Today is Wednesday; 8th of the Iranian month of Azar 1396 solar hijri; corresponding to 10th of the Islamic month of Rabi al-Awwal 1439 lunar hijri; and November 29, 2017, of the Christian Gregorian Calendar.

1484 lunar years ago, on this day, 45 years before Hijra, Abdul-Mutalleb, the paternal grandfather of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA), passed away in Mecca, when the grandson was only 8 years old. He was leader of the Quraysh tribe descended from Prophet Ishmael, and was known for his eloquence and virtues as a firm monotheist following the creed of his ancestor, Prophet Abraham (AS). He was in charge of the custodianship of the Holy Ka'ba which he had received through his father, Hashem, and his illustrious forbears. He was the guardian of his grandson, the future Prophet, following the death of the latter's parents, Abdullah and Amena bint Wahb (SA). Eight years before Abdul-Mutalleb's death, the Ethiopian Christian governor of Yemen, Abraha, had marched on Mecca riding an elephant with the intention of destroying the holy Ka'ba. Abraha's army seized Abdul-Mutalleb's herd of camels on assumption that this will make him plead for the safety of the Ka'ba. Abdul-Mutalleb, however, only asked for the release of his camel herd, and when Abraha asked him why he does not plead for the Ka'ba, he replied: I am the owner of these camels, and the Ka'ba has its own owner (God); He will take care of its safety. Soon Abraha, his elephant and his army were miraculously attacked by a flock of birds pelting them with pebbles, which routed the formidable forces and reduced them to chewed straw as the holy Qur'an records in “Surah al-Feel”. The Prophet was born in the same year of this divine miracle. On his grandfather’s death, his guardianship was taken over by his loving uncle, Abu Taleb, the consanguineous brother of his father Abdullah.

1467 lunar years ago, on this day, 28 years before Hijra, the marriage of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA) and Hazrat Khadija (SA) took place in Mecca. Known as “Maleekat al-Arab” (Queen of Arabia), because of her proverbial wealth that she had accumulated through trade caravans, Khadija (SA) was a pure, monotheistic and chaste lady (Tahera). Impressed by the honesty and truthfulness of her trade manager, her distant relative the future Prophet, who did not possess any material wealth, she proposed marriage to him. The two made an excellent husband-and-wife pair. Fifteen years later, when God formally ordained Prophet Mohammad (SAWA) as the Last and Greatest Messenger to mankind, she immediately believed in the mission of her husband and thereafter spent all her wealth for feeding and sheltering the persecuted Muslim community of Mecca, to the extent that when she passed away, nothing was left of her wealth or any inheritance for her only surviving daughter, the noblest lady of all time, Hazrat Fatema Zahra (SA). For over 25 long years, as the “Omm al-Momineen” (Mother of Believers), Hazrat Khadija (SA) was the one and only wife of the Prophet, and as long as she lived he never took another spouse. Even in the last ten years of his life in Medina when out of social necessity and to break the absurd customs of the days of ignorance, the middle aged Prophet had to marry several wives, he always used to cherish the memory of Khadija (SA), his firm support and the mother of his progeny, the Ahl al-Bayt.

1260 lunar years ago, on this day in 179 AH, the jurisprudent Malek bin Anas passed away in his hometown Medina at the age of 84. For some time, along with his Iranian contemporary Abu Hanifa, he studied under Imam Ja’far Sadeq (AS), the 6^th Infallible Heir of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA). He describes Imam Sadeq (AS) as the doyen of knowledge and wisdom, whom none could equal. He later founded the Maleki School of jurisprudence, regarded as one of the four official Sunni schools. His collection of hadith is titled “al-Muwatta”, although many narrations are of doubtful chains.

