Today is Sunday; 29th of the Iranian month of Dey 1398 solar hijri; corresponding to 23rd of the Islamic month of Jamadi al-Awwal 1441 lunar hijri; and January 19, 2020, of the Christian Gregorian Calendar.

1450 solar years ago, on this day in 570 AD, as per the Georgian calendar is the birthday in Mecca of the Almighty’s Last and Greatest Messenger, Prophet Mohammad (SAWA). According to the lunar calendar he was born on Rabi al-Awwal 17^th. His family, the monotheist Hashemite clan of the Quraish, was descended directly from Prophet Ishmael, the firstborn son of Prophet Abraham. His mission was foretold by all previous prophets, including Moses and Jesus.

497 solar years ago, on this day in1523 AD, in Switzerland, Huldrych Zwingli published his 67 Articles, the first manifesto of the Zurich Reformation which attacked the authority of the Pope and the Catholic Church.

422 solar years ago, on this day in 1597 AD, Rajput rebel, Pratap Singh, who along with Afghan mercenaries fought several unsuccessful battles against Mughal Emperor Mohammad Jalal od-Din Akbar of Hindustan (northern subcontinent), died of injuries at the age of 57 in his principality of Mewar. He was succeeded by his son, Amar Singh who after initial rebellion, found it prudent to submit to the authority of the next emperor, Mohammad Noor od-Din Jahangir, and was appointed governor of Mewar.  

391 solar years ago, on this day in 1629 AD, Shah Abbas I, regarded as the greatest emperor of the Safavid dynasty of Iran, passed away at the age of 58. The son of Shah Mohammad Khodabanda, he ascended the throne as a 16-year youth during troubled times, when the country was rife with discord between the different factions of the Qizilbash army, who killed his elder brother Hamza Mirza and mother Queen Khair on-Nisa Begum Mahd-e Olya – descended from Imam Zain al-Abedin (AS), the 4th Infallible Heir of the Prophet (SAWA). Meanwhile, Iran's enemies, the Ottomans and the Uzbeks, exploited the political chaos to seize territory in the west and northeast. Abbas soon reduced the influence of the Qizilbash in the administrative and military affairs, executed the killers of his mother and brother, and reformed the army, enabling him to fight the Ottomans and Uzbeks and retake Iran's lost provinces. He decisively defeated the Ottomans in several battles in the Caucasus, in Anatolia and in Iraq, where he rebuilt on a grand scale the shrines of the Infallible Imams in Najaf, Karbala, and Kazemain. He drove back the Uzbeks from the northern and western parts of Khorasan, and in fulfillment of a vow walked on foot from his new capital Isfahan to distant Mashhad, where he rebuilt the shrine of Imam Reza (AS), the 8th Infallible Heir of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA). He also liberated Iranian territories from the Portuguese invaders in the Persian Gulf and from the Mughals of India in what is now Afghanistan. Shah Abbas I was a great builder and moved his capital from Qazvin to Isfahan, which he adorned with beautiful mosques, such as Masjid Sheikh Lotfollah and the largest one named after, and which is now called Masjid-e Imam. He also built the Aali Qapu Palace and the world famous Naqsh-e Jahan Square, to the extent that Isfahan came to be known as Nisf-e Jahan or Half of the World. He patronized poets and painters, resulting in the birth of the Isfahan School that created some of the finest arts in Iranian history, by such illustrious painters as Reza Abbasi and others. He respected religious figures, and during his era some of the greatest ulema and philosophers of Iran, such as Shaikh Baha od-Din Ameli, Mir Baqer Damad and Mullah Sadra Shirazi flourished. During his 42-year reign, Shah Abbas also promoted commerce, trade and diplomacy, establishing relations with European powers to keep the Ottomans in check, and strengthening ties with the Shi'ite Muslim sultanates of Golkandah-Haiderabad and Bijapur in the Deccan (southern India), where the name of the Safavid Emperor was recited in the Friday Prayer sermons. He also maintained friendly relations with the Mughal Emperor Jahangir of Hindustan (North India). He was succeeded by his grandson, Shah Safi.

284 solar years ago, on this day in 1736 AD, the English inventor and engineer, James Watt, was born. He discovered steam power, which led to a revolution in industry, especially in the land and sea transportation network. Steam ships and locomotives were the result of his discoveries.

