Today is Wednesday; 12th of the Iranian month of Ordibehesht 1397 solar hijri; corresponding to 15th of the Islamic month of Sha’ban 1439 lunar hijri; and May 2, 2018, of the Christian Gregorian Calendar.

1201 lunar years ago, on this day in 238 AH, the Hadith scholar, Ishaq ibn Ibrahim ibn Mukhallad al-Ḥanzali, known as Ibn Rahwaiyh and famous as Imam of Khorasan, died at the age 77 in Naishapur. Born in Marv (presently in Turkmenistan), he seemed to be of Iranian stock as his surname suggests, though he claimed descent from the at-Tamimi Arab clan. He is said to have memorized over a hundred thousand Hadith, and as a friend of the jurisprudent, Ahmad ibn Hanbal (son of an Abbasid military officer in Khorasan), accompanied him on travels to collect hadith. Ibn Rahwaiyh was teacher of Mohammad bin Ismail Bukhari, the Iranian Sunni Muslim compiler of Hadith. It was on his advice Bukhari compiled his “Sahih” by selecting as per his personal discretion (without access to the Infallible Imams of the Prophet’s Ahl al-Bayt and their disciples) 2602 narrations of the 300,000 so-called Hadith he had collected. On an important jurisprudential and social matter, Ibn Rahwaiyh took a stance that is closer to the School of the Ahl al-Bayt and against the opinion of Sunni jurisprudents that once a man marries a slave and has children with her both she and the child are free, and the child cannot be enslaved.

1184 lunar years ago, on this day in 255 AH, the Promised Saviour of mankind, the Namesake of the Prophet of Islam and his 12^th and Last Infallible Successor, the Awaited Imam Mahdi (AS), was born in Samara, Iraq. He was five years when his father, Imam Hassan Askari (AS) was martyred through poisoning by the Abbasid caliph, Mo’tamed-Billah, who fearful of the Prophet’s famous saying that his 12th Successor would rise as Qa’em to end the rule of oppressors, launched a massive manhunt to locate and destroy the orphan. The 12th Imam’s mother was the virtuous Lady Narjis (peace upon her), who was a granddaughter of the Byzantine Emperor and from her mother’s side was a direct descendant of Simeon the disciple of Prophet Jesus (peace upon him). By the will of God, the minor occultation of the 12th Imam started during which he kept touch with people through representatives for 69 years. God then Willed that Imam Mahdi (AS) should go into major occultation before reappearance in the end times to cleanse the world of all vestiges of oppression and corruption by establishing the global government of peace, prosperity, and justice. We pray to God hasten his reappearance and congratulate all the faithful on his birthday which is marked as the International Day of the Deprived.

1110 lunar years ago, on this day in 329 AH, Ali Ibn Mohammad Samarri the last of the Four Deputies of the Lord of the Age, Imam Mahdi (May God hasten his reappearance), during the period of “Ghaibat as-Sughra” (Minor Occultation), passed away in his nineties. A disciple of Imam Hasan Askari (AS), the 11^th Infallible Heir of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA), he served as Deputy to the 12th Imam for three years after the death of the Third Deputy Hussain Ibn Ruh an-Nawbakhti. He was laid to rest in Baghdad. Six days before his death, the 12th Imam gave him a letter that no other Deputy would replace him and during the period of “Ghaibat al-Kubra” (Major Occultation) the faithful should refer to devout, sincere, pious, far-sighted, and courageous ulema for guidance, until God orders his reappearance. The Imam’s Letter reads:

"In the Name of Allah the All-Compassionate the All-Merciful;  O Ali Ibn Mohammad Samarri, in the grievance of your death shall God grant your brothers a great reward. You will leave this world in 6 days. Settle your affairs and do not assign a successor for yourself. The time of the “Ghaibat al-Kubra” (Major Occultation) has arrived and I will not reappear until Allah grants me the permission to do so, and my reappearance will only be after a long time and the pitilessness of hearts and the overspread of injustice on the Earth. There will be those who will announce themselves as my deputy to my Shias (followers). Beware that if anyone before the emergence of the (bloodthirsty) Sufyani and the Loud Announcement from the sky, makes any such claims (to be my deputy), then they (he/she) is a liar and a deceiver as all movements and influences are from none but Allah."

