Today is Tuesday; 17th of the Iranian month of Dey 1398 solar hijri; corresponding to 11th of the Islamic month of Jamadi al-Awwal 1441 lunar hijri; and January 7, 2020, of the Christian Gregorian Calendar.

1059 lunar years ago, on this day in 382 AH, the Mu’tazalite theologian, Ali ibn Eisa ar-Rummani, passed away. Among his important works is the “E’jaz al-Qur’an” on the Living Miracle that the holy Qur’an is. Here it would not be out of context to note his encounter with the famous Shi’a Muslim scholar, Shaikh Mohammad bin Nu’man and the reason he conferred upon him the title “Shaikh al-Mufid” (Most Beneficial Scholar). The Shaikh’s tutor had sent him to attend the theology lessons of Rummani, along with a letter of introduction. The Shaikh says: I entered his class, and was impressed by the large number of students. I sat at the end of the crowd and crept forward as some got up and left. Then I saw a person enter, saying: "(O Master), there is someone at the door from Basra who insists on being admitted to your presence." On permission the man from Basra entered and after a long conversation, asked ar-Rummani: "How do you view the event of “al-Ghadeer” (the day the Prophet, on God’s commandment, proclaimed Imam Ali [AS] as his vicegerent on 18th Zilhijja, 10 AH while returning from his Farewell Hajj pilgrimage) as well as the report of “al-Ghar” (or incident of the cave in which Abu Bakr accompanied the Prophet on the night of Hijrah)?" Ar-Rummani replied that "the report of al-Ghar was a recognised event, while al-Ghadeer was just a narration; and a narration is not as mandatory as a recognised event." The man from Basra left without making any reply. The Shaikh says: Then I stood up and said: "I have a question." Ar-Rummani said: "Ask." I said: "What do you say about the one who fights a Just Imam?" He said: "Such a person would be an infidel." Then, after a pause, he rectified himself and said: "He would be a transgressor." I asked: "What do you say about the Commander of the Faithful, Ali bin Abi Taleb (AS)?” He said: "I believe he was an Imam." So I asked: "Then what do you say about the Day of Jamal and about Talha and Zubair?" Ar-Rummani retorted that both of them had repented for their revolt. I said: "The Battle of Jamal is a recognised event, while their repentance is a mere narration." Upon this, he said: "Were you present when the man from Basra put his question?" I said "yes." Then he asked: "What is your name and who is your tutor?" I said: "I am known as Ibn al-Mu’allem, and my tutor is Abu-Abdallah al-Jual." He said: "Stay a moment." Then he went to a room and came out with a letter, instructing me to hand it over to my tutor. When I gave the letter to my tutor, he read it and laughed, saying: "What transpired between you in his class? He has asked me to confer upon you the title “al-Mufid”.

844 lunar years ago, on this day in 597 AH, the famous Iranian Islamic theologian and scientist, Mohammad ibn Hassan, known as Khwaja Naseer od-Din Tousi was born in Tous in Khorasan. An outstanding philosopher, scientist, mathematician and astronomer, who made valuable contributions to science and civilization, his genius was acknowledged even by the Mongol invader Hulagu Khan. As scientific advisor to the ruler, he built the observatory at Maraghah and its instruments such as a 4-meter wall quadrant made from copper and an azimuth quadrant which was his unique invention. Using accurately plotted planetary movements, he modified Ptolemy's planetary model based on mechanical principles. The observatory and its library became a centre for a wide range of work in science, mathematics and philosophy. Ṭousi in his book on astronomy “at-Tadhkirah fi Ilm al-Hayyah” written three centuries before the Italian Galileo, has described the real essence of the Milky Way: “The Milky Way, i.e. the galaxy, is made up of a very large number of small, tightly-clustered stars, which, on account of their concentration and smallness, seem to be cloudy patches. Because of this, it was likened to milk in colour.”

Tousi wrote some 80 books in both Arabic and Persian on various subjects such as “Tajrid al-Eʿteqad” on theology, “Akhlaq-e Naseri” on ethics, “Sharh al-Isharaat Ibn Sina” on philosophy, and “Kitab ash-Shakl al-Qatta” on mathematics, etc. It is to be noted that a 60-km diameter lunar crater located on the southern hemisphere of the moon is named after him as "Naseereddin". A minor planet discovered by Soviet astronomer Nikolai Stepanovich Chernykh in 1979 is named after him “10269 Tusi”. Naseer od-Din Tusi died in Iraq and was laid to rest in the holy mausoleum of Imam Musa al-Kazem (AS), the 7th Infallible Successor of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA).

