Today is Friday; 17th of the Iranian month of Aban 1398 solar hijri; corresponding to 10th of the Islamic month of Rabi al-Awal Safar 1441 lunar hijri; and November 8, 2019, of the Christian Gregorian Calendar.

1486 lunar years ago, on this day, 45 years before Hijra, Abdul-Mutalleb, the paternal grandfather of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA), passed away in Mecca, when the grandson was only 8 years old. He was leader of the Quraysh tribe descended from Prophet Ishmael, and was known for his eloquence and virtues as a firm monotheist following the creed of his ancestor, Prophet Abraham (AS). He was in charge of the custodianship of the Holy Ka'ba which he had received through his father, Hashem, and his illustrious forbears. He was the guardian of his grandson, the future Prophet, following the death of the latter's parents, Abdullah and Amena bint Wahb (SA). Eight years before Abdul-Mutalleb's death, the Ethiopian Christian governor of Yemen, Abraha, had marched on Mecca riding an elephant with the intention of destroying the holy Ka'ba. Abraha's army seized Abdul-Mutalleb's herd of camels on assumption that this will make him plead for the safety of the Ka'ba. Abdul-Mutalleb, however, only asked for the release of his camel herd, and when Abraha asked him why he does not plead for the Ka'ba, he replied: I am the owner of these camels, and the Ka'ba has its own owner (God); He will take care of its safety. Soon Abraha, his elephant and his army were miraculously attacked by a flock of birds pelting them with pebbles, which routed the formidable forces and reduced them to chewed straw as the holy Qur'an records in “Surah al-Feel”. The Prophet was born in the same year of this divine miracle. On his grandfather’s death, his guardianship was taken over by his loving uncle, Abu Taleb, the consanguineous brother of his father Abdullah.

1469 lunar years ago, on this day, 28 years before Hijra, the marriage of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA) and Hazrat Khadija (SA) took place in Mecca. Known as “Maleekat al-Arab” (Queen of Arabia), because of her proverbial wealth that she had accumulated through trade caravans, Khadija (SA) was a pure, monotheistic and chaste lady (Tahera). Impressed by the honesty and truthfulness of her trade manager, her distant relative the future Prophet, who did not possess any material wealth, she proposed marriage to him. The two made an excellent husband-and-wife pair. Fifteen years later, when God formally ordained Prophet Mohammad (SAWA) as the Last and Greatest Messenger to mankind, she immediately believed in the mission of her husband and thereafter spent all her wealth for feeding and sheltering the persecuted Muslim community of Mecca, to the extent that when she passed away, nothing was left of her wealth or any inheritance for her only surviving daughter, the noblest lady of all time, Hazrat Fatema Zahra (SA). For over 25 long years, as the “Omm al-Momineen” (Mother of Believers), Hazrat Khadija (SA) was the one and only wife of the Prophet, and as long as she lived he never took another spouse. Even in the last ten years of his life in Medina when out of social necessity and to break the absurd customs of the days of ignorance, the middle aged Prophet had to marry several wives, he always used to cherish the memory of Khadija (SA), his firm support and the mother of his progeny, the Ahl al-Bayt.

1262 lunar years ago, on this day in 179 AH, the jurisprudent Malek bin Anas passed away in his hometown Medina at the age of 84. For some time, along with his Iranian contemporary Abu Hanifa, he studied under Imam Ja’far Sadeq (AS), the 6th Infallible Heir of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA). He describes Imam Sadeq (AS) as the doyen of knowledge and wisdom, whom none could equal. He later founded the Maleki School of jurisprudence, regarded as one of the four official Sunni schools. His collection of hadith is titled “al-Muwatta”, although many narrations are of doubtful chains.

1112 lunar years ago, on this day in 329 AH, Raazi-Billah, the 20th self-styled caliph of the usurper Abbasid regime, died. A cultured person, well versed in literature and poetry, he returned the vast orchard of Fadak to the Prophet's descendants. Fadak was the personal property of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA) and was situated north of Medina near Khaybar. The Prophet had given it in his lifetime to his only daughter, Hazrat Fatema Zahra (SA), who used its revenues for the upkeep of the poor and destitute Muslims. After the Prophet passed away, the new regime in Medina seized Fadak by coining a spurious hadith that Prophets do no leave inheritance and whatever they leave is the property of the Ummah, despite the Prophet’s daughter’s memorable defence of her rights by citing the ayahs of the holy Qur'an which speak of Prophet Solomon inheriting Prophet David, and Prophet Yahya inheriting Prophet Zachariah. In the subsequent years, Fadak was returned and retaken several times.

1058 solar years ago, on this day in 960 AD, the Battle of Andrassos occurred in the Taurus Mountains in what is now southwestern Turkey, when the Byzantines under Leo Phokas the Younger, ambushed the Muslim forces of the Hamdanid Emir of Aleppo, Saif od-Dowla, who despite the surprising defeat regrouped his forces in the following years to push back the Christian invaders. Saif od-Dowla was like a bulwark against Byzantine ambitions to encroach upon Muslim lands.

