Today is Saturday; 11th of the Iranian month of Aban 1398 solar hijri; corresponding to 4th of the Islamic month of Rabi al-Awwal 1441 lunar hijri; and November 2, 2019, of the Christian Gregorian Calendar.

1441 lunar years ago, on the eve of this day, Prophet Mohammad (SAWA), who had sought refuge in the Cave of Thaur on the outskirts of Mecca from the evil of the Arab infidels, during his historic migration, as per God's commandments, continued his journey towards Yathreb, which would eventually become famous as “Medinat-an-Nabi” (City of the Prophet), or simply Medina. The Almighty had saved His Last Messenger from the plot of the polytheists to murder him, by commanding him to instruct his dear cousin, Imam Ali ibn Abi Taleb (AS) to sleep on his bed, so that he could migrate undetected. The selfless act of Imam Ali (AS) in risking his life and limbs brought divine rewards in the form of revelation of ayah 207 of Surah al-Baqarah. With the Prophet's arrival in Medina, Islam entered the decisive phase of its universal mission to enlighten all mankind.

1337 solar years ago, on this day in 682 AD, Omar ibn Abdul-Aziz, who towards the end of his life became the 8^th self-styled caliph of the usurper Omayyad regime, was born either in Medina or in Helwan in Egypt, where a couple of years later his father Abdul-Aziz was made governor by his grandfather Marwan ibn Hakam ibn Aas, who had become caliph on Yazid’s death. He grew up in Egypt, was called to Damascus and married the daughter of his uncle, the self-styled caliph Abdul-Malik ibn Marwan. He was appointed governor of Medina by his cousin and brother-in-law the next caliph, Waleed I, retained the position because of efficient administration during the caliphate of Sulaiman ibn Abdul-Malik, who on his deathbed called him to Syria and nominated him as the next caliph. During his 3-year reign, before he was poisoned to death, Omar ibn Abdul-Aziz renounced the oppressive and un-Islamic policies of his predecessors. One of his first acts on becoming caliph was to issue the decree to halt the blasphemous cursing during Friday Prayer sermons, of the Commander of the Faithful, the Prophet’s divinely-designated vicegerent Imam Ali ibn Abi Taleb (AS) – a sacrilegious practice begun by the hardcore heathen, Mu’awiyya ibn Abu Sufyan, who through such acts intended to keep the growing neo Muslim population ignorant of the God-given right to rule of the Ahl al-Bayt of Prophet Mohammad (blessings of God upon him and his progeny). Omar ibn Abdul-Aziz next returned to the Ahl al-Bayt the large tract of Fadak whose income had now swelled to 40,000 dinars, since this was the personal property of the Prophet’s daughter, Hazrat Fatema Zahra (SA) from whom the first and second self-styled caliphs had illegally seized. He is also credited with other reforms like abolition of drinking, forbidding public nudity, and elimination of mixed baths for men and women, which the Godless Omayyad caliphs had initiated. He was succeeded by his ungodly cousin, Yazid bin Abdul-Malik, who immediately reversed his policies and again seized Fadak.

1048 solar years ago, on this day in 971 AD, Sultan Mahmud Ghaznavi, was born a commoner in Ghazni to Sebuktagin, a Turkic slave-soldier of the Iranian Samanid Dynasty of Bukhara, who had risen to become a governor. His mother was said to be a Persian from Zabulistan. He took over his father's principality in 998 in what is now Afghanistan and enlarged it into an empire by conquering Khorasan in Eastern Iran, parts of Central Asia, and Northwest India including today’s Pakistan. He led 17 expeditions into India, as far as Gujarat and what is now Uttar Pradesh, bringing in vast booty to finance his principal campaigns against the Shi’a Muslim Buwayhid Dynasty of Iran-Iraq and the Khwarezmshahis and Samanids in Central Asia. Mahmud, who massacred the Ismaili Shi’as of Multan, killed more Muslims during his military campaigns than he killed the Hindus of India, most of whose territories, except for Punjab, he left intact under their own control, contenting himself with annual tribute, and even circulating coins with Islamic emblems in the Sanskrit script. During his raids in Iran, Mahmud transferred to Ghazni whole libraries from Rayy and other parts. He demanded that the Khwarezmshahi court send its men of learning to his capital, such as the famous scientists, Abu Rayhan Berouni and Abu Ali ibn Sina – although the latter declined and fled into the interior of the Buwaiyhid Empire. The notable Persian poet Abu’l-Qassem Ferdowsi presented his masterpiece the “Shahnamah” to Mahmud, who failed to appreciate his genius. A paradoxical person, in Afghanistan, Pakistan and among the Indian Muslims, he is regarded as a hero, while others revile him. He was a patron of arts, architecture, literature and Iranian culture. He appointed Iranians to high offices as ministers, viziers and generals. He promoted Persian language instead of his native Turkic, and adopted on his flag the “Shir-o-Khorshid” (Lion and Sun) which was a symbol of pre-Islamic Iran. He died at the age of 60 in his birthplace after a rule of 33 years.

