Today is Wednesday; 9th of the Iranian month of Mordad 1398 solar hijri; corresponding to 28th of the Islamic month of Zil-Qa’dah 1440 lunar hijri; and July 31, 2019, of the Christian Gregorian Calendar.

1164 solar years ago, in 855 AD, the jurisprudent, Ahmad bin Mohammad bin Hanbal ash-Shaybani, passed away in his hometown Baghdad at the age of 77. His father was an army officer of the Abbasid regime in Khorasan. After studying under Abu Yusuf, a student of the Iranian Sunni jurist, Abu Hanifa, he travelled widely around Arabia, Iraq, and Syria, to collect hadith, before returning to Baghdad, where he was not welcomed for his views against the Mu’tazalites (Rationalists). He suffered imprisonment under the caliph Ma'moun; flogging on the orders of his successor, Mu'tasim; and was banished from Baghdad by the next caliph, Watheq. It was only when the tyrant, Mutawakkil, assumed power as caliph that he was welcomed back in Baghdad. Ibn Hanbal is the founder of one of the four court sanctioned schools of Sunni jurisprudence, named after him, as Hanbali. His principal work is a collection of hadith, known as al-Musnad in which he has also included hadith on the merits of the Ahl al-Bayt or Blessed Household of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA). He, however, perhaps for political reasons, failed to have direct contact with the Infallible Imams of his time, such as Imam Ali ar-Reza (AS), Imam Muhammad al-Jawad (AS), and Imam Ali al-Hadi (AS) – respectively the 8th, 9th and 10th Infallible Heirs of the Prophet, for recourse to authentic hadith from the right sources, although he has cited in his collection the famous hadith "the one who dies without recognizing the Imam of the Age, dies the death of ignorance."

1080 lunar years ago, on this day in 360 AH, the Sunni scholar Abu'l-Qassem Sulaiman ibn Ahmad at-Tabarani died in Isfahan, Iran, at the age of one hundred years. Born in the Palestinian city of Tabariyya (Tiberias), he traveled widely to record hadith. He groomed a large number of students and wrote three books, titled "al-Mu'jam al-Kabeer" in 25 volumes, as well as "al-Mu'jam al-Awsat", and "al-Mu'jam as-Sagheer". He has recorded several hadith on the unrivalled merits of the Ahl al-Bayt or blessed household of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA).

788 lunar years ago, on this day in 652 AH, the Syrian physician, Asad ibn Halwan Dameshqi, died at the age of 59. He was also well-versed in literature, logic, and mathematics, and wrote books in each of these courses.

527 solar years ago, on this day in 1492 AD, Jews were expelled from Spain as per the Alhambra Edict issued jointly by the Catholic Monarchs, Isabella I of Castile and Ferdinand II of Aragon, less than three months after the surrender of Granada, the last of the Muslim emirates in the Iberian Peninsula. Jews, who for centuries had peacefully flourished under Muslim rule in Spain as "People of the Book" and prospered as merchants and scholars, were harshly persecuted by the Christians at the end of the Islamic period. Many were forced to become Christians, and it is said over 130,000 Jews decided to leave for Muslim North Africa or parts of the Ottoman Turkish Empire, where they could live peacefully under Islamic rule. Still many other Jews were massacred by Spanish Christians. The Alhambra Edict was formally revoked almost five centuries later on 16 December 1968, following the Second Vatican Council.

361 solar years ago, on this day in 1658 AD, Mohi ud-Din Mohammad Aurangzeb proclaimed himself the 6th Grand Moghul Emperor of the Subcontinent after defeating and executing his brothers in the war of succession, and imprisoning his father, Shah Jahan – the builder of the famous monument Taj Mahal. He took the title of Alamgir or World-Grasper and during his 50-year reign the empire reached the zenith of expansion, stretching from northern boundaries of Afghanistan to the southernmost tip of India, and from the border with Iran in the west to the borders of Burma in the east. Born of an Iranian mother – Arjmand Banu Begum Mumtaz Mahal, the granddaughter of E'temad od-Dowla Mirza Ghiyas Beg Tehrani – he was prolific both in Arabic and Persian, and carried on correspondence with the Safavid Shahs of Iran and the Turkish Ottoman Sultans. His death led to the rapid decline of Moghul power in India founded by the famous Central Asian adventurer Zahir od-Din Babar – a great grandson of the fearsome Turkic conqueror, Amir Timur, and protégé of Shah Ismael I, the Founder of the Safavid Dynasty.

