Today is Saturday; 3rd of the Iranian month of Azar 1397 solar hijri; corresponding to 16th of the Islamic month of Rabi al-Awwal 1440 lunar hijri; and November 24, 2018, of the Christian Gregorian Calendar.

1440 lunar years ago, on this day, a few days after his Hijra or migration from Mecca, Prophet Mohammad (SAWA), held the first-ever public Friday Prayer. This landmark congregation was held on the outskirts of Medina at Qoba, where on the Prophet’s instructions the construction of the first-ever mosque had started on Rabi al-Awwal 12. The Prophet had halted at Qoba to await his dear cousin, Imam Ali (AS), who on his instructions had agreed to sleep on his bed the night of Hijra so that he could migrate undetected from the assassins hovering around the abode of divine revelation. The Prophet had also instructed the Imam to return to the people of Mecca the things they used to keep as safe-custody with him as “Amin” (Trustworthy). After three days, the Imam, for whose selfless risking of life on the night of Hijra, God Almighty revealed to the Prophet ayah 207 of Surah Baqarah, left Mecca and a few days later arrived in Qoba with the ladies of the Bani Hashem clan, including his mother, Fatema bint Asad (SA), and his future wife, the Prophet's Immaculate daughter, Hazrat Fatema Zahra (SA). The Prophet's holding of the first-ever Friday Prayer is indicative of the religious, social, cultural, and political importance of this congregational ritual, which Muslims have been recommended to perform every week.

1183 solar years ago, on this day in 835 AD, as per the Gregorian Calendar, Imam Mohammad at-Taqi al-Jawad (AS), the 9^th Infallible Heir of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA), was martyred in Baghdad through poisoning at the age of 25 by Mu’tasim-Billah, the 8^th self-styled caliph of the usurper Abbasid regime. The date and year according to the Islamic lunar hijri calendar was 30^th Zilqa’dah, 220 AH. His period of imamate was 17 years, having inherited the divine mantle at the tender age of 8 on the martyrdom of his father, Imam Reza (AS) in distant Khorasan – also through poisoning. Similar to the Prophets Jesus and John (Yahya), who since childhood displayed their God-given wisdom, Imam Jawad (AS) enlightened all those who came into contact with him. His memorable debates with scholars, while yet a boy, are recorded in books of history and hadith. His generosity in both spiritual and material matters was a byword, and he reposes in eternal peace beside his grandfather, Imam Musa al-Kazem (AS) in the gold-plated twin-domed shrine of Kazemayn.

1094 lunar years ago, on this day in 346 AH, the noted Islamic historian and geographer, Ali bin Hussain al-Mas’oudi, passed away in Egypt at the age of 62. Born in Baghdad in an Arab family descended from Abdullah ibn Mas’oud, the prominent companion of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA), like his ancestor he was a staunch follower of the Ahl al-Bayt. He is sometimes referred to as the Herodotus of the Arabs, and was one of the first to combine history and scientific geography in a large-scale work, as is evident in his famous book “Morouj az-Zahab wa Ma’adan al-Jawaher” (Meadows of Gold and Mines of Gems), which is an encyclopedic history of the world. Mas’oudi widely travelled and his journeys took him to most of the Persian provinces, Armenia, Georgia and other regions of the Caspian Sea; as well as to Arabia, Syria and Egypt. He also travelled to the Indus Valley, and other parts of India, especially the western coast; and he voyaged more than once to East Africa. He also sailed on the Indian Ocean, the Red Sea, the Mediterranean and the Caspian. It is said that Sri Lanka and China were also among the lands he visited, as is evident by the precise information he has provided to readers over a millennium ago. Among the other writings of Mas’oudi mention could be made of “at-Tanbih wa’l-Ishraaf” (Book of Admonition and Revision).

