Today is Thursday; 11th of the Iranian month of Azar 1395 solar hijri; corresponding to 1st of the Islamic month of Rabi al-Awwal 1438 lunar hijri; and December 1, 2016, of the Christian Gregorian Calendar.

1438 lunar years ago, on the eve of this day when the infidels of Mecca plotted to assassinate Prophet Mohammad (SAWA), God commanded him to migrate to the city of Yathreb, which subsequently became known as “Medinat an-Nabi”, which means City of the Prophet, or simply Medina, as it is known to this day. Thus on the night of 1st Rabi al-Awwal, the Prophet asked his dear ward and cousin, Imam Ali ibn Abi Taleb (AS), to sleep on his bed so that the assassins hovering around the abode of divine revelation would think that their intended victim was still in the house, and this would enable the Prophet to leave Mecca undetected. The young Imam Ali (AS) gladly accepted the Prophet's proposal at the risk of his life and limbs. At the break of dawn when the infidel Arabs burst into the house to carry out their murderous plot, to their surprise, up sprang from the bed, the valiant Ali (AS), while the Prophet was nowhere to be found. The frustrated Meccans afraid to face the Imam, darted out in every direction hoping to find their victim, but the Prophet had safely taken refuge in the Cave of Thaur far away from the city. A party of infidels tracked his footprints to the said cave, but by the time they arrived, there was a big cobweb on its mouth while a bird had laid eggs, presenting the spectacle of an undisturbed place. They left in despair and later when the danger had subsided the Prophet continued his trek toward Medina. As all exegetes of the holy Qur'an agree, God Almighty pleased with this selfless act of Imam Ali (AS) revealed ayah 207 of Surah Baqarah in his praise, which reads:

"And among mankind is he who sells his soul seeking the pleasure of Allah; and Allah is Most Kind to (His) servants."

The historic migration or hijra thus heralds the emergence of Islam from a persecuted faith to a dynamic state religion, which eventually asserted its universal nature by enlightening most of mankind. After the passing away of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA), on the advice of Imam Ali (AS), the auspicious hijra was fixed as the basis of the Islamic calendar, but unfortunately, the 2nd caliph chose to retain the pagan practice of starting the New Year on the 1st of Muharram instead of Rabi al-Awwal 1st, the actual date of the hijra.

1373 lunar years ago, on this day in 65 AH, the Tawwabin or the Penitents launched their heroic uprising in Iraq to avenge the innocent blood of Imam Husain (AS), who was cruelly martyred in Karbala in 61 AH (680 AD) by the bloodthirsty hordes of the Omayyad usurper, Yazid. The Tawwabin were mostly the inhabitants of Kufa and its surroundings who had invited the Prophet's grandson to Iraq to free them from tyranny, but when Yazid sent the brutal Obaidullah Ibn Ziyad as governor, these people, despite numbering several thousand, lost the courage to support the Imam, and left him alone to be martyred along with 72 steadfast companions including his 6-month infant, Ali Asghar (AS). When the children and womenfolk of the Prophet's household along with the heads of the martyrs mounted on lances, were paraded in Kufa these people were shocked, and soon on the death of Yazid they rose up to drive away Ibn Ziyad. Finally on this day in 65, after visiting the grave of the martyred Imam and beseeching God for forgiveness, the penitents, clad in white shrouds and numbering about 4,000 led by the Prophet's aged 93-year companion, Sulayman bin Surad al-Khuzaie (one of the conquerors of Transoxiana or Central Asia), formally launched their heroic uprising, swearing either to wreak vengeance upon the killers or achieve martyrdom in the process. They created awe and fear among the better armed Omayyad forces sent from Syria, and after initially routing the enemy ranks, most of them achieved martyrdom. The remnants joined the uprising of Mokhtar Ibn Abi Obayda Saqafi for the same purpose and succeeded in bringing to justice most of the killers of the Prophet's grandson, including Ibn Ziyad, Omar Ibn Sa'd, Shemr Ziljowshan, Harmala Ibn Kahel, Khouli, etc.

