Today is Monday; 22ndof the Iranian month of Azar 1395 solar hijri; corresponding to 12th of the Islamic month of Rabi al-Awwal 1438 lunar hijri; and December 12, 2106, of the Christian Gregorian Calendar.

1491 lunar year ago, on this day in the year 53 prior to the Hijra, (570 AD, the year Abraha, the Abyssinian governor of Yemen, was struck by divine wrath, along with his elephant-led hordes while trying to attack the holy Ka’ba), according to some accounts Prophet Mohammad (SAWA) was born in Mecca. As per the narrations of the Prophet's Ahl al-Bayt, he was born on the 17th of this same month. Thus, in order to bridge this 5-day gap, the Father of the Islamic Revolution, Imam Khomeini (RA), initiated the Islamic Unity Week, which over the past three decades has fostered solidarity between Sunni and Shi’ite Muslims.

1438 lunar years ago, a few days after hijrah, the first mosque in Islam was built on the instructions of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA) at a village called Qoba near Yathreb (Medina), following his migration from Mecca on God's commandments on the 1st of Rabi al-Awwal. He stayed here for several days, awaiting the arrival of his dear cousin, Imam Ali ibn AbiTaleb (AS), who had agreed to sleep on his bed the night of Hijra so that he could migrate undetected from the assassins hovering around the abode of divine revelation. The Prophet had also instructed the Imam to return to the Meccans the things they used to keep as safe-custody with him as “Amin” (Trustworthy). After three days the Imam, for whose selfless risking of life on the night of Hijra God revealed to the Prophet ayah 207 of Surah Baqarah, left Mecca and a few days later arrived in Qoba, along with the ladies of the Bani Hashem clan, including his mother, FatemabintAsad (SA), and his future wife, the Prophet's Immaculate daughter, HazratFatema Zahra (SA). The mosque of Qoba is thus a sanctified place where it is highly recommended to perform prayers. The first public Friday Prayer was held at this place by the Prophet before he entered Medina.

1389 solar years ago, on this day in 627 AD, the Battle of Ninevah was fought in Iraq in which a Byzantine army under Emperor Heraclius of the Eastern Roman Empire defeated the Persian forces of Emperor Khosrow II Pervez of Iran’s Sassanid Empire, commanded by the Armenian General, RokhVehan (Rahzadh). The Byzantine victory in the 26-year long Roman-Iranian war, broke the power of the Sassanid dynasty, which a few years back in the early stages of the war had conquered much of the Levant, Egypt, and most of Anatolia (modern day Turkey), even besieging the Byzantine capital, Constantinople (present day Istanbul). It is worth noting that the pagan Arabs on learning of the victories of the fire-worshipping Sassanids over the monotheistic Christians had rejoiced and mocked Prophet Mohammad (SAWA), saying the fledgling Muslim community will soon be annihilated. In response, Allah revealed the opening ayahs of Surah Roum, saying although the Romans have been vanquished in the nearby lands, soon they will triumph. With Constantinople under Persian siege, Heraclius became emperor, and immediately forged an alliance with the Turkic Khaqanate of the Gokturks, who in 626 sent a 40,000-strong army of nomads to ravage the Persian Empire in the Caucasus, distracting the Iranian forces’ attention, and resulting in their withdrawal from the Roman front. The Battle of Ninevah, followed by the sack of several cities in Iraq, made the Iranian army rebel and overthrow Khosrow II; replacing him with his son Qobad II in 628. Khosrow perished in a dungeon after suffering for five days on bare sustenance — he was shot to death slowly with arrows on the fifth day. Both the superpowers were so exhausted from their long wars that within a decade their territories were overrun by a new force from the Arabian Desert – the Muslims. It is worth mentioning that Prophet Mohammad (SAWA) had written letters to both the emperors, inviting them to Islam. Heraclius showed respect to the letter, while Khosrow Pervez showed disdain by tearing it and ordering his governor in Yemen to invade the Hijaz, but was soon killed. 

