Today is Thursday; 25th of the Iranian month of Bahman 1397 solar hijri; corresponding to 8th of the Islamic month of Jamadi as-Sani 1440 lunar hijri; and February 14, 2019, of the Christian Gregorian Calendar.

1271 solar years ago, on this day in 748 AD, after years of secret networks and simmering discontent, the Hashemiyya Movement came to surface as the Iranian warlord Vehzaadaan-Pour Vandaad Hormoz, known as Abu Muslim Khorasani, drove out the battle-hardened governor, Nasr ibn Sayyar, to capture Marv, capital of the Omayyad province of Khorasan, marking the consolidation of the Abbasid revolt. With the slogan of restoring to the most worthy descendent of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA), the rule of the vast Islamic realm – stretching from Spain in the west till the borders of China and India in the east – the Abbasids attracted the support of both Arabs and Persians to the movement to overthrow the Godless Omayyad regime. Marv, founded in the 6th century BC by Cyrus the Great of the Achaemenid Empire, became a base for spread of the movement in Khorasan and Transoxiana that resulted in a string of defeats for the Omayyads in Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Egypt, and led to the emergence in 750 of a new dynasty of usurpers. The Abbasids, who claimed descent from the Prophet’s uncle Abbas, exploited the sentiments of the Muslim masses to deprive the Imams of the Ahl al-Bayt of their divinely-decreed right of political leadership. Abu Muslim, who ordered his partisans to don black clothes (hence Siyah-Jamegaan) and deceitfully named all males born that year in Khorasan as “Yayha” in memory of the 4^th Infallible Imam’s grandson, Yahya ibn Zaid, who was martyred in Jowzajan in 742 by the Omayyads, managed to absorb the followers of the Ahl al-Bayt, whom he eventually betrayed by endorsing the caliphate of Abbas as-Saffah (Bloodshedder) in Kufa, rather than pledge allegiance to the Prophet’s 6th Infallible Heir, Imam Ja’far as-Sadeq (AS) in Medina. Abu Muslim continued to rule Marv and Khorasan as a semi-independent ruler until he paid the price with his life of having supported the Abbasid usurpers. In 755, at the age of 55, when he went to Iraq to meet the 2nd self-styled caliph, Mansur Dawaniqi in Mada’en (Ctesiphon the former Parthian & Sassanid capital), the latter accusing him of heresy in spite of being reminded of his key role in placing the Abbasids in power, was killed and his body thrown into the River Tigris. Throughout the Abbasid era, Marv remained the capital and most important city of Khorasan. From 813 to 818, it was effectively made capital of the Muslim world by Mamoun, the 7th self-styled Abbasid caliph, who forced the Prophet’s 8th Infallible Heir, Imam Reza (AS) to come to Marv from Medina, and after declaring him heir-apparent against his will, martyred him through poisoning in Tous (Mashhad). Marv, which for over two millenniums was an integral part of Iran, was seized in 1785 by Shah Murad the Emir of Bukhara, and is presently part of the Republic of Turkmenistan.

671 lunar years ago, on this day in 769 AH, the acclaimed Persian poet Mahmoud ibn Amir Yameen od-Din, popularly known as Ibn Yameen Faryumadi, passed away at the age of 84. He was born in Faryumad near Sabzevar in Khorasan, northeastern Iran. He is said to have been the court poet of the Shi’ite Muslim Sarbedar dynasty. Over 5,000 of his poems, mainly aphorisms, have been preserved, including qasidas and mathnawis of a philosophical and mystical nature.

670 solar years ago, on this day in 1349 AD, over a thousand Jews were publicly burned to death by Christian mobs while the remainder of their population was forcibly driven away from the German city of Strasbourg, as part of the pogroms, the Church used to frequently conduct against the followers of Judaism in Europe, at a time when Jews living in Islamic lands enjoyed all the freedom and privileges of Muslims, even rising to the post of ministers. The massacre followed the deadly bubonic plague of 1348 which was blamed on the presence of Jews in Christian lands. The practices and behaviour of the Jews was also partly responsible for such massacres, because the Jews played the role of money-lenders and manipulated the economy, which brought about serious problems. European chroniclers report that the Jews were arrogant and unwilling to grant anyone else precedence. Those dealing with them could hardly come to an agreement with them. The Jews’ intransigence, coupled with their slandering of Prophet Jesus and his Virgin mother, Mary (peace upon them), were the reason for their frequent massacres by Christians. Until the start of the 18th century, Jews were forbidden to remain in town after 10 pm in any European country, and heavy taxes were levied on them, including a special tax for any horse that a Jew would ride or bring into the city.