681 solar years ago, on this day in 1335 AD, Abu Sa’eed Bahador Khan, the last ruler of the Iran-based Ilkhanid Empire that included Iraq and parts of Turkey, Central Asia and Afghanistan, died at the age of 30, without an heir, and with him the dynasty founded in 1255 by Hulagu Khan, the grandson of the fearsome Chingiz Khan, disintegrated. He was the son of Sultan Oljaitu Khodabandeh who had declared the School of the Ahl al-Bayt as the official creed, and who is buried in the famous mausoleum of Sultaniyeh near Zanjan in northwestern Iran. Although, Abu Sa’eed, during his 19-year reign patronized poets and scholars, he was a weak administrator, who committed many excesses, even executing able ministers, such as Rashid od-Din Fazlollah – author of the famous history, “Jame’ at-Tawarikh”. His death split the empire into several principalities, such as the Jalayarids in Iraq, the Chupanids in Azarbaijan- South-eastern Turkey, the Sarbedaran in Khorasan, and the Kartids in what is western Afghanistan. The great voyager Ibn Battuta was amazed at discovering, on his return to Persia, that what had seemed to be such a mighty realm only twenty years before had dissolved so quickly.

391 lunar years ago, on this day in 1047 AH, Iranian merchant, statesman, poet and scholar, Mir Mohammad Amin Shahristani, who held the post of Mir Jumla (prime minister/chancellor) in the Qutb Shahi kingdom of Golkanadeh/Hyderabad in the Deccan (southern India), died at the age of 66 in Hindustan (northern India), while in the service of Mughal Emperor Noor od-Din Jahangir. Born in a prominent Seyyed family in Isfahan, whose members, including his nephew Seyyed Razi, held senior posts at the Safavid court, he travelled to Deccan in 1013 AH (1604-05 AD) to seek fortune and possible state service. The king of Golconda, Mohammad Qoli Qotb Shah recognized his talents and gave him an important position in state administration. He finally became “vakil” (regent). After the death of the king, he was dismissed by the new monarch and moved to the neighbouring Adel-Shahi kingdom of Iranian origin of Bijapur. Unable to find a suitable post there, he returned to Iran (autumn 1614). His nephew being Sadr at that time, he was received courteously by Shah Abbas. He expected a high post at the court, but the Shah did not offer him an important position, being only eager to cash in on the fortune Mir Mohammad had accumulated in India. After four years, he gave up his post at the Safavid court with the intent of going to the Mughal court. Made aware of Mir Mohammad’s ability, Emperor Jahangir wrote him an invitation and Mir Mohammad left Isfahan for the Mughal court in 1027 AH (1617-1831). Jahangir rewarded him with the command of 2,500 foot soldiers and 200 horses for his painstaking journey and his precious gifts. Later he received important positions at court such as “Mir-Samaan” and “Mir-Bakhshi” and was promoted to the command of 5,000 foot soldiers and 2,000 horses. He died in India (1637). An ardent Shi’a Muslim, he gave, according to the book “Ẕakhirat al-Khavanin”, a great deal of money in charity for people starving as a result of a drought in the Deccan, where he had started his career in India and rose to the prime position of Mir Jumla I. At the same time, he sent two hundred thousand rupees every year to his sons and relatives in Iran to buy houses, gardens and property. He excelled in poetry, using the pen name “Rouh al-Amin”. On the model of the famous Persian poet, Nizami Ganjavi, he composed a set of “Khamsah”, totaling nearly thirty thousand couplets. His method in poetry is one that poet Kalim Kashani, has said: “he sewed the clothes of words into the meanings”. His purpose in composing the poem of “Khosrow va Shirin” was to remove the weaknesses of Khosrow and Shirin by Nizami. He had the same idea about “Laila va Majnoon” and changed the narrative style of the story. Many of the words, phrases and expressions used by Nizami have gotten new frames in Rouh al-Amin’s poetry. Mir Mohammad Amin Mir Jumla I should not be confused with his compatriot, Mir Mohammad Sa’eed Ardestani titled Mir Jumla II, who flourished in the Deccan and later at the Mughal court and Bengal, a generation later.  

