Today is Saturday; 11th of the Iranian month of Farvardin 1397 solar hijri; corresponding to 13th of the Islamic month of Rajab1439 lunar hijri; and March 31, 2018, of the Christian Gregorian Calendar.

As of today, the 13^th of Rajab, the three day period of "Ayyam al-Beedh" or White Days, starts, with devout Muslims observing fasts and holding the ritual known as "Etekaf" in mosques to pray, contemplate and recite the holy Qur'an. Such temporary detachment from the hustle and bustle of the material world was recommended by Prophet Mohammad (blessings of God upon him and his progeny) for cleansing and polishing the soul through inculcation of spiritual values, which result in proximity to God and forgiveness of sins. These days of the lunar month are considered white because their nights are bright with the moon reaching its zenith of resplendence. 

1462 lunar years ago, on this day, 23 years before hijra, the Leader of all True Believers, Amir al-Momineen Imam Ali ibn Abi Taleb (AS) was born in Mecca inside the holy Ka'ba, following his monotheist mother Fatema bint Asad’s entry into it when a section of wall of the symbolic House of the One and Only God, the Unseen but Omnipresent, miraculously parted and closed behind her. As the cousin, ward, son-in-law, and vicegerent of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA), the Imam needs no introduction. To his valour and wisdom, Islam will always remain indebted. We congratulate the auspicious birthday of the Model of Magnanimity, the Paragon of Patience, the Paradigm of Piety, the Epitome of Eloquence, and the Supreme Symbol of Social Justice, who reposes in eternal peace in the golden-domed shrine in Najaf, Iraq, where for over a thousand years, seekers of knowledge from all over the world, have humbly sought guidance for true faith from the person whom the Prophet had hailed as Gateway of the City of Knowledge.

1391 solar years ago, on this day in 627 AD, the fledgling Muslim community of Medina led by Prophet Mohammad (SAWA) triumphed in the Battle of Trench (Khandaq) over a joint Arab-Israelite force of 10,000 after withstanding a 27-day siege led by the archenemy of Islam, Abu Sufyan. Also known as Battle of Ahzaab or Confederates, the decisive victory, thanks to the valour of the Commander of the Faithful, Imam Ali (AS) occurred on 17^th of Shawwal, 5 AH, as per the Islamic lunar hijri calendar. To defend the city against the mighty horde, the Muslims dug a ditch around the sensitive parts of Medina on suggestion of Salman Farsi, the Prophet's Iranian disciple. When the joint Arab-Israelite force arrived, it was surprised to see the ditch and decided to besiege the city in a bid to break the will of the Muslims. As days passed and no moral breakdown occurred in Medina, the fearsome Arab pagan warlord, Amr ibn Abduwad, along with some of his accomplices, leapt his horse across the ditch at its narrowest point and challenged the terrified Muslims to personal combat. Except for Imam Ali (AS), none of the Prophet’s companions dared to rise up against this veritable giant who had a nasty reputation of physical strength. A duel took place, and the Imam, despite receiving a wound on his forehead, knocked out Amr to the ground. At this moment, the fallen foe, turned out to be a coward, and spat at the Imam in a bid to avoid certain death. At this insult, the Imam gently withdrew to allow his emotions to cool down so that personal feelings do not mix with pure and sincere jihad in the way of God. The Arab infidel rose to his feet and renewed the life-and-death struggle, but this time the Imam’s flashing sword, the famous double-bladed Zul-Feqar, made short work of the opponent who fell down dead to the ground. Imam Ali (AS) scattered the companions of Amr, and this valorous feat sent shivers down the spine of the Arab-Israelite hordes, making them break ranks and flee. The Prophet expressed the famous hadith this day, saying: “The Stroke of Ali on the Day of Khandaq is superior to the worship of (Thaqalayn) mankind and genies.”

