Today is Monday; 9th of the Iranian month of Bahman 1396 solar hijri; corresponding to 11th of the Islamic month of Jamadi al-Awwal 1439 lunar hijri; and January 29, 2018, of the Christian Gregorian Calendar.

1357 solar years ago, on this day in 661 AD (corresponding to 21st Ramazan 40 AH of the Islamic lunar calendar), the only instance in history of the government of social justice ended with the martyrdom of the Commander of Believers, the Leader of the Pious, the Symbol of Justice, the Epitome of Valour, and the Gateway of the City of Knowledge, Imam Ali Ibn Abi Taleb (AS). Two days earlier, while in the state of the morning ritual prayer in the main mosque of Kufa, he was fatally struck on the head by the poisoned sword of the renegade, Abdur-Rahman Ibn Muljam. He was laid to rest in nearby Najaf, which today is one of the foremost centres of pilgrimage with its golden domed shrine. Imam Ali (AS) as the cousin, ward, son-in-law, and divinely-decreed vicegerent of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA), needs no introduction. His model government of social justice, which no administration anywhere in the world has ever succeeded to match, continues to be an inspiration for the seekers of truth. As the unrivalled master of eloquence and wisdom, his sermons, letters and maxims, have been collected in book forms for more than a millennium and two centuries, with the “Nahj al-Balaghah” or Highway of Eloquence, being the most famous. Interestingly, all Sufi or mystical orders trace their origin to his ascetic way of life, while even Sunni Muslims, despite regarding him as the 4th caliph in the order of political succession, consider him to be superior to all and everybody else after Prophet Mohammad (SAWA).

1261 solar years ago, on this day in 757 AD, Aan Lushan, a general of Sogdian-Turkic ethnicity who had risen in the court of the Tang Emperor of China and had launched his revolt against Chancellor Yang Guozhong at Yanjing two years earlier in 755, was assassinated by his own son, An Qingxu, following which the state continued to spiral into a turmoil that eventually led to its collapse in 763. The rebellion spanned the reigns of three Tang emperors and involved several regional powers, including Arab and Persian Muslims, Iranian Sogdian forces, and the pagan Gogturks. The result was huge loss of life and large-scale destruction. It weakened the Tang dynasty vis-à-vis the Tibetan Empire, and led to the loss of its western regions. As a matter of fact, the westward expansion of the Tang was checked four years earlier in 751 by the victory of the Muslims over a large Chinese army in the Battle of Talas in the Ferghana Valley, following defection of the Karluk Turks in the midst of the battle. Aan Lushan was given control over the entire area north of the lower reaches of the Yellow River, including garrisons about 164,000 strong. He took advantage of various circumstances, such as popular discontent with an extravagant Tang court, the Iranian-involved Abbasid Rebellion against the Omayyad Dynasty, and absence of strong troops guarding the palace. In 756, over 22,000 Arab-Iranian Muslims were sent by the Abbasid caliph to aid the Tang. They stayed in China after the war and intermarried with the local Hui – who are predominantly Muslim till this day. During the rebellion the port of Canton (present day Guangzhou, near the mouth of the South China Sea) was pillaged in 758 by sea-borne Arab and Persian forces.

1057 lunar years ago, on this day in 382 AH, the Mu’tazalite theologian, Ali ibn Eisa ar-Rummani, passed away. Among his important works is the “E’jaz al-Qur’an” on the Living Miracle that the holy Qur’an is. Here it would not be out of context to note his encounter with the famous Shi’a Muslim scholar, Shaikh Mohammad bin Nu’man and the reason he conferred upon him the title “Shaikh al-Mufid” (Most Beneficial Scholar). The Shaikh’s tutor had sent him to attend the theology lessons of Rummani, along with a letter of introduction. The Shaikh says: I entered his class, and was impressed by the large number of students. I sat at the end of the crowd and crept forward as some got up and left. Then I saw a person enter, saying: "(O Master), there is someone at the door from Basra who insists on being admitted to your presence." On permission the man from Basra entered and after a long conversation, asked ar-Rummani: "How do you view the event of “al-Ghadeer” (the day the Prophet, on God’s commandment, proclaimed Imam Ali [AS] as his vicegerent on 18th Zilhijja, 10 AH while returning from his Farewell Hajj pilgrimage) as well as the report of “al-Ghar” (or incident of the cave in which Abu Bakr accompanied the Prophet on the night of Hijrah)?" Ar-Rummani replied that "the report of al-Ghar was a recognised event, while al-Ghadeer was just a narration; and a narration is not as mandatory as a recognised event." The man from Basra left without making any reply. The Shaikh says: Then I stood up and said: "I have a question." Ar-Rummani said: "Ask." I said: "What do you say about the one who fights a Just Imam?" He said: "Such a person would be an infidel." Then, after a pause, he rectified himself and said: "He would be a transgressor." I asked: "What do you say about the Commander of the Faithful, Ali bin Abi Taleb (AS)?” He said: "I believe he was an Imam." So I asked: "Then what do you say about the Day of Jamal and about Talha and Zubair?" Ar-Rummani retorted that both of them had repented for their revolt. I said: "The Battle of Jamal is a recognised event, while their repentance is a mere narration." Upon this, he said: "Were you present when the man from Basra put his question?" I said "yes." Then he asked: "What is your name and who is your tutor?" I said: "I am known as Ibn al-Mu’allem, and my tutor is Abu-Abdallah al-Jual." He said: "Stay a moment." Then he went to a room and came out with a letter, instructing me to hand it over to my tutor. When I gave the letter to my tutor, he read it and laughed, saying: "What transpired between you in his class? He has asked me to confer upon you the title “al-Mufid”.

