Today is Tuesday; 2nd of the Iranian month of Bahman 1397 solar hijri; corresponding to 15th of the Islamic month of Jamadi al-Awwal 1440 lunar hijri; and January 22, 2019, of the Christian Gregorian Calendar.

1402 lunar years ago, on this day in 38 AH, according to a narration, Imam Zain al-Abedin (AS), was born in Medina. He was 4th Infallible Heir of Prophet Mohammad (blessings of God upon him and his progeny). His parents were the Martyr of Karbala, Imam Husain (AS) and Princess Shahrbano of Iran. Another version considers the 5th Sha'ban of his birthday. During his 34-year Imamate (divinely-decreed leadership), he built from shreds the tattered fabric of the Islamic society. He was martyred through poisoning at the age of 57 by the Omayyad caliph Waleed bin Abdul-Malik. Among the immortal legacy of the 4th Imam is the prayer manual “Sahifat as-Sajjadiyya” (known as Psalms of the Prophet's Ahl al-Bayt) and the “Risalat al-Hoqouq” (Treatise of Rights), which is more perfect than the UN Charter of Human Rights.

1402 lunar years ago, on this day in 38 AH, governor of Egypt, Mohammad bin Abu Bakr, who was one of the loyal disciples of the Commander of the Faithful, Imam Ali ibn Abi Taleb (AS), was martyred by the Godless Omayyad invader Amr bin Aas. His grave is in Cairo. The crafty Omayyad ruler, Mu'awiyah bin Abu Sufyan also martyred through poisoning, the new governor of Egypt, the famous Malek Ashtar while he was on his way to take up his post. The epistle of Imam Ali (AS) to Malek Ashtar is regarded till this day as the finest treatise on social justice for the masses.

1344 lunar years ago, on this day in 96 AH, Walid ibn Abd al-Malik, the 6th self-styled caliph of the usurper Omayyad regime, died in Damascus at the age of 47 after a 10-year reign, during which Arab armies conquered the Iberian Peninsula in the West and penetrated deeper into Central Asia and India, in addition to gaining territory against the Byzantines in Anatolia (modern day Turkey). He gave free rein to the tyrant Hajjaj Thaqafi, his governor of Iraq, to terrorize the people of Khorasan, Sindh and Transoxiana. Walid discouraged the conquered people to become Muslims since this would deprive him of collecting jizya (protection tax) to fill up his coffers. Fearful of the influence of the Persian language in the east and of the Coptic language in Egypt, he forbade the use of any other language except Arabic. In violation of the letter and spirit of the holy Qur’an, he promoted obscene music, singing and dancing. Walid I has earned lasting notoriety for martyring through poison, Imam Zain al-Abedin (AS), the great grandson and 4th Infallible Heir of Prophet Mohammad (blessings of God upon him and his progeny).

793 lunar years ago, on this day in 647 AH, prominent scholar, Taqi od-Din Hassan ibn Ali ibn Daoud al-Hilli was born in Hillah in southern Iraq. A student of the famous Seyyed Jamal od-Din Ahmad Ibn Tawous, he was an authority on several branches of Islamic sciences. He lived a fruitful life of 93 years, grooming scholars and authoring books, the most famous of which is “ar-Rijaal” on the biographical evaluation of hadith narrators.

756 solar years ago, on this day in 1263 AD, the highly controversial Hanbali pseudo scholar, Ahmad ibn Abdul-Haleem Ibn Taymiya, was born in Harran in upper Mesopotamia, which is currently in Turkey on the Syrian border. He indulged in vitriolic criticism of not just Christians, but also of fellow Muslims, especially Sufis, to the extent that without bothering to properly study the works of the famous Spanish Muslim Gnostic, Mohi od-Din Ibn Arabi, he branded him an unbeliever – an accusation that brought swift response from scholars who wrote books against him. He came to Iran to the court of the Mongol Muslim ruler, Ghazaan Khan, with a delegation of scholars from Syria, and courted trouble by his rash attitude. Back in Syria, his weird views brought the displeasure of the ulema, prompting the Mamluk rulers to imprison him for 18 months in Cairo. Ibn Taymiya, who died in Damascus at the age of 65, has earned lasting notoriety for forbidding celebrations of the birthday of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA). He has also been castigated by the ulema for ridiculing pilgrimage to holy shrines, and for his call to return to the days and ways of the Salaf – instead of the pure and pristine Sunnah and Seerah of the Prophet and the Immaculate Ahl al-Bayt. Salaf, which means predecessor, is a reference to early Muslims, especially those who assumed power of the Islamic state, even though neither the Prophet had delegated them any authority nor God granted any legitimacy in the holy Qur’an. The fact of the matter is that most of the Salaf, who were bitter enemies of the Prophet before becoming reluctant converts to Islam from decades of idolatry and sinful life, continued their violation of the letter and spirit of the holy Qur’an even after becoming Muslims, as is evident by their persecution and killing of the Ahl al-Bayt. This is clear by the seditious actions of the present day Salafis, who under the guise of Islam indulge in the most heinous forms of terrorism against Muslims, including the destruction of holy shrines.