441 solar years ago, on this day in 1577 AD, Ismail II, the 3^rd king of the Safavid dynasty died at the age of 40 on consuming poisoned opium after a brief 15-month reign of terror and fratricide in Iran. Imprisoned by his father Shah Tahmasp I for plotting to seize the throne he was freed and declared king by a faction of the powerful Qizilbash Guard in the dispute that ensued on the death of Shah Tahmasp. The Qizilbash were split between him and his younger brother Haydar Ali. The pro-Haydar faction was briefly successful in placing their candidate on the throne but Haydar was killed in the ensuing fight between supporters and opponents that made his tutor, the great scholar, Mir Mohammad Momin Astarabadi to leave Iran for the safety of the Deccan in southern India, where he became Prime Minister of the Qotb-Shahi Dynasty of Iranian origin of Golkandah and helped found the city of Hyderabad. Another faction tried to make a third son of Tahmasp as king, but was thwarted by Ismail's supporters. It seems the almost 20-year imprisonment of Ismail at the fortress of Qahqaha had affected his mind. As well as executing members of the faction that had opposed him, he also turned on his own supporters. He killed or blinded five of his own brothers and four other Safavid princes. He is known in Iranian history as "Ismail-e Murted" (The Apostate) for turning away from the path of the Ahl al-Bayt of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA). The Qizilbash began to regret their choice and plotted to assassinate him with the help of his sister Pari Khan Khanum. lsmail was succeeded by his almost blind brother, Mohammad Khodabandah, the father of Shah Abbas the Great.

386 solar years ago, on this day in 1632 AD, Dutch philosopher and sociologist, Baruch de Spinoza, was born. He was a follower of the school of Rene Descartes, and his thoughts are close to the Sufis of Islam. He has presented a logical criticism of the beliefs of Judaism. His books include “Politics”. He died in 1677.

369 lunar years ago, on this day in 1071 AH, the prominent jurist and scholar, Mullah Abdullah Touni Basharwi, known as Fazel Touni, passed away in Kermanshah, western Iran. A product of the seminary of Isfahan, he wrote several books, including "al-Wafiyah" on the fundamentals of faith.

306 solar years ago, on this day in 1712 AD, Ali II ibn Hussain, the 4^th ruler of the Hussainid Dynasty of Tunisia was born. He ruled for 22 years from 1759 until his death in 1782. The dynasty founded in 1705 by the Greek Muslim from the island of Crete, Hussain ibn Ali, who was appointed governor by the Ottomans, ruled for the two-and-a-half centuries, even under French colonial rule that started in 1881, until it was overthrown in 1957 by Habib Bourqiba.

187 solar years ago, on this day in 1831 AD, British physicist, Michael Faraday, discovered induced electricity. Born in 1791, he started working in a bookshop, where he studied scientific works. Soon, with the help of British physicist, Humphrey, he became a laboratory assistant. His experiments in the fields of chemistry, metallurgy, and development of electrical lamps, brought him numerous accomplishments. He invented the electrical engine through conversion of magnetic force into electrical force. He also managed to liquefy many gases, including chlorine.

141 solar years ago, on this day in 1877 AD, British author Anna Sewell's classic animal welfare novel “Black Beauty” was published. It is the story of a horse, and has been made into a popular children’s movie. The story is narrated in the first person as an autobiographical memoir told by the titular horse named Black Beauty—beginning with his carefree days as a colt on an English farm with his mother, to his difficult life pulling cabs in London, to his happy retirement in the country. Along the way, he meets with many hardships and recounts many tales of cruelty and kindness. Each short chapter recounts an incident in Black Beauty's life containing a lesson or moral typically related to the kindness, sympathy, and understanding treatment of horses.

113 solar years ago, on this day in 1905 AD, during the Constitutional Movement, people burned to the ground the Bank of Russia building in Tehran following desecration of dead bodies of Muslims in the adjacent graveyard by the Russians. The British and the Russians, by setting up banks, exploited the weak Qajarid dynasty to loot Iran of its wealth.

112 solar years ago, on this day in 1906 AD, the publication of the eight-page Persian daily “Majlis” started in Tehran. In addition to publishing domestic and foreign news, the paper reflected the debates in the Iranian parliament. Adib ul-Mamalek Farahani, one of the acclaimed authors, was the editor-in-chief.

