Today is Monday; 7th of the Iranian month of Tir 1395 solar hijri; corresponding to 21st of the Islamic month of Ramadhan 1437 lunar hijri; and June 27, 2016, of the Christian Gregorian Calendar.

Some three-and-a-half millennia ago, on this date (Ramadhan 21), Prophet Moses (AS), passed away at the age of over 120, after delivering the Israelites from bondage in Pharaonic Egypt, expounding the laws of the heavenly scripture Torah that God revealed to him, and giving the tidings of the Last and Greatest Messenger to be raised among the Ishmaelite Arabs, Prophet Mohammad (SAWA).

Over three millennia ago, on this date (Ramadhan 21) Prophet Joshua (Yusha’ in Arabic) passed away. He was successor of Prophet Moses (AS).

Over two millennia ago, on this date (Ramadhan 21) Prophet Jesus (AS) was raised alive to the sky by God, to save him from possible death at the hands of the Romans, following his betrayal by the treacherous Israelite, Judas Iscariot, who instead was crucified on the cross. God had revealed the Evangel to Jesus for the guidance of the ever-rebellious Israelites, who plotted against him, and refused to listen to the Messiah’s tidings of the coming of the Last and Greatest Messenger with the universal message of Islam, Prophet Mohammad (SAWA).

1396 lunar years ago, on this day in 40 AH, the Commander of True Believers, the Leader of the Pious, the Symbol of Justice, the Epitome of Valour, and the Gateway of the City of Knowledge, Imam Ali Ibn Abi Taleb (AS), was martyred in Kufa and laid to rest in nearby Najaf, which today is one of the foremost centres of pilgrimage with its golden domed shrine. Two days earlier, while in the state of ritual prayer, he was fatally struck on the head by the poisoned sword of the renegade, Abdur-Rahman Ibn Muljam. As the cousin, ward, son-in-law, and divinely-decreed vicegerent of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA), Imam Ali (AS) needs no introduction. His model government of social justice, which no administration anywhere in the world has ever succeeded to match, continues to be an inspiration for the seekers of truth. As the unrivalled master of eloquence and wisdom, his sermons, letters and maxims, have been collected in book forms for more than a millennium and two centuries, with the “Nahj al-Balaghah” or Highway of Eloquence, being the most famous. Interestingly, all Sufi or mystical orders trace their origin to his ascetic way of life, while even Sunni Muslims, despite regarding him as the 4th caliph in the order of political succession, consider him to be superior to all and everybody else after Prophet Mohammad (SAWA).

442 solar years ago, on this day in 1574 AD, Giorgio Vasari, Italian historian, painter, and architect, died at the age of 63 in Florence. He is famous for writing the book “Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects”, considered the ideological foundation of art-historical writing. Born in Arezzo, Tuscany, he became a pupil of Guglielmo da Marsiglia, a skillful painter of stained glass. At the age of sixteen he moved to Florence and became apprentice to leading painters. He was befriended by the famous Michelangelo whose painting style would influence his own. He was more successful as an architect, and designed some still flourishing passageways and churches including the Basilica of Our Lady of Humility in Pistoia. His book is notoriously in favour of Florentines and tends to attribute to them all the new developments in Renaissance art – for example, the invention of engraving. Venetian art in particular let alone other parts of Europe is systematically ignored. Vasari often wrote with carelessness, confusing dates and places, and taking no pains to verify the truth of his assertions, but despite these shortcomings, it is one of the basic sources for information on the Renaissance in Italy.

409 lunar years ago, on this day in 1028 AH, the scholar Seyyed Jamal od-Din Majed bin Hashem bin Ali al-Hussaini, known as Seyyed Majed al-Bahrani, passed away in Shiraz and was laid to rest in the mausoleum of Seyyed Ahmad Shah Chiragh, the son of Imam Musa al-Kazem (AS), the 7^th Infallible Heir of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA). Born in Bahrain, which was an integral part of Iran, for higher religious studies he came to the Safavid capital Isfahan, where among his teachers was the celebrated Shaikh Baha od-Din Ameli. In turn he was the teacher of Faiz Kashani, and on his return to Bahrain where he served as judge and Friday Prayer Leader, he groomed several local Arab scholars. He moved to Shiraz, where he held the same positions, and stayed till the end of his life. He wrote several books.

