Today is Friday; 15th of the Iranian month of Bahman 1395 solar hijri; corresponding to 5th of the Islamic month of Jamadi al-Awwal 1438 lunar hijri; and February 3, 2017, of the Christian Gregorian Calendar.

1433 lunar years ago, on this day in the year 5 AH, the first granddaughter of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA) was born in Medina to the proud parents, Hazrat Fatema Zahra (SA) and Imam Ali (AS). She was named by the Prophet as “Zainab”, meaning “Ornament of the Father”, and grew up along with her elder brothers, Imam Hasan (AS) and Imam Husain (AS), as the epitome of virtue. Her piety, wisdom, knowledge, patience, courage and eloquence, was ably displayed during the tragedy of Karbala and its equally tragic aftermath when, she, along with her younger sister, Hazrat Omm Kulthoum (SA) and nephew, Imam Zain al-Abedin (AS), exposed the hypocrisy of the tyrannical Omayyad regime, despite being forced to stand as enchained prisoners in Damascus in the court of the despicable Yazid. Hazrat Zainab (SA), whose two youthful sons attained martyrdom in Karbala, universalized and immortalized the mission of her tragically martyred brother, Imam Husain (AS), and thus nursed back to life the pure and pristine Islamic message of her grandfather, Prophet Mohammad (SAWA). Her auspicious birthday is celebrated as Nurse’s Day in Islamic Iran, as a tribute to her selfless sacrifices for humanity.

1116 lunar years ago, on this day in 322 AH, Qaher-Billah, the 19th self-styled caliph of the usurper Abbasid regime, was deposed after only two years of rule; and when in the state of drunkenness he refused to abdicate, his eyes were blinded, and he was cast into prison. Eleven years later he was freed, and was sometimes seen in beggar's rags and wooden sandals – a sad contrast to his high-sounding title “al-Qaher-Billah” which means "Victorious by the Will of God." He died in poverty in 339 AH at the age of 54, six years after his release from prison and 17 years after losing the caliphate. The caliphate was given to Qaher-Billah when his profligate brother Muqtadir-Billah was deposed, beaten and killed by the courtiers, who feared that the latter’s son might avenge his father's death. Qaher turned out to be even worse, and went to every excess of cruelty and extortion. He tortured his stepmother (mother of Muqtadir) to squeeze wealth from her. He then walled alive his nephew, the son of Muqtadir, in order to remove any rival. Qaher was succeeded by a nephew who survived, named Raazi-Billah, who during his 7-year rule returned the vast orchard of Fadak to the direct descendants of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA). Fadak was the personal property of the Prophet and was situated north of Medina near Khaybar. The Prophet had given it to his daughter, Hazrat Fatema Zahra (SA), who used its revenues for the upkeep of the poor and destitute. After the Prophet passed away, the regime in Medina seized Fadak by forging a hadith alleging that Prophets do not leave inheritance and whatever they leave is the property of Ummah. Hazrat Fatema (SA) defended 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.

857 solar years ago, on this day in 1160 AD, the self-styled holy Roman emperor, Frederick Barbarossa of Germany, barbarically hurtled prisoners, including children, at the Italian city of Crema, forcing it to surrender. The siege was marked by several episodes of brutality against fellow Christians by the Germans, who hung Cremaschi prisoners to siege machines, resulting in bloody manslaughter. Barbarossa, who on the instructions of Pope Urban III had assembled a huge anti-Muslim army of crusaders in alliance with the kings of France and England, and marched overland towards Syria through the Byzantine Empire; miserably drowned in River Saleph (Goksu Nehri) in what is now Turkey, before reaching his cherished goal, i.e. the Islamic city of Bayt al-Moqaddas in Palestine. Barbarossa and his horse were struck by divine wrath and swept away to a terrible death that aborted the 3rd European crusade against Muslims. His leaderless army lost heart and fled, and many Christian knights, afraid of the prospect of fighting Muslims, committed suicide.

640 solar years ago, on this day in 1377 AD, some 5,000 people of the Italian city of Cesena were slaughtered by troops of Pope Gregory XI for refusing to follow the irrational laws of the Catholic Church. The various Christian sects have a long bloody history of internecine warfare.