53 solar years ago, on this day in 1965 AD, army commander-in-chief, Joseph-Desire Mobutu, staged a coup to seize the presidency of the Democratic Republic of Congo, five years after independence from Belgium. He ruled with an iron fist for 32 years and began to Africanize names, most notably changing the country’s name to the Republic of Zaire and his own name to Mobutu Sese Seko Koko Ngbendu Wa Za Banga (“The all-powerful warrior who, because of his endurance and inflexible will to win, will go from conquest to conquest, leaving fire in his wake”). This violent and ruthless dictator was supported by the Western regimes, especially the US and France. Congo has always been in the spotlight of the West, given its strategic position in Central Africa and existence of ample copper and diamond resources.

50 solar years ago, on this day in 1968 AD, the contemporary Iranian scholar and lexicographer, Hameed Hassani, was born in Saqqez, Kurdistan Province.  Based in Tehran since 1987, he concentrates on Persian lexicography and linguistics, and is also an expert on Persian, Arabic, and Kurdish prosody. He has published 7 books and more than 80 papers on Persian, Arabic, and Kurdish language and literature. His books include “Persian Beginner's Dictionary”, (Farhang-e Zaban-Amuz-e Farsi), “Arabic Poetry: Prosody and Rhyme” (Aruz-o Qafiyeh Arabi), and “A Glossary of Constitution of Islamic Republic of Iran”. Hassani has also published with extensive annotations, Reza Qoli Khan Hedayat’s “Madarej ol-Balaghah” on Rhetoric, and the “Tazkere-e Meraat ol-Khayaal”, which is a Who's Who of poets and poetesses, compiled in 1690 in India by Shir Ali Khan Lodhi during Aurangzeb’s rule. Among the books under preparation by Hassani is the “Bank-e Zaban-e Farsi” or The Persian Word Bank, which is a one-hundred-million-word corpus.

34 solar years ago, on this day in 1984 AD, the Iranian veteran singer, Mahmoud Karimi, died. His father taught him to play the violin. His sudden death obstructed his efforts to present his latest masterpiece, ‘Avaz-e Nay’, to lovers of music.

25 solar years ago, on this day in 1992 AD, Iran added the first submarine to its navy, becoming the first country in West Asia to field a submarine. Iran’s first submarine was Russian-built, but since then Iran has been building its own underwater fleet. Today its navy is equipped with scores of advanced submarines.

18 solar years ago, on this day in 2000 AD, prominent theologian, Ayatollah Seyyed Mahdi Rouhani, passed away in his hometown holy Qom at the age of 76. A product of the famous seminary of holy Najaf, he returned to Iran after an 8-year stay in Iraq where he attained the level of Ijtehad. A firm supporter of the Father of the Islamic Revolution, Imam Khomeini (RA), he was an expert on various religions and sects. He has written some interesting books on the history and seditions of the Salafis and how they distort Islam to deceive others.

9 solar years ago, on this day in 2009 AD, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva warmly welcomed Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on his state visit to Brasilia, and urged the US and West European regimes to drop threats against Iran’s peaceful nuclear programme and instead negotiate a fair solution to what he described as the right of the Islamic Republic of Iran as an NPT member observing IAEA rules. Meanwhile, Iran which has a deep distrust of t he broken promises of the US and West European regimes, said it was ready to exchange its low-enriched uranium with a higher enriched material, but only on its own soil, to guarantee the West follows through with promises to give the needed fuel for its reactors.

2 solar years ago, on this day in 2016 AD, Ayatollah Seyyed Abdul-Karim Musawi Ardabili passed away in holy Qom at the age of 90 and was laid to rest in the mausoleum of Hazrat Fatema Ma’souma (SA). Born in Ardabil, he studied at the seminary of holy Qom before travelling to Iraq at the age of 19 for higher studies at the famous seminary of holy Najaf. On his return to Iran he started political activities against the Pahlavi regime and became a staunch follower of the Father of the Islamic Revolution, Imam Khomeini (RA). He founded institutes such as Maktab Amir al-Mu'minin, Maktab Tawhid, and Mofid schools. After the victory of the Islamic Revolution, he established Mofid University in Qom. He was elected to the Assembly of Experts and served as provisional Friday Prayer Leader of Tehran for several years. He was also head of the Judiciary Branch of the Islamic Republic. Following the passing away of Imam Khomeini, he retired to Qom and was engaged in grooming students and writing books until his death.

AS/SS