Today is Saturday; 7th of the Iranian month of Esfand 1395 solar hijri; corresponding to 27th of the Islamic month of Jamadi al-Awwal 1438 lunar hijri; and February 25, 2017, of the Christian Gregorian Calendar.

1483 lunar years ago, on this day in 45 years before Hijra, Abdul-Muttaleb, the paternal grandfather of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA), passed away in Mecca and was laid to rest in the Jannat al-Mu’allah Cemetery – unfortunately desecrated and destroyed by Wahhabi heretics 92 years ago in 1925 when the Godless Aal-e-Saud clan occupied Islam’s holiest city. His father was the monotheist Hashem, a direct descendant of the Prophet Abraham’s (AS) firstborn son, Prophet Ishmael (AS), while his mother was Salmah bint Amr of the Khazraj clan of Yathreb – which was to become known as Medinat an-Nabi or simply Medina, following the migration to that city of his grandson the Prophet. Named Shaibah by his mother, he was brought to Medina by his uncle Muttaleb, following the death of his father Hashem. When the people of Mecca saw Shaibah with his uncle, they thought he was his slave, and called him Abdul Muttaleb, which means slave of Muttaleb. Although Muttaleb tried to explain that the boy was his nephew, the name stuck. Muttaleb continued to manage his brother Hashem's duties until Abdul Muttaleb was old enough to take over. Abdul Muttaleb took over the duties of Saqaya and Rifada when his uncle Muttaleb died. He had many good qualities and made many changes to the lives and habits of the Quraish. In the year known as Aam al-Feel or Year of the Elephant in which his grandson the Prophet of Islam was to be born, a miraculous incident happened, when Abraha, the governor of Abyssinian-occupied Yemen, riding an elephant, marched upon Mecca to raze down the holy Ka’ba and in the process his soldiers seized the camel-herd of Abdul Muttaleb, who boldly approached the invader and demanded the return of his camels. When Abraha mockingly asked him as to why he is not requesting that the Ka’ba should be spared, Abdul Muttaleb said: I am the owner of camels, while the Ka’ba has its own Owner. No sooner did the elephantine army of Abraha tried to storm the city, a swarm of tiny birds appeared overhead by the command of God Almighty, raining death upon men and beasts by dropping pebbles upon them and reducing them to resemble chewed straw, as Surah al-Feel of the holy Qur’an states. To Abdul-Muttaleb goes the credit of having a divinely-inspired dream that led to the rediscovery and unearthing of the spring of Zamzam which God Almighty had caused to burst from under the feet of a thirsty little Ishmael, as his mother Hajar, frantically ran between the hillocks of Safa and Marwa, trying to find water for her seemingly dying son. When grandson Prophet Mohammad (SAWA) was born and the infant soon became orphan with the death of his father Abdullah, the doting grandfather Abdul-Muttaleb took care of the boy until his own death 8 years later, but before breathing his last, gave custody of the child to his other son, the monotheist Imran Abul Taleb – the guardian of both his nephew and the creed of Islam in Mecca. Abdul-Muttaleb’s another son was the valiant Hamzah, who was also a devout Muslim and achieved martyrdom in the Battle of Ohad, which the pagan Arabs imposed upon the Prophet.

1389 solar years ago, on this day in 628 AD, the 22nd and last great emperor of the Sassanid Empire of Iran, Khosrau II, after a reign of 38 years was dethroned and imprisoned by his own son Qobad II (Kavadh), who three days later tortured him to death. Grandson of the wise, just and benevolent ruler, Khosrau I (Anushirvan), he styled himself Parviz (Victorious) but lacked the traits of virtue of his grandfather. Khosrau II had ascended the throne after revolting against his father, Hormizd IV, whom he deposed, blinded and killed. His downfall came shortly after he had haughtily torn the letter of invitation to Islam from the Almighty's Last and Greatest Messenger to mankind, Prophet Mohammad (SAWA), and threatened to attack Hijaz from Iranian-controlled Yemen, following the reversal of his fortunes in the 26-year long Roman-Iranian War. Although in art and literature, Khosrau Parviz has been immortalized for his romance with the beautiful Armenian Christian princess, Shirin, who eventually became his chief wife, he faced fluctuating fortunes as ruler. Within a year of his accession he was ousted by the rebellious general, Bahram Chubin, fled via Syria to Constantinople, and regained the throne of Ctesiphon in 591 with help from Emperor Maurice of Byzantium (Eastern Roman Empire). In 602, the murder of Maurice and usurpation of power by Phocas, provided him the pretext to attack the Roman Empire, and in the next decade while Islam was publicly proclaimed for the first time in Mecca, Iranian armies led by the Generals, Shahrbaraz and Shahin, overran Syria, Palestine, Egypt and almost the whole of Anatolia (modern Turkey) right up to the walls of Constantinople (Istanbul). The victories of the Zoroastrian Persians over the Christian Romans gladdened the hearts of the Arab infidels and made them mock Prophet Mohammad (SAWA) and the Muslims, at which God revealed “Surah Roum”, giving tidings of the eventual triumph of the monotheists – indeed one of the eternal miracles of the holy Qur'an. In 622 – a decade after Heraclius had removed Phocas to become the new Roman Emperor, and coinciding with the Prophet's migration from Mecca to Medina – the fortunes of Khosrau II began to decline with defeats in Anatolia, Egypt, Palestine, Syria, Georgia, Armenia, and Iraq; resulting in the rebellion of the nobles that ended his rule.