536 solar years ago, on this day in 1483 AD, the founder of the Moghal Dynasty of South Asia, Zaheer od-Din Babar, was born in Andijan in the Ferghana Valley in what is now Uzbekistan. Son of the local ruler, Omar Sheikh – a great-grandson of the Central Asian conqueror, Amir Timur – he was on his mother's side a grandson of Yunus Khan, the ruler of Moghulistan and thus a direct descendent of the fearsome Genghis Khan. Like the rest of the Timurids, Babar had embraced Persian language and culture, although his mother tongue was Chaghatai Turkic. In his obsession to take control of Samarqand he lost Ferghana as well to Obaidullah Khan Shaibani Khan, the ruler of the Uzbeks, who were newcomers to the region and were fast displacing the local Tajiks (or Persian speakers). He accepted Shah Ismail I, the founder of the Safavid Empire of Iran, as suzerain, after rejecting demands from the Ottoman Sultan to acknowledge him as overlord. This alliance enabled him to chalk out an independent kingdom in Kabul, which he used as a base to recapture Samarqand with Safavid help, but soon lost it. Later with his combined Tajik and Turkic military, he conquered the northern parts of the Subcontinent by defeating the Afghan king, Ibrahim Lodhi of Delhi at the Battle of Panipat in 1526 and then routing the huge Rajput-Afghan joint army of Rana Sanga in 1527 to establish the Moghal Empire. He was a poet in both Persian and his Turkic, and was a devotee of the Ahl al-Bayt of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA).

426 lunar years ago, on this day in 1014 AH, Prince Saleem succeeded his father, Akbar the Great, as the Fourth Grand Mughal Emperor of the northern subcontinent and eastern Afghanistan with the title, Noor od-Din Jahangir. He ruled for 23 years, mostly with the assistance of his Iranian wife, Noor Jahan, and maintained excellent relations with Shah Abbas the Great of Safavid Iran. Jahangir was also a poet and writer in both Persian and his native Chaghtai Turkic. The bleak record of his rule, however, was martyrdom of the famous Iranian Islamic scholar in Agra, Qazi Seyyed Noorollah Shoushtari, the author of such famous books as “Majalis al-Momineen” and “Ahqaq al-Haq”. He was under the influence of alcohol when he signed the decree drafted by jealous court mullahs. Later he rued his decision and with the help of his wife, he executed the plotters for the murder of Qazi Shoushtari, who is famous in India amongst the followers of the Prophet’s Ahl al-Bayt as Shaheed Thalleth (Third Martyr).

262 lunar years ago, on this day in 1178 AH, the Hadith scholar, Abdul-Karim Ibn Ahmad al-Halabi, passed away. He was from Aleppo as his surname suggests, and though he went blind, he wasn’t demoralized and remained a prominent scholar. He has left behind numerous compilations, including “Ad’iyat as-Safar” or supplications to God for safety while on journey.

240 solar years ago, on this day in 1779 AD, Captain James Cook, who is supposed to have discovered Australia, was killed by Hawaiians near Kealakekua on Hawaii Island at the age of 50 for his arrogant colonialist intentions. He spent several years surveying the coasts of Labrador and Newfoundland. He made three expeditions to the Pacific on supposedly scientific trips that were a cover for forcing islands to submit to Britain’s colonial rule.

