Today is Wednesday; 16th of the Iranian month of Khordad 1397 solar hijri; corresponding to 21st of the Islamic month of Ramadhan 1439 lunar hijri; and June 6, 2018, of the Christian Gregorian Calendar.

Some three-and-a-half millennia ago, on this date (Ramadhan 21), Prophet Moses (AS), passed away at the age of over 120, after delivering the Israelites from bondage in Pharaonic Egypt, expounding the laws of the heavenly scripture Torah that God revealed to him, and giving the tidings of the Last and Greatest Messenger to be raised among the Ishmaelite Arabs, Prophet Mohammad (SAWA).

Over three millennia ago, on this date (Ramadhan 21) Prophet Joshua (Yusha’ in Arabic) passed away. He was successor of Prophet Moses (AS).

Over two millennia ago, on this date (Ramadhan 21) Prophet Jesus (AS) was raised alive to the sky by God, to save him from possible death at the hands of the Romans, following his betrayal by the treacherous Israelite, Judas Iscariot, who instead was crucified on the cross. God had revealed the Evangel to Jesus for the guidance of the ever-rebellious Israelites, who plotted against him, and refused to listen to the Messiah’s tidings of the coming of the Last and Greatest Messenger with the universal message of Islam, Prophet Mohammad (SAWA).

1399 lunar years ago, on this day in 40 AH, the Commander of True Believers, the Leader of the Pious, the Symbol of Justice, the Epitome of Valour, and the Gateway of the City of Knowledge, Imam Ali Ibn Abi Taleb (AS), was martyred in Kufa and laid to rest in nearby Najaf, which today is one of the foremost centres of pilgrimage with its golden domed shrine. Two days earlier, while in the state of ritual prayer, he was fatally struck on the head by the poisoned sword of the renegade, Abdur-Rahman Ibn Muljam. As the cousin, ward, son-in-law, and divinely-decreed vicegerent of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA), Imam Ali (AS) needs no introduction. His model government of social justice, which no administration anywhere in the world has ever succeeded to match, continues to be an inspiration for the seekers of truth. As the unrivalled master of eloquence and wisdom, his sermons, letters and maxims, have been collected in book forms for more than a millennium and two centuries, with the “Nahj al-Balaghah” or Highway of Eloquence, being the most famous. Interestingly, all Sufi or mystical orders trace their origin to his ascetic way of life, while even Sunni Muslims, despite regarding him as the 4th caliph in the order of political succession, consider him to be superior to all and everybody else after Prophet Mohammad (SAWA).

1155 solar years ago, on this day in 863 AD, Abu Musa Utamish, the powerful Turkic military officer and later vizier of the usurper Abbasid Caliphate, was assassinated after a year in office by fellow Turks, and his residence was plundered. Born in Iraq, he played an important role in the initial years of the period known as the Anarchy at Samarra, when the Turkic guards murdered and installed caliphs. He was among the officers who assassinated the tyrannical self-styled caliph Mutawakkil in December 861, and rapidly rose to become one of the most powerful officials in the government. Soon he was appointed vizier, given control over the treasury, and received the governorships of Egypt and the Maghreb, but fell victim to his overriding ambitions.

453 solar years ago, on this day in 1565 AD, Murtaza Nizam Shah I succeeded his father Husain Nizam Shah to the throne of Ahmadnagar in the northwestern Deccan (Southern India) as the 4th king of the dynasty founded by Malik Ahmed Bahri (son of a Kanarese Brahmin convert to Islam), who assumed the title of Nizam Shah on seceding from the Bahmani Empire of Iranian origin. The second king, Burhan Nizam Shah I, became a staunch follower of the school of Prophet Mohammad's (SAWA) Ahl al-Bayt, and established cordial relations with Safavid Iran. Many scholars and artists migrated from Iran, Iraq and Hijaz to Ahmadnagar, where the court language was Persian. During Murtaza's minority, his mother Khanzada Humayun Sultana, ruled as a regent for several years, and on coming to age, he annexed the neighbouring sultanate of Berar in 1574. He died in 1588 after a reign of 23 years. Among the famous books in Persian written in Ahmadnagar were "Tuhfa-e Nizam-Shahi" and "Tarikh-e Elchi-e Nizam Shah"– the latter being an account of Nizamshahi envoy to Iran.

