Today is Wednesday; 19th of the Iranian month of Dey 1397 solar hijri; corresponding to 2nd of the Islamic month of Jumadi al-Awwal 1440 lunar hijri; and January 9, 2019, of the Christian Gregorian Calendar.

1338 solar years ago, on this day in 681 AD, the Twelfth Council of Toledo was initiated by King Erwig of the Visigoths of Spain, and enacted twenty-eight laws against the Jews. The bishops ordered the reading in all the churches of the canons against the Jews and conserved all acts of abjuration and conversion of Jews, prohibiting the ‘conversos’ from returning to Judaism. Christians have historically hated, persecuted and massacred the Jews, because of their complicity in the plot to handover Prophet Jesus to the Romans, as well as their continued slandering of the Messiah and his pure and chaste mother, the Virgin Mary, in whose honour there is a Surah or chapter in the holy Qur’an.

1049 lunar years ago, on this day in 391 AH, the Iranian poet, Abu Ishaq Kesa-i Marvazi, passed away at the age of 41 in his hometown, the Khorasani city of Marv, which was seized by Russia in 1884 and is now in the present day republic of Turkmenistan. His life was concurrent with the waning years of the Iranian Samanid Dynasty of Bukhara and the rise of the Turkic Ghaznavid Dynasty of Ghazna. Hence he has written poems in praise of the rulers of these two dynasties, before embracing the truth of the school of the school of the Ahl al-Bayt. Thereafter he devoted his life to writing poetry on the merits of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA) and his First Infallible Heir, Imam Ali (AS). He has left a Divan of poems.

1017 lunar years ago, on this day in 423 AH, the famous calligrapher Abu’l-Hassan Ali ibn Hilal Ibn al-Bawwab, passed away in Baghdad. He invented the cursive “Rayhani” and “Muhaqqaq” scripts. He refined several of the calligraphic styles invented a century earlier by the famous Ibn Muqlah, including the “Naskhi” and “Tawqi” scripts, and collected and preserved for his students numerous original manuscripts of that master. “Ibn al-Bawwab”, which means “son of the doorkeeper”, was from a poor family, but he received a thorough education in law and memorized the holy Qur’an. His interest in calligraphy was inspired by Mohammad ibn Asad and was developed under Mohammad ibn Samsamani, both of whom were students of Ibn Muqlah. In all, Ibn al-Bawwab produced 64 handwritten copies of the Qur’an. One of the most beautiful in the “Rayhani” script is in the Laleli Mosque in Istanbul. Ibn al-Bawwab was recognized as a master in his own time; his school of calligraphy lasted until Baghdad fell to the Mongol invaders more than two centuries after his death.

892 solar years ago, on this day in 1127 AD, during the Jin–Song Wars, invading Jurchen soldiers of the Jin dynasty besieged and sacked Bianjing (Kaifeng), the capital of the Song dynasty of China. They abducted Emperor Qinzong of Song and others, ending the Northern Song dynasty.

737 solar years ago, on this day in 1282 AD, Spanish Muslim scholar, Sa'eed ibn Hakam al-Qurashi, who was also ruler of the Mediterranean Balearic island of Minorca (Manurqa in Arabic), passed away at the age of 77. Born in what is now Portugal in the city of Tavira (Tabira in Arabic) in the Algarve region (al-Gharb or the west, in Arabic), he studied philology at Seville (Ishbiliya in Arabic) and took part in literary reunions of famous Arabic poets. He was well versed in Islamic law and medicine, in addition to being a philologist, grammarian and poet. After the occupation of the Balearic Islands by the Christian forces of Aragon, Sa’eed ibn Hakam took the title of Ra’ees and declared Minorca independent. He built a strong political apparatus in Madinat-al-Jazira (modern Ciutadella) with a council of ministers, secretaries and clan representatives. On 17 January 1287, five years after his death, following five glorious centuries of Muslim rule, the Christians occupied this Muslim island, killed many of its inhabitants, sold several of them as slaves in Ibiza, Valencia and Barcelona, and forcibly Christianized the rest.

670 solar years ago, on this day in 1349 AD, the Jewish population of Basel, Switzerland, believed by the residents to be the cause of Black Death, was rounded up and incinerated by Christians, who are notorious for their frequent bloody persecution of the followers of Judaism throughout history.