1041 solar years ago, on this day in 977 AD, the Spanish Muslim scholar Ibn al-Quṭiyya (which means son of a Gothic woman) passed away in Cordoba. Named Mohammad by his father Omar, a qazi or judge, he was born and raised in Seville. His chief work, the “Tarikh Iftitah al-Andalus” (History of the Conquest of Andalusia), is one of the earliest Arabic Muslim accounts of the Muslim conquest of Spain. He claimed descent from Wittiza, the last king of the Visigoths in Spain. Ibn al-Quṭiyya's student al-Faraḍi composed a short biographical sketch of his master that is preserved in a late medieval manuscript discovered in Tunis in 1887. Al-Faraḍi calls him the most learned grammarian of the time. Ibn al-Quttiya wrote two famous works on Arabic grammar: “Book on the Conjugation of Verbs” and “Book on the Shortened and Extended Alif”. Due to his pride in his royal Visigoth ancestry, he defends the importance of the treaties made between the Muslim rulers and the ecclesiastical Gothic aristocracy, which secured the possession of their estates for their descendants. Al-Quṭiyya stresses the role such treaties played in establishing Muslim control of Spain and marginalises the effect of military conflict.

976 lunar years ago, on this day in 465 AH, Alp Arsalan the second and most powerful ruler of the Iran-based Seljuq empire that encompassed Iraq, Afghanistan, parts of Turkey, Syria, Caucasus and Central Asia, died at the age of 44 after a 9-year reign, during which at the Battle of Manzikert he decisively defeated and captured Emperor Romanos IV Diogenes of Byzantine. His real name was Mohammad bin Dawoud Chaghri and his title Alp Arsalan means Brave Lion in Turkish. He was assisted in running his administration by the able Iranian vizier, Nizam ol-Molk Tusi.

740 solar years ago, on this day in 1278 AD, Tran Thanh Tong, the second emperor of the Tran Dynasty of Vietnam, decided to pass the throne to his crown prince Tran Kham and take up the post of Retired Emperor. He was the second emperor of the Tran Dynasty, reigning over Dai Viet from 1258 to 1278. After ceding the throne to his son he assisted him in state affairs till his death in 1290. During the second and the third Mongol invasions, he and his son were credited as the supreme commanders who led the Tran Dynasty to the final victories and as a result established a long period of peace and prosperity over the country. With his successful ruling in both military and civil matters, Tran Thanh Tong was considered as one of the greatest emperors of not only the Tran Dynasty but also the whole dynastic era in the History of Vietnam

499 solar years ago, on this day in 1519 AD, Hernan Cortes and his Spanish marauders entered the city of Tenochtitlan and Aztec ruler Montezuma welcomed him with a great celebration in his capital, believing that Cortes could be the white-skinned deity Quetzalcoatl, whose return had been foretold for centuries. It soon became clear that the Spaniards were all bent on conquest, plunder and killing. Cortes and his men, dazzled by the Aztec riches, began to systematically plunder Tenochtitlan and tear down the temples. Montezuma's warriors attacked the Spaniards but with the aid of Indian allies, Spanish reinforcements, superior weapons and disease, Cortes defeated an empire of approximately 25 million people by August 13, 1521.

374 solar years ago, on this day in 1644 AD, the Shunzhi Emperor, the third ruler of the Qing Dynasty was enthroned in Beijing after the collapse of the Ming Dynasty as the first Qing Emperor to rule all over China. Crowned at the age of 5, on reaching adolescence and taking over the reins of government, he tried, with mixed success, to fight corruption and to reduce the political influence of the Manchu nobility. In late 1646, forces assembled by a Muslim leader, known in Chinese sources as Milayin, revolted against Qing rule in Ganzhou (Gansu). He was soon joined by another Muslim named Ding Guodong. Proclaiming that they wanted to restore the Ming, they occupied a number of towns in Gansu, including the provincial capital Lanzhou. Both Milayin and Ding Guodong were captured and killed in 1648, and by 1650 the Muslims had been crushed in campaigns that inflicted heavy casualties. In the 1650s, he faced a resurgence of Ming loyalist resistance, but by 1661 his armies had defeated their last enemies, seafarer Koxinga (1624–1662) and the Prince of Gui (1623–1662) of the Southern Ming dynasty. The Shunzhi Emperor died at the age of 22 of smallpox.

362 solar years ago, on this day in 1656 AD, English astronomer, geophysicist and mathematician, Edmond Halley was born. He is best known for recognizing that a bright comet – later named after him – had appeared several times. He calculated its orbit in 1682 and successfully predicted its return. Halley became an influential Fellow of the Royal Society. After originating the question that prodded Isaac Newton to write the seminal Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica, Halley edited it and arranged its publication. Halley was a professor of geometry at Oxford and later appointed Astronomer Royal. Halley identified the proper motion of stars, studied the moon's motion and tides, realized that nebulae were clouds of luminous gas among the stars, and that the aurora was a phenomenon connected with the earth's magnetism. His prediction of the transit of Venus led to Cook's voyage to Tahiti.

