Today is Monday; 6th of the Iranian month of Shahrivar 1396 solar hijri; corresponding to 6th of the Islamic month of Zil-Hijjah 1438 lunar hijri; and August 28, 2017, of the Christian Gregorian Calendar.

1587 solar years ago, on this day in 430 AD, Christian bishop, Augustine died in Hippo – present day Annaba in Algeria. His writings included "The Confessions." He was the proponent of the theory of the so-called "just war", saying a nation’s leaders must consider among other things, anticipated loss of civilian life and whether all peaceful options have been exhausted before war starts. Intellectuals have criticized his views, pointing out that his dogmatic invective laid the foundations for centuries of intellectual tyranny by the Catholic Church.

1385 solar years ago, on this day in 632 AD – as per the Gregorian Calendar –Hazrat Fatema az-Zahra (peace upon her), the venerable daughter of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA), was tragically martyred, leaving behind in a state of mourning her bereaved husband, Imam Ali (AS), and four little children – sons, Imam Hasan (AS) and Imam Husain (AS); and daughters, Hazrat Zainab (SA) and Hazrat Omm Kolthoum (SA). She was the daughter of the Mother of Believers (Omm al-Momineen) Hazrat Khadijah (SA), and is regarded as the noblest ever lady of all times, superior in merits to the Virgin Mary (SA) – mother of Prophet Jesus (AS). God Almighty has vouchsafed her spotless purity in the holy Qur’an. She remains a model-par-excellence for all virtuous women, and her progeny, the Saadaat (plural of Seyyed), has today spread around the world and is held in esteem by all Muslims. Her tragic martyrdom was the result of the hurling upon her of the burning door of her house by a roguish group of her father’s companions, who had seized her patrimony of the orchard of Fadak, and had usurped the political rule of the Islamic state from her husband, Imam Ali (AS), the Prophet’s divinely-decreed heir. According to the Islamic calendar she attained martyrdom either on the 13^th of Jamadi al-Awwal or the 3^rd of Jamadi al-Akher, 11 AH.

1290 lunar years ago, on this day in 158 AH, the tyrant Mansour ad-Dawaniqi, the second self-styled caliph of the usurper Abbasid regime, died of gluttony at the age of 63 after a 22-year reign. Born to a morally-lose African slave-girl of Mohammad (great-grandson of the Prophet’s uncle Abbas), he was named Abdullah at birth, and the reason he was called “Dawaniqi” was because of his stinginess. Persecuted during the days of the Godless Ommayad regime, he shot into prominence when his brother, Abu’l-Abbas as-Saffah, (the Blood-Shedder), deceitfully hijacked the caliphate by making the Muslims, especially of Khorasan, Iraq, Yemen, Egypt, and other places, believe that rule of the Islamic state was being returned to the Prophet’s Ahl al-Bayt. In 136 AH, following the death of his brother, he assumed power and unleashed terror on the people, immediately killing Behzadaan pour Vandaad, known as Abu Muslim Khorasani, the Iranian general whose victories had brought the Abbasids to power. Mansour, who in the Omayyad era, had sworn allegiance to Mohammad Nafs-Zakiyya, a great grandson of Prophet Mohammad’s (SAWA) elder grandson, Imam Hasan al-Mujtaba (AS), cold-bloodedly martyred many descendants of the Prophet, through wars, imprisonment, and poisoning. His most prominent victim was Imam Ja'far as-Sadeq (AS), the Prophet’s 6^th Infallible Heir. He founded the city of Baghdad by using Iranian architects and Zoroastrian astrologers, and was the first person to destroy the holy shrine of the Chief of Martyrs, the Prophet’s younger grandson Imam Husain (AS), in Karbala. 

1180 lunar years ago, on this day in 258 AH, the prominent hadith scholar of Iranian stock, Abu Ali Mohammad bin Hammam bin Sohail al-Iskafi, was born in the town of Iskaf, between Basra and Kufa in Iraq, following a request by his father to the Prophet’s 11^th Infallible Heir, Imam Hasan Askari (AS), to pray to God for a son for him. He grew up into a devout follower of the Ahl al-Bayt or Blessed Household of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA). For higher education he moved to Baghdad, where he studied under leading scholars. He was closely associated with the Nawwabs or Sole Representatives of the 12^th Imam during the latter’s “Ghaybat as-Soghra” (period of Minor Occultation), and through them has related several hadith, as well as “Towqee” (Signed Letters) and instructions of Imam Mahdi (may God hasten his reappearance). He groomed many scholars and authored several books including “al-Anwaar fi Tarikh al-Aimmat al-Athaar” (History of the Infallible Imams), and “Kitab at-Tamhees”, which is among the primary sources of the famous encyclopedia “Behaar al-Anwaar” compiled by the celebrated Allamah Mohammad Baqer Majlisi during the Safavid era. Mohammad bin Hammam al-Iskafi passed away in 336 AH at the age of 78.

828 solar years ago, on this day in 1189 AD, during the third Crusade, European invaders began the siege of the Palestinian city of Acre under Guy of Lusignan. It lasted until July 12, 1191, and was the deadliest event for the Christian occupiers during the entire period of the Crusades

496 solar years ago,on this day in 1521 AD, Ottoman Turks captured Belgrade, the capital of Serbia, during the reign of Sultan Suleyman the Magnificent. The earlier attempt to take Belgrade by the Ottomans in 1456 under Mohammad al-Fateh had proved inconclusive. . The Turks transformed Belgrade into an Islamic city, complete with baths, public fountains, libraries, bazaars, and mosques. The city was occupied by the Serbs in 1807 and became capital of Serbia in 1841. The Christians have erased much of the Islamic features of Belgrade.  

475 solar years ago, on this day in 1542 AD, during the 19-year long Turkish-Portuguese War that lasted from 1538-to-1557, the Ottomans emerged victorious in the Battle of Wofla. The Portuguese were scattered, and their leader Christovão da Gama was captured and later executed.

268 solar years ago, on this day in 1749 AD, the prominent German poet and writer, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, was born. He became familiar with music, painting, and different languages, while pursuing studies in law. His deep interest in Persian and Arabic literature, especially the poems of the renowned Iranian poet, Hafez, made him study Islam and the holy Qur'an. He noted: “The miracle of Islam par excellence is the Qur’an, through which a constant and unbroken tradition transmits to us news of an absolute certainty. This is a book which cannot be imitated. Each of its expressions is a comprehensive one.” Goethe’s most famous works include West-Eastern Divan (inspired by the lyrics of Hafez), “Faust”, and “Iphigenie”. He passed away in 1832.

97 solar years ago, on this day in 1920 AD, the Islamic scholar and revolutionary, Ayatollah Mirza Mohammad Taqi Golshan Ha’eri Shirazi, passed away in Iraq at the age of 67 during the height of the struggle against British domination of the country, and is believed to have been martyred through poisoning by colonialist agents. Born in Shiraz, he migrated to Iraq with his father and after studies at the Najaf seminary reached the status of Ijtihad. He opposed the British meddling in the affairs of Iraq and mobilized the Iraqi people in the southern parts of the country to inflict defeat on the British occupation army. He authored several books.

31 lunar years ago, on this day in 1407 AH, hundreds of Hajj pilgrims from Iran and other countries, while observing the divine ritual of disavowal of disbelievers, were martyred by Saudi forces, on the orders of Interior Minister, Nayef Ibn Abdul-Aziz. The Hajj pilgrims observe this ritual every year on the basis of the opening ayahs of Surah Towbah of the Holy Qur'an, where God commands the believers to declare their disavowal of disbelievers (Bara'at min al-Mushrikin). During this ritual, Hajj pilgrims call on Muslims to close ranks and announce their resentment toward the archenemies of Islam, especially the US and the illegal Zionist entity. The inspiration behind revival of this Islamic practice was the Father of the Islamic Revolution, Imam Khomeini (RA). The present Leader of Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, also stresses the importance of this ritual as instrumental in awakening Muslims and preserving their dignity.

25 solar years ago, on this day in 1992 AD, the revolutionary Iranian Islamic scholar, Ayatollah Seyyed Abdul-Majid Iravani, passed away at the age of 58. Born in the city of Tabriz, he was a product of the Qom Seminary, where his teacher included Grand Ayatollah Seyyed Hussain Boroujerdi and the Father of the Islamic Revolution, Imam Khomeini (RA). He actively participated in the Islamic movement and struggles against Shah’s despotic regime and was incarcerated by the security forces on several occasions. Following the victory of the Islamic Revolution, he lectured on Islamic sciences, while continuing his social and revolutionary activities.

5 solar years ago, on this day in 2012 AD, the Islamic Republic of Iran formally received from Egypt the rotating presidency of the 120-nation Non-Aligned Movement. The NAM summit in Tehran once again proved the world stature of the Islamic Republic and was a slap to the US and its few West European accomplices who think they can isolate the country through threats and illegal sanctions.

4 solar years ago, on this day in 2013 AD, in Iraq more than a dozen bombings by terrorist groups backed by the US and Saudi Arabia, ripped through Shi’a Muslim neighborhoods in and around the capital Baghdad, the bloodiest in a wave of attacks that left at least a hundred men, women, and children martyred across the country in addition to injury to hundreds of others.

AS/MG