Today is Thursday; 15th of the Iranian month of Tir 1396 solar hijri; corresponding to 11th of the Islamic month of Shawwal 1438 lunar hijri; and July 6, 2017, of the Christian Gregorian Calendar.

1441 lunar years ago, on this day, a couple of years before Hijrah or migration to Medina, Prophet Mohammad (SAWA), left the persecuted atmosphere of Mecca for the fertile resort of Ta’ef to preach the message of Islam. The people of this city, including the influential clan of Thaqif, refused to believe in monotheism and subjected the Prophet to taunts including physical injury, as a result of which he returned to his hometown.

1377 solar years ago, on this day in 640 AD, the Muslim army defeated the Byzantine forces near Heliopolis or Ayn Shams in Egypt. Though there were several major skirmishes after this battle, it effectively ended Byzantine or Eastern Roman rule in Egypt, opening the door for the Muslim conquest of North Africa.

951 lunar years ago, on this day in 487 AH, the Spanish Muslim lexicographer, geographer and historian, Abu Obayd Abdullah ibn Abdul-Aziz al-Bakri, passed away at the age of 82. Born in Huelva, the son of the ruler of the short-lived principality of the same name, he was a polymath in most of the sciences of the day. When his father was deposed he shifted to Qurtuba (Cordoba) where he studied with the geographer Ahmad Ibn Omar al-Udhri and the historian Hayyán Ibn Khalaf Ibn Hayyan al-Qurtubi. He spent all his life in his native Spain, mostly in Seville and Almeria, writing about Europe, North Africa, and the Arabian Peninsula. Only two of his works have survived – the “Mu'jam ma Ista'jam” and “Kitab al-Masalek wa’l-Mamalek” (Book of Ways and Lands). The latter work was based on writings and the reports of merchants and travellers, including Mohammad Ibn Yusuf al-Warraq and the Arabicized Jew, Abraham ben Jacob. It is an important source for the history of West Africa and gives crucial information on the Ghana Empire, the Almoravid Dynasty and the trans-Saharan trade. He also updated information. Al-Bakri mentions the earliest urban centers in the trans-Saharan trade to embrace Islam such as Gao along the River Niger which had native Muslim inhabitants. Soon other kingdoms along the serpentine bends of River Niger eventually embraced Islam, such as Takrur (today’s Senegal); Songhay (present day Mali); Kanem-Bornu (currently Chad); and Hausa-territories (of what is now called Nigeria). His works are noted for the objectiveness with which they are presented. For each area, he described the people, their customs, as well as the geography, climate, and main cities. He also included anecdotes about each area. Unfortunately, parts of his main work have been lost, and of the surviving parts, some have never been published. In lexicography al-Bakri wrote the book “Amsaal al-Obayd”. 

734 lunar years ago, on this day in 1304 AH, Mahmoud Ghazaan, the seventh ruler of the Mongol Empire's Ilkhanate division that was based in modern-day Iran, and included Iraq and parts of Central Asia and the Caucasus, died. He was the son of Arghun and grandson of Abaqa, continuing a line of rulers who were direct descendants of Genghis Khan. Considered the most prominent of the Ilkhans, he is best known for accepting the truth of Islam in 1295 when he ascended the throne, although he was born a Buddhist, and because of his mother was baptized and raised as a Christian. On conversion to Islam at the hands of Ibrahim Ibn Mohammad Ibn Hamwayh Khorasani al-Juwaini, he changed his first name to Mahmoud, and Islam gained popularity within Mongol territories beyond Iran. His principal wife was Kokechin, a Mongol princess sent to Iran by his distant cousin Kublai Khan the ruler of China, and escorted by the famous Italian traveler Marco Polo. Military conflicts during Ghazaan's reign included war with the Egyptian Mamluks for control of Syria, and battles with the Mongol Chaghatai Khanate of Central Asia. Ghazaan also pursued diplomatic contacts with Europe. The Mongol capital was Maragheh in today's East Azarbaijan Province, west of Tehran.

