Today is Tuesday; 31st of the Iranian month of Ordibehesht 1398 solar hijri; corresponding to 15th of the Islamic month of Ramadhan 1440 lunar hijri; and May 21, 2019, of the Christian Gregorian Calendar.

2446 solar years ago, on this day in 427 BC, Plato the prominent Greek philosopher, was born in Athens. His works include the “Republic”, “Laws”, and the dialogues “Critias” and “Timaeus”. A student of the famous philosopher Socrates, he was influenced by Pythagoras as well. In turn, Plato was the teacher of the equally famous Aristotle, and founded the Academy in Athens for teaching philosophy. He rejected democracy, saying that only a few persons are fit to rule, making it clear that instead of rhetoric and persuasion, reason and wisdom should govern. As Plato puts it: “Until philosophers rule as kings or those who are now called kings and leading men genuinely and adequately philosophise, that is, until political power and philosophy entirely coincide, while the many natures who at present pursue either one exclusively are forcibly prevented from doing so, cities will have no rest from evils,... nor, I think, will the human race.”

During the early Islamic era, Iranian and Arab scholars translated much of Plato’s works from Greek and Syriac into Arabic and wrote commentaries and interpretations on them, as well as on the works of Aristotle and other ancient philosophers. These works of Plato were later translated from Arabic into Latin and as such influenced European medieval scholastic philosophers. Plato died in Athens in 347 BC at the age of 80.

1437 lunar years ago, on this day in 3 AH, Imam Hasan Mojtaba (AS), the eldest grandson and 2^nd Infallible Heir of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA), was born in Medina. His name "Hasan", which means the "Most Excellent" was chosen by the Prophet on the commandment of God and is the Arabic equivalent of "Shabar" the name in Hebrew of the first born son of Aaron, the brother and vicegerent of Prophet Moses (AS). Imam Hasan (AS), along with his younger brother, Imam Husain (AS), was hailed by the Prophet as Twin Leaders of the Youths of Paradise. The two brothers along with their parents, Imam Ali (AS) and Hazrat Fatema Zahra (SA), were covered by the Prophet under his cloak as the Ahl al-Bayt on revelation of the Verse of Purity (holy Qur’an 33:33), and this immaculate group also accompanied the Prophet to the decisive debate of Mubahela with the Christians of Najran on revelation of ayah 61 of Surah Nisa in order to prove the truth of Islam. Six months after succeeding to the caliphate, following his father’s martyrdom, Imam Hasan (AS), in view of the widespread sedition and hypocrisy in the society, agreed to relinquish political rule to the charlatan Mu’awiya ibn Abu Sufyan in order to unmask him in his true heathen colours. Thus, his prudence and foresight saved Islam from civil war, at a time when the Byzantine Empire was waiting for weakening of Muslims to attack and occupy Syria and Bayt al-Moqaddas.

1141 solar years ago, on this day in 878 AD, the ancient city of Syracuse, on the island of Sicily, off the southern coast of Italy, was captured by the Muslim sultan of Sicily. The first Muslims to land in Sicily were forces of the Aghlabid dynasty of Ifriqiyya or what is now western Libya, Tunis and Algeria, in 827 AD, when the island was part of Byzantine or the Eastern Roman Empire. During the two centuries of Muslim rule, the capital of the Emirate of Sicily was moved from Syracuse to Palermo. Islamic architecture dominated the cities, and the Muslims, including the Ismaili Shi’ite Fatemid dynasty, developed agriculture and built extensive irrigation channels. Islamic Sicily had a flourishing cultural and artistic life: several Arab poets, including Ibn Hamdi, the most important Sicilian poet of the 12th century, lived in Syracuse. The Fatemid general, Jowhar as-Saqali, who conquered Egypt, was originally a Christian from Sicily. Among the governors appointed by the Fatemids to rule the island and propagate the school of the Ahl al-Bayt, was Hassan al-Kalbi whose army landed in southern Italy and defeated the Holy Roman Emperor near Crotone in Calabria.

1057 lunar years ago, on this day in 383 AH, the famous literary figure, Abu Bakr Mohammad Ibn Abbas Khwarezmi, passed away in the northeastern Iranian city of Naishapour. He had a strong memory and was highly talented in memorization of Arabic poems and history. He had inclinations towards the household of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA) and has highlighted in his works the tyranny of the Omayyad and Abbasid caliphs. One of his famous works is “ar-Rasa’el”, which is a masterpiece of Arabic literature. He was the maternal nephew (sister’s son) of the famous Abu Ja’far Mohammad Ibn Rustom Tabari.

