Page 221 - The Prophet Muhammad (saas)

What the Prophet (saas) Said of the Future

Muslims would come into possession of the treasures of both these rulers.

What needs to be stressed here is that when the Prophet (saas) re-
lated that fact, the Muslims still lacked the necessary economic, military

and political strength to effect such a great conquest. Furthermore, at that
time, the Persian and Byzantine Empires were the two most powerful
states in the Middle East. For that reason, such an event was out of the
question, at the time when the Prophet (saas) delivered those tidings.
However, things actually happened as the Prophet (saas) predicted they

would. Iran was conquered during the time of Omar and all its goods
seized. The kingdom of the Persian "kisra" thus came to an end.

The death of "caesar" and the reversion of his treasuries to the
Muslims came about with the capture of important Roman centers, par-
ticularly during the time of the Muslim caliphs. Starting with the time of
Abubakr, important centers under the dominion of "caesar" such as

Jordan, Palestine, Damascus, Jerusalem, Syria and Egypt were con-
quered. The capture of Constantinople by the Ottoman Sultan Mehmet
the Conqueror in 1453 meant the collapse of the Roman Empire, and the
end of the title of "caesar." 214

Sultan Mehmet the Conqueror's capture of
Constantinople and the collapse of the
Roman Empire meant the end of the title of
Caesar.

219