1114 solar years ago, on this day in 903 AD, Hussain ibn Hamdan at-Taghlibi, as commander of the Abbasid army under Mohammad ibn Sulayman al-Kateb, played the leading role in the crushing defeat of the Qarmatians at the Battle of Hama, fought some 24 km from the city of the same name in Syria. The leadership of the Qarmatians (a deviationist cult which desecrated the holy Ka’ba and resorted to brute measures to achieve its goals like modern-day Takfiri terrorists), especially Yahya ibn Zikrwaiyh known as Saheb ash-Shama – Man with the Mole – was captured and later executed in Baghdad. This weakened the Qarmatian presence in northern Syria, which was finally eradicated after the suppression of another revolt in 906. More importantly, it paved the way for the Abbasid attack on the Tulunid dynasty and the reincorporation of its domains in southern Syria and Egypt into the Abbasid Caliphate. Hussain ibn Hamdan, who established himself and his family as the leader of the Arabs and Kurds of the Jazira (northern Iraq, northeastern Syria and southeastern Turkey), leading his troops to successful campaigns against the Qarmatians, Dulafids and Tulunids, was a staunch follower of the Ahl al-Bayt of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA). He later became governor of the Jibal area in central Iran, where from his bases in Qom and Kashan, he subdued all sedition. As uncle of the future famous Shi’a Muslim emirs of Aleppo and Mosul – Sayf od-Dowla and Nasser od-Dowla – he used his administrative and military qualities to enhance the position of the Hamdanid family at the court of the Abbasid caliphs, who later treacherously murdered him. The Hamdanid Dynasty, which ruled for 115 years, patronizing ulema and scientists, such as al-Farabi, and promoting the culture of the Ahl al-Bayt, were a bulwark against the Byzantine bid to infiltrate the Muslim world.

1110 lunar years ago, on this day in 329 AH, Raazi-Billah, the 20^th self-styled caliph of the usurper Abbasid regime, died. A cultured person, well versed in literature and poetry, he returned the vast orchard of Fadak to the Prophet's descendants. Fadak was the personal property of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA) and was situated north of Medina near Khaybar. The Prophet had given it in his lifetime to his only daughter, Hazrat Fatema Zahra (SA), who used its revenues for the upkeep of the poor and destitute Muslims. After the Prophet passed away, the new regime in Medina seized Fadak by coining a spurious hadith that Prophets do no leave inheritance and whatever they leave is the property of the Ummah, despite the Prophet’s daughter’s memorable defence of her rights by citing the ayahs of the holy Qur'an which speak of Prophet Solomon inheriting Prophet David, and Prophet Yahya inheriting Prophet Zachariah. In the subsequent years, Fadak was returned and retaken several times.

1072 lunar years ago, on this day in 367 AH, the prominent jurisprudent, hadith expert and theologian, Abu’l-Qasim Ja’far ibn Mohammad, popular as Ibn Qulawayh al-Qomi, passed away in Baghdad, and was laid to rest in the mausoleum of Imam Musa Kazem (AS), the 7^th Infallible Heir of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA). He was one of the distinguished students of the renowned Sheikh Mohammad ibn Ya’qub al-Kulayni, and among the most outstanding teachers of the famous theologian Shaikh Mufid. He is the compiler of the book named “Kamel az-Ziyaraat”, which is a collection of standard form of salutations for the Prophet and the Infallible Imams. Born in Qom in a scholarly family, he travelled widely for acquisition of knowledge, and for some years stayed in Fatemid Egypt to learn from the scholars of that land.

974 lunar years ago, on this day in 465 AH, Alp Arsalan the second and most powerful ruler of the Iran-based Seljuq empire that encompassed Iraq, Afghanistan, parts of Turkey, Syria, Caucasus and Central Asia, died at the age of 42 after a 9-year reign, during which at the Battle of Manzikert he decisively defeated and captured Emperor Romanos IV Diogenes of Byzantine. His real name was Mohammad bin Dawoud Chaghri and his title Alp Arsalan means Brave Lion in Turkish. He was assisted in running his administration by the able Iranian vizier, Nizam ol-Molk Tusi.

497 solar years ago, on this day in 1520 AD, Spanish sailor, Ferdinand Magellan, in his voyages around the South American landmass passed through the strait. Known today as the Strait of Magellan, it links the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic Ocean.

405 solar years ago, on this day in 612 AD, the Battle of Swally, off the coast of Suvali, a village near the city of Surat, Gujarat, India, ended in victory for four English East India Company galleons over four Portuguese naus and 26 barks. This relatively small naval battle, which went unnoticed by the powerful Moghal Empire, is historically important for the emerging European colonialists, since it marked the beginning of the end of Portugal's commercial monopoly over India, and the ascent of the English East India Company's presence in India. This battle convinced the East India Company to establish a small navy to safeguard its commercial interests from other European powers, and eventually establish British hegemony over the Subcontinent a century and a half later.

204 solar years ago, on this day in 1813 AD, the discovery of Iodine – a new substance – was announced at the French Institute by Nicolas Clement. In 1811, Bernard Courtois had observed violet crystals with a metallic lustre that condensed from the vapour rising from the mother liquor of seaweed ash being leeched in sulfuric acid at his family's saltpetre business in Dijon. Although he made a preliminary investigation of this substance, he lacked the resources to fully research it. For this he turned to C.B. Desormes and Nicolas Clement. They suspected the substance was similar to chlorine, but confirmation of its nature as an element was made independently by Joseph-Louis Gay-Lussac.

