Today is Sunday; 16th of the Iranian month of Dey 1397 solar hijri; corresponding to 29th of the Islamic month of Rabi as-Sani 1440 lunar hijri; and January 6, 2019, of the Christian Gregorian Calendar.

1419 lunar years ago, on this day in 21 AH, one of the most controversial figures in the early history of Islam and initially among Prophet Mohammad’s (SAWA) most avowed enemies, Khaled bin Waleed, died under mysterious circumstances at the age of 50 in Homs – said to be killed by genies, while living in exile in Syria after his dismissal from command of the neo-Muslim Arab army which he had led in rapaciously brutal conquests of parts of the Byzantine and Persian Empires that tarnished the peaceful image of Islam. His own cousin, Omar ibn Khattab had called for his punishment for his unprincipled acts including the cardinal sin of murdering the righteous Muslim, Malek bin Nuwairah, and marrying his widow the same night – an act that was a clear case of adultery. Khaled’s father Waleed, the head of the Makhzum Clan of Mecca and the most wealthiest of the Qoreish, has been denounced by God in ayahs 30 and 31 of Surah Zukhruf for his calling the holy Qur’an ‘sorcery’ and for his bitter enmity towards Prophet Mohammad (SAWA). In several other Surahs, such as 6, 15, 68, 74 and 109, the holy Qur’an has exposed Waleed as a pagan of dubious birth. In such a polytheist atmosphere Khalid grew up and shared his father’s animosity towards Islam and the Prophet. When the Prophet migrated to Medina in safety, frustrating the murderous plots of the likes of Khaled, he participated in the battles imposed by the pagan Arabs on Muslims. In the Battle of Ohad, he earned notoriety for his ambush of the unsuspecting Muslims, and his forces would have killed the Prophet if not for the heroic swordsmanship and valour of the Commander of the Faithful, Imam Ali ibn Abi Taleb (AS), in beating back Khaled’s forces. At Hodeibiyyya, where the Prophet signed the treaty with the Meccans in 7 AH, he plotted to kill the Prophet, but was frustrated in his murderous designs. The next year, realizing the futility of open enmity towards the rising power of Islam, Khaled, along with that other notorious hypocrite, Amr ibn Aas, resorted to a ruse and came to the Prophet in Medina, claiming to have accepted Islam. Soon he joined the Muslims in the march on Mecca and on the peaceful surrender of that city he disobeyed the Prophet’s explicit instructions against bloodshed by killing at least thirty Meccans to settle old scores. The Prophet openly disassociated himself from Khaled and his murderous act, and paid blood money as compensation to the bereaved families. At Ghadeer, Khaled gave oath of allegiance to Imam Ali (AS) on the latter’s declaration as vicegerent by the Prophet on divine commandment, but no sooner did the Prophet pass away, he joined the conspirators in depriving the Imam of his right of political leadership of the ummah. Appointed commander of the Arab armies in the brutal campaigns against the Byzantine and Persian Empires, his constant violation of the laws of Islam made Omar ibn Khattab dismiss him.

