Today is Thursday; 4th of the Iranian month of Mehr 1398 solar hijri; corresponding to 26th of the Islamic month of Muharram 1441 lunar hijri; and September 26, 2019, of the Christian Gregorian Calendar.

1377 lunar years ago, on this day in 64 AH, the siege of holy Mecca began by forces of the Godless Yazid, the self-styled caliph of the usurper Omayyad regime, a month after he had ordered the sack of holy Medina, slaughter of some 10,000 Muslims including hundreds of the Prophet’s companions, mass rape of women and desecration of the sacred shrine of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA). The siege and subsequent sacrilege of the holy Ka’ba was led by the bloodthirsty and blasphemous Haseen ibn Numayr who was involved in the massacre in Medina and three years earlier had participated in the martyrdom of the Prophet's grandson Imam Husain (AS), in Karbala. Ibn Numayr had taken command of the Omayyad army on the sudden death of his equally criminal predecessor, Muslim ibn Oqba al-Marri, who was struck by divine wrath after perpetrating the sacrilege of sacred Medina. The siege prolonged for over a month and twenty days during which the sanctity of the holy Ka’ba was desecrated by Yazid’s forces who rained down fire and brimstone through catapults placed on mountains around the Masjid al-Haraam or the Grand Sacred Mosque. As a result the supreme symbol of monotheism was badly damaged and many men, women and children who had sought refuge in the holiest sanctuary of Islam were killed or burnt. The people, inspired by the valour of Mukhtar Ibn Abu Obayda Thaqafi, bravely defended the city until the siege was lifted on the sudden death through divine wrath of the accursed Yazid in Damascus.

1295 lunar years ago, on this day in 146 AH, Ali al-Abed Ibn Hassan al-Musallas, passed away at the age of 45 in the dungeon of the tyrant Mansur Dawaniqi, the 2^nd self-styled caliph of the usurper Abbasid regime. His grandparents were Hassan al-Musanna, the son of Prophet Mohammad’s (SAWA) elder grandson, Imam Hasan Mojtaba (AS), and Fatema the daughter of the Prophet’s younger grandson Imam Husain (AS). He was unsurpassed in patience, worship and remembrance of God. He was imprisoned along with other descendants of Imam Hasan (AS), because of Abbasid fears of the Prophet’s progeny to whose leadership Mansur had sworn allegiance during persecution under Omayyad rule. On becoming caliph, Mansur put several descendants of Imam Hasan (AS) in a dark dungeon where the day could not be differentiated from the night, except by means of the recitations and acts of worship of Ali al-Abed. These disciplined, orderly and continuous acts used to make the others aware of the time for prayers. One day, due to the hardships of imprisonment and the weight of fetters, his uncle, Abdullah Mahadh (father of Nafs Zakiyya and Ibrahim – who were martyred in battle in 145 AH), lost patience and told him in a state of great agitation: Do you not witness our misfortunes and adversities? Do you not pray to God to grant us relief from this suffering? Ali al-Abed remained silent for a while and then said, “O’ uncle! There exists for us a (lofty) rank in Paradise, which we can never achieve except through patience over these or even more severe adversities, and there exists for Mansur a dreadful place in Hell, which he shall never reach except by subjecting us to such persecution. If we are patient, we shall soon find ourselves in ease and comfort, for death is not very far from us. But if you wish I shall pray for our deliverance.” Abdullah replied: We shall be patient. Three days later, Ali al-Abed passed away, while in prostration to God. Abdullah thought he was asleep and when he tried to wake him up, he realized that the soul had flown to the ethereal heavens. Soon, the bloodthirsty caliph killed the imprisoned Sadaat by felling the roof of the dungeon upon them. In 148 AH, Mansur martyred through poisoning the Prophet’s 6^th Infallible Heir, Imam Ja’far as-Sadeq (AS).

