Today is Monday; 18th of the Iranian month of Mordad 1395 solar hijri; corresponding to 5th of the Islamic month of Zi’l-Qa’dah 1437 lunar hijri; and August 8, 2016, of the Christian Gregorian Calendar.

Some 4,500 lunar years ago, on this day, by the command of God Almighty, Prophet Abraham, along with his firstborn son, Ishmael, started rebuilding the holy Ka'ba in Mecca, a millennium and one-hundred-and-eighty seven (1187) years after it was destroyed by the great deluge of the days of Prophet Noah. Built by Adam at the dawn of creation as the Symbolic House of the Unseen but Omnipresent God, the cube-shaped edifice had been reduced to red-hued hillock by the roaring waters. The Hajar al-Aswad (Sacred Black Stone) was recovered from nearby Mount Abu Qubais, and installed in one of the corners of the Ka'ba by father and son. “As Abraham raised the foundations of the House with Ishmael, [they prayed]: ‘Our Lord, accept it from us! Indeed You are the All-Hearing, the All-Knowing.’” (Holy Qur’an 2:127)

2056 solar years ago, on this day in 40 BC, Marcus Antonius (Mark Anthony) Roman General of the ruling Triumvirate, invaded western territories of Iran’s Parthian Empire in the Levant, Anatolia and Armenia, with a huge force of 100,000 legionaries, without the permission of the Senate. His army was financed by his paramour Cleopatra of Egypt, and was eventually defeated by the Parthian Emperor, Farhad IV (Phrates). Although after capturing Jerusalem and surrounding areas in 37 BC, he installed Herod as puppet king of Judaea, replacing the Parthian appointee Antigonus, the campaign proved a disaster. After defeats in battle, the desertion of his Armenian allies and his failure to capture Parthian strongholds, he retreated to Egypt in 36 BC and again in 34 BC, as his army lost more than a quarter of its strength.

773 lunar years ago, on this day in 664 AH, the theologian, hadith scholar, historian, and literary figure, Ali Ibn Musa Razi od-Din, popularly known as "Seyyed Ibn Tawous" passed away at the age of 75. The House of Aal-e Tawous was originally from Medina tracing its descent from Imam Hasan Mojtaba (AS), the elder grandson of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA). He belonged to a most famous religious and scholarly family in the Iraqi city of Hillah. He spent his childhood and teenage years in Hillah, studying under his grandfather and father, before leaving for Najaf, Karbala and Kazemayn. He stayed in Baghdad for 15 years, mastering different branches of science including theology and astronomy. He led an ascetic life and rejected posts offered by the caliphs of the usurper Abbasid regime. He was a prolific writer and has left behind a number of books in ethics, theology, philosophy, hadith, and astronomy, which have been translated and reprinted on several occasions. Among his important compilations is titled "al-Luhouf", on the heartrending events of the tragedy of Karbala, and is considered one of the authentic accounts of the martyrdom of the Prophet’s younger grandson, Imam Husain (AS). His other important book is: "al-Malahem wa’l-Fitan", on the events to occur in the end times, prior to and concurrent with the reappearance of Imam Mahdi (AS), the 12^th Infallible Successor of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA). He is also the author of the famous Prayer Manual "Iqbal al-A'maal". His brothers and son were also famous scholars.

548 lunar years ago, on this day in 889 AH, Mahmoud Shah I (Begara), the most prominent Sultan of Gujarat, captured the Rajput stronghold of Champaner, completely rebuilt it, and renamed it Mohammadabad. He transferred his capital to this city from Ahmadabad – built by his great-grandfather and founder of the Muzaffarid Dynasty, Ahmad Shah I. Mahmoud Shah built a magnificent Jama Masjid in Champaner, which ranks amongst the finest architectural edifices of the Indo-Persian style in Gujarat. It is an imposing structure on a high plinth with two tall minarets 30 m tall, 172 pillars and seven mihrabs, in addition to carved entrance gates with fine latticed windows, topped by domes. He also captured Bombay during his 43-year rule, styling himself "Sultan al-Barr wa'l-Bahr" (King of the Land and the Sea). He laid the foundation of the city of Mahmoudabad (Junagadh), adorning it with a palace, beautiful buildings and extensive gardens. In order to thwart the designs of the Portuguese, he entered into an alliance with the Mamluk Sultans of Egypt and the Turkish Ottoman Empire. It was during his time that the famous naval Battle of Diu was fought off the coast of India, resulting in a shattering defeat for the European invaders by the joint fleets of Gujarat, Egypt and the Ottomans. Persian literature flourished at his court.

97 solar years ago, on this day in 1919 AD, an ominous accord was imposed on Iran by Britain, putting Iran’s military, political, and economic affairs under supervision of British agents. Signed by Iranian premier, Vosouq od-Dowleh and British Viceroy of India, Lord Curzon, Iran was virtually turned into a British protectorate, two years after the Bolshevik Revolution that ended Russia’s colonial rivalry with Britain. The Iranian people’s opposition led to the annulment of the scandalous accord, a factor that enraged Britain and made it mastermind a coup some two years later through the illiterate soldier, Reza Khan, to ensure its domination of Iran.

74 solar years ago, on this day in 1942 AD, the Quit India Movement was launched in India against the British rule in response to Mohandas Gandhi's call for swaraj or complete independence.

71 solar years ago, on this day in 1945 AD, the Soviet Leader, Joseph Stalin, declared war on Japan which had occupied Manchuria in northeastern China. The attack came on the heels of the criminal US atomic bombing of the Japanese city of Hiroshima, enabling Russia to take control of North Korea and the Kurile Islands. These Islands are still the point of friction between Japan and Russia.

53 solar years ago, on this day in 1963 AD, the Great Train Robbery occurred in England, when a gang of 15 robbers stole £2.6 million (equivalent of £48 million today) in bank notes. The train was travelling between Glasgow and London. Although most of the gang was arrested and the ringleaders sentenced to 30 years in jail, the bulk of the stolen money was never recovered.

49 solar years ago, on this day in 1967 AD, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) was founded by Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand. It now includes five more countries – Laos, Myanmar, Vietnam, Brunei and Cambodia. It is a major pole of world economy.

32 solar years ago, on this day in 1984 AD, prominent Iranian writer and translator, Abu’l-Qassem Najafabadi “Payendeh”, passed away at the age of 71. Born in Najafabad, after completing his studies in Isfahan, he settled in the capital Tehran, and became a regular contributor to newspapers and magazines. For over 40 years he was active in producing several works, which included a translation of the holy Qur’an, as well as the translations of important Arabic works into Persian, such as “Murouj az-Zahab” of al-Mas’oudi, and Abu Ja’far Tabari’s monumental history “Tarikh Rusol wa’l-Muluk”.

31 solar years ago, on this day in 1985 AD, the theologian, Ayatollah Mirza Mohammad Saqafi, passed away at the age of 90. Born in Tehran, he was a product of the Qom Seminary where he attained the status of Ijtehad. He spent a lifetime promoting Islam and writing books on exegesis of the Holy Qur’an, theology, jurisprudence and hadith. Among his works is 5-volume book in Persian titled “Ravaan-e Javid”.

26 solar years ago, on this day in 1990, Ba’thist dictator, Saddam, following his invasion of Kuwait on August 2, announced its annexation to Iraq, resulting in the Persian Gulf War and the ouster of Iraqi forces over six months later. Ironically, the US ambassador to Iraq, April Gilespie, had given Saddam the green signal to occupy Kuwait. Codenamed Operation Desert Storm, the war was launched by the US along with a coalition of 33 other nations, starting on 17th January 1991. On 29 January, Iraqi forces attacked and occupied the lightly defended Saudi city of Khafji with tanks and infantry. The Battle of Khafji ended two days later when the Iraqis were driven back into Kuwait through extensive artillery fire and airstrikes. In early February the coalition forces swept into Kuwait and after clearing Kuwait City of all Ba’thist occupation forces, crossed the border into Iraq in pursuit of the fleeing troops on February 24. The oppressed people of Iraq, encouraged by the defeat of the Ba’thist war machine, launched a popular uprising in both the Shi’ite Arab south and the Kurdish north, liberating large swathes of territory including the holy cities of Karbala and Najaf, and almost encircling Baghdad. At the prospects of victory of the Iraqi people, the US, which had deceitfully appealed to them to rise up against Ba’thist rule, betrayed their aspirations by abruptly announcing the end of war on February 28, and allowing its agent Saddam to use brutal force, including heavy artillery and helicopter gunships against the defenceless people. As a result some, seven hundred thousand Iraqi Arab Shi’ites were massacred, and the holy shrines – of Imam Ali (AS) and of Imam Husain and Hazrat Abbas (AS) in Karbala desecrated – while in the north 1.5 million Kurds sought refuge in the Islamic Republic of Iran.

24 solar years ago, on this day in 1992 AD, the Source of Emulation, Grand Ayatollah Seyyed Abul-Qasem Musavi Khoyi, passed away at the age of 93 in Kufa, a year and some five months after the brutally crushed popular uprising of the Iraqi people against the repressive Ba’th minority regime, during which he was forcibly taken to Baghdad and made to appear on TV with the bloodthirsty dictator, Saddam. It is believed the regime martyred him through poisoning. Born in the northwestern Iranian city of Khoy, after preliminary studies in Tabriz, he left for holy Najaf in Iraq at the age of 13 years to continue his studies. Here, his piety and knowledge attracted the attention of the Indian-based Iranian religious scholar, Mirza Ahmad Najafi-Tabrizi, who gave his daughter in marriage to him and lodged him in his own house. Mirza Ahmad used to frequent the semi-independent state of Banganapalle in south India, ruled by a Seyyed family of Iranian origin, who were patrons of scholars and learning. Soon Ayatollah Khoyi mastered various sciences such as logic, rhetoric, theology, jurisprudence and philosophy, and in the process attained the status of Ijtehad. In 1971, he succeeded Grand Ayatollah Seyyed Mohsin al-Hakim as the leading Marja’ of the Islamic world and thereafter groomed a large number of scholars from Iran, Iraq, the Subcontinent, Bahrain and Lebanon. Among his valuable books, mention can be made of “Lectures in the Principles of Jurisprudence”, in 10 volumes, “Islamic Law” in 18 volumes, and "Mu'jam Rijal al-Hadith" in 24 volumes. The last named is an authoritative work on evaluation of narrators of hadith. He was also politically conscious of the issues of the World of Islam, and in regard to the Palestinian cause, he issued a fatwa, emphasizing the need to defend Palestine and to liberate Holy Qods. During the 8-year war imposed on Iran in the 1980s by the US through Saddam, he refused to yield to the Ba’thist regime’s pressures to denounce the Islamic Republic, even though his house was frequently subjected to water and electricity cuts on Saddam’s orders.

 18 solar years ago, on this day in 1998 AD, the terrorist Taliban militia on occupying the northern Afghan city of Mazar-e Sharif violated the diplomatic immunity of the Iranian Consulate and martyred eight Iranian diplomats and the IRNA reporter, Mahmoud Saremi. Formed in 1994 in Pakistan with US arms and Saudi money, the Taliban rebels started the civil war to topple the legal government of President Burhan od-Din Rabbani. During their short and barbaric rule, the Taliban tarnished the image of Islam by indulging in medieval European atrocities against the Muslim people, until they were ousted by their own creators, the Americans, in late 2001.