390 solar years ago, on this day in 1626 AD, Pasha Mohammad ibn Farrukh, the tyrannical governor of Bayt al-Moqaddas that was part of the Ottoman Sanjak of Nablus, was driven out by the people. A manumitted Circassian slave from the Caucasus, due to the favour of his former owner, Bahram Pasha, he rose to the prominent position of governor.

378 solar years ago, on this day in 1638 AD, Ali Mardan Khan, the Kurdish governor of the Iranian border city of Qandahar in what is now Afghanistan, betrayed the post entrusted to him by the Safavid Emperor, Shah Safi, to handover this strategic fort and its districts to the Mughal Empire of the Northern Subcontinent. Mughal Emperor Shah-Jahan rewarded him for his treason to Iran by appointing him governor of the province of Punjab which at that time stretched from the vicinity of Kabul to the vicinity of Delhi. He later received the title of Amir ol-Omara (Chief of Nobles) and governorship of Kashmir as well. A proficient engineer and architect as well, his tomb is in Lahore, while a garden named after him as "Bagh-e Ali Mardan Khan" still survives in Srinagar, the capital of Indian-controlled Kashmir.

376 solar years ago, on this day in 1640 AD, with the collapse of the Iberian Union, Portugal became an independent kingdom, no longer affiliated to Spain, with which it had formed a union in 1580, along with other Christian regions of the Iberian Peninsula.

274 solar years ago, on this day in 1742 AD, Empress Elisabeth ordered the expulsion of all Jews from Russia for their charging of high usury and insulting of the fundamental beliefs of Christianity like slandering Prophet Jesus and his mother, the Virgin Mary (peace upon them).

255 solar years ago, on this day in 1761 AD, the famous wax sculptor, Madame Tussaud, was born as Marie Grosholtz in 1760 in Strasbourg, France in a German family. On the death of her father, her widowed mother shifted to Bern, Switzerland, where she worked as housekeeper for Dr. Philippe Curtius, a physician who was skilled in wax modeling and who taught the young girl this unique art.  After moving to Paris, she created her first wax sculpture in 1777, of the philosopher Voltaire. Other famous people she modeled at that time include Jean-Jacques Rousseau and the American statesman Benjamin Franklin. During the French Revolution she modeled many prominent victims. In her memoirs she claims that she would search through corpses to find the severed heads of executed persons, from which she would make death masks. In 1795, she married Francois Tussaud and acquired a new name as Madame Tussaud. In 1802 she went to London, having accepted an invitation from Paul Philidor, a magic lantern and phantasmagoria pioneer, to exhibit her work alongside his show. As a result of the Napoleonic Wars, she was unable to return to France, so she traveled throughout Britain and Ireland exhibiting her collection. By 1835 Madame Tussaud settled down in Baker Street where she set up her wax museum, one of whose main attractions was the Chamber of Horrors and included victims of the French Revolution and the newly created figures of murderers and other criminals. In 1842 she made a self-portrait which is now on display at the entrance of her museum. She died in her sleep on 15 April 1850. Today the Madame Tussaud Wax Museum is a major tourist attraction of London.

191 solar years ago, on this day in 1825 AD, the so-called Holy Alliance (also called the Grand Alliance) among Russia, Austria and Prussia collapsed shortly after the death of Czar Alexander I, at whose behest it was created in 1815 on the claim of instilling Christian religious values of charity and peace in European political life, but in practice to act as a bastion against reform, revolution and democracy.

150 solar years ago, on this day in 1866 AD, Welsh military engineer and geodesist, George Everest, who worked on the trigonometrical survey of India during the years 1818-43, providing the accurate mapping of the subcontinent, died. For more than twenty-five years, he surveyed the longest arc of the meridian ever accomplished at the time. Everest made countless adaptations to the surveying equipment, methods, and mathematics in order to minimize problems specific to the Great Survey, such as the immense size and scope, the terrain, weather conditions, and the desired accuracy. Mount Everest, formerly called Peak XV, was renamed in his honour in 1865, a year before his death, although he never set foot on it, and despite the fact that for centuries the Tibetans as well as the Nepalis, in whose territory, the world’s tallest peak lies, have called it "Chomolungma".

