Today is Wednesday; 8th of the Iranian month of Ordibehesht 1395 solar hijri; corresponding to 19th of the Islamic month of Rajab 1437 lunar hijri; and April 27, 2016, of the Christian Gregorian Calendar.

1428 lunar years ago, on this day in 9 AH, the Expedition to Tabouk occurred, when Prophet Mohammad (SAWA) on hearing reports of plans by the Roman Empire to attack Muslims, led a force of 30,000 to the frontiers of Arabia and Syria, but no military engagement took place since the Romans and their Arab Christian allies did not turn up. Tabouk is in present-day northwestern Saudi Arabia. It is the only expedition in which the Prophet did not take along with him, his brave cousin and son-in-law, Imam Ali (AS). He instead appointed him as vicegerent in Medina since the presence of Imam Ali (AS) was more important in the capital of Islam, where hypocrites lingered waiting to strike at the roots of Islam. While leaving Medina, the Prophet expressed the famous statement: “The position of Ali to me is like that of Aaron to Moses”, which is a reference to Prophet Moses’ leaving behind Aaron as his deputy amongst the Israelites, during his seclusion on Mount Sinai. An important occurrence during the expedition to Tabouk was the unmasking of the plot of the hypocrites from among the companions of the Prophet, when they plotted to assassinate him while travelling through a ravine at night. God Almighty, however, sent a streak of lightning that illuminated the sky and stayed for quite a while instead of a brief flash, in order to expose the hypocrites lying in ambush and to identify them to the Prophet’s loyal companions, such Hozaifa Yamani.

1386 solar years ago, on this day in 630 AD, Ardashir III, the twenty-fourth Sassanid Emperor of Iran was killed by his general, Shahrbaraz, after a reign of 18 months. He was raised to the throne as a boy of 7 years on the suspicious death of his father, Shirawaiyh Qobad II, the killer and successor of his own father, Khosrow II and at least thirty of his own brothers. Shahrbaraz was of Parthian stock and as the victorious general of the Sassanid-Byzantine wars, had conquered Syria, Egypt, and Anatolia, right up to the walls of Constantinople, before withdrawing on learning of Emperor Khosrow’s plot to assassinate him. Shahrbaraz, after killing Ardashir III the boy emperor, usurped the throne in Ctesiphon, but was killed forty days later by the nobles who placed on the throne, Khosrow’s daughter, Puranddokht – Iran’s first empress.

963 lunar years ago, on this day in 474 AH, the Spanish Muslim scholar Abul-Waleed Suleiman ibn Khalaf Maleki passed away in Spain. He was a skilled memorizer and exegete of the Holy Qur'an, as well as a poet. He lectured on theology in Andalusia and thereafter in Mecca and Baghdad. Among his valuable books and treatises, mention can be made of “Tafsir al-Qur’an” and “al-Ishara”.

819 lunar years ago, on this day in 618 AH, Egyptian forces liberated the port city of Damietta after the Crusader invaders of Europe retreated and surrendered the city following their defeat by the Ayyubid sultan, al-Kamel, who thwarted their intended march upon Cairo. The goal of the Fifth Crusade was to seize Egypt and use it as a base for attacking Palestine and Bayt al-Moqaddas.

507 lunar years ago, on this day in 930AH, Shah Ismail I, the founder of the Safavid Dynasty of Iran, passed away at the age of 37 after a reign of 24 years, and was succeeded by his young son, Shah Tahmasp I. To Ismail and the Safavids goes the credit of giving Iran its present political, cultural, religious, and national identity, although in terms of geography many of the areas were lost to the aggressors and colonialists. Ismail was devoted to the teachings of the Ahl al-Bayt of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA).

495 solar years ago, on this day in 1521 AD, the Portuguese sailor, Ferdinand Magellan, was killed at the age of 51 in the Philippines during a skirmish with the Filipino people. He started his sea voyage with five ships in 1519 and after rounding the southern tip of South America, (which waterway later became known as the Magellan Strait); he reached the Philippines. The Portuguese occupiers, followed by the Spanish, forcibly converted the Filipinos to the Catholic sect of Christianity at a time when Islam was spreading from the south.