1157 solar years ago, on this day in 862 AD, Musa ibn Musa al-Qasawi al-Kabir, and ruler of a semi-autonomous principality in the upper Ebro valley in northern Spain, died at the age of 72 in Tudela from wounds suffered in battle. He was chief of the Islamicized (muwallad) Bani Qasi clan descended from the Hispano-Visigoth nobleman Cassius, who had converted to Islam after the Muslim conquest of Iberia. Musa’s formerly Christian mother, was also mother by her former husband, of Basque tribal chieftain Inigo Arista. Musa supported his Christian half-brother, Arista, against the Franks in the Second Battle of Ronceveaux that saw the birth of the Kingdom of Pamplona (later Navarre). The two step-brothers rose in rebellion several times against the Omayyad emirate of Cordoba. In 851 Musa gained a great victory in a two-day battle, defeating Gascon forces near Albelda. The following year he was named Waali (governor) of Zaragoza and the Upper March of al-Andalus by the Omayyad ruler. The next decade marked the height of his power. He controlled Zaragoza, Tudela, Huesca and Toledo, forming in effect, a state equivalent to the emirate of Córdoba and the kingdom of Asturias, with Musa being referred to as “The Third King of Spain”. Musa’s descendants ruled over a shrinking territory for another half-century. However, their position between the growing powers of the Cordoba emirate to the south and the Christian principalities to the north proved untenable, and after three generations of varied success, the leaders of the family, Musa’s great-great grandsons, were displaced, exiled or killed by the end of the 920s and the last vestiges of Musa's principality disappeared.

1087 solar years ago, on this day in 932 AD, Ma'ad Abu Tamim al-Mu’iz le Din-Allah, the 4^th caliph of the Fatemid Shi’a Muslim dynasty of North Africa, was born in what is now Tunisia. He assumed rule in 953 on the death of his father Abu Tahir Ismail al-Mansur Billah in his capital Mahdiyya. He reigned for 22 years during which his famous general of Greek origin Jowhar as-Saqali conquered Egypt, where he shifted his capital to the newly built city “al-Qahera” (Cairo). Jowhar, who was a devout follower of the Blessed Ahl al-Bayt, also built in Cairo the grand al-Azhar Mosque, which derives its name from “az-Zahra” the famous epithet of Hazrat Fatema (SA), the daughter of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA). The Fatemids restored the full form of the “Azan” from the minarets of al-Azhar and other mosques, by bearing testimony to the vicegerency of Imam Ali (AS) after the mission of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA). The phrase "hayya ala khayr il-amal" (hasten to the best of deeds), which was dropped from the “Azan” after the passing away of the Prophet, was also revived. General Jowhar continued campaign in the West as far as Morocco against the Berbers and the Omayyads of Spain. At the same time, Fatimid raids on Italy enabled naval superiority in the Western Mediterranean to be affirmed, even capturing Sicily for a period of time. Mu’iz is credited for having commissioned the invention of the first fountain pen. In 953, he demanded a pen which would not stain his hands or clothes, and was provided with a pen which held ink in a reservoir. Fatimid Literature rose to a certain height of prominence in his period with the emergence of skilled poets like Ibn Hani al-Andalusi and Ali at-Tunusi. Mu’iz died in 975 and was succeeded by his son Abu Mansour Nizar al-Aziz Billah.

691 solar years ago, on this day in 1328 AD, on this day in 1328 AD, the pseudo scholar, Ahmad ibn Abdul-Haleem Ibn Taymiyya, died in Damascus at the age of 65 while in prison, for attributing body, shape and human organs to Allah Almighty, for misinterpreting the holy Qur’an, for discouraging celebrations on the Prophet of Islam’s birth anniversary, for declaring pilgrimage to the Prophet’s tomb as “bid’ah” (or innovation), and for belittling the sanctity of Islam’s two principal mosques – the Masjid al-Haram around the holy Ka’ba in Mecca and Medina’s Masjid an-Nabi that encloses Prophet of Islam’s holy shrine. Earlier also, he had spent over 18 months in jail in Cairo (1319-21) for his views which the Sunni ulema considered heretical and Kufr. Born in Harran in upper Mesopotamia, which is currently in Turkey on the Syrian border, he indulged in vitriolic criticism of not just Christians, but also of fellow Muslims, to the extent that without bothering to properly study the works of the famous Spanish Muslim Gnostic, Mohi od-Din Ibn Arabi, he branded him an unbeliever – an accusation that brought swift response from scholars who wrote books against him. He came to Iran to the court of the Mongol Muslim ruler, Ghazaan Khan, with a delegation of scholars and courted trouble by his rash attitude and lack of manners. Ibn Taymiyya has earned lasting notoriety for forbidding pilgrimage to holy shrines, as well as his call to return to the days and ways of the Salaf – instead of the Prophet’s pure and pristine “Sunnah” and “Seerah” (practice and behaviour), and the teachings of the Immaculate Ahl al-Bayt. Salaf, which means predecessor, is a reference to early Muslims, especially those who assumed power of the Islamic state, even though neither the Prophet had delegated them any authority nor God has given them any legitimacy in the holy Qur’an. The fact of the matter is that most of the Salaf, who were bitter enemies of the Prophet before becoming reluctant converts to Islam from decades of idolatry and sinful life, continued their violation of the letter and spirit of the holy Qur’an even after becoming Muslims, as is evident by their persecution and killing of the Ahl al-Bayt. This is clear by the seditious actions of the present day Salafis, who under the guise of Islam indulge in the most heinous forms of terrorism against Muslims, including the destruction of holy shrines.

