Today is Tuesday; 7th of the Iranian month of Dey 1395 solar hijri; corresponding to 27th of the Islamic month of Rabi al-Awwal 1438 lunar hijri; and December 27, 2016, of the Christian Gregorian Calendar.

969 lunar years ago, on this day in 469 AH, the prominent historian of Muslim Spain, Abu Marwan Hayyan ibn Khalaf ibn Hussain al-Qortobi, passed away in his hometown, Qortoba – or Cordova as it is presently called. He was a prolific writer, and among his works are “al-Akhbar fi'd-Dowlat-al-Amiriya” in 100 volumes, “al-Batshat-al-Kubra” in ten volumes, and “al-Muqtabis fi Tarikh al-Andalus” in ten volumes.

739 lunar years ago, on this day in 699 AH, Mahmood Ghazaan Khan the Mongol Ilkhanid ruler of Iran and Iraq fought a battle in Syria with Nasser Qalawoun, the ruler of the Mamluk or Turkic Slave Dynasty of Egypt at Marj al-Morouj, east of Homs. The Mamluks were defeated and pushed back from Syria into Egypt. Ghazaan was the 7th ruler of the Ilkhanid dynasty and the first one to convert to Islam from Buddhism.

498 solar years ago, on this day in 1518 AD, Mahmood Shah II, the last independent sultan of the Bahmani kingdom of Iranian origin of the Deccan (southern India), died at the age of 48 after a reign of 36 years and with his death the 171-year old sultanate disintegrated into five independent Muslim kingdoms.  Mahmood Shah II had ascended the famous Turquoise Throne of Bidar as a 12-year old boy, under a regency council headed by his widowed mother on the death of his father Mohammad Shah Lashkari. His early reign was characterised by the conflict between the Deccan nobles and the rising power of the Iranian migrant nobles, who were protégés of the assassinated highly capable Prime Minister Mahmood Gavaan of Gilan, Iran, especially the governor of Bijapur province, Yusuf Adel Khan Saveji of Saveh, Iran. An attempt to assassinate the Sultan by a group of disgruntled Deccani nobles in 1487 led to the slaughter of many of the conspirators and the strengthening of the position of the Iranian migrant nobles. The Sultan's obviously weak position led to increasing unrest amongst the nobles, particularly the powerful regional governors, some of whom, like Fathullah Imad ul-Mulk of Berar who quietly assumed the titles of royalty and styled himself Imad Shah. Others started open rebellion. Qasim Bareed, a Persianized Turk from the Caucasus, defeated the royal army in the capital, Bidar, and imposed himself upon Mahmood Shah II as prime minister and de facto ruler of the sultanate. Mahmood Shah II now lived a life of indulgence, and in order to meet his high expenditure, he had jewels extracted from the Turquoise Throne and used for payment. On 28 May 1490, the governor of Ahmadnagar, Malik Ahmad Nizam ul-Mulk, defeated the royal army and established the Ahmadnagar Sultanate, styling himself as Nizam Shah. Yusuf Adel Khan Saveji followed suit creating the Adel Shahi dynasty at Bijapur, while in 1518, another Iranian migrant noble, the governor of Telangana, Sultan Quli Qutb ol-Mulk Qara Qoyounlu of Hamedan, Iran, declared himself independent at Golkandah with the title of Qotb Shah. The Bahmani Sultan’s son and successor, Ahmad Shah II, had no authority and was a mere powerless puppet of the new Bareed Shahi dynasty of Bidar. The Bahmani dynasty promoted Persian language, culture, art and architecture in southern India, inviting poets, architects, scientists, ulema and talented persons from Iran, Iraq and Central Asia, including the family of the famous Iranian mystic, Shah Ne’matollah Vali of Kerman.

445 solar years ago, on this day in 1571 AD, the German astronomer and mathematician, Johannes Kepler, was born. He became interested in astronomy through his astronomer friend, Tycho Brahe. The West likes to claim that he discovered the movement of Mars in an oval orbit and the three laws of planetary motion in astronomy, which were actually discovered long before him by Islamic scientists, whose translated works he had access to.