411 lunar years ago, on this day in 1028 AH, the scholar Seyyed Jamal od-Din Majed bin Hashem bin Ali al-Hussaini, known as Seyyed Majed al-Bahrani, passed away in Shiraz and was laid to rest in the mausoleum of Seyyed Ahmad Shah Chiragh, the son of Imam Musa al-Kazem (AS), the 7^th Infallible Heir of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA). Born in Bahrain, which was an integral part of Iran, for higher religious studies he came to the Safavid capital Isfahan, where among his teachers was the celebrated Shaikh Baha od-Din Ameli. In turn he was the teacher of Faiz Kashani, and on his return to Bahrain where he served as judge and Friday Prayer Leader, he groomed several local Arab scholars. He moved to Shiraz, where he held the same positions, and stayed till the end of his life. He wrote several books.

374 solar years ago, on this day in 1644 AD, the Qing dynasty’s Manchu forces led by the Shunzhi Emperor captured Beijing during the collapse of the Ming dynasty. Two years later in 1646, the Muslim rebellion erupted in China calling for the restoration of the Ming dynasty and supported by non-Muslim Chinese as well. These forces assembled in the northwest under a Muslim leader known in Chinese sources as Milayin who revolted against Qing rule in Ganzhou (Gansu). He was soon joined by another Muslim named Ding Guodong, and they took over a number of towns in Gansu, including the provincial capital Lanzhou, before being captured and killed by Meng Qiaofang in 1648. By 1650 the Muslim rebels had been crushed in campaigns that inflicted heavy casualties.

335 lunar years ago, on this day in 1104 AH, the famous Islamic scholar, Mohammad Ibn Hassan Ibn Ali Ibn Hussain al-Amili al-Mashghari, known popularly as Shaikh Horr-e Ameli, passed away in Mashhad at the age of 71 and was laid to rest in one of the northern porches of the Grand Mausoleum of Imam Reza (AS), the 8^th Infallible Heir of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA). Born in the Jabal Amel region of southern Lebanon, he studied in his homeland under prominent scholars, and later performed the Hajj and pilgrimage to the holy shrines of Iraq. Till the age of 40 he stayed in Lebanon, before migrating to Safavid Iran where after a meeting with the famous Iranian scholar in Isfahan, Allamah Mohammad Baqer Majlisi, he was given the position of Shaikh al-Islam in Mashhad – a duty which he discharged for 30 years. He was a prolific writer and among the many books he wrote, mention could be made of “Wasa’el ash-Shi’a”, which is an encyclopedic work on hadith.

266 solar years ago, on this day in 1752 AD, a devastating fire destroyed one-third of Moscow, including 18,000 homes.

220 solar years ago, on this day in 1799 AD, Russian poet and author, Alexander Pushkin, was born in Moscow. He catapulted to fame with publication of his collection of poems in 1820. Later, he wrote his odes in admiration of freedom which led to his exile. In his poems, Pushkin has defended freedom. His plays, stories in verse, and odes, are all considered as the prominent works in the Russian literature. Among his famous works, mention can be made of the novels “Eugene Onegin”, and “Boris Godunov”. He died at the age of 38 years.

143 solar years ago, on this day in 1875 AD, Thomas Mann, German novelist and essayist, was born. He was forced into exile by the Nazis. The major part of his works is concerned with problems of the artist, which he has probed deeply and described so brilliantly. His works included “Buddenbrooks” (1901), “Death in Venice” (1912), “Doctor Faustus” (1947), and “The Magic Mountain”.

136 solar years ago, on this day in 1882 AD, more than 100,000 inhabitants of the Indian port city of Bombay were killed as a cyclone in the Arabian Sea pushed huge waves into the harbour.

