Muslims, there's non-Muslims, there's people from
this city, there are tourists.
They all come here and this place is
still sanctified as a place of worship.
And I think that alone is proof enough
as to the niyah of this Sultan when
he wanted to build this place and he
wanted to have people worship here.
This was fulfilled by Allah Azza wa Jal.
And look at the fadl of Allah in
terms of this incredible masjid how Allah Azza
wa Jal not only preserves it for time
and for mankind to visit and learn from
but also for them to take in from
its beauty and worship Allah.
Two great mosques right now today in modern
Turkey speaking to each other and calling people
to come to prayer.
It is really truly epic.
That's incredible.
What can we take away
from this beautiful renovation project and the original
project of Sultan Ahmed the first?
Well look around you it was always a
kulia, a center for Islamic life.
And today when we come let's have a
sense of awe and respect because this gem
by the grace of Allah still exists for
prayer and for the people today.
If you enjoy these videos like and subscribe
to my channel for more Islamic perspectives on
our history.
As-salamu alaykum.