Today is Monday; 7th of the Iranian month of Khordad 1397 solar hijri; corresponding to 12th of the Islamic month of Ramadhan 1439 lunar hijri; and May 28, 2018, of the Christian Gregorian Calendar.

A Little over Two Millennia ago, on this day (Ramadhan 12), God revealed the Evangel to Prophet Jesus (AS) for the guidance of the Israelites who had long deviated from the path of Prophet Moses (AS). It was a purely monotheistic scripture, whose contents were later distorted by those that emerged as Christians. Currently, there are countless and contradictory versions of the Bible amongst the various Christian sects, whose beliefs are against what Prophet Jesus (AS) preached. For instance, Jesus (AS) has been turned into a godson, while passages pertaining to the advent of Islam and the mission of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA), called "Ahmad" (Hmda in the original Evangel), have been removed

2603 solar years ago, on this day in 585 BC, as per the prediction of Greek philosopher Thales of Miletus four days earlier, a solar eclipse occurred in the midst of a battle outside Sardis in what is now western Turkey, between the Medes of Iran and the Lydians. The battle ended in a draw. Alyattes of Lydia, agreed to enter into a truce with the Medean Emperor, Cyaxares, thus ending the Battle of Halys. This is one of the cardinal dates from which other dates can be calculated.

1438 lunar years ago, on this day in 1 AH, Prophet Mohammad (SAWA), some six months after his migration to Medina from Mecca, established the Accord of Fraternity among Muslims, with each Mohajer or Migrant from Mecca becoming the brother-in-faith of an Ansar or Muslim Helper from Medina. The Accord of Fraternity was a key factor in fostering unity and burying the age-old tribal differences of the Arabs. It was so firm and enduring that if a pair was martyred in battle (the infidels used to impose upon Muslims), the two would be buried in a single grave. By the command of God, the Prophet paired 740 of his companions, every two of them on the basis of their characteristics, sharing of habits – whether good or bad – and above all their natural inclinations and friendship towards each other. Thus Salman Farsi and Abu Zar Gheffari were paired as brothers, while another pair was Meqdad ibn Aswad and Ammar ibn Yasser – these four were noted for their lofty degrees of faith and firm adherence to the path of truth which would become manifest both during the Prophet’s lifetime and after him when they would stand firmly beside his divinely-decreed vicegerent, Imam Ali ibn Abi Taleb (AS). Of the others paired together were Zubair and Talha; Abu Bakr and Omar Ibn Khattab; Osman Ibn Affan and Abdur-Rahman Ibn Auf, etc. For his own, part, the Prophet, whose merits and superiority were beyond any Mohajer or Ansar, took hold of the hand of his worthy cousin, Imam Ali (AS), to declare him brother in this world and in afterlife.

842 lunar years ago, on this day in 597 AH, the famous scholar, Abdur-Rahman Ibn Ali Ibn Mohammad, popular as Abu'l-Faraj Ibn al-Jowzi, passed away in Baghdad at the age of 87. He is known for his works in exegesis of the holy Qur'an as well as his numerous hadith writings and books on history. Although a Sunni, he is also famous for the theological stance that he took against other Hanbalis. Ibn al-Jowzi is perhaps the most prolific author and his writings total over 200 books and treatises, which are over 300 in numbers. Among his famous books, mention can be made of the 10-volume history "al-Montazam fi Tarikh al-Omam" and a book on the unsurpassed merits of Imam Ali (AS), as well as one permitting the cursing of Yazid Ibn Mu'awiyya, the killer of Imam Husain (AS) titled:"ar-Radd ala'l-Muta’seb al-Anid al-Mane' min Dham al-Yazid"

494 solar years ago, on this day in 1524 AD, Selim II, the Drunkard, the 3^rd self-styled Turkish caliph and the 11th Ottoman Sultan, was born in Istanbul. Son of Sultan Suleiman and the Rutherian (Ukrainian-Polish) concubine, Khurram Sultan (original name: Alexandra Lisowska), he succeeded to the throne at the age of 42 through intrigue and fraternal dispute. Despite claiming to be caliph and having a powerful fleet that controlled the Mediterranean Sea, he refused the pleas for help by the Spanish Muslims during the 3-year Morisco Revolt (1568-71) in Granada, southern Spain. As a result the uprising was ruthlessly crushed by a joint Christian armies of Spain, Austria, and Italy, in the aftermath of which hundreds of thousands of Spanish Muslims were forcibly Christianized and all books and documents in Arabic burned. Selim II died at the age of 50 after an incompetent reign of 8 years, as a result of drunkenly slipping on the wet floor of a bath-house, and fatally injuring his head.  

280 solar years ago, on this day in 1738 AD, French physician Joseph Ignace Guillotin, who promoted a law requiring the use of a “machine that beheads painlessly” as a humane mode for all executions for commoners or nobles alike, was born. Without any further specifications from Guillotin, others actually designed and built the machine, and yet it still became known by his name—the guillotine. After experiments on cadavers taken from a public hospital, the first such machine was erected in the Place de Greve in Paris (4^th April 1792), and first used to execute a highwayman (25^th April 1792). It was widely used during the French Revolution. Known first as the “machine”, after the beheading of King Louis XVI of France it became known also as “la louisette” or “le louison,” but the name “la guillotine” prevailed. It was used in many other countries.

