Today is Wednesday; 2nd of the Iranian month of Bahman 1398 solar hijri; corresponding to 26th of the Islamic month of Jamadi al-Awwal 1441 lunar hijri; and January 22, 2020, of the Christian Gregorian Calendar.

1161 lunar years ago, on this day in 280 AH, Iranian linguist and Arabic poet, Abu’l-Fazl Ahmad, popular as Ibn Abi Taher Tayfur, passed away at the age of 76 in his hometown Baghdad and was laid to rest in Bab ash-Sham cemetery in the section reserved for notables. His father Tayfur was from the Khorasani city of Marv (presently in Turkmenistan). Ibn Tayfur played a vital role in revolutionizing Arabic literature. He was the first writer to devote a book to writers. His works include the 3-volume“Kitab al-Manthour wa’l-Manzoum” (Book of Prose and Poetry), which is the first attested multi-author anthology. Another of his work was the 6-volume “Kitab Baghdad” (Book of Baghdad), of which only one volume has survived. He also compiled “Balaghat an-Nisa” (Eloquence of Women), in which he has cited the two sermons of Hazrat Fatema az-Zahra (SA), the daughter of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA), following seizure of her patrimony of the orchard of Fadak and the usurpation of the right of political leadership of her husband the Commander of the Faithful, Imam Ali ibn Abi Taleb (AS). He has also cited the eloquently moving sermon of Omm Kolthoum, the Prophet’s granddaughter, delivered in the aftermath of the tragedy of Karbala and the martyrdom of her brother Imam Husain (AS).

1160 lunar years ago, on this day in 281 AH, Iranian polymath, Abu Hanifah Ahmad ibn Dawoud Dinawari, passed away at the age of 70 in his birthplace Dinawar – a Kurdish region halfway between Hamedan and Kermanshah in western Iran. He studied astronomy, mathematics and mechanics in Isfahan and Arabic philology and poetry in Kufa and Basra. He also excelled in agriculture, botany, metallurgy, history and geography. His most renowned contribution is “Kitab an-Nabaat” (Book of Plants), for which he is considered the founder of Islamic botany, for his scientific classification and listing of thousands of varieties of different plants, with detailed discussion from their evolution to birth and subsequent death. He is also among the very first writers to discuss the ancestry of the Kurdish people. He wrote a book on this subject titled “Ansaab al-Akraad” (Ancestry of the Kurds). All his works are in Arabic including “Kitab al-Kusouf” (Book of Solar Eclipses), “Kitab al-Akhbar at-Tiwaal” (General History), “Kitab al-Boldaan” (Book of Geography), and “Kitab ash-She'r wa'sh-Shu'ara” (Book of Poetry and Poets). Dinawari's works also deal with astronomy, meteorology and agriculture. He describes the astronomical and meteorological character of the sky, the planets and constellations, the sun and moon, the lunar phases indicating seasons and rain, the atmospheric phenomena such as winds, thunder, lightning, snow, floods, rivers, lakes, wells and other sources of water.

757 solar years ago, on this day in 1263 AD, the highly controversial Hanbali pseudo scholar, Ahmad ibn Abdul-Haleem Ibn Taymiya, was 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, especially Sufis, 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 from Syria, and courted trouble by his rash attitude. Back in Syria, his weird views brought the displeasure of the ulema, prompting the Mamluk rulers to imprison him for 18 months in Cairo. Ibn Taymiya, who died in Damascus at the age of 65, has earned lasting notoriety for forbidding celebrations of the birthday of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA). He has also been castigated by the ulema for ridiculing pilgrimage to holy shrines, and for his call to return to the days and ways of the Salaf – instead of the pure and pristine Sunnah and Seerah (behavior and practice) of the Prophet and 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 granted 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.

503 solar years ago, on this day in 1517 AD, the Ottoman Empire under Selim I defeated the Mamluk Sultanate of al-Ashraf Tuman Bay II of Egypt-Syria at the Battle of Ridaniya. After earlier victories in Palestine, the Turks marched into Cairo with the severed head of Egypt’s last Mamluk Sultan, which was hung over an entrance gate in the al-Ghourieh quarter of Cairo. Selim I, an ethnic Turk, forced the puppet Abbasid caliph to hand him over the caliphate, and by bribing the religious scholars declared himself the first Ottoman caliph. Selim had violated the treaty with the Mamluks to launch a surprise attack on Syria, fearful of the rising power and influence of the Safavid Dynasty of Iran, against whom he had barely managed a victory from a certain defeat at Chaldiran in August 1514.