518 solar years ago, on this day in 1502 AD, Italian pontiff, Ugo Boncompagni, who as Pope Gregory XIII was head of the Catholic sect of Christianity from 1572 to 1585, was born in Bologna. Later in life, after fathering an illegitimate child through adultery, he joined the Church. He is known for commissioning the Gregorian calendar that bears his name and was imposed in the 20th century on the rest of the world by the western powers. On Thursday 4th October 1582, three years before his death, Gregory replaced the pre-Christian Julian calendar of the Romans, decreeing that the next day, Friday, be declared as October 15, which meant the skipping of ten days in the Catholic countries of Italy, Portugal, Spain and Poland. The rest of Europe opposed his move and continued to follow the Julian Calendar of Julius Caesar. For instance, Britain and its colonies resisted this change by the Catholic Pope, and used the Julian calendar for more than a century and a half until Wednesday 2nd September 1752, which meant that the next morning on Thursday it was the 14th of September instead of September 3. Russia adopted the Gregorian calendar in 1918, a year after the atheist non-Christian Bolshevik Revolution, and Greece as late as 1923, while in 1927 this calendar was imposed on Turkey as part of the anti-Islamic policies of Mustafa Kamal Ata-Turk. At any rate, it was only in the 20th century between the Two World Wars that the Gregorian calendar along with January 1 as New Year Day was forced upon the rest of the world, so that the globe would be held in ransom to the policies of London and Washington. Iran is among the very few world countries that do not follow the Christian calendar for administrative purposes or for keeping track of the orderly seasons, since the solar hijri calendar in use in Iran is more perfect and precise than the Gregorian calendar.

462 solar years ago, on this day in 1558 AD, France liberated the port of Calais on the English Channel – the last possession of England on mainland Europe.

282 solar years ago, on this day in 1738 AD, a peace treaty was signed between the Maratha chieftain Peshwa Baji Rao and the Rajput general Raja Jai Singh II, the representative of Nizam ul-Mulk Asaf Jah I of Haiderabad-Deccan at Doraha village near Bhopal, following the stalemate in the decisive Battle of Bhopal that was fought between the two sides on 24^th December 1737 and ended the ambitions of both the Marathas and the Nizam to become the paramount power in the Subcontinent during decline of the once powerful Moghal Empire. The Maratha rebels led by Baji Rao, had earlier raided Delhi and extracted huge sum of money from Moghal Emperor Mohammad Shah, who appealed to Nizam ul-Mulk to come to his help. The latter left the Deccan and reached Delhi, but finding the situation in the faction-riddled capital precarious, decided to check the Maratha advance by assembling a combined Muslim-Hindu army. He was, however, outclassed from taking Gujarat which fell to the Marathas, emboldening them to march towards the north. At Bhopal in central India, Nizam ul-Mulk consolidated his forces and a fierce encounter occurred during which the Marathas managed to besiege his army in the strong fortress of Bhopal, but failed to defeat him. The stalemate ultimately forced Baji Rao to sign a peace treaty. Nizam ul-Mulk decided to concentrate on the Deccan to nullify the menace of the Marathas, whose renewed bid to be masters of India after his death in 1748, was completely smashed at the 3^rd Battle of Panipat in 1761 by the Afghan ruler, Ahmad Shah Abadali.  

235 solar years ago, on this day in 1785 AD, Frenchman Jean Pierre Blanchard and American scientist and physician John Jeffries made the first air crossing of the English Channel from England to France in a hot-air balloon - the first international flight. The voyage was successful, though not without difficulty, because to maintain height they were forced to jettison everything in the basket, including rope and most of their clothes. Their previous flight took place on 30 Nov 1784, in London, for the purpose of taking scientific and meteorological measurements. The history of aviation is as old as Man’s quest to fly since antiquity. In the heyday of Islamic science and civilization, there are records pertaining to the Spanish Muslim polymath, Abbas ibn Firnas, who flew from Jabal al-Arous Hill by employing a rudimentary glider in the 9th century AD. In 1783, with the first successful floating of a balloon with a person on board, the aviation industry was born and led to the invention of the airship, the zeppelin and finally the modern aircraft.