502 solar years ago, on this day in 1517 AD, the Ottoman Empire under Selim I defeated the Mamluk Sultanate of al-Ashraf Tuman Bay II of Egypt-Syria at the Battle of Ridaniya. After earlier victories in Palestine, the Turks marched into Cairo with the severed head of Egypt’s last Mamluk Sultan, which was hung over an entrance gate in the al-Ghourieh quarter of Cairo. Selim I, an ethnic Turk, forced the puppet Abbasid caliph to hand him over the caliphate, and by bribing the religious scholars declared himself the first Ottoman caliph. Selim had violated the treaty with the Mamluks to launch a surprise attack on Syria, fearful of the rising power and influence of the Safavid Dynasty of Iran, against whom he had barely managed a victory from a certain defeat at Chaldiran in August 1514.

469 solar years ago, on this day in 1550 AD, Jamsheed Quli Qutb Shah, the second ruler of the Qutb-Shahi dynasty of Iranian origin of Golkandah in the Deccan (southern India), died after a reign of 7 years. It is said that he was behind the assassination of his father, Sultan Quli Qutb-ul-Mulk, a scion of the Qara Qoyounlu Dynasty of western Iran, Iraq, eastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula, and parts of Caucasus and Turkey. Jamsheed blinded his older brother, the heir to the throne, and forced his younger brother, Ibrahim to flee to Vijayanagar. An accomplished poet in Persian, his tomb in the vast necropolis near Golkandah Fort in unique octagonal pattern is a masterpiece of Indo-Iranian architecture. The Qutb-Shahis who built the famous city of Haiderabad, considered the Safavid rulers of Iran as their emperors and their dominion and court attracted Iranians from all walks of life, including religious scholars, scientists, poets, artists, architects, traders, and soldiers.

458 solar years ago, on this day in 1561 AD, English philosopher and mathematician, Francis Bacon, was born. He initially engaged in politics and was imprisoned on charges of bribery. While in prison, he took to writing and advocated revival of science and philosophy. He wrote several books, including “New Atlantis”, which presents a utopian picture of life. He died in 1626.

397 solar years ago, on this day in 1622 AD, the Safavid Emperor, Shah Abbas I, liberated the strategic island of Hormuz in the Strait of the same name, and with the help of four English ships, he drove out the Portuguese from the Persian Gulf. He soon replaced Hormuz as a trading centre with a new port, named Bandar Abbas after him on the Iranian mainland near what used to be Gombroon. Twenty years earlier, Shah Abbas I had liberated Bahrain from Portuguese occupation by sending a fleet under command of his trusted general, Imam Qoli Khan.