1389 solar years ago, on this day in 628 AD, Qobad II, on ascending the Sassanid throne after deposing his father, Khosrau II Pervez, with the help of refractory nobles, immediately ordered the execution of all his brothers and half-brothers, including heir-apparent, Mardanshah, son of the Armenian princess, Shirin. Named Shirvieh at birth, the new emperor, whose mother was Maria, (daughter of Roman Emperor Maurice), entered into truce with Emperor Heraclius on humiliating terms by handing over all the territorial gains of his father, in addition to paying unwarranted war indemnity. This incompetent ruler died after only six months in power under mysterious circumstances, and was succeeded by his 8-year old son, Ardashir III, who was deposed and killed 8 months later by the usurper General Shahrbaraz – only to be killed himself 40 days later. The rot that started with Khosrau’s ouster in 628 thus saw 7 more emperors rising to and falling from the throne of Ctesiphon in the space of only 4 years. The last of them, Yazdegerd III, who assumed power in 632 was destined to face the Muslim Arab invasion in 636 that within a decade brought down the curtain on the 425-year rule of the Sassanid Dynasty and saw the almost mass acceptance of Islam by the Iranians, thereby resulting in the birth of Islamic Iran that has since played a vital role in the flowering of the great Islamic civilization.

988 lunar years ago, on this day in 450 AH, Abu'l-Abbas Ahmad ibn Ali an-Najashi, passed away in Matirabad near the city of Samarra in Iraq at the age of 78. He is considered the earliest and among the most authentic Shi'ite Muslim scholars of “Ilm ar-Rijaal”, which literally means "Knowledge of Men", and refers to a discipline of Islamic religious science in which the narrators of hadith are evaluated. His book “Rijaal an-Najashi” has been the most reliable source of information about early ulema and scholars of the School of the Ahl al-Bayt of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA), and paved the way for later generations to further explore this vital field. Najashi was a student of the celebrated Shaikh Mufid and other prominent scholars, while his father, Ali ibn Ahmad, had studied under the famous Iranian scholar, Shaikh Sadouq, when the latter visited Baghdad. Born with a inquisitive mind that enabled him to embark on a scrutiny of sources and narrators, Najashi belonged to a family of eminent scholars. His seventh ancestor, Abdullah an-Najashi, who was the governor of Ahvaz and Fars during the reign of Mansour Dawaniqi, the 2nd self-styled caliph of the usurper Abbasid regime, was a student of Imam Ja'far Sadeq (AS), the 6th Infallible Heir of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA). He compiled the Imam's answers to his queries under the title “Risalat-Abdullah an-Najashi”.

368 solar years ago, on this day in 1649 AD, Iran’s Safavid Empire retook the strategic border city of Qandahar in what is now Afghanistan from the Mughal Empire of the Subcontinent. Qandahar was the bone of contention between the two otherwise friendly empires, and was mostly under Iranian rule. Upon hearing of the Mughal debacle in Balkh, Shah Abbas II resolved to liberate Qandahar. He set up camp in Herat and in December 1648, marched towards Qandahar and besieged it. In two months the fort and its surroundings capitulated and were handed over to Iran’s suzerainty by its governor Daulat Khan after 11 years of Mughal occupation. Shahjahan immediately ordered a counterattack under his son Prince Aurangzeb, who was defeated by the Iranians and withdrew. In 1952 the Iranians beat back another invasion by Aurangzeb. The next year Shahjahan sent his elder son Prince Darashikoh with a huge force that also failed to break the defences of the Iranians and retreated after a 7-month siege. The last futile attempt by the Mughals against Qandahar was in 1555. Qandahar was lost by Iran to the Hotaki Pashtuns in 1721, liberated by Nader Shah in 1738 and seized in 1747 by Ahmad Shah Abdali Durrani, the founder of Afghanistan.