371 solar years ago, on this day in 1648 AD, as part of the independent struggle of the people of Ukraine 12,000 Jews were massacred by Cossack Bogdan Chmielnicki in Narol Podlia, because of their siding with the Polish occupiers of the country to suppress the Ukrainians and collect taxes from them. Throughout history, the Christians have slaughtered Jews on various pretexts, mainly because of their insulting of the fundamental beliefs of Christianity, including slandering of Prophet Jesus and his mother, the Virgin Mary (peace upon them).

255 lunar years ago, on this day in 1186 AH, the scholar Shaykh Yusuf ibn Ahmad al-Bahrani passed away in the holy city of Karbala, in Iraq at the age of 79 and was laid to rest in the mausoleum of Imam Husain (AS). Born in Safavid-ruled Bahrain in the Persian Gulf where he studied in Diraz, at the age of 22, he witnessed the seizure of Bahrain by Oman because of the declining status of Iran. He has written a lively account of these events, including the great sum of money Shah Sultan Hussain Safavi paid to the ruler of Oman to take back Bahrain, but soon lost it to local tribes, before being overthrown himself by Afghan rebels. The deteriorating conditions forced Shaykh Yusuf al-Bahrani to flee his homeland; first to Qatif on the eastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula, thence to Mecca and then Iran, before he settled in Karbala towards the end of his fruitful life. In 1140 AH when the Iranians led by Nader Shah were liberating Iran from the Afghan rebels (and eventually went on to liberate Bahrain), Shaykh Yusuf al-Bahrani moved to Kerman and soon shifted to Shiraz, where he found good opportunity to engage in teaching and writing books, while attending the classes of Shaykh Abdullah Biladi al-Bahrani. In 1157 AH, due to cholera outbreak in Shiraz, he moved to Fasa, where he continued his research activities while engaged in farming to make a living. In 1165 AH, the city was plundered and al-Bahrani's books and properties were lost. He moved to Istahbanat and finally immigrated to Karbala, where he lived until his death. Shaykh Yusuf al-Bahrani groomed several renowned scholars such as Mullah Mahdi Naraqi (author of “Jame’ as-Sa’dat”), Allamah Bahr al-Uloum, and Mirza Abu’l-Qassim “Muhaqqiq” Qomi (author of the jurisprudential work “al-Qawanin al-Muhkama fi’l-Usoul”). He was a prolific writer himself and authored several books such as the biographical work on scholars titled "Lu'lu'at al-Bahrain" (Pearls of Bahrain – the last chapter of which is his autobiography), and "al-Hada'eq an-Nazerah" in several volumes on hadith and the unrivalled merits of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA) and the Infallible Imams. A follower of the Usouli school in his youth, he later adopted Akhbari ideas, but accepted the validity of the Friday Prayer during the occultation of the Imam of the Age, and did not go so far as to say that no ayah of the holy Qur'an could be understood without interpretation of the Infallible Imams. He sought to bridge the gap between the two schools and famously debated in Karbala with the Usouli scholar Wahid Behbahani, whom he willed should perform the funeral prayer for him. He authored a total of 32 works including "Anees al-Musafer wa Jalees al-Khawater".

178 solar years ago, on this day in 1841 AD, Akbar Khan successfully revolted against Shah Shuja in Afghanistan, during the 1^st Afghan War (1839-1842), and killed British envoy, Lt. Col. Alexander Burnes and his accomplices. By January 1842 the British army retreated with its 4,500 Anglo-Indian troops and 10,000 camp followers. The whole column was wiped out by Ghilzai tribesmen with their long-barreled rifles.

111 lunar years ago, on this day in 1330 AH, the combatant Iranian religious leader, Mirza Ali Aqa Siqqat-ol-Islam Tabrizi, was martyred by the invading Russian forces. He played an important role in Tabriz, as an activist of the Constitutional Revolution. He resolutely struggled against the occupation of parts of northwestern Iran in the Caucasus by Czarist Russia, while guiding and leading people to this end. The Russians, who considered him an opponent, kidnapped and martyred him.

103 solar years ago, on this day in 1916 AD, under instigation of the British, Sharif Hussein, the ruler of Mecca, Medina, and the other cities of Hijaz, styled himself Sultan of Arabia. Earlier on June 5, on the orders of the British he launched an open revolt against Ottoman rule in order to weaken the Turkish Muslims during World War I. Britain had promised to proclaim Sharif Hussein as King of all Arabia after the end of the war, but did not keep its word. Britain, which was playing a double game by supporting the Wahhabi chieftain of Najd, Abdul-Aziz ibn Saud, wanted to see which of its two mercenaries in Arabia, would emerge stronger. When the Wahhabis started inflicting defeats on Sharif Hussein, London tilted towards Abdul-Aziz, but at the same time in order to keep its influence amongst the Arabs, it carved out from Greater Syria, a new country called Jordan and placed Hussein's son, Abdullah, as king in Amman. The British then placed another son of Hussein, named Faisal, as king of Iraq in Baghdad, in order to deprive the Shi'a Muslim majority of its right to form an independent elected government. Some years later, when Abdul-Aziz and his brutal Wahhabi hordes seized Hejaz, drove out Sharif Hussein, massacred tens of thousands of people in Mecca, Medina, Jeddah, and Ta'ef, and destroyed the sacred cemeteries of Jannat al-Baqie and Jannat al-Mo'alla, the British gifted him with a new and artificial country called Saudi Arabia, and hailed him as king. These were all part of the British plot to weaken Muslims and pave the way for the planting of an illegitimate entity for European Jews in the heart of the Muslim World.