388 lunar years ago, on this day in 1052 AH, the prominent scholar, Seyyed Sadr od-Din Ali al-Hussaini, popular as Ibn Ma’soum al-Madani and Seyyed Ali Khan Shirazi, was born in Medina in a scholarly Iranian Dashtaki family. While he was a child, his father Seyyed Ahmad Nizam od-Din – the nephew (sister’s son) of the Safavid emperor of Iran, Shah Abbas I – migrated to the court of the Qotb Shahi dynasty of Iranian origin of the Deccan (southern India), where he married the daughter of the king, Sultan Abdullah Qotb Shah, and was considered the heir-apparent. When Sadr od-din was fourteen years old, he was called to the Deccan by his father and settled in Golknadah-Haiderabad, where in addition to his father, he studied under prominent ulema such as Mohammad bin Ali ash-Shami al-Ameli and Sheikh Ja’far bin Kamal od-Din Bahrani. He soon mastered various branches of sciences, including Arabic and Persian literature. He started writing books and established his own scholarly reputation. With the death of Abdullah Qotb Shah, however, the fortunes of the family fell, when the minister, Seyyed Mozaffar Mazandarani, imprisoned Seyyed Ahmad Nizam od-Din, and placed on the throne Abu’l-Hassan Tana Shah – another son-in-law of the late king. Seyyed Sadr od-Din was also placed under house arrest, but with the death of his father in imprisonment, as well as the sudden death of his own 18-year old son, he sensed danger to his life and planned a successful escape. Immediately he moved to Burhanpur to the court of the Moghal Emperor Mohammad Aurangzeb, who welcomed him, conferred on him the title of ‘Khan’ and placed him in charge of the administration of Lahore in what is now Pakistan. Despite his administrative duties, he continued to write books, and in 1113 AH, after almost fifty years of stay in India, returned to his homeland Hijaz for performing the Hajj and pilgrimage to the shrines of the Prophet and the Infallible Imams. He then went to Iraq for pilgrimage to the holy shrines, and after travelling to Khorasan to the shrine of Imam Reza (AS) in Mashhad, he visited the Safavid capital Isfahan, where he was accorded a warm welcome by Shah Sultan Hussain and the leading scholars of Iran. Seyyed Sadr od-Din finally settled in the city of his ancestors, Shiraz, where he passed away in 1120 AH and was laid to rest in the mausoleum of Seyyed Ahmad Shah Cheragh (AS). He trained many scholars and wrote several books, such as the 5-volume “Riyadh as-Salikin”, which is a commentary on “Sahifat-as-Sajjadiyah”, the famous collection of the supplications of the Prophet’s 4^th Infallible Heir, Imam Zain al-Abedin (AS). His other works include a diwan of Arabic poetry, his travelogue titled “Rehla Ibn Ma’soum”, the prayer manual “Kalemat-at-Tayyeb”, and biography of poets “Salafat-al-Asr”.

353 solar years ago, on this day in 1666 AD, Shah Jahan, the 5th Mughal Emperor of Hindustan (northern Subcontinent), died in Agra under confinement in the fort by his rebellious son, Aurangzeb, at the age of 74, eight years after being dethroned following a 30-year reign (1628-1658).  Born at Lahore in present day Pakistan, during the reign of his grandfather, Jalal od-Din Akbar Shah, he was named Shahab od-Din Mohammad Khorram. His father was Emperor Saleem Noor od-Din Jahangir, while his mother was the Rajput princess, Manmati of Jodhpur, who on conversion to Islam was given the name and title Taj Bibi Bilqis Makani. Shah Jahan’s reign was the golden age of Mughal architecture. He erected splendid monuments, the most famous of which is the legendary white marble Taj Mahal at Agra built as a mausoleum for his wife of Iranian ancestry, Empress Arjmand Bano Momtaz Mahal, and regarded among the Seven Wonders of the World (its inspiration was the Ibrahim Rowza of Ibrahim Adel Shah of Bijapur in the Deccan where Shah Jahan spent time in exile after an unsuccessful rebellion against his own father).  The Pearl Mosque and many other buildings in Agra, the Red Fort and the Jama Mosque in Delhi, mosques in Lahore, and extensions to the Lahore Fort were built by him. The famous “Takht-e Tawous” (Peacock Throne) said to be worth millions of dollars by modern estimates, also dates from his reign. Other important buildings of his reign are the "Diwan-e Aam" and "Diwan-e Khaas" (public and special courts of audiences) in the Red Fort Complex in Delhi and the Pearl Mosque in the Lahore Fort. He also patronized paintings and laid out gardens, especially in Kashmir, his favourite summer residence. In 1638, by bribing the governor, he captured Qandahar in what is now Afghanistan from the Iranians, prompting the retaliation of the Safavids led by Shah Abbas II, who recaptured it in 1649. The Mughal armies were unable to retake it despite repeated attempts. When Shah Jahan became ill, civil war erupted among his four sons, with the victor, Aurangzeb, killing his brothers, and declaring himself Emperor after confining his father to the Agra fort.