406 lunar years ago, on this day in 1034 AH, the prominent scholar-statesman of Iran and Deccan (southern India), Mir Mohammad Momin Astarabadi, passed away in Haiderabad and was laid to rest in the vast graveyard he had laid out by mixing shipload of soil from holy Karbala, and which is known till this day as Daer-e Mir Momin. Born in Astarabad (Gorgan near the Caspian Sea in today's Golestan Province), he was appointed tutor to Prince Haidar Mirza, the chosen successor of Shah Tahmasp I, the 2nd emperor of the Safavid Dynasty of Iran. On Haider’s murder following the death of Shah Tahmasp, he realized the gravity of situation under the fratricidal Ismail II (notorious as 'murtad' or apostate), and left Iran for pilgrimage to the holy shrines in Iraq. Then he sailed to southern India to join the court of Sultan Ibrahim Qotb Shah of the Golkandeh Sultanate of Iranian Turkic origin. He rose to prominence in the reign of the next king, Mohammad Quli Qotb Shah, becoming Peshwa (prime minister). A promoter of the teachings of the Prophet of Islam and his Infallible Ahl al-Bayt, on his advice and under his supervision, the city of Haiderabad was built with the imposing structure of Charminar as its centre. He wrote several books and trained a large number of scholars in various fields. Mir Momin's name is alive in Haiderabad and the Deccan, and his grave is a site of pilgrimage.

259 solar years ago, on this day in 1760 AD, the Afghans defeated the Marathas in the Battle of Barari Ghat, in one of a series of victories to gain control of the decaying Moghal Empire, which gave the crafty British time to consolidate their power in Bengal, after they had contrived with traitors to defeat Nawab Siraj od-Dowlah (of Iranian ancestry) in 1757. At Barari Ghat on the banks of River Jamna, 16 km north of Delhi, the Maratha chief Dattaji Sindhia, retreating from the Punjab before the army of Ahmad Shah Durrani, was surprised by Afghan troops who, concealed by high reeds, crossed the river. Dattaji was killed and his army routed. His defeat opened the way to the Afghan occupation of Delhi. The next year, Ahmad Shah as a veteran general of Nader Shah Afshar of Iran, completely broke the power of the Marathas by his resounding victory in the 3rd Battle of Panipat.

227 solar years ago, on this day in 1792 AD, a peace agreement was signed between the Ottoman and Russian Empires to end the wars that had started in August 1787, because of the Russo-Austrian plot to break up the power of the Turks in Europe. At the end of the war, Russians occupied vast lands of the Ottoman Empire, including the Crimea Peninsula in what is now Ukraine.

146 solar years ago, on this day in 1873 AD, Napoleon III, the first elected President of the Republic of France and the last Emperor of the French Empire, died in exile in London at the age of 65, three years after losing power, following his disastrous defeat in the Battle of Sedan with Prussia (Germany). Nephew and heir of Napoleon Bonaparte, he returned to France from exile on the overthrow of the Bourbon monarchy. In 1848, he won by a wide margin the first ever popular elections in France, to become President. In 1851, he initiated a coup d'état, and on 2 December 1851, ascended the throne as Napoleon III. He ruled as Emperor until 4 September 1870, thus holding the distinction of being both the first titular president and the last monarch of France. The French Empire was overthrown three days after his surrender at the Battle of Sedan that resulted in the proclamation of France’s Third Republic.

127 lunar years ago, on this day in 1313 AH, the religious scholar Mullah Mohammad Baqer Va’ez Tehrani passed away at the age of 58. He has left behind a large number of books, including “Jannat an-Na’eem”, on the life of the Prophet of Islam’s venerable descendant, Hazrat Abdul-Azim al-Hasani (AS), whose shrine in Rayy is centre of pilgrimage.

115 lunar years ago, on this day in 1325 AH, the scholar Mirza Yahya Bidabadi Isfahani passed away at the age of 75. A student of Ayatollah Sheikh Morteza Ansari, he wrote several books, including “Tafzil al-A’imma ala'l-Malaeka” on the superiority of the Infallible Imams of the household of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA) over the other prophets and angels.

103 solar years ago, on this day in 1916 AD, the Battle of Gallipoli – also known as the Battle of Janakkale Savashi – took place near Gelibolu in Turkey during World War I, with the Ottomans achieving a great victory over the Allied forces made up of British, French, Australians and New Zealanders. The battle is perceived as a defining moment in the history of the Turkish people — a final surge in the defence of the motherland as the aging Ottoman Empire was crumbling. By the time the Gallipoli War ended, 80,000 Turks, most of them civilians, were killed in the Allied bombing of Turkish hospitals and public places. The Allied Forces lost almost 60,000 troops, while 145,000 more British soldiers became ill during the campaign.

101 solar years ago, on this day in 1918 AD, the Battle of Bear Valley, the last battle of the three centuries-long wars against the native Amerindian people by the white-skinned Anglo-Saxon occupiers from Europe, took place. The Battle of Bear Valley was a small engagement between a group of Yaquis and a detachment of the US Army in Arizona near the Mexican border as part of Washington's genocidal policy to wipe out the native Amerindian people.

