Today is Wednesday; 29th of the Iranian month of Farvardin 1397 solar hijri; corresponding to 1st of the Islamic month of Sha’ban 1439 lunar hijri; and April 18, 2018, of the Christian Gregorian Calendar.

Today is the first of Sha'ban; the month of worship and acceptance of forgiveness in the divine court. Prophet Mohammad (SAWA) and the Infallible Imams have emphasized on fasting, charity and other virtuous acts in this month. We have prepared a special feature on the observation of virtues of Sha'ban, especially on its first day, which we present to you later in our programme.

1120 lunar years ago, on this day in 319 AH, Head of the Baghdad branch of the Mu’tazila sect, Abu’l-Qasim Abdullah bin Ahmad al-Balkhi al-Ka’bi, died. He was from the Khorasani city of Balkh (presently in Afghanistan) and spent most of his life in Baghdad, where after him the Ka’biya sub-sect of the Mu’tazila was known. The sect was founded in Basra, Iraq, by Wasil ibn Ata. Among the books written by Abu’l-Qasim Balkhi are “The Glories of Khorasan”, “The Good Points about the Taherids” (Iranian dynasty of governors which ruled in Khorasan from 821 till 873 under the Abbasid caliphs), and an exegesis of the holy Qur’an to suit Mu’tazili ideas.

746 lunar years ago, on this day in 693 AH, famous scholar and literary figure, Seyyed Ghiyas od-Din Abdul-Karim ibn Ahmad ibn Musa ibn Tawous Hilli, passed away in holy Kazemain, Iraq, at the age of 45 and his body was taken to holy Najaf for burial. He was born in the holy city of Karbala. His father Ahmad ibn Musa is the compiler of the famous book “Iqbaal al-A’maal”. The Tawous family was prominent in Iraq and Iran, and its members not only were educated and knowledgeable, but also widely respected by for their virtue, piety, and devotion to the cause of the Ahl al-Bayt. Abdul-Karim memorized the Holy Qur'an by the age of 11 and studied Arabic literature and theology under prominent figures, including his father, as well as Muhaqqiq Hilli and Khwajah Naseer od-Din Tusi. He is the author of several books including “Farhat al-Ghari be Sarhat al-Ghari”, and “Farhat al-Ghariy fi ta'yin Qabr Amir al-Mu'minin Ali”.

428 solar years ago, on this day in 1590 AD, Ahmed I, the 14th Ottoman Sultan and the 6th self-styled Turkish caliph, was born. During his 14-year rule (1603-17), the Ottomans lost the war against the Safavids, who were led by Shah Abbas the Great and his valiant general, Allahverdi Khan. As a result, in 1612 Georgia, Armenia and the occupied parts of Azerbaijan were returned to Iranian control. Damad Nasuh Pasha, the Ottoman Grand Vizier and Brother-in-Law of the Sultan, signed the treaty recognizing Iran’s rights and settling the border between the two empires. Ahmad also suffered setbacks in Europe. He broke with the Ottoman tradition of fratricide by sparing the life of his brothers and cousins. Ahmad I is remembered mainly for the construction of the Sultan Ahmed Mosque (Blue Mosque) – one of the masterpieces of Islamic architecture in Istanbul.

173 lunar years ago, on this day in 1266 AH, prominent Islamic scholar, Sheikh Mohammad Hassan Najafi, famous as “Saheb-e Jawaher”, because of writing the famous jurisprudential work, “Jawaher al-Kalaam”, passed away. Son of Sheikh Mohammad Baqer, he was a student of Shaikh Ja'far Kashef ul-Gheta, and took over forty years to complete his monumental work which is still held in high esteem in Islamic seminaries. The book is an extended exposition of “ash-Shara’e al-Islam” of Muhaqqiq Hilli. In the preface to “Jawaher al-Kalaam”, which is indeed a comprehensive encyclopedia of discursive Fiqh, the author says that his purpose in writing this work is to acquaint jurisprudents with the hidden delicacies of the “ash-Sharae’e al-Islam”, illustrate its problems, explicate the mistakes made by other commentators of the book, and deal with the views of fuqaha and their arguments.

132 solar years ago, on this day in 1886 AD, Persian newssheet “Qanoun” (Law), was published in London during his exile from Iran by Mirza Malkam Khan, an Iranian Armenian who claimed to have converted to Islam. It was banned in Iran since it attacked the Qajarid Shah and called for so-called modernization on West European patterns. Malkam Khan, who set up societies similar to the Freemasons in Iran in 1859, was a controversial person, who was exiled several times, until he was reinstated as ambassador to Italy by Mozaffar ad-Din Shah in 1898 with the title of Nezam od-Dowlah.