220 solar years ago, on this day in 1796 AD, the famous Urdu and Persian poet of the Subcontinent, Mirza Asadollah Khan Ghaleb was born in Agra in a Persianized Turkic family, whose ancestors had migrated to India from Samarqand. Well versed with the Persian, Arabic, Turkic and Urdu languages, he excelled in composing “ghazals” (lyrics) in a unique style. His choice of words, philosophical references, delicate metaphors, and witticism, has made his poetry, highly popular in India, Pakistan, and wherever Urdu speakers are found. He also initiated a new style in letter-writing which greatly influenced the development of Urdu language. Ghaleb was an accomplished poet in Persian, composing “ghazals” and “qasidahs” (panegyrics) in praise of noblemen as well as Prophet Mohammad (SAWA). He was a devout follower of the Commander of the Faithful, Imam Ali ibn Abi Taleb (AS) and the Infallible Ahl al-Bayt. His Persian Diwan is four times the size of his Urdu Diwan and has been published in Iran. He died in 1869 at the age of 73.

194 solar years ago, on this day in 1822 AD, the French physician and chemist, Louis Pasteur, was born. He presented new theories on contagious diseases such as rabies, and made major discoveries in this domain. His innovative methods in treatment of infectious ailments and identification of microbes revolutionized the principles of hygiene. France established the Pasteur Institute in his honour in 1888, the year in which he died.

77 solar years ago, on this day in 1939 AD, a deadly earthquake hit Erzinjan, in Turkey, killing 30,000 people and making hundreds of thousands  of others homeless.

71 solar years ago, on this day in 1945 AD, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) was set up under UN auspices. IMF goals include fixation of currency rates, facilitation of balanced international commercial development and growth, and promotion of jobs. The right to vote in IMF depends on contribution. Hence, the Western states, especially the US, which is home to IMF headquarters, exploit this organization. The unrealistic conditions of IMF for payment of loans have led to protests by third world countries. IMF is now a tool of the US for pressuring independent countries, and if possible ruining their economies.

71 solar years ago, on this day in 1945 AD, following end of World War II, the Moscow Pact for division of the Korean Peninsula was inked by the US, Britain, and the Soviet Union. Korea was divided at the 38^th parallel as North and South, with US forces permanently stationed in South Korea to deter unification and to cause tension in the region.

67 solar years ago, on this day in 1949 AD, as a result of the Indonesian National Revolution, the Netherlands officially recognized Indonesia as independent, thereby marking the end of the Dutch East Indies that was set up in 1800. In 1945, following the end of World War 2 and Japanese occupation of the country, the Indonesian people started their armed struggle until they achieved formal independence four years later. The Indonesian independence movement actually began in May 1908 – commemorated as the Tahun Kebangkitan Bangsa (Year of National Awakening). Indonesia is the world’s largest Muslim country, with over 200 million following the Islamic faith.

48 lunar years ago, on this day in 1390 AH, Grand Ayatollah Seyyed Mohsin al-Hakeem Tabatabaie passed away in the holy city of Najaf at the age of 84. Born in a religious family, he was a child prodigy, who after memorizing the holy Qur'an, strove to acquire higher degrees of knowledge and attained the status of Ijtehad. He taught jurisprudence and soon emerged as the leading scholar of the Najaf Seminary. In 1961, following the passing away of Grand Ayatollah Seyyed Hussain Boroujerdi in Qom, Iran, he became the sole Marja or Supreme Religious Authority with worldwide following. The hawza of Najaf grew immensely under his leadership. His historic opinion branding communism as kufr or atheism proved the beginning of the end of communism in Iraq. When the Father of the Islamic Revolution, Imam Khomeini (RA), was exiled from Iran by the Shah’s regime and took up residence in Iraq in 1964, he welcomed him in holy Najaf and provided support to him. Grand Ayatollah Hakeem’s suggestions and advices on political and social issues were valued by the Muslim Ummah. In 1967, following the defeat of Arab armies in the six-day war he wrote to the heads of Muslim states to put aside their differences and unite against the illegal Zionist entity. During the last year of his life, following the coup that brought to power the tyrannical Ba’th minority regime in Baghdad, he was subjected to persecution and finally passed away in 1970. His sons and grandsons also emerged as leading scholars and were active on the political and social scenes. Many of them were martyred in a cowardly manner by Saddam and his henchmen, including son, Ayatollah Seyyed Mahdi in Khartoum, during an international conference in Sudan in 1987. Another of his sons, Ayatollah Seyyed Baqer al-Hakeem was the Leader of the Supreme Assembly for the Islamic Revolution of Iraq (SAIRI) and was martyred in 2003 in a terrorist bomb blast after leading the Friday Prayer in the holy shrine of Imam Ali (AS) in Najaf. The present leader of the Iraqi Islamic Assembly, Hojjat al-Islam Seyyed Ammar al-Hakeem, is the grandson of the Late Grand Ayatollah al-Hakeem.