1355 solar years ago, on this day in 664 AD, the notorious Omayyad partisan and governor of Egypt, Amr ibn al-Aas, died at the age of around 90 in a state of acute mental agony while recalling his crimes against Islam and humanity, including how he had tried to cheat the Prophet’s righteous heir, Imam Ali (AS), of the caliphate by declaring the rebel Mu'awiyya ibn Abu Sufyan as the caliph. Born out of wedlock in Mecca to a morally-loose slave-girl, named Layla bintHarmalah and called "Nabigha", his paternity was open to doubt in those freewheeling days of Jahiliyya because of the polyandrous relations of his mother with at least five persons at the same time including Abu Sufyan and Aas ibn Wa'el. Although Amr greatly resembled the stingy miser Abu Sufyan, his mother by openly citing the issue of maintenance claimed that the rather generous Aas had fathered her illegitimate child. With the advent of Islam, Amr showed bitter hostility toward Prophet Mohammad (SAWA). When the Prophet migrated to Medina, he was involved in almost all the battles imposed upon Muslims by the pagan Arabs of Mecca. Earlier, when a batch of persecuted Muslims led by the Prophet's cousin, Ja'far ibn Abu Taleb, sought asylum in Abyssinia he led an unsuccessful mission to the court of the Christian king, Negus, for the handover of the refugees. In 8 AH, two years before the passing away of the Prophet and shortly before the surrender of Mecca to the Muslims, Amr, sensing the end of the days of paganism, came to Medina – along with that other avowed enemy of Islam, Khaled bin Waleed – to pretend conversion to Islam, although none of his deeds ever support his claim to be a Muslim. After the Prophet, when the neo-Muslim Arab armies swept in different directions, he led the attack on the Byzantine province of Egypt. When Mu'awiyyah consolidated power in Syria, he joined him as advisor in Damascus and was the evil mind in most of the plots against the Prophet's divinely-decreed successor, Imam Ali ibn Abi Taleb (AS), including the hoisting of copies of the holy Qur'an on spear-points during the War of Siffeen in order to deceive Muslims and evade a definite defeat. Earlier during the battle, to escape certain death from the flashing blade of Imam Ali (AS), Amr while fleeing, shamelessly disrobed himself, making the Imam turn away from such an abhorred sight. In 38 AH, he again attacked Egypt and seized it by brutally martyring the legally appointed governor, Mohammad ibn Abu Bakr. Thus at the time of his agonizing death, he admitted that he felt as if the Mountain of Redhwa was hanging upon his neck and he was being dragged through the eye of a needle for his sins and crimes against Islam and humanity.

1135 solar years ago, on this day in 884 AD, founder of the Alawid state in Tabaristan, northern Iran, Hassan Ibn Zayd, known as “Da’i al-Kabeer” (Elder Missionary) and “Da’iil-al-Haq” (Inviter to Truth), passed away in Amol, Mazandaran, after a twenty-year reign. He was 6^th in line of descent from Imam Hasan Mojtaba (AS), the elder grandson and 2nd Infallible Heir of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA). He was invited by the people of northern Iran to lead them against the usurper Abbasid regime. He enlightened the people with the teachings of the Prophet’s Ahl al-Bayt, and was known for his resolute resistance against the Abbasids and their regional agents. Historians have praised him as a just and equitable ruler, possessing rare energy as a sincerely religious man, well educated, and a patron of letters. He was succeeded by his younger brother, Mohammad, known as “Da’i as-Sagheer” (Younger Missionary), who during his 16 year-rule, until martyrdom while fighting the invading Samanid forces, continued his brother’s enlightened policies and rebuilt the holy shrines in Karbala and Najaf.

979 solar years ago, on this day in 1040 AD, the Ghaznavid king, Mas'oud I, after a reign of nine years, was murdered by his nephew Ahmad, son of his deposed elder twin brother Mohammad, who was subsequently restored to the throne. Mohammad, designated as successor by his famous father, Mahmoud Ghaznavi, the Turkic conqueror of Khorasan, Central Asia and northwestern India, had ruled for five months before being blinded and dethroned by Mas'oud – an able general who held on to his father's Iranian possessions. During the later years of his rule, Mas'oud lost Central Asia and Khorasan to the Seljuq Turks and moved his capital from Ghazni (in present day Afghanistan) to Lahore in what is now Pakistan. The famous Iranian Islamic scientist, Abu Rayhan Berouni has dedicated his work on astronomy titled "Qanoun al-Mas'oudi" to Mas'oud, whose son Mowdoud killed his uncle Mohammad a year later, and became king.

