Today is Monday; 6thof the Iranian month of Dey 1395 solar hijri; corresponding to 26thof the Islamic month of Rabi al-Awwal 1438 lunar hijri; and December 26, 2016, of the Christian Gregorian Calendar.

1397 lunar years ago, on this day in 41 AH, Imam Hasan Mojtaba (AS), the elder grandson of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA), on conclusion of a treaty with the Omayyad rebel, Mu'awiyah ibn Abu Sufyan, relinquished the caliphate or political rule of the Islamic realm, because of the fickleness of faith of the Iraqis – rather than risk the unnecessary shedding of Muslim blood. By this masterstroke of diplomacy, he not only showed that his God-given spiritual authority was far above and beyond the reach of any usurper, but also exposed Mu'awiyah in his true heathen colors. Mu'awiyah, an archenemy of the Prophet, until 8 AH when he reluctantly accepted Islam at the fall of Mecca, continued to be a bitter enemy of the Ahl al-Bayt as was clear by his rebellion against the model government of social justice of the Commander of the Faithful, Imam Ali (AS), and the shedding of Muslim blood in the War of Siffeen. On seizing the political power of the Muslim state, he violated every clause of the treaty and subjected the people of Iraq, Hejaz, Yemen, Iran, and Egypt to oppression, much to the regret of the Muslims who had been deceived by his propaganda and bribes. Imam Hasan (AS), who was well aware that the Byzantine emperor, Constantine IV, was planning to attack Bayt al-Moqaddas in case of civil war among Muslims, thus showed his wisdom and foresight in protecting the message of his grandfather, Prophet Mohammad (SAWA) and the mission of his father, Imam Ali (AS). As per the terms of the treaty, Mu’awiyah was to stop his adverse propaganda tirade against Imam Ali (AS); was to abstain from un-Islamic ways; provide the revenues of certain Iranian provinces for the bereaved families of the martyrs of the Battles of Jamal and Siffeen; did not have the right to nominate anyone as his successor; and the caliphate was to return to Imam Hasan (AS) on his death, and in case the Prophet’s elder grandson predeceased him, it was to be handed over to the Prophet’s younger grandson, Imam Husain (AS). Mu’awiyah brazenly breached the treaty and went on to martyr Imam Hasan (AS) through a fatal dose of poison in 50 AH. In 60 AH, while in his last days, he named his libertine son, Yazid as successor, instead of returning the caliphate to Imam Husain (AS).

1094 lunar years ago, on this day in 344 AH, the prominent scholar and narrator of hadith, Osman Ibn Ahmad Ibn Sammak, died in Baghdad. Among his students was the famous compiler of hadith, Hakem an-Naishabouri, the author of “Mustadrikala as-Sahihayan”. Among his works mention could be made of the book titled “al-Amaali” and a book on the merits of the Prophet's Ahl al-Bayt.

822 solar years ago, on this day in 1194 AD, Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor was born in Iesi, Marche, Italy. An ethnic German, residing in Sicily with his capital at Palermo, which still had Muslim culture and a sizeable Muslim population, at his coronation, he said to have worn the red silk mantle bearing an Arabic inscription that had been crafted during the reign of Roger II, indicating the date 528 AH of the Islamic calendar. It incorporated a generic benediction (du’a), wishing the wearer “vast prosperity, great generosity, high splendour, fame, magnificent endowments, and the fulfillment of wishes and hopes. This robe is housed in the Schatzkammer of the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna. During his 30-year reign, Fredrick who was a multilingual person, well versed in Arabic and interacting with learned Muslims, sent questions to the courts of Muslim rulers, on various issues including optical phenomena like the curving of objects in water. The Pope and the Church were hostile to him because of his religious tolerance, at times excommunicating him. On being crowned, he settled some 60,000 Sicilian Muslims in southern Italy – 20,000 in Lucera (Lugherah in Arabic), 30,000 in Apulia and its surroundings, and the rest in Stornara, Casal Monte Saraceno, Castel Saraceno and Campania. These included Iranians of Sicily as well, in particular, the Khwarizmi community of Palermo. The Muslim population of southern Italy, along with local converts from Christianity as well as descendants of Arabs and Berbers who had settled centuries earlier, thrived for another 80 years, till their towns and cities were sacked in 1300 by Charles II of Naples, who expelled (to Albania), forcibly converted to Christianity and sold into slavery most of the population, besides turning mosques into churches. Fredrick II also enlisted Muslims into his personal bodyguards, as they had the advantage of immunity from papal excommunication, and with their help he kept a menagerie which had not only monkeys and camels, but also a giraffe and an elephant. In February 1229, Fredrick II took part in the 6th Crusade to Palestine to annul papal excommunication, and through a treaty with the Ayyubid Sultan al-Kamel, took control of Bayt al-Moqaddas (Jerusalem), Bethlehem and Nazareth, that stipulated Muslim control of the Dome of the Rock and al-Aqsa Mosque. In 1244, he lost Bayt al-Moqaddas and other towns that were liberated by the Muslims including the powerful Iranian Khwarazmian clan based in Egypt.

