Today is Saturday; 20th of the Iranian month of Azar 1395 solar hijri; corresponding to 10th of the Islamic month of Rabi al-Awwal 1438 lunar hijri; and December 10, 2016, of the Christian Gregorian Calendar.

1483 lunar years ago, on this day, 45 years before Hijra, Abdul-Mutalleb, the paternal grandfather of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA), passed away in Mecca, when the grandson was only 8 years old. He was the leader of the Quraysh tribe descended from Prophet Ishmael, and was known for his eloquence and virtues as a firm monotheist following the creed of his ancestor, Prophet Abraham (AS). He was in charge of the custodianship of the Holy Ka'ba which he had received through his father, Hashem, and his illustrious forbears. He was the guardian of his grandson, the future Prophet, following the death of the latter's parents, Abdullah and Amena bint Wahb (SA). Eight years before Abdul-Mutalleb's death, the Ethiopian Christian governor of Yemen, Abraha, had marched on Mecca riding an elephant with the intention of destroying the holy Ka'ba. Abraha's army seized Abdul-Mutalleb's herd of camels on the assumption that this will make him plead for the safety of the Ka'ba. Abdul-Mutalleb, however, only asked for the release of his camel herd, and when Abraha asked him why he does not plead for the Ka'ba, he replied: I am the owner of these camels, and the Ka'ba has its own owner (God); He will take care of its safety. Soon Abraha, his elephant and his army were miraculously attacked by a flock of birds pelting them with pebbles, which routed the formidable forces and reduced them to chewed straw as the holy Qur'an records in “Surah al-Feel”. The Prophet was born in the same year of this divine miracle. On his grandfather’s death, his guardianship was taken over by his loving uncle, Abu Taleb, the consanguineous brother of his father Abdullah.

1466 lunar years ago, on this day, 28 years before Hijra, the marriage of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA) and Hazrat Khadija (SA) took place in Mecca. Known as “Maleekat al-Arab” (Queen of Arabia), because of her proverbial wealth that she had accumulated through trade caravans, Khadija (SA) was a pure, monotheistic and chaste lady (Tahera). Impressed by the honesty and truthfulness of her trade manager, her distant relative the future Prophet, who did not possess any material wealth, she proposed marriage to him. The two made an excellent husband-and-wife pair. Fifteen years later, when God formally ordained Prophet Mohammad (SAWA) as the Last and Greatest Messenger to mankind, she immediately believed in the mission of her husband and thereafter spent all her wealth for feeding and sheltering the persecuted Muslim community of Mecca, to the extent that when she passed away, nothing was left of her wealth or any inheritance for her only surviving daughter, the noblest lady of all time, Hazrat Fatema Zahra (SA). For over 25 long years, as the “Omm al-Momineen” (Mother of Believers), Hazrat Khadija (SA) was the one and only wife of the Prophet, and as long as she lived he never took another spouse. Even in the last ten years of his life in Medina when out of social necessity and to break the absurd customs of the days of ignorance, the middle aged Prophet had to marry several wives, he always used to cherish the memory of Khadija (SA), his firm support and the mother of his progeny, the Ahl al-Bayt.

1259 lunar years ago, on this day in 179 AH, the jurisprudent Malek bin Anas passed away in his hometown Medina at the age of 84. For some time, along with his Iranian contemporary Abu Hanifa, he studied under Imam Ja’far Sadeq (AS), the 6^th Infallible Heir of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA). He describes Imam Sadeq (AS) as the doyen of knowledge and wisdom, whom none could equal. Later in life Malek founded the Maleki School of jurisprudence, regarded as one of the four official Sunni schools. His famous collection of hadith is titled “al-Muwatta”, although many narrations are of doubtful chains.