213 solar years ago, on this day in 1806 AD, the Cape region in southern Africa, flanked by the Atlantic and Indian Oceans, was occupied by British forces. This region is home to gold and diamond mines and has therefore been at the center of attention of colonialists.

139 solar years ago, on this day in 1880 AD, Munshi Premchand, famous for his modern Urdu-Hindi literature, was born near Benares in northern India. He learnt Urdu and Persian in childhood, and years later taught himself English. After his mother's death, he sought solace in fiction, and developed a fascination for books, especially after hearing stories from the Persian-language fantasy epic "Tilism-e Hoshruba". His writings prominently featured realism, describing the problems of the poor and the urban middle-class. He used literature for the purpose of arousing public awareness about national and social issues and often wrote on topics related to corruption, child widowhood, prostitution, feudal system, poverty, colonialism and the freedom movement. He died in 1936 at the age of 56 years. Among his works mention could be made of “Soz-e Watan”, “Jalwa-e Isaar”, “Bazaar-e Hosn”, and “Maidan-e Amal”.

127 solar years ago, on this day in 1892 AD, the prominent scholar Ayatollah Mullah Ahmad bin Ali Akbar, popular as Fazel-e Maraghi, passed away in Tabriz and his body was taken to holy Najaf, Iraq, for burial at the famous Wadi as-Salaam (Valley of Peace) Cemetery near the holy shrine of the Commander of the Faithful, Imam Ali (AS). Born in Maragheh, he resided in Tabriz, and completed his higher religious studies in holy Najaf, where among his teachers was the celebrated Ayatollah Sheikh Morteza Ansari Dezfuli. On return to Iran he taught jurisprudence, theology and other sciences. He groomed several students and authored books on various topics, including “Exegesis of the Holy Qur’an” and “Annotation of the Nahj al-Balagha”.

126 solar years ago, on this day in 1893 AD, Fatema Jinnah, one of the leading Founding Mothers of Pakistan was born in Karachi into an Ismaili Shi'ite family and later in life became Ithna Ash'ari or Twelver Shi'ite. She was the younger sister of the Founder of Pakistan, Mohammad Ali Jinnah, and was a dental surgeon by profession. She actively participated in politics, and was an influential political figure in the movement for independence from British colonial rule. After the independence, and following the death of her brother, she continued to work for the welfare of the Pakistani people through charities and the institutions. In 1965, she ran for president and it is widely believed that elections were rigged by incumbent President Field Marshal Ayub Khan to deprive her of possible win. She died in Karachi in 1967 and is commonly known in Pakistan as Mader-e Millat (Mother of the Nation).

96 solar years ago, on this day in 1923 AD, American chemist and inventor, Stephanie Kwolek, was born. Shortly after graduating with a bachelor's degree in chemistry (1946), she began a career at DuPont's textile fibers department in Buffalo, New York. Kwolek was assigned to search for a new, high-performance fiber that would be acid-and base-resistant and stable at high temperatures, suitable to replace steel in radial tyres. After extensive experimentation, she created a polymer solution which, when spun into a fibre, was five times stronger than steel and had half the density of fiberglass. It was named Kevlar. Today, this fibre is used to make bullet-proof jackets, military helmets, aircraft parts, inflatable boats, gloves, rope, and building materials.

79 solar years ago, on this day in 1940 AD, Indian independence activist, Udham Singh, who assassinated British Lieutenant Governor of Punjab, Michael O'Dwyer, to avenge the 1919 Jallianwalla Bagh Massacre, was executed. He used to call himself Ram Mohammad Singh Azad, symbolizing the three major religions of India: Hinduism, Islam and Sikhism.

