Did Sultan Muhammad al-Fatih purchase Hagia Sophia?

In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

As-salāmu ‘alaykum wa-rahmatullāhi wa-barakātuh.

If the attached documents are what appears to be historical archives from a Turkish museum that state Sultan Muhammad al-Fatih purchased Hagia Sophia with his own money, the real question still revolves around, ‘Who did the land belong to when it was conquered?’

Suppose the land belonged to the Christians when it was conquered, then could the Sultan have forcibly purchased it form the Christians? It is clear that this was one of the most important places of worship in the whole of Christendom and a place of pilgrimage for many Christians. It would therefore seem farfetched to assume that they happily sold it to the Sultan. Secondly, if Sultan Muhammad al-Fatih purchased it whilst it belonged to the Muslims, then in reality the ‘purchase’ has no significance, since it belonged to the Muslims in the first place (after conquest). If the historical archives are accurate in this claim, then perhaps out of goodwill or a gesture of kindness, the Sultan paid money in lieu of Hagia Sophia, even though it was the right of the Muslims to occupy it.

And Allah Ta’āla Knows Best

Student, Darul Iftaa

UK

Checked and Approved by, 

Mufti Ebrahim Desai.