Today is Wednesday; 6th of the Iranian month of Tir 1397 solar hijri; corresponding to 13th of the Islamic month of Shawwal 1439 lunar hijri; and June 27, 2018, of the Christian Gregorian Calendar.

1244 lunar years ago, on this day in 194 AH, the famous Iranian Sunni Muslim compiler of hadith, Mohammad Ibn Ismail Ibn Ibrahim Ibn Bardizbah ibn Bazzabeh Bukhari, was born in the ancient Iranian city of Bukhara in what is now the Republic of Uzbekistan, in a family which before conversion to Islam was either Zoroastrian or Jewish. He started collecting hadith from anyone who could relate. In his late teens, along with his brother and mother, he travelled to Mecca for pilgrimage. After visiting the centres of learning, exchanging information on hadith from over 1,000 persons, and recording more than 600,000 narrations, he returned to his hometown after a 16-year absence. Here he compiled his "al-Jame' as-Sahih", which is revered as "Sahih Bukhari" by Sunni Muslims, and contains 7,275 hadith selected as per his inclination. Although he has acknowledged some of the unparalleled merits of the Ahl al-Bayt, he did not visit the rightful heirs of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA) or met their disciples for precise information on authentic hadith. It is claimed that it was fear of the wrath of the Abbasid regime that made him omit any hadith related from such an outstanding authority as the Prophet's 6th Infallible Heir, Imam Ja'far Sadeq (AS), but he felt no inhibitions to include in his so-called "Sahih" narrations from dubious persons – even avowed enemies of the Prophet's Household. In 250 AH he settled in Naishapur in Khorasan, following his expulsion from Bukhara for issuing a weird fatwa against the letter and spirit of the shari'ah that persons drinking the milk of the same cow, goat or donkey, are foster siblings and hence ineligible for marriage with each other. Here he met another Iranian with Sunni inclinations, named Muslim Ibn Hajjaj, who became his student, and eventually collector of a separate book on hadith, known as "Sahih Muslim". Bukhari died at the age of 62 while on a visit to Khartank, a village near Samarqand.

528 lunar years ago, on this day in 911 AH, the famous jurisprudent Shaikh Zayn od-Din al-Juba'i al-Ameli, known as “Shaheed Thani” (Second Martyr), was born in Jabal Amel in Lebanon. He is believed to have some connection with Tous in Khorasan, because he occasionally signed his name as "at-Tousi ash-Shami" – the second part pertaining to Greater Syria since Lebanon like Palestine and Jordan is actually a part of Syria. After initial study under his father, he was groomed for some 8 years by the celebrated Shaikh Ali bin Hussain bin Abd al-Aali Muhaqqaq Karki, and by the age of 33 became a Mujtahed. He had also studied in Damascus under Sunni ulema, and became an authority on such texts as “Sahih Bukhari” and “Sahih Muslim”. He visited Egypt to study medicine, geometry, prosody and logic from different teachers. He performed the Hajj pilgrimage and visited Bayt al-Moqaddas, in addition to travelling to Iraq for the pilgrimage to the shrines of the Imams of the Ahl al-Bayt. During a visit to Istanbul he had a lively discussion with the Chief Qazi of the state, Mohammad bin Mohammad Qazizadah ar-Roumi, to whom he presented a treatise titled “Ten Knowledges” that greatly impressed the latter. He was permitted to teach at the Nooriyah Islamic School in Ba’lbek, where he taught the five schools of Islamic jurisprudence, that is, Ja'fari, Hanafi, Shafei, Maliki and Hanbali. Apart from proficiency in jurisprudence, he was well versed in theology, philosophy, Gnosis, medicine and astronomy. A man of piety, known for his austere way of life, his students have recorded in his biography that he maintained his family by selling wood that he cut during the nights, and then sat to teach during the day. Some pseudo ulema adverse to Islamic unity, conspired against him, labeled false accusations, and complained to the Ottoman Sultan. In mid Ramadhan 965 AH, he was brutally beheaded on his way to see the Sultan, and a shrine was built by Turkmens on the site as they realised his stature. His assassin was killed on the Sultan's orders. He is the author of several books, but his greatest work is the commentary he wrote on the jurisprudential manual "Lum'at-ad-Dimashqiyya" (The Damascene Glitter) of the First Martyr, Mohammad Jamal od-Din al-Makki al-Ameli, titled "ar-Rawdhat-al-Bahiyah ft Sharh al-Lum'at-ad- Dimashqiyya" (The Beautiful Garden in Interpreting the Damascene Glitter).