1109 lunar years ago, on this day in 329 AH, Raazi-Billah, the 20^th self-styled caliph of the usurper Abbasid regime, died. A cultured person, well versed in literature and poetry, he returned the vast orchard of Fadak to the Prophet's descendants. Fadak was the personal property of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA) and was situated north of Medina near Khaybar. The Prophet had given it in his lifetime to his only daughter, Hazrat Fatema Zahra (SA), who used its revenues for the upkeep of the poor and destitute Muslims. After the Prophet passed away, the new regime in Medina seized Fadak by coining a spurious hadith that Prophets do no leave inheritance and whatever they leave is the property of the Ummah, despite the Prophet’s daughter’s memorable defence of her rights by citing the ayahs of the holy Qur'an which speak of Prophet Solomon inheriting Prophet David, and Prophet Yahya inheriting Prophet Zachariah. In the subsequent years, Fadak was returned and retaken several times.

1071 lunar years ago, on this day in 367 AH, the prominent jurisprudent, hadith expert and theologian, Abu’l-Qasim Ja’far ibn Mohammad, popular as Ibn Qulawayh al-Qomi, passed away in Baghdad, and was laid to rest in the mausoleum of Imam Musa Kazem (AS), the 7^th Infallible Heir of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA). He was one of the distinguished students of the renowned Sheikh Mohammad ibn Ya’qub al-Kulayni, and among the most outstanding teachers of the famous theologian Shaikh Mufid. He is the compiler of the book named “Kamel az-Ziyaraat”, which is a collection of standard form of salutations for the Prophet and the Infallible Imams. Born in Qom in a scholarly family, he travelled widely for acquisition of knowledge, and for some years stayed in Fatemid Egypt to learn from the scholars of that land.

973 lunar years ago, on this day in 465 AH, Alp Arsalan the second ruler of the Turkic Seljuq dynasty that ruled Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, parts of Turkey and Syria, died. His name in Turkish means Brave Lion.

818 solar years ago, on this day in 1198 AD, the famous Spanish Muslim philosopher and polymath, Mohammad Ibn Ahmad Ibn Rushd, known to Medieval Europe as “Averroes”, passed away at the age of 72, while on a visit to Marakesh, from where his body was brought back to Spain and buried in his birthplace Cordoba. He was an expert in the sciences of the day, including medicine, astronomy, jurisprudence, Qur’an and hadith, at a time when the Christian World was living in ignorance and darkness. At the age of 25, he conducted astronomical observations in Morocco, discovering a previously unobserved star. He gave one of the first descriptions on sunspots. Ibn Rushd made remarkable contributions to medicine. His well-known book in this field is “Kitab al-Kulliyaat fi’t-Tibb”, whose Latin translation known as “Colliget” aroused much interest in medieval Europe. He has thrown light on various aspects of medicine, including the diagnoses, cure and prevention of diseases. He was called “the jurisprudent philosopher” and as a follower of the Maliki School, he compiled a summary of edicts (fatwa) of previous jurists. His works include interpretation of Qur’anic concepts. Ibn Rushd’s most important original philosophical work is “Tahafut at-Tahafut” (Incoherence of the Incoherence), which is a refutation of the Iranian Shafei theologian, Ghazali’s “Tahafut al-Falasefa” (Incoherence of the Philosophers). Ghazali had criticized as self-contradictory and an affront to Islamic teachings, the presentation of Aristotle’s thoughts by the famous Iranian Islamic genius, Abu Ali Ibn Sina. Ibn Rushd proved Ghazali's arguments as mistaken.

506 solar years ago, on this day in 1510 AD, Portuguese invaders, led by Afonso de Albuquerque and a fleet of pirates under command of the local mercenary Timmayya (Timoji), seized the port city of Goa on the western coast of India from the Bijapur Dynasty of the Deccan, founded by the Iranian adventurer from Saveh, Yusuf Adel Khan. Earlier Goa was part of the Bahmani Empire founded in 1347 by the general of Iranian stock, Ala od-Din Hassan Bahman Shah. The Portuguese carried out large scale massacres of both Muslims and Hindus in Goa and the Konkan coast, and forced the survivors to become Christians. Several Iranian Muslim families in Goa, especially ladies, were abducted and carried off to Portugal. For 450 years the Portuguese ruled Goa until its annexation by India in 1961.