606 solar years ago, on this day in 1411 AD, Admiral Zheng He of China’s Ming Dynasty, whose real name was Mahmoud Shams od-Din, returned to Nanjing after his second voyage and presented the captured Sinhalese king to the Yongle Emperor. In 1405 AD, he set sail to explore the world on the first of his seven voyages that took him to Southeast Asia, the Subcontinent, Arabia, Iran, and Africa. He was the great-great-great-grandson of Seyyed Ajal Shams od-Din, the Iranian statesman who served in the administration of the Mongol Empire, and was appointed governor of Yunnan by the Yuan Dynasty. Born in 1371, his father and grandfather had performed pilgrimage to holy Mecca. As a 10-year boy, Mahmoud was captured by the Ming, who castrated him and gave him the Chinese name of Zheng He. Nonetheless, his indomitable spirit made him to overcome his physical handicap to rise as a general, diplomat, courtier and admiral. He commanded a flotilla of several hundred galleys, including huge five-decked ships, on each of his voyages in the span of 28 years. In addition to demonstrating the might of China through presents to the rulers of lands he visited, he brought back exotic things and animals including zebras, giraffes and ostriches. During his last journey in 1433, at the age of 62, he died off the coast of Kozhikode, India, and was buried at sea.

483 solar years ago, on this day in 1535 AD, Thomas More, English lawyer, social philosopher, author, and statesman, who coined the word "Utopia" in the novel of the same name, was beheaded at the age of 57 after being tried for treason and convicted on perjured testimony, following imprisonment a year earlier for his refusal to endorse King Henry VIII’s separation from the Catholic Church and declaration as Supreme Head of the Church of England. Born in London to the lawyer and judge, John More, and highly educated, in 1516 he 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 coined the English phrase "grasp at straws" to mean "desperately trying even useless things", in his book "Dialogue of Comfort against Tribulation”. He caught the king’s attention and served as Councilor to Henry VIII, before being promoted to Lord Chancellor from 1529 to 1532. A bitter opponent of the Protestant Movement, he ridiculed 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, a factor that led to his downfall.

206 lunar years ago, on this day in 1232 AH, the jurisprudent and theologian, Mullah Ali Akbar Eiji Isfahani, passed away. He groomed many students and authored several books, including “Zubdat-al-Ma’aref”.

163 solar years ago, on this day in 1854 AD, German mathematician and physicist, Georg Simon Ohm, passed away at the age of 67. He discovered laws in electricity which are named after him as “Ohm”, and are applied to this day. He has left a book on the mathematical theory of electrical currents.

132 solar years ago, on this day in 1885 AD, French chemist and microbiologist, Louis Pasteur, successfully tested his vaccine against rabies. The patient was Joseph Meister, a 9-year old boy bitten by a rabid dog. The boy was injected the first of 14 daily doses of rabbit spinal cord suspensions containing progressively inactivated rabies virus. This was the beginning of the era of immunization, which had been presaged by Britain’s Edward Jenner nearly 100 years earlier. The boy grew up and became caretaker of the Pasteur Institute until age 64.

130 solar years ago, on this day in 1887 AD, David Kalakaua, monarch of the Kingdom of Hawaii, was forced at gunpoint by the Americans to sign the “Bayonet Constitution” giving US nationals more power in Hawaii while stripping Hawaiian citizens of their rights. The Hawaiian Islands in the Pacific are presently under full US occupation and regarded as an American state.

124 solar years ago, on this day in 1893 AD, popular French writer, Henri Rene Albert Guy de Maupassant, who is considered one of the fathers of the modern short story and one of the form's finest exponents, died in Paris at the age of 43. His stories are characterized by economy of style and efficient, effortless outcomes. Many are set during the Franco-Prussian War of the 1870s, describing the futility of war and the innocent civilians who, caught up in events beyond their control, are permanently changed by their experiences. He wrote some 300 short stories, six novels, three travel books, and one volume of verse. His first published story, "Boule de Suif" (Ball of Fat, 1880), is often considered his masterpiece.

55 solar years ago, on this day in 1962 AD, the US author, William Faulkner, died at the age of 65. After participating in World War I, he returned to his country. Following his familiarization with his compatriot author, Sherwood Anderson, he turned to writing poems in the year 1925. He spoke of social chaos in the US in his books, especially racial discrimination against blacks. His novels highly influenced the style of novel writing in the US. Among his valuable books, mention can be made of “The Sound and the Fury”.