79 solar years ago, on this day in 1939 AD, Leader of Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Husseini Khamenei, was born in holy Mashhad, in Khorasan in a religious family. He learned Islamic sciences under his scholarly father, Seyyed Jawad, and in 1958 left for the holy city of Qom where he stayed for seven years studying theology, jurisprudence and Islamic philosophy under prominent lecturers such as Grand Ayatollah Seyyed Hussain Boroujerdi, Allamah Seyyed Mohammad Hussain Tabatabai, and the Father of the Islamic Revolution, Imam Khomeini (RA). For a brief period he was in holy Najaf in Iraq, before returning to his hometown Mashhad, where he became a leading preacher, opposed to the oppressive Pahlavi regime. As a result he was detained and on several occasions banished for exposing the corruption of the British-installed and US-backed regime. On the threshold of the victory of the Iranian people's movement, he was instated by Imam Khomeini as a member of the Islamic Revolution Council. Following victory of the Islamic Revolution, he was assigned important posts such as the Imam’s representative at the High Defence Council. In 1981, he was elected as president of the Islamic Republic and four years later was re-elected for the second term. In 1981, while preaching in a mosque, he was the target of a terrorist bomb blast, and sustained serious injuries. In June 1989, after the passing away of Imam Khomeini, he was elected as the new Leader of the Islamic Revolution by the Assembly of Experts in view of his piety, prudence, popularity, political acumen, knowledge, managerial skills, and familiarity with current issues in Iran, the region, and the world. Over the past 29 years, Ayatollah Khamenei has ably discharged his duties to the benefit of Iran, and the Islamic world.

64 solar years ago, on this day in 1954 AD, Col. Jamal Abdun-Nasser seized power in Egypt by ousting coup colleague President General Mohammad Najeeb and declaring himself president. Nasser, who advocated pan Arabism and supported leftist anti-monarchic movements in Arab states, brutally suppressed Islamic parties, especially the “Ikhwan al-Muslimeen” (Muslim Brotherhood). He nationalized the Suez Canal in 1956, a move that led to war with Britain, France and Israel. He meddled in the Yemen civil war by sending forces which were bogged down for years and weakened Egypt. As a result, Egypt, along with Syria, Jordan and Lebanon, suffered a humiliating defeat in the 6-day June 1967 war against the illegal Zionist entity, which with US and western help occupied the Sinai Peninsula including Egyptian-controlled Gaza. He died in 1970.

63 solar years ago, on this day in 1955 AD, the first conference of representatives of Asian and African states was held in the Indonesian city of Bandung. Attended by 29 countries, it paved the way for formation of the Non-Aligned Movement, in order to be free from the both the Capitalist West and the Communist East.

63 solar years ago, on this day in 1955 AD, famous physicist-mathematician, Albert Einstein, died in the US at the age of 76. Born in Germany, he became a Swiss citizen in 1905. The same year he published three articles, which laid the foundation of three new branches in physics. In 1912 he was awarded the Nobel Prize for physics, given his studies on photons. In 1917, he published the general relativity theory, which led to new viewpoints in sciences. In 1933, he migrated to the US. As the forerunner of the age of atom, his theories became highly influential in development of nuclear studies, including the manufacture of atomic bombs. He was very disappointed after he realized that unintentionally he had set the stage for development of weapons of mass destruction by the US. He died in 1955, and it is said that in his closing years he was no longer an atheist but his viewpoints had moved closer to the concept of God and spiritual values in Islam, especially in accordance with the school of the Ahl al-Bayt of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA).

39 solar years ago, on this day in 1979 AD, the Iranian Army, cheered by the masses, staged glorious parades in different regions of Iran, swearing allegiance to the Father of Islamic Revolution, Imam Khomeini (RA), and emphasizing its loyalty to the Islamic Republic System. This day is thus named “Army Day” in the Islamic Republic of Iran and every year especial ceremonies are held on this day.

38 solar years ago, on this day in the year 1980 AD, Southern Rhodesia in southern Africa became independent by ousting the white apartheid renegade regime of Ian Smith, and changing its name to Zimbabwe. The capital Salisbury was renamed Harare. The British had occupied it in the 19th century and reduced the native black people to poverty as the white minority seized millions of acres of agricultural lands. The struggle for independence started after World War 2 and intensified in the 1970s. Following elections, shortly after independence in 1980, the Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU) had a landslide victory and Robert Mugabe was chosen prime minister. In 1987, he was elected president, a position he held till 2017. Zimbabwe, which is target of the US and Britain for its independent policy, covers an area of over 390,000 sq km, and shares borders with Zambia, Mozambique, Botswana, and South Africa.