102 solar years ago, on this day in 1917 AD, the scandalous Balfour Declaration was issued by British Foreign Secretary, Arthur James Balfour, calling for setting up an illegal Zionist state in Palestine for European Jews. In May 1948, some 31 years after issuance of this dubious declaration, the illegal Zionist migrants who had been flocking into British occupied Palestine since the end of World War 1, announced the illegitimate birth of Israel, with the support of Britain and the US. Till this day, the Palestinian people and the rest of the Muslim World are suffering from the crimes against humanity of this cancerous tumour called Israel.

72 lunar years ago, on this day in 1369 AH, senior Iranian religious leader, Ayatollah Mirza Mohammad Ali Shahabadi, passed away in Tehran at the age of 77. He was an accomplished scholar in the field of philosophy and Gnosticism and groomed numerous students at the Qom Seminary. Among his prominent students was the Father of the Islamic Revolution, Imam Khomeini (RA). Ayatollah Shahabadi wrote a large number of books and treatises including "al-Insaan wa’l-Khateraat".

70 solar years ago, on this day in 1949 AD, Indonesia gained independence after three-and-a-half centuries of Dutch colonial rule. Based on an agreement that was reached between Holland and the Indonesian independence-seekers, under the leadership of Dr. Ahmad Sukarno and Ahmad Hata, Dutch troops withdrew from Indonesia. This agreement was the outcome of four years of intense battles between the independence seekers and Dutch forces as of August 1945. Following independence, Sukarno was elected as president and remained at this post until 1965, when he was toppled in a military coup by General Suharto, who remained in power as president until 1998, when he was forced to resign by mounting popular protests. Indonesia is an archipelago in Southeast Asia, consisting of over 13,000 islands – inhabited and uninhabited. It covers an area of almost two million sq km, and its population stands at 240 million people, of which 85% are Muslims. Indonesia is considered the most populous Muslim country, although non-Muslim India has the world's largest Muslim population of almost 250 million.

69 solar years ago, on this day in 1950 AD, George Bernard Shaw, the Irish-born, English dramatist, critic and social reformer, passed away. Born in Dublin, the main feature of his works is delicate satire. He was profoundly attracted to Islam and on several occasions emphasized on the grandeur and importance of this divine religion. One of his famous quotes is: "If any religion had the chance of ruling over England, nay Europe within the next hundred years, it could be Islam."  In 1925, he was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature.

56 solar years ago, on this day in 1963 AD, the Pahlavi regime executed Tayyeb Haaj Rezaie. Born in 1901 in Tehran, he had supported the end of the corrupt Qajarid dynasty and the coming of the Pahlavis, but soon became disillusioned with this oppressive British-installed regime and its anti-Islamic policies. As a staunch devotee of the Chief of Martyrs, Imam Husain (AS), he was inspired by the personality of the Father of the Islamic Revolution, Imam Khomeini (RA) and became one of the leading activists of the Khordad 15 (June 5) Uprising. He and his brother, Ismail, were arrested by the regime, physically tortured in prison, given death sentence by the kangaroo court, and thus achieved martyrdom. 

45 solar years ago, on this day in 1964 AD, King Saud of the British-created entity Saudi Arabia was deposed and replaced by his step-brother Faisal, following an 11-year rule on the death of his father, Abdul-Aziz, who is notorious for massacring hundreds of thousands of Muslims, imposing the heretical cult of Wahhabism, and desecrating the holy shrines in Mecca and Medina. Faisal was assassinated in 1975 by one of his nephews, on orders of the CIA, for having imposed the oil embargo on the US, during the 1973 Israeli war against Arab states. 

8 solar years ago, on this day in 2011 AD, Fazl-e Hassan Abed, the founder of an anti-poverty group in Bangladesh (BRAC) received the $500,000 education prize awarded by Qatar. BRAC is the world's largest non-governmental organization with over 120,000 employees. For his contributions to social improvement, he has also has received the Ramon Magsaysay Award, the UNDP Mahboub ul-Haq Award, and the inaugural WISE Prize for Education. In 2015, he received World Food Prize for his “unparalleled” work on reducing poverty in Bangladesh and 10 other countries. His family has contributed to South Asian politics and social movements for nearly four-hundred years, since the Mughal Emperor Jahangir’s era. The family is among remnants of Mughal nobility in Bangladesh, with their ancient home still intact.

6 solar years ago, on this day in 2013 AD, Iran launched its first submarine for tourists in the Persian Gulf waters – an all-Iranian-made undersea vehicle. The submarine, dubbed “Morvarid” (Pearl in Persian), serves tourists in Kish Island.

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