1196 solar years ago, on this day in 822 AD, the Godless tyrant Mutawakkil, who styled himself as the 10th caliph of the usurper Abbasid regime, was born to a Turkic concubine from Khwarezm of Mu’tasim. Named Ja’far, he became caliph on the suspicious death of his half-brother Watheq – whose body lay in negligence with mice eating away the eyes, while Mutawakkil held several days of festivities. He unleashed a reign of terror, especially on the followers of the Ahl al-Bayt of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA). He persecuted the Prophet’s progeny, instructed judges to always give the verdict against them, forbade them to ride horses in Egypt, forcibly brought from Medina to Samarra the Prophet’s 10th Infallible Heir, Imam Ali an-Naqi (AS), to be placed under house arrest, and blasphemously destroyed the holy shrine of Imam Husain (AS) in Karbala. He was finally murdered while drunk and asleep, by his own son, Muntasir, with the help of Turkic guards, at the age of 39 after a reign of 14 years. The reason for his murder was his usual habit of cursing the Commander of the Faithful, Imam Ali Ibn Abi Taleb (AS) that finally broke the patience of his elder son, Muntasir, who left the assembly of drunkards in rage under the taunts of his father. Imam Ali (AS) had prophesied Mutawakkel as "the most infidel" of Abbasid rulers.

1160 lunar year ago, on this day in 279 AH, renowned Iranian Sunni Muslim hadith authority, Mohammad ibn Eisa Tirmizi, passed away. He was born and died in Bagh, near Tirmiz in Greater Khorasan (now in southern Uzbekistan near Afghan border). He travelled to Kufa, Basra and Hijaz, in pursuit of knowledge. His teachers included Mohammad Bukhari, Muslim Naishaburi and Abu Dawoud Sijistani – all three renowned Iranian Sunni Muslim compilers of hadith. Tirmizi, who became blind in the last two years of his life, is the author of "al-Jame' as-Sahih", popularly called "Sunan at-Tirmizi", one of the six canonical hadith compilations of Sunni Muslims. He has included in his compendium authentic narrations on the unrivalled merits of the Prophet’s blessed household, and has said that the term "Ahl al-Bayt" as used by God in the holy Qur'an (33:33) and by the Prophet in several hadith, is exclusive for Imam, Hazrat Fatema Zahra, Imam Hasan and Imam Husain (peace upon them), and does not include the Prophet's wives, as some allege. Tirmizi's grave is in Sherobad, 60 km north of Tirmiz, where he is popularly called Tirmiz Baba. Tirmiz is the hottest point in Uzbekistan with temperatures as high as 46 degrees centigrade, and the city traces its origin to Alexander's Greeks who called the place "thermos", meaning "hot".

647 lunar years ago, this day in 792 AH, Ottoman Sultan Murad I defeated the Serbian army led by Prince Lazar in the battle of Kosovo, also known as the Battle of Blackbird's Field, about 5 km northwest of modern-day Pristina. In this battle which brought the Balkans under Turkish control both Murad and Lazar lost their life.

526 solar years ago, on this day in 1492 AD, Queen Isabella of Castile and King Ferdinand II of Aragon issued the Alhambra Decree, ordering 150,000 Spanish Jews to convert to Christianity within three months or face expulsion. This happened less than three months after the occupation of the Muslim emirate of Granada and the famous al-Hamra (Red Palace) by the Christians, who were notorious for their anti-Semitism, which means persecution of both Arabs and Israelites. Jews had been living for several centuries under Muslim rule in Islamic Spain as "People of the Book"' and were given special status. Some of them had rose in the social hierarchy to become scholars and ministers. But with the gradual occupation of Islamic Spain by the Christian rulers, both Muslims and Jews found themselves persecuted and such measures were prevalent throughout Europe. The punishment for any Jew who did not convert or leave by the deadline was death. The punishment for a non-Jew who sheltered or hid Jews was the confiscation of all belongings and hereditary privileges. Other Spanish Jews (estimates range between 50,000 and 70,000) chose to avoid expulsion by conversion to Christianity. However, their conversion did not protect them from the Church’s hostility after the Spanish Inquisition came into full effect. Many of these "New Christians" were eventually forced to either leave the countries or intermarry with the local populace by the dual Inquisitions of Portugal and Spain. As a result many Jews migrated to the Muslim lands of North Africa. This edict against the Jews of Spain was in force till 16 December 1968, when the Second Vatican Council cancelled it. It is also worth noting that hundreds of thousands of Spanish Muslims were forcibly converted to Christianity in Spain, while hundreds of thousands of others were massacred, and many expelled.

