Today is Friday; 25th of the Iranian month of Aban 1397 solar hijri; corresponding to 8th of the Islamic month of Rabi al-Awwal 1440 lunar hijri; and November 16, 2018, of the Christian Gregorian Calendar.

1180 lunar years ago, on this day in 260 AH, Imam Hasan al-Askari (AS), the 11^th Infallible Successor of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA), was martyred as a result of a fatal dose of poisoning by Mo'tamed, the 15^th self-styled caliph of the usurper Abbasid regime, in the city of Samarra in Iraq at the young age of 28 years. The Imam, who during his six-year spiritual mission was either imprisoned or kept under house arrest by several Abbasid caliphs, was given slow poison on the 1^st of Rabi al-Awwal in order to avoid suspicion. The poison worsened the physical condition of the 11th Imam and on the morning of 8th Rabi al-Awwal after Fajr prayers, he breathed his last. Before his death, he gave the necessary instructions to his 5-year old son, who was born and brought up in secrecy because of the fear of the regime, which was terrified of the Prophet's famous hadith that his rightful successors will number 12, and the last of them will rise as Qa'em al-Mahdi to cleanse the world of oppression by establishing the global government of peace, prosperity and justice. The night before his martyrdom the 11^th Imam wrote letters to his followers in various cities, informing them of the special conditions that would arise in the absence of his young son. One of the famous advices of Imam Askari (AS) to the Muslims reads: "It is obligatory for the people to follow the jurist who refrains from committing wrong, emphasizes his faith, opposes carnal desires, and obeys Allah's command." The city of Samarra was engulfed in grief as the Imam was laid to rest beside his father in his own house, which soon grew into a sprawling mausoleum, with pilgrims coming from all over the world to pay their respects to him. Alas, in 2006 and the following year, terrorists, funded by the US and certain Arab reactionary regimes like Saudi Arabia had desecrated the golden-domed shrine of Samarra through blasphemous bomb blasts.

778 solar years ago, on this day in 1240 AD, the famous Spanish Muslim philosopher and Gnostic, Mohi od-Din bin Mohammad Ibn al-Arabi passed away in Damascus, Syria at the age of 75. Born in Murcia, southern Spain, he was a child prodigy who after acquiring the sciences of the day in Seville, where his family had settled and where he met the famous philosopher, Ibn Rushd (Averroes). At the age of 30 he migrated to Fez in Morocco, from where after making several trips to Spain over the next five years to collect his works and other Islamic manuscripts in order to save them from the Christian vandals who were destroying the heritage of mankind, he finally left for the Levant through Egypt. The next half of his life was spent in Mecca (where he performed the Hajj), Medina (where he paid respects as the Prophet’s shrine), Palestine, Syria, Iraq and what is now Turkey, before he settled in Damascus. During the last twenty years of his life his close companion was the Iranian mystic, Awhad od-Din Hameed Kirmani, who transmitted to him teachings of many of the great spiritual masters of the Islamic East. Ibn Arabi, whose school of mystical thought had a profound impact for several centuries, was a prolific writer and the author of many books and treatises, including "Fusous al-Hekam" (Bezels of Wisdom), and "Futuhaat al-Makkiyya" (The Meccan Illuminations). In Chapter 366 of the voluminous "Futuhaat", he has described the characteristics of the Awaited Saviour of mankind, saying that Imam Mahdi (AS), the namesake and offspring of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA), is from the direct line of descent of the Immaculate Hazrat Fatema Zahra (SA), and when he reappears the world will be filled with the global government of justice. His Gnostic school of thought has continued to have a profound impact over the centuries despite the senseless attacks on him by the pseudo scholar Ibn Taimiyya, who failed to taint Ibn Arabi’s saintly personality for elaborating the Qur’anic concepts of “wasila” (means of attaining the proximity of God) and “shafa’a” (power of intercession) that God has granted to Prophet Mohammad (SAWA) and the Infallible Imams.

486 solar years ago, on this day in 1532 AD, Francisco Pizarro and his Spanish marauders ambushed and captured Inca Emperor Atahualpa at the great plaza of Cajamarca in what is now Peru, killing counsellors, commanders and thousands of unarmed attendants, following months of espionage and subterfuge. Pizarro, who was born out of wedlock, treacherously executed Atahualpa despite receiving ransom for release of the Inca emperor that filled a room with gold and two rooms with silver, which he split amongst his closest associates after setting aside a share for the Spanish king. The Spaniards indulged in the mass rape of Inca women, and Pizzaro forced Atahualpa's wife to become his mistress, while distributing among his men women of the Incan nobility. Atahualpa’s death effectively ended the Inca resistance, empire and the flourishing native culture.

