Today is Tuesday; 20th of the Iranian month of Mehr 1395 solar hijri; corresponding to 9th of the Islamic month of Muharram 1438 lunar hijri; and October 11, 2016, of the Christian Gregorian Calendar.

1377 lunar years ago, on the eve of this day in 61 AH, Imam Husain (AS), who was surrounded in Karbala and deprived of access to the waters of the River Euphrates by the bloodthirsty Omayyad hordes, sent one of his loyal companions named Amr ibn Qardha to the enemy camp, asking for a meeting with their commander Omar ibn Sa’d, who in vain pursuit of the riches of the transient world had joined the army of Yazid despite being the son of Sa’d ibn Abi Waqqas, a senior companion of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA). The two met along with 20 men each, and for the final discussion, the Prophet’s grandson proposed a private meeting accompanied by their nearest ones. The Imam was accompanied by his elder son, Hazrat Ali Akbar (AS) and his brother Hazrat Abbas (AS), while Omar was joined by his son Hafas and a slave. When the Imam questioned Omar about his hostile stand in spite of fully knowing the prime position of the Ahl al-Bayt, he replied that he feared the destruction of his house by the Omayyads. The Imam told him that he will provide for him a grand house, to which Omar said his properties might be seized by the regime. The Imam said he will give him better property and wealth in Hijaz, to which Omar said that he feared the tyrannical governor of Kufa, Obaidollah ibn Ziyad might slaughter him and his family. At these lame excuses the Imam stood up and said: What has happened to you; God would cause you to die in your own bed and on the Day of Resurrection and Judgement He would never forgive you for such a cardinal sin of yours. By God, don’t be deceived by the Omayyads, for you are not destined to taste even a single grain of the wheat of Rayy, whose governorship they have promised you. Omar said he would content with some barley of that flourishing land in Iran, ignoring the fact that Imam Husain (AS) has been hailed by the Prophet as the Leader of the Youth of Paradise. Omar returned to his encampment greatly disturbed, and wrote a letter to Obaidullah ibn Ziyad, asking him to let Imam Husain (AS) return to Hijaz or any other place instead of harassing him. Ibn Ziyad became angry and immediately dispatched the despicable Shimr Zil-Jowshan with a letter to Karbala, demanding that either Omar carry out his task of extracting allegiance to Yazid’s ungodly rule, or killing the Prophet’s grandson or handing over command of the army to Shimr.

1377 lunar years ago, on the afternoon of this day in 61 AH, with the arrival of the Godless Shemr Zil-Jowshan in Karbala with a letter from Yazid's tyrannical governor of Kufa, Obaidollah bin Ziyad, to tighten the siege around Imam Husain (AS) and attack him, the ungodly Omayyad hordes led by their commander, Omar bin Sa'd, advanced on the small encampment of the Prophet’s grandson. The Imam sent his brother, Hazrat Abbas (AS) to tell them to delay the attack until the next morning so that he and his followers would pray and supplicate to God on the eve of their eventual martyrdom, since it was out of question to yield to the enemies’ demand. That night the Imam extinguished the lamp and told his followers to avail of the darkness of night and leave him, since it is his life the heartless enemies want and not theirs. The seventy-odd pious and steadfast men refused to leave him, vowing that death in his company was better than a life of humiliation. When Shemr tried to offer a letter of amnesty to Hazrat Abbas (AS) and his brothers on condition of deserting Imam Husain (AS), this valiant standard-bearer spurned the offer and swore never to leave the grandson of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA). That night was spent in prayers and supplications by the Imam and his followers, as they prepared themselves for glorious martyrdom, rather than yielding to the Godless enemy or endorsing the illegitimate rule of the tyrant, Yazid.

444 solar years ago, on this day in 1572 AD, Sulaiman Khan Karrani, the Afghan Sultan of Bengal, or what is now the Indian province of the same name along with Bangladesh, died after a reign of six years. He had succeeded his elder brother Taj Khan Karrani and was followed by his sons Bayazid and Daud Khan who ruled the short-lived semi-independent state that acknowledged Mughal emperor Akbar Shah as the supreme ruler by reciting his name in the Friday Prayer sermons. Though northern India and parts of southern India were ruled by the Muslim rulers, they had not yet been able to conquer Orissa. So in 1568 Sulaiman Khan sent his son and the famous general Kala Pahar against the last Orissan Hindu king Mukunda Deva, who was defeated and the region annexed to the Afghan state of Bengal. The dynasty eventually ceased to exist with the Mughals conquering Bengal when Daud Khan made the fatal error of asserting full independence.

427 lunar years ago, on this day in 1021 AH, the army of the 3rd Great Mughal Emperor of the northern part of the subcontinent, Jalal od-Din Mohammad Akbar Shah, defeated the Afghans in Bengal, killing Osman Lohani, and annexing this land to the empire

382 solar years ago, on this day in 1634 AD, the Burchardi Flood, also known as the "Second Grote Mandrenke", killed around 15,000 people in North Friesland, Denmark and Germany. It was a storm tide that struck the North Sea coast of North Frisia and Dithmarschen on the night between 11 and 12 October. Overrunning dikes, it shattered the coastline and caused catastrophic material damage. Much of the island of Strand was washed away, forming the islands Nordstrand, Pellworm and several Halligen.

117 solar years ago, on this day in 1899 AD, a bloody battle broke out between the British intruders and the Boers or Dutch settlers of South Africa. The Boers were defeated and South Africa became a British colony, until it gained independence in 1931.

101 solar years ago, on this day in 1915 AD, the French biologist and entomologist, Jean Henri Fabre, died at the age 92. He was the first scientist to conduct comprehensive research on the mechanism of instinctive reactions among animals, especially birds, for maintenance of their lives, gathering valuable data in this domain.

25 solar years ago, on this day in 1991 AD, the activities of the Soviet Union's security organization, known as KGB, ended awhile before the collapse of Soviet Union. KGB was founded in 1954 to counter the operations of the CIA and other western spy agencies. Its duties included suppression of opponents of the Communist Party, as well as espionage and counterespionage operations inside and outside the Soviet Union. KGB was the most effective leverage of the communist party's strength. With the dissolution of KGB, its duties were divided between two Russian intelligence organizations.

23 solar years ago, on this day in 1994 AD, the prominent Iranian researcher and translator, Mahmoud Riyazi, passed away. He has left behind several important works such as “Emergence and Downfall of Big Powers”, and “Energy Crisis”.

11 solar years ago, on this day in 2005 AD, Shan ul-Haq Haqqi, Urdu linguist and writer of the Subcontinent, passed away in Canada at the age of 88 while undergoing medical treatment. Born in Delhi to Ehtasham od-Din Haqqi, who wrote a study of the famous Iranian poet, Hafez Shirazi titled “Tarjuman ul-Ghayb”, along with an Urdu translation of “Diwan-e Hafez”, he was a product of Aligarh Muslim University. After migration to Pakistan in 1948, he became a notable Urdu poet, writer, journalist, broadcaster, translator, critic, researcher, linguist and lexicographer of Pakistan. In addition to his regular professional duties, he remained associated with the Urdu Dictionary Board for 17 years from 1958 to 1975, compiling a 24-volume dictionary. He compiled two other dictionaries – “Farhang-e Talaffuz” which is a pronouncing dictionary of Urdu, and the Oxford English-Urdu Dictionary, which is a translation of the eighth and ninth editions of the Concise Oxford English Dictionary. He also translated into Urdu the Hindu Sanskrit classic “Bhagvad Gita”.

6 solar years ago, on this day in 2010 AD, Callixte Mbarushimana, a Rwandan leader of the FDLR rebel group and a former UN employee, was arrested in Paris on charges of leading rebels who committed mass rapes and killings in Congo in 2009. The International Criminal Court charged him with 11 counts of crimes against humanity and war crimes, including killings, rape, persecution based on gender and extensive destruction of property committed by the FDLR during most of 2009. He was extradited to the ICC on 25 January 2011, but was released on 23 December 2011 as the ICC, under political pressure, found there was insufficient evidence for prosecuting him. He is also participated in the Rwandan Genocide of 1994 – a genocidal mass slaughter of Tutsi and moderate Hutu in Rwanda by members of the Hutu majority. During the approximate 100-day period from April 7 to mid-July 1994, an estimated one million Rwandans were killed, constituting as much as 70% of the Tutsi and 20% of Rwanda's total population. The genocide was planned by members of the core political elite known as the Akazu, many of whom occupied positions at top levels of the national government. Perpetrators came from the ranks of the Rwandan army, the National Police (gendarmerie), government-backed militias including the Interahamwe and Impuzamugambi, and the Hutu civilian population.

Today, 20^th of the Iranian month of Mehr, is the day for commemoration of the famous Iranian poet, Khwajah Shams od-Din Mohammad Hafez Shirazi. Born in the southern city of Shiraz in 1348 AD, he was a memorizer of the Holy Qur’an and Arabic literature, and thus popularly known as "Hafez". Being inspired by Islamic teachings, he used unique metaphors, writing the best Persian ghazals or lyrics in the history of Iran's literature. For this reason, the Leader of Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, in an address to congress, commemorating the 600th anniversary of the death of Hafez, termed the commemoration of Hafez as the commemoration of Islamic and Iranian culture and pure thoughts, while naming Hafez as the most glittering cultural figure of Iran. Up to now, numerous commentaries have been written on the Diwan of Hafez, which has been translated into major world languages. Hafez passed away in 1413 AD.

AS/ME