333 lunar years ago, on this day in 1104 AH, the famous Islamic scholar, Mohammad Ibn Hassan Ibn Ali Ibn Hussain al-Amili al-Mashghari, known popularly as Shaikh Horr-e Ameli, passed away in Mashhad at the age of 71 and was laid to rest in one of the northern porches of the Grand Mausoleum of Imam Reza (AS), the 8^th Infallible Heir of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA). Born in the Jabal Amel region of southern Lebanon, he studied in his homeland under prominent scholars, and later performed the Hajj and pilgrimage to the holy shrines of Iraq. Till the age of 40 he stayed in Lebanon, before migrating to Safavid Iran where after a meeting with the famous Iranian scholar in Isfahan, Allamah Mohammad Baqer Majlisi, he was given the position of Shaikh al-Islam in Mashhad – a duty which he discharged for 30 years. He was a prolific writer and among the many books he wrote, mention could be made of “Wasa’el ash-Shi’a”, which is an encyclopedic work on hadith.

256 solar years ago, on this day in 1760 AD, Cherokee warriors defeated British forces at the Battle of Echoee near present-day Otto, North Carolina during the Anglo-Cherokee War.

181 solar years ago, on this day in 1835 AD, the Iranian statesman and political figure, Mirza Abu’l-Qasem Qa’em Maqaam Farahani, was killed for carrying out political and administrative reforms that the colonialists and their local agents deemed against their interests. He served as regent to the young Mohammad Shah Qajar, and later as Grand Vizier. But within a year, due to the intrigues of John Campbell, the British representative in Iran, Farahani was arrested and subsequently murdered. He was kept for five or six days in a room in the basement of Negarestan without any food so that he would die when his strength diminishes. Eventually, the executioner, Safar Ismael Khan Qarajeh Daghi entered the basement and thrusting a handkerchief in his mouth, suffocated him. Farahani had mastered many sciences of the day in addition to literary techniques and initiated a new style in Persian prose. Among his works is a Divan of Persian poetry and the “Mansha’at” in prose.

232 lunar years ago, on this date in 1205 AH, the virtuous scholar Seyyed Sadeq Ibn Ali Ibn Hussain al-A'araj al-Fakhaam, passed away.

177 solar years ago, on this day in 1839 AD, the Sikh ruler, Maharaja Ranjit Singh, died after a reign of nearly forty years and within ten years the empire he had built up by conquering Punjab, Kashmir, and the Pashtu areas up to the frontier of Afghanistan, was annexed by the British. Acquainted with the Persian language, he began as a young soldier in the service of the Afghan king, Zamaan Shah Durrani, who made him governor of a part of Punjab. He then assembled his Sikh army and began war with his Afghan benefactors by seizing Lahore and ending their rule in Punjab. He desecrated the grand Badshahi Mosque of Lahore by turning it into a stable. In 1818, he occupied Multan and advanced upon Peshawar. His dreams of invading Afghanistan did not materialize, but when Shah Shuja sought asylum with the Sikhs, Ranjit Singh forced him to give up the fabulous Koh-e Noor diamond which Nader Shah of Iran had taken from the Mughal Emperor Mohammad Shah of Delhi and which after him had fallen to the share of the Afghan general, Ahmad Shah Abdali Durrani. In 1849, when the British defeated the Sikhs, they seized Koh-e Noor (Persian for Mountain of Light), which is currently in the crown of the British queen.

136 solar years ago, on this day in 1880 AD, the researcher and author, Helen Keller, was born in the US. She lost her eyesight and hearing ability in childhood due to illness and started learning as of the age of seven. She learned the alphabet of the blind within three years. She gradually recovered her hearing ability, learning to speak with the hard efforts of her teacher, thereby opening a new window to her surrounding environment. Following completion of her academic studies, she penned and published numerous books. She also delivered speeches in different circles and assemblies and founded several educational centers for the blind in the US and other countries, out of the revenues of her speeches. Among her most important books is “The Story of My Life”.

145 lunar years ago, on this date in 1292 AH, the scholar Seyyed Mohammed Reza al-Mazandarani al-Isfahani, passed away.

