Today is Wednesday; 12th of the Iranian month of Dey 1397 solar hijri; corresponding to 25th of the Islamic month of Rabi as-Sani 1440 lunar hijri; and January 2, 2019, of the Christian Gregorian Calendar.

1376 lunar years ago, on this day in 64 AH, Mu’awiyyah II, the son of the tyrant  Yazid, abdicated the caliphate after only a month and eleven days in power as the self-styled caliph of the usurper Omayyad regime following the death by divine wrath of his accursed father, the perpetrator of the heartrending tragedy of Karbala. The 19-year old youth strongly denounced his father Yazid’s crimes against Islam and humanity, especially the tragic martyrdom of Imam Husain (AS), the grandson and 3^rd Infallible Heir of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA). It is said he was never again seen in public and is believed to have died or killed by his own kinsmen. He was replaced by the renegade, Marwan ibn al-Hakam, which meant a shift in the lineage of the Godless Omayyad regime from the offspring of Abu Sufyan to those of Hakam – both of whom grandsons of Omayya and avowed enemies of the Prophet of Islam. After some nine months in power, Marwan was killed by his most recent wife, a widow of the tyrant Yazid, who put a pillow on his face and sat over it till his breath was snuffed out. Some 67 years later, the Marwanids were thrown into the dustbin of history with the rise of the new dynasty of usurper caliphs, the Abbasids.

1072 lunar years ago, on this day in 368 AH, Spanish Muslim scholar, Yousuf ibn Abdullah, popularly known as “Ibn al-Abdul-Bir”, was born in Qortaba, a city in Spain which is called Cordoba today. A leading Sunni jurist, he initially adhered to the Zaheri School of jurisprudence founded by the Iranian Dawoud ibn Ali az-Zaheri of Isfahan, but later in life became a follower of the Malekite School. In his work, “al-Ist’aab fi Ma’rifat al-Ashaab” or The Comprehensive List of Names of the Companions, he has considered as a ‘companion’ any person who even once in life met Prophet Mohammad (SAWA). Nonetheless, he has acknowledged the unrivalled merits of the Prophet’s Ahl al-Bayt or Blessed Household, especially Imam Ali ibn Abi Taleb (AS). His other works include “al-Aql wa’l-Uqala” or Reason and the People of Wisdom, and “al-Qasd wa’l-Umam fî Nasab al-Arab wa’l-Ajam” or Endeavors and the Nations: Genealogies of the Arabs and Non-Arabs.

972 lunar years ago, on this day in 478 AH, prominent Iranian Shafe’i scholar, Abdul-Malik bin Abdullah al-Juwaini, passed away at the age of 59 in Neishapour, Khorasan. He was known as Imam al-Haramayn because of his sojourn in the two holy cities of Mecca and Medina, where he was in self-exile due to his jurisprudential and theological differences with the Hanafi School, which the Seljuq Turks were promoting after conquering Iran. After several years in exile, Juwaini was invited back to teach at Neishapour by the Shafe’i vizier, Khwaja Nizam ol-Molk Tousi, the founder of the Madrasa-e Nizamiyya. He was teacher of the famous Iranian Sufi scholar, Abu Hamed Mohammad Ghazali, and wrote several books.

762 lunar years ago, on this day in 638 AH, the first Muslim queen of India, Razia Sultan, was killed while fleeing along with her husband, Altunia by Jat brigands, a day after the two were defeated in battler by her younger brother, Bahram, who had seized the Delhi sultanate through a plot. Razia, was designated heir-apparent and subsequently ruler by her father, Shams od-Din Iltutmish, the Turkic slave-sultan of India, following the death of her elder brother. She had exceptional administrative and military qualities, and established schools, academies, research centers, and public libraries that included the works of ancient philosophers along with the teaching of the holy Qur'an and the Prophet’s hadith. Pre-Islamic Sanskrit works on philosophy, astronomy, and literature were reportedly translated and studied in the schools and colleges she had established. Razia called herself “sultan” and refused to be addressed as Sultana because it meant "wife or mistress of a sultan"