1211 lunar years ago, on this day in 227 AH, Mu’tasim-Billah, the 8th self-styled caliph of the usurper Abbasid regime, died at the age of 49 after a reign of nine years, and was succeeded by his son, Watheq-Billah– born to Greek concubine Qaratis. Mu’tasim, son of the tyrant Haroun Rashid’s Turkic concubine – a singing-dancing slave-girl named Marida – had taken over the caliphate on the death of his step-brother, Mamoun. He favoured the Turks and gave them all authority, to the resentment of the Iranian and Arab Muslims. He opposed the Mu’tazallite doctrine of his predecessor. It was on his orders that “Ijtihad” was forbidden, and of the several jurisprudential schools of the newly designated sect called “Ahl as-Sunnah wa’l-Jama’ah”, only four, i.e. Hanafi, Maleki, Shafei, and Hanbali, were decreed as official. Mu’tasim earned lasting damnation for martyring through poison, Imam Mohammad at-Taqi (AS), the 9^th Infallible Heir of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA).

1197 lunar years ago, on this day in 241 AH, the jurisprudent, Ahmad Ibn Mohammad Ibn Hanbal ash-Shaybani, passed away in his hometown Baghdad at the age of 79. His father was an army officer of the Abbasid regime in Khorasan. After studying under Mohammad Ibn IdrisShafei, and Abu Yusuf – a student of the Iranian jurist, Abu Hanifa – he travelled through Arabia, Iraq, and Syria, to collect hadith, before returning to Baghdad, where he was not welcomed because of his views against the Mu’tazalites. He was imprisoned by Ma'moun; flogged by his successor, Mu'tasim; and banished from Baghdad by Watheq. It was only when the tyrant Mutawakkil assumed power that he was welcomed back in Baghdad. Ibn Hanbal is the founder of one of the four court-sanctioned schools of Sunni jurisprudence, named after him as Hanbali. His principal work is a collection of hadith, known as “al-Musnad”, in which he has also included hadith on the unrivalled merits of Imam Ali (AS) and the Ahl al-Bayt of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA). Perhaps for political reasons, he failed to have direct contact with the Infallible Imams of his time, such as Imam Ali ar-Reza (AS), Imam Mohammad at-Taqi (AS), and Imam Ali an-Naqi (AS) – respectively the 8th, 9th and 10th Infallible Heirs of the Prophet (SAWA) – for recourse to authentic hadith from the right sources, although he has cited in his collection the famous hadith "Whoever dies without cognition of the Imam of the Age, dies the death of ignorance."

1080 lunar years ago, on this day in 358 AH, Hassan Ibn Abdullah Naser od-DowlaHamdani, the Emir of Mosul, died under detention by his son, two years after the death in Aleppo of his younger and more famous brother, Ali Sayf od-Dowla. They were sons of Abdullah Abi’l-Hayja, the ruler of Mosul and there was deep affection between the two brothers, to the extent that the elder lost all interest in life and state affairs when the younger died, and was consequently put under detention by his son. The Hamdanids belonged to the BanuTaghlib Arab tribe and were staunch followers of the school of the Ahl al-Bayt of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA). For a brief period, Naser od-Dowla taking advantage of the weakness of the Abbasid caliph, took over Baghdad, but had to quit the city and leave for Mosul because of opposition by the powerful faction of Turkic slave-soldiers.

918 solar years ago, on this day in 1098 AD, during the First Crusade, the Christian invaders from Europe not just massacred over 20,000 Muslim men, women, and children of the Syrian city of Ma'arrat an-Numan after deceiving them to surrender peacefully, but resorted to cannibalism by eating the bodies of their victims. These barbaric events were chronicled by Fulcher of Chartres, who wrote: "I shudder to tell that many of our people (European Christians), harassed by the madness of excessive hunger, cut pieces from the buttocks of the Saracens (Muslims) already dead there, which they cooked, but when it was not yet roasted enough by the fire, they devoured it with savage mouth.”