1055 lunar years ago, on this day in 385 AH, the famous scholar and Founder of the Islamic Seminary of holy Najaf in Iraq, Abu Ja'far Mohammad Ibn Hassan Tousi, popular as Shaikh at-Ta’efah, was born in Tous near holy Mashhad in Khorasan, northeastern Iran. On completing studies in his homeland, at the age of 23 he left for Baghdad for higher studies under the celebrated scholar Shaikh Mufid, who died five years later in 413 AH. Leadership of the Shi'ite Muslim scholars then fell to the renowned Sharif Murtaza, who remained in this position for 23 years until his death in 436 AH. During this period Shaikh Tousi was closely associated with Sharif Murtaza, and subsequently succeeded him as head of the community. So impressive was Shaikh Tousi's knowledge that the Abbasid caliph, al-Qader, attended his lectures. Eleven years later in 447 AH, when the Iranian Buwayhid dynasty was in the state of decline, the house of Shaikh Tousi in the Karkh locality, along with his library that contained some 90,000 books, was burnt down in sectarian riots. Shaikh Tousi, seeing the danger of remaining in Baghdad, moved to holy Najaf where his arrival made it the leading centre of Islamic scholarship, a role which it has maintained down to the present day. Some 13 years later, he passed away and was succeeded by his son Shaikh Hassan Tousi, who as an outstanding scholar was known as Mufid-e Thani or Second Mufid. He was laid to rest in his home, near the shrine of the Commander of the Faithful, Imam Ali ibn Abi Taleb (AS) – the vicegerent and 1^st Infallible Heir of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA). His house containing his tomb was converted into a mosque and is known today as Jame' at-Tousi. He authored over 50 books on various topics such as jurisprudence, exegesis of the holy Qur’an, hadith, theology, history and biography of narrators. Of the four authoritative resources of hadith of the School of the Prophet's Ahl al-Bayt, two were compiled by Shaikh at-Taifah Tousi. These two basic reference books are: “Tahzeeb al-Ahkaam” and “al-Istibsaar”. His exegesis on the holy Qur'an is titled “at-Tibyaan”. On the Lord of the Age, Imam Mahdi (God hasten his reappearance) he wrote the book “al-Ghayba” (Occultation). His another work is “Mukhtasar Akhbar al-Mukhtar”, a concise history of the uprising of Mukhtar ibn Abu Obaydah Thaqafi to avenge the martyrdom of Imam Husain (AS).

616 solar years ago, on this day in 1403 AD, Henry III of the region of Castile in Spain, as part of the Christian policy to split the ranks of Muslims, who were advancing into southwestern Europe and still controlled southern Spain, sent Ruy Gonzalez de Clavijo as ambassador to Samarqand to the court of Amir Timur to discuss the possibility of an alliance against the Ottoman Empire. Clavijo, who travelled through the Byzantine capital Constantinople to Armenia, Iran, and finally Central Asia, was granted a long-sought audience by Timur in a great orchard with a palace therein, which he calls the paradise garden of Iranian tradition. He gives a detailed description of court life including trained elephants and the tent-pavilions of jewel-and pearl-encrusted silks. The Castilian embassy spent several months in Samarqand, during which time Clavijo attended celebrations for Timur's recent victory at Ankara in July 1402, over the Ottoman sultan, Bayezid I, who was captured and brought to Central Asia as captive, much to the relief of the Christians of Europe. Although the fearsome Timur did not sign any treaty with the Christians, the vast majority of his victims were the millions of fellow Muslims his armies slaughtered from Eurasia to West Asia and from Iran to the Subcontinent.

522 solar years ago, on this day in 1497 AD, Sunni Muslim jurist, Mohammad ibn Mohammad at-Tarabulsi al-Hattab ar-Ru’yani, was born in Mecca in a family of scholars of the Maliki school of jurisprudents from Tripoli, present day Libya, which was of Andalusian or Spanish Muslim origin. His book “Mawaheb al-Jalil” is considered as one of the thorough commentaries of Maliki law. Another of his famous works is “Qurrat al-Ayn”, which expounds on the “al-Waraqaat” of the Iranian Shafe’i jurist and theologian, Ziya od-Din Abdul-Malik Juwayni, known as Imam al-Haramayn because of his 4-year stay in Hijaz. Al-Hattab returned to Tripoli with his father and before his death there at the age of 50 years, his study circles became so popular that many North African Sufis preferred to attend his classes.