527 solar years ago, on this day in 1492 AD, Mohammad XII, the 22nd ruler of the emirate of Granada, was tricked into surrendering the last Muslim region in Spain to the Christian invaders made up of mercenaries from Spain, Italy, Switzerland and other states, thereby ending almost eight centuries of glorious Muslim rule in the Iberian Peninsula. The people strongly defended their Spanish Muslim homeland during the 10-year war waged by Ferdinand and Isabel, who then resorted to bribes and deceit to gain control of the Nasrid Kingdom that was founded in 1238 on the collapse of the powerful al-Muwahhid Dynasty. The pleas to the Muslim world for help fell on deaf ears, because of the seditious diplomacy of certain European powers to involve into fratricidal wars the Ottomans (who were almost on the borders of Italy) and the Mamluk rulers of Egypt-Syria that prevented the army assembled by the Mamluk Sultan from being dispatched to the aid of the Spanish Muslims. About 200,000 Spanish Muslims migrated to North Africa after the fall of Granada including Mohammad XII, who died in Morocco 41 years later in 1533. The ruler's energetic uncle, who had briefly ruled as Mohammad XIII (az-Zaghall) during his nephew's imprisonment by the Christians of Castile, went across the Strait of Gibraltar to gather an army for liberation of Granada, but was prevented and imprisoned by the short-sighted ruler of Fez. Those of the Spanish Muslims who remained in their occupied homeland were promised rights to their property, laws, customs, and religion, all of which the Christians brutally violated, and by 1609 after systematic Christianization of the population, expelled to North Africa thousands of Muslims who refused to convert. However, Islamic culture, which led to the development of science and civilization at a time when Christian Europe was immersed in the dark ages, persisted and was incorporated in local cultures, thus leading to the Renaissance in Europe. Among the architectural wonders built by Spanish Muslims in Granada is the famous Alhambra Fortress complex, which is among the testimonies to the glories of Islam in Spain. It is said that while leaving his Spanish homeland for exile, when the defeated Muslim ruler reached a rocky prominence which gave a last view of his lost dominions, he reined in his horse and, surveying for the last time the Alhambra and the green valley that spread below, burst into tears. His mother, Fatema, who was active during the defence and had advised him against surrendering the emirate, reproached him saying: "You weep like a woman for what you couldn't defend as a man."

405 solar years ago, on this day in 1613 AD, the Persian poetess and highly cultured lady of the Moghal court of Hindustan (northern subcontinent), Salima Sultan Begum, who was a senior consort of Emperor Jalal od-Din Mohammad Akbar Shah, passed away in Agra at the age of 60. Her mother Gulrukh Begum was a daughter of Emperor Zaheer od-Din Babar, the founder of the Moghal Empire, which means she was the niece of Emperor Humayun and maternal cousin of Emperor Akbar. In her teens she was married to the famous general Bairam Khan Baharlou, who was forty years her senior, and on his assassination three years after the childless marriage, she married Akbar, who greatly respected her and considered her second only to his principal wife, Ruqaiyya Sultan Begum –daughter of his uncle Hindal Mirza. Though issueless, Salima Sultan Begum, along with Ruqaiyya and their mother-in-law the highly accomplished Iranian lady Hamida Bano Begum, wielded major influence over Akbar and his son Jahangir – her stepson and next emperor – to the extent that it were these ladies who succeeded in reconciling father and son after the latter’s abortive revolt. Salima personally went to Allahabad to inform Jahangir of his father’s forgiveness and brought him to the court. Earlier in 1575 Salima left Agra for Mecca along with her famous aunt, Gulbadan Begum, and other Timurid ladies, via the Arabian Sea, and after performing the Hajj pilgrimage four times during the stay in Arabia, it was March 1582 by the time they returned to Agra. A renowned Persian poet of her age, Salima used the penname “Makhfi” (Hidden One), and as a gifted writer and avid reader of books, she maintained a great library and kept account of state affairs. Jahangir in his memoirs “Tuzuk-e Jahangiri” praises his stepmother Salima both for her natural qualities and her acquirements, saying: “She was adorned with all good qualities... in women this degree of skill and capacity is seldom found.”

