Today is Saturday; 22nd of the Iranian month of Mehr 1396 solar hijri; corresponding to 23rd of the Islamic month of Muharram 1439 lunar hijri: and October 14, 2017, of the Christian Gregorian Calendar.

1270 lunar years ago, on this day in 169 AH, Mahdi al-Abbasi, the 3rd self-styled caliph of the usurper Abbasid regime, died a miserable death at the age of 44 after a 11-year reign, when the horse he was riding during a deer-hunt in Masabzaan in the Dinavar area of Kalhor in what is now Kermanshah Province of Iran, hurled him on a wall of a dilapidated structure and trampled him. Of dark complexion, and born to "Shikla", a Negroid concubine of the tyrant Mansur Dawaniqi, he was known as "at-Tinnin" (the Dragon). He was deliberately named "Mahdi" by his father in a bid to distract attention from the Infallible Ahl al-Bayt and to mislead Muslims, in view of the famous hadith of Prophet Mohammad (blessings of God upon him and his progeny) that the Last of his rightful successors who will fill the earth with justice, would rise as "Mahdi al-Qa'em" to end oppression on earth. An open drunkard who spent most of his time in the pleasures of the flesh in violation of the tenets of Islam, he was not just fond of music and songstresses, but universalized music in the Islamic realm. He bore an unabated hatred towards the Prophet's progeny. When he found that Mansur had stored in a house, tagged bodies of Imam Hasan al-Mojtaba's (AS) descendants killed by the regime, he ordered these bodies to be buried in a mass grave over which a market was built to remove any trace of them. Like the Omayyad tyrant, Mu'awiyya ibn Abu Sufyan, he spent huge sums of money on hadith forgery to try to negate from public minds the God-given right of leadership of the Ahl al-Bayt. The term "Ahl as-Sunnah", coined by Mansur, was promoted to brainwash the neo-Muslim community, while the followers of the Ahl al-Bayt were persecuted as "Rawafedh" (Rejectors), despite the fact that the Prophet had explicitly used the word "Shi'ite" in praise of the true followers of his divinely-appointed successor, Imam Ali (AS). At least twice, he imprisoned the Prophet's 7th Infallible Heir, Imam Musa al-Kazem (AS). So great was his fear among the people that many "Sadaat" or the Prophet’s descendants, in order to avoid imprisonment and possible death, used to live incognito by concealing their identity, such as Eisa, a son of Zayd the Martyr – the son Imam of Zain al-Abedin (AS) – who revealed his genealogy to his wife and children only on his deathbed. Mahdi al-Abbasi was succeeded by his son Musa al-Hadi, who, during his brief rule of a year and a few months, perpetrated the Fakh Tragedy – the most gruesome massacre of the Prophet's progeny after the heartrending Tragedy of Karbala.

1025 solar years ago, on this day in 1092 AD, the renowned vizier of the Seljuqid Dynasty, Hassan Ibn Ali Tousi, known by his title Khwaja Nizam ul-Mulk, was assassinated near Nahavand en route to Baghdad from Isfahan, at the age of 75. Born in the northeastern Iranian city of Tous, he initially served the Ghaznavid sultans as chief administrator of Khorasan Province. Four years later with the rise of the Seljuqs, he served Alp Arslan and Malik Shah I as vizier. In addition to his administrative duties, he established in various cities educational institutes known as “Madrasa-e Nizamiyyah”, of which the ones in Baghdad and Naishapur were famous, and turned out to be models of universities that were later established in Europe. Nizam ul-Mulk is also widely known for his voluminous treatise on kingship titled "Siyasat-Nama" or "Siyar al-Molouk" (The Book of Government). His son-in-law Muqatel bin Atiyyah, who was eyewitness to a polemical debate, says he was assassinated in the same year as Malik Shah I, after a debate between Sunni and Shi'ite scholars, which resulted in his conversion and that of the Seljuq sultan to the school of the Prophet's Ahl al-Bayt.

1001 lunar years ago, on this day in 438 AH, the famous Iranian Sunni Muslim exegete of the holy Qur'an, Ahmad Ibn Mohammad Ibn Ibrahim Tha'labi, passed away. He was born in Naishapur, in Khorasan, and lived most of his life in northeastern Iran. His masterpiece is the exegesis of the holy Qur’an “al-Kashf wa’l-Bayan”, also known as “Tafsir Tha'labi”. Another of his famous books is “Ara’es al-Majalis” which is an account of the Prophets beginning with Adam. In his works, he has admitted the unrivalled position of the progeny of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA), and the unsurpassed merits of Imam Ali (AS).