216 solar years ago, on this day in 1802 AD, in Guadeloupe in the French controlled islands of the Caribbean Sea, Louis Delgres, along with 400 of the so-called slaves, after being cornered by Napoleon’s army in Fort Saint Charles, ignited gunpowder stores, in an attempt to kill as many of the French troops as possible, and died in the process himself with those supporting him. A freeborn darks-skinned person of ancestors of African origin forced into slavery in the New World by the white Europeans, Delgres was an experienced military officer with a long background fighting Britain in the many wars that the English imposed on Revolutionary France. Delgres believing that Napoleon Bonaparte who had declared himself emperor, had become a tyrant betraying both the ideals of the Republic and the interests of France's colored citizens, intended to fight to the death. On being defeated in the Battle of Matouba by a large and heavily armed French army, Delgres and his followers refused to surrender and face an ignominious death at the gallows, and decided that the only courageous stand was death in an uneven fight, after killing as many as possible enemy soldiers.

175 solar years ago, on this day in 1843 AD, Noah Webster, US lexicographer, textbook pioneer, English spelling reformer, political writer, editor, and prolific author, died. He has been called the "Father of American Scholarship and Education." His blue-backed speller books taught five generations of American children how to spell and read. His name became synonymous with "dictionary," especially the modern Merriam-Webster dictionary that was first published in 1828 as An American Dictionary of the English Language. In 1806, Webster published his first dictionary, titled "A Compendious Dictionary of the English Language". In 1807 he began compiling an expanded and fully comprehensive dictionary, titled "An American Dictionary of the English Language"; it took eighteen years to complete. To evaluate the etymology of words, Webster learned twenty-six languages, including Old English (Anglo-Saxon), German, Greek, Latin, Italian, Spanish, French, Hebrew, Arabic, and Sanskrit. He hoped to standardize American speech, since Americans in different parts of the country used different languages. They also spelled, pronounced, and used English words differently. His book contained seventy thousand words, of which twelve thousand had never appeared in a published dictionary before.

166 solar years ago, on this day in 1852 AD, French orientalist, Eugene Burnouf, who made significant contributions to the deciphering of Old Persian cuneiform, died. Son of Professor Jean-Louis Burnouf (1775-1844), who was a classical scholar of high reputation, Eugene undertook deciphering of the “Avesta” manuscripts of the Zoroastrians. By his research, the knowledge of the Avestan language was first brought into the scientific world of Europe. He caused the “Vendidad Sade”, to be lithographed with the utmost care from the manuscript in the Bibliotheque Nationale, and published it in folio parts during the years 1829-1843. He made significant contributions to the deciphering of Old Persian cuneiform. In 1836, he discovered that the first of the inscriptions contained a list of the satrapies of Darius. With this clue in his hand, he was able to identify and publish an alphabet of thirty letters, most of which he had correctly deciphered. He was also an expert of Sanskrit and translated books from that language into French.

113 solar years ago, on this day in 1905 AD, the 2-day Battle of Tsushima ended with the destruction of almost the entire Russian Fleet by Admiral Togo Heihachiro of the Imperial Japanese Navy. Fought in the Tsushima Strait between Korea and Japan, it was the first naval battle in which wireless telegraphy (radio) played a critically important role. It was the first time in modern history, following the Industrial Revolution in the West that a European power had been defeated by an Asian country. The Russians lost 4,380 killed and 5,917 captured, including two admirals, with a further 1,862 interned. The Japanese lost only three torpedo boats, with 117 men killed and 500 wounded.

96 lunar years ago, on this day in 1343 AH, the renowned theologian, Ayatollah Shaikh Mahdi Khalesi, passed away at the age of 66. Born in the holy city of Kazemain in Iraq, he built a reputation for promotion of virtue and prevention of vice in society. He opposed the British invasion of Iraq, and along with other scholars, such as Ayatollah Mohammad Taqi Shirazi and Shaikh Mohammad Hussain Kashef al-Gheta, joined the revolution against the turning of Iraq into a monarchy led by the imported king, Faisal, a son of the British agent of Hejaz, Sharif Hussain. During his stay in Iran he taught at the howza. Books written by him include “Kifayat al-Osoul”, and “Anaween al-Osoul”.

78 solar years ago, on this day in 1940 AD, during World War II, Belgium, was occupied by German Nazi forces. On the other hand, on this day the Allied Forces, in the wake of a deadly confrontation with German troops, started to retreat from the Port of Dunkirk in eastern France. During these operations, 1774 warships of the Allied Forces took part to rescue 350,000 British, French, and Belgian soldiers. But, due to the air strikes against this French port and its siege by German Nazi forces, nearly 50,000 Allied Forces were killed and 400 of their warships were destroyed. France was subsequently completely occupied by German troops.

54 solar years ago, on this day in 1964 AD, the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) was formed by several combatant groups with the purpose of creating the independent State of Palestine. It is recognized as the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people" by over 100 world countries and has enjoyed observer status at the United Nations since 1974.