53 solar years ago, on this day in 1964 AD, Malawi in southern Africa gained its independence from British colonial rule. Prior to independence, it was known as Nyasaland, and was under British hegemony since 1859 when David Livingston, set foot on its soil. Malawi covers an area of 118484 square km. It is situated in Southeast Africa and shares borders with Tanzania, Zambia, and Mozambique.

50 solar years ago, on this day in 1967 AD, the Biafran War erupted in Nigeria, lasting more than two years and claiming some 600,000 lives. The Republic of Biafra was proclaimed, through Israel’s sedition to instigate the ethnic Igbo populated eastern region of Nigeria to secede. This was followed by civil war. The federal troops held most of rebellious Biafra by the end of 1968 but the Igbos attempted to hold out in a small and crowded area. The war broke out when the Igbos, led by Col. Emeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu, launched a rebellion to form a separate state, because of instigation by the illegal Zionist entity.

42 solar years ago, on this day in 1975 AD, the Comoros Islands gained independence from French colonial rule. Comoros is actually the French corruption of “Qamar” for Moon in Arabic since the islands are known as Juzur al-Qamar or Moon Islands. According to accounts, in 632, upon hearing of Islam, the islanders are said to have dispatched an emissary, the navigator Qumralu, to Arabia—but by the time he arrived there, Prophet Mohammad (SAWA) had departed from the world. Nonetheless, after a stay in Medina, he returned to Qanbalu Island and led the gradual conversion of his islanders to Islam. Some of the earliest accounts of the Comoros were derived from the works of the famous Islamic geographer, al-Masudi, who mentions the early Islamic trade routes and how the islands were frequently visited by Muslims including Iranian and Arab merchants and sailors from Basra in search of coral, ylang-ylang, ivory, beads, spices, and gold. They also brought Islam to the people of Comoros and Zanzibar. By the 12th century AD, masses of people converted to Islam in these islands and the Islamic culture and civilization quickly spread. In the 16th Century AD, Comoros were for a while occupied by Portugal. The Sultan of Oman who had brought Zanzibar under his control, ended this occupation. In 1842, parts of Comoros were occupied by the French. Finally, following the struggles of people, Comoros officially announced its independence in 1975. President Ahmad Abdullah Mohammad Sambi, who was elected in the first democratically-held ballot in May 2006, was head of state for a five-year term until 2011. Educated in the holy city of Qom and popularly known as “Ayatollah” because of his Islamic attire and green turban, he is of Hadhrami ancestry from Yemen and claims descent from Ali al-Uraydhi, a son of Imam Ja’far Sadeq (AS), the 6th Infallible Heir of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA).

30 solar years ago, on this day in 1986 AD, Ayatollah Seyyed Jawad Khamenei – father of the Leader of the Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei – passed away at the age of 91 in Mashhad and was laid to rest in the holy mausoleum of Imam Reza (AS), the 8th Infallible Heir of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA). Born in Khameneh in East Azarbaijan Province, northwestern Iran, he was educated by his scholarly father, before moving to Mashhad, Khorasan, northeastern Iran, where he studied under Ayatollah Aqazadeh Khorasani and Ayatollah Aqa Hussain Qomi. He went to holy Najaf in Iraq for higher religious courses and attended the classes of Grand Ayatollah Mirza Hussain Na’ini and Grand Ayatollah Abu’l-Hassan Isfahani. On return to Iran, he lived the rest of his life in Mashhad in piety and asceticism.  

22 solar years ago, on this day in 1995 AD, Serbs, under the command of General Ratko Mladic and assisted by Greek volunteers unleashed genocide on the town of Srebrenica, right before the eyes of the Dutch peacekeepers, Dutchbat, driving out over 30,000 Bosniak Muslims from their homes as part of ethnic cleansing, and massacring more than 8000 Bosniak men, women and children, in what is known as the worst crime on European soil since the Second World War. The tragedy of Srebrenica would haunt the UN's history forever, because of the genocide in the presence of peacekeeping troops as well as the delay of the International Criminal Court at Hague for meting out justice to Ratko Mladic, who is under trial since 2012. “The Preliminary List of People Missing or Killed in Srebrenica” compiled by the Bosnian Federal Commission of Missing Persons contains 8,373 names. As of July 2012, 6,838 genocide victims have been identified through DNA analysis of body parts recovered from mass graves; as of July 2013, 6,066 victims have been buried at the Memorial Centre of Potocari.     

AS/ME