951 solar years ago, on this day in 1066 AD, the Battle of Hastings took place on Senlac Hill, 85 km southeast of London, resulting in the defeat and death of Harold II, the last Anglo-Saxon king of England and the victory of William the Conqueror of Normandy, shortly after his landing from France on the pretext that the throne of England was bequeathed to him by the deceased childless king, Edward the Confessor. William, who crowned himself as the new king of England, was the illegitimate son of Duke Robert I – a descendant of Viking raiders – and had succeeded his father as Duke of Normandy in France in 1035. His conquest of England that took several years to complete, because of resistance by the Anglo-Saxons, resulted in profound changes – in the Church, in aristocracy, in culture, and in the language of the country that have persisted into modern times. One of the most obvious effects of the conquest was the introduction of Anglo-Norman, a northern dialect of Old French, as the language of the ruling classes in England, displacing Old English. French words entered the English language. The Anglo-Saxons who had been ruling England for the past six centuries, migrated in great numbers to Scotland, Ireland, Scandinavia, and even the Byzantine Empire, where they served as mercenaries against the expanding Turkish Muslims in Anatolia (modern Turkey) and many of them were settled on Black Sea coasts. William died in 1087, but it was not until 1485 with the death of Richard III in battle and rise of the Tudors (of Welsh origin) that an indigenous native dynasty took power in England. 

695 solar years ago, on this day in 1322 AD, Robert the Bruce of Scotland defeated King Edward II of England at Byland, forcing the latter to accept Scotland's independence.

552 solar years ago, on this day in 1465 AD, Romanian Muslim ruler of the principality of Wallachia, Radu Beg, issued a writ from his capital Bucharest, as the Ottoman Pasha (governor) of the region, after defeating his murderous elder brother, Vlad Tepes, who has earned lasting notoriety as Dracula (Son of Dragon) for his cold-blooded massacres of Muslims and Christians alike – almost 200,000.  Named Radu cel Frumos (Radu the Handsome) by his father, Vlad II Dracul (the Dragon), he was sent along with Vlad Tepes to the Ottoman capital Edirne, where the two brothers were educated in logic, and the Turkish, Arabic and Persian languages and literature. Radu converted to Islam, entered Ottoman service, and became a prominent commander of the Jan-Nissari Corps, while Vlad developed a secret hatred for both his Muslim brother and the latter’s patron, the Crown Prince, who would later become Sultan Mohammad II. While Vlad was sent to Wallachia to succeed his father, Radu by the age of 22 became a leading figure at the Ottoman court. Having participated in 1453 in the conquest of Constantinople, he was sent to suppress a rebellion in Anatolia near the border with Iran, and served during the Battle of Otlukbeli against Uzun Hassan, the Aq Qoyunlu (White Sheep) ruler. On the start of Vlad’s rebellion, Radu and his Jan-Nissari battalion were given responsibility of leading the Ottoman army to victory. The brothers fought lingering battles with each other, and soon Radu gained control of his father’s principality of Wallachia, where at the age of 26 he was proclaimed the Ottoman Pasha. His sudden death, however, at the age of 40 in 1475 triggered the comeback of his brother Vlad the Impaler, who was finally killed in 1476.

475 solar years ago, on this day in 1542 AD, Mohammad Jalal od-Din Akbar, the 3rd Moghal Emperor of Hindustan (Northern Subcontinent) and eastern parts of Afghanistan, was born. Akbar, whose ancestors included the fearsome conquerors, Timur and Genghis Khan, ascended the throne as a youth of 13 years, following the death of his father, Humayun. Initially his rule extended only over the Punjab and the area around Delhi. With the help of his guardian, the famed Baharlu Turkman Chief, Bayram Khan, he won the 2nd Battle of Panipat in 1556 by decisively defeating the newly self-declared Hindu king, Hemu. As his power and prestige increased, the Rajput chieftains acknowledged his suzerainty. He continued his conquests, taking the Muslim kingdoms of Malwa (in 1561), Gujarat (in 1573), Bengal (in 1576), Kashmir (in 1586), and Khandesh (in 1601).  He encouraged scholars, poets, painters, and musicians, making his court a centre of culture. He had Sanskrit classics translated into Persian. He not only granted lands and money for the mosques but the list of the recipients included a huge number Hindu temples in north and central India, Christian churches in Goa. He appointed as “Qazi al-Quzzat” (Chief Judge), the famous Iranian scholar, Seyyed Noorollah Shoushtari, the author of such books as “Majalis al-Momineen” and “Ahqaq al-Haq”, who was unfortunately martyred by his son and successor, Emperor Jahangir, on the insinuation of the enemies of the Ahl al-Bayt of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA), and is subsequently known as “Shaheed Salles” (3rd Martyr).