99 solar years ago, on this day in 1920 AD, Hakeem Mohammed Saeed, Pakistani Islamic medicinal expert, scholar and philanthropist, was born in Delhi, British India, to a family of herbal medical practitioners, who had established the Hamdard Waqf Laboratories. He learned Arabic, Persian, Urdu, English and studied the Holy Qur’an. In 1948, he migrated to Pakistan and settled in Karachi, where he set up the Hamdard Foundation, whose herbal medical products have become household names in the subcontinent. His cherished dream was to revive the golden age of the Islamic civilization, particularly in the medical fields, and he authored or compiled about 200 books in medicines, philosophy, science, health, religion, natural medicine, literary, social, and travelogues. He was killed by terrorists in 1998 at the age of 78.

97 solar years ago, on this day in 1922 AD, Guinea’s first president, Ahmed Sekou Toure, was born in an aristocratic family of the Mandinka ethnic group in what was then French Guinea. His great-grandfather Samori Toure was an influential religious leader who established an independent Islamic rule in part of West Africa. On the independence of his country, he became Guinea’s first president, ruling from with an iron hand from 1958 until his death in 1984, as a virtual dictator, who was re-elected unopposed to four seven-year terms in the absence of any legal opposition. He imprisoned or exiled his strongest opposition leaders. It is estimated that 50,000 people were killed under his regime.

72 solar years ago, on this day in 1946 AD, noted Kashmiri historian, Dr. Mohammad Ishaq Khan, was born in a hotelier family. He was Professor of History at Kashmir University from 1988 to 2005 after serving the same university as Lecturer (1970–1982) and Reader (1982–1988). He was nominated as Member of the Indian Council of Historical Research by the Government of India, and presided over the Punjab History Congress (Medieval Section) in 2001. He was elected to Senior Leverhulme Fellowship by the Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies in 1992. He died in Srinagar, Indian-controlled Kashmir, in 2013 at the age of 67. His most widely read book is “Kashmir’s Transition to Islam: The Role of Muslim Rishis”, which has been described as an authoritative and seminal work on the social dimension of Islam in Kashmir. His last work, published posthumously is “Merited Invocation”, which is an English translation along with notes and annotations of the Persian book “Awraad-e Fathiyya” of the famous Iranian missionary, Mir Seyyed Ali Hamedani, to whom goes the credit of spreading Islam in Kashmir. Ishaq Khan wrote several researched articles published in international magazines such as: “Reflections on Time and History vis-à-vis the Qur’an”, “Islam in Kashmir: Some distinctive features”, “Persian Influences in Kashmir in the Sultanate Period”, “The Rishi Movement as a Social Force in The Making of Indo-Persian Culture”, and “The Evolution of Shari’ah consciousness in Kashmir: An Interpretation of Mir Seyyed Ali Hamedani’s Historical Role”.

71 lunar years ago, on this day in 1369 AH, the great scholar Ayatollah Sheikh Ali Akbar Nahavandi passed away at the age of 91 in Mashhad, Khorasan, and was laid to rest in the holy mausoleum of Imam Reza (AS). Born in a scholarly family in Nahavand, near Hamedan in western Iran, after preliminary studies in Borujerd, he studied under Ayatollah Mirza Hassan Ashtiyani in Tehran, before leaving for holy Najaf in Iraq to benefit from the classes of Ayatollah Mirza Habibollah Rashti and Grand Ayatollah Sheikh ash-Shari’ah Isfahani. In turn he was the teacher of Grand Ayatollah Seyyed Shahab od-Din Mar’ashi Najafi. On his return to Iran he settled in Mashhad and was involved in teaching and writing books. Some of his works are: “Khazinat-al-Jawaher”, “Jannatan-e- Mudhamatan”, “Bunyan-e-Rafi’ fi’l-Ahwal-e-Khwaja Rabi’”, “Jawaher-al-Kalaam”, and “Anwaar-al-Mawaheb”.

59 solar years ago, on this day in 1960 AD, work started on the Aswan Dam on the River Nile in Egypt 1960 as President Jamal Abdun-Nasser detonated ten tons of dynamite to demolish twenty tons of granite on the east bank. The prestigious project to check the disastrous floods of the River Nile announced by Nasser in 1953 was abandoned by the European countries, following nationalization of the Suez Canal in 1956, and the joint offensive of the French, English, and Zionists on Egypt. The Soviet Union seized the opportunity and rendered financial and technical assistance for construction of the dam, making Egypt dependent upon Moscow. The 114-meter high dam, spans a length of 3,600 meters, generates 2100 megawatts of electricity and irrigates a large number of farmlands.

55 solar years ago, on this day in 1964 AD, in protest to the US control over the Panama Canal region, disturbances broke out, leading to the death and injury of a number of people at the hands of the US troops. During World War II, the US set up military bases in 134 regions of Panama and practically occupied this Latin American country. In 1947, the intense opposition of people of Panama forced Washington to dismantle its bases. By the end of 1999, the US withdrew from the Panama Canal, which links the Atlantic and the Pacific Oceans.