279 solar years ago, on this day in 1737 AD, Edward Gibbon, the British historian and parliament member, was born. He authored the famous 6-volume work “The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire”, which is acclaimed for its quality, its prose, its use of primary sources, and its open criticism of Judaism and Christianity. He traced the trajectory of Western civilization as well as the spread of Islam and the Mongol invasion from the height of the Roman Empire to the fall of Byzantium. He says about Prophet Mohammad (SAWA):

“He breathed among the faithful a spirit of charity and friendship; recommended the practice of social virtues; and checked ... the thirst of revenge, and the oppression of widows and orphans."

Gibbon notes the remarkable preservation of the holy Qur’an in its original form, from the time of the Prophet till this day, in contrast to the scriptures of the Jews and Christians that have constantly undergone changes. He says:

“It is not the propagation but the permanency of his religion that deserves our wonder, the same pure and perfect impression which he engraved at Mecca and Medina is preserved after the revolutions of twelve centuries by the Indian, the African and the Turkish proselytes of the Qur’an.”

About Imam Ali (AS), Gibbon writes:

“The zeal and virtue of Ali were never outstripped by any recent proselyte. He united the qualifications of a poet, a soldier, and a saint; his wisdom still breathes in a collection of moral and religious sayings; and every antagonist, in the combats of the tongue or of the sword, was subdued by his eloquence and valour. From the first hour of his mission to the last rites of his funeral, the Apostle was never forsaken by a generous friend, whom he delighted to name his brother, his vicegerent, and the faithful Aaron of a second Moses.”

About the heartrending tragedy of Karbala, Gibbon states:

“In a distant age and climate the tragic scene of the death of Husain will awaken the sympathy of the coldest reader.”

Gibbon was highly critical of the Christian Church and has written:

"If Paganism was conquered by Christianity, it is equally true that Christianity was corrupted by Paganism.”

About the Israelites, he is even more frank and forthright, writing:

“Humanity is shocked at the recital of the horrid cruelties which they (Jews) committed in the cities of Egypt, of Cyprus, and of Cyrene, where they dwelt in treacherous friendship with the unsuspecting natives;”

In his footnote Gibbon adds:

“In Cyrene, [the Jews] massacred 220,000 Greeks; in Cyprus, 240,000; in Egypt, a very great multitude... The victorious Jews devoured the flesh, licked up the blood, and twisted the entrails like a girdle around their bodies.”

222 solar years ago, on this day in 1794 AD, Anglo-Welsh philologist and scholar of Indo-Iranian culture, William Jones, known by his Persian nom de plume “Younus Oksfardi” (یونس اوکسفردی), died in Calcutta, India, at the age of 47. Born in London, he was a linguistic prodigy, learning Greek, Latin, Persian, Arabic, Hebrew and the basics of Chinese writing at an early age. By the end of his life he knew thirteen languages thoroughly and another twenty-eight reasonably well. At the age of 23, he published “Histoire de Nader Chah” (1770) – a French translation of a work on Iranian Emperor Nader Shah Afshar which was originally written in Persian by Mirza Mahdi Khan Astarabadi. During this period he took the penname “Younus Oksfardi”. If the first half of his pen name, “Oksfardi”, is a Persian rendition of "from Oxford", and indicates his deep attachment for Oxford University, the second half is his own first name, since Jones is a derivative of Jonah the Prophet, whom the holy Qur’an calls “Younus” – a name common amongst Muslims, including Iranians. This penname can be seen on the inner front cover of his Persian Grammar published in 1771 – (and in subsequent editions as well). These were the first of his numerous works on Iran, Turkey, India, and the West, South and Central Asia in general, which made him familiar with the wisdom of the scholars of the east who shared a common linguistic and cultural heritage with Europe as well. William Jones thus became one of the first Europeans to realize the existence of relationship among Indo-European languages. His study of law in London brought him the appointment of judge at the Supreme Judicature at Fort William in Calcutta, in 1783, which would eventually lead him to his life-work in India. On 15 January 1784, along with Henry Thomas Colebrooke and Nathaniel Halhed, he founded the Asiatic Society of Bengal, and started a journal called “Asiatic Researches”. Over the next ten years till his death, he produced a flood of works on India, launching the modern study of the subcontinent in virtually every social science. He also wrote on the local laws, music, literature, botany, and geography, and made the first English translations of several important works of Indian literature, both from Persian and Sanskrit.