260 lunar years ago, on this day in 1178 AH, the Hadith scholar, Abdul-Karim Ibn Ahmad al-Halabi, passed away. He was from Aleppo as his surname suggests, and though he went blind, he wasn’t demoralized and remained a prominent scholar. He has left behind numerous compilations, including “Ad’iyat as-Safar” or supplications to God for safety while on journey.

97 solar years ago, on this day in 1920 AD, French archaeologist, Marcel-Auguste Dieulafoy, died at the age of 75. In 1884-86 he undertook major excavations at the historical site of Susa (modern Shush, Iran) uncovering the palaces of the ancient Persian emperors, Darius I the Great and Artaxerxes II. He was helped by a French physician at the Qajarid court in Tehran to reopen the 1852 excavations done by W.K. Loftus. Dieulafoy's exploration resulted in revealing part of the palace and other structures, and in settling the topographical details of the city. He also recovered unique and beautiful features of art and architecture, including the pillars with capitals of bulls' heads, three great porticoes and the hall of columns, the frieze of lions, and that of archers now in the Louvre Museum in Paris.

63 solar years ago, on this day in 1954 AD, Syrian freedom seekers launched their campaign to rid the country of the inefficient and foreign backed rule of President Adib Shishekli. All strata of the society participated in this campaign to bring about the downfall of the Shishekli regime and formation of a united national government under President Hashem al-Atasi.

61 solar years ago, on this day in 1956 AD, the great Iranian lexicographer, Ali Akbar Dehkhoda died at the age of 76. Born in Tehran, after completing his studies he went to Europe for higher studies, and on returning to Iran five years later, he actively involved himself in the Constitutional Movement against the decadent Qajarid dynasty. He launched his literary career by writing critical and satirical articles in the Persian newspapers and magazines against the unjust conditions of the time. He was an authority on Iran's culture and Persian language, and wrote the 4-volume work "Imsaal wa Hakam" which contains over 4,000 proverbs and their meanings. His magnum opus is "Lughat-Namah", a voluminous lexicon of the Persian language.

31 solar years ago, on this day in 1986 AD, the 21-year dictatorial rule of Filipino President, Ferdinand Marcos, ended with his fleeing the country along with his family. Elected president in 1965, he started his repressive rule with US support and usage of military forces. In 1973, he proclaimed himself permanent president much to the resentment of the people, who felt no choice but to start their political and armed struggle that climaxed in the popular uprising of the 1980s and the overthrow of Marcos’ dictatorship. Muslims account for nearly 20 percent of the Filipino population and are mostly concentrated in Mindanao and the Sulu Archipelago that used to be independent sultanates before the arrival of the Portuguese and forced conversion of the Philippines to the Roman Catholic sect of Christianity.

26 solar years ago, on this day in 1991 AD, Warsaw Pact member states met in Budapest, the Hungarian capital, to formally announce dissolution of the ailing pact, founded by the Eastern Bloc countries in May 14, 1955, under the leadership of the Soviet Union in order to collectively thwart any attack by the West. Made up of the Soviet Union, East Germany, Poland, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, and Albania, it was a counterbalance to the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO). The goodwill dissolution gesture after the end of the Cold War was not reciprocated by the West, whose military arm, NATO, not only continues its unwarranted existence but has pursued a policy of eastward expansion in the absence of Warsaw Pact.

24 solar years ago, on this day in 1993 AD, the prominent jurisprudent, Ayatollah Mirza Hashem Amoli, passed away in Iran. He was from the city of Amol in Mazandaran Province, and after completing his religious studies in holy Qom he left for Iraq for higher religious studies at the famous seminary of holy Najaf. He reached the degree of Ijtehad and his classes were attended by a large number of scholars and students. He was known for his piety and among his works is the book "Kashf al-Haqa'eq". Ayatollah Mirza Hashem Amoli was the father of Iran's present judiciary chief, Ayatollah Sadeq Amoli Larijani, and Iran's current Speaker of the Legislature, Dr. Ali Larijani.

23 solar years ago, on this day in 1994 AD, American-Zionist solider of German Jewish parentage, Baruch Goldstein, opened fire on rows of Palestinian Muslims praying in congregation at the shrine of Prophet Abraham (AS) in the city of al-Khalil in the West Bank of River Jordan. As a result of this cowardly act of terrorism 29 people were martyred and scores of others wounded. This incident (of February 25) occurred in the blessed month of Ramadhan and led to the anger of the civilized world. As a result, the Arab compromisers had no other choice but to postpone their dubious negotiations with the illegal Zionist entity.

AS/MG