103 solar years ago, on this day in 1913 AD, the island of Crete, having obtained self-rule from Turkey after the Second Balkan War, was annexed by Greece with the help of Britain, France, Italy and Russia, which had seized this Muslim majority island in 1898 after over two centuries of Ottoman rule. The Greeks immediately forced Cretan Muslims to either become Christian or risk expulsion. As a result, tens of thousands of Cretan Muslims fled to Turkey, the Levant and Egypt. Crete, the 5th largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, had many citizens who followed the Bektashi Sufi order founded by Iranian mystic, Haji Bektash Vali of Nishabur, Khorasan, and were hence followers of the Prophet’s Ahl al-Bayt. All the mosques and Tekiyes were either destroyed or turned into churches by the Greek Christians, who a century earlier had removed all traces of four centuries of Turkish Muslim rule from Greece. It is worth recalling that Islam was brought to Crete a thousand and two centuries ago by Spanish Muslims, who ruled this island as the Emirate of Ikritish for almost 150 years from their capital Rabdh al-Khandaq (modern Heraklion).

95 solar years ago, on this day in 1921 AD, the famous freedom-fighter, Mirza Kouchak-Khan Jangali, attained martyrdom at the hands of agents of the British-installed Pahlavi potentate of Iran, Reza Khan, who acted in collaboration with the Russians and the British. He attended Islamic schools at a young age and later joined the freedom seekers. During World War I, he was witness to the chaotic state of Iran, which was occupied by foreign powers. He championed Islamic unity and formed a militia to fight against oppression and colonialism. In 1919, the British forced a treaty on the weak Qajarid monarchy that led to further infiltration of the British in Iran. This treaty set the stage for movements against foreign powers’ interference in Iran. Although Kouchak Khan gained significant victories at the start of his struggles against the regime, his forces were scattered because of conspiracies hatched by Britain and the Soviet Union. Meanwhile, Kouchak Khan, who had left his hometown to gather forces, fell ill due to snowstorms in the forests of northern Iran, where regime agents beheaded him.

68 solar years ago, on this day in 1948 AD, the “Tamam Shud Case”: The body of an unidentified man was found in Adelaide, Australia, involving an undetectable poison and a secret code in a very rare book. The case remains unsolved to this day, and is one of Australia's most profound mysteries. Also known as the Mystery of the Somerton Man, it concerns an unidentified man found dead at 6:30 am, 1 December 1948, on Somerton beach, Glenelg, just south of Adelaide. It is named after the Persian phrase “Tamam Shud”, meaning "ended" or "finished", printed on a scrap of paper found in the fob pocket of the man's trousers. This turned out to have been torn from the final page of a particular copy of “Rubaiyat” (or Quatrains) of the 12th century Iranian poet, Omar Khayyam. Following a police appeal, the actual book was handed in – six months after the body was found. Imprinted on the back cover of the book was something looking like a secret code as well as a telephone number and another unidentified number. The case is still open with so many speculations over the past six-and-a-half decades.

61 solar years ago, on this day in 1955 AD, Afro-American seamstress Rosa Parks refused to give up her bus seat to a white man in Montgomery, Alabama, and was arrested for allegedly violating the city's racial segregation laws, an incident which led to the December 5 Montgomery Bus Boycott – a year-long boycott of the buses by blacks, and launched the Civil Rights movement in the US. She refused to move to the back of the bus, to accommodate a white male passenger, as ordered by driver James F. Blake. She was jailed. Virginia Durr helped a black civil rights leader bail Parks out of jail. In 1999, Rosa Parks was awarded a Congressional Gold Medal.

19 solar years ago, on this day in 1997 AD, eight planets from our Solar System lined up from West to East beginning with Pluto, followed by Mercury, Mars, Venus, Neptune, Uranus, Jupiter, and Saturn, with a crescent moon alongside, in a rare alignment visible from Earth that lasted until Dec 8. Mercury, Mars, Venus, Jupiter and Saturn are visible to the naked eye, with Venus and Jupiter by far the brightest. A good pair of binoculars is needed to see the small blue dots that are Uranus and Neptune. Pluto is visible only by telescope. The planets also aligned in May 2000, but too close to the sun to be visible from Earth. It will be at least another 100 years before so many planets will be so close and so visible.

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