566 solar years ago, on this day in 1451 AD, the 6th Ottoman Sultan, Murad II, died after a reign of almost three decades during which he expanded the Turkish Empire into Europe, defeating the Christian coalition of the holy Roman Empire, Poland and Serbia-Hungary in several battles in the Balkans and in Hungary. He was, however, unsuccessful in the east in Anatolia (modern Turkey) against fellow Turkic rulers, especially the forces of the Iran-based Empire of Shahrokh (son of the central Asian conqueror, Amir Timur). Murad was succeeded by his son, Sultan Mohammad II, who accomplished his father's goal of exterminating the Byzantine or Eastern Roman Empire and liberating the city of Constantinople; subsequently renamed Islambol or Istanbul – as it is known today. On entering this once formidable city, he recited the Persian couplet of the famous Iranian poet, Shaikh Mosleh od-Din Sa'di:

"The spider weaves the curtains in the palace of the Caesars;

The owl calls the watches in the towers of Afrasiyab."

An accomplished scholar with fluency in several languages such as Turkish, Persian, Arabic and Greek, he was a great builder of schools, mosques and libraries, and during his 30-year reign, he further consolidated Ottoman rule in southwestern Europe and in Anatolia.

549 solar years ago, on this day in 1468 AD, Johannes Gutenberg, the inventor of the Printing Press, died. Born in Germany he lived in Strasburg in present day France. In 1443, he invented the Printing Press and introduced modern book printing, taking a major stride in circulation of books.

529 solar years ago, on this day in 1488 AD, Portuguese explorer, Bartolomeu Dias, who encouraged by reports of Spanish Muslims travelling to India via the Atlantic had been sent on an expedition by King John II of Portugal, sighted the southern coast of Africa and made landing at Mossel Bay (South Africa). He had to turn back when his crew refused to follow his orders to sail north, and on the return journey saw the southern tip and named it Cape of Storms, a name that was changed to Cape of Good Hope by King John to encourage future explorers. In 1500 Dias died when his ship was scuttled by a storm in the Cape.

508 solar years ago, on this day in 1509 AD, the Battle of Diu off the coast of Gujarat, western India, took place between the Portuguese marauders assisted by the Raja of Cochin, and a coalition of navies of the Sultan of Gujarat, the Mamluk ruler of Egypt, the Ottoman Sultan, and the Zamorin of Calicut, resulting in a stalemate, at the end of which, the Portuguese admiral, Francisco de Almeida, treacherously slaughtered the unsuspecting Egyptians and Indians in the most barbaric way. This happened despite the release of the well-fed and well-treated Portuguese prisoners from Gujarat taken in the victorious Battle of Chaul a year earlier. For almost 40 years, the Portuguese and the Gujarat-Egyptian-Ottoman coalition fought seesaw battles off the Indian coast. The "Mirat-e Sikandari", a Persian history of the Indian Muslim Kingdom of Gujarat details some of these battles. Among the heroes of these battles were Amir Hussain al-Kurdi, the Egyptian governor of Jeddah, Malik Ayaz of Gujarat, who was a Russian convert to Islam, and Bayram Pasha the Ottoman.

456 lunar years ago, on this day in 982 AH, the exegete of the Holy Qur’an, Mohammad Mostafa Imadi, popularly known as Abu’s-Saud passed away. Born in the vicinity of city of Istanbul, in western Turkey, he was fluent in Turkish, Persian, and Arabic. He also wrote poetry in both Persian and Arabic. He focused upon the social topics of his community, and has left behind numerous books, including “Tafsir Abi’s-Saud”, “Du’a Namah”, and “Qanoun Namah”.

138 solar years ago, on this day in 1879 AD, the first usable incandescent filament electric light bulb was practically demonstrated to an audience of 700 by its inventor Joseph Wilson Swan at the Literary and Philosophical Society of Newcastle upon Tyne in England. Following his successful demonstration, Swan established the world's first electric light bulb factory at Benwell in Newcastle. Later, Swan's bulbs were used to light up Mosley Street in the Newcastle city centre, the first street in the world to be lit by electric light. By 1881, Swan had introduced his bulbs in London where 1,200 of them were used in lighting the Savoy Theatre in front of an astonished audience.

