Today is Saturday; 26th of the Iranian month of Esfand 1396 solar hijri; corresponding to 28th of the Islamic month of Jamadi as-Sani 1439 lunar hijri; and March 17, 2018, of the Christian Gregorian Calendar.

1828 solar years ago, on this day in 180 AD, Roman Emperor, Marcus Aurelius, died after a 19-year reign that saw his generals emerge as victors of the 5-year long war (161-65) against the Parthian Empire of Iran in Armenia and Mesopotamia (Iraq), following initial Iranian victories in Syria and Anatolia (Turkey). The Roman success was short-lived. Despite the sacking of the Iranian-controlled Greek city of Seleucia on the eastern banks of the Tigris and plunder of the Parthian capital, Ctesiphon, on the eastern banks of the same river, the Iranians soon remobilized and reclaimed lost ground, although Armenia was briefly lost. The Parthian Empire was at that time under the long 44-year rule of Balaash, known to the Romans as Vologases IV.

1491 lunar years ago, on this day 52 years before Hijra, as was the custom among the noble Arab families, the infant Prophet Mohammad (SAWA), was entrusted to the care of a wet-nurse named Halimah as-Sa’diya, selected by his grandfather and guardian, Abdul Muttalib, who felt it necessary to employ an honourable, chaste, trustworthy and monotheist lady to look after the orphan of his deceased son, Abdullah. Halimah, who was from the desert-dwelling Hawazen tribe, was in Mecca along with her husband Hareth and infant son, Zomrah. It is said that one of her breasts had dried up, and when the infant Prophet refused to suck the one with which she used to suckle her own son, she reluctantly gave him the dried one, and to her amazement it miraculously flowed with milk. With the permission of the family, Halimah used to take the infant Prophet to her dwellings in the desert, and the very day he entered her house, good fortune and blessings entered with him. Her life, which had been filled with poverty and destitution, suddenly changed into a happy and prosperous one. The pasture of the sheep and camels of that region turned fresh and green. The reason the noble urban families allowed their toddler sons to be taken to the desert was because of the pureness of the desert air, coupled with the hardships of the desert, which enabled their physical disposition to grow sounder and equipped them with a natural adaptability towards different conditions. Over two decades later when the Prophet had married Hazrat Khadija (SA), Halimah came to Mecca and was given several sheep and camels. On the Prophet’s proclamation of the universal mission of Islam, the monotheist Halimah and Hareth, formally became Muslims. The Prophet used to greatly respect her, and whenever, Halimah visited him, he would spread his cloak on the ground so that she would sit on it.

1394 solar years ago, on this day in 624 AD, Abu Jahl (literally ‘Father of Ignorance’), a hardcore Arab polytheist and one of the most bitter enemies of Islam, died following the fatal wounds he had received in the Battle of Badr, which he and fellow pagan of Mecca had imposed upon Prophet Mohammad (SAWA). Named Amr and notorious for his persecution, torture, imprisonment, and killing of the early Muslims of Mecca, he vehemently opposed the message of Islam, imposed the 3-year economic-social boycott of the Prophet, denied miracles, and was the evil mind behind the pagan plot to murder the Prophet with the help of assassins from various clans – a plot that failed because of the migration of the Prophet to Medina, with instructions to his cousin Imam Ali (AS) to sleep on his bed, so that the conspirators would have no idea of his leaving Mecca.

1382 solar years ago, on this day in 636 AD, Bayt al-Moqaddas was liberated by Muslims, who defeated the Romans to free Palestine from European control. Over four centuries later, the Europeans launched the bloody Crusader Wars to occupy Bayt al-Moqaddas and Palestine. In 1187, after 88 years of the illegal existence of the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem, Bayt al-Moqaddas and Palestine were once again liberated by a united Muslim army of Kurds, Turks, Arabs and Persians. The Christians of Europe again occupied these lands briefly but were finally defeated by the Turkish Mamluk rulers of Egypt and expelled from Palestine in early 14th century. Over six hundred years later in 1917, during World War I, Palestine and Bayt al-Moqaddas were re-occupied by the Europeans, and this time by the British, who illegally settled in this Muslim land, hundreds of thousands of Zionists from Eastern Europe. In 1948, upon British withdrawal, the illegitimate birth of Israel took place, and simultaneously the Zionist terrorists expelled into neighbouring lands over 700,000 Palestinians. Today, 66 years later, the struggle for liberation of Palestine and Bayt al-Moqaddas still continues, and the Muslims are confident of weeding out the Zionists one day.