963 lunar years ago, on this day in 476 AH, Islamic scholar and judge, Abu’l-Fazl Qazi Ayyadh Ibn Amir Ibn Musa al-Yahsubi as-Sabti, was born in a scholarly family in the Moroccan city of Ceuta – presently under Spain’s occupation. Having studied under scholars such as Abu’l-Hassan ibn Siraj, he became the leading scholar of Ceuta, then part of the al-Morawwid Empire of Maghreb and Islamic Spain. He later served as Chief Qadhi (Islamic Judge) in Gharnata (Granada in present day Spain). In his quest for knowledge, he interacted with visiting scholars of the Islamic East, and travelled to the Spanish Muslim cities of Cordoba, Almeria, and Murcia. In Murcia, he received “ijaza” (permission to relate hadith) from the famous Spanish Muslim traditionist, Abu Ali as-Sadafi, and met with some of the prominent scholars such as Ibn al-Haaj, and Ibn Hamdin. Among his students were famous scholars such as the Spanish philosopher, scientist and jurist, Ibn Rushd (Averroes), and the polymath and Arabic grammarian, Ibn Madha. Qazi Ayyadh, who is revered as one of the seven saints of Marrakesh, and wrote commentaries in far off North Africa and Spain on the hadith compendiums of Iranian Sunni Muslim compilers, such as Mohammad Ibn Ismail Bukhari and Muslim Ibn Hajjaj Naishapuri. He led an uprising when the al-Muwahidin seized Ceuta, but was defeated and banished to Tadla and later to Marrakesh, where he was executed at the age of 68. His body cut to pieces for refusal to acknowledge Ibn Tumart, the leader of the al-Muwahidin, as the Mahdi – a false claim since the Awaited Mahdi (AS) is none other than the Prophet’s 12th Infallible Heir who will reappear in end times, along with Prophet Jesus (AS), to establish the global government of peace, prosperity and justice. The Qadi Ayyadh University in Marrakesh is named after him.

758 lunar years ago, on this day in 681 AH, renowned Islamic scholar, Seyyed Amid od-Din Abdul Muttalib Ibn Mohammad bin Ali al-A'arj, was born in Hillah. He was the nephew (sister’s son) of the celebrated scholar Allamah Hilli, and wrote several books on various Islamic sciences, including "Sharh Tahzib al-Osoul" and “Kanz al-Fawa’ed”.

658 solar years ago, on this day in 1360 AD, Yongle Emperor, the 3^rd ruler of the Ming Dynasty who unified China during his 22-year long reign (1402-1424), and patronized Muslims, was born as Zhu Di. At the age of 10 he was made Prince of Yan with his capital at Beiping (modern Beijing), by his father, the Hongwu Emperor. Later, as per the will of his deceased father, he acknowledged the rule of his nephew, the Jianwen Emperor, but when the latter started demoting and executing his uncles, Zhu Di found pretext to rebel. After sacking Nanjing in 1402, he declared himself the new emperor, calling his era “Yongle” or the time of "Perpetual Happiness". His even handed approach helped him win the people’s support and unify China. His love for Chinese culture sparked a hatred for Mongolian culture, which he deemed rotten and forbade the use of Mongolian names, habits, language, and clothing. Yongle ordered construction and repair of Islamic mosques during his reign. Two mosques were built by him, one in Nanjing and the other in Xi'an and they still stand today. Repairs were encouraged and mosques were not allowed to be converted to any other use. Among his favourties was the Muslim general of Iranian origin, Zheng He – great-great-great-grandson of Seyyed Ajjal Shams ol-Din – who undertook voyages of exploration into the South Pacific and Indian Oceans.

602 lunar years ago, on this day in 837 AH, poet and scholar Ibn Hujjah Hamawi passed away. Among his works, mention can be made of the book: “al-Khazanat al-Adab”.

499 solar years ago, on this day in 1519 AD, Italian painter, draftsman, sculptor, architect, and engineer, Leonardo Da Vinci, died at the age of 67. He was a genius who designed buildings, bridges, canals, forts and war machines. He kept notebooks sketching his ideas that show his fascination with birds and flying, including such fantastic designs as flying machines, which Islamic scientists in Baghdad, Cairo and Cordoba (in Islamic Spain), had experimented centuries before him. He is also best known for the paintings “Mona Lisa” and “The Last Supper.”

77 solar years ago, on this day in 1941 AD, Britain again invaded Iraq to oust the nationalist government of Prime Minister Rashid Aali al-Gilani, who had staged a coup to end British influence by removing from power Abdullah bin Ali, the regent of the 6-year old king, Faisal II, whose grandfather Faisal I of Hijaz was installed as king in 1921 after crushing the wishes of the Iraqi people by the British who a year earlier had crushed the popular uprising of 1920 led by Ayatollah Shaikh Kashef al-Gheta and Ayatollah Mirza Mohammad Taqi Shirazi. London feared that Gilani might take control of the oil industry in view of his links to Germany and the Axis powers. The war ended on May 29 when Gilani fled to Iran and an armistice was signed on May 31. Gilani, a Sunni Muslim and descendant of Baghdad’s prominent Sufi of Iranian origin, Sheikh Abdul-Qader Gilani, could not stay long in Iran and fled to Germany when the British dethroned their agent Reza Khan Pahlavi for his pro-German views and exiled him to Mauritius – replacing him with his son Mohammad Reza. After German defeat in World War 2, Gilani sought asylum in Saudi Arabia before returning to Iraq in 1958 on overthrow of the British-installed monarchy by Gen. Abdul-Karim Qassim. He was implicated in a plot to seize power, was sentenced to death, but pardoned and exiled. He died in Lebanon in 1965.