283 solar years ago, on this day in 1736 AD, the Safavid Dynasty of Iran formally came to its end after a rule of 235 years, with the deposition of the boy-king Abbas III after a 4-year nominal reign, by the general Nader Quli Afshar, who now crowned himself as Nader Shah. A successful military commander who drove out the Afghan occupiers from Iran, Nader had placed Abbas on the throne in 1732 by deposing his father, Tahmasp II. In 1739, both father and son were brutally killed in the prison in Sabzevar on the orders of Nader’s son Reza Qoli Mirza on fears that the Iranian people will revolt in favour of the Safavids while Nader Shah was campaigning in northern India. The Safavids gave Iran religious legality, national identity, cultural affinity, and territorial integrity. The Qajarid dynasty that followed Nader lost large parts of the country to the Russians, the Afghans and the British of the Subcontinent.

244 solar years ago, on this day in 1775 AD, French mathematician and physicist, Andre Marie Ampere, was born. He lectured at the Paris Polytechnic and made important discoveries. He invented the electrical telegraph. He is known as the founder of electrodynamics. To honour his efforts in physics, the unit of electrical current has been named after him, as Ampere. He died in 1836.

231 solar years ago, on this day in 1788 AD, English poet, George Gordon Byron, was born. He was a controversial figure, and his works are sentimental and critical. His first collection of poems was “Hours of Idleness”. His other works include “The Prisoner of Chillon”, and “Childe Harold”. He led an unprincipled life, travelling around Europe and indulging in scandalous affairs, before he was killed in 1824, while inciting the Greeks to fight the Ottoman Turkish Empire.

210 lunar years ago, on this day in 1230 AH, Grand Ayatollah Mirza Mohammad Hassan Shirazi, was born in Shiraz. He travelled to Iraq to study at the famous seminary of holy Najaf, where he mastered various branches of Islamic sciences under such great scholars as Ayatollah Sheikh Morteza Ansari Dezfuli. In his later years he moved to the holy city of Samarra, where he established the Islamic seminary and from where he issued his historic fatwa against tobacco consumption in Iran in order to save the Iranian economy from exploitation by the British colonialists. He initially sent telegrams to Naser od-Din Shah Qajar in Tehran to cancel the contract with the British, but when the Iranian king who had personally granted a 50-year contract to Major Talbot, failed to heed the warnings, Ayatollah Mirza Hassan Shirazi had no other choice but issue a Fatwa prohibiting use of tobacco, with the words: “Any use of tobacco from now onwards would be considered war against the Lord of the Age, Imam Mahdi (AS) – the 12^th and Last Infallible Heir of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA).” Immediately, the people of Iran obeyed the edict, and throughout the country refrained from buying, selling and using tobacco. The ban even spread to the royal palace, where the queen ordered the breaking of all tobacco pipes and the traditional huqqas. When Naser od-Din Shah asked her, on whose orders she had done such a thing, she promptly replied: “On the orders of the person who has legalized husband-and-wife relations between me and you.” The Shah had no other choice but to cancel the tobacco concession.

This erudite scholar who passed away in Samarra at the age of 84 and was laid to rest in Najaf, also championed the rights of Shi’a Muslims in Afghanistan, and sent missionaries to India, Kashmir, the Caucasus, and other parts of the Muslim World. He trained a great number of scholars such as the Ayatollahs Sheikh Fazlollah Noori, Mirza Husain Noori Tabarsi, Ismail as-Sadr, Mohammad Hussain Na’ini, Mohammed Kazem Yazdi, Abdul-Karim Ha'eri Yazdi (Reviver of the Qom Seminary), and Mirza Mohammad Taqi Golshani Shirazi (leader of Iraq’s 1920 revolution against Britain).

170 solar years ago, on this day in 1849 AD, during the Second Anglo-Sikh War, the Siege of Multan ended after nine months when the last Sikh defenders surrendered to the British. Multan in Punjab had been occupied by the Sikh warlord Ranjit Singh in 1818. Although the population was almost entirely Muslim, it was ruled by a Hindu vassal, named Dewan Mulraj, whose attempts for independence ended this day.

140 solar years ago, on this day in 1879 AD, Zulu troops decisively defeated the technologically superior British army at the Battle of Isandlwana in South Africa. It was the worst defeat for the British, who six months later adopted violent and brutal methods in the second invasion of King Cetshwayo’s independent kingdom that ended the Anglo–Zulu War, and resulted in the annexation of Zululand. 

139 lunar years ago, on this day in 1301 AH, first edition of the newsletter, “al-Urