The Conquest of Rome (Rumiyah)
In brief
The narrations foretell the conquest of Rome (Rumiyah), the city in Italy, after the conquest of Constantinople.
Abdullah ibn Amr ibn al-As was once asked which city would be conquered first, Constantinople or Rome. He called for a sealed chest, took out a written page, and said the Prophet ﷺ had been asked the same question and answered: 'The city of Heraclius will be conquered first', meaning Constantinople. A narration in Sahih Muslim also puts the conquest of Rome among the events near the end.
The narrations speak of two different cities. Constantinople, the Byzantine capital, was taken by the Muslims in 1453. Rome has not been conquered. Like all such reports, this one describes an order of events, not a timetable, and names no state or people of today.
Read these reports as God's knowledge of what will be, not as a call to any campaign, and never bend them onto a living state or people.
Where it sits in the sequence
Mu'adh ibn Jabal's narration gives this order: Jerusalem flourishes, Yathrib is in ruins, the great battle, the conquest of Constantinople, then the Dajjal (Sunan Abi Dawud 4294, graded hasan by al-Albani). Sahih Muslim 2897 places the battle at al-A'maq or Dabiq, then Constantinople, then the Dajjal. Sunan Abi Dawud 4292 puts a truce with the Romans before the battle. The narrations on the Mahdi do not state his place in this order.
Strongest narrations
Read all in the archive →Tags are automatic and unreviewed.
No sahih or hasan narration is tagged with this sign yet.
Weak and ungraded reports on this sign
11
Shown for study, not as established. Includes Kitab al-Fitan of Nu'aym ibn Hammad, which is ungraded and weak overall.
Not graded under this archive's policy. The verdicts recorded are listed.
أخبرنا أبو جعفر محمد بن محمد البغدادي، ثنا هاشم بن مرثد، ثنا سعيد بن عفير، ثنا سعيد بن أبي أيوب، عن أبي قبيل أنه حدثه، أنه سمع عبد الله بن عمرو بن العاص رضي الله عنهما، يقول: تذاكرنا فتح القسطنطينية والرومية، فدعا عبد الله بن عمرو بصندوق ففتحه، فقال: كنا عند رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم نكتب، فقال رجل: أي المدينتين تفتح قبل يا رسول الله؟ قال: «مدينة هرقل» يريد مدينة القسطنطينية، «هذا حديث صحيح على شرط الشيخين، ولم يخرجاه»
No translation yet. Arabic only.
AI draft, not reviewed by an editor. Read the Arabic for the meaning.
Not graded under this archive's policy. The verdicts recorded are listed.
أخبرني محمد بن المؤمل، ثنا الفضل بن محمد الشعراني، ثنا نعيم بن حماد، ثنا عبد الله بن وهب، أخبرني يحيى بن أيوب، عن أبي قبيل، سمع عبد الله بن عمرو، يقول: كنا عند رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم، فسئل أي المدينتين تفتح أولا؟ - يعني القسطنطينية أو الرومية - فقال: «مدينة هرقل أولا» يعني القسطنطينية «هذا حديث صحيح الإسناد، ولم يخرجاه»
No translation yet. Arabic only.
AI draft, not reviewed by an editor. Read the Arabic for the meaning.
Not graded under this archive's policy. The verdicts recorded are listed.
حدثنا محمد بن صالح بن هانئ، ثنا محمد بن إسماعيل، ثنا أبو الطاهر، ثنا ابن وهب، أخبرني يحيى بن أيوب، عن أبي قبيل المعافري، قال: كنا عند عبد الله بن عمرو بن العاص فسئل أي المدينتين تفتح أولا قسطنطينية أو رومية؟ قال: فدعا بصندوق طهم - والطهم الخلق - فأخرج منها كتابا فنظر فيه، ثم قال: كنا عند رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم نكتب ما قال: فسئل أي المدينتين تفتح أولا القسطنطينية أو الرومية؟ فقال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم: «مدينة هرقل تفتح أولا» يعني القسطنطينية «هذا حديث صحيح الإسناد، ولم يخرجاه»
No translation yet. Arabic only.
AI draft, not reviewed by an editor. Read the Arabic for the meaning.
Not graded under this archive's policy. The verdicts recorded are listed.
حدثنا يحيى بن إسحاق، حدثنا يحيى بن أيوب، حدثني أبو قبيل، قال: كنا عند عبد الله بن عمرو بن العاصي، وسئل: أي المدينتين تفتح أولا: القسطنطينية أو رومية؟ فدعا عبد الله بصندوق له حلق ، قال: فأخرج منه كتابا، قال: فقال عبد الله: بينما نحن حول رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم نكتب، إذ سئل رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم: أي المدينتين تفتح أولا: قسطنطينية أو رومية؟ فقال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم: " مدينة هرقل تفتح أولا " يعني قسطنطينية
No translation yet. Arabic only.
AI draft, not reviewed by an editor. Read the Arabic for the meaning.
What scholars have said
No scholar here cites it as having appeared
Dr. Yusuf ibn Abdullah Al-WabilContemporary (b. 1375 AH / 1955 CE)
When Abdullah ibn Amr was asked which city would be conquered first, Constantinople or Rome, he said 'the city of Heraclius' - Constantinople. Scholars note that Constantinople fell in 1453, while Rome (Rumiyah, in Italy) is named in the reports as an awaited conquest tied to the later tribulations; they decline to set any date for it.
Ashrat al-Sa'a, on the conquest of Rome, Musnad Ahmad 6645 & al-Mustadrak 8301
Meaning and context
Asked which city would fall first, Constantinople or Rome, the Prophet ﷺ named 'the city of Heraclius' - Constantinople, taken in 1453. Rome (Rumiyah, in Italy) is named in the reports as an awaited conquest; scholars set no date, and nothing is measured here.
Narrations behind this panel: al-Mustadrak (al-Hakim) 8301 · Musnad Ahmad 6645
What the commentators said it means
- Two distinct cities are meant: Constantinople (fell 1453) and Rumiyah, the city of Rome in Italy, still unconquered.
- Some narrations place the conquest of Rome among the signs leading to the Great Battle and the Dajjal: Yusuf al-Wabil.
Read with care
- The report describes a sequence foretold, not a campaign to wage, and names no living state or people.
Draft: figures and wording await a researcher's check and the scholar board.