344 solar years ago, on this day in 1674 AD, English Poet, John Milton, died in London at the age 66 years. One of his most important works is “Paradise Lost”, which is an epic poem. He was a supporter of freedom of religion, and opponent of the monarchy. He served under Oliver Cromwell in the Commonwealth of England after overthrow of the monarchy. After restoration of the monarchy, Milton retired from public life, and had gone completely blind when he died.

123 solar years ago, on this day in 1895 AD, the acclaimed German physicist, Wilhelm Conrad Rontgen, discovered the X-Ray. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in the year 1901 due to this important discovery. X-Ray goes through human tissues and is the best means for taking photographs of limbs, and diagnosis of damages and fractures to limbs.

118 solar years ago, on this day in 1900 AD, US author, Margaret Mitchell, was born in Atlanta, Georgia State. She first studied medicine but her sorrow over the death of her mother, led her to drop out of medical college and start writing books at the age of 22. She worked as a journalist for a long time, before her novel “Gone with the Wind” catapulted her to fame. She was killed in a car accident in 1949.

85 solar years ago, on this day in 1933 AD, Mohammad Nadir Shah of Afghanistan was shot to death after a 4-year rule, during a graduation ceremony at a high school in Kabul by Abdul Khaliq, an ethnic Hazara, who was immediately caught and later executed after being tortured. Born in Dehra Dun in northern India where his grandfather was exiled by the British, he belonged to the Telai branch of the ruling family of Afghanistan – of the Mohammadzai clan of Barakzai Pashtuns. After growing up in India, he first went to Afghanistan when his grandfather Mohammad Yahya was authorized to return from exile by the British. He joined the army, rose through its ranks to become a general under King Amanullah Khan and led the Afghan National Army in the Third Anglo-Afghan War, after which he was made Minister of War and later ambassador to France. Shortly after a rebellion by an allied force of Pashtun tribesmen and Persian-speaking Tajiks of Habibullah Kalakani, Nadir Khan was exiled due to disagreements with King Amanullah. After the overthrow of Amanullah by Kalakani, he returned to Afghanistan with his tribal Waziri army and took most of Afghanistan. By 13 October 1929, he captured Kabul and subsequently sacked the city. His forces looted government buildings and houses of wealthy citizens. He captured Kalakani and executed him on 1 November 1929, along with several others, including supporters of the ousted king, Amanullah. On 15 October 1929, Nadir Khan seized the throne and styled himself Nadir Shah. On his assassination he was succeeded by his son, Mohammad Zahir Shah, who 40 years later in 1973 was overthrown in a military coup by Daud Khan. This marked the end of monarchy in Afghanistan – a mountainous land which had no independent existence before 1747 when Ahmad Shah Abdali taking advantage of the political chaos resulting in Iran following the murder of Nader Shah Afshar set up the Durrani kingdom.

65 solar years ago, on this day in 1953 AD, Mohammad Reza Shah of the British-installed Pahlavi regime after being restored to the Peacock Throne in Tehran by the US-engineered coup of August 19, 1953, ordered the trial of the overthrown popularly elected Prime Minister Dr. Mohammad Mosaddeq, in a military court. The charges against him were nationalization of Iranian oil industry and resistance to the US-British coup. Mosaddeq defended nationalization of the Iranian oil industry to end its exploitation by the British oil firms, and denounced the coup to topple his elected government as violation of Iran’s sovereignty. The military court sentenced him to a 3-year prison term, after the expiry of which he was kept under house arrest for eleven years until his death in 1967.

32 solar years ago, on this day in 1986 AD, prominent writer, researcher and translator, Karim Keshavarz, passed away at the age of 86. Born in Rasht, Gilan Province, he was proficient in English, French and Russian. He was also politically active and was subjected to bouts of prison by the Pahlavi regime. His famous work is “Hazar Saal Nasr Parsi” (A Thousand years of Persian Literature).

21 solar years ago, on this day in 1997 AD, the famous Iranian author, Seyyed Mohammad Ali Jamalzadeh, passed away in Geneva, Switzerland at the age of 106. He was born in a religious family in the city of Isfahan. His father, Seyyed Jamaleddin Va'ez, was an active religious leader of the Constitutional Movement, who attained martyrdom. He followed his father’s path and was active in the Constitutional Movement. He travelled to France for higher studies and graduated in Law. He returned to Iran during World War I while the country was occupied by the British and Russian troops. His activities for liberation of Iran were inconclusive and he went to Germany, and later worked in the International Labour Bureau in Geneva, Switzerland. His literary life started when he was almost 50 years of age. His writings were simple and to the point. Hence, his stories, which were about social and political developments in Iran, were warmly welcomed by the people. He acquired the epithet of Father of Iran’s Story-Writing. He was also fluent in Arabic, German, and French. Among his famous works are “Yeki Bood Yeki Nabood” (Once Upon a Time), “Farsi Shekar Ast” (Persian is Sugar), “Sahra-e Mahshar” (The Plain of Resurrection) and “Ghair az Khoda Hichkas Nabood” (None Existed Except God).

5 solar years ago, on this day in 2013 AD, Typhoon Haiyan, one of the strongest tropical cyclones ever recorded, struck the Visayas region of the Philippines. The storm left at least 6,340 people dead with over 1,000 still missing, and caused S$2.86 billion (USD) in damage.

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