Today is Tuesday; 15th of the Iranian month of Esfand 1396 solar hijri; corresponding to 17th of the Islamic  month of Jamadi as-Sani 1439 lunar hijri; and March 6, 2018, of the Christian Gregorian Calendar.

1386 solar years ago, on this day in 632 AD, which was 9th of Zi’l-Hijjah in the year 10 AH, Prophet Mohammad (SAWA), during his Farewell Hajj Pilgrimage (Hajjat-al-Weda) delivered a historic sermon on the plain of Arafat from Jabal ar-Rahma (Mount Mercy), exhorting Muslims to adhere to the principles of Islam he had expounded to them in the course of his 23-year universal mission, and to hold fast to the holy Qur’an and his progeny the Ahl al-Bayt. In his sermon which over a hundred thousand pilgrims listened, he directed his speech to all humanity for all time, as is evident by his use of the terms “O People” and “O Mankind”, rather than “O Muslims” or “O Believers”. His intention was to address all people, regardless of their creed, colour of skin, class distinction, ethnicity, languages spoken, eras, and geographical locations around the world (until the Day of Judgement). This sermon, recorded in all reliable books of hadith and history by all denominations of Islam, consists of a series of general exhortations to be followed after him, especially his emphasis on the “Hadith Thaqalayn”. He said in clear words:

"O People! I have been summoned (to God’s presence from the mortal world) and am leaving behind among you the Thaqalayn (Two Weighty Things); the Book of Allah (holy Qur’an) and my progeny the Ahl al-Bayt. Hold fast to them and you will never go astray, for you will be questioned regarding your attitude to them, since the two never part with each other even when they return to me at the Fountain (of Kowsar on the Day of Judgement)."

1057 solar years ago, on this day in 961 AD, Byzantine Greek forces occupied the Muslim island of Crete in the Aegean Sea, thus ending the nearly 135-year rule of the Islamic emirate founded by Spanish Muslim migrants under Abu Hafs after their eviction in 827 from the Egyptian port city of Alexandria by the Abbasid Iranian general, Abdullah ibn Taher Khorasani, who equipped them with ships and supplies for the expedition to Iqritish – as the island was called in Arabic. The Greek invaders led by Nikephoros Phokas pillaged the cities, destroying mosques, libraries, baths, bazaars, and irrigation canals. The capital Rabz al-Khandaq, where currently the city of Heraklion stands, was totally destroyed. Cretan Muslims were either killed or carried off into slavery, while the emir, Abdul-Aziz ibn Shu’ayb, and his son Nu’man were taken captive to Constantinople and forced to become Christians. The survival of numerous gold, silver and copper coins, of almost constant weight and composition, testifies to a strong economy and a high living standard among the population of the Emirate of Crete, which had extensive trade ties with the rest of the Muslim world. The Muslims developed a flourishing agriculture, introducing a variety of crops including sugarcane. It was in 654 that Islam made its first advent in Crete, the 5^th largest island of the Mediterranean, where Muslims have seen fluctuating fortunes for the past millennium. The last period of Muslim rule – 252 years – ended in 1898 when West European powers seized Crete from the Ottoman Empire and merged it with Greece. The more than 60-percent Cretan Muslims, many of whom followers of the Bektashi Sufi order founded in the 13^th century in Khorasan by Iranian mystic of the school of the Prophet’s Ahl al-Bayt, Haji Bektash Vali of Neishapour,  were expelled and the island was Christianized. The Cretan Muslim Diaspora today lives in Turkey, Syria and Lebanon. It is worth noting that the Hussainid Dynasty (1705-1957) of Tunisia was Cretan Muslim and originally governors of the Ottoman Empire.

1019 lunar years ago, on this day in 420 AH, the 8^th self-styled caliph of the Fatemid Ismaili Shi’ite Dynasty of Egypt, Syria and North Africa, Mohammad Ibn az-Zahir al-Mustansir, was born in Cairo and eight months afterwards was declared to succeed his father. He ascended the throne on 15^th Sha’ban, 427 AH at the age of 7 years. His rule lasted 60 years and four months, the longest of all the so-called caliphs, either in Egypt or anywhere else. The Fatemid rulers, who first established themselves in Mahdia in Tunisia, claimed descent from Ismail, the son of Prophet Mohammad’s (SAWA) 6^th Infallible Successor, Imam Ja’far as-Sadeq (AS). They soon shifted their seat of power to Egypt and established the city of Cairo, where they built the famous Islamic academy, al-Azhar, as a derivative of “az-Zahra” (the Radiant), the epithet of the Prophet’s Immaculate Daughter, Hazrat Fatema (SA). During their rule, they publicly revived in the “Azan” the original phrases of the daily call to prayer: “Ash-hado anna Amir al-Momineen Aliyan Wali-Allah” (I testify that the Commander of the Faithful, Ali, is the Friend of God), and “hayya ala khayr-il-amal” (hasten towards the best of deed). The Fatemid caliphate lasted for 270 years, and at its height, in addition to Egypt, it included varying areas of the Maghreb (North Africa), Sudan, Sicily, the Levant, and Hijaz.