456 lunar years ago, on this day in 984 AH, the prominent scholar, Sheikh Izz od-Din Hussain ibn Abdus-Samad passed away in Bahrain at the age of 66, and was buried in the village of Hejr or Musalla where his tomb is revered by the people. Born in a religious family in the Jabal Amel region of what is now Lebanon, he migrated to Safavid Iran along with his young son, Sheikh Baha od-Din Ameli, who grew up into a great scholar. For eight years, Sheikh Izz od-Din lived and preached in the holy city of Mashhad near the shrine of Imam Reza (AS), the 8^th Infallible Successor of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA). Leaving his son behind in Iran, he migrated to Bahrain since he felt the Persian Gulf Island was more in need of religious scholars than Iran. He wrote many books, including a Diwan of Arabic poetry and the book titled "Tuhfa Ahl al-Imaan" (Gift of the People of Faith).

375 solar years ago, on this day in 1643 AD, Jean Chardin, French-English jeweler and traveler who frequented the courts of Iran and India, was born in Paris. A jeweler’s son with an excellent education, he traveled with a merchant to Iran and India in 1665. At Iṣfahan, he enjoyed the patronage of Shah Abbas II. He visited the Deccan or southern India by landing at Surat on the coast of Gujarat, before proceeding to the court of King Abdullah Qotb Shah in Golkandeh-Hyderabad, where famous diamond mines were situated. On returning to France via Iran in 1670, he published in 1671 his eyewitness account of the coronation of Shah Soleiman Safavi, titled “Le Couronnement de Soleiman Troisième”.  While in Isfahan, a learned nobleman, Mirza Safi, had taught him the Persian language, and assisted him in this work. Towards the end of 1671 he again set out for Iran by traveling through Turkey, Crimea, and the Caucasus. He reached Iṣfahan nearly two years later. He remained in Iran for four years, revisited India, and returned to France in 1677 via the Cape of Good Hope. Fleeing French persecution of the Huguenots in 1681, he settled in London, where he became court jeweler and was knighted by King Charles II. In 1683 he represented the East India Company in Holland. He mastered the Persian language and travelled all over Iran, selling jewels to the elites, besides the Safavid Emperor. He became an authority on Iran and the Persianate kingdoms of the Deccan, writing accounts of his travels, meeting with dignitaries, and adventurers. The complete account of his travels first appeared in 1711 in Journal du voyage du chevalier Chardin (“Journal of the Travel of Cavalier Chardin”). His ten-volume book in English “The Travels of Sir John Chardin” is regarded as one of the finest works of early Western scholarship on Iran and the Subcontinent in general. Chardin's style of writing is simple and graphic, and he gives a faithful account of what he saw and heard. His work received praise from a number of thinkers of his age, among them Montesquieu, Rousseau, Voltaire and Edward Gibbon. Latter-day scholars of Iran also vouch for his importance. According to John Emerson, "his information on Safavid Persia outranks that of all other Western writers in range, depth, accuracy, and judiciousness." He died in London at the age of 70.

134 solar years ago, on this day in 1884 AD, William Wells Brown, African-American abolitionist lecturer, novelist, playwright, and historian, died in Massachusetts at the age of 70. His novel “Clotel”, published in 1853, is considered the first novel written by an Afro-American.

121 solar years ago, on this day in 1897 AD, Choudhry Rahmat Ali, who created the name Pakistan, was born in a Gujjar Muslim family in the Hoshiarpur district of Punjab, India. In 1933 AD, the name Pakistan was coined by him and accepted by the Muslims of the northwestern parts of the Indian Subcontinent who campaigned for a separate country. He is the author of the famous 1933 pamphlet titled "Now or Never; Are We to Live or Perish Forever," also known as the “Pakistan Declaration”. The pamphlet started with the famous statement:

"At this solemn hour in the history of India, when British and Indian statesmen are laying the foundations of a Federal Constitution for that land, we address this appeal to you, in the name of our common heritage, on behalf of our thirty million Muslim brethren who live in PAKSTAN – by which we mean the five Northern units of India, namely: Punjab, North-West Frontier Province, Kashmir, Sindh and Baluchistan."