222 solar years ago, on this day in 1798 AD, French philosopher, economist and mathematician, Auguste Comte, was born in Montpellier. Considered Founder of modern Sociology, he also presented significant views in mathematics, philosophy, physics, and astronomy. In the last years of his life he founded a new school of thought known as "Religion of Humanity". He wrote several books including "Philosophical Treatise on Popular Astronomy". He died in 1857 at the age of 65.

211 solar years ago, on this day in 1809 AD, American writer, editor, and literary critic, Edgar Allan Poe was born in Boston. He is best known for his poetry and short stories, particularly his tales of mystery and the macabre. He is widely regarded as a central figure of Romanticism in the United States and American literature as a whole, and he was one of the country's earliest practitioners of the short story. Poe is generally considered the inventor of the detective fiction genre and is further credited with contributing to the emerging genre of science fiction. He was the first well-known US writer to try to earn a living through writing alone. He died in 1849.

134 lunar years ago, on this day in 1307 AH, the Islamic scholar of Northern India, Seyyed Mohammad Ibrahim, titled “Seyyed ul-Ulema” passed away. To him goes the credit of persuading the British occupiers of Lucknow to vacate the grand Asefi Mosque, the Alamgir Mosque and the magnificent Asefi Imambara (Hussainiyya), which they defiled for 27 years, using it as a gunpowder storage house, following their forcing into exile of the last King of Awadh, Wajed Ali Shah of the Naishapuri Dynasty founded by the Iranian adventurer, Seyyed Mohammad Amin Musavi entitled Sa’adat Khan Burhan ol-Mulk. After return of these religious structures to the Shi'ite Muslims Seyyed ul-Ulema revived the congregational prayers at the two mosques and the mourning ceremonies for the Martyr of Karbala, Imam Husain (AS) at the Hussainiyya. Soon the Friday and Eid Prayers were revived at the Asefi Mosque. Over a century earlier, it was Seyyed ul-Ulema’s famous ancestor, Seyyed Dildar Ali Naqavi Naseerabadi, who had led the first exclusive public congregational prayers of Shi'ite Muslims in Lucknow on 13th Rajab 1200 AH, on the birth anniversary of the Commander of the Faithful, Imam Ali ibn Abi Taleb (AS), followed by establishment of the weekly Friday prayers.

74 solar years ago, on this day in 1946 AD, the first ever complaint heard by the newly formed United Nations Security Council was made by Iran and directed against the Soviet Union. Iran officially complained the Soviet interference in its internal affairs and the refusal of Moscow to withdraw Soviet occupation troops from Iranian territory. The very first session of the UN had begun just days earlier, on January 10, 1946, in London. The issue, however, was resolved without UN intervention, when the Soviet Union pulled out its troops from Iran resulting in the collapse of the so-called communist republics, Moscow had set up in Azarbaijan and Kurdistan.

41 solar years ago, on this day in 1979 AD, the Iranian people through their trust in God and their solidarity staged a huge demonstration against the remnants of the Shah’s despotic regime. The protesters demanded the ouster of Prime Minister Shahpour Bakhtiyar and establishment of the Islamic system of government. On this day, the Father of the Islamic Revolution, Imam Khomeini (RA), in his message to the Iranian nation from exile, said: “Insha Allah (God-Willing), I will soon join you, so that with your courageous efforts we would resolve problems, and through the unity of all strata of the nation, we would make every effort in the path toward independence and freedom of Iran.”