422 solar years ago, on this day in 1596 AD, French philosopher, mathematician, and physicist, Rene Descartes, was born. He considered mathematics a complete science and conducted extensive research on physics, elaborating the phenomenon of light’s refraction and the laws related to the angles of radiation and refraction. His books include “Principles of Philosophy” and “Meditations”. He died in 1650 at the age of 53. His work "La Geometrie" includes his application of algebra to geometry that led to emergence of Cartesian geometry. During 1620-28, he travelled through Europe, before settling in Holland. Soon after, he began work on his first major treatise on physics. This work was near completion when news reached him that Italian scientist Galileo was condemned to house arrest by the Christian Church because of divulging scientific facts about the earth and the planets, based on the study of works of the early Islamic scholars. Descartes decided not to publish that work during his lifetime. Later, he turned to philosophy, and his most famous quote is “I think, therefore I am.”  

333 solar years ago, on this day in 1685 AD, German musician and composer, Johann Sebastian Bach, was born. Many of his songs are religious, and he also played a pivotal role in the progress and perfection of German music. Later in his life he went blind. He has composed numerous works, including a number of carols.

291 solar years ago, on this day in 1727 AD, Isaac Newton, English mathematician, physicist, astronomer, and alchemist died at the age of 84. He improved upon the works of Muslim scientists that had been translated into Latin from Arabic, and described universal gravitation and the three laws of motion, which dominated the scientific view of the physical universe for three centuries. He wrote the motions of objects on Earth and of celestial bodies are governed by the same set of natural laws.

209 solar years ago, on this day in 1809 AD, English author and poet, Edward Fitzgerald, was born in Suffolk. He specialized in eastern languages, especially Persian, and translated into English many Iranian classical works. In 1856 he anonymously published in verse a version of “Salamaan and Absaal” of the Iranian poet Abdur-Rahman Jami. In 1859, he translated and published the quatrains of the renowned Iranian scientist-poet, Khayyam Naishapuri as “The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam”, a work which he later revised and on which his fame rests. He also translated from Greek into English two Oedipus tragedies, and plays from the famous Spanish dramatist Pedro Calderón. He left an unpublished manuscript version of the Iranian poet Farid od-Din Attar Naishapuri’s “Manteq-ot-Tayr”. This last abridged translation which FitzGerald called "A Bird's-Eye view of the Bird Parliament", is often called an unknown masterpiece, although he whittled the Persian original of some 4500 lines, down to 1500 lines in English. He died in 1883 at the age of 74.

209 solar years ago, on this day in 1809 AD, the Russian author, Nikolai Vasilievich Gogol, was born in Ukraine. He wrote the novel “Taurus Bulba” in 1832 that was inspired by the struggles of the Cossacks in 17^th century Poland.

163 solar years ago, on this day in 1855 AD, English author, Charlotte Bronte, died at age 39. She wrote the moving novel “Jane Eyre” under the pen name Currer Bell.

129 solar years ago, on this day in 1889 AD, the Eiffel Tower was formally opened in Paris, the capital of France, as the world's then tallest tower. With a height of 300-meters (986-feet), it remained the world's tallest structure until surpassed by the Empire State Building in New York, 40 years later. The designer was Gustave Eiffel. The immense iron latticework design was chosen from 700 proposals submitted in an international tender. Construction lasted for over two years from 26^th January 1887 to 31^st March 1889. It was erected for the 1889 Paris Exposition, which had 1,968,287 visitors.

112 lunar years ago, on this day in 1327 AH, Ayatollah Shaikh Fazollah Noori was martyred through hanging by deviationists who derailed the Constitutional Movement from its course. He refused to endorse the unnatural separation between religion and politics, and gladly courted martyrdom by branding the so-called constitutionalists in the parliament as apostates and Godless elements. Born in Mazandaran, he was a product of the seminary of holy Najaf in Iraq, where he had studied under the celebrated Ayatollah Mirza Hassan Shirazi – who had saved Iran’s economy from the British by issuing the anti-Tobacco fatwa. On returning to Iran, Fazlollah Noori involved himself in the Constitutional Movement, along with Grand Ayatollah Seyyed Abdullah Behbahani, to limit the powers of the Qajar dynasty. He believed that Iran needs an Islamic parliament based on the holy Qur’an and the Shari’ah. He staged sit-in to protest against removal of religiosity in the constitution. Fazlollah Noori played a prominent role in the victory of Constitutional movement, but on seeing its deviation he began to oppose the westernized trend. He was after a religiously legitimate constitution founded on Islamic rules and rejected imitation of European colonialism. He warned of colonial conspiracy to replace Islam with secularism and strove to prevent spread of western immorality and licentiousness in the society under name of democracy and freedom.

70 solar years ago, on this day in 1948 AD, with intensification of terrorism by armed illegal Zionist migrants from Europe, a train bound from the Egyptian capital Cairo to the port city of Haifa in Palestine, was blown up, resulting in the death of 40 Palestinians and injury to 60 others. Carried out by the “Stern” Zionist terrorist outfit, it occurred four days after a similar passenger train blast by Zionist terrorists, resulting in the martyrdom of 24 persons and wounding of 61 others. The illegal Zionist migrants from Europe conducted a campaign of organized terrorism in public places, villages, buses, and trains in Palestine, as part of the plot for the illegitimate birth of Israel in May 1948, after forcibly evicting Palestinians from their homes and hearths.

39 solar years ago, on this day in 1979 AD, The Arab League suspended Egypt’s membership, while most Muslim countries severed ties with Cairo for signing of the treasonous Camp David Accord by President Anwar Sadaat with the illegal Zionist entity, Israel. Later, due to US threats and pressures, coupled with the dubious policies of certain reactionary Arab regimes, including the Palestine Liberation Organization, the stage was set for the return to Egypt to The Arab League in the late 1980s. Ironically, today the Arab League has put itself at the service of the US by illegally expelling Syria for its steadfast opposition to Israeli and Takfiri terrorists, and has allowed Saudi Arabia and 7 other Arab regimes to militarily attack Yemen, in a bid to quell the popular revolution that overthrew the unrepresentative regime of Mansour Hadi.

12 solar years ago, on this day in 2006 AD, a new Fajr-3 radar-evading missile was successfully test-fired by Iran. It can hit several targets simultaneously.

8 solar years ago, on this day in 2010 AD, Syed Qasim Ali Shah Mahmood, the Urdu writer, novelist, researcher, translator, publisher and compiler of encyclopedias, passed away in Lahore, Pakistan, at the age of 82. Born in Kharkhoda town in Sonipat District of what is now Uttar Pradesh in India, he claimed descent from Imam Hasan Mojtaba (AS) the elder grandson and 2^nd Infallible Heir of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA). He migrated to Pakistan on its creation and strove to promote Urdu as the country’s national language. He compiled fifteen encyclopedias, one dictionary, left seven encyclopedias incomplete, produced three collections of short stories, wrote five dramas for Radio Pakistan, wrote story of the film “Baghi Sepahi” (Rebellious Soldier), translated masterpieces of international fiction, science & technology, edited nine literary and social magazines and brought forth nine scientific and literary magazines. From his publishing companies, he published 211 scientific and literary books, wrote articles on literature, science, politics and sociology in national newspapers and magazines. His encyclopedias include “Pakistanica”, “Encyclopedia of Muslim India”, “Encyclopedia of Holy Qur’an”, “Encyclopedia of the Prophet’s Sirah”, “Encyclopedia of Human History”, etc

6 solar years ago, on this day in 2012 AD, forces of the repressive Aal-e Khalifa minority regime of Bahrain, killed 22-year old Bahraini Muslim citizen Ahmad Ismail, during a peaceful protest by freedom activists. Bahrain is in the grip of protests which the regime brutally suppresses through imprisonment, torture, and killing of citizens, with the help of the Saudi invasion forces and mercenaries from some Arab states and Pakistan.

AS/ME