120 lunar years ago, on this day 1320 AH the Iranian Gnostic, Ayatollah Mohammad Taqi Gonabadi, known as “Sheikh Bohloul” was born in Gonabad, Khorasan, to the local mujtahid, Shaikh Nizam od-Din Khazai of Arab ancestry. He memorized the holy Qur'an at the tender age of 8. He finished his preliminary Islamic studies under his father, and then for higher studies enrolled at the seminary in holy Qom, where his teachers were the Grand Ayatollah Akhund Khorasani, Mullah Ali Ma’sumi and Grand Ayatollah Seyyed Shehab od-Din Mar’ashi Najafi. Later he studied in the holy city of Najaf, Iraq, under Grand Ayatollah Abu’l Hasan Isfahani. This last illustrious teacher told him to use his talents to participate in the resistance movement against the anti-Islamic policies of the British-installed Pahlavi potentate Reza Khan. On return to Iran, he became a powerful voice against anti-Islamic policies of the regime. An unusually gifted scholar and a famous orator, behind his small stature, simple dress and modest manners, there was a talented, eloquent and pious individual, who never hesitated in speaking the truth as well as defending it. In 1935, during the Gowharshad Mosque Uprising of the people of Mashhad in protest to “Kashf-e Hijab” or the forced unveiling of Muslim women, he led the movement. The regime’s forces desecrated the holy precincts of the mosque by martyring and wounding some 5,000 people, besides arresting a large number of others. He spent 13 long years of his life in prison, and was released in a miraculous way. After his release, he travelled to Egypt and Syria, and spent some years there, before returning to Iran. He was very active in the run up to the Islamic Revolution. Sheikh Bohloul was a poet as well, and composed over 200,000 couplets in Persian and Arabic.

81 solar years ago, on this day in 1938 AD, illegal Zionist migrants from Europe, who formed the Palmach terrorist outfit in British-ruled Palestine, stormed the Palestinian village of Sa'sa, and for two days indulged in the massacre of men, women, and children, killing over 60 Muslims, as part of their ethnic cleansing campaign to create the illegitimate state of Israel.

74 solar years ago, on this day in 1945 AD, Britain and the US jointly conducted the deadliest bombardment of World War 2 by using a total of 1,773 aircraft to flatten German cities and towns. For three continuous days bombs were rained on population centres, turning them into rubble and killing at least 250,000 men, women and children.

63 lunar years ago, on this day in 1377 AH, the prominent Islamic scholar, Ayatollah Seyyed Abdul-Hussein Sharaf od-Din Ameli, passed away in Lebanon at the age of 87. He was born of Lebanese parents in the Iraqi holy city of Kazemain. On completion of his studies in holy Najaf he returned to Jabal Amel in Lebanon and in addition to Islamic welfare and academic activities, campaigned against French colonial rule. He was forced to seek refuge in Egypt, where he came into contact with Shaikh Saleem al-Bishri the Dean of Egypt’s famous seat of Islamic learning, al-Azhar (founded by the Fatemid Shi’ite Dynasty in honour of the Prophet’s Infallible Daughter, Hazrat Zahra (SA) – hence “Azhar”). The two had a lively discussion on key issues of faith, especially the prime position in Islam of the Ahl al-Bayt of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA). On the return to Lebanon of Seyyed Sharaf od-Din, the discussion continued in the form of exchange of letters, and in the end Shaikh Bishri admitted the truthfulness of the school of Ahl al-Bayt. The result is the excellent book titled “al-Muraja’at”, which has been translated into major world languages, including English as The Right Path. The Dean of al-Azhar, as a gesture of Islamic solidarity, issued the historic fatwa of endorsing Ja’fari or Shi’ite Fiqh, as one of the five jurisprudential schools of Islam.

56 solar years ago, on this day in 1963 AD, English surgeon, Martin Scott successfully carried out for the first time a kidney transplant at a hospital in Leeds.

