Today is Thursday; 11th of the Iranian month of Khordad 1396 solar hijri; corresponding to 6th of the Islamic month of Ramadhan 1438 lunar hijri; and June 1, 2017, of the Christian Gregorian Calendar.

Over three-and-a-half lunar millenniums ago, on this day (Ramadhan 6), God revealed the Torah to Prophet Moses (AS) on Mount Sinai for the guidance of the Israelites after they had been delivered from bondage in Pharaonic Egypt. Islam regards Moses as one of the five Great Messengers of God – the other four being Noah, Abraham, Jesus and the last and greatest of them all, Prophet Mohammad (SAWA). He has been mentioned some 500 times in the holy Qur'an, which confirms the Torah revealed to him. Unfortunately, over the centuries the Israelites have tampered with the contents of this holy book to such an extent that except for some scattered passages, nothing remains in the present Torah of the revealed words of God.

1237 lunar years ago, on this day in 201 AH, a grand ceremony was held in the Khorasani city of Merv (currently in Turkmenistan) by the Abbasid caliph, Mamoun, to officially declare Imam Reza (AS), the 8^th Infallible Successor of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA), as heir apparent. This was part of an intricate plot to tarnish the unsullied image of the Ahl al-Bayt. Courtiers and the masses, beginning with Mamoun's own son, Abbas, swore allegiance to Imam Reza (AS), in whose name coins were minted, while the official colour of the Abbasids was changed from the black to the green of the Prophet's Household. The crafty Mamoun, alarmed at the popularity amongst the masses of the Prophet's progeny and concerned about the lack of legitimacy of the rule of the Abbasids, who had deceived the ummah some 70 years earlier to hijack the caliphate after obliterating the Omayyad usurpers, forced Imam Reza (AS) to leave Medina and come to his capital Merv in distant Khorasan. Here he offered to abdicate the caliphate in the Imam's favour, but was frustrated in his devilish design by the curt reply: "If the caliphate is really yours, you ought not give to others what God has given you as a trust; and if it does not belong to you, how can you give to others what is not yours." After over two months of pressures coupled with threats of covert death, he forced the Imam to at least accept being his heir apparent, despite the glaring age gap of 22 years between the young 31 year old ruler and the 53-year old heir apparent, who might not be expected to outlive the person he was supposed to succeed. To the horror of Mamoun, his plot backfired as the popularity of Imam Reza (AS) further grew among the people. Two years later in 203 AH, he martyred the Imam through poisoning of food, and shifted the Abbasid capital back to Baghdad.

975 lunar years ago, on this day in 463 AH, the renowned Iranian Imami theologian, Abu Ya'la Hamza Ibn Abdullah Sallar Ibn Abdul-Aziz Daylami, passed away. He was a prominent student of the celebrated Shaikh Mufid and after him of the renowned Seyyed Mortaza Alam al-Hoda. Among his works, mention can be made of “al-Abwaab wa'l-Fosoul”, “at-Taqrib fi'l-Usoul”, and "al-Marasem al-Alawiyya fi Ahkaam an-Nabawiyya". He is not to be confused with another famous theologian Abu Ya'la al-Ja'fari, the son-in-law of Shaikh Mufid, who passed away ten days later on 16^th of Ramadhan in the same year. It is worth noting Abu Ya'la is a common “kunya” (agnomen) of all those persons whose name is Hamza.

802 solar years ago, on this day in 1215 AD, Zhongdu (now Beijing), then under the control of the Jurchen ruler Emperor Xuanzong of Jin, was captured by the Mongols under Genghis Khan, ending the Battle of Zhongdu.