901 solar years ago, on this day in 1118 AD, the Spanish Muslim city of Zaragoza and the province of the same name, now called Aragon, was occupied by Alfonso the Battler, thereby ending 414 years of glorious Islamic rule. Founded by the Romans as Caesar-Augusta, the city was captured by the Goths, who lost it to the Muslims in 714, and was called Saraqusta in Arabic. It grew to become the biggest Muslim city of Northern Spain. It became a hotbed of political intrigue. In 774, its governor, Hussain Ibn Yahya al-Ansari declared Hispania to be a province of Baghdad’s Abbasid caliphate, prompting the Omayyads of Cordoba to launch an abortive attack. Hussain resisted till 788 and in the meantime in 777, beat back an attempt by Charlemagne of France to besiege it. The area changed hands several times among the various Muslim factions. In 884 it was sold by Mohammad Ibn Lubb Ibn Qasi to the Christian Raymond of Pallars, but was immediately retaken by the Muslims. In 886 the Banu Tujibi clan governed it and over a century later declared it as an independent Taifa or emirate. In 1038, Zaragoza was seized by Banu Houd, whose ruler, Abdul-Malik Imad od-Dowla, made the mistake of allying himself with the Castilian Christians against the al-Morawid Muslim dynasty. The treachery proved fatal and in 1118 with the help of mercenaries, Alfonso seized Zaragoza and ended Muslim rule. The magnificent al-Jaferia Palace, built by Ja'far al-Muqtadir, serves as the regional parliament today.

767 lunar years ago, on this day in 673 AH, historian and hadith scholar, Shams od-Din Mohammad ibn Ahmad ibn Osman ibn Qaymaz at-Turkmani, known as adh-Dhahabi from his father's profession of goldsmith, was born in Damascus. He travelled around Syria, Hijaz and Egypt to collect hadith, and penned down the history of Islam and the biographies of prominent figures until the year 704 AH. His works include “Tarikh al-Islam al-Kabir” (Major History of Islam), and “Siyar A'laam an-Nubala” (Lives of Eminent Figures) in 23 volumes.

607 solar years ago, on this day in 1412 AD, Joan of Arc, France’s national heroine, Jeanne d’Arc, known to the English as Joan of Arc or Maid of Orleans, was born in Domremy village in a family of farmers. In 1429 she started her uprising for liberation of the parts of French territory from the occupation of England. In two years she led the French army to several important victories during the Hundred Years' War, which paved the way for the coronation of Charles VII. She was captured by the Burgundians, transferred to the English in exchange for money, put on trial by the pro-English Bishop of Beauvais for charges of insubordination and heterodoxy, and burned at the stake as a heretic in 1431 when she was only 19 years old. She was canonized as a saint by the Catholic Church.

538 solar years ago, on this day in 1481 AD, Ahmed Ibn Kuchuk, the Khan of the Great Horde from 1465 was killed by the Siberian Ibak Khan of the Nogay tribe at the mouth of the River Donets. He seized power from his elder brother Mahmoud and in 1472, entered into alliance with the Polish king Casimir IV against Ivan III of Russia. In 1480, he launched a military campaign against Moscow.

527 solar years ago, on this day in 1492 AD, Christian occupiers of the Spanish Muslim emirate of Gharnata (Granada), led by King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella, entered the magnificent Islamic fortress complex of “al-Hamra” (“The Red” in Arabic and mispronounced ‘Alhambra’ by the Europeans). Today it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and the inspiration for many songs and stories. Spanish Muslim poets described it as "a pearl set in emeralds," in allusion to the colour of its buildings and the woods around them. The palace complex was designed with the mountainous site in mind. The park, overgrown with wildflowers and grass in the spring, was planted by the Muslims of Spain with roses, oranges and myrtles. Completed by the Sultans Yusuf I and Mohammad V, a century before Granada fell to Christian mercenaries from different parts of Europe, the al-Hamra is a reflection of the culture of the last centuries of Islamic Spain. Among the architectural beauties of this vast complex which for centuries was neglected and damaged by the Christians, before its modern restoration are the Royal Complex, the Court of Lions, the Court of Myrtles, and the Hall of Ambassadors – each structure, marveled for its grand design of slender horse shoe arches, columns, arabesques, and dazzling Arabic calligraphy.