842 lunar years ago, on this day in 597 AH, the famous Iranian Islamic theologian and scientist, Mohammad ibn Hassan, known as Khwaja Naseer od-Din Tousi was born in Tous in Khorasan. An outstanding philosopher, scientist, mathematician and astronomer, who made valuable contributions to science and civilization, his genius was acknowledged even by the Mongol invader Hulagu Khan. As scientific advisor to the ruler, he built the observatory at Maraghah and its instruments such as a 4-meter wall quadrant made from copper and an azimuth quadrant which was his unique invention. Using accurately plotted planetary movements, he modified Ptolemy's planetary model based on mechanical principles. The observatory and its library became a centre for a wide range of work in science, mathematics and philosophy. Ṭousi in his book on astronomy “at-Tadhkirah fi Ilm al-Hayyah” written three centuries before the Italian Galileo, has described the real essence of the Milky Way: “The Milky Way, i.e. the galaxy, is made up of a very large number of small, tightly-clustered stars, which, on account of their concentration and smallness, seem to be cloudy patches. Because of this, it was likened to milk in colour.”

Tousi wrote some 80 books in both Arabic and Persian on various subjects such as “Tajrid al-Eʿteqad” on theology, “Akhlaq-e Naseri” on ethics, “Sharh al-Isharaat Ibn Sina” on philosophy, and “Kitab ash-Shakl al-Qatta” on mathematics, etc. It is to be noted that a 60-km diameter lunar crater located on the southern hemisphere of the moon is named after him as "Naseereddin". A minor planet discovered by Soviet astronomer Nikolai Stepanovich Chernykh in 1979 is named after him “10269 Tusi”. Naseer od-Din Tusi died in Iraq and was laid to rest in the holy mausoleum of Imam Musa al-Kazem (AS), the 7th Infallible Successor of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA).

760 solar years ago, on this 1258 AD, first Mongol invasion of Dai Viet or northern Vietnam led to the defeat of the Mongols in the Battle of Dong Bo Dau, and their retreat to China. The next two Mongol invasions of Vietnam that occurred in the years 1285 and 1287 also met with failure, but led to the acceptance by the Vietnamese of the Yuan Mongol Khanate of China as the paramount power.

282 solar years ago, on this day in 1736 AD, British philosopher and American political activist, Thomas Paine, was born in Thetford, England. In 1774, he migrated to New England in what is now the US, and involved himself in the rebellion of the 13 American colonies against the British crown. Through his writings, such as “Common Sense”, an incendiary pamphlet, he advocated independence from Britain. His sixteen “Crisis” papers, published between 1776 and 1783, helped to inspire the colonists during the war. He was an active advocate of the French Revolution as well. In his work "Rights of Man", written in reply to Edmund Burke's criticism of the French Revolution, he dismissed monarchy. He opposed slavery and was among the early advocates of social security. In his works, Paine emphasized on faith and monotheism.

198 solar years ago, on this day in 1820 AD, Britain's King George III died insane at Windsor Castle at the age 82, ending a reign that saw the occurrence of the American and French revolutions. He was succeeded by his son George IV, who as Prince of Wales had been regent for 9 years during his father’s insanity. In 2005 scientists reported high levels of arsenic in the hair of King George III and said the deadly poison might have been the cause of the bouts of apparent madness he suffered during his long 60-year reign that saw the 13 New England colonies rebel against the British crown to form the United States of America (USA), because of his repressive policies.

155 solar years ago, on this day in 1863 AD, the Bear River Massacre occurred in Idaho when the United States Army cowardly attacked Amerindian natives of the Shoshone tribe, killing in cold blood over 500 men, women, and children. The Anglo-Saxon aggressors were led by Colonel Patrick Edward Connor, who after killing most of the men and many of the children, ordered his soldiers to assault and rape the women. In some cases, US soldiers held the feet of infants by the heel and brutally beat their brains out on any hard substance they could find. Women who resisted the soldiers were shot and killed. Many soldiers pulled out their pistols and shot several Shoshones at point blank range. The soldiers burned the Shoshone dwellings and supplies; they killed anyone they found in the shelters, as part of the genocide launched by the white-skinned occupiers of America to exterminate the native people.