42 solar years ago, on this day in 1974 AD, prominent Iranian religious leader, Ayatollah Hussain Ghaffari, attained martyrdom in the dungeon of the Shah's despotic regime. He led a simple life, and through writing books and publication of a magazine, exposed the crimes of the British-installed and US-backed Shah against the nation. A brilliant orator, his speeches revealed to the people the widespread corruption of the Pahlavi regime. As a result he was frequently detained by the regime, which tortured him to death this day.

37 solar years ago, on this day in 1979 AD, the Father of the Islamic Revolution, Imam Khomeini (RA), ordered public mobilization in Iran for uprooting illiteracy by launching the Literacy Movement Organization. Part of his historical declaration reads: “Now, without wasting time and without any unnecessary formalities, we launch the movement for rapid uprooting of illiteracy so that, God-willing, everyone would be able to read and write in the near future.” Today, over three decades later, Iran has the one of the highest literacy rates in the world, as per UNESCO records.

16 solar years ago, on this day in 2000 AD, the prominent religious leader, Ayatollah Seyyed Mohammad Baqer Musavi Hamedani, passed away at the age of 75.Born in Hamedan, western Iran, he enrolled the seminary of holy Qom at the age of 16 and had the honour of being a student of the Father of the Islamic Revolution, Imam Khomeini (RA). He was active during the 15^th of Khordad Uprrising (June 5, 1963) against the British-installed and US-backed Pahlavi regime. A prolific writer since his youth, his proficiency in Persian and Arabic, led to his masterly rendering into Persian of the al-Mizan Exegesis of the holy Qur’an, the magnum opus of the great jurisprudent-philosopher, Allamah Seyyed Mohammad Hussain Tabtabai. He also translated into Persian the 2-volume jurisprudential manual “Tahrir al-Wasila” of Imam Khomeini. He authored in Arabic the excellent book “Imam Ali fi Kutub Ahl as-Sunnah” (The Merits of Imam Ali (AS) in the Books of Sunni Muslims).

9 solar years ago, on this day in 2007 AD, the Former Prime Minister of Pakistan and Leader of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), Mrs. Benazir Bhutto, was killed in Rawalpindi, by terrorist gunfire and bomb blasts, along with twenty other people. Born in Karachi in 1953 to Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, who later became Prime Minister, her mother Nosrat was an Iranian settled in the Subcontinent. She completed her studies in Harvard University in the US, and at Oxford University in England. In 1977, shortly after her return home, her father was ousted in a military coup by General Zia ul-Haq, who two years later hanged him. Benazir assumed leadership of her father's party, and in 1988, following the death in accident of the dictator, Zia-ul-Haq, she was elected prime minister. Her cabinet collapsed two years later, but she again won the elections and became prime minister from 1993 to 1996. In 1999, when General Pervez Musharraf toppled the civilian government of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, she went into self-exile abroad. In October 2007, she formed a coalition with her rival, Nawaz Sharif and returned to Pakistan, escaping on arrival a terrorist blast that claimed the lives of 135 of her supporters. Benazir Bhutto ran for the parliamentary elections and was expected to win, when she was gunned down by terrorists.

8 solar years ago, on this day in 2008 AD, the Zionist army launched its 22-day holocaust on the besieged Gaza Strip, but despite its brutality that resulted in the death of almost 1,500 men, women, and children, and destruction of the infrastructure, in addition to several thousand wounded, it failed to topple the popularly elected Hamas-led Palestinian government. The illegal state of Israel, with the support of its western backers, especially the US, has continued to besiege Gaza for the past eight years, and frequently kills the defenseless people through missiles, artillery fire, and aerial bombing.

AS/MG