377 solar years ago, on this day in 1642 AD, Mohammad IV, the 19th Ottoman sultan and the 10th self-styled Turkish caliph, was born in Istanbul to Sultan Ibrahim’s Rutherian (Ukrainian) concubine. Soon after his birth, Ibrahim was so enraged that he tore the infant from his mother's arms and flung him into a cistern. Fortunately, he was rescued by the harem servants, but this left him with a lifelong scar on his head. On Ibrahim’s execution, he was placed on the throne at the age of 6 and ruled for almost 40 years till his ouster in 1687. He died in 1693 during imprisonment. His reign changed the nature of the Sultan's position forever by giving up most of his executive power to his Grand Vizier. His reign is notable for the peace with the Safavid Empire of Iran which enabled him to stage a brief revival of Ottoman fortunes in Europe led by Grand Vizier Mohammad Koprulu Pasha and his son Fazel Ahmad Pasha. The Turks regained the Aegean islands from Venice, and Crete, during the Cretan War (lasting from 1645 to 1669). They also fought successful campaigns against Transylvania (in 1660) and Poland (during 1670 to 1674). At one point, when Mohammad IV allied himself with Petro Doroshenko, Ottoman rule was close to extending into Podolia deep inside Ukraine. Supporting the 1683 Hungarian uprising against Austrian rule, a large Ottoman army besieged Vienna, but suffered a defeat on the Kahlenberg Heights, by Polish forces led by King John III Sobieski and his allies, resulting in reversal of fortune for the Turks, who would have lost Iraq and Anatolia as well, if Shah Suleiman Safavi of Iran had chosen to exploit the weakness of the Ottoman Empire, after the Ottomans suffered a serious defeat at the Battle of Vienna in 1683. The Iranians refrained from inter-Muslim sedition by refusing the proposals from the European states to form a coalition against the Ottoman Empire. In 1687, after the crushing Ottoman defeat in the Second Battle of Mohacs, Mohammad IV was deposed.

176 solar years ago, on this day in 1843 AD, postal service was modernized and the first post box was installed in the Austrian Capital, Vienna. In those days, postal letters and packages were transported by horses, camels, and special boats. But, later on, new methods were implemented and the postal service gradually developed to its current form.

153 solar years ago, on this day in 1866 AD, the Australian poet and researcher, Gilbert Murray, was born. He went to England at the age of 11, where after completing his studies he taught ancient Greek literature and culture at Oxford University. His research on ancient Greece led him to conclude that although the Greeks had several deities but in principle the spirit of monotheism governed their customs and traditions. He wrote several books including the “History of Ancient Greek Literature” and “Faith, War and Politics”.

99 solar years ago, on this day in 1920 AD, the American author and chemist of Russian origin, Isaac Asimov, was born in Russia in a village near what is now Belarus. His family migrated to the US when he was three years old. After obtaining PhD in chemistry he studied several other branches of science, and decided to simplify the study of scientific texts for youngsters. He wrote 270 books on science, science-fiction, mathematics, and humanities, including the novel "I, Robot". He coined the term “robotics”. Asimov died in 1992.

