Today is Friday; 17th of the Iranian month of Khordad 1398 solar hijri; corresponding to 3rd of the Islamic month of Shawwal 1440 lunar hijri; and June 7, 2019, of the Christian Gregorian Calendar.

1431 lunar years ago, on this day in 8 AH, the Battle of Hunayn occurred in the valley of the same name between Mecca and Ta’ef, when Arab infidels of the Hawazen and Thaqeef tribes attacked Muslims, following the peaceful surrender of Mecca to Prophet Mohammad (SAWA). Proud of their military might, the pagan Arabs resolved to strike and kill the Prophet to prevent the spread of the monotheistic teachings of Islam. The Muslims, for their part, were deceived by the apparently large number of converts to the faith by the Meccan Arabs, only a fortnight ago. But when the infidel Arabs ambushed the army of Islam, almost all the neo-Muslim forces, including the Muhajer and the Ansars fled, deserting the Prophet, except for his valiant cousin and son-in-law, Imam Ali ibn Abi Taleb (AS), his another cousin Abu Sufyan ibn Hareth ibn Abdul-Muttaleb, his uncle Abbas ibn Abdul-Muttaleb, and a few others. The valour of Imam Ali (AS) saved the day, while the loud voice of Abbas in urging the fleeing Muslims to return brought back no more than a hundred Muslims to the battlefield. The Prophet, beseeching God Almighty for help, ordered the fight-back. Imam Ali (AS) launched an attack, with his flashing blade Zulfeqar making short work of the fearsome Arab standard-bearer Abu Jaroul and some 40 other warlords, which forced the infidels to retreat, thereby resulting in a decisive defeat for the pagan Arabs. The holy Qur’an has referred to this event in ayahs 25-26 of Surah Towba, which read:

“Allah has certainly helped you in many situations, and on the Day of Hunayn, when your great number impressed you, but it did not avail you in any way, and the earth became narrow for you in spite of its expanse, whereupon you turned your backs [to flee].

"Then Allah sent down His composure upon His Prophet and upon the faithful, and He sent down hosts you did not see, and He punished the faithless, and that is the requital of the faithless."

1192 lunar years ago, on this day in 247 AH, the Godless tyrant Mutawakkil, who styled himself the 10th caliph of the usurper Abbasid regime, was murdered while drunk and asleep, by his own son, Muntasir, with the help of Turkic guards, at the age of 39 after a reign of 14 years. Named Ja’far on birth to Qaratis, a Greek concubine of Mu’tasim, he became caliph on the suspicious death of his brother Watheq – whose body lay in negligence with mice eating away his eyes, while Mutawakkil held festivities for several days. Immediately he unleashed a reign of terror, especially on the followers of the Ahl al-Bayt of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA). He persecuted the Prophet’s progeny, instructed judges to always give the verdict against them, forbade them to ride horses in Egypt, forcibly brought the Prophet’s 10th Infallible Heir, Imam Ali an-Naqi (AS), to Samarra from Medina to be placed under house arrest, and blasphemously destroyed the holy shrine of Imam Husain (AS) in Karbala, several times. The reason for his murder was his usual habit of cursing the Commander of the Faithful, Imam Ali Ibn Abi Taleb (AS) that finally broke the patience of his elder son, Muntasir, who left the assembly of drunkards in rage under the taunts of his father and soon got rid of him. The Commander of the Faithful had prophesied him as "most infidel" of Abbasid rulers.

1157 solar years ago, on this day in 862 AD, al-Muntasir-Billah, the 14^th self-styled caliph of the usurper Abbasid regime, died at the age of 24 under suspicious circumstances, after less than half-a-year reign, believed to be bled by a poisonous lancet. Son of the tyrant Mutawakkil, whom he killed with the help of the Turkic guards and succeeded as caliph, he was in turn succeeded by his uncle, Mustain.

920 solar years ago, on this day in 1099 AD, the Crusader invaders from Europe laid siege to the Islamic city of Bayt al-Moqaddas, which they called Jerusalem and captured it a month and a week later on July 15. A year earlier these European invaders taking advantage of discord among the Muslims, especially the enmity of the Turkic warlords with the Fatemid Shi’ite Muslims rulers of Egypt who controlled most of Syria including Palestine, had captured Antioch. Then moving along the Mediterranean coast they laid siege to Arqa until May 13 but could not capture it. The Fatemids took up the proposal of peace on condition that the crusaders do not march upon Bayt al-Moqaddas, but this was ignored. Iftekhar od-Dowla, the Fatemid governor of Bayt al-Moqaddas, becoming aware of motives of the Crusaders strengthened the defences of the city. Meanwhile, the Crusaders were given money and horses by the Turkic ruler of Tripoli, who also promised to convert to Christianity if they capture Bayt al-Moqaddas from the Fatemids. The Crusaders thus succeeded in passing unopposed through Beirut on May 19, Tyre on May 23, and turning inland at Jaffa, reached Ramlah on June 3, which had already been abandoned by its inhabitants. On June 6, they seized Bayt-Laham, and on the next day reached the outskirts of Bayt al-Moqaddas. Iftekhar od-Dowla resisted but no reinforcement arrived from Egypt. Many Muslims sought shelter in the al-Aqsa Mosque, and the Dome of the Rock. When the city was starved and forced to surrender, the Crusaders broke all promises and started slaughtering the Muslim men, women, and children. In all over 70,000 people were massacred including Palestinian Christians and the Jewish minority. According to their own accounts, the Crusaders boasted of wading in blood up to their ankles, while killing Muslims. It is stated that when the Jews sought refuge in their synagogue, the Crusaders burned it over their heads, killing everyone inside.