647 solar years ago, on this day in 1371 AD, the Second Battle of Maritsa took place in the Balkans as part of the Serbian-Turkish wars, resulting in another resounding victory for the Ottomans against the combined Serb-Greek army of 70,000 soldiers. The Muslim army was led by Sultan Murad I's lieutenant, Lala Shahin Pasha, who through superior military tactics defeated the huge force the Christians had assembled in a bid to avenge their loss in the First Battle of Maritsa seven years earlier in 1364. Both the Serbian king and the Greek despot died on the battlefield. Macedonia and parts of Greece fell under Ottoman power after this battle, which was preceded by the Turkish capture of Sozopol and followed by the capture of Drama, Kavala and Serrai in Greece. It was prelude to the historic Battle of Kosovo eighteen years later in 1389 that completed the conquest of the Balkans by Murad and his death on the battlefield.

418 lunar years ago, on this day in 1023 AH, the Iranian scholar and scientist, Shaikh Mullah Abdullah Ibn Hussain Tustari, passed away. A student of the celebrated Moqaddas Ardabili of holy Najaf, after attaining Ijtehad, he taught at Isfahan’s seminary and groomed numerous students, including Mullah Mohammad Taqi Majlisi, the father of the famous Allamah Mohammad Baqer Majlisi. He authored such books as “Khawas al-Qur’an” and "Jam'e al-Fawa’ed".

332 solar years ago, on this day in 1687 AD, the Venetian army attacked the Acropolis in Athens during the 15-year Morean War (1864-1699) to try to occupy the whole of the Ottoman Province of “Yuninstan” (Greece), while the main Turkish army was engaged in the war with the Hapsburgs in Hungary. The Italians and their Christian mercenaries including Germans, who had no regard for ancient history unlike the Muslim Turkish defenders, bombarded the Parthenon, severely damaging the northern colonnade. The Turks continued to defend for several more days until safe passage to Smyrna, while the Venetians and their Christian mercenaries almost destroyed the whole of Parthenon. They especially targetted the imposing mosque built by Muslims following liberation of Athens in 1354. In 1715, when the Ottomans liberated Yunanistan, the Parthenon was partly rebuilt and the grand mosque restored for the benefit of Greek Muslims. In mid-19th century, Greek mercenaries, aided by Christian powers detached Yunanistan and gave it the ancient name of “Greece” which had ceased to exist over two millennium ago with the rise of the Roman Empire.

256 solar years ago, on this day in 1763 AD, English poet John Byrom died at the age of 71. He invented a revolutionary system of shorthand and is the writer of the lyrics of Anglican hymn: “Christians Awake, salute the happy morn”. The words “Tweedle-dum” and “Tweedle-dee” written by him became frequently quoted epigrams, satirizing the disagreements between George Frideric Handel and Giovanni Battista Bononcini. A nursery rhyme published in 1805 included the characters Tweedledum and Tweedledee.

143 solar years ago, on this day in 1876 AD, the Subcontinent’s political activist and literary figure, Seyyed Ghulam Mohi od-Din Nairang, was born in Ambala in a family that had migrated to India from Tirmiz in Greater Khorasan. He studied law and joined the All-India Muslim League. As a close friend of the Philosopher-Poet of the East, Allamah Mohammad Iqbal Lahori, he was active in political and social fields. On the creation of Pakistan he settled in Lahore, where he died in 1952. In addition to his poetical composition, "Kalaam-e Nairang" he was a regular contributor to prestigious Urdu magazines such as "Zamana", “Makhzan”, “Humayun”, “Aligarh Old Boys”, and his own “Tableegh”. His articles on political, national and literary topics also appeared in the prominent newspapers of those days such as the Lahore-based "Inqelaab” and “Zamindaar”, the Amritsar-based “Wakeel”, the Lucknow-based “Sach” and the Bombay-based “Khilafat”.