81 solar years ago, on this day in 1938 AD, Yusuf E’tesami, titled E’tesam ol-Molk, the Iranian journalist, official, publisher, translator, and writer, passed away at the age of 64. His father Ibrahim was from Ashtian and the head of finance of the Iranian province of Azarbaijan. He was the elder brother of the architect and painter Abu’l-Hassan E’tesami, and the father of the famous poetess Parvin E’tesami. In the 1890s, Yusuf E’tesami established the first typographical printing house in Tabriz. He was member of the Majlis or Iranian Parliament for three years from 1909 to 1912, and founded the “Bahar” journal in 1910. At various junctures he served in the Ministry of Education and headed the Court and Majlis Libraries. Proficient in several languages including Arabic, French and German, Yusuf E’tesami produced about forty volumes of translations, in particular some Persian translations of the Egyptian writer Qasim Amin's “Tahrir al-Mara”, Frenchman Victor Hugo's “Les “Miserables”, and the German Friedrich Schiller's “Kabale und Liebe”. He also wrote a commentary in Arabic of the Central Asian Persian Mu’tazalite scholar Abu’l-Qasim az-Zamakhshari's “Atwaq adh-Dhahab”, and compiled a three-volume catalogue of manuscripts in the Majlis Library.

77 solar years ago, on this day in 1942 AD, the jurisprudent Ayatollah Fayyaz Zanjani passed away in his hometown Zanjan, where for three decades he was source of emulation for the local people. Son of the renowned mujtahed Akhound Mullah Mohammad, he completed his religious studies in Tehran, before returning to Zanjan. He was a prominent teacher who groomed several scholars and strove to promote the teachings of the Prophet’s Ahl al-Bayt in society. 

30 solar years ago, on this day in 1989 AD, the historic epistle of the Father of the Islamic Revolution, Imam Khomeini (RA), was delivered to the last president of the Soviet Union, Mikhail Gorbachev, inviting him to return to God and spiritual values. The epistle also invited him to study the divine religion of Islam, and predicted the end of communism. Part of the epistle read: One should turn to facts. The main problem of the Soviet Union is not the right of ownership, economy and freedom. Your main problem is your disbelief in God; the same problem which has, and will push the West toward the dead end. Your main problem is a long and pointless fight against God; the Source of the universe and creation.” The epistle added: It is perfectly clear to everyone that hereafter communism would be seen in the world’s political history museums because Marxism does not meet any of the actual needs of mankind… I want you to seriously study Islam, because of the ethereal and global values of this dynamic religion, which can salvage nations and solve the major problems of mankind. Two years later, Imam Khomeini’s prophecy about the end of Marxism materialized and the Soviet Union disintegrated.

7 solar years ago, on this day in 2012 AD, Iran test-fired a surface-to-surface cruise missile named Qader as part of the Islamic Republic’s drive toward self-sufficiency in defence.

6 solar years ago, on this day in 2013 AD, the Iranian media reported that the Islamic Republic has captured 2 US RQ11 Raven surveillance drones over the last 17 months and that much of their data has been de-coded. Iranian engineers have successfully manufactured this advanced drones and modified them as per Iranian strategies.

3 solar years ago, on this day in 2016 AD, Sheikh Nimr Baqer an-Nimr, the prominent religious leader of the eastern part of the British created entity called Saudi Arabia, was martyred by the Wahhabi regime at the age of 57 despite the appeals of several countries and human rights organizations. Born in Awamiyya, he completed his higher religious studies in Iran and Syria. As Friday Prayer Leader of his hometown, he strove for materialization of the deprived birthrights of the native Shi’a Muslim majority of the oil-rich Eastern Province. His popularity, especially among the youth and his bold criticism of the dictatorial policies of the regime in Riyadh, coupled with calls for free elections, led to his imprisonment and torture in 2006. He warned that if the rights of Shi’a Muslims are not materialized, the oil-rich East, which was occupied the Aal-e Saud during World War 1, had the right to reassert its independence. The Wahhabi regime arrested him and 35 other activists. During the 2011–12 protests, Sheikh Nimr called for protestors to resist police bullets using "the roar of the word" rather than violence, and predicted the collapse of the Saudi regime if repression continued. On 8 July 2012 Saudi police shot him in the leg and kidnapped him by opening fire into a crowd of thousands of protestors and killing several people. Sheikh Nimr was tortured in prison and started a hunger strike, as a result of which his health deteriorated before his cruel execution, which angered Muslims worldwide and brought condemnations for the US-backed Saudi regime.

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