42 solar years ago, on this day in 1976 AD, the famous Bengali painter, Zain ul-Abedin, passed away at the age of 62. He shot into prominence in 1938 winning the gold medal while studying art in Calcutta, and got the breakthrough in 1944 with his Famine Series paintings of 1943 on the great famine that afflicted Bengal. On the partition of the subcontinent, his hometown Kishoreganj now became part of East Pakistan, which in 1971 became Bangladesh. An artist of exceptional talent and international repute, he is rightly considered the Father of Bangladeshi Art.

38 solar years ago, on this day in 1980 AD, Iran's post-revolution Majlis (parliament) started its first 4-year term – a landmark event for the Islamic Republic of Iran. There are 290 MPs in the Majlis, elected by the people's direct vote. Religious minorities, such as Christians, Jews and Zoroastrians, have their own elected representatives. The Majlis as the Legislative Branch coordinates its policies with the other two branches of government – the Executive and the Judiciary.

35 lunar years ago, on this day in 1404 AH, the reclusive Gnostic Seyyed Hashem al-Haddad, passed away at the age of 86 in his hometown Karbala, Iraq. He was a student of the famous Gnostic Jurisprudent Seyyed Ali Qazi Tabatabai, with whom he was associated for 28 years in the holy cities of Najaf and Karbala. In turn he was the teacher of such prominent ulema as Ayatollah Abdul-Hussain Dastghayb, Ayatullah Seyyed Abdul-Karim Razawi Kashmiri, Ayatollah Seyyed Mustafa Khomeini, Ayatoallah Morteza Motahhari, Seyyed Ahmad Fihri Zanjani and Ayatollah Seyyed Mohammad Hussain Hussaini. The last named scholar wrote the excellent book “Rooh-e Mojarrad” (or The Detached Soul) on Gnosis, in which he has mentioned in detail how Seyyed Hashem Haddad’s spiritual guidance totally transformed him, taking him to higher levels of spirituality. Seyyed Hashem loved poems of the Persian masters Shams Maghrebi, Hafiz Shirazi and Mowlana Rumi. He was also a great admirer of the Spanish Muslim Gnostic Mohy od-Din Ibn Arabi, but at times has criticized some of his views. He regarded the martyrdom of Imam Husain (AS) as the supreme example of love for God, the most beautiful manifestation of glory and the beauty of the attributes of Divine Mercy and Wrath. In his opinion, if a spiritual wayfarer becomes cognizant of even a little of the divine manifestations of the epic of Ashura, he will go unconscious forever.

21 solar years ago, on this day in 1997 AD, the savage Taliban militia was forced out of Mazar-e-Sharif city in northern Afghanistan by Uzbek forces led by former communist general, Abdur-Rashid Dostum, resulting in the massacre of over 3,000 of these Takfiri terrorists for their crimes against the Afghan Muslims. Later it was reported that Dostum personally supervised the mass burial of some 700 Taliban extremists in Mazar-e Sharif and another 1,300 dead at other sites. For his part, Uzbek General Malik Pahlawan killed some 1,250 Taliban militiamen by leaving them in closed container trucks in the desert sun in retaliation for their crimes against humanity.

20 solar years ago, on this day in 1998 AD, Pakistan responded to a series of nuclear tests by India 17 days earlier with five of its own, codenamed Chagai-I. Pakistan celebrates this event every year as “Youm-e Takbir” or Day of God’s Majesty. By conducting simultaneous atomic testing of the five nuclear devices, Pakistan became the seventh nuclear-armed power. Both India and Pakistan have refused to sign the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).

10 solar years ago, on this day in 2008 AD, the first meeting of the Constituent Assembly of Nepal formally declared the country a republic, thus ending the 240-year reign of the Hindu Shah dynasty. Islam, which accounts for some 10 percent of the country’s 27 million population is the third but fastest growing religion in Nepal.

10 solar years ago, on this day in 2008 AD, Sheikh Hamad bin Isa, ruler of the repressive Aal-e Khalifa regime of the Persian Gulf island of Bahrain, in an affront to the long oppressed Bahraini majority, appointed Houda Ezra Nonoo, a Jewish woman of Iraqi descent, as Bahrain’s ambassador to the US. Earlier in 2005, Hamad had appointed Ezra, who though born in Manama had grown up and educated in Britain, as member of the Majlis-e Shura or the local parliament. During her five years in Washington as Bahrain’s ambassador, Houda Nonoo, promoted Zionist and Israeli interests and in violation of Islamic laws initiated mixed men-and-women Iftar gatherings in Ramadhan for breaking of the day’s fast, much to the shock of American Muslims. Bahrain, which is currently in the grip of a popular uprising and with the support of the US and Saudi Arabia is brutally massacring members of the island’s Shi’a Muslim majority, has granted nationality to some fifty Jews of Iraqi and Iranian descent, as well as thousands of Salafists from Pakistan, Afghanistan, India, Egypt, Jordan and other parts, in a bid to change the country’s demography.  

AS/MG