1255 solar years ago, on this day in 763 AD, the tyrant Haroun ar-Rashid, the 5^th caliph of the usurper Abbasid regime, was born in Rayy near modern Tehran, to Khayzaran a Yemeni concubine of dubious character of Mahdi al-Abbasi. He seized power after the suspicious death of his elder brother Hadi al-Abbasi. He consolidated his rule over the vast realm from North Africa up to the borders of China and India, largely through the administrative abilities of the Iranian Barmakid family, whose head Yahya Barmaki was made prime minister. The crafty Haroun gradually liquidated the Barmakids and behaved ruthlessly with all those who opposed his immoral and illegitimate rule, especially the followers of the Ahl al-Bayt of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA). During his tyrannical rule of 23 years, he cruelly martyred over 60 descendants of the Prophet, including the most noblest of them all, the 7th Infallible Imam, Musa al-Kazem (AS). Haroun died in Khorasan at the age of 45 while on his way to suppress an uprising in Kabul, in what is now Afghanistan and was buried in Tous. Today there is no sign of his rotten grave, while the sprawling golden-domed mausoleum of Imam Reza (AS), the Prophet’s 8^th Infallible Heir in Mashhad, beckons millions of pilgrims from all over the world, as testimony to the triumph of the Ahl al-Bayt over the usurper caliphs.

937 lunar years ago, on this day in 502 AH, the renowned Iranian scholar of Arabic literature, Abu Zakariyya Yahya Ibn Ali Ibn Mohammed at-Tabrizi, passed away. He is the author of several commentaries on divans of Arabic poets, like “al Mu'allaqat as-Saba”, “al Mufadhaliyaat” and “al-Hamasa”.

849 lunar years ago, on this day in 590 AH, the famous reciter of the Holy Qur'an, Qasem Ibn Fera ash-Shatebi, known as “Imam al-Qurra” passed away in Cairo, Egypt. He authored a book on the seven different ways of recitation.

566 solar years ago, on this day in 1452 AD, the Battle of Los Alporchones was fought in southern Spain between the troops of the Muslim Emirate of Granada and the combined Christian forces of the Kingdom of Castile and the Kingdom of Murcia. The Spanish Muslim army was commanded by Malik ibn al-Abbas, while the Christian mercenaries were led by Alonso Fajardo el Bravo. The battle was fought in the area around the city of Lorca and resulted in a victory for Castile.

491 solar years ago, on this day in 1527 AD, the Battle of Khanwa was fought near the village of the same name, about 60 km west of Agra. It was the second major battle fought by the first Moghal Emperor Zaheer od-Din Mohammad Babar after the Battle of Panipat a year before, and firmly established his rule in northern India. As the Moghal Empire expanded it faced new opponents especially in the regions around Agra and inside Rajputana. After defeating Sultan Ibrahim Lodi of the Delhi Sultanate, Babar faced many Lodi Afghan warriors including Sikandar Lodi and his son Mahmud Lodi who rallied behind the Muslim Rajput ruler Raja Hassan Khan Mewatpatti of Mewat, in alliance with Rana Sanga, the Hindu Rajput ruler. Hindu Rajputs in league with Muslim Rajputs and the Pashto opponents of Babar gathered a formidable army, but were soundly defeated by the combined Moghal-Tajik army.

158 solar years ago, on this day in 1860 AD, the First Taranaki War began at the place of the same name in New Zealand between British occupiers and the indigenous Maori people. It was a major phase of the New Zealand wars over land ownership and sovereignty that took place in North Island and lasted for a year. The war was sparked by a dispute between the British occupiers and Maori landowners over the sale of a property at Waitara, but spread throughout the region. The British brought more than 3,500 troops from Australia, as well as volunteer soldiers and militia, against Maori forces that fluctuated between a few hundred and about 1,500. The First War ended in a ceasefire, with neither side explicitly accepting the peace terms of the other. Although there were claims by the British that they had won it, the widely held view was that they had suffered a humiliating result.

136 lunar years ago, on this day in 1302 AH, Iranian theologian and literary figure, Mirza Mohammad Ibn Soleiman Tonekaboni, passed away. He wrote many books, including “Qessas al-Ulema” on the biographies of prominent Islamic scholars, and “al-Fawa'ed fi Usoul ad-Din” – a versified presentation of principles of religion.

112 lunar years ago, on this day in 1327 AH, the 6^th Qajarid king of Iran, Mohammad Ali Shah, following the defeat of his army by popular constitutionalist forces, sought asylum in the Russian embassy. On the afternoon of the same day, the constitutionalists held a meeting to formally depose and replace him with his 11-year old son, Ahmad Shah. Over a month-and-a-half earlier on Rabi as-Sani 6, Mohammad Ali Shah was forced by the constitutionalists to revive the Majlis (parliament), which he had dissolved two years earlier, shortly after succeeding his father, Mozaffar od-Din Shah, to the Peacock Throne. A repressive and inefficient ruler, he had previously bombarded the parliament with the help of the British and Russian forces. On being disposed, he fled to Russian-ruled Odessa (in present day Ukraine), from where he plotted his return. Two years later he landed at Astarabad on the Caspian coast of Iran, but his forces were defeated. He again fled to Russia, then to Istanbul and later to San Remo, Italy, where he died on 5^th April 1925, the year the 131-year rule of the Qajarid Dynasty ended when the British formally declared their agent, Reza Khan Pahlavi as the new king, while Ahmad Shah was on an almost 2-year long visit, to Europe. Every shah of Iran since Mohammad Ali Shah has died in exile.

