Sultan Murad I
Martyr of the field

Sultan Murad I, son of Sultan Orhan, during his reign the Ottomans took control of the city of Edirne (762 AH = 1360 AD), and made it the capital of his state. He defeated the Byzantine-Bulgarian alliance in the battles of Martiza in the year (764 AH = 1363 AD), and he also defeated the Crusader alliance in Kosovo in the year (791 AH = 1389 AD), where he was martyred.

His upbringing and assumption of power
Sultan Murad I was born in 726 AH = 1326 AD, the year in which his father assumed power. He assumed power after the death of his father, Orhan bin Osman, in 761 AH = 1360 AD. He was 36 years old at the time, and his rule lasted for 30 years.

Murad I was a brave, militant, generous, and religious man. He loved order and adhered to it, and was just to his subjects and soldiers. He was passionate about conquests and building mosques, schools, and shelters. He had a group of the best leaders, experts, and military personnel at his side, from whom he formed a council for his advisors. He expanded into Asia Minor and Europe simultaneously.

Conquests of Murad I
In Europe, Sultan Murad I attacked the Byzantine Empire’s possessions, then seized the city of Edirne in the year 762 AH = 1360 AD. This city had strategic importance in the Balkans, and was the second city in the Byzantine Empire after Constantinople. Murad made this city the capital of the Ottoman Empire since the year 768 AH = 1366 AD.
Thus, the Ottoman capital moved from Asia to Europe, and Edirne became an Islamic capital. Murad's goal in this move was several things, including:
1- Exploiting the strength of Edirne’s military fortifications and its proximity to the theatre of jihadist operations.
2- Murad’s desire to annex the European regions that they had reached during their jihad and established themselves in.
3- Murad gathered in this capital all the elements of the state’s advancement and the principles of governance. Classes of employees, army divisions, groups of lawyers and religious scholars were formed in it. Courts were established, and civil schools and military institutes were built to train the Janissaries.
Edirne continued in this political, military, administrative, cultural and religious status until the Ottomans conquered Constantinople in the year 857 AH = 1453 AD, and it became the capital of their state.

Crusader alliance against Murad I
Battle of Martiza
Sultan Murad continued his jihad, preaching, and conquering territories in Europe. His army set out to conquer Macedonia, and his victories had far-reaching repercussions. A European-Balkan Crusader alliance was formed, blessed by Pope Europa V, and included Serbs, Bulgarians, Hungarians, and the inhabitants of Wallachia. The member states of the Crusader alliance were able to muster an army of sixty thousand soldiers. The Ottoman commander, Lala Shahin, confronted them with a force smaller than the allied forces. He met them near İrmen on the Martiza River, where a horrific battle took place and the allied army was defeated. The two Serbian princes fled but drowned in the Martiza River. The Hungarian king miraculously escaped death. Meanwhile, Sultan Murad was busy fighting in Asia Minor, where he conquered several cities. He then returned to his seat of power to organize the territories and countries he had conquered, as is the custom of a wise leader.
The Ottoman victory on the Martiza River had important results, including:
1- They conquered the regions of Thrace and Macedonia, and reached southern Bulgaria and eastern Serbia.
2- The cities and possessions of the Byzantine Empire, Bulgaria and Serbia began to fall into their hands like autumn leaves.

The first treaty between the Ottoman Empire and the Christian countries
As the Ottoman Empire grew stronger, its neighbors, especially the weaker ones, became fearful. The Republic of Ragusa, a republic overlooking the Adriatic Sea, took the initiative and sent messengers to Sultan Murad to conclude a friendly and commercial treaty with him. In it, they pledged to pay an annual tribute of 500 gold ducats. This was the first treaty concluded between the Ottoman Empire and Christian countries.

Battle of Kosovo
Sultan Murad had penetrated the Balkans himself and through his commanders, which provoked the Serbs, who tried on more than one occasion to exploit the Sultan's absence from Europe to attack the Ottoman armies in the Balkans and the surrounding areas. However, they failed to achieve any notable victories over the Ottomans. So the Serbs, Bosnians, and Bulgarians allied and prepared a large European Crusader army to fight the Sultan, who had arrived with his well-prepared armies in the Kosovo region of the Balkans.

One of the memorable events is that Sultan Murad's minister was carrying a copy of the Qur'an with him. He opened it unintentionally and came across this verse: "O Prophet, urge the believers to fight. If there are twenty of you, patient, they will overcome two hundred, and if there are one hundred of you, they will overcome a thousand of those who disbelieve, because they are a people who do not understand." (Al-Anfal: 65). He rejoiced at the victory, and the Muslims rejoiced with him. Soon, fighting broke out between the two armies, intensified, and the battle intensified. The war ended with the Muslims' resounding and decisive victory.

Martyrdom of Sultan Murad
After the victory in Kosovo, Sultan Murad inspected the battlefield, walking among the ranks of the dead Muslims and praying for them. He also checked on the wounded. Meanwhile, a Serbian soldier who had pretended to be dead rushed towards the Sultan. The guards were able to arrest him, but he pretended to want to talk to the Sultan and to declare his conversion to Islam at his hands. At that point, the Sultan signaled to the guards to release him. He pretended to want to kiss the Sultan’s hand, and in a quick movement, he took out a poisoned dagger and stabbed the Sultan. Sultan Murad was martyred - may God have mercy on him - on the 15th of Sha’ban 791 AH = July 30, 1389 AD. The Janissaries killed the Serbian soldier immediately.