62 solar years ago, on this day in 1954 AD, the world's first atomic power station began producing electricity in Obninsk, USSR, a small town 60 miles south of Moscow. The plant used a small, graphite moderated, water-cooled reactor, and could produce 5 megawatts. The reactor was used for both civilian power needs and also military purposes, such as research into the possibility of propelling submarines with nuclear power. It generated electricity until 1968, but continued in use for experiments and to warm the town's centrally distributed hot water supply. Final shutdown took place in 2002 for reason of being unprofitable.

62 solar years ago, on this day in 1954 AD, CIA-sponsored rebels overthrew the elected government of Guatemala. A US supported force of mercenaries invaded from Honduras to topple President Arbenz whose government was replaced by 30 years of military rule.

39 solar years ago, on this day in 1977 AD, Djibouti was liberated from the yoke of French colonial rule after 81 years of occupation and this day is marked as National Day in this country situated in the Horn of Africa. It was one of the last countries to join the Arab League. Djibouti is situated in the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, which links the Red Sea to the Indian Ocean and therefore maintains a highly strategic position.

35 solar years ago, on this day in 1981 AD, Chief Justice, Ayatollah Dr. Seyyed Mohammad Husseini Beheshti, along with 72 officials of the Islamic Revolution, including ministers and MPs, was martyred in a terrorist bomb blast by the MKO hypocrites at the headquarters of the Islamic Republic Party in Tehran. Ayatollah Dr. Beheshti, as a loyal follower of Imam Khomeini (God bless him) was considered a pillar of the Islamic Revolution. He played a major role in drafting the constitution of the Islamic Republic, establishing the Islamic Judicial system, foiling plots of anti-revolutionaries, and standing firm against US conspiracies. According to the late Imam, Ayatollah Beheshti was like a nation and his martyrdom revealed the true, ominous nature of the MKO terrorists.

29 solar years ago, on this day in 1987 AD, the Iranian city of Sardasht was chemically attacked by Saddam’s repressive Ba’th minority regime, resulting in the martyrdom of 110 civilians. Saddam’s use of internationally banned chemical weapons supplied to him by the West and his committing of other abominable war crimes, were because of his series of defeats at the warfronts against Iran’s Muslim combatants. Neither the UN nor any international agency condemned these reprehensible crimes.

23 solar years ago, on this day in 1993 AD, the US targeted the Iraqi capital, Baghdad and its outskirts, with 23 long-range missiles under the pretext of involvement of the Ba’th regime in an assassination attempt against former US president, George Bush Senior, during his visit to Kuwait on April 1993. Bush Senior, during his presidency, had ordered the offensive to drive out the Iraqi army from Kuwait.

21 solar years ago, on this day in 1995 AD, Hamad Aal-e Thani toppled his father Khalifa bin Hamad Aal-e Thani and seized power as ruler of the Persian Gulf Sheikhdom of Qatar, on the orders of the US, while the latter was in Geneva, Switzerland on a pleasure trip. On June 25, 2013, after 20 years in power, Hamad was ordered by the US to hand over power to his 33-year son Tamim. It is interesting to note that Khalifa who is still alive at 83 years of age, had come to power himself by deposing his cousin, Sheikh Ahmad bin Ali on 22nd February 1972 while the latter was on a hunting trip in Iran and had ruled since 1960 when his own father, Ali bin Abdullah had abdicated in his favour under British pressure.

19 solar years ago, on this day in 1997 AD, Tajik President, Emomali Rahman, and the leading Tajik Islamist, Seyyed Abdullah Nouri, signed a peace treaty in Moscow, thereby terminating the five-year civil war in the Central Asian Persian speaking republic. A year after Tajikistan’s independence, civil war broke out between Islamists and the former communist rulers. The UN and regional countries including Iran tried to restore peace, and an agreement was signed in Tehran in May 1997 which was finalized in Moscow with Iran’s mediation. Based on the accord, 30% of governmental posts were given to the opponents and the opposition forces were merged in the Tajik army. Several articles of the constitution were amended to meet the demands of Islamists in Tajikistan. Tajikistan covers an area of almost 143,000 sq km. Its capital is Dushanbe and it shares borders with China, Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, and Kyrgyzstan.

8 solar years ago, on this day in 2008 AD, in Indian-controlled Kashmir tens of thousands of demonstrators filled the streets, burning flags and effigies of Indian leaders on the fifth day of protests against the transfer of land to a Hindu shrine in the Muslim-majority region.

AS/ME