102 solar years ago, on this day in 1915 AD, during World War I, the Suez Canal, which was seized by Britain, was attacked by the joint forces of the German and Ottoman Empires. In view of its vital role in linking the Red Sea and the Mediterranean, its control was of paramount importance for both the Allied and the Axis Powers. Britain's loss of this Canal would have seriously endangered its colonies in Asia. British forces beat off the attack by using their Arab and Indian auxiliaries. The Suez Canal remained under British occupation until 1956, when Egypt’s President Jamal Abdun-Nasser, nationalized it.

74 solar years ago, on this day in 1943 AD, during World War 2, one of the bloodiest battles of history, the over 6-month long Battle of Stalingrad, ended in the victory of the Soviet Union and the surrender of 110,000 German troops. The combined casualties of the two sides were almost two million. The German army after advancing into the Soviet Union had launched an all-out attack on the important city of Stalingrad as of July 17, 1942. However, due to freezing weather, shortage of food and equipment, and the counter offensive of Soviet troops, the demoralized Germans were encircled and forced to surrender, resulting in a severe blow to Adolf Hitler's ambitions. The Nazi debacle in Stalingrad led to a string of defeats for Germany and turned the tide of the war in the favour of the Allied Powers. Stalingrad is currently known as Volgograd.

51 solar years ago, on this day in 1966 AD, the first-ever soft landing on the moon took place when the unmanned Soviet Luna 9 spacecraft safely landed in the Ocean of Storms three days after its takeoff from Earth. It was the first ever soft landing on another celestial body, and opened the way for manned trips to the moon, by removing doubts that the surface was an unsafe dusty quicksand. On striking the surface, the Soviet probe ejected a 250-lb capsule which then rolled upright and unfolded four spring actuated petals to steady itself. A TV camera with a revolving mirror system enabled Luna 9 to take pictures, including panoramic views of the lunar landscape and closer views of nearby rocks, which were transmitted back to earth until 6 February when the batteries ran out and contact with the spacecraft was lost.

45 solar years ago, on this day in 1972 AD, the 7-day blizzard struck northwestern Iran and killed at least 4,000 people, making it the deadliest snowstorm in history. There were no survivors in Kakkan, and near the border with Turkey. Sheklab Village and its 100 inhabitants were buried.

38 solar years ago, on this day in 1979 AD, in a futile bid to mislead the Iranian people, Shapour Bakhtiar, the prime minister of the fugitive Shah, harped on democracy and freedom, saying he won't allow the Father of the Islamic Revolution, Imam Khomeini (God bless him), to name the provisional government. He made bombastic statements while his regime no longer controlled the country in view of nationwide public strikes and demonstrations, coupled with desertion of troops from barracks and resignation of government officials.

24 solar years ago, on this day in 1993 AD, Iranian poetess, Sarvar Bakuchi, known as Sepideh Kashani, passed away at the age of 56. She was born in a religious family in the central Iranian city of Kashan and following the victory of the Islamic Revolution in 1979, composed revolutionary poetry dedicated to the cause of the Islamic Republic.

11 solar years ago, on this day in 2006 AD, the Muslim world erupted in anger after sacrilegious cartoons were re-published in Europe. Streets in Egypt, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Malaysia, Palestine, Pakistan and Turkey filled with demonstrators calling for boycotts of European goods and burning the flag of Denmark, where the insulting cartoons first appeared.

10 solar years ago, on this day in 2007 AD, Takfiri terrorists detonated a truck bomb in the busy Sadriyeh Market of Baghdad Sadr City, martyring over 150 Muslims and injuring more than 350 others. Created by Saudi Arabia and the Zionist entity, Israel, with the blessings of the US, the goal of the Godless Takfiris is to tarnish the image of Islam.

7 solar years ago, on this day in 2010 AD, the Islamic Republic of Iran successfully launched a research rocket carrying a mouse, two turtles and worms into space. The rocket was “Kavoshgar-3”, which means Explorer-3 in Persian.

5 solar years ago, on this day in 2012 AD, the Islamic Republic of Iran successfully launched a new small satellite into orbit. The home-made satellite, “Navid” (or Good Tidings), was designed to collect data on weather conditions and monitor for natural disasters.

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