203 solar years ago, on this day in 1813 AD, US troops captured from the British the capital of Upper Canada in the Battle of York (or present day Toronto). The next year the British retaliated by capturing the US capital, Washington, and burning it to the ground. The 32-month war that started in 1812 and ended in 1815, is known as the Second War of Independence and led to formal recognition by London of the independence of its former 13 New England colonies that had rebelled in 1776 and declared themselves the United States of America.

202 lunar years ago, on this day in 1235 AH, prominent Islamic scholar of the Subcontinent, Ayatollah Seyyed Dildar Ali Naqavi Naseerabadi, known as “Ghufraan-Ma'ab”, passed away in Lucknow at the age of 69. Son of Seyyed Mo’in ibn Seyyed Abdul-Hadi, he came from a family of scholars hailing from Naishapur in Khorasan, Iran, which had settled in the village of Naseerabad, in what is now Uttar Pradesh state of India. He completed preliminary studies in India under various scholars, including Gholam Ali Dakani (of Deccan, southern India where the school of the Ahl al-Bayt was the state religion of the Qutb Shahi dynasty of Golconda-Haiderabad for almost two centuries, and which model was later adopted by the Nawabs of Oudh). He then left for the famous seminary of holy Najaf in Iraq, where his teachers included the jurisprudents Shaikh Ja'far Kashef al-Gheta and Wahid Behbahani. The title "Ghufraan-Ma'ab” was bestowed on him by the ulema of holy Najaf, due to his scholarly activities that included writing of books and promoting Islamic teachings in society. Later, he travelled to holy Mashhad in northeastern Iran for further studies. Initially of Akhbari persuasion, Dildar Ali became a Usuli, and on his return to India, was hailed as a Marja’. He revived the Friday Prayers in Lucknow and wrote prolifically in Arabic, Persian, and Urdu. He authored several books including “Imdad al-Islam” on theology, which is a refutation of the allegations of Fakhr od-Din ar-Razi. His detailed work in jurisprudence is “Muntah-il-Afkaar”. His sons were also pious, dedicated scholars and teachers.

134 solar years ago, on this day in 1882 AD, the American author and thinker, Ralph Waldo Emerson, died. On his visit to Europe, Emerson studied continental literature and published his first book: “Nature”. He is the first American author, who became familiar with the rich Iranian literature and managed to introduce to the Western world, Persian poetry and literary figures such as Hafez, Sa’di, Mowlavi, and Khayyam.

56 solar years ago, on this day in 1960 AD, Togo in southwest Africa, gained independence from French colonial rule. For several centuries the Togo people were abducted by the Portuguese and Spanish and sold as slaves in the Americas. In 1858, Germany seized Togo and following the outbreak of World War I in 1914, France and Britain occupied and divided it between themselves. Togo covers an area of 56,000 sq km. Its Capital is Lome. It shares borders with Ghana, Benin and Burkina Faso. Islam, which has over 30 percent adherents, is the fastest growing religion.

55 solar years ago, on this day in 1961 AD, Sierra Leone in West Africa gained independence from British colonial rule. This land was occupied by the Portuguese in the 16th century AD and its people were kidnapped and sold as slaves in Europe and the Americas. The British seized it in late 18th century. In 1971, ten years after independence, Sierra Leone became a republic. It has been wracked by coups and counter coups ever since. Sierra Leone has a coastline on The Atlantic Ocean and covers an area of 71,000 sq km, sharing borders with Guinea and Liberia. Over 75 percent of the population is Muslim.