470 solar years ago, on this day in 1550 AD, Jamsheed Quli Qutb Shah, the second ruler of the Qutb-Shahi dynasty of Iranian origin of Golkandah in the Deccan (southern India), died after a reign of 7 years. It is said that he was behind the assassination of his father, Sultan Quli Qutb-ul-Mulk, a scion of the Qara Qoyounlu Dynasty of western Iran, Iraq, eastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula, and parts of Caucasus and Turkey. Jamsheed blinded his older brother, the heir to the throne, and forced his younger brother, Ibrahim to flee to Vijayanagar. An accomplished poet in Persian, his tomb in the vast necropolis near Golkandah Fort in unique octagonal pattern is a masterpiece of Indo-Iranian architecture. The Qutb-Shahis who built the famous city of Haiderabad, considered the Safavid rulers of Iran as their emperors and their dominion and court attracted Iranians from all walks of life, including religious scholars, scientists, poets, artists, architects, traders, and soldiers.

459 solar years ago, on this day in 1561 AD, English philosopher and mathematician, Francis Bacon, was born. He initially engaged in politics and was imprisoned on charges of bribery. While in prison, he took to writing and advocated revival of science and philosophy. He wrote several books, including “New Atlantis”, which presents a utopian picture of life. He died in 1626.

398 solar years ago, on this day in 1622 AD, the Safavid Emperor, Shah Abbas I, liberated the strategic island of Hormuz in the Strait of the same name, and with the help of four English ships, he drove out the Portuguese from the Persian Gulf. He soon replaced Hormuz as a trading centre with a new port, named Bandar Abbas after him on the Iranian mainland near what used to be Gombroon. Twenty years earlier, Shah Abbas I had liberated Bahrain from Portuguese occupation by sending a fleet under command of his trusted general, Imam Qoli Khan.

354 solar years ago, on this day in 1666 AD, Shah Jahan, the 5th Moghal Emperor of Hindustan (northern Subcontinent), died in Agra under confinement in the fort by his rebellious son, Aurangzeb, at the age of 74, eight years after being dethroned following a 30-year reign (1628-1658).  Born at Lahore in present day Pakistan, during the reign of his grandfather, Jalal od-Din Akbar Shah, he was named Shahab od-Din Mohammad Khorram. His father was Emperor Saleem Noor od-Din Jahangir, while his mother was the Rajput princess, Manmati of Jodhpur, who on conversion to Islam was given the name and title Taj Bibi Bilqis Makani. Shah Jahan’s reign was the golden age of Moghal architecture. He erected splendid monuments, the most famous of which is the legendary white marble Taj Mahal at Agra built as a mausoleum for his wife of Iranian ancestry, Empress Arjmand Bano Momtaz Mahal, and regarded among the Seven Wonders of the World (its inspiration was the Ibrahim Rowza of Ibrahim Adel Shah of Bijapur in the Deccan where Shah Jahan spent time in exile after an unsuccessful rebellion against his own father). The Pearl Mosque and many other buildings in Agra, the Red Fort and the Jama Mosque in Delhi, mosques in Lahore, and extensions to the Lahore Fort were built by him. The famous “Takht-e Tawous” (Peacock Throne) said to be worth millions of dollars by modern estimates, also dates from his reign. Other important buildings of his reign are the "Diwan-e Aam" and "Diwan-e Khaas" (public and special courts of audiences) in the Red Fort Complex in Delhi and the Pearl Mosque in the Lahore Fort. He also patronized paintings and laid out gardens, especially in Kashmir, his favourite summer residence. In 1638, by bribing the governor, he captured Qandahar in what is now Afghanistan from the Iranians, prompting the retaliation of the Safavids led by Shah Abbas II, who recaptured it in 1649. The Moghal armies were unable to retake it despite repeated attempts. When Shah Jahan became ill, civil war erupted among his four sons, with the victor, Aurangzeb, killing his brothers, and declaring himself Emperor after confining his father to the Agra fort.

284 solar years ago, on this day in 1736 AD, the Safavid Dynasty of Iran formally came to its end after a rule of 235 years, with the deposition of the boy-king Abbas III after a 4-year nominal reign, by the general Nader Quli Afshar, who now crowned himself as Nader Shah. A successful military commander who drove out the Afghan occupiers from Iran, Nader had placed Abbas on the throne in 1732 by deposing his father, Tahmasp II. In 1739, both father and son were brutally killed in the prison in Sabzevar on the orders of Nader’s son Reza Qoli Mirza on fears that the Iranian people will revolt in favour of the Safavids while Nader Shah was campaigning in northern India. The Safavids gave Iran religious legality, national identity, cultural affinity, and territorial integrity. The Qajarid dynasty that followed Nader lost large parts of the country to the Russians, the Afghans and the British of the Subcontinent.