111 solar years ago, on this day in 1907 AD, famous Iranian poetess, Parvin E’tesami, was born in Tabriz in an academic family. Her father, Yusuf E’tesam ol-Molk, was a translator and author who frequented the company of prominent poets and literary figures, such as the Poet Laureate Malik osh-Sho’ara Mohammad Taqi Bahar, and the Lexicographer Allamah Ali Akbar Dehkhoda. She learned Persian and Arabic literature from her father and showed her talents for writing poems as of childhood. On graduation from high school she started teaching in Tabriz. She accompanied her father on his journeys around Iran and abroad, gaining valuable experiences and reflecting them in her poetry. Her Divan includes odes, elegies, and other styles of poetry. A realistic poetess she maintained strong ethical and religious beliefs. Parvin E’tesami passed away at the young age of 35 years in 1941.

98 solar years ago, on this day in 1920 AD, Sheikh Mujib ur-Rahman, the Founding Leader of Bangladesh, was born in Bengal state of British India. In 1940 he joined the All India Muslim Students Federation while studying law at the Islamia College of the University of Calcutta. In 1943 he joined the Bengal Muslim League and grew close to the faction led by Hussain Shaheed Suhrawardi, who was to become Prime Minister of Pakistan. Mujib worked actively for the establishment of Pakistan. After partition, he became a prominent political leader of East Pakistan, and organized protests when Urdu was made the official language. He was jailed and after release set up the Awami League. With his emphasis on Bengali culture and ethnicity, he was viewed by the government in Islamabad as an Indian agent trying to destabilize Pakistan. In the 1970 elections, the Awami League won the majority of seats and increased demands for autonomy of East Pakistan. The war with India worsened the crisis. Mujib was imprisoned in West Pakistan, but the Mukti Bahini militia created with the support of Indian troops, forced the Pakistani army to surrender. On release he became head of the new country Bangladesh in January 1972, and was assassinated in 1975 by army officers disgruntled with his policies.

70 solar years ago, on this day in 1948 AD, representatives of Britain, France, Belgium, Holland, and Luxemburg met in the Belgian capital to sign the Brussels Pact for a joint defense system and to develop economic and cultural ties. This set the stage for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in April 1949 with the US and Canada as new members.

62 solar years ago, on this day in 1956 AD, French chemist, Irene Joliot-Curie, died. She shared the 1935 Nobel Prize for synthesis of new radioactive isotopes with her husband Frederic. They bombarded stable atoms with alpha particles to transmute them into radioactive elements. They created nitrogen from boron, phosphorus from aluminum and silicon from magnesium. She was the daughter of the famous scientists Marie and Pierre Curie.

23 solar years ago, on this day in 1995 AD, Hojjat al-Islam Seyyed Ahmad Khomeini, the younger son of the Father of the Islamic Revolution, Imam Khomeini (RA), passed away at the age of 50. Born in holy Qom, he studied under his prominent father, and later joined him in exile in Najaf. He played an important role in communications between his father and the revolutionaries in Iran. Following the victory of the Islamic Revolution, he returned to Iran along with his father. During the six years, which he was alive after his father, he continued to support the Islamic Republic System and the leadership of Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei.

21 solar years ago, on this day in 1997 AD, prominent teacher of the famous seminary of holy Qom, Ayatollah Ahmad Payani Ardabeli, passed away at the age of 69. Born in Ardabel, northwestern Iran, at the age of 20 he moved to Qom for higher studies, and after completing his religious education, embarked on teaching at the seminary. He was also politically active during the events leading to the victory of the Islamic Revolution in 1979. 

12 solar years ago, on this day in 2006 AD, notorious terrorist, Abdul-Malek Rigi, supported by the US, Saudi Arabia and the Zionist entity, send his henchmen to pose as security forces on the southeastern Zabol-Zahedan road in Iran’s Sistan-Baluchestan Province in order to indiscriminately kill people. As a result, almost 30 innocent men, women and children were slaughtered in cold blood. Four years later Rigi was caught by Iranian security personnel while travelling from Dubai to a Central Asian country for a secret meeting with a senior American official. The plane carrying him was forced to land at Bandar Abbas airport, and after due trial, he was executed in June 2010 for his numerous crimes against humanity.

AS/ME