Today is Saturday; 15th of the Iranian month of Khordad 1395 solar hijri; corresponding to 28th of the Islamic month of Sha'ban 1437 lunar hijri; and June 4, 2016, of the Christian Gregorian Calendar.

2796 solar years ago, on this day in 780 BC, the first total solar eclipse reliably recorded by the Chinese was noted. A clay tablet retrieved from the ancient city of Ugarit in Syria gives the oldest eclipse record, with two interpretations of the date being regarded as plausible. The date most favoured by recent authors on the subject is 5 March 1223 BC, although alternatively 3 May 1375 BC has also been proposed as plausible.

1387 lunar years ago, on this day in 50 AH, the hypocrite Mughirah bin Shu'ba, who despite outward acceptance of Islam was one of those hardcore heathens pretending to be companions of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA), died after a life immersed in sins, including wine-drinking, adultery, looting of public treasury and the unpardonable crime of hitting Hazrat Fatema Zahra (SA) with the sheath of his sword when the threshold of the Prophet's daughter was burned and the door battered down upon her by rogues demanding that her husband Imam Ali (AS) take oath of allegiance to the regime that had usurped the caliphate. Born in Ta'ef and claiming to be a member of the Thaqif Tribe, he was a notorious idolater who sensing the end of the freewheeling days of the pagan Arabs, came to Medina in 5 AH, and feigned acceptance of Islam. The Messenger of Mercy very well knew this charlatan and kept a distance from him. Known for his hostility towards Imam Ali ibn Abi Taleb (AS), the divinely-designated Vicegerent, he was one of the chief conspirators of the sedition of Saqifa Bani Sa'da that saw the political rule of the Islamic state seized by unworthy persons following the passing away of the Prophet. He later served as governor of Basra and of Kufa, before becoming an advisor and boon-companion of the Omayyad tyrant, Mu'awiyah ibn Abu Sufyan. Known as one of the four notorious seditionists among the Arabs – the three others being Abu Sufyan, Mu'awiyah and Amr bin Aas – he indulged in the blasphemous practice of cursing Imam Ali (AS) from the pulpit of mosque. The Prophet's elder grandson and 2nd Infallible Heir, Imam Hasan Mujtaba (AS) during a famous debate in Damascus in front of the usurper caliph Mu'awiyah, addressing Mughirah said: “You are an enemy of God, a violator of the holy Qur'an, and a rejecter of the Prophet of God…” In short, it was on Mughirah's advice that the accursed Yazid, whom Mu'awiyah had begotten in the desert through an adulterous encounter with a Christian Bedouin woman and then forgotten, was brought to Damascus and nominated as the next Omayyad caliph, in violation of the Treaty signed with Imam Hasan (AS).

807 solar years ago, on this day in 630 AD, the hadith scholar Omar bin Mohammad Ibn Hajeb died at the age of 37. He travelled widely to meet scholars of hadith and collect the sayings attributed to Prophet Mohammad (SAWA).

595 solar years ago, on this day in 1421 AD, the Gakkhar Chieftain, Jasrat Khan (son of Sheikha Khan) stormed Jullundar in Punjab and took governor Zirak Khan as prisoner. On hearing of the death in Delhi of Khizr Khan, the ruler of North India, he had attacked Talwandi and ravaged the area between Ludhiana and Rupar. A year earlier he had intervened in the civil war in Kashmir and defeated and captured Ali Shah, thus allowing the latter’s brother Shahi Khan to emerge as the new ruler under the title of Sultan Zain al-Abedin. Jasrat then proceeded to Sirhind and besieged Sultan Shah Lodi, who sought help from Mubarak Shah II of Delhi. The latter forced the Gakkhar Chieftain to lift the siege and retreat to Ludhiana, from where he was evicted with the help of Bhima the Hindu rajah of Jammu. The Gakkhars which today inhabit Pakistani Punjab and Kashmir as well as parts of Indian Punjab, are of Iranian stock, having arrived in the Subcontinent during the Sassanid invasion of northwest India in 565 AD. They converted to Islam en masse around 1205 AD.

138 solar years ago, on this day in 1878 AD, the crafty British made the declining Ottoman Empire sign the Cyprus Convention thus taking control of the Mediterranean Sea’s 3rd largest and most populous island, which in those days had a Muslim majority. Although the Ottomans retained nominal suzerainty, it was obvious that Cyprus was lost by the Muslim world, since the British in no time changed demographic patterns and made it a virtual Greek island. Today almost two-thirds of Cyprus is administered by Greeks, while the rest is called away the breakaway Turkish republic of Cyprus.

126 lunar years ago, on this day in 1311 AH, one of the prominent lecturers of ethics, Mullah Hussain-Qoli Hamedani, passed away at the age of 73. An accomplished scholar in many fields, his lectures on Ethics and Gnosis were attended by well-known ulema of the Najaf Seminary, in Iraq.

117 solar years ago, on this day in 1899 AD, famous Egyptian architect, Hassan Fathi, was born in Alexandria. He pioneered appropriate technology for building, especially by working to re-establish the use of mud brick (or adobe) and traditional as opposed to western building designs and lay-outs. He designed nearly 160 separate projects, from modest country retreats to fully planned communities with police, fire, and medical services, markets, schools, theatres, and places for worship and recreation. He utilized ancient design methods and materials, as well as knowledge of the rural Egyptian economic situation with a wide knowledge of ancient architectural and town design techniques. He trained local inhabitants to make their own materials and build their own buildings. He served as the advocate of traditional natural-energy solutions in major community projects for Iraq and Pakistan and undertook extended travel and research for 'Cities of the Future' programme in Africa.

85 solar years ago, on this day in 1931 AD, Sharif Hussein of Mecca and later the king of Hijaz, died in exile in Amman, Jordan, at the age of 77. A member of the Awn clan of the Banu Qatadah tribe that claimed descent from Imam Hasan Mojtaba (AS), the elder grandson of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA), he was perceived to have rebellious inclinations against Ottoman rule, and in 1893 was summoned to Istanbul where he was kept on the Council of State. In 1908, in the aftermath of the Young Turk Revolution, he was appointed Emir of Mecca by Sultan Abdul Hamid II. In 1916, with British support, he proclaimed the Arab Revolt against the Ottoman Empire and styled himself king of Hijaz. In 1921 the British installed two of his sons as kings – Faisal in Iraq and Abdullah in the newly created state of Jordan. In March 1924, when the Ottoman caliphate was abolished, Hussein proclaimed himself as caliph, although no one accepted him as such. Later, the crafty British withdrew their support from Hussein, when their other agent, the desert brigand from Najd, Abdul-Aziz ibn Saud invaded and occupied Hijaz by unleashing bloodbaths in the holy cities of Mecca and Medina, as well as in Jeddah and Ta’ef. In October 1924, facing defeat by Ibn Saud, he abdicated and was briefly succeeded as king of Hijaz by his eldest son Ali, whom the Wahhabis ousted coupled with their wide-scale desecration of the holy shrines in Mecca and Medina, including demolition of the sacred Baqie Cemetery. On the fall of Hijaz, Hussein was forced to flee to Cyprus, before shifting to Amman, where his son Abdullah was king.

53 solar years ago, on this day in 1963 AD, the Iranian people staged massive demonstrations against the British-installed and US-backed Shah, following news of detention of the Father of Islamic Revolution, Imam Khomeini (God bless him) in the aftermath of his bold exposure to the public of the evil nature of the Pahlavi regime. The regime attacked the people and brutally suppressed them, martyring and wounding a large number of Iranian Muslims. The historical uprising known as "15th of Khordad" marked the starting point of the Islamic movement which was to change Iran's destiny. Though Imam Khomeini was exiled a year later, the movement culminated in his eventual return home and the triumph of Islamic Revolution on February 11, 1979.

30 solar years ago, on this day in 1986 AD, US Navy intelligence analyst Jonathan Jay Pollard, pleaded guilty to espionage for selling top secret United States military intelligence to Israel. He was caught red-handed in November 1995 while spying for the illegal Zionist entity. This was a rare case of a surrogate state spying against its own godfather who, because of shared animosity against Muslims and Arabs, never withheld any sensitive information or sophisticated military technology. In 1987 Pollard, who is a Jew, confessed that he passed classified documents to Israel, and was subsequently sentenced to life in prison. The Zionist entity has continued to lobby for his release, and in 1995 on this same day, it granted citizenship to this American Jew.

27 solar years ago, on this day in 1989 AD, several Chinese students, deceived by western propaganda, were killed by security forces at Tiananmen Square in Beijing. Thousands of students had gathered in this square, demanding an open political atmosphere, enhancement of the parliament’s power, and end of communist rule. When after due warnings they failed to disperse and continued to be misled by propaganda from the US, the Chinese government ordered a crackdown that resulted in death and injury of several students. Since then, Western regimes, especially the US, as part of their pressure tactics, have indulged in the propaganda of violation of human rights in a bid to check China's astounding progress.

27 solar years ago, on this day in 1989 AD, famed Iranian painter and illuminator-artist, Abdullah Baqeri, passed away in his hometown Tehran at the age of 76. Besides his illuminative work on books, he also designed beautiful colour patterns for carpet-weaving. 

AS/ME