31 solar years ago, on this day in 1988 AD, Kuwait’s leading Shi’a Muslim religious leader, Ayatollah Seyyed Abbas Musawi al-Mohri, passed away in Tehran at the age of 73. Born in Fars Province, after completing his religious education in holy Najaf, Iraq, he was invited to Kuwait by the people of that tiny Persian Gulf Sheikhdom, and soon became a naturalized citizen. As a staunch follower of the Father of the Islamic Revolution, Imam Khomeini (RA), his house in Kuwait served as the link between Najaf and the outside world, especially Iran, for broadcast of the latter’s speeches and announcements. An eloquent orator himself, he awakened the Kuwaiti people through his lectures and religious discourses. He wrote several works including “Shu’a min at-Tarikh” (Ray of History). Within a year of the establishment of the Islamic Republic in Iran, Ayatollah Abbas al-Mohri was expelled to Tehran by the Kuwaiti regime. His eldest son, Ayatollah Seyyed Mohammad Baqer Musawi al-Mohri, who was a respected scholar in Kuwait, passed away in that sheikhdom, two years ago. His second son, Ayatollah Seyyed Murtaza Musawi al-Mohri, is still active in Kuwait.

30 solar years ago, on this day in 1989 AD, the Father of the Islamic Revolution, Imam Khomeini (RA), issued the historic death verdict against the Indian-born British apostate, Salman Rushdie, for writing the blasphemous book 'The Satanic Verses', days after the devilish novel drew Muslim blood in India and Pakistan. Rushdie, who was commissioned by the Zionists and certain western regimes for writing this sacrilegious book to insult Prophet Mohammad (SAWA), Prophet Abraham (AS), and the sanctities of Islam, has been hiding ever since under protection of Britain to escape execution. World Muslims and all conscientious people hailed the Imam's dynamic fatwa, while the 57-nation Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) endorsed it. As per divine laws the Late Imam's fatwa is irrevocable since it concerns an unrepentant apostate born of Muslim parents.

14 solar years ago, on this day in 2005 AD, former Lebanese Premier, Rafiq Hariri, was assassinated by Israeli agents in a bomb blast in Beirut. The US and its proxies in Lebanon by setting up a Kangaroo tribunal under the UN, first tried to put the blame on Syria, and then on the legendry anti-terrorist movement, the Hezbollah, but to no avail, since all documented evidence points in the direction of the Zionist entity.

8 solar years ago, on this day in 2011 AD, as part of the Islamic Awakening, the people of the Persian Gulf island state of Bahrain launched their peaceful uprising against the repressive Aal-e Khalifa minority regime, through a series of mass demonstrations in the capital Manama, calling it the “Day of Rage”. The people’s demand for democratic changes, including end of discrimination against the long-suppressed Shi’ite Muslim majority, was met with teargas and bullets. The first martyr of the peaceful uprising this day was 21-year old Abdul-Hadi Saleh Ja’far Mushaima. The “Maidan Lu’lu” (Pearl Square) soon became the site of peaceful mass protests that were savagely attacked by the regime with the help of Saudi Arabian soldiers who desecrate mosques and Hussainiyahs, and burn copies of the holy Qur’an.

7 solar years ago, on this day in 2012 AD, US filmmaker Sean Christopher Stone embraced the truth of Islam in the Islamic Republic of Iran, and added “Ali” to his name in honour of Imam Ali ibn Abi Taleb (AS), the dear cousin, son-in-law and divinely-decreed heir of the Almighty’s Last Messenger to all mankind, Prophet Mohammad (SAWA). Son of the famous film director, Oliver Stone, he told a news conference, following his conversion: “It's a mistake to believe that Islam is antagonistic towards Judaism and Christianity. What we need is to understand each other's beliefs and to establish dialogue. The most important thing is I hope I can help Americans to understand the true nature of Islam. I feel good when I enter a mosque. I believe there is only one God.”

He is currently making a documentary focusing on Jinns or genie – a species of semi intelligent shadowy beings created of fire, unlike the human being whose essence is of clay.

6 solar years ago, Azizollah Joweini, prominent Persian language scholar and an authority on the classical Iranian poet, Abu’l-Qasem Ferdowi’s epic “Shahnameh” and its various manuscripts, passed away in Tehran at the of 87. Born in Isfaraen, he devoted his life to literary pursuits writing and editing some 80 books and articles on Persian and Arabic masterpieces, especially the “Shahnameh”. 

AS/SS