Today is Thursday; 16th of the Iranian month of Farvardin 1397 solar hijri; corresponding to 18th of the Islamic month of Rajab 1439 lunar hijri; and April 5, 2018, of the Christian Gregorian Calendar.

1432 lunar years ago, on this day in 7 AH, Ibrahim, the infant son of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA), passed away at the age of a year and six months. His mother was the virtuous Maria Qibtiyya (Mary the Copt), who was sent to the Prophet by the Byzantine governor of Egypt, Muqawqis, along with other presents, in response to the letter of invitation to Islam. The Prophet wept at his death and while laying him in the grave in the Baqie Cemetery, addressed the dead child with tearful eyes that this is the Will of God. Earlier in his youth the Prophet had lost to the cold hands of death his two infant sons by his first and long standing wife, the Mother of all True Believers (Omm al-Momineen), Hazrat Khadija al-Kubra (SA) – Qassim and Abdullah.

1116 solar years ago, on this day in 902 AD, Ahmad al-Mu’tadid, the 16^th self-styled caliph of the usurper Abbasid regime, died in Baghdad at the age of 47 after a reign of 10 years. He had seized the caliphate on the death of his uncle al-Mu’tamid during whose last days he had imprisoned and killed his cousin, the heir apparent, Ja’far al-Muwaffadh. Born to Dirar, a Greek concubine of the caliph al-Mutawakkel’s son Talha al-Muwaffaq – the regent and virtual ruler of the state during the reign of al-Mu’tamid – he tried to prevent through deceit and bloodshed the further fragmentation of the fast shrinking Abbasid realm, but failed. He moved the capital back to Baghdad from Samarra and ruled with the help of the powerful Turkic guards – the caliph-makers. He built a series of secret prisons to detain thousands of people on suspicion. He is believed to have been poisoned to death, and during his last moments kicked to death one of the physicians attending him.

1013 lunar years ago, on this day in 426 AH, Spanish Muslim mathematician, astronomer, and physician, Asbagh ibn Mohammad Ibn Samh al-Gharnati, passed away at the age of 56. He wrote "Kitab az-Zij" in astronomy mainly based on the Iranian Islamic scientist, Mohammad ibn Musa Khwarezmi's book "Sindhind". He also wrote a treatise on construction of the astrolabe and another on its use. He also extensively quotes in his "Kitab al‐Amal" from the Iranian Islamic astronomer, Ahmad ibn Abdullah Habash al‐Haseb al-Marvazi of Marv, Khorasan, which is evident of the profound influence of the Islamic East on Europe.

884 lunar years ago, on this day in 555 AH, Abdullah ibn Yousuf al-Azeed, the last self-styled caliph of the Fatemid Ismaili Shi'ite Muslim dynasty of Egypt, Syria and North Africa, ascended the throne in Cairo at the age of 11. He was a pawn in the hands of his powerful vizier Shawar who frequently changed alliances, ranging from the Zangids of Syria to the Crusader occupiers of Palestine that brought about the doom of the Fatemid state. His eleven-year reign ended with his dethronement by the Kurdish general, Salah od-Din Ayyoubi, whom he had appointed as vizier on the assumption of containing the power of his own courtiers. Salah od-Din, who had entered Egypt as deputy to his uncle, Shirkoh, sent by Noor od-Din Zangi of Aleppo to protect Egypt from the Crusaders, brutally persecuted Shi'ite Muslims, burned entire libraries, and forced the people to become Sunnis, thereby ending over two-and-a-half centuries of Fatemid rule. The Fatemid rulers were buried in the grand mosque of Cairo known as “al Mashhad al Husain” in honour of the Martyr of Karbala, Imam Husain (AS), the younger grandson and 3^rd Infallible Heir of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA).

537 solar years ago, on this day in 1481 AD, Mahmoud Gawan, the able Grand Vizier of the Bahmani kingdom of Iranian origin of the Deccan in south India, was unjustly executed at the age of 71 by Mohammad Shah II, after being falsely accused of treason by his rivals at the court. Born in the Caspian Sea region of Gilan in northern Iran, Mahmoud Gawan was a man of letters and a successful merchant plying the lucrative route from the Persian Gulf port of Gombroun (presently Bandar Abbas) to the Konkan coast of India with cargos of silken fabrics, pearls, Arabian horses, etc., for the Bahmani capital of Bidar – where Persian culture was prevalent and where earlier Iranian immigrants were settled.    On one such visit at the age of 42, he was given the title of “Malik-ut-Tujjar” (King of Traders) by Feroze Shah and offered a post at the court. He stayed in the Bahmani kingdom, and in the reigns of the subsequent kings, steadily rose in the administrative hierarchy due to his efficient management. He earned the titles “Wakeel us-Saltanah” and “Khwaja-e Jahan” or Prime Minister – a post that he held for almost two decades, during which he carried out reforms, strengthened the military, increased the revenues through proper utilization of the agricultural lands, and eradicated corruption. As a great patron of arts and literature, he was in correspondence with the political elite and literati of the other parts of the Persianate World, ranging from Central Asia to the Ottoman Sultanate and the Subcontinent. He authored several books such as “Riyaz al-Insha” and built a magnificent college in Bidar, where scholars from Iran, Iraq, and Arabia used to teach. This aroused the jealousy of his rivals, who by bribing his servants obtained his seal, affixed it on a blank paper and forged a letter inviting the Rajah of Orissa to attack the Bahmani Kingdom. The letter was shown to the king who was in a drunken state and he promptly summoned Gawan and executed him. The end of this scholar statesman brought about the decline of the kingdom, which in the next two decades splintered into five independent sultanates.

