Today is Wednesday; 19th of the Iranian month of Ordibehesht 1397 solar hijri; corresponding to 22nd of the Islamic month of Sha'ban 1439 lunar hijri; and May 9, 2018, of the Christian Gregorian Calendar.

851 lunar years ago, on this day in 588 AH, the Kurdish ruler of Syria and Egypt, Salah od-Din Ayyoubi and England's King Richard I concluded the "ar-Ramla Accord" after the third Crusade failed in retaking the Islamic city of Bayt al-Moqaddas, which the European invaders called Jerusalem. It was agreed that Christian pilgrims could visit Bayt al-Moqaddas in security and safety.

714 lunar years ago, on this day in 725 AH, the virtuous Syrian poet and calligrapher Abus-Sana Shehab od-Din Mahmoud al-Halabi ad-Dameshqi, passed away at the age of 81 in his hometown Damascus and was laid to rest in the foothills of the Qasiyoun mountain. He was an authority on the scholars and poets of the past and has left behind several works, mostly in the form of manuscripts. 

666 lunar years ago, on this day in 773 AH, the hadith scholar, poet, and historian, Shahab od-Din Ahmad ibn Ali ibn Mohammad Ibn Hajar Asqalani, was born in Cairo. He memorized the Holy Qur'an at the age of ten and thereafter traveled to different lands to acquire knowledge and sciences. A prolific writer, he compiled some 150 books and treatises on various topics including the God-given merits of the Ahl al-Bayt of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA). He died in 852 AH and his funeral was attended by an estimated 50,000 people including the Sultan.

638 lunar years ago, on this day in 801 AH, Malik Ahmad Raja Faruqi, the founder of the Khandesh Sultanate of Central India, died after a 17-year reign. On separation of the Deccan or southern India, he had cast his lot with Ala od-Din Hassan Bahman Shah, the general of Iranian stock who founded the Bahmani Dynasty, but a few years later turned against his son, Mohammad Shah Bahmani, by joining the abortive rebellion of the governor of Daulatabad, Bahram Khan Mazandarani. As a result, he fled the Deccan and settled in Thalner, which was conferred upon him as fiefdom by Sultan Ferouz Shah Tughlaq of Hindustan or the northern subcontinent. He soon defeated the Raja of Baglana and subdued the neighbouring chieftains, prompting Ferouz Shah to raise him to the rank of Sipah-Salar or Commander-in-Chief. Within a few years he mustered a strong force and virtually became independent. The Sultanate was a Persianate society, and made rich contribution to Persian literature, art and architecture. Islam was also promoted through peaceful means, as is evident today by the large number of Tadvi Bhils, and Raj Gonds, who are Muslims.

567 solar years ago, on this day in 1450 AD, Abdul-Latif “Pidarkush”, the Timurid ruler of Central Asia and Khorasan, was assassinated after a reign of 6 months. The reason he is called “Pidarkush” by the people of Central Asia, was because of his killing of his own father, the famous scientist-king, Ulugh Beg – the son of Shahrukh Mirza and grandson of Amir Timur.

365 solar years ago, on this day in 1653 AD, the construction of Taj Mahal, which is one of the most beautiful buildings in the world and among the best examples of Islamic architecture in India, ended after twenty-two years. Shah Jahan, the 5^th Great Moghul Emperor of the Timurid Dynasty of the northern part of the Subcontinent (present day northern India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and the eastern part of Afghanistan) built it in memory of his wife of Iranian origin, Arjmand Banu Begum, who died while giving birth to her fourteenth child. This beautiful mausoleum in the city of Agra on the banks of the River Jamuna, is made of white marble, with ayahs of the holy Qur’an inscribed on its façade and interior. It incorporates and expands on design traditions of Persian architecture and earlier Mughal architecture. The best architects of the Mughal Empire along with those of Iran, like Eisa Isfahani, were employed to construct it. Today it is regarded as one of the Seven Wonders of the World.

235 lunar years ago, on this day in 1214 AH, the Treaty of al-Arish was signed by France and the Ottoman Empire for withdrawal of French occupation forces from Egypt, three years after Napoleon Bonaparte had occupied the Land of the Nile.