44 solar years ago, on this day in 1975 AD, the philosopher-scientist Ayatollah Seyyed Mohammad Kazem Lavasani “Assar”, passed away in Iran at the age of 90. Born in holy Kazemain in Iraq, in an Iranian family, he was only three years old when he shifted Tehran with his parents. After academic studies he took up religious sciences and at the age of 29 travelled to Iraq for higher Islamic studies, including philosophy and gnosis, at the famous seminary of holy Najaf. On his return to Iran, he groomed many scholar and authored several books, such as “Science of Astronomy” in three volumes, and an exegesis of “Surah al-Hamd”.   

41 solar years ago, on this day in 1978 AD, the first mass rally was held in the holy city of Qom against the despotic regime of the British-installed and US-supported Pahlavi Shah, some 15 years after the June 5, 1963 uprising. The huge rally, attended by the ulema, students, businessmen and people of walks of life, was in protest to the publication of an insulting article in the Persian daily, Ettela'at, against the Father of the Islamic Revolution, Imam Khomeini (RA). It demanded the end of monarchial rule and once again proved the devotion of the Iranian nation for their beloved leader, who was in exile in holy Najaf, in Iraq. The regime’s forces attacked the peaceful demonstrators, martyring and wounding a large number of them. In its aftermath, many ulema were banished to remote areas of the country, but this failed to dampen the spirit of resistance of the people, who would stage similar mass rallies in other cities of Iran until the return home from exile of Imam Khomeini and the ultimate victory of the Islamic Revolution over a year later in February 1979.

32 solar years ago, on this day in 1987 AD, "Operations Karbala-5" was launched during the 8-year Holy Defence by Iran's Muslim combatants, east of the Iraqi city port city of Basra against the invading forces of Saddam’s repressive Ba’th minority regime. In view of the importance of the region, Saddam had erected numerous barricades that seemed impossible to surmount. Iran's courageous defenders through their trust in God, overcame the obstacles and dealt a heavy blow to the Ba'thist war machine, to the extent that the enemy forces lost more than 80 warplanes and 700 tanks, while thousands of Iraqi soldiers were killed, wounded, and captured. The operations showed that despite the support of the Capitalist West and the Communist East for Saddam, as well as his backing by the oil-rich Persian Gulf Arab regimes, the armed-to-the-teeth B’athist army was no match for Iran’s brave Islamic combatants.

13 solar years ago, on this day in 2006 AD, heroic military commander of Iran, Brigadier-General Ahmad Kazemi, whose prowess on the battlefronts of the 8-year US imposed war (through Saddam in the 1980s), earned him several medals of honour, attained martyrdom at the age of 47, along with ten others, when his aircraft en route to Oroumiyeh from Tehran, crash landed in a field because of engine failure in poor weather conditions. He was serving as ground forces commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC). Born in Najafabad, at the age of 17, along with his father, a former military officer, he moved to Lebanon and joined resistance fighters against the illegal Zionist entity. With the start of the Islamic Revolution, he returned to Iran to struggle against the British-installed and US-backed Pahlavi regime. On the Islamic Revolution’s victory, he joined the IRGC and saw service in Kurdistan against anti-revolutionaries. When the US ordered Saddam to invade Iran, Kazemi served at the warfront and during the 8 years on the frontlines in various capacities, he suffered injuries to his leg, hands and back, while one of his fingers was cut. He later completed his university education, writing his doctoral studies in the field of national defense. He also served as presidential defence advisor. His funeral prayer was led by the Leader of the Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, who informed the audience in an emotional tone, how Kazemi during a meeting barely two weeks back had said his desire was to attain martyrdom.

8 solar years ago, on this day in 2011 AD, Iran Air Flight 277 crashed near Oroumiyeh airport in the northwest of the country, resulting in the martyrdom of 78 passengers. The aircraft, a Boeing 727-286, was a scheduled domestic service from Tehran’s Mehrabad Airport, and crashed after a go-around was initiated during final approach because of poor weather conditions. Of the 27 surivors 26 were injured.

2 solar years ago, on this day in 2017 AD, Ayatollah Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, one of the senior statesmen of the Islamic Republic of Iran, who served for two terms as President and before that as Speaker of the Majlis (parliament) for two terms, passed away at the age of 82 while serving as Chairman of the State Expediency Council. Born in Bahreman near Rafsanjan in Kerman Province, he enrolled in the Islamic seminary of Qom at a young age. Influenced by the Father of the Islamic Revolution, Imam Khomeini (RA), he became active against the British-installed and US-backed Pahlavi regime, braving imprisonment. On the triumph of the Islamic Revolution, he played prominent roles and during the 8-year war imposed by the US through Saddam, he was appointed by the Imam as his representative in the armed forces. As a firm supporter of the Leader of the Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, he was a senior elected member of the Assembly of Experts.

AS/SS