444 solar years ago, on this day in 1574 AD, Giorgio Vasari, Italian historian, painter, and architect, died at the age of 63 in Florence. He is famous for writing the book “Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects”, considered the ideological foundation of art-historical writing. Born in Arezzo, Tuscany, he became a pupil of Guglielmo da Marsiglia, a skillful painter of stained glass. At the age of sixteen he moved to Florence and became apprentice to leading painters. He was befriended by the famous Michelangelo whose painting style would influence his own. He was more successful as an architect, and designed some still flourishing passageways and churches including the Basilica of Our Lady of Humility in Pistoia. His book is notoriously in favour of Florentines and tends to attribute to them all the new developments in Renaissance art – for example, the invention of engraving. Venetian art in particular let alone other parts of Europe is systematically ignored. Vasari often wrote with carelessness, confusing dates and places, and taking no pains to verify the truth of his assertions, but despite these shortcomings, it is one of the basic sources for information on the Renaissance in Italy.

258 solar years ago, on this day in 1760 AD, Cherokee Amerindian warriors defeated British forces at the Battle of Echoee near present-day Otto, North Carolina during the Anglo-Cherokee War.

183 solar years ago, on this day in 1835 AD, the Iranian statesman and political figure, Mirza Abu’l-Qasem Qa’em Maqaam Farahani, was killed for carrying out political and administrative reforms that the colonialists and their local agents deemed against their interests. He served as regent to the young Mohammad Shah Qajar, and later as Grand Vizier. But within a year, due to the intrigues of John Campbell, the British representative in Iran, Farahani was arrested and subsequently murdered. He was kept for five or six days in a room in the basement of Negarestan without any food so that he would die when his strength diminishes. Eventually, the executioner, Safar Ismael Khan Qarajeh Daghi entered the basement and thrusting a handkerchief in his mouth, suffocated him. Farahani had mastered many sciences of the day in addition to literary techniques and initiated a new style in Persian prose. Among his works is a Divan of Persian poetry and the “Mansha’at” in prose.

179 solar years ago, on this day in 1839 AD, the Sikh ruler, Maharaja Ranjit Singh, died after a reign of nearly forty years and within ten years the empire he had built up by conquering Punjab, Kashmir, and the Pashtu areas up to the frontier of Afghanistan, was annexed by the British. Acquainted with the Persian language, he began as a young soldier in the service of the Afghan king, Zamaan Shah Durrani, who made him governor of a part of Punjab. He then assembled his Sikh army and began war with his Afghan benefactors by seizing Lahore and ending their rule in Punjab. He desecrated the grand Badshahi Mosque of Lahore by turning it into a stable. In 1818, he occupied Multan and advanced upon Peshawar. His dreams of invading Afghanistan did not materialize, but when Shah Shuja sought asylum with the Sikhs, Ranjit Singh forced him to give up the fabulous Koh-e Noor diamond which Nader Shah of Iran had taken from the Mughal Emperor Mohammad Shah of Delhi and which after him had fallen to the share of the Afghan general, Ahmad Shah Abdali Durrani. In 1849, when the British defeated the Sikhs, they seized Koh-e Noor (Persian for Mountain of Light), which is currently in the crown of the British queen.

138 solar years ago, on this day in 1880 AD, US researcher and author, Helen Keller, was born. She lost her eyesight and hearing ability in childhood due to illness and started learning as of the age of seven. She learned the alphabet of the blind within three years. She gradually recovered her hearing ability, learning to speak with the hard efforts of her teacher, thereby opening a new window to her surrounding environment. Following completion of her academic studies, she penned and published numerous books. She also delivered speeches in different circles and assemblies and founded several educational centers for the blind in the US and other countries, out of the revenues of her speeches. Among her most important books is “The Story of My Life”.

116 lunar years ago, on this day in 1323 AH, the prominent Islamic scholar, Ayatollah Shaikh Mohammad Taha, passed away at the age of 83. Born in holy Najaf in Iraq, he acquired knowledge under the prominent Islamic scholar, Sheikh Morteza Ansari Dezfuli. He was a polymath in theology, jurisprudence, hadith, and exegesis of the Holy Qur'an. He has left behind several books, including an annotation on "Ma'alem al-Osoul".