433 solar years ago, on this day in 1585 AD, a massacre took place in the city of Harlem in Holland on the orders of Spain’s King Philip II, to crush Dutch freedom-seekers. It was the worst of several periodic massacres launched by Spain to keep Holland under its control. The Harlem massacre saw the death of 6,000 Dutch independence-seekers. In 1609, Holland gained independence from Spain.

430 solar years ago, on this day in 1588 AD, English Philosopher, Thomas Hobbes, was born. He believed that human beings by nature are selfish and power-hungry with the tendency to dominate. He thus advocated establishment of a powerful government to provide peace and security for the vulnerable people. His most important book is “Leviathan”. He died in 1679.

369 solar years ago, on this day in 1649 AD, Elihu Yale, the Welsh philanthropist for whom Yale University in what is now the United States of America is named, was born in Boston, Colony of Massachusetts. He came to England and joined the East India Company which appointed him governor of Fort St. George, Madras, which the English had leased from the Persianate Qutb-Shahi Dynasty of Golkandah-Haiderabad. The Moghal Emperor Aurangzeb soon conquered the whole of Deccan and demanded allegiance of the English, which Yale complied willingly, and promised to supply troops in the event of war. Yale, who had learned Persian and provided passage to Iran (at a high cost) for Ibrahim Beg the Safavid Ambassador to the Deccan court, amassed a fortune, largely through secret contracts with Madras merchants, against the East India Company’s directive. By 1692, his repeated flouting of regulations and growing embarrassment at his illegal profiteering resulted in his being relieved of the post of governor, under pressure of the Moghal government, because of Yale’s levying of heavy taxes on the local inhabitants and indulgence in slave trade. On his instructions, the English would kidnap young children and sell them to distant parts of the world. In 1699, having accumulated considerable wealth through every foul mean, he returned to England and settled in Wrexham. In 1718, when on request for help from the Collegiate School in New Haven in the Colony of Connecticut, Yale sent 417 books and a substantial sum of money. In gratitude, the officials named the new building after him. Soon the entire institution became Yale College, and eventually Yale University, which has the third largest library in the US, and contains rare Persian and Arabic manuscripts as well.

296 solar years ago, on this day in 1722 AD, on Easter Sunday Dutch explorer Jacob Roggeveen discovered a Polynesian Island 1400 miles from the coast of South America and named it Easter Island. Since the island was treeless he wondered how its massive statues were erected. Much of the population was later wiped out and the island became a possession of Chile. An indigenous script called ‘rongorongo’ survived but by 2002 was still not deciphered. In 2005 Steven Roger Fischer authored “Island at the End of the World: The Turbulent History of Easter Island.”

224 solar years ago, on this day in 1794 AD, Georges Danton, one of the leaders of the French Revolution, was hanged at the age of 65. An eloquent speaker, he believed that the monarchic system should be ousted to prevent oppression and chaos in society. He was the victim of a plot by his revolutionary rival, Maximilian Robespierre, who now unleashed the four-month Reign of Terror on France.

219 lunar years ago, on this day in 1220 AH, prominent Islamic scholar, Hojjat al-Islam Mullah Mohammad Ashrafi, was born in northern Iran. He left for the seminary of holy Najaf in Iraq for higher studies, and soon became an authority on hadith, exegesis of the holy Qur'an, and philosophy. He passed away in 1315 AH. One of his books is titled: "Asrar ash-Shahada" (Secrets of Martyrdom).

75 solar years ago, on this day in 1943 AD, during World War II, US bomber aircraft massacred more than 900 Belgian civilians, including 209 children, in addition to wounding 1300 others, in the town of Mortsel. This and other war crimes of the Allied forces in Germany and other parts of Europe, as well as in Japan, have been hushed up by the western media and politicians.

62 solar years ago, on this day in 1956 AD, a ruthless 2-day raid on the city of Gaza by troops of the illegal Zionist entity ended, resulting in the martyrdom of 56 women, children, and elderly people. The ominous silence of the West and international circles emboldened usurper Israel to commit such heinous crimes against Palestinians.

43 solar years ago, on this day in 1975 AD, Chiang Kai-shek, Chinese general, politician, president of the Republic of China (1928-1948), and then president of the breakaway island state of Formosa (Taiwan), died at the age of 88. His dream to retake mainland China which he lost to the communists led by Mao Zedong during the civil war of 1949 never materialized, despite his backing of nationalist, ethnic and religious forces including the Muslims of Xinjiang and Yunan.

36 solar years ago, on this day in 1981 AD, The Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force, in a heroic operation, attacked the H-3 Airbase and destroyed over 50 Iraqi aircraft during the 8-year war imposed by Saddam on the orders of the US.

5 solar years ago, on this day in 2013 AD, noted Kashmiri historian, Dr. Mohammad Ishaq Khan, died in Srinagar, Indian-controlled Kashmir, at the age of 69. His most widely read book is “Kashmir’s Transition to Islam: The Role of Muslim Rishis”, which has been described as an authoritative and seminal work on the social dimension of Islam in Kashmir. His last work, published posthumously is “Merited Invocation”, which is an English translation along with notes and annotations of the Persian book “Awraad-e Fathiyya” of the famous Iranian missionary, Mir Seyyed Ali Hamedani, to whom goes the credit of spreading Islam in Kashmir. Ishaq Khan wrote several researched articles published in international magazines such as: “Reflections on Time and History vis-à-vis the Qur’an”, “Islam in Kashmir: Some distinctive features”, “Persian Influences in Kashmir in the Sultanate Period”, “The Rishi Movement as a Social Force in The Making of Indo-Persian Culture”, and “The Evolution of Shari’ah consciousness in Kashmir: An Interpretation of Mir Seyyed Ali Hamedani’s Historical Role”.

AS/ME