765 solar years ago, on this day in 1252 AD, Alfonso X was crowned king of Castile and Leon, following the death of his father, Ferdinand III two days before. Born in the occupied Islamic city of Toledo in Spain, he ruled for 32 years. Although he was successful against Portugal, and managed to occupy the Muslim regions of Murcia and Cadiz, he suffered shattering defeats at the hands of Spanish Muslims when he tried to invade the Nasrid emirate of Granada. Twice his armies were defeated, especially in 1275 in the Battle of Ecija, in which he lost his sons. The important work undertaken by him was the study and translation of Arabic scientific books into the Castilian and Latin languages, in order to acquire knowledge from Muslims and break out of the dark ages into which the Christian Church had plunged Europe. The very first translation, commissioned by his brother, Fernando de la Cerda – who had extensive experience, both diplomatic and military, among the Muslims of Southern Spain and North Africa – was the animal fable “Kalila wa-Dimna”, a book that belongs to the genre of wisdom literature with stories and sayings meant to instruct the rulers in proper and effective governance. This book originated as “Panchatantra” in India, and was translated from Sanskrit into Middle Persian in 570 AD by the Sassanid Iranian scholar Borzuwayh. This became the basis for a translation into Arabic in 750 CE by Iranian scholar Abdullah Ibn al-Muqaffa as “Kalila wa Dimna”, and spread to North Africa and Spain. 

269 solar years ago, on this day in 1948 AD, Qamar od-Din, titled Chin Qilich Khan Nizam ul-Mulk Asef Jah I, the founder of the kingdom of Hyderabad-Deccan in south India, passed away at the age of 77 and was buried in the city of Aurangabad. A scion of the Persianate family of Samarqand (presently in Uzbekistan) tracing its descent to the Iranian mystic, Ziya od-Din Abu’n-Najeeb Suhrawardi (not to be confused with Suhrawardi the Philosopher), he was thus a direct descendent of Mohammad ibn Abu Bakr – the first caliph’s son who was loyal to the cause of the Commander of the Faithful, Imam Ali ibn Abi Taleb (AS). Born in Agra on 20 August 1671 to Ghazi ud-Din Khan Feroze Jung I who served as general to Emperor Aurangzeb and later as governor of Gujarat, his mother was Wazir un-Nisa Begum the daughter of Emperor Shah Jahan’s Grand Vizier, Sa’dullah Khan. Nizam ul-Mulk was one of the ablest generals and statesmen of the late Mughal period, and disillusioned with the sorry state of affairs in Delhi decided to concentrate on the Deccan where in 1924, he declared his independence. During the invasion of Nader Shah Afshar, he was recalled to north India, and so greatly impressed the Iranian king in the negotiations, that he was offered the rule of all India, but politely refused. He was an accomplished poet in Persian and used the pennames “Asef” and “Shaker” in his two Divans. The dynasty which he founded ruled for 224 years until its merger in the Indian Union in 1948, a year after end of British rule. The dynasty, which hosted a large number of Iranian émigrés including statesmen, scholars, artists, and businessmen, greatly contributed to Persian literature, Islamic sciences, architecture, infrastructural-industrial development projects, and later with the establishment of Osmania University in 1918 to the promotion of Urdu language. Hyderabad-Deccan which was closely linked to the Safavid Iran is today the seat of the Iranian Consulate-General for South India.

96 solar years ago, on this day in 1921 AD, the large scale Tulsa Race Riot ended after two days in Oklahoma State, in which white supremacists attacked the black community of Tulsa town’s Greenwood District (known as the ‘Black Wall Street’), burning to the ground the wealthiest black community in the United States. During the 16 hours of mayhem, some 300 Afro-Americans were killed, over a thousand blacks admitted to hospitals with injuries, more than 6,000 black people arrested and an estimated 10,000 of them left homeless. As many as 35 city blocks composed of 1,256 residences were destroyed by fire. Due to heavy censorship by the government, the events of the riot were long omitted from local and state histories, and rarely mentioned in history books, classrooms or even in private. It was only in 1996, the state legislature commissioned a report to establish the historical record of the events. Released in 2001, most of the recommendations of the report have yet to be implemented by the state and city governments that is indicative of the racist nature of the US system, which despite its claim to human rights and social liberties, brutally suppresses people at home and abroad.

94 solar years ago, on this day in 1923 AD, one of the deadliest quakes worldwide shook the Japanese Capital, Tokyo flattening the city, setting it ablaze and killing more than 150,000 people.