186 solar years ago, on this day in 1830 AD, American poet, Emily Dickinson, was born in Amherst, Massachusetts. She led a rather secluded life. After studying at Amherst Academy and then for one year at the Mount Holyoke Female Seminary, she lived with her family and never married. Although she wrote poetry constantly, she never seriously pursued publishing her work. Only about 10 poems were published in her lifetime, and those were submitted for publication without her permission. After her death in 1886, more than 1,700 of her poems, which she had bound together in bundles, were discovered and published.

120 solar years ago, on this day in 1896 AD, Swedish chemist, Alfred Bernhard Nobel, died at the age of 63. Following years of research and experiments, in 1867 he invented dynamite for quarrying minerals and building roads in mountainous terrains. He was dismayed when his invention was diverted by European regimes for sabotage and killing of fellow humans. For this reason, he initiated the awarding of a prize every year for a person who strives most for global peace and security. After him the Trust decided to give Nobel Prize every year in the field of physics, chemistry, medicine, and literature as well, in addition to peace. Unfortunately, because of US hegemony, these prizes, especially the ‘peace prize’, have lost their meaning, and are awarded to mass murderers and agents of the West in Muslim and other countries.

115 solar years ago, on this day in 1901 AD, the Nobel Prize Awards were distributed for the first time in Stockholm, Sweden, in accordance with the will of inventor Alfred Nobel. The day was the 5th anniversary of Nobel's death. The Swedish Academy of Sciences awarded the first Nobel Prize in Physics to Wilhelm Röntgen for his discovery of X-rays and the first Nobel Prize in Chemistry to Jacobus H. Van't Hoff for his work on rates of reaction, equilibrium and osmotic pressure. The first Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was given to Emil von Behring, for his work on serum therapy, particularly for its use in the treatment of diphtheria.

68 solar years ago, on this day in 1948 AD, the International Human Rights Declaration was ratified by the UN General Assembly. It is made up of an introduction and thirty articles, with Article I referring to the equality of all mankind. The realities, however, are different. The big powers have a selective and dualistic approach to human rights, which are practically used as tools by the West to impose political and economic pressures on independent countries.

63 solar years ago, on this day in 1953 AD, Abdullah Yusuf Ali, Indian-born Sunni Muslim scholar and translator of the holy Qur’an into English, passed away in London, and was buried at the Muslim cemetery at Brookwood, Surrey, near Woking. Born in Bombay in a merchant family, he received a religious education and went on to memorize the entire Qur'an. He learned Arabic and studied English literature during his education at several European universities. His best-known work is “The Holy Qur'an: Text, Translation and Commentary”, published in 1938 in Lahore. Unfortunately, in the later, revised editions of this book, the author’s notes on the exclusive God-given virtues of the Ahl al-Bayt of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA) – Imam Ali (AS), Hazrat Fatema Zahra (SA), Imam Hasan (AS) and Imam Husain (AS) – have been removed, including those pertaining to ayah 107 of Surah Saffat, where Abdullah Yusuf Ali had explicitly mentioned in his original work while explaining the term “Zibhin Azim” (Great Sacrifice) that ransomed Abraham’s offering of Ishmael: “This was the type of service which Imam Husain (AS) performed, many years later in 60 AH, as I have noted in a separate pamphlet.” This and similar remarks by the author on the merits of the Ahl al-Bayt have been erased and are not found in the distorted editions of his work that are available today.