131 solar years ago, on this day in 1888 AD, the English literary figure and poet, Thomas Stearns Eliot, was born. He catapulted to fame in 1922 with his poem "The Waste Land". He wrote several books, which show his inclination toward religion. His work include "Sacred Wood", and "Murder in the Cathedral".

130 solar years ago, on this day in 1889 AD, Martin Heidegger, existentialist philosopher and writer, was born in Germany. He wrote "Being and Time", and criticized the tyranny of modern technology over humanity. He researched the relationship between Western philosophy and Islamic ideas. Scholars interested in Arabic philosophical medieval sources are influenced by his work in this regard.

112 solar years ago, on this day in 1907 AD, New Zealand, which was occupied by the British in the late 18th century and settled by waves of illegal Anglo-Saxon migrants who seized the lands of the Maori natives, was granted dominion status within the British Empire. Earlier, from 1845 to 1848 and again from 1860 to 1870, the Maoris rose against the British for violation of the treaty of 1840 AD, but were brutally crushed. Today, New Zealand is still part of the constitutional monarchy of Britain, with Queen Elizabeth as head of state. She appoints the Governor-General, in consultation with the elected prime minister of the island state. New Zealand consists of two main islands and several smaller ones in the South Pacific Ocean. It covers an area of more than 268,000 sq km.

78 solar years ago, on this day in 1941 AD, during World War 2, the Battle of Kiev, near the capital of Ukraine, resulted in the victory of the invading German Nazi forces over Soviet troops, of whom 665,000 were captured.

57 solar years ago, on this day in 1962 AD, a coup led by Colonel Abdullah Sallal, and supported militarily by President Jamal Abdun-Nasser of Egypt, overthrew the Zaidi Imam, Mohammad al-Badr, who a week earlier had succeeded his father as the ruler of the almost 1,000 year old dynasty. The result was civil war till 1970 that sapped the energies of the invading Egyptian army which saw thousands of its soldiers killed, and led to the humiliating defeat of Nasser in the 6-day Israeli war of 1967. In May 1990, North Yemen and the former British protectorate of South Yemen were united in one single country under the dictatorial rule of Ali Abdullah Saleh, who was in power in Sanaa since 1978, and was replaced in February 2012 by vice president, Abd Rabbo Mansour al-Hadi – a Saudi-American stooge. Hadi was driven out of the country by the popular uprising of the Ansarullah Movement of the Zaidi branch of Shi’a Muslims who make up half of the population of Yemen, and are a majority in the north. There is sizeable minority of Ismaili and Ithna Ash’ari (Twelver) Shi’ite Muslims in Yemen. The ancient land of Yemen with a civilization dating several thousand years ago, embraced the truth of Islam when Prophet Mohammad (SAWA) dispatched his dear cousin and son-in-law, Imam Ali (AS) to invite the people to the true religion. For the two year-and-a-half Saudi Arabia, in a blatant act of US-backed state terrorism, has been bombing Yemen and has killed over 14,000 men, women and children so far, in addition to destroying the infrastructure and the historical heritage. Along with the UAE and other Arab reactionary states, it has sent invasion forces in a bid to topple the popular Ansarullah Movement.

28 solar years ago, on this day in 1991 AD, Ayatollah Seyyed Mostafa Musavi Khwansari “Kashefi”, passed away. A student of Grand Ayatollah Seyyed Hussain Boroujerdi, he wrote many books, including “Marriage in Islam”.

27 solar years ago, on this day in 1992 AD, the Iranian mystic and lecturer, Mirza Abdul-Karim Roshan Tehrani, passed away at the age of 89. For a while he lectured at the Faculty of Theology at Tehran University.

7 solar years ago, on this day in 2012 AD, Syrian Christian journalist, Maya Nasser, while working for Iran’s Press TV, was targeted and killed in Damascus by terrorists backed by the US, Turkey, Israel and reactionary Arab regimes. His reports from Aleppo are the most notable. The 33-year old journalist also reported from the US, Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt, and Bahrain.

AS/SS