915 lunar years ago, on this day in 524 AH, the acclaimed Arabic literary figure and poet, Hussain bin Mohammad Baar’e al-Baghdadi, passed away at the age of 81. He is considered an authority on grammar and lexicography, and later in life went blind. He has left behind his Diwan of poetry.

606 lunar years ago, on this day in 833 AH (1430 AD), the 6^th Ottoman Sultan, Murad II, conquered the city and district of Thessalonica in Macedonia from the Byzantine Empire. Thessalonica and its adjoining districts were lost by the Turks some five centuries later during the First Balkans War in 1330 AH (1912 AD) to the new state called Greece (set up on the Ottoman Province of Yunanistan), while the rest of Macedonia, which had a sizeable Muslim population, was split up between Greece and Serbia (the former Ottoman Province of Servistan). Greek Christians, who destroyed mosques and other sites of the centuries-old Islamic heritage, continue to suppress the Muslims of Thessalonica and treat them as second class citizens.

543 solar years ago, on this day in 1475 AD, Italian painter, sculptor, architect, and poet, Michelangelo, was born in Caprese near Arezzo, Tuscany. He created several works of art. The huge statues which he named Moses and David (not to be confused with the Prophets as he wrongly claimed), and the painting of the so-called Last Judgment are considered as his most important works.

466 solar years ago, on this day in 1552 AD, the second major battle between the Christian sects of Catholics and Protestants in Europe ended with another failure for the latter, following their defeat six years earlier. In this battle which took place in Austria, the Spanish, Prussian, and Austrian Emperors, led the Catholics against the French-backed troops of the princes of the Protestant cities of Prussia and Austria. The motives behind these battles were sectarian disputes that flared up when Martin Luther broke away from the Catholic Church in protest.

259 solar years ago, on this day in1759 AD, the British, led by Colonel Francis Forde, laid siege to Machli-Bandar, and a month later captured this port city on the Bay of Bengal coast of the Deccan through treachery, before the forces of Nizam ul-Mulk Salabat Jang could arrive from Aurangabad and Haiderabad. This was part of the struggle for supremacy by the British against the French allies of the Asef Jahi Dynasty during the 7-year-war. Colonel Forde was later drowned in the Mozambique Channel off the coast of Africa. Machli-Bandar (literally “Fishing-Port”), which the British briefly returned to the Nizam, is also called Masulipatam. It was the fiefdom of the Iranian family of Najm-e Sani, who were appointed governors – first by the Mughal Emperors and later by the Asaf Jahi Persianate Dynasty. It was a thriving port and conduit to Iran, of the Qutb-Shahi dynasty of Iranian origin of Golkandah, before falling to the Mughals and subsequently becoming part of the Asaf Jahi Dynasty of Haiderabad, which finally lost it, along with the rest of the Northern Sarcars (present day Andhra) to the British colonialists in 1823.

239 solar years ago, on this day in 1779 AD, Karim Khan Zand, the founder of the Zand Dynasty of Iran, passed away in his capital Shiraz at the age of 74 after a reign of 29 years, during which he restored stability to the country in the chaotic aftermath of Nader Shah Afshar’s assassination in 1747, ruling almost all of Iran, along with Basra and parts of the Caucasus, except for Greater Khorasan. To legitimize his rule, he placed the Safavid prince, Ismail III, as a figurehead, and never took the title of Shah, contenting himself with the honourary epithet “Wakil ar-Re’aya” (People’s Representative). As a general of Nader Shah, he had taken active parts in most of the military campaigns, and on assuming rule of the country, he devoted himself to the rebuilding of the economy and administration based on social justice. To this day, Karim Khan Zand has a reputation as one of the just and able rulers in Iranian history. On his death, civil war broke out once more, his sons died in mysterious circumstances, and none of his successors were able to rule the country as effectively as he had. The last of his heirs, Lotf Ali Khan Zand, was treacherously killed by Agha Mohammad Khan, who founded the Qajar dynasty in 1794.

118 solar years ago, on this day in 1900 AD, German inventor, Gottlieb Daimler, died at the age of 64. His profession was making guns. His industrial activities led to invention of the motorcycle. He set up the auto industry and built a type of bus.