507 solar years ago, on this day in 1509 AD, Portuguese admiral, Francisco de Almeida, in a bid to avenge the death of his marauding son, Lorenzo de Almeida, who was killed in the naval Battle of Chaul off the coast of Gujarat by the joint fleet of the Zamorin of Kerala and the Mamluks of Egypt led by Mir Hussain Kurdi, pursued the latter, after indiscriminately burning several Indian ships in the ports of Calicut and Cannanore. Unable to corner Mir Hussain, he took the defenseless town of Dabhol on India’s western coast on December 30, plundered it, and massacred its inhabitants including women, children, and elderly men.

442 solar years ago, on this day in 1574 AD, Selim II, the 11^th Ottoman Sultan and the 3^rd self-styled Turkish caliph, died at the age of 50 after an incompetent 8-year rule, due to drunkenly slipping on the wet floor of a bath-house, and fatally injuring his head. Son of Suleiman the Magnificent and the Rutherian (Polish-Ukrainian) concubine, Khorram Sultan (original name: Alexandra Lisowska), he succeeded to the throne through intrigue and fraternal dispute. Despite claiming to be caliph and having a powerful fleet that controlled the Mediterranean Sea, he refused the pleas for help by the Spanish Muslims during the 3-year Morisco Revolt (1568-71) in Granada, southern Spain. As a result the uprising was ruthlessly crushed by a joint Christian army of Spain, Austria, and Italy, after which hundreds of thousands of Spanish Muslims were forcibly Christianized and all books and documents in Arabic burned.  

277 lunar years ago, on this day 1161 AH, the eminent Iranian Islamic scholar, Seyyed Ali ibn Mohammad Tabatabai was born in the holy city of Kazemain in Iraq. Nephew (sister’s son) of the great scholar, MohaqqeqBehbahani, he attained the status of Ijtehad at a young age. He authored several books, the most important of which is “Riyaz al-Masa’el”, also known as “Sharh-e Kabir”. In addition to his piety, he was active in social affairs, had the Jame’ Mosque constructed in Karbala, besides building a wall around the holy city to safeguard it from the attacks of Wahhabi hordes of Najd. He passed away in Karbala at the age of 70 and was laid to rest in the courtyard of the shrine of Imam Husain (AS).

263 solar years ago, on this day in 1753 AD, British adjutant of Virginia, 22-year old George Washington, who over two decades later became US president, delivered an ultimatum to the French forces at Fort Le Boeuf, south of Lake Erie, reiterating Britain’s claim to the entire Ohio river valley. He was sent by Governor Robert Dinwiddie to warn the French soldiers that they were trespassing on English territory, because of his apparent loyalty to the British crown. Over the two decades later on the outbreak of rebellion against the crown in the 13 New England colonies, Washington switched sides, joined the rebels, led them to victory over the British forces, and became the first president of the United States of America (USA).  

250 solar years ago, on this day in 1766 AD, Nikolay Karamzin, Russian poet and historian, was born in the village of Znamenskoye, in Simbirsk Governorate. He is best remembered for his “History of the Russian State”, a 12-volume national history, for the writing of which he left the literary circles of St. Petersburg and Moscow and secluded himself for two years at Simbirsk.He was a strong supporter of the anti-Polish policies of the Russian Empire, and expressed hope that there would be no Poland under any shape or name. On learning of his endeavor to compile the history of Russia, Tsar Alexander I invited him 1816 to St Petersburg, had the work read to him, and lodged him in the gardens of the palace of TsarskoyeSelo to complete it.Karamzin was most industrious in accumulating materials, and the notes to his volumes are mines of interesting information, although he is justly criticized for the false gloss and romantic air thrown over the early Russian annals.