475 lunar years ago, on this day in 965 AH, the famous jurisprudent Shaikh Zayn od-Din al-Juba'i al-Ameli, known as “Shaheed Thani” (Second Martyr), was martyred at the age of 54. Born in Juba in the Jabal Amel region of what is now Lebanon, he is believed to have some connection with Tous in Khorasan, because he occasionally signed his surname as "at-Tousi ash-Shami" – the second part pertaining to Greater Syria since Lebanon like Palestine and Jordan is actually a part of Syria. After initial study under his father, he was groomed for some 8 years by the celebrated Shaikh Ali bin Hussain bin Abd al-Aali Muhaqqaq Karki, and by the age of 33 became a Mujtahed. He had also studied in Damascus under Sunni ulema, and became an authority on such texts as “Sahih Bukhari” and “Sahih Muslim”. He visited Egypt to study medicine, geometry, prosody and logic from different teachers. He performed the Hajj pilgrimage and visited Bayt al-Moqaddas, in addition to travelling to Iraq for the pilgrimage to the shrines of the Imams of the Ahl al-Bayt. During a visit to Istanbul had a lively discussion with the Chief Qazi of the state, Mohammad bin Mohammad Qazizadah ar-Roumi, to whom he presented a treatise titled “Ten Knowledges” that greatly impressed the latter. He was permitted to teach at the Nooriyah Islamic School in Ba’lbek, where he taught the five schools of Islamic jurisprudence, that is, Ja'fari, Hanafi, Shafei, Maliki and Hanbali. Apart from proficiency in jurisprudence, he was well versed in theology, philosophy, Gnosis, medicine and astronomy. He was a man of piety, known for his austere way of life. His students have recorded in his biography that he maintained his family by selling wood that he cut during the nights, and then sat to teach during the day. Some pseudo ulema, adverse to Islamic unity, conspired against him, labeled false accusations, and complained to the Ottoman Sultan. He was taken to Istanbul, but on the way to see the Sultan, he was brutally beheaded and his body thrown into the sea. His assassin was killed on the Sultan's orders. Later, a shrine was built by Turkmens at the site of his martyrdom when they realised his lofty stature. He authored several books, and his masterpiece is the commentary on the jurisprudential manual "Lum'at-ad-Dimashqiyya" (The Damascene Glitter) of the First Martyr, Mohammad Jamal od-Din al-Makki al-Ameli, titled "ar-Rawdhat-al-Bahiyah ft Sharh al-Lum'at-ad- Dimashqiyya" (The Beautiful Garden in Interpreting the Damascene Glitter).

380 solar years ago, on this day in 1639 AD, Italian philosopher, theologian, astrologer, and poet, Tommaso Campanella died at the age of 71. He spent 27 years imprisoned in Naples (1599-1626) for leading a conspiracy against the Spanish rule. During his detention, he wrote his most important works: “The Monarchy of Spain” (1600), “Political Aphorisms” (1601), “Atheism Conquered” (1605–1607), “Metaphysica” (1609–1623), “Theologia” (1613–1624), and his most famous work, “The City of the Sun”. He defended the astronomer Galileo Galilei against the Christian Church in his first trial with his work “The Defense of Galileo” (1616).

331 solar years ago, on this day in 1688 AD, English poet, Alexander Pope, was born in London. He is best known for his satirical verse and for his translation of the works of the ancient Greek scholar Homer. He is the second-most frequently quoted writer in The Oxford Dictionary of Quotations after William Shakespeare. His “Essay on Criticism” contains the line: “A little learning is a dangerous thing...”

155 solar years ago, on this day 1864 AD, Russia declared end to its Circassian War in the Caucasus by forcing into exile almost the entire Muslim Cherkes population. The day is designated as Circassian Day of Mourning. More than 1.5 million Circassian Muslims were expelled — 90% of the total population at the time. Most of them perished en route, victims of disease, hunger, and exhaustion. They were dispersed all over the world. Some traveled 3000 km on foot or on ox carts. Some roamed for 25 years before settling down. Today over 4 million Circassians live outside their homeland in over 40 countries.