679 solar years ago, on this day in 1341 AD, the 7th Mamluk (slave) Sultan of Egypt and Syria, al-Mansour Saif od-Din Qalawun, died at the age of 70 after a reign of 11 years. A Qipchaq Turk of Eurasia, who was sold into slavery during his teen years and ended up in the service of Egypt’s Kurdish Ayubid ruler, Sultan as-Saleh, he quickly rose into prominence, because of his abilities. Under his predecessor, Sultan Baybars, he displayed his military prowess in the victorious wars against the Mongols. In 680 AH, Qalawun decisively defeated the huge joint Mongol-Christian army of 80,000 led by Monke Timur, the brother of the Iran-based Abaqa Khan in the Second Battle of Homs, fought in western Syria. He also checked the ambitions of the usurper Crusader states on the coasts of Palestine and Lebanon. He was a great builder of mosques and public institutes, which are still intact in the Egyptian capital.

606 lunar years ago, on this day in 833 AH, the Iranian historian and geographer, Shehhab od-Din Abdullah ibn Lotfollah, known popularly as Hafez Abrou, passed away in Zanjan, northwestern Iran. He was a native of Herat, the capital of Khorasan, and after education in Hamedan in western Iran, joined the service of the Central Asian conqueror Amir Timur, accompanying him on many of his campaigns, including those to Iraq, Syria and Anatolia. As a court historian and eyewitness of many historical accounts, he also served Timur's son and successor, Shah Rukh. He died while returning from Shah Rukh’s second military campaign to Azarbaijan. He is an authority on the history of the later Ilkhanid period and early Timurid era. Among his major works is the "Majmu'a", which is a collection of three older historical works with annotations by him. His 4-volume "Majma'at-Tawarikh" is a world history covering ancient Iran, the pre-Islamic prophets and events of other lands, with details on the Seljuq and Mongol periods. His history of the Timurid Dynasty titled "Zubdat at-Tawarikh-e Baysunquri" is dedicated to Prince Baysunqur Mirza. He also translated into Persian a geographical work from Arabic, titled “Masalek al-Mamalek wa Suwar al-Aqalim", with focus on the various regions of Iran.

327 solar years ago, on this day in 1692 AD, an earthquake struck the island of Jamaica in the Caribbean Sea. It rearranged the geology, splitting the rocks, turning mountains to lakes, and engulfed two-thirds of Port Royal. On this day and the subsequent days, five thousand of the inhabitants were killed.

171 solar years ago, on this day in 1848 AD, French painter, Paul Gauguin, was born in Paris. He spent his last years on the Island of Tahiti in the Pacific Ocean painting the natives and the local landscape.

140 solar years ago, on this day in 1879 AD, as part of the War of the Pacific, between Chile, Peru and Bolivia, the Battle of Arica, also known as Assault and Capture of Cape Arica, was fought. Finally, Chile emerged victorious and dictated a treaty to the governments of Peru and Bolivia, according to which Bolivian coastlines and parts of Peru were annexed.

125 lunar years ago, on this day in 1315 AH, the prominent Iranian scholar, Ayatollah Mirza Hussain Mar’ashi Shahrestani, passed away in Karbala at the age of 60 and was laid to rest in the mausoleum of Imam Husain (AS). Born in Kermanshah in a scholarly family, he attained the status of Ijtehad at a young age. Later he became one of the prominent Sources of Emulation at Najaf seminary in Iraq. He wrote on a wide variety of topics, and among his most important books, mention can be made of “Lubab al-Ijtehad”, and “Tazkerat an-Nafs”.

114 solar years ago, on this day in 1905 AD, Norway declared independence from Sweden. Their union had been in effect since 1814.

81 solar years ago, on this day in 1938 AD, during the Second Sino-Japanese War, the pro-West Chinese Nationalist government of Generalissimo Chiang Kai Shek, created the 1938 Yellow River flood to halt Japanese forces, resulting in the  death of almost 900,000 Chinese civilians.

52 solar years ago, on this day in 1967 AD, army units of the illegitimate Zionist entity called Israel, entered and occupied the Islamic city of Bayt al-Moqaddas (Jerusalem), and have refused to withdraw ever since. The Zionists, with the support of the West, especially the US, have continued to oppress and expel the native Palestinians, and in addition to Judaizing this Islamic city, have drilled tunnels underneath the sacred al-Aqsa Mosque as part of their sordid plan to destroy the former qibla of Islam.

49 solar years ago, on this day in 1970 AD, British novelist, Edward Morgan Forster, died at the age of 91. His novels include “A Room with a View” (1908) and “A Passage to India” (1924).

40 solar years ago, on this day in 1979 AD, following establishment of the Islamic Republic of Iran, all banks along with a number of other financial and industrial establishments were nationalized. The nationalization and the subsequent consolidation of the banks paved the way for the launching of Islamic banking, which has greatly expanded.

39 solar years ago, on this day in 1980 AD, Zionist warplanes bombarded the Tamouz Atomic Power Station of Iraq in the vicinity of Baghdad. Although this criminal attack led to worldwide condemnation, the UN Security Council did not take any measure against Israel. The illegal Zionist entity which possesses more than 300 nuclear warheads, manufactured with US, British, and French help, refuses supervision of its atomic installations by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

9 solar years ago, on this day in 2010 AD, Iran's first women-only bank branch opened, allowing ladies to manage their finances without dealing with unrelated men, as part of Islam’s dynamic shari’ah to ensure proper progress of all sections of the society, in keeping with their social status and dignity.

9 solar years ago, on this day in 2010 AD, the Iranian Red Crescent Society dispatched three aid ships to Gaza in the latest bid to break the blockade imposed on the Palestinian territory by the illegal Zionist entity.

AS/SS