Visit to the Ayub Sultan Mosque, Istanbul

The delegation of the Seville Mosque Foundation had the privilege of being able to visit the Mosque of Ayub Sultan, in Istanbul, during the official visit to Turkey.

Abu Ayyub al-Ansari, was one of the Sahaba, life companions of the Prophet Mohammed, peace and blessings be upon him, who died during the first siege of Constantinople around the year 670, when he was over 90 years of age. He was known as the ‘Standard bearer’, of the messenger of Al-lah, saws.

This mosque was the traditional place for the coronation ceremony of the Ottoman Sultans, where the new Sultan was given the sword of Osman. Also where many of them asked to be buried.

When the Prophet Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم arrived in Medina, all the population of the city offered to welcome him into their homes. Instead, he decided to allow his camel to walk freely and stay in the house where the camel decided to stop. The camel stopped at the house of Abu Ayyub al-Ansari, who was his first host in the city of Medina.

The place where today the Mosque of Medina is built belonged to two young orphans, Sahal and Suhayl, and when they knew that the Prophet Muhammad, saws, was willing to acquire their land in order to build a mosque, they went to the Prophet, saws, to donate the land, but the Prophet, saws, insisted on fixing and paying a price for the land. The purchase price was finally agreed and paid by Abu Ayyub al-Ansari, who became waqif, or creator of an endowment or gift, of the Mosque of Medina, in favor of the Prophet Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم.

Hence the relevance of the Ayub Sultan Mosque to Muslims around the world.