84 solar years ago, on this day in 1936 AD, the British-installed Pahlavi potentate, Reza Khan, tried to insult the dignity of Iran’s Muslim women by banning the Hejab. Earlier he had forbidden Iranian men from wearing traditional clothes as part of his policy to deprive the Iranian nation of its cultural and Islamic identity. He was blindly emulating the western-dictated policies of the Turkish dictator, Kamal Ata Turk, who had also banned the Islamic dress code for women in Turkey and forced men to adopt European clothing. The Iranian ulema and freedom-seekers strongly opposed Reza Khan’s moves, risking imprisonment, torture, and martyrdom. When the agents of this unlettered soldier tried to unveil women on the streets, many respectable women of Iran vowed never to venture out on the streets in order to safeguard their dignity and Islamic values.

77 solar years ago, on this day in 1943 AD, the Yugoslav physicist, Nikola Tesla, died at the age of 87. His studies and inventions were mainly in the domain of electricity current. One of his discoveries is the alternative current.

52 solar years ago, on this day in 1968 AD, Iran’s wrestling champion, Gholam-Reza Takhti, was killed by agents of the Shah’s despotic regime. Born in a middle class family in Tehran, he was very honest, courageous and kind-hearted toward people. He acted fairly when competing against rivals, something which originated from traditional values of “Zourkhanah”, which is a kind of heroic behaviour that epitomizes chivalrous qualities known as “Javanmardi” in Persian culture. For instance, during a bout with Russian wrestler Alexander Medved who had an injured right knee, he avoided touching his opponent’s injured leg and tried to attack the other leg instead. He lost the match, but showed that he valued honourable behaviour more than achieving victory. Another example of his character comes from a match in Moscow. After defeating the then-world champion Anatoli Albul, he saw the sorrow on the face of Albul's mother. Takhti went to her and said, "I'm sorry about the result, but your son is a great wrestler." She smiled. Takhti bagged nine gold and silver medals in international and Olympic Games and was an Iranian athlete with the highest number of gold and silver medals. His rising popularity among people, and his opposition to the Shah’s despotic policies led agents of the Pahlavi regime to murder him.

42 solar years ago, on this day in 1978 AD, with publication of an insulting article in the “Etela’at” daily against the Father of Islamic Revolution, Imam Khomeini (RA), nationwide demonstrations started across the country and the Islamic movement was placed on the path to victory. The British-installed and US-backed Shah’s insult backfired and finally on February 11, 1979, the Pahlavi potentate was overthrown.

41 solar years ago, on this day in 1979 AD, following the Vietnamese army’s attack on Cambodia, Khmer Rouge dictator, Pol Pot, fled the country. The main features of Pol Pot’s regime were violent methods and forced eviction of people from cities, and eradication of any sign of civilization. In less than three years 2 million people, especially the Cambodians of Vietnamese origin, were killed.

34 solar years ago, on this day in 1986 AD, Egyptian border policeman in Sinai desert, Suleiman Khater, attained martyrdom in prison. In protest to the scandalous Camp David accord between Egypt and the Zionist entity, he executed a number of Israelis in the Sinai Peninsula on October 1985. Following his detention by the Hosni Mubarak regime a kangaroo court sentenced him to life imprisonment. After a while, his body was found hanging in the prison, and the Egyptian regime claimed he had committed suicide. On announcement of this news, thousands of Egyptian students held major demonstrations in Cairo and other cities, venting their anger against this ominous act of the Egyptian regime. It is believed the regime murdered him on the orders of the Zionists, and hanged his dead body to avoid blame.

27 solar years ago, on this day in 1993 AD, the Islamologist and translator of Holy Qu’ran into Japanese language, Toshihiko Izutsu, passed away at the age of 79. He was born in Tokyo and in 1960 he obtained a PhD in linguistics. He concurrently taught linguistics and philosophy of language. He received the highest scientific medal from the Japanese emperor and has left behind a large number of books on mysticism, the Holy Qur’an, and philosophy. For a while he taught in Iran as well. His books include "History of Islamic Thought". He highlighted the rich contribution of Iranians throughout history to the Islamic culture, civilization, and thought.

16 solar years ago, on this day in 2004 AD, a 57-year-old man was miraculously pulled out alive from the rubble 13 days after the deadly earthquake that hit Bam in south-eastern Iran.

AS/SS