61 solar years ago, on this day in 1957 AD, Ghana became the first sub-Saharan country to gain independence. At a time when Islam was fast spreading in West Africa, Ghana was occupied by the Portuguese, who named it the Gold Coast, plundered its rich resources, and imposed Christianity on its people. The British next seized it and carried on the plunder. In the mid-20^th century, freedom movements emerged, resulting in uprisings against colonial rule and forcing the British to hold in 1952 the first legislative elections in which Dr. Kwame Nkrumah was elected prime minister. In 1957, he declared the independence of Ghana which three years later adopted a republican system of government. In 1966, Nkrumah was overthrown in a coup master-minded by the US, Britain and France, while he was on a state visit abroad. Thereafter, the country has seen several coups. Ghana covers an area of more than 238,000 sq km. It has a coastline on the Atlantic Ocean and shares borders with Togo, Burkina Faso, and Ivory Coast. Of its fast growing 20-percent plus Muslim population, many are followers of the School of the Prophet’s Ahl al-Bayt.

54 solar years ago, on this day in 1964 AD, Afro-American boxing champion, Cassius Clay, embraced Islam, and officially changed his name to Muhammad Ali. His spectacular winning of numerous world titles and his refusal, as a Muslim, to be drafted by the US regime in the Vietnam War made constant headlines.

50 solar years ago, on this day in 1968 AD, former Iranian Prime Minister, Mohammad Mosaddeq passed away at the age of 85. He was appointed Minister of Finance, later became Minister of Foreign Affairs and was subsequently elected MP to the national assembly. While in parliament, with the support of Islamic and nationalist groups, he passed the law for nationalization of the Iranian oil industry. Despite British pressure, including economic blockade, the nationalization process continued. In 1952 Britain ordered the Shah to dismiss Mosaddeq, but he was soon re-appointed due to a popular uprising in his support, which in turn forced the Shah into exile in August 1953. Shortly thereafter on August 19, the American CIA and Britain’s MI 6, launched the coup codenamed “Operation Ajax”, led by Iranian army general Fazlollah Zahedi, to remove Mosaddeq and restore the fugitive Shah to power. Mosaddeq was arrested, tried for treason, and placed under house arrest, while Foreign Minister Hussain Fatemi was executed. Zahedi succeeded him as prime minister, and brutally suppressed all opposition to the Shah.

32 solar years ago, on this day in 1986 AD, eminent jurisprudent and researcher, Allamah Zabihollah Mahallati, passed away at the age of 93 in Tehran. Born in Mahallat, after completing studies, he left for Iraq for higher studies at the seminary of holy Najaf, where during his 11-year stay he attended the classes of Ayatollah Abdul-Hussain Rashti, Ayatollah Seyyed Hassan Sadr, Ayatollah Seyyed Mohammad Firouzabadi, Ayatollah Sheikh Mohammad Jawad Balaghi, Grand Ayatollah Seyyed Abu’l-Hassan Najafi, and Grand Ayatollah Mirza Mohammad Hussain Na’ini. He then moved to the holy city of Samarra, where during his 25-year stay he studied under the great bibliophile, Sheikh Aqa Bozorg Tehrani. Later he held his own classes, in addition to writing books. In 1940 he returned to Iran and took up residence in Tehran, continuing his scholarly research. He authored the 6-volume “Raiyyaheen ash-Shari’ah” – an encyclopedia of prominent Muslim ladies of history. Among his other works mention could be made of the 12-volume “History of Samarra”, the 8-volume “Waqa’e al-Ayyam” on the timeline of major events of history, and “Kashf al-Gharour” on the harm to society on women without veil in public.

43 solar years ago, on this day in 1975 AD, the Algiers Accord was inked in the Algerian capital for resolution of the Iran-Iraq border dispute regarding the Shatt al-Arab/Arvand Roud waterway. It ended the Shah’s support for Iraqi Kurds, while Baghdad agreed to fix the southern border of the two countries in the middle of the waterway. In Algiers, the signatory was vice president of the Ba’th minority regime, Saddam, who five years later in September 1980 tore the accord in front of TV cameras to launch his invasion of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Saddam’s US-backed 8-year war ended in 1988 without any victory for him, and two years later in 1990, he had to eat the humble pie and officially admit the validity of the Algiers Accord.

11 solar years ago, on this day in 2007 AD, Saudi-backed Takfiri terrorists blew up through remote control two unsuspecting persons to whom they had given bag full explosives in the midst of pilgrims converging on a shrine in Hillah, southern Iraq, resulting in the martyrdom of some 150 Shi’a Muslim men, women, and children, and wounding of over 200 others.

AS/MG