172 lunar years ago, on this day in 1266 AH, the prominent jurisprudence Fathollahbin Mohammad NamaziGharawi, popular as Shaikh osh-Shari’ahIsfahani, was born in Isfahan in a family of scholars from Shiraz. After initial studies he enrolled at the seminary of holy Mashhad, where his teachers includedMullahHaidar Ali Isfahani, Mullah Abdul-JawadKhorasaniModarrisKabir, and Mullah Ahmad Sabzevari. Here he established himself as a budding scholar with dynamic views. At the age of 30, he wentto Iraq for higher studies at the famous seminary of holy Najaf, where his teachers were MirzaHabibollahRashti and Shaikh Mohammad Hussain FaqihKazemi.He soon became an authority on different branches of Islamic sciences, and the Marja’ or Source of Emulation. He wrote several books and groomed many scholars,such as Seyyed Abdul-HadiShirazi, Shaikh Mohammad Hassan al-Muzaffar an-Najafi, AqaBozorg Tehrani, and Grand Ayatollah Seyyed Hussain Tabataba'iBoroujerdi. Sheikh osh-Shari’ahIsfahani was also politically active against the colonialists, issuingfatwas on Italy’saggression on Libya, the Russian attack on Khorasan and shelling of the holy shrine of Imam Reza (AS) in Mashhad, the invasion of the Ottoman state by the allied European powers during World War 1, and the landing of British troops in Basra and their occupation of Iraq. He rejected any political, military, economic and cultural domination of Islamic lands by the colonialists. He passed away at the age of 73 and was laid to rest in the courtyard of the holy shrine of the Commander of the Faithful, Imam Ali ibn AbiTaleb (AS).

138 lunar years ago, on this day in 1300 AH, the prominent Iranian mujtahed, Seyyed Mahdi Qazvini, passed away in Hillah, in Iraq. A product of the famous seminary of holy Najaf, he was an expert in jurisprudence, theology, exegesis of the holy Qur'an, and the “Nahj al-Balagha” – collection of the sermons, letters, and maxims of Imam Ali (AS). He wrote several books including "Wada'e" and "Mazamir". Under his influence, over 100,000 people in and around Hillah became followers of the school of the Prophet’s Ahl al-Bayt.

122 solar years ago, on this day in 1894 AD, Grand Ayatollah MirzaHabibollahRashti, passed away at age of 75 in holy Najaf, Iraq. Born in Amlash in Gilan, northern Iran near the Caspian Sea, he was gifted with a sharp mind and reached the status of Ijtehad at the young age of 25. A product of the famous Islamic seminary of holy Najaf, he studied under prominent scholars such as Ayatollah Sheikh Morteza Ansari Dezfuli and Mohammad Hassan Najafi (author of the famous jurisprudential work “Jawaher al-Kalaam”).His works include the book:“Badi al-Afkaar”.

115 solar years ago, on this day in 1901 AD, for the first time, a sentence was telecommunicated across the Atlantic Ocean through radio waves, without an extension wire. The inventor was Italian Physicist Guglielmo Marconi, who later invented the Radio. This first transatlantic radio signal was from Poldhu in Cornwall, where Marconi was stationed and was received by Percy Wright Page in St John's, Newfoundland, Canada. Then electrical engineer John Ambrose Fleming transmitted the Morse code signal for "s" from across the Atlantic Ocean in England and Marconi heard it--three short clicks--through a radio speaker. Marconi had begun experimenting with radiotelegraphy around 1895, and he realized that messages could be transmitted over much greater distances by using grounded antennae on the radio transmitter and receiver. A few years after the successful transmission with Fleming, Marconi opened the first commercial wireless telegraph service.

112 solar years ago, on this day in 1904 AD, the ulema of Tehran migrated along with their followers to the holy shrine of Seyyed Abdul-Azim al-Hassani in Rayy, in protest to the repressive policies of Mozaffar od-Din Shah Qajar. Some 2000 people joined the ulema and in a few days 20,000 protestors had assembled at the shrine, forcing the Shah to yield to the demands by agreeing to establish courts of law in all towns and cities, and base the country’s laws in accordance with the Islam shari’a. 