148 solar years ago, on this day in 1870 AD, eminent Ottoman Turkish poet, author and politician, Suleyman Nazif, was born in Diyarbakr. He authored the two famous articles; that is, an imaginary letter to Prophet Jesus against the crusader mentality of Europe and the supposed reply of the Messiah disassociating himself from Christians and their crimes against humanity. Son of poet and historian Sa’eed Pasha, and brother of renowned poet and politician Faiq Ali Ozansoy, in addition to his native Turkish, Suleyman mastered Arabic, Persian, and French languages. He worked as a civil servant in Diayarbakr. After moving to Istanbul, he started contributing articles to the literary magazine “Servet-e Funoun” ("Wealth of Knowledge") until it was censored in 1901 for his articles against Sultan Abdul Hamid II and his sympathizing with the ideas of the reformist group “Young Turks”. He fled to France, and when he returned after eight months he had to work at a secretarial post in the Governorate of Bursa from 1897 and 1908, before moving to Istanbul to join the Committee of Union and Progress as a journalist. With journalist Abu Ziya Tovfiq, he co-founded the newspaper “Tesvir-e Afkar” (“Picture of Thoughts”), and although it had to close soon, his articles made him a well-known writer. After Sultan Abdul-Hamid restored constitutional monarchy following the 1908 Young Turk Revolution, Nazif served as governor of Ottoman provinces Basra (1909), Kastamonu (1910), Trabzon (1911), Mosul (1913) and Baghdad (1914). In 1915 he resigned to continue his profession as a writer. He opposed the Armenian massacre as well as the occupation of Istanbul during World War 1 by the French and British forces. He was exiled to the island of Malta. Twenty months later following the Turkish War of Independence, he returned to Istanbul and continued to write. Nazif, ever critical of European imperialist powers, attracted once more their hostility when he wrote his famous article "Hazrat-e Isa'ya Acık Mektup" (Open Letter to Prophet Jesus) in which he complained against the crimes perpetrated by Christians. Two weeks later he published "The Reply of Jesus" in which he, in the words of Jesus, refuted the charges, saying the Virgin-born Messiah is not responsible for the crimes of Christians or their beliefs. These two letters became widely popular. He died of pneumonia on January 4, 1927.

97 solar years ago, on this day in 1921 AD, the British invaders after crushing the uprising of Iraq’s Shi’ite Muslim majority, installed Faisal, a son of Sharif Hussein of Hejaz, as king in Baghdad, as a reward for his treason against the Ottoman Empire during World War I. Britain had earlier promised to make Sharif Hussein the Sultan of Arabia, but it switched sides by giving a green signal to its other agent, Abdul-Aziz ibn Saud of Najd, to attack, plunder and desecrate the holy cities of Mecca and Medina and its holy shrines, as well as the commercial centres of Jeddah and Ta’ef. Before creating the spurious state of Saudi Arabia for Abdul-Aziz, the crafty British, as part of their divide-and rule policy, first placed Faisal as king in Damascus and created a fake state called Jordan for Sharif Hussein’s another son, Abdullah. The French, who had occupied Syria, opposed the British decision and four months later Faisal was driven out of Damascus. London then appointed Faisal as king of Iraq, which he ruled until his death in 1933 and was succeeded by his son Ghazi. In 1958, Ghazi’s son, Faisal II was overthrown and killed in the military coup staged by General Abdul-Karim Qassem, thus ending foreign imposed dynastic rule in Iraq.

92 solar years ago, on this day in 1926 AD, Pakistani physicist and Nobel Prize laureate, Abdus-Salaam, was born in Santokdas in Sahiwal District of Punjab. He shared the 1979 Nobel Prize for Physics with Steven Weinberg and Sheldon Lee Glashow. Each had independently formulated a theory explaining the underlying unity of the weak nuclear force and the electromagnetic force. His hypothetical equations, postulated that the weak force must be transmitted by hitherto-undiscovered particles known as weak vector bosons, or W and Z bosons. Weinberg and Glashow reached a similar conclusion using a different line of reasoning. The existence of the W and Z bosons was verified in 1983 by researchers using particle accelerators at CERN.

55 solar years ago, on this day in 1963 AD, US poet, Robert Frost, died at the age of 89. He started work as a journalist. Soon his talent in writing poems led him to publish his first collection at the age of 20. He won the Pulitzer Literary Prize four times.

21 solar years ago, on this day in 1997 AD, 14-year-old Bahraini martyr, Ali Jawad Sheikh, was born on Sitra Island. On August 31, 2011 after the Fajr or early dawn prayers, while participating in a peaceful protest rally, he was brutally targeted by the repressive Aal-e Khalifa minority regime and attained martyrdom later in the day. The savage way in which the teenager was attacked and killed shocked the civilized world and spurred protests in Bahrain. Bahrain is in the grip of a peaceful struggle for restoration of the birthrights of the long suppressed majority and end of the Aal-e Khalifa dictatorship, which is backed by the US, Britain, Saudi Arabia and Israel.

AS/ME