245 solar years ago, on this day in 1775 AD, French mathematician and physicist, Andre Marie Ampere, was born. He lectured at the Paris Polytechnic and made important discoveries. He invented the electrical telegraph. He is known as the founder of electrodynamics. To honour his efforts in physics, the unit of electrical current has been named after him, as Ampere. He died in 1836.

232 solar years ago, on this day in 1788 AD, English poet, George Gordon Byron, was born. He was a controversial figure, and his works are sentimental and critical. His first collection of poems was “Hours of Idleness”. His other works include “The Prisoner of Chillon”, and “Childe Harold”. He led an unprincipled life, travelling around Europe and indulging in scandalous affairs, before he was killed in 1824, while inciting the Greeks to fight the Ottoman Turkish Empire.

171 solar years ago, on this day in 1849 AD, during the Second Anglo-Sikh War, the Siege of Multan ended after nine months when the last Sikh defenders surrendered to the British. Multan in Punjab had been occupied by the Sikh warlord Ranjit Singh in 1818. Although the population was almost entirely Muslim, it was ruled by a Hindu vassal, named Dewan Mulraj, whose attempts for independence ended this day.

141 solar years ago, on this day in 1879 AD, Zulu troops decisively defeated the technologically superior British army at the Battle of Isandlwana in South Africa. It was the worst defeat for the British, who six months later adopted violent and brutal methods in the second invasion of King Cetshwayo’s independent kingdom that ended the Anglo–Zulu War, and resulted in the annexation of Zululand. 

119 solar years ago, on this day in 1901 AD, with the death of Queen Victoria of Britain at the age of 82, after a long reign of almost 64 years, the Victorian Era came to its end. It was a period of industrial, cultural, political, scientific, and military change within the United Kingdom, and was marked by expansion of the British Empire to its zenith. She was the longest-ruling monarch.

86 lunar years ago, on this day in 1355 AH, Source of Emulation, Grand Ayatollah Allamah Mirza Mohammad Hussain Na'ini, passed away at the age of 79. He was born in the central Iranian city of Na'in in a religious family. He completed his preliminary studies in his hometown before leaving for Iraq for higher studies at the famous seminary of holy Najaf. He studied under such prominent ulema as Ayatollah Mirza Mohammad Hassan Shirazi, whose historic fatwa against tobacco saved Iranian economy from British exploitation. Besides theology, Na'ini was well versed in mathematics, philosophy, and mysticism. Among his most important compilations, mention can be made of “Tanbih al-Ummah va Tanzih al-Millah” which outlines the duties of ulema and people and the necessity of campaign against tyrannical regimes. This was an effective step by Grand Ayatollah Na'ini in awakening the Iranian people, whose struggles against local despotism and foreign hegemony triumphed under the guidance of the Father of the Islamic Revolution, Imam Khomeini (RA). Among his other books mention could be made of “Wasilat an-Najaat”.

41 solar years ago, on this day in 1979 AD, during the crucial days of the Islamic Revolution, the Shah's troops killed and wounded a large number of people. The Iranian nation, in anticipation of the coming home from years of exile, of the Father of Islamic Revolution, Imam Khomeini (RA), made necessary arrangements to accord a unique welcome to the Imam. For this reason, a headquarters, comprised of ulema and representatives of different strata of the people of Tehran was formed. People from other cities and villages also flooded Tehran to participate in the welcoming ceremony. Meanwhile, following the huge demonstrations of people, 4,000 air force officers, in a show of support for the courageous Iranian nation, went on hunger strike, and demanded the expulsion of the Americans from Iran.

13 solar years ago, on this day in 2007 AD, over a hundred Iraqi Shi’a Muslim men, women, and children were martyred in a busy marketplace in central Baghdad, when Saudi-backed Takfiri terrorists blew up through remote control a car rigged with explosives, just seconds after another car bomb tore through the stalls where vendors were hawking DVDs and clothing. Hundreds of others were injured.

4 solar years ago, on this day in 2016 AD, Iranian philologist, Abu’l-Hassan Najafi, passed away in Tehran at the age of 86. Born in holy Najaf, Iraq, in an Iranian family, he returned to his homeland along with his parents. After graduating in Persian literature from Tehran University, he studied French language and soon went to Paris for higher studies at Sorbonne University, where he completed his masters in linguistics. On his return home, he became a member of the Academy of Persian Language and Literature, and spent a lifetime in translation, editing, and classifying literary and scientific articles. He was editor of the Journal of Comparative Literature. He was noted for his diligence in classifying and categorizing Persian poetry.

AS/SS