75 solar years ago, on this day in 1944 AD, French author, Antoine de Saint-Exupery, died in a plane crash during World War II at the age of 44, while on duty of transportation of postal packages. Among his books are: “The Little Prince”, “Southern Mail” and “Night Flight”.

59 solar years ago, on this day in 1960 AD, American Black Muslim Leader, Elijah Mohammad, called for creation of a separate Black State in the US for people of African origin, who form almost 20 percent of the population, and whose ancestors were abducted from Africa and forced into slavery in North America.

48 solar years ago, on this day in 1971 AD, US astronaut, Dave Scott, became the first person to drive a vehicle on the Moon - the battery-powered Lunar Rover (LRV) - as part of the Apollo 15 mission to the mountainous Hadley-Apennine region. This LRV, the first to be carried on an Apollo mission, weighed 209 kg and folded into a space 1.5-by-0.5 meters. Each wheel was independently driven by ¼ horsepower electric motor. The car travelled 28 km and collected about 76 kg of lunar materials to return to Earth.

32 solar years ago, on this day in 1987 AD, hundreds of Hajj pilgrims from Iran and other countries, while observing in holy Mecca the divine ritual of disavowal of disbelievers, on the 6th Zilhijja 1407 AD, were martyred by Saudi forces, on the orders of Interior Minister, Nayef Ibn Abdul-Aziz. The Hajj pilgrims observe this ritual every year on the basis of the opening ayahs of Surah Towbah of the Holy Qur'an, where God commands the believers to declare their disavowal of disbelievers or “Bara'at min al-Mushrikin”. During this ritual, Hajj pilgrims call on Muslims to close ranks and announce their resentment toward the archenemies of Islam, especially the US and the illegal Zionist entity. The inspiration behind revival of this Islamic practice was the Father of the Islamic Revolution, Imam Khomeini (RA). The present Leader of Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, also stresses the importance of this ritual as instrumental in awakening Muslims and preserving their dignity.

13 solar years ago, on this day in 2006 AD, a year after his proposal for exchange of nuclear fuel was rejected by the US, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad brushed aside an illegal UN Security Council resolution demanding that Iran should suspend uranium enrichment by August 31. He said that as per NPT and IAEA rules, Iran will continue its peaceful nuclear programme, and no pressures or threats by the nuclear-armed powers could force Iran to give up its inalienable right to develop nuclear energy for producing electricity, manufacturing medicines, and use in various industrial projects. After years of illegal sanctions, the West finally acknowledged Iran’s right to continue its peaceful nuclear programme.

10 solar years ago, on this day in 2009 AD, Iran detained 3 Americans after they illegally crossed the border from northern Iraq into Iranian territory in a mountainous area. As per international laws for protection of national security, Iran arrested Shane Bauer, Sara Shourd and Josh Fattal, who were interrogated to determine whether they were spies. Sarah Shourd was released 14 months later on humanitarian grounds for being a woman. Fattal and Bauer were convicted of illegal entry and espionage and each sentenced to 8 years in prison, but after due apologies, the two were released over two years later on September 21, 2011.

9 solar years ago, on this day in 2010 AD, UNESCO added seven cultural sites to its World Heritage List, including the historic bazaar in the northwestern Iranian city of Tabriz, and the Sheikh Safi od-Din Khaneqah and Mausoleum Ensemble in Ardabil, northwestern Iran, which is the resting place of the great Sufi scholar who was the ancestor of the Safavid Emperors. Also added to the list were the Jantar Mantar astronomical observation site in India; the historic villages of Hahoe and Yangdong in South Korea, Australia's penal colony sites where criminals from England were confined by the British; the Turaif District in Arabia from where the seditious Wahhabi cult spread its tentacles over the Arabian Peninsula; and the Bikini Atoll in the Marshall Islands, where the US criminally conducted atomic bomb experiments in the 1940s and 1950s, almost totally destroying marine life and the atmosphere.

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