Today is Friday; 15th of the Iranian month of  Mordad 1395 solar hijri; corresponding to 2nd of the Islamic month of Zi’l-Qa’dah 1437 lunar hijri; and August 5, 2016, of the Christian Gregorian Calendar.

1126 lunar years ago,on this day in 311 AH, the Iranian Sunni Muslim compiler of hadith, Mohammad ibn Ishaq Ibn Khuzaymah Naishapuri, passed away at the age of 88. After basic studies in his homeland he travelled to Iraq, Syria, and Egypt, collecting hadith from different sources before returning to Iran, where he took up residence in Gorgan. He is the compiler of the book "Mukhtasar al-Mukhtasar min al-Musnad as-Sahih", which is known as "Sahih Ibn Khuzaymah". Though not included in the "Sihah as-Sitta" or the Six Canonical Hadith Compendiums of the Ahl as-Sunnah, it is considered by many prominent Sunni figures such as the medieval Egyptian scholar, Jalal od-Din Suyuti, as next only to "Sahih Bukhari" and "Sahih Muslim". Like all other compilers of Sunni hadith – all of whom were Iranians and are held in high esteem by modern day Arab Salafis – Ibn Khuzaymah failed to have any direct contact with the Infallible Imams or their disciples for determination of authentic hadith, although he has mentioned some of the unsurpassed merits of the Ahl al-Bayt of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA). He also authored the book "Kitab at-Towheed wa Ithbat Sifat ar-Rabb".

1114 lunar years ago, on this day in 323 AH, the imposter and apostate, Mohammad ibn Ali ash-Shalmaghani, who falsely claimed to be an emissary and gateway to Imam Mahdi (AS), was executed and hanged in Baghdad by Caliph Raadhi-Billah, when he failed to serve the evil designs of the usurper Abbasid regime in undermining the followers of the Ahl al-Bayt during the “Ghaybat-as-Sughra” (Minor Occultation) of the 12^th and Last Heir of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA) – may Allah hasten his reappearance to cleanse the earth of all vestiges of oppression and corruption, and to establish the global government of peace, prosperity and justice. Shalmaghani, after a good beginning as a scholar, fell prey to the satanic temptations of greed and jealousy, because of his personal enmity with the 12^th Imam’s 3^rd Deputy, Hussain Ibn Rouh Nowbakhti, and finally went completely astray, to the extent that the Imam had to personally issue a denunciation with his sacred seal so as to caution the followers of the Ahl al-Bayt against believing in his false claims.

1077 solar years ago, on this day in 939 AD, the Battle of Alhandic was fought between Ramiro II of León and Abdur-Rahman III at Zamora in Spain, resulting in a victory for the Muslim Emirate of Cordoba.

738 solar years ago, on this day in 1278 AD, the siege of Algeciras ended in Spain with the victory of the Emirate of Gharnata (Granada) over the Christian kingdom of Castile.

711 solar years ago, on this day in 1305 AD, William Wallace, who led the Scottish resistance against England, is captured by the English near Glasgow and transported to London where he is put on trial and executed.

554 lunar years ago,on this day in 883 AH, the Treaty of Istanbul was signed by the Ottoman Empire and the Republic of Venice, officially ending the 15-year war between the two sides as a result of the advance of the Turks under Sultan Mohammad Fateh (conqueror of Constantinople) to the outskirts of Venice. The Venetians ceded Shkodra and other territories on the Dalmatian coastline, as well as the Greek islands of Negroponte and Lemnos. They also agreed to pay a tribute of around 10,000 ducats per year for trading privileges in the Black Sea.

534 lunar years ago, on this day in 903 AH, the prominent Iranian historian, Seyyed Mohammad Ibn Khwandshah Ibn Maḥmoud, popular as Mir-Khwand, passed away in the Khorasani city of Herat (presently in Afghanistan) at the age of 67. Born in Balkh, he belonged to a noble family of Bukhara (presently in Uzbekistan) that traced its descent from Prophet Mohammad (SAWA). He lived most of his life in Herat at the Timurid court of Sultan Hussain Bayqarah, and authored the famous universal history “Rawzat as-Safa” (Garden of Purity). He was a friend of the scholarly minister, Ali Shir Navaei. Mir-Khwand’s grandson (daughter’s son) was the famous Persian historian, Ghiyas od-Din Khwandamir, the author of “Habeeb as-Siyar” and “Qanoun-e Humayuni”, who also flourished at the court of Herat, and moved to India in the waning years of his life to the court of another branch of the Timurids, the Mughals, founded by Zaheer od-Din Babar.

300 solar years ago, on this day in 1716 AD, the battle of Petrovaradin in Serbia resulted in a decisive victory for Austrian forces in the war against the Ottoman Empire, which had assembled a large army of 150,000 in Belgrade for the Turkish advance into Europe.