53 solar years ago, on this day in 1963 AD, Zanzibar gained independence from Britain as a constitutional monarchy under Sultan Jamshid bin Abdullah. Consisting of a number of islands off the east coast of Africa, Zanzibar, a series of parliamentary elections resulted in the Arab-Omani minority retaining the hold on power it had inherited from Zanzibar's former existence as an overseas territory of the Sultanate of Oman. Frustrated by under-representation in Parliament despite winning 54% of the vote in the 1963 election, the Afro-Shirazi Party (ASP) allied itself with the left-wing Umma Party, and early on the morning of 12 January 1964 mobilised around 600–800 revolutionaries. Having overrun the island state's police force and appropriated their weaponry, the insurgents proceeded to Zanzibar Town where they overthrew the Sultan and his government. Reprisals against Arab and South Asian civilians on the island followed; the resulting death toll is disputed, with estimates ranging from several hundred to 20,000. Moderate ASP leader Obeid Karume became the new president and head of state, and positions of power were granted to Umma party members. In April the same year, the Afro-Shirazi Party joined Zanzibar with Tanganyika to form the Federal Republic of Tanzania. It is worth recalling that a thousand years ago, Islam had been brought to east Africa by Iranians from Shiraz, whose descendants are still found in Zanzibar, Tanzania, and Kenya.

38 solar years ago, on this day in 1978 AD, the Nobel Peace Prize was scandalized in violation of the will of Swedish inventor Alfred Nobel, by awarding it jointly to notorious terrorist Menachem Begin (premier of the illegal Zionist entity), and Egyptian president Anwar Saadaat, for his treason against the Palestinian cause by signing the disgraceful Camp David Accord under US auspices.

35 solar years ago, on this day in 1981 AD, the prominent religious scholar and Friday Prayer Leader of Shiraz, Ayatollah Seyyed Abdul-Hussain Dastghaib, was martyred by a MKO terrorist while on his way to the weekly Friday Prayer. A product of the famous seminary of holy Najaf in Iraq where he attained the status of Ijtehad, in addition to teaching Islamic sciences, he strove against the despotic regime of the British-installed and US-supported Shah, braving detention several times. Following victory of the Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Dastghaib was elected to the Assembly of Experts from Shiraz, and was assigned to lead the Friday Prayer in this city by the Founder of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Imam Khomeini (RA). He has left behind a large number of valuable writings, including an exegesis of several surahs of the holy Qur'an.

22 solar years ago, on this day in 1994 AD, Ayatollah Sheikh Abdul-Hussain Gharavi passed away at the age of 84. A product of the seminaries of Qom and Najaf, he was a staunch opponent of the despotic Pahlavi regime and rallied the people of Tabriz. Following the victory of the Islamic Revolution, the people of East Azarbaijan Province elected him as representative to the Assembly of Experts. 

21 solar years ago, on this day in 1995 AD, the prominent jurisprudent, Ayatollah Mirza Kazem Tabrizi, passed away in holy Qom at the age of 75. A product of the famous seminary of holy Najaf in Iraq, where for twenty years he was the student of Grand Ayatollah Seyyed Abu’l-Qassim Khoei, An authority on exegesis of the holy Qur’an, theology, hadith, history, jurisprudence, literature, philosophy, mathematics, astronomy and logic, he was fluent in four languages: Persian, Arabic, French, and English, besides his native Azeri Turkic. In 1971 he settled in Qom and his classes were widely attended by ulema and students. He was a prolific writer and authored several books including the 50-volume “Qawa’ed al-Fiqhiyya” (Ruler of Jurisprudence) and the 20 volume annotation of Shaikh Horr-e Ameli’s “Wasa’el ash-Shi’a”.  

19 solar years ago, on this day in 1997 AD, the 55-member Organization of the Islamic Conference ended its meeting in Iran with the declaration that “the killing of innocents is strictly forbidden in Islam.” The group also called for full respect for the dignity and rights of Muslim women and criticized Israel for “state terrorism.”

10 solar years ago, on t this day in 2006 AD, Iran opened an international conference on the supposed Holocaust in Europe during World War 2, calling for a scientific and academic probe of the alleged genocide of the Jews. The move was widely welcomed and attended by scholars from all over the world to the dismay of the illegal Zionist entity called Israel, which owes its terrorist birth in Palestine to the myth of the Holocaust.

AS/ME