153 solar years ago, on this day in 1864 AD, US forces led by Colonel John Chivington of the Colorado militia attacked and destroyed a peaceful village of Cheyenne and Arapaho Amerindians, massacring and mutilating at least 163 defenceless people, about two-thirds of whom were women and children. This was part of the genocide of the original inhabitants by the European Anglo-Saxon occupiers of North America.

145 solar years ago, on this day in 1872 AD, as part of the US-Amerindian Wars, the Modoc War began with the Battle of Lost River. The skirmish, which was fought near the Lost River along the California-Oregon border, was the result of an attempt by the US 1^st Cavalry Regiment to force a band of the Modoc tribe to relocate to the Klamath Reservation. In the subsequent war, Amerindian Captain Jack of the Modoc and 53 warriors bravely held off over 1000 white US soldiers for 7 months.

132 solar years ago, on this day in 1885 AD, the Third Anglo-Burmese War ended with the end of the Burmese monarchy after battles lasting 22 days, although sporadic resistance and insurgency continued till 1887. It was the final of three wars fought in the 19^th century between the Burmese and the British colonialists. The war saw the loss of sovereignty of an independent Burma under the Konbaung Dynasty, whose rule had already been reduced to the territory known as Upper Burma – the region of Lower Burma having been annexed by the British in 1853, as a result of the Second Anglo-Burmese War. Following the war, Burma came under the rule of the British Raj as a province of India. From 1937 the British governed Burma as a separate colony. After World War II Burma achieved independence as a republic in 1948.

70 solar years ago, on this day in 1947 AD, during the First Indochina War, French colonialist forces, as part of their bid to re-establish control over Vietnam, carried out a cowardly massacre of civilians at My Trach village in Quang Bình Province. The French burnt down 326 houses, raped many women before killing them, and murdered over 300 civilian residents, of which 170 were women and 157 children. The victims were lined up and killed with machine gun fire. Every year, 29 November is mourned in Vietnam as “Hatred Date” of the residents in this village.

70 solar years ago, on this day in 1947 AD, the UN General Assembly, in an unjust move, voted with a narrow majority on division of Palestine into two separate states: Arab and Jewish. This unfair and illogical decision was adopted under pressure of Western regimes. The Islamic city of Bayt al-Moqaddas was declared an international enclave. Palestinians refused to accept the division of their homeland, but Britain, which had occupied Palestine, worked in tandem with the illegal Zionist settlers from Europe, and on May 15, 1948, while leaving Palestine, handed power to the Zionists, who resorted to terrorism to set up the illegal state called Israel.

23 solar years ago, on this day in 1994 AD, Source of Emulation, Grand Ayatollah Sheikh Mohammad Ali Araki, passed away at the age of 103. Born in Arak, he learned Islamic sciences under prominent ulema, such as Grand Ayatollah Abdul-Karim Haeri, and Grand Ayatollah Seyyed Mohammad Taqi Khwansari. For several decades he taught at the Qom Seminary, presenting the most complicated topics in simple form. He was a supporter of the Islamic Revolution and greatly respected Imam Khomeini (RA).

21 solar years ago, on this day in 1996 AD, a UN court sentenced Bosnian Serb army soldier Drazen Erdemovic to 10 years in prison for his role in the massacre of 1,200 Muslims. The Serbs massacred tens of thousands of Muslims during the civil war in the Balkans as Europe chose to ignore the genocide of its native Muslim population.

10 solar years ago, on this day in 2007 AD, Iran built a submarine equipped with sonar-evading technology, and launched it in the Persian Gulf waters as part of its drive to strengthen the defences of the country against any would-be aggressor.

7 solar years ago, on this day in 2010 AD, Iran’s nuclear physicists, Dr. Majid Shahriari, and Dr. Fereydoun Abbasi, were targets of two separate terrorist attacks in which the former attained martyrdom while the latter was wounded. Martyr Shahriari was born in Zanjan in 1966 and completed his PhD in nuclear engineering at Tehran’s Amir Kabir University. On establishment of the Nuclear Engineering Faculty at Martyr Beheshti University in 2006, he joined its academic board. One of his most important designs was related to development of a new generation of nuclear reactors, which was widely reflected throughout the world’s scientific centers. The US and Zionist agents are the evil brains behind such cowardly acts of terrorism, in a bid to sabotage Iran’s peaceful nuclear plans.

AS/ME