Today is Tuesday; 19th of the Iranian month of Bahman 1395 solar hijri; corresponding to 9th of the Islamic month of Jamadi al-Awwal 1438 lunar hijri; and February 7, 2017, of the Christian Gregorian Calendar.

1022 lunar years ago, on this day in 416 AH, the poet and scholar of Fatemid Egypt, Abu’l-Hassan Ali bin Mohammad at-Tahami, died in prison. After death he appeared in a dream of one of his friends, and when asked about his fate in afterlife, said God has forgiven his faults and shortcomings for the sake of the moving elegy he wrote in memory of his infant son. It is probable that since he was a staunch follower of the Ahl al-Bayt of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA), he had tried to visualize the patience and sufferings of Imam Husain (AS) in Karbala on the martyrdom of the 6-month infant Ali Asghar by an arrow in the state of acute thirst.

652 lunar years ago, on this day in 786 AH, the celebrated theologian, Shaikh Mohammad bin Jamal od-Din al-Makki al-Ameli, was cruelly martyred in Damascus at the age of 52, and subsequently became known as “Shaheed Awwal” (First Martyr). Born in the Jabal Amel region of Lebanon, on reaching 16 years of age, he travelled to Iraq, and studied under the students of the celebrated Allamah Hilli, amongst them Allamah's son, Fakhr ul-Muhaqqeqin. At the age 21, he returned to his native Jabal Amel and was certified to narrate hadiths by many other famous scholars of the school of the Ahl al-Bayt, as well as Sunni theologians of Mecca, Medina, Bayt al-Moqaddas, Damascus, and Baghdad. He also built good relations with Sultan Ali ibn al-Mu'ayyad of the Sarbadaran Movement of Khorasan in northeastern Iran. This aroused jealousy in some circles, and he was unjustly accused of heresy during the unstable rule of Sultan Barquq, the Circassian slave who became ruler of Egypt and Syria. On the fatwa of a pseudo scholar, the venerable Shaikh was imprisoned under torture for a year, before being martyred by the sword. His body was then hung, stoned, crucified, and burned. During imprisonment, he wrote in only 7 days the famous book “Lummat ad-Damishqiyya” (The Damascene Glitter), which is still taught in seminaries in Iran, Iraq, Bahrain, Lebanon, India, and Pakistan. Amazingly, this valuable book was subject to a commentary two centuries later by another great jurisprudent of the same region, Zayn od-Din al-Juba'i al-Ameli, who suffered the same fate as the author. He was thus called “Shaheed Thani” (Second Martyr). Other books of the First Martyr include “Durou”, “Dhikra”, “Bayan”, “Alfiyah” and “Qawa'ed”, all of which are among the priceless writings of jurisprudence.

539 solar years ago, on this day in 1478 AD, Thomas More, English lawyer, social philosopher, author, and statesman, who coined the word "Utopia" in the novel of the same name, was born in London to the lawyer and judge, John More. He served as Councilor to King Henry VIII of England and was Lord Chancellor from 1529 to 1532. A bitter opponent of the Protestant Movement, he ridiculed the German Church reformer, Martin Luther, as a heretic in the book "Responsio ad Lutherum", in which he also opposed the English monarch's separation from the Catholic Church and refused to accept the king as Supreme Head of the Church of England. As a result, he was imprisoned in 1534, and the next year was tried for treason, convicted on perjured testimony, and beheaded. In 1516 he had published "Utopia", a name he gave to an ideal and imaginary island nation, the political system of which contrasts the contentious social life of European states with the perfectly orderly, reasonable social arrangements. In "Utopia", with communal ownership of land, private property does not exist; men and women are educated alike; and there is almost complete religious toleration. Utopia tolerates different religious practices but does not tolerate atheists, since Thomas More believed that if a person did not believe in God or in afterlife he/she could never be trusted. He also coined the English phrase "grasp at straws" to mean "desperately trying even useless things", in his book "Dialogue of Comfort against Tribulation."