110 solar years ago, on this day in 1908 AD, people of the northwestern Iranian city of Tabriz, rose against the tyrannical rule of Mohammad Ali Shah Qajar, under the leadership of Sattar Khan (Sardar Milli) and Baqer Khan (Salar Milli), following artillery shelling of the parliament and the constitutionalists in the capital Tehran by government’s forces in league with Russian troops. A force of 40,000 troops sent from Tehran by the Shah to besiege Tabriz was held at bay for several months by the resistance of people under these two leaders, who instantly became national heroes and inspired people of other cities and provinces to rise against the dictatorship of the Qajarid regime. On mediation by the British and Russians, the situation was eased and the siege was lifted, but with the entry of Russian troops, Sattar Khan feeling danger to his life, sought refuge in the Ottoman consulate in Tabriz. In 1910, Sattar Khan and Baqer Khan set out for Tehran with 300 soldiers, where they were greeted by large numbers of supporters on April 3. They refused to obey the order to disarm, and were violently attacked, resulting in the wounding of Sattar Khan who died at the age of 48 on November 9, 1914, and was buried in the mausoleum of Seyyed Abdul-Azim al-Hassani in Rayy.  

101 lunar years ago, on this day in 1338 AH, Ayatollah Mirza Mohammad Taqi Shirazi issued the fatwa for jihad against the British invaders of Iraq, following the occupation of Basra and Baghdad during World War I. Known as the “Revolution of the 1920s”. The edict united Iraqis, who initially inflicted defeats on the British army, until crushed by the superior fire power of the invaders. Earlier in 1329 AH, following the invasion of northern Iran by Russian forces and the killing of Iranian Muslims, Ayatollah Mohammad Taqi Shirazi, who had not yet migrated to Iraq, issued a fatwa to the effect that it is an obligation to resist the Russian aggressors. In 1332 AH, when Britain and its allies launched Word War 2 against the Ottoman Empire, Ayatollah Mohammad Taqi Shirazi, along with other prominent scholars of Iraq, issued statements about the obligation of jihad against the invading forces. Ayatollah Mohammad Taqi Shirazi's migration to Karbala facilitated coordination of the local ulema with the ulema of Najaf, as well as contacts with nomads for resistance against the occupiers. The British martyred him through poisoning, and exiled to Iran the other two prominent combatant scholars, Sheikh Kashef al-Gheta and Sheikh Mohammad Khalesi. They then installed in Baghdad an imported king – Faisal, a son of the British agent of Hejaz, Sharif Hussain.

64 solar years ago, on this day in 1954 AD, the world's first atomic power station began producing electricity in Obninsk, USSR, a small town 60 miles south of Moscow. The plant used a small, graphite moderated, water-cooled reactor, and could produce 5 megawatts. The reactor was used for both civilian power needs and military purpose, such as research into the possibility of propelling submarines with nuclear power. It generated electricity until 1968, but continued in use for experiments and to warm the town's centrally distributed hot water supply. Final shutdown took place in 2002 for reason of being unprofitable.

64 solar years ago, on this day in 1954 AD, CIA-sponsored rebels overthrew the elected government of Guatemala. A US supported force of mercenaries invaded from Honduras to topple President Arbenz whose government was replaced by 30 years of military rule.