253 solar years ago, on this day in 1763 AD, the Battle of Bushy Run took place in western Pennsylvania, between the British led by Colonel Henry Bouquet and a combined force of the Amerindian tribes of Delaware, Shawnee, Mingo, and Huron. After a two-day seesaw struggle, the better armed British slaughtered a great many of native Amerindians and went on to relieve the garrison of Fort Pitt that was under siege. The battle was part of the 2-year war known an Pontiac’s Rebellion after the most prominent Amerindian Chief, who campaigned to drive out the Anglo-Saxon invaders from the Great Lake regions of what is now the US and Canada. The British resorted to brutal tactics, deception, massacres, and genocide, including spreading of epidemics, such as the smallpox virus, in order to decimate the native population. The war demonstrated the possibilities of pan-tribal cooperation in resisting European expansion despite the conspiracies of the colonialists to divide Amerindian tribes. It was the first war between Europeans and Native North Americans that did not end in complete defeat of the Amerindians.

121 solar years ago, on this day in 1895 AD, German philosopher, Friedrich Engels, died in London at the age of 75. A close friend of his compatriot, Karl Marx, who coined the theory of Marxism, he was persecuted for his political views and fled to Britain in 1850. The book “Communist Manifesto”, published in 1848 is the joint work of Engels and Marx.

64 solar years ago, on this day in 1952 AD, Egyptian nuclear scientist, Sameera Musa, was killed in a mysterious accident in the US at the age of 35, and it is widely believed that this budding Muslim lady scientist was the victim of foul play by the CIA and Mossad. After obtaining a doctorate in atomic radiation – the first woman to do so – she worked to make the medical use of nuclear technology affordable to all. She organized the Atomic Energy for Peace Conference and sponsored a call for setting an international conference under the banner "Atom for Peace". She used to say: "I will make nuclear treatment as cheap as Aspirin". She also volunteered to help treat cancer patients at various hospitals. She was offered scholarship by the Fullbright Atomic Program of the US, but on visiting the US, she turned down several offers that required her to live there and be granted American citizenship. On the eve of her return home, she was invited to a trip to California, and on the way the car suddenly went down from a height of 40 feet, which killed her immediately. Later it was proved that the invitation letter was false, and besides the vanishing of the driver who jumped from the car just before it went down, it was revealed that Egypt's Jewish actress Raqya Ibrahim (Rachel Abraham), with connections to Israel, was behind Sameera's mysterious trip to California.

56 solar years ago, on this day in 1960 AD, the West African Muslim majority country of Burkina Faso became independent from French colonial rule. Formerly known as Upper Volta, it covers an area of more than 274,000 sq km. and shares borders with Mali, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Togo, Benin, and Niger. Over 70 percent of the people are Muslims.

39 solar years ago, on this day in the year 1977 AD, in a bid to avert the Iranian people's growing anger, the Pahlavi Shah dismissed his longtime Prime Minister, Amir Abbas Hovaida, who for thirteen years had carried on the US dictated repressive policies against the Muslim people of Iran. A year and a half later, following the triumph of the Islamic Revolution, Hovaida was put on trial, and executed for treason against the Iranian nation.

29 solar years ago, on this day in 1987 AD, the Deputy Commander of Islamic Republic of Iran Army’s Air Force, Major General Abbas Babai, was martyred at the age of 37 while on a sortie during the 8-year Iraqi imposed war. He was a committed and courageous pilot. Born in the city of Qazvin, he joined the army and graduated as a pilot. Following the victory of the Islamic Revolution, he pledged allegiance to Imam Khomeini. When the US through Saddam imposed the 8-year war on the Islamic Republic of Iran, he flew on some of the most difficult missions with great skill and success.

28 solar years ago, on this day in 1988 AD, the battered and bruised Saddam of the repressive Ba’th minority regime of Baghdad, officially ended the 8-year war he had imposed on US orders on the Islamic Republic of Iran, 17 days after his formal acceptance of UN Security Council Resolution 598 during which he had made a last attempt to seize more Iranian territory by continuing hostilities and sending thousands of fully armed MKO hypocrites across the border. The valour and alertness of Iran’s Muslim combatants thwarted the plots of Saddam, who two years later was officially declared as aggressor of the 8-year war by the UN.

26 solar years ago, on this day in 1990 AD, during the 19th round of ministerial meetings of the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) in Cairo, the Declaration of Islamic Human Rights was approved and this day was designated as the Day of Islamic Human Rights and Mankind’s Dignity. The Declaration consists of a prelude and 25 articles. It was the result of the objection of Islamic states to the flawed UN Declaration of Human Rights. The most important feature, which distinguishes the Declaration of Islamic Human Rights from the UN version, is the focus on spiritual rights and dignity of mankind on the basis of religion. The Declaration of Islamic Human Rights also emphasizes on the right of nations to struggle against colonialism.

11 solar years ago, on this day in 2005 AD, President Dr. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, a day after taking oath of allegiance as president, made it clear that the European Union’s proposal for ending the West’s politicizing of Iran’s peaceful nuclear programme was "unacceptable" because it did not give the country the right to enrich uranium as per the NPT and IAEA rules. After over a decade of illegal sanctions, assassination of Iranian scientists, and other lawless measures, the US and its two West European accomplices – France and Britain – finally acknowledged in Vienna last month, Iran’s inalienable right to enrich uranium for peaceful purposes.

9 solar years ago, on this day in 2007 AD, Iran showed off for the first time a new fighter jet, built using domestic technology. The "Azarakhsh" (or Lightning) Jet, one of the first to be home-produced by Iran, made a successful flight in the central city of Isfahan.