73 solar years ago, on this day in 1945 AD, during World War II, the German capital Berlin was captured by the Soviet Union which hoisted the red flag over the Reichstag.

61 solar years ago, on this day in 1957 AD, controversial US Senator, Joseph McCarthy, died. During the early years of Cold War, he led an Inquisition-like Senate Committee, which on the pretext of countering communist activities in the US, suppressed critics of the American political and social system by jailing authors, journalists, and even artists. This era is known as McCarthyism in US history. The term McCarthyism, coined in 1950, was applied to similar anti-communist activities. Today the term is used more generally in reference to demagogic, reckless, and unsubstantiated accusations, as well as public attacks on the character and/or patriotism of political opponents.

39 solar years ago, on this day in 1979 AD, the great contemporary Iranian Islamic thinker, Ayatollah Morteza Motahhari, was martyred at the age of 60 by the Forqan terrorist outfit. He was born in Fariman in Khorasan, northeastern Iran, and at the age of 12 years, enrolled at the Islamic seminary in holy Mashhad. Later he left for holy Qom for higher studies. Here he attended the classes of such prominent ulema, as Grand Ayatollah Boroujerdi, Allamah Seyyed Mohammad Hussain Tabatabai, and the Father of the Islamic Revolution, Imam Khomeini (RA). Along with his studies he became an activist of the Islamic Revolution Movement, as one of the close allies of Imam Khomeini. As of the year 1955, Ayatollah Motahhari started lecturing at the Faculty of Theology of Tehran University for 23 years and groomed numerous students. He had a profound understanding of the social, political, and cultural topics of importance of the contemporary era. This brilliant Islamic thinker changed thoughts and attitudes by focusing on the dynamism of Islam for salvage of mankind in accordance with the progress in scientific and other fields. His speeches, articles, and books in different domains elaborate on Islamic topics and have been translated into different languages.

36 solar years ago, on this day in 1982 AD, during the Falklands War in the British-occupied Malvinas Islands of Argentina, a British submarine sank the Argentine cruiser “General Belgrano”, resulting in the death of 600 sailors. British commander Terence Thornton Lewin, had persuaded Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher to order the sinking.

14 solar years ago, on this day in 2004 AD, the infamous Yelwa massacre occurred in Nigeria when the Christians brutally massacred over 630 Muslim nomads including women, children and old men. The Christians surrounded Yelwa town, and according to Human Rights Watch, over the next two days 660 Muslims were massacred, including the patients in the al-Amin clinic. Twelve mosques and 300 houses went up in flames. Young girls were marched to a nearby Christian town and forced to eat pork and drink alcohol. Many were raped, and 50 were brutally killed.

10 solar years ago, on this day in 2008, cyclone Nargis struck Burma, killing over 138,000 people and leaving millions of people homeless.

7 solar years ago, on this day in 2011 AD, leader of the CIA-created al-Qa’eda terrorist outfit, Saudi national Osama bin Laden, was killed by US special forces in Abbottabad, Pakistan, ending an almost decade-long manhunt for him. Osama, a multimillionaire, was used by Washington in the 1980s to supply arms to the mujahideen during the occupation of Afghanistan by the Soviet Union. He again proved handy to American interests in the 1990s, in creating the Taleban to take over Afghanistan and tarnish the image of Islam with brutalities resembling medieval European laws. When he fell out with his backers, he was dumped and framed for the highly suspicious 9/11/2001 incidents in New York, as a pretext for the US invasion and occupation of that country. Osama’s body was thrown into the sea by the Americans in order to erase any trace of him after his death.

5 lunar years ago, on this day in 1434 AH, Egypt’s prominent religious scholar, Sheikh Hassan Shehata, was brutally martyred by a gang of Takfiri terrorists in Abu Mussalam village in Giza Province, in the morning hours after holding night prayers and supplications on the auspicious eve of 15^th Sha’ban, the birth anniversary of the Lord of the Age, Imam Mahdi (AS), the 12^th and Last Infallible Heir of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA). The Takfiris, who are avowed enemies of the Prophet’s Ahl al-Bayt, burst into the house and dragged Shehata and four other Muslims, beating them violently until they died. Unfortunately, Egypt’s first ever democratically elected president, Mohammad Morsi, despite his claims of Islamic unity, turned a blind eye to this horrible act of terrorism, and was overthrown in a US-Saudi backed military coup ten days later.

3 solar years ago, on this day in 2014 AD, Iranian classical musician, Mohammad-Reza Lotfi, renowned for his mastery of the “Tar” and “Setar”, died at the age of 87.

AS/ME