59 lunar years ago, on this day in 1380 AH, the famous Source of Emulation (Marja’), Grand Ayatollah Seyyed Hussain Borujerdi, passed away in the holy city of Qom at the age of 88 and was laid to rest in the mausoleum of Hazrat Fatema Ma’soumah (SA). Born in Boroujerd in a scholarly family descended from Imam Hasan Mujtaba (AS), the elder grandson and second Infallible Heir of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA), he completed his higher studies at the Seminary of holy Najaf, under prominent ulema such as Akhound Mullah Mohammad Kazem Khorasani, Ayatollah Shaikh osh-Shari’ah Isfahani, and Allamah Seyyed Kazem Yazdi. On his return to Iran, he became head of the Qom Seminary. A pious scholar well versed in different Islamic sciences, he promoted the teachings of the Ahl al-Bayt abroad by sending Seyyed Muhaqqiqi to Hamburg, Germany, Aqa-e-Shari'at to Pakistan, al-Faqihi to Medina and Seyyed Musa as-Sadr to Lebanon. He established cordial relations with Mahmoud Shaltut, the Grand Shaikh of Egypt’s al-Azhar Seminary. Together, the two scholars set up in Cairo the "Centre for Proximity among Islamic Schools of Jurisprudence”. Shaltut issued a famous fatwa accepting the Shi'a creed as one of the recognised schools of Islamic jurisprudence. Grand Ayatollah Borujerdi opposed the British-installed and American-backed Pahlavi regime's policies as "agrarian destruction." In his view, the confiscations of large concentrations of landholdings disrupted the fabric of rural life and eroded religious institutions. He groomed a large number of scholars such as Grand Ayatollah Seyyed Mohammad Reza Golpayegani, Grand Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Sistani, Grand Ayatollah Lotfollah Safi Golpayegani, Grand Ayatollah Mohammad Fazel Lankarani, Grand Ayatollah Nasser Makarem Shirazi, Ayatollah Morteza Motahhari, Ayatollah Seyyed Mohammad Hussaini Beheshti, etc. He wrote several books and treatises.

41 solar years ago, on this day in 1977 AD, Djibouti was granted independence by France after 81 years of occupation and this day is marked as National Day in this country situated in the Horn of Africa. It was one of the last countries to join the Arab League. Djibouti is situated in the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, which links the Red Sea to the Indian Ocean.

37 solar years ago, on this day in 1981 AD, the Leader of Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, who at the time was representative of the Father of Islamic Revolution, Imam Khomeini (RA), at the Supreme Defence Council, in addition to being Tehran’s Permanent Friday Prayer leader, became the target of an assassination attempt by MKO terrorists. Known widely as hypocrites, the terrorists detonated a bomb severely wounding him while he was delivering a speech at a Tehran mosque. He survived this assassination attempt to become the elected president of the country for two consecutive terms (8 years), before becoming Leader of the Islamic Revolution in 1989. His right hand was severely damaged in this assassination attempt. Imam Khomeini (RA), in his message pointed out that the evil enemies of the Islamic Republic are desperately trying to undermine Ayatollah Khamenei, who as a descendent of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA), has spared no efforts to serve the holy religion of Islam and the Islamic country.

25 solar years ago, on this day in 1993 AD, the US targeted the Iraqi capital, Baghdad and its outskirts, with 23 long-range missiles under the pretext of involvement of the Ba’th regime in an assassination attempt against former US president, George Bush Senior, during his visit to Kuwait on April 1993. Bush Senior, during his presidency, had ordered the offensive to drive out the Iraqi army from Kuwait.

23 solar years ago, on this day in 1995 AD, Hamad Aal-e Thani toppled his father Khalifa bin Hamad Aal-e Thani and seized power as ruler of the Persian Gulf Sheikhdom of Qatar, on the orders of the US, while the latter was in Geneva, Switzerland on a pleasure trip. On June 25, 2013, after 18 years in power, Hamad was ordered by the US to hand over power to his 33-year son Tamim. It is interesting to note that Khalifa who died in 2016 at the age of 84, had come to power himself by deposing his cousin, Sheikh Ahmad bin Ali on 22nd February 1972 while the latter was on a hunting trip in Iran and had ruled since 1960 when his own father, Ali bin Abdullah had abdicated in his favour under British pressure.

21 solar years ago, on this day in 1997 AD, Tajik President, Emomali Rahman, and the leading Tajik Islamist, Seyyed Abdullah Nouri, signed a peace treaty in Moscow, thereby terminating the five-year civil war in the Central Asian Persian speaking republic. A year after Tajikistan’s independence, civil war broke out between Islamists and the former communist rulers. The UN and regional countries including Iran tried to restore peace, and an agreement was signed in Tehran in May 1997 which was finalized in Moscow with Iran’s mediation. Based on the accord, 30% of governmental posts were given to the opponents and the opposition forces were merged in the Tajik army. Several articles of the constitution were amended to meet the demands of Islamists in Tajikistan. Tajikistan covers an area of almost 143,000 sq km. Its capital is Dushanbe and it shares borders with China, Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, and Kyrgyzstan.

10 solar years ago, on this day in 2008 AD, in Indian-controlled Kashmir tens of thousands of demonstrators filled the streets, burning flags and effigies of Indian leaders on the fifth day of protests against the transfer of land to a Hindu shrine in the Muslim-majority region.

AS/ME