41 lunar years ago, on this day in 1400 AH, Grand Ayatollah Seyyed Mohammad Baqer as-Sadr, and his venerable sister, Amena Haidar, known popularly as Bint al-Hoda, after days of torture in prison were martyred by Saddam, the tyrannical ruler of the Ba'th minority regime of Baghdad. Ayatollah Sadr was a brilliant scholar and studied under such immortal ulema as Grand Ayatollah Mohsin al-Hakeem and Grand Ayatollah Abu’l-Qassem Khoie. At a young age he reached the status of Ijtehad – or independent reasoning based on Holy Qur'an and Prophet's Hadith. His lectures at the Najaf Seminary, during which he used to critically evaluate the western and eastern materialistic schools of thought, were widely attended by youths and academicians. He wrote outstanding works on Islamic economic and philosophy titled “Iqtasadona” (Our Economics) and “Falsafatona” (Our Philosophy). The awareness which he instilled in the Iraqi people, especially political consciousness, greatly alarmed the oppressive Ba'thist regime, in view of his attachment to the Father of the Islamic Revolution, Imam Khomeini (RA). Following victory of the Islamic Revolution in Iran and the jubilation of the Iraqi people for repeating this experience in Iraq, Ayatollah Sadr and his equally learned and socially active sister, were imprisoned, tortured and brutally martyred by Saddam. Grand Ayatollah Baqer as-Sadr authored many valuable books. His religious-political legacy is alive today, since many of the statesmen in the Iraq are either his students or inspired by his thoughts.

32 solar years ago, on this day in 1988 AD, renowned Iranian musician and physicist Mahdi Barkeshli, passed away at the age of 75 in his hometown Tehran. After graduating from Tehran University he completed his higher studies in France and on his return home, although a physicist by profession, he devoted his career to definition of Persian classic music. In 1940, he defined Persian music intervals within a 22 tone scale, basing his theory on the works of masters of the past such as Abu-Nasr Farabi and Safi od-Din Ormavi, in whose eras the Pythagorean intervals of Limma and Comma were the basis for fretting the musical instruments. For example, the octave contained two tetra-chords plus a whole tone; each tetra-chord consisted of five pitches and four intervals, and the five pitches were named after the open string by the name of the fingers which press the string of the Oud. Mahdi Barkeshli did a series of tests among the reputable musicians. He recorded some songs in various modes and analyzed them. From the results he concluded that the whole tone and semi tone intervals in Persian music are stable and they are the same Pythagorean intervals. On the basis of his expertise as a physicist, he wrote several articles on music in Persian, French and English. Barkeshli also translated into Persian from Arabic Farabi’s famous book “Kitab al-Mosiqi al-Kabeer”, and wrote the valuable work “Development of Musical Instruments in Iran”.

10 solar years ago, on this day in 2010 AD, Palestinian activist of the Islamic Resistance Movement, Hamas, Mahmoud al-Mabhouh, was assassinated in Dubai by agents of the illegal Zionist entity, Israel, who had entered the UAE on fake western passports. Born in 1960 in a religious family in the Jabaliyya refugee camp in the Gaza Strip, he graduated in mechanical engineering and was familiar with several languages. He was among the founders of the military branch of Hamas, and for this reason, was the target of several abortive Zionist assassination bids. Several months after his assassination, Israel admitted its dastardly act of terrorism. This atrocious crime was yet another proof of the state terrorism of the usurper state of Israel, with the support of Western regimes.

10 lunar years ago, on this day in 1430 AH, the great Gnostic Grand Ayatollah Shaikh Mohammad Taqi Bahjat passed away in holy Qom at the age of 96 and was laid to rest in the mausoleum of Hazrat Fatema Ma’souma (SA). Born in Foumen in Gilan Province, after preliminary studies in his hometown he left for the holy city of Karbala in Iraq at the age of 14 for higher studies. Four years later he moved to holy Najaf, where he attended the classes of prominent ulema, including Ayatollah Murtaza Taleqani, Seyyed Abu’l-Hassan Isfahani, Mirza Mohammad Hussain Naeeni, and Seyyed Ali Qadhi Tabatabaei. Ayatollah Bahjat paid special attention to piety, self-cultivation and moral perfection. After 15 years of study in Iraq during which he mastered several branches of Islamic sciences including the philosophy of Abu Ali Ibn Sina, he returned to Iran and settled in holy Qom, where he attended the classes of Grand Ayatollah Hujjat Kuhkamrei and Grand Ayatollah Seyyed Hussain Boroujerdi. On attaining Ijtehad, he started teaching theology and jurisprudence for almost 50 years at his house. He composed poems of praise and eulogy of the Infallible Ahl al-Bayt of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA), especially the Martyr of Karbala, Imam Husain (AS). He has left behind a large number of compilations, including: “Jama'e al-Masa’el”, and “Zakhirat-al-Ebaad”.

AS/SS