527 solar years ago, on this day in 1489 AD, the Christians occupied the thriving Spanish Muslim city of Almería which was part of the Nasrid emirate of Granada, during the rule of Muhammad XIII.

486 solar years ago, on this day in 1530 AD, Emperor Mohammad Zaheer od-Din Babar, the Founder of the Mughal Dynasty of the Subcontinent, died in his capital Kabul in what is now Afghanistan. Born in Ferghana to the local ruler, Omar Shaikh, in what is now the border region of Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, he was a great great-grandson of the fearsome Turkic conqueror, Amir Timur, while on his mother's side he was descended from the bloodthirsty Mongol marauder, Chingiz Khan. A Persianized Turk, Babar, as a protégé of Shah Ismail I, the Founder of the Safavid Dynasty of Iran, following his failure to take control of Samarqand, set himself up in Kabul, and in 1526 conquered North India to establish the famous Mughal Dynasty. His army included Qizilbash Iranian fighters, who as one of the most influential groups in the Mughal court, would promote Persian language and culture in the subcontinent, as well as the teachings of the Prophet's Ahl al-Bayt.

123 solar years ago, on this day in 1893 AD, the Founder of Communist China, Mao Zeedong, was born. He established the communist party of China in 1921. He had the support of farmers and peasants who had for long suffered at the hands of the rulers. Following end of World War 2 the communists defeated the western-supported nationalists, and declared China as the People’s Republic in1949. During his rule, Mao shaped a powerful central government. Mao died in 1976.

108 lunar years ago, on this day in 1330 AH, the prominent scholar, Ayatollah Abu'l-MakaremZanjani, passed away at the age of 75. He was born in Zanjan and completed his higher studies in the holy city of Najaf in Iraq under the great jurisprudence, Ayatollah Sheikh Murtaza Ansari. On returning to Iran he taught in the seminary of his hometown and was active in the Constitutional Movement. Among his works are the books titled 'Makharejar-Rizwaan' and 'Miftahaz-Zafar'.

44 solar years ago, on this day in 1972 AD, during the Vietnam War, the US forces in Operation Linebacker II, savagely bombarded Hanoi and other cities with 120 B-52 bombers in a carpet-bombing that destroyed hospitals, schools and residential areas. Despite the barbaric crimes of the Americans and the huge loss of life, the Vietnamese continued to resist, until victory.

37 solar years ago, on this day in 1979 AD, the Soviet Red Army occupied Afghanistan, starting its longest operations against an independent country. It was one of the major mistakes of the Kremlin, and two years after the end of the Red Army’s ten-year occupation, the Soviet Union disintegrated. The 130,000-strong Red Army, despite its advanced weapons, was constantly harassed and bogged down by the lightly armed Afghan Mujahideen, similar to the fate being suffered by the present occupiers, the Americans. The Soviets imposed a communist regime, during their 10-year occupation that devastated the country and left tens of thousands of people homeless. This provided the US an opportunity to secretly intervene in Afghanistan with the help of Pakistan and Saudi Arabia to further destroy the country by dividing Mujahideen ranks through creation of terrorist outfits like the Taliban and al-Qa’edah.

12 solar years ago, on this day in 2004 AD, a 9-magnitude quake jolted the Indian Ocean, resulting in a Tsunami that inflicted losses on several littoral states. Since the epicenter of the earthquake was in Southeast Asia, the countries of this region including Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Thailand, and India suffered huge losses. As many as 220,000 people were killed and 2 million left homeless, while billions of dollars in losses were inflicted on these countries.

AS/SS