526 lunar years ago, on this day in 912 AH, the Iranian poet, Mirza Sharaf Jahan Qazvini, was born in the city of Qazvin. A student of the prominent scientist, Amir Ghiyas od-Din, in addition to rational and traditional sciences, he was highly skilled in literature, poetry, writing, and music. He maintained high ethical virtues, and has left behind a divan or collection of poems.

292 solar years ago, on this day in 1725 AD, in Isfahan, Mahmoud Ghilzai Hotaki, the Afghan occupier of Iran, brutally slaughtered 39 family members of the deposed Safavid monarch, Shah Sultan Hussain, including 11 princes. Mahmoud who had seized control of the Persian Empire in 1722 went mad and was killed in April 1725 by his cousin, Ashraf, who now styled himself king, until he was defeated in battle four years later in 1729 by Nader Quli Afshar (later Nader Shah), the commander of the army of the last Safavid king, Shah Tampasp II. The 6-year Afghan occupation of Iran was a period of great chaos. To the Safavid Dynasty that ruled Iran and adjoining lands for two-and-a-quarter centuries, goes the credit of giving Iran religious identity, national solidarity, cultural affinity, territorial integrity, and sovereignty.

205 solar years ago, on this day in 1812 AD, the English author and novelist, Charles Dickens, was born. His masterpiece is “A Christmas Carol”, which depicts how a very rich but stingy person was finally forced to change his miserly habits to help the poor. Some of his more famous novels include "Oliver Twist", “Great Expectations, “Hard Times” and "A Tale of Two Cities."  Dickens who was editor of “Bentley’s Miscellany” a general interest monthly magazine, from January 1837 to 1839, paid tribute to the Martyr of Karbala in it, by writing:

“If Husain had fought to quench his worldly desires…then I do not understand why his sister, wife, and children accompanied him. It stands to reason therefore, that he sacrificed purely for Islam.”

Dickens was founder of the Realism Style in English literature.

161 solar years ago, on this day in 1856 AD, the Muslim Kingdom of Awadh (the granary of northern India) was annexed by the British, who imprisoned its ruler Wajed Ali Shah, after a 9-year reign and exiled him to Calcutta, thereby ending the 124-year rule of the Naishapuri Dynasty established in 1722 by Seyyed Mohammad Amin Musavi Sa'adat Khan Burhan ul-Mulk of Khorasan, the Nawab-Wazir or prime minister of the Moghal Emperor, Mohammad Shah. Before its migration to India, the family, which was descended from Imam Musa Kazem (AS), the 7th Infallible Heir of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA) had been settled in Naishapur by Shah Ismail I, the founder of the Safavid Dynasty of Iran. With the weakening of Mughal rule, the 7th ruler of Awadh, Ghazi od-Din Haider, crowned himself as king of the region which is now part of the Uttar Pradesh and Utranachal Pradesh states of India. The dynasty followed the school of the Prophet's Ahl al-Bayt and adopted the Imami legal system of government that had been codified and successfully implemented for over 170 years in the Deccan (South India) by the Qutb Shahi Dynasty of Iranian origin of Golkandah-Haiderabad. The result was the spread of the teachings of the Ahl al-Bayt and the emergence of outstanding ulema, writing in Arabic, Persian, and later Urdu – such as Ayatollah Dildar Ali Naseerabadi and the celebrated Mir Hamed Hussain Musavi, the author of "Abaqaat al-Anwaar". With their capital, first in Faizabad and then in Lucknow, the rulers of Awadh gave distinct flavour to Indian Muslim culture, dress, arts, literature, cuisine, and the mourning ceremonies for the Martyrs of Karbala by building majestic Hussainiyyas, such as the Asefia Imambara. They also contributed to development projects in the holy cities of Najaf, Karbala and Kazemayn in Iraq. Wajed Ali Shah, during the 31 more years he was alive in exile, transformed the vast 4-mile long Matiaborj area on the River Hooghly near Calcutta into a mini Lucknow, building a grand Hussainiyya and spending lavishly to recreate the pomp and splendour of his opulent days of kingship.