326 solar years ago, on this day in1693 AD, Mohammad IV, the 19th Ottoman sultan and the 10th self-styled Turkish caliph, died in Edrine during imprisonment 6 years after being deposed. 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. Though saved by harem servants, it left 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. His reign changed the nature of the Sultan's position as he gave up most of his executive power to his Grand Vizier. His reign is notable for 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 Ottoman rule was close to extending deep into 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 wars by rejecting feelers of European states to form a coalition against the Ottoman Empire. In 1687, after the Ottoman defeat in the Second Battle of Mohacs, Mohammad IV was deposed.

167 solar years ago, on this day in 1852 AD, the blind French educator Louis Braille, who developed a tactile form of printing and writing for the blind, died at the age of 43. He became blind at the age four following an accident. In 1821, while Braille was at a school for the blind, a soldier named Charles Barbier visited and showed a code system he had invented. The system, called "night writing" had been designed for soldiers in war trenches to silently pass instructions using combinations of twelve raised dots. Young Braille realised how useful this system of raised dots could be. He developed a simpler scheme using six dots. In 1827 the first book in what is now called Braille was published, enabling the blind to write.

136 solar years ago, on this day in 1883 AD, famous Levantine Arab writer and poet, Khalil Jebran Khalil, was born in Bsharri in the Mount Lebanon Mutasarrifate of the Syrian Province of the Ottoman Empire (modern-day Lebanon). As a young man he migrated with his family to the United States, where he studied art and began his literary career, writing in both English and Arabic. He lived the major part of his life in New York (where he died at the age of 48), though he came back to Lebanon and spent several years mastering the Arabic language and absorbing the culture of the east, before returning to the US. He wrote and composed poems in both Arabic and English. Although a Christian he was highly influenced by Islam and the dynamic personalities of Prophet Muhammad (SAWA) and Imam Ali ibn Abi Taleb (AS). He wrote: “I am Christian and I am proud of it, but I am in love with Prophet of Islam and have great regard for his name.”

On Imam Ali (AS), he writes: “In my view, (Imam) Ali was the first Arab to have contact with and converse with the universal soul. He died a martyr of his greatness; he died while prayer was between his two lips. The Arabs did not realise his value until appeared among their Persian neighbors some who knew the difference between gems and gravels. He was like a prophet sent for a nation other than his own during a period to which he did not belong.”

59 solar years ago, on this day in 1960 AD, founder of modern Persian poetry, Ali Esfandiari, who wrote under the penname NimaYoushij, passed away. Born in Yoush village, Mazandaran Province, northern Iran, after completing his studies in Tehran, he studied French and Arabic, and started writing poems. His school of Persian poetry is known as blank verse. The important features of his poetry include presentation of contemporary topics of importance in simple and friendly language. He broke away from the classic frameworks in his poetry. His most important work is “Afsaneh”.

40 solar years ago, on this day in 1979 AD, following collapse of the military government of Gholam Reza Azhaari and its replacement by Shapour Bakhtiar’s cabinet on the orders of British-installed and US-backed Pahlavi regime, the Father of the Islamic Revolution, Imam Khomeini (RA), declared from his place of exile near Paris in France that the new government was illegal and the people should continue their struggle till the end of monarchic rule.

13 solar years ago, on this day in 2006 AD, in a case of racism, Afro American teenager, 14-year old Martin Lee Anderson  died a day after he was brutally beaten at a juvenile detention camp in Florida by white US officers. Videotape showed that he was punched and kicked. In May 2007 the Florida state legislature agreed to pay Anderson’s family $5 million to settle civil claims, but a few months later, an all-white jury acquitted 8 former boot camp workers of manslaughter, despite evidence.

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