Sultan Murad's last words
This great Sultan was martyred at the age of 65. His last words were: "As I depart, I can only thank God. He is the Knower of the Unseen, the Accepter of the prayers of the needy. I bear witness that there is no god but God, and none deserves thanks and praise but Him. My life is coming to an end, and I have seen the victory of the soldiers of Islam. Obey my son Yazid, do not torture the prisoners, do not harm them, and do not rob them. From this moment, I entrust you and our great victorious army to the mercy of God, for He is the One who protects our state from all harm."

Sultan Murad I led the Ottoman people for thirty years with wisdom and skill unmatched by any other statesman of his time. The Byzantine historian Halko Nedelas said of Murad I: “Murad performed many important tasks. He fought 37 battles, both in Anatolia and the Balkans, and emerged victorious from each one. He treated his subjects with compassion, regardless of race or religion.”

The French historian, Krinard, says about him: “Murad was one of the greatest men of the Ottoman dynasty, and if we evaluate him personally, we find him at a higher level than all the rulers of Europe during his reign.”

Murad I inherited from his father a large emirate covering 95,000 square kilometers. Upon his martyrdom, his son Bayezid took over this Ottoman emirate, which had reached 500,000 square kilometers. In other words, in a period of approximately 29 years, it had increased more than five times what his father Orhan had left him.

Sultan Murad's supplication before the outbreak of the Battle of Kosovo
Sultan Murad knew that he was fighting in the cause of Allah, and that victory came from Him. Therefore, he frequently supplicated and urged Allah, beseeching Him, and putting his trust in Him. From his humble supplication, we learn that Sultan Murad knew his Lord and realized the meanings of servitude. Sultan Murad says in his supplication to his Lord: “O Allah, O Most Merciful, O Lord of the heavens, O You who accept supplications, do not disgrace me. O Most Gracious, O Most Merciful, answer the supplication of Your poor servant this time. Send down abundant rain upon us, and dispel the clouds of darkness so that we may see our enemy, for we are nothing but Your sinful servants. You are the Giver, and we are Your poor ones.” “I am nothing but Your poor, supplicating servant, and You are the All-Knowing, O Knower of the unseen and the secrets and what the hearts conceal. I have no goal for myself, nor any interest, nor do I seek gain. I only desire Your pleasure, O Allah, O All-Knowing, O Present in all existence. I sacrifice my soul for You, so accept my hope, and do not let the Muslims be defeated by the enemy. O Allah, O Most Merciful of the merciful, do not make me a cause of their death; rather, make them victorious. I sacrifice my soul for You, O Lord. I have desired and have always desired to be martyred for the soldiers of Islam, so do not let me see their ordeal, O my God, and allow me, O my God, this time to be martyred for Your sake and for Your pleasure.”

In another narration: “O my God, I swear by Your glory and majesty that I do not seek from my jihad this fleeting world, but I seek Your pleasure, and nothing but Your pleasure, O my God. I swear by Your glory and majesty that I am jihad in Your cause, so increase my honor by dying in Your cause.”

In another narration: “O my God and my Master, accept my supplication and my prayer, and send down upon us, by Your mercy, rain that will extinguish the dust of storms around us, and immerse us in light that will dispel the darkness around us, so that we may be able to see the locations of our enemy and fight him for the sake of glorifying Your noble religion.”
My God and my Master, the kingdom and power are yours. You grant them to whomever you wish of your servants. I am your helpless and poor servant. You know my secrets and my public deeds. I swear by your glory and majesty that I do not seek from my struggle the debris of this transient world, but I seek your pleasure and nothing but your pleasure.
My God and my Master, I ask You by the prestige of Your noble face, to make me a sacrifice for all Muslims, and not to make me a cause of the destruction of any Muslim for a path other than Your straight path.
My God and my Master, if my martyrdom will save the Muslim army, then do not deprive me of martyrdom in Your cause, so that I may enjoy Your company, and what a good company is Your company.
“My God and my Lord, You have honored me by guiding me to the path of jihad in Your cause, so increase my honor by dying in Your cause.”

This humble supplication is evidence of Sultan Murad’s knowledge of God Almighty, and that he fulfilled the conditions of the declaration of monotheism (there is no god but God), and its conditions were met in his conduct and life.

Sultan Murad understood the truth of faith and the word of monotheism, and tasted its effects in his life. Thus, pride and dignity were instilled in him, derived from faith in God. He became certain that no one is beneficial except God - the Almighty; He is the Giver of life and death, and He is the Possessor of rule, authority and sovereignty. Therefore, he removed from his heart all fear except of Him - the Almighty. He did not bow his head before any of creation, nor did he supplicate to Him, nor was he cowed by his pride and greatness; because he was certain that God is the Almighty, the Great. Faith in God gave him great strength of determination and courage, patience and steadfastness, trust and aspiration for the highest matters; seeking His pleasure - the Almighty. So, in the battles he fought, he was as steadfast as the steadfast mountains, and he was firmly certain that the only owner of himself and his wealth is God - the Almighty. Therefore, he did not mind sacrificing everything, expensive or cheap, for the sake of pleasing his Lord.

Sultan Murad lived the truth of faith; therefore, he rushed into the arenas of jihad and sacrificed everything he had for the sake of the call to Islam.

When we were great
From the book Unforgettable Leaders by Tamer Badr