123 solar years ago, on this day in 1894 AD, the Belgian inventor and musician, Adolphe Sax, died at the age of 80. He was the son of a seller of musical instruments, and invented the Saxaphone.

102 lunar years ago, on this day in 1336 AH, the Iranian scholar, Mirza Sadeq Hakeem titled “Adeeb ol-Mamalek Farahani”, passed away. He was well versed in Persian literature and was also acquainted with some European languages. An accomplished poet, the theme of most of his poetry is the social life of the people of his times and their political struggles. He became the editor of the daily “Adab” and through its columns carried out the campaign to awaken the people of Iran. He was actively involved in the Constitutional Movement and for a time was in-charge of the Ministry of Culture and the Judiciary. He also managed the “Majlis” and “Aftab” papers for numerous years

66 solar years ago, on this day in 1951 AD, during the US-backed war to divide the Korean Peninsula, South Korea butchered seven hundred and five suspected communist sympathizers with the approval of the American forces.

43 solar years ago, on this day in 1974 AD, the small island-state of Grenada in the Caribbean Sea gained independence from the British. The first Europeans to occupy it were the Spanish under Christopher Colombus in 1498. In 1674 it was seized by the French, and over a century later in 1783 it fell to the British. In 1979, five years after independence, Maurice Bishop formed a socialist government in Grenada and established close relations with Cuba. In 1982, Grenada was attacked and occupied by the US, which brutally killed Maurice Bishop. It is now ruled by a US client regime.

38 solar years ago, on this day in 1979 AD, millions of people all over Iran staged rallies in support of the provisional government announced by the Leader of the Islamic Revolution, Imam Khomeini (RA). Later in the day, air force officers, clad in their uniforms, assembled before the Imam to pledge allegiance. Imam Khomeini said in a famous statement: "Till now you had been in the service of the wayward, but have now returned to the way of the holy Qur'an. May the holy Qur'an be your Guardian and Protector, and hopefully, with your support the people of Iran will succeed in forming the government of Islamic justice." The remnants of the Shah's regime were frightened at this development. In view of the importance of this event, every year, air force personnel assemble this day before the Leader of the Islamic Revolution to renew their allegiance to the ideals of the Islamic Revolution. The day is designated Air Force Day.

18 solar years ago, on this day in 1999 AD, King Hussein of the British created state called Jordan died at the age of 64 after a rule of 47 years. Son of Talal, who was deposed by the British on grounds of insanity only a year after succeeding his assassinated father, Abdullah Ibn Sharif Hussein of Hijaz, he was known as the CIA king, for his loyalty to Britain and the US. Though claiming descent from Imam Ali ibn Abi Taleb (AS), the cousin, son-in-law and divinely-designated Heir of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA), he was in secret league with the illegal Zionist entity Israel, and was a staunch opponent of the followers of the Ahl al-Bayt, as was evident by his support for the bloodthirsty Ba'thist dictator Saddam during the 8-year war against the Islamic Republic of Iran (1980-88) and the brutal suppression of the Iraq's Shi'ite Arab majority in 1991. He was succeeded by his son, Abdullah – born to a British Christian woman.   

11 solar years ago, on this day in 2006 AD, Iranian newspaper “Hamshahri” announced that it would hold a competition for cartoons on the alleged Holocaust to test whether the West extends the principle of freedom of expression to this doubtful incidence, as it did to the insulting caricatures it attributed to the Almighty’s Last and Greatest Messenger, Prophet Mohammad (SAWA).

6 solar years ago, on this day in 2011 AD, the Islamic Republic of Iran unveiled four new domestically produced research satellites as part of a space programme for exploring outer space. Iran has made tremendous progress in this field without the assistance of any other country despite the hurdles placed by the US and its accomplices. Concurrent with this announcement, Iran also disclosed that it is mass-producing a ballistic missile which can travel at more than three times the speed of sound and hit targets on the high seas.

AS/SS