213 solar years ago, on this day in 1805 AD, the German author, poet, and playwright, Friedrich Von Schiller, died at the age of 45. He became familiar with the celebrated German poet and writer, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, and like his friend, created a new style in German literature. His first play was “The Robbers”, in which he exposed official oppression. He was subsequently banned from writing but continued to write in secrecy.

107 solar years ago, on this day in 1911 AD, an American delegation led by Morgan Schuster, arrived in Iran on the invitation of the Qajarid government to serve as an advisory team for reforming of economic and financial affairs. Czarist Russia strongly protested, saying Iran can appoint foreign nationals only with the permission of Russia and Britain. The Russians immediately landed troops in Bandar Anzali demanding a recourse and apology from the Iranian government. Russian troops also invaded Khorasan and advancing towards Mashhad started shelling the holy shrine of Imam Reza (AS) – the 8^th Infallible Heir of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA). Many people of Mashhad were martyred and wounded in this barbaric attack that forced the Iranian government to cancel the services of Morgan Schuster in December the same year.

102 solar years ago, on this day in 1916 AD, the scandalous Sykes-Picot Accord was signed by representatives of Britain, France, and Russia in Paris for dividing up the Arab lands of the Ottoman Empire and limiting the Turkish possessions to Anatolia or present day Turkey. Even before the formal defeat of the Ottomans in 1917, lines were drawn on paper to share the spoils by the two principal European colonial powers. The British took control of Iraq and the Hijaz. Shaam or Greater Syria was split up into four parts, with the British taking Jordan and Palestine, and the French taking Syria and Lebanon. The main goal of this plan was to set up in Palestine, an illegal entity called Israel as a homeland for European Jews.

91 solar years ago, on this day in 1927 AD, Iran issued an announcement on supposed revocation of capitulation. Two years after collapse of the Qajarid dynasty and assumption of power by the British agent, Reza Khan Pahlavi, treaties and agreements concluded by the Qajar kings granting concessions to foreign countries, especially Russia, were selectively revoked. Reza Khan’s purpose in his so-called revocation of capitulation was a dishonest measure to depict an anti-colonial face of himself in Iran with the help of the British-backed mass media, as is evident by the Foreign Ministry’s sending letters to embassies of European countries in Tehran such as Britain, Germany, France, etc., reiterating their special rights and political, economic and judicial privileges in Iran. For example, on 10 May 1928 on which concession treaties were supposedly annulled by the Majlis, the Foreign Ministry sent a letter to British Minister Plenipotentiary in Iran, Robert Henry Clive, assuring him of immunity of British nationals as before. Similar letters were sent to the US ambassador and German Minister Plenipotentiary in the following days. Capitulation was enforced as a law subsequent to the Russo-Iran Wars of the first half of the 19^th century. It was first imposed on Iran by Tsarist Russia through the humiliating Turkmenchay and Golestan Treaties. Thereafter, Britain and other European powers compelled Iran to grant them special rights and privileges. Although in 1921, a day prior to the coup in Iran against Ahmad Shah Qajar, the Soviet Union had unilaterally cancelled the Tsarist colonial institution of capitulation treaties, including the 99-year treaty with Iran, Reza Khan’s decree on its supposed revocation in 1927 was actually issued six years after end of the capitulation treaty period. It was thus a superficial measure to fool the Iranian people, since Reza Khan was strongly loathed due to his anti-Islamic policies like banning of religious preaching and prohibition of teaching of the holy Qur’an and religious courses in the schools. In 1963, his son Mohammad Reza Pahlavi entered into a more humiliating capitulation treaty with the US by granting American citizens all immunity against crimes they commit in Iran. This was approved by the cabinet ministers in October 1963, by the Senate in August 1964, and by the rubber-stamp Majlis on 13 October 1964. This was strongly denounced on 26 October the same year by the Father of the Islamic Revolution, Imam Khomeini (God bless him) and led to his exile from Iran. Following triumph of the Islamic Revolution, Iran cancelled forever all capitulation rights to foreigners on May 13, 1979.