22 solar years ago, on this day in 1996 AD, Zionist aircraft bombed headquarters of the UN Peacekeeping Forces in Qanaa, southern Lebanon, martyring at least 106 women, children and elderly who had sought refuge. Hundreds of others were also injured in this dastardly attack. This slaughter of refugees, of which 33 victims were minors, enraged world public opinion and forced the Zionists to stop bombardment. Meanwhile, the US blocked a resolution at the UN Security Council in condemnation of the mass murder. The UN General Assembly, however, issued its own resolution, condemning the crime and obliging the usurper state of Israel to pay compensation to the victims of the carnage. Although the Zionist entity has not paid any compensation for its heinous crimes in Lebanon, the condemnation of Israel at the UN General Assembly reflected the resentment of the international community toward the crimes of the illegal Zionists.

22 solar years ago, on this day in 1996 AD, British Islamic scholar and political campaigner, Dr. Kalim Siddiqi, passed away at the age of 62 in Pretoria, South Africa, after attending the International Conference on Creating a New Civilization of Islam. Born in the village of Dondi Lohara, in what is now the Chhattisgarh State in Central India, on the creation of Pakistan he moved to Karachi, where he briefly became editor of the newspaper “The Independent Leader” – mouthpiece of the Khilafat Movement. Along with other members of the movement, he moved to London, UK, in the 1950s, and after obtaining of PhD, he founded the “Muslim Institute for Research and Planning” in 1972. As a staunch believer in Pan-Islamism he publicly declared his support for the Islamic Revolution on its triumph in Iran in 1979. Influenced by the dynamic personality of Imam Khomeini (RA), he advocated Islamic unity, and through his writings, especially in the Canada-based fortnightly “Crescent International”, he strongly opposed the policies of Global Arrogance led by the US and its agents the Arab reactionary regimes. In 1989 he founded the “Muslim Parliament of Britain”. The core of his work was a unique analysis, understanding and exposition of Muslim history and the contemporary situation facing Muslims which he developed and presented in a series of major writings and speeches. He was an outspoken force in the need for an integrated body of Muslims which could lobby for the wider British community.

18 solar years ago, on this day in 2000 AD, prominent religious scholar of the Subcontinent, Allamah Seyyed Zeeshan Haidar Jawadi, was laid to rest in his hometown Allahabad after having passed away three days earlier on April 15 in Abu Dhabi, UAE, on the afternoon of Ashura (Moharram 10), after addressing a gathering on the anniversary of the tragic martyrdom of Imam Husain (AS), the younger grandson and 3^rd Infallible Heir of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA). He started his Islamic education at Jame’a Nazimiyya in Lucknow and moved to Iraq for higher religious studies at the famous seminary of holy Najaf, where his teachers were the renowned personalities like Grand Ayatollah Seyyed Mohsin al-Hakeem, Grand Ayatollah Seyyed Abu’l-Qasim Khoei, Grand Ayatollah Martyr Seyyed Mohammad Baqer as-Sadr, and Ayatollah Martyr Seyyed Asadollah Madani. A gifted person with a sharp mind, he spared no efforts in serving the cause of Islam. Once during one of his journeys when the flight was delayed for several hours at Frankfurt Airport in Germany, Allamah Zeeshan Haider utilized the delay to write a book titled "Taqaza-e-Islam" (Duties of Islam). As part of his commitment towards social reformation, he joined hands with Mowlana Seyyed Ghulam Askari to establish a network of 900 Madrasas in northern India under the banner of "Tanzeem ul Makateb". On the international level, he served Urdu speakers in Pakistan, the Persian Gulf States, USA, Britain and Australia. He was also fluent in Persian and Arabic and used to address gatherings of Iranians and Arabs. He authored several books and translated from Arabic into Urdu several others. Allamah Zeeshan completed an easy-to-understand translation and exegesis of the Holy Qur’an in Urdu, and also translated “Nahj al-Balagha” – the famous collection of sermons, letters, and aphorisms of Imam Ali (AS) as well as the “Sahifat-as-Sajjadiyya” or collection of supplications of Imam Zain al-Abedin (AS).  

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