148 solar years ago, on this day in 1871 AD, French troops invaded the Paris Commune and engaged its residents in street fighting. By the end of what is known as "Bloody Week" in the history of France, 20,000 communards were killed and 38,000 arrested.

98 solar years ago, on this day in 1921 AD, the prominent Russian physicist and nuclear scientist, Andrei Sakharov, was born. He played a major role in the Soviet Union’s manufacture of the hydrogen bomb. In 1968, his article on progress, peaceful co-existence and freedom of thought angered officials. In 1975, as an advocate of nuclear disarmament he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. Because of opposition to Soviet policies and role as a civil rights activist, he was exiled to Gorky. His exile ended in 1986 by the then communist party chief, Mikhail Gorbachev, and in the spring of 1989, a year after Gorbachev became president, Sakharov was elected to the new parliament, the All-Union Congress of People's Deputies. He died in December the same year.

37 solar years ago, on this day in 1982 AD, the US imposed economic sanctions on Iran, as part of its futile efforts to ruin the Islamic Republic’s economy, and if possible overthrow the Islamic system of government, following the failure at the warfronts of American stooge Saddam of the repressive Ba’th minority regime of Baghdad. The Father of the Islamic Revolution, Imam Khomeini (RA), brushed aside the sanctions and called it a blessing in disguise for Iran to become independent of big powers in various economic and industrial fields.

28 solar years ago, on this day in 1991 AD, former Indian prime minister, Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated by a female suicide bomber near Madras. The son of late Indian prime minister Indira Gandhi and maternal grandson of India's first premier, Jawaharlal Nehru, he was a pilot by profession before entering politics, and being propelled to the country's top executive post on the assassination of his mother by Sikh extremists, believed to be backed by the US. Rajiv, who was again the top contender for the prime minister's post, was killed on the eve of the general elections by a Tamil terrorist from Sri Lanka, believed to be backed by the US.

25 solar years ago, on this day in 1994 AD, Zionist commandos infiltrated Lebanon’s eastern mountains and kidnapped Mustafa Dirani, the Shi’a Muslim leader of the “Believer's Resistance”. In 2000 Dirani sued Israel with charges of torture and immoral acts, Dirani was released in Jan 2004, as part of a prisoner exchange between the illegal Zionist entity and Lebanon’s legendry anti-terrorism movement, the Hezbollah.

21 solar years ago, on this day in 1998 AD, General Mohammad Suharto, after ruling Indonesia with an iron fist for 33 years, was forced to resign. He had seized power in a coup staged against the pioneer of Indonesia’s independence and elected president of the country, Ahmed Sukarno. During Suharto’s autocratic rule, political freedoms were restricted, although in the 1980s and 1990s the country made headways in economy. In the wake of grinding economic crisis in East Asia in the year 1997, student unrests were fueled and the economic demands of people turned political, with calls for the dismissal of Suharto. Finally the economic corruption of Suharto and his family brought him down.

17 solar years ago, on this day since 2002, UNESCO has been marking the Universal Declaration on Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development. The day aims to deepen understanding of the values of peaceful co-existence for a better world.

13 solar years ago, on this day in 2006 AD, following a referendum, Montenegro declared its independence from Serbia. From 1499 till the second part of the 19th century, it was part of the Ottoman Turkish Empire, and after World War became part of the Socialist Republic of Yugoslavia. Following disintegration of Yugoslavia, and the break out of the Kosovo crisis in late 1990s, Montenegro severed its political and economic ties with Serbia. Finally, in 2003, the two countries agreed to form The Serbia-Montenegro Federation, before going their separate way by holding the referendum of 2006. Montenegro covers an area of almost 14,000 sq km. It is situated in Balkan Peninsula and lies on the coastlines of Adriatic Sea. It shares borders with Serbia, Bosnia, and Albania. Some 30 percent of its citizens are Muslims.

10 solar years ago, on this day in 2009 AD, Iran test-fired a new advanced solid-fuel Sejjil-2 surface-to-surface missile with a range of around 2,000 kilometers, as part of its legitimate efforts to upgrade its defensive capabilities against any would-be aggressors.

9 solar years ago, on this day in 2010 AD, Takfiri terrorists backed by Saudi Arabia and the US blew up a car bomb at an open-air market in Khalis, a Shi’a Muslim town northeast of Baghdad, leaving over 30 people martyred.

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