85 lunar years ago, on this day in 1354 AH, the prominent Islamic scholar, Allamah Shaikh Mohammad Jawad Balaghi, passed away. He was a theologian, a prominent lecturer, and a prolific author. He attended the classes of the prominent lecturers of his era, such as Mirza Shirazi, and turned into one of the renowned Islamic teachers and authors of his time. Among his valuable books, mention can be made of “Balaagh al-Mobin” on proof of God’s Existence and Omnipresence.

30 solar years ago, on this day in 1988 AD, fifty days after Saddam’s savage chemical bombardment of the Iraqi Kurdish town of Halabcheh to prevent its inhabitants from welcoming Iranian Muslim combatants as liberators from the repressive rule of the Ba’th minority regime, the United Nations Security Council approved a vaguely-worded Resolution 612. Although the resolution condemned the use of the internationally-banned chemical weapons as against the Geneva Protocol, it neither named Saddam as aggressor nor user of chemical weapons by merely calling on the two sides to refrain from violation of the Geneva Protocol, despite the fact that there was no evidence of Iran breaking the law.

26 solar years ago, on this day in 1992 AD, Armenia invaded the Caucasus Republic of Azerbaijan and occupied Qarabagh region, where a sizeable part of the population was Armenian Christians. Armenian troops occupied 20% of Azeri soil, and despite the ceasefire between the two countries as of 1993, this part of the Azerbaijan Republic is still under occupation. What is now called the Azerbaijan Republic was an integral part of Iran for some three millenniums until its occupation by Czarist Russia in the wars of 1813 and 1828 that led to the signing of the Golestan and Turkmanchai Treaties, according to which it should be returned to Iran after the specified number of years. Armenia, along with the eastern half of Georgia and most of the southern Caucasus including Chechen and Daghestan, were also traditionally part of the various Iranian empires. 

12 solar years ago, on this day in 2006 AD, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran declared in a letter to US President George Bush that the western concept of democracy had failed worldwide and pointed out to "an ever-increasing global hatred" of the US. The crises plaguing the modern world are all due to the deceit and hypocrisy of the liberal democracy of the West, which violently suppresses the rights of sovereign states and peoples.

12 solar years ago, on this day in 2006 AD, Bosnia's war crimes court launched the trial of 11 Bosnian Serbs charged over the 1995 Srebrenica massacre of 8,000 Bosnian Muslims, its first genocide trial since it opened the year.

8 solar years ago, on this day in 2010 AD, the Islamic Republic of Iran opened the biggest car plant of the West Asia-North Africa region, set up by “SAIPA” the Iranian automobile company.

5 solar years ago, on this day in 2013 AD, Iran built a new, radar-evading drone that can do surveillance and fire on enemy targets. The new aircraft, dubbed “Hemaseh” or Epic, can fly at high altitudes.

Ordibehesht 19 is commemorated every year in the Islamic Republic of Iran as National Day for the great theologian and Hadith scholar, Sheikh Abu Ja’far, Mohammad bin Ya’qub Kulayni ar-Razi. He was among the greatest hadith scholars and the author of “al-Kafi”, one of the most authentic Four Books of Hadith of the School of the Ahl al-Bayt of Prophet Mohammad (blessings of God upon him and his progeny). Born in Rayy, near modern Tehran, after completing his studies in his hometown, he moved to Baghdad, where met hadith transmitters who directly had heard hadiths from the Prophet’s 10^th and 11^th Infallible Heirs, Imam Ali al-Hadi and Imam al-Askari (peace upon them). Kulayni soon became known as the leading scholar in those days of “Ghaybat as-Soghra” or Minor Occultation of the Lord of the Age, Imam Mahdi (AS – may God hasten his reappearance for establishment of the global government of peace, prosperity and justice). He wrote several books and groomed a number of scholars such as Ibn Qulawayh, Muhammad bin Ali Majilawayh Qomi, Ahmad bin Mohammad al-Zurari, etc. Of his works only “al-Kafi” has survived and it means “Sufficient” in view of its comprehensiveness and its covering of almost all topics mentioned by the Prophet and the Infallible Imams. Sheikh Kulayni passed away in Baghdad where his mausoleum remains a site of pilgrimage.

AS/ME