117 solar years ago, on this day in 1901 AD, Ahmad Sukarno, Indonesian engineer, politician, and the 1st President of the country was born. Along with fellow revolutionary Mohammad Hatta, he proclaimed the independence of Indonesia by launching the Indonesian National Revolution against Dutch colonial rule. Four years later, thanks to the people's uprising, Indonesia emerged as an independent country. In 1956, total independence was achieved and Sukarno was elected the first president. In 1967, he was forced to resign and hand over power to military general, Suharto. Ahmed Sukarno, died at the age of 69 in 1970.

108 solar years ago, on this day in 1910 AD, the jurisprudent Ayatollah Rayhanollah Boroujeridi passed away at the age of 60. A product of the seminaries of Isfahan and holy Najaf, he settled in Tehran and was an authority on Islamic laws, biography of scholars, and both Arabic and Persian literature.

98 solar years ago, on this day in 1920 AD, the uprising of the Iranian freedom-seekers, led by Mirza Kouchak Khan Jangali, against the suppressive rule of the Qajarid Dynasty and plunder of Iran by Britain, started. This uprising was organized by the committee of Islamic union, which was inspired by the ideas of thinkers such as Seyyed Jamal od-Din Assadabadi, Seyyed Abdur-Rahman Kavakebi, and Egypt’s Sheikh Mohammad Abduh. Its goal was the solidarity of Islamic countries to stand up against the suppressive rulers and the infiltration of the foreign powers. Mirza Kouchak Khan, who witnessed that the situation in Iran is chaotic and the country is under the domination of foreign powers, with an inclination toward the idea of Islamic unity, organized military establishment, and struggled against domestic oppression and foreign colonialism to rescue Iran. Despite the struggles of Mirza Kouchak Khan and his allies, a number of supporters of the Soviet Union's communist regime, who infiltrated the followers of Mirza Kouchak Khan, betrayed the Jangal Movement. Finally, the Jangal Movement, which was considered as one of the deep-rooted movements of that era, gradually deteriorated due to the differences of opinion of its leaders and the conspiracies of foreign colonial powers. Finally the last blow to this independence-seeking and anti-suppressive movement was dealt by Reza Khan Pahlavi.

50 solar years ago, on this day in 1968 AD, Palestinian Christian activist, Sirhan Bishara Sirhan, in a revolutionary style execution with a pistol, shot dead US presidential candidate, Robert F. Kennedy, at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles, California, in defence of his Zionist-usurped homeland, days after Kennedy had pledged that on becoming president he would send 50 advanced bombers to the illegal entity called Israel in order to further terrorize and kill Palestinians and other Arabs. While still a boy Sirhan and his parents – natives of Bayt al-Moqaddas (Jerusalem) – were like most other Palestinians, displaced from his ancestral home by the illegal Zionist migrants from Europe and after a life in refugee camps, forced to migrate to the US. Sirhan is serving a life sentence in the US, and his supporters defend his killing of Kennedy as a justified act in support of his occupied homeland, Palestine.

36 solar years ago, on this day in 1982 AD, forces of the illegal Zionist entity, led by notorious butcher Ariel Sharon, invaded Lebanon and seized control of all areas from the southern suburbs of the capital, Beirut. During their occupation, the Israelis destroyed Lebanon’s economic installations and killed almost 20,000 countless people during their 70-day siege, culminating in the massacre of over 5,000 Palestinian women, children and the elderly in the refugee camps of Sabra and Shatila. These brutalities made the Lebanese people organize themselves into the Islamic Resistance that forced the Zionist troops to retreat, and finally led to the liberation of almost all southern Lebanon in May 2000.

29 solar years ago, on this day in 1989 AD, the Father of the Islamic Revolution, Imam Khomeini (RA) was laid to rest in Behesht-e Zahra Cemetery. The funeral was unprecedented in history and saw over ten million people take part. The funerary was a grand display of the loyalty of the people of Iran for the beloved Founder of the Islamic Republic.

AS/ME