54 solar years ago, on this day in 1962 AD, the noted statesman, Abu’l-Qassem Fazl ul-Haq, known as Sher-e Bangla (Tiger of Bengal), passed away at the age of 89 in Dhaka, in what was then known East Pakistan and is Bangladesh today. He was the senior figure of the Congress Party, but as Muslim he organised the Muslim League in 1920s, later led by Mohammad Ali Jinnah. He played a crucial role in drafting and presenting the Lahore Resolution and had active public position in British India advocating for the Pakistan Movement in the 1940s. After establishment of Pakistan, he was appointed as Chief Minister of East Bengal in 1952, and in 1955 became the Interior Minister of Pakistan. In 1956, he was appointed Governor-General of East Pakistan and led the United Front, presided over the provisional state until 1958. Sher-e-Bangla founded several educational and technical institutions for Bengali Muslims, including Islamia College in Calcutta and Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University (SAU) in Dhaka. Today throughout Bangladesh, educational institutions (e.g., Barisal Sher-e Bangla Medical College), roads, neighborhoods (Sher-e Bangla Nagor), and stadiums (Sher-e Bangla Mirpur Stadium) have been named after him. In Islamabad, Pakistan, the Fazl ul-Haq Road is named after him.

54 lunar years ago, on this day in 1383 AH, Ayatollah Sheikh Mohammad Khalesi, known as “Khalesizadeh”, passed away in Baghdad. Parallel to his cultural and religious activities, he struggled against the infiltration and interference of colonialists in Islamic countries and was one of the religious leaders who inspired the people of Iraq in the uprising of the 1920s, which the British brutally crushed, and imposed upon the Iraqi people an unwanted king from the Hijaz, Faisal the son of the British agent, Sharif Hussain of Mecca. Khalesizadeh, along with Ayatollah Sheikh Kashef al-Gheta, was exiled to Iran, while the British martyred through poisoning, Ayatollah Mirza Mohammad Taqi Shirazi. Among the books written by him are: “The Injustices of Britain in Mesopotamia” and “God in the Nature”.

44 solar years ago, on this day in 1972 AD, Ghanaian politician and independence leader, Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, died in exile in Bucharest, Romania at the age of 62. In 1951 in the first general election held in the Gold Coast, which later became Ghana, he led the Convention People's Party to victory and was chosen prime minister. Under his leadership, Ghana gained independence in 1957 from British rule. After Ghana became a republic in 1960, Nkrumah became President. An influential advocate of Pan-Africanism, he was a founding member of the Organization of African Unity. He escaped several assassination attempts and in 1966, while on a visit to China was overthrown in a military coup staged by General Joseph Ankrah on the orders of the US and Britain.

38 solar years ago, on this day in 1978 AD, General Abdul-Qader Dagarwal staged a coup in Afghanistan, and after killing President Mohammad Dawoud Khan, installed leader of the People’s Democratic Party, Noor Mohammad Taraki as the new head of state. Soon, power was seized in another coup by communist party chief, Hafizullah Amin, and instability gripped the country, resulting in a third coup staged by Babrak Karmal who killed Amin and seized power. In December 1979, Karmal invited the Soviet Union to occupy Afghanistan. He remained in power till 1987 with Moscow’s help before his dismissal and replacement by General Mohammad Najibollah. Following the withdrawal of Soviet forces from Afghanistan in 1989, the Afghan mujahideen intensified their operations to bring to its end the Najibollah regime in 1992, and setting up the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, which has continued to be wracked by chaos and instability by various factions followed by the Taliban, and currently the US occupation.

35 solar years ago, on this day in 1981 AD, Iran's courageous helicopter pilot, Captain Ali Akbar Shiroudi, attained martyrdom during an operation in western Iran against Saddam's Ba'thist occupation forces. Earlier, he had played a key role by clearing the border areas from the foreign-backed mercenaries. In one of his famous operations with two other helicopters, his team blew at least 50 Iraqi tanks.

22 years ago, on this day in 1994 AD, the first general democratic elections were held in South Africa, in which black citizens could vote, after end of the white racist Apartheid regime. The Interim Constitution came into force.

AS/ME