In a subsequent book, Rahmat Ali discussed the etymology in further detail, saying:

“PAKISTAN is both a Persian and an Urdu word. It is composed of letters taken from the names of all our South Asia homelands; that is, Punjab, Afghania (or Pashtun-speaking areas of the Subcontinent), Kashmir, Sindh and Balochistan. It means the land of the Pak – or the spiritually pure and clean.”

In 1947, at the birth of the country he had envisaged, he was unhappy over a Smaller Pakistan than the one he had conceived in his pamphlet.

105 solar years ago, on this day in 1913 AD, Sattar Khan, one of the leading activists of Iran’s Constitutional Movement, who earned the title “Sardar-e Melli” (National Commander), passed away. During his youth, he was forced to leave his hometown, Tabriz, northwestern Iran, due to harassment by agents of the despotic Qajarid regime. On the start of the freedom-struggle he returned to Tabriz and joined the uprising. He was one of the leaders of the revolutionaries who marched upon Tehran and forced Mohammad Ali Shah Qajar to abdicate. His warm reception by the people of Tehran alarmed the colonialist powers, Britain and Russia. After a short while, intense clashes erupted between the revolutionaries and agents of the foreign-backed regime. As a consequence, a number of freedom-seekers were killed. Sattar Khan, who was severely wounded, succumbed to his injuries on this day.

73 solar years ago, on this day in 1945 AD, in the wake of French colonial troops' bid to reoccupy Vietnam after the Japanese defeat in World War 2, the struggle for independence of the Vietnamese people began under Ho Chi Minh, who went on to inflict a major defeat on the French forces in 1954. Later the US interfered and messed up matters in Vietnam, until it was defeated and driven out in 1976, after massacring hundreds of thousands of innocent people and ruining the country.

72 solar years ago, on this day in 1946 AD, artificial rain was invented by American meteorologist, Dr. Craig by impregnating clouds with chemical components. However, due to its high costs, it has never become common in any part of the world.

38 solar years ago, on this day in 1980 AD, Iran's southwestern border town of Susangerd witnessed the courageous resistance of the Muslim combatants against the invading forces of Saddam. The defence operations were conducted only by two hundred personnel of the Islamic Revolution's Guards Corps (IRGC), led by Defence Minister Mostafa Chamran and assisted by the lightly-armed local Basijis. The brave Iranian combatants held back enemy tanks and liberated Susangerd from the Ba'thist forces. The victory was achieved despite virtual deprivation of water, food, and ammunitions for almost three days.

20 solar years ago, on this day in 1998 AD, the philosopher and theologian, Allamah Mohammad-Taqi Ja'fari, passed away at the age of 75. Born in Tabriz, northwestern Iran, after elementary school, he studied at the Talebieh seminary, and then moved to Tehran and later to holy Qom, where he studied under some of the leading religious scholars of his time, before leaving for the holy Najaf seminary in Iraq, where he spent 11 years attending the classes of great ulema. Of sharp and inquisitive mind, he had attained ijtehad at the young age of 23. On returning to Iran, he continued to study the new waves of thought and intellectualism that were rapidly spreading throughout the world. This dominated his 60-year academic career, and he entered into lively discussions and debates with leading European intellectuals such as Bertrand Russell and Jean Paul Sartre. Allamah Mohammad Taqi Ja’fari wrote many books on a vast variety of fields, the most prominent of which are his 15-volume “Interpretation and Criticism of Mathnavi”, of the famous Iranian Poet Mowlana Jalal od-Din Roumi's poetical masterpiece, and his unfinished, 27-volume “Translation and Interpretation of the Nahj al-Balagha”. These two major works contain his most important thoughts and ideas in fields like anthropology, sociology, moral ethics, philosophy and mysticism.

18 solar years ago, on this day in 2000 AD, the prominent researcher and writer, Hojjat al-Islam Dr. Mohammad Hadi al-Amini, passed away at the age of 69. Born in Tabriz, he migrated to Iraq in his childhood along with his celebrated father, Allamah Abdul-Hussain Amini, the author of the famous book “al-Ghadeer”. He studied at the seminary of holy Najaf, before graduating from Baghdad University, and went on to obtain PhD from Egypt’s al-Azhar University in Arabic literature. In 1971, he returned to his homeland Iran where he taught at the university, in addition to research and writing of books. Works authored by him include “E’laam Nahj al-Balagha”, “Mu’jam Rijal Fikr wa’l-Adab”, “Itrat dar Qur’an”, and a highly researched work on Hazrat Fatema Zahra (SA), the Immaculate Daughter of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA).

AS/SS