117 solar years ago, on this day in 1906 AD, the Founder of the Muslim Brotherhood, Sheikh Hassan Ahmad Abdur-Rahman Mohammad al-Banna, was born in Egypt. In his youth he became involved with Sufi orders, and during the revolution of 1919 he participated in demonstrations against British rule. In March 1928 he launched the society of Muslim Brothers, and his political activities brought him into conflict with the regime. In February 1949 at the age of 43, he was shot fatally and died as a result.

73 solar years ago, on this day in 1944 AD, Field Marshal Erwin Rommel, committed suicide on the orders of the Nazi despot, Adolf Hitler. He led the German forces in North Africa and successfully confined the British forces to northern Egypt, before shortage of equipment made him pull back in the face of British counterattacks.  In 1944, he was commander of German defense lines in Italy and Balkan in 1944 but maintained differences of opinion with Hitler in regard to the conduction of war. Following the failed assassination attempt on Hitler, suspicion centred on Rommel, who was forced to end his own life.

64 solar years ago, on this day in 1953 AD, armed Zionists committed another horrific crime in the West Bank village of Qibya, massacring for two days Palestinian men, women and children, and razing their homes to the ground. The Zionist troops were led by Ariel Sharon, who three decades later was to earn lasting notoriety as the Butcher of Sabra and Shatilla in southern Lebanon. This ruthless slaughter is another example of Israel’s policy of state terrorism.

61 solar years ago, on this day in 1956 AD, Dr. B. R. Ambedkar, the Indian Untouchable caste leader, and the main architect of the constitution of India following independence from British rule, converted to Buddhism along with 385,000 of his followers, because of oppression and discrimination by the so-called upper caste Hindus. Over a decade earlier, Ambedkar, along with his followers, had planned to convert to Islam, but was dissuaded by Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, who fearing a dramatic increase in the Muslim population of India, coined the term ‘harijan’ or ‘children of God’ for the untouchables. Ambedkar called those of his race who had not converted as “Dalit” or the oppressed, a term which is still in use for over 30 percent of India’s population which are original habitants of the Subcontinent before the Aryan invasion and imposition of the Hindu creed. 

53 solar years ago, on this day in 1964 AD, Secretary-General of the Soviet Union's Communist Party, Nikita Khrushchev, was dismissed. As a member of the Politburo he emerged as the most powerful man in the USSR following the death of dictator, Joseph Stalin, in 1953. He attempted political and economic changes in the Soviet system, but his measures were strongly opposed by hardcore members of the communist party. Khrushchev was replaced by Leonid Brezhnev, and died in 1971.

22 solar years ago, on this day in 1995 AD, the jurisprudent, Ayatollah Mohammad Baqer Mohsini Malayeri, passed away at the age of 89 in holy Qom. Born in holy Najaf, Iraq, in a family of scholars, he was a child when his father returned to his ancestral town Malayer in western Iran. He first studied religious sciences in holy Mashhad before settling in holy Qom on the revival of its Islamic seminary by Ayatollah Abdul-Karim Ha’eri Yazdi, whose classes he attended. He later studied under Grand Ayatollah Seyyed Hussain Boroujerdi and attained the status of Ijtehad. Ayatollah Mohammad Baqer Mohsini Malayeri was known for his piety and high spiritual status.

19 solar years ago, on this day in 1998 AD, prominent Iranian poet, Seyyed Mohammad Ali Safeer, passed away at the age of 77. After seminary studies he enrolled at Tehran University and graduated in both rational and traditional sciences. He was socially active and took part in establishment cultural and religious centres, especially the famous Hussainiyeh Irshad of Tehran. He was devout artist as well, as is borne out by the calligraphic works on titles of mosques. In addition to his Divan of poems, he wrote several books, such as “Khiradnameh”, and edited the Persian translation of verses attributed to the Commander of the Faithful, Imam Ali ibn Abi Taleb (AS).

18 solar years ago, on this day in 1999 AD, the former Tanzanian leader, Julius Kambarage Nyerere, died at the age of 77. He rose to prominence in Tanganyika, becoming premier in 1961 and president in 1962. In 1964, he forcibly annexed the Muslim-ruled island state of Zanzibar-Pemba, merged it with Tanganyika and renamed the country Tanzania. He was president until the year 1985.

AS/ME