79 solar years ago, on this day in 1938 AD, Pakistan's prominent Urdu and Persian poet, Khawar Rizvi was born in Punjab in a family tracing its descent from Prophet Mohammad (SAWA). Named Seyyed Sibt-e Hassan Rizvi at birth, he took the penname "Khawar" (East in Persian) for writing poetry and essays, as he was a great admirer of eastern values and way of life. An enlightened scholar, he actively participated in the political and intellectual movements as a member of the Progressive Writers' Movement. He was against all types of tyranny, dictatorship, subjugation and exploitation. Due to his ideology and political beliefs he became a victim of the oppressive policies of General Zia ul-Haq, the dictator of Pakistan. Khawar died of a heart attack at the age of 43 in 1981.

49 solar years ago, on this day in 1968 AD, US blind-deaf author, political activist, and lecturer, Helen Adam Keller, died at the age of 88. She was the first deaf/blind person to earn a Bachelor of Arts degree. The story of how her teacher, Anne Sullivan, broke through the isolation imposed by a near complete lack of language, allowing the girl to blossom as she learned to communicate, has become widely known through the dramatic depictions of the play and film "The Miracle Worker". A prolific author, Keller was well-traveled, and was outspoken in her anti-war convictions. A member of the Socialist Party of the US and the Industrial Workers of the World, she campaigned for women's suffrage, labour rights, socialism, and other causes.

35 solar years ago, on this day in 1982 AD, one of the founders of the Iran Calligraphy Society, Seyyed Hussain Mir-Khani, passed away after his life-long dedication to the art of calligraphy. He started practicing calligraphy as of childhood and honed his skills in this art by the age of 11 years. He also spent thirty years grooming numerous students of calligraphy. In addition to his artistic creativity, he was renowned for his ethical virtues.

31 solar years ago, on this day in 1986 AD, a number of primary school pupils called on children across the world to designate a day for peace. Their message partly read: “Our adults maintain fixed beliefs. They like us because we are their children. But, do they know that what kind of a world they have shaped for us? If the slightest mistake takes place in their nuclear installations we will never have a chance for growth. We demand means for growth and development. Thereafter, June 1 has been marked as the World Day of Children and every year especial ceremonies are held across the world on this occasion. On the other hand, despite all the wishes and demands of children in different parts of the world and irrespective of all efforts made by international organizations to dispel children’s problems, still every year more than 6 million children lose their life in the world due to malnutrition and 250 million children in different countries are pushed toward forced labour. Moreover, the lives of millions of children are at risk due to inappropriate health conditions across the globe.”

18 solar years ago, on this day in 1999 AD, Iranian philologist and author, Dr. Mahdi Roshan-Zameer, passed away in Tehran at the age of 80. Born in Tabriz, he completed his higher studies in Tehran and travelled to France, where he obtained his PhD in 1957. On returning to Iran, he became a professor at Tabriz University where he taught for 27 years. Among his works are: “Problems of the French Language” in 3volumes, “Diyar-e Khoubaan” in 2 volumes on literary selections, and French translation of the book “Firdowsi and Iran’s National Epic”. 

16 solar years ago, on this day in 2001 AD, massacre occurred in the royal palace in Nepal when Crown Prince Dipendra shot and killed several members of his family including his father and mother, King Birendra and Queen Aiswarya. The murderer immediately committed suicide and died three days later. In 2008 Nepal abolished monarchy and became a federal democratic republic.

11 solar years ago, on this day in 2006 AD, in Quetta, southwestern Pakistan police raided a terrorist hideout and arrested Habib Ullah, a notorious leader of the outlawed Lashkar-e Jhangvi outfit. He was the mastermind of over 32 terrorist attacks that claimed the life of more than 100 Shi'a Muslims between July 2003 and March, 2004. He was also involved in the planning and execution of terrorist attacks on the Ashura procession of Moharram 10 and on a mosque on Prince Road in Quetta, as well as a failed attack on the religious procession of 8^th Moharram in 2005. A hardcore criminal, involved in dubious car deals, he had shaven his beard to dodge police but could not escape detection. Terrorist outfits in Pakistan are financed by Saudi Arabia and supplied equipment by the US and the Zionists.

AS/SS