105 solar years ago, on this day in 1911 AD, Delhi, the former Muslim capital of North India, replaced Calcutta (presently Kolkata) as the capital of British India. It was declared the capital byBritain’s King George V in the presence of some 562 Indian princes, Muslim nawabs, Hindu maharajahs, soldiers and bureaucrats. After this announcement, George V and his wife Mary of Teck were crowned emperor and empress of India. The British, who had entered the subcontinent as traders, seized the opportunity after the death of the last Great Moghul, Aurangzeb, in early 18^th century, to spread their military influence on the weak Muslim successor states. In Bengal, on the banks of the River Hooghly, Calcutta, which started as the garrison town of Fort William, became the capital of all British possessions in 1772, some 15 years after these invaders ended through treachery, the rule of NawabSiraj od-Dowla (of Iranian origin). After gradual encroachment on other parts of the subcontinent through wars and intrigues, in 1857 the British brutally brought to end the remnants of the Mughal Dynasty and sacked Delhi. The subcontinent was subjugated, the Persian language, which had been the official language of Muslim India for almost seven centuries, was banned, and Queen Victoria was declared as Empress of India. In 1927, the British started building New Delhi and completed it in 1931. In 1947, they left the subcontinent after partitioning it into India and Pakistan, and later Bangladesh.

68 solar years ago, on this day in 1948 AD, British colonial soldiers surrounded the Sungai Rimoh rubber estate in Batang Kali, shot 24 Malaysian rubber plantation workers and set the village on fire. In 1970 Britain’s government dropped a police investigation, claiming alleged lack of evidence. In 2012, relatives of the brutally killed workers lost their court battle for a full inquiry by the British regime.

53 solar years ago, on this day in 1963 AD, Kenya in east Africa gained independence from Britain. It was occupied as of early 20^th century and formally proclaimed a British colony in 1920. After World War 2, the Kenyan people led by Jomo Kenyatta launched their uprising. The monopoly of whites and racial strife took the country to the brink of civil war in the 1950s, forcing the British to draft a constitution and hold elections. In the February 1961 parliamentary polls, the indigenous Africans won the most number of seats, and two years later complete independence was achieved. The Republic of Kenya covers an area of 582,646 sq km. It has a coastline on the Indian Ocean, and its capital is Nairobi. It shares borders with Somalia, Ethiopia, Sudan, Uganda, and Tanzania. Over 15 percent of the 40 million population of Kenya is Muslim. Kenya has a rich Islamic cultural past in view of the fact that by the 8^th century Arab and Persian settlements had sprouted along the coast. At its height, the Kilwa Sultanate, centered in what is now Tanzania, and founded by the Iranian nobleman, Ali ibn al-Hassan Shirazi, over a thousand years ago, stretched over the entire length of the Swahili Coast, including Kenya. The Persian rulers would go on to build elaborate coral mosques and introduced copper coinage. During this period, people of Yemen and Oman also settled on the coast and set up many autonomous city-states, including Mombasa, the leading port city of Kenya. This blending of cultures left a profound influence on the local Bantu Swahili culture and language. Mombasa, which has a Muslim majority population, has had traditional trade links with commercial centers in Iran, Arabia, and India.

28 solar years ago, on this day in 1988 AD, prominent Iranian author, translator, and researcher, Gholam-Reza Sa’eedi, passed away. An ardent promoter of the Islamic culture of Iran, he was an authority on natural sciences, mathematics, and astronomy, as well as Persian, Arabic, French, and English languages. He lectured at universities for several years, and made visits to India and Pakistan, to study Iran’s cultural bonds with the Subcontinent. He was deeply influenced by the thoughts of the Islamic thinker and Urdu-Persian poet, Allamah Mohammad Iqbal Lahori. Professor Sa’eedi authored several books, including “The Life of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA).”

3 solar years ago, on this day in 2013, Bangladesh Islamist leader, Abdul Qader Mullah, of the Jama’at-e Islami, was tried, sentenced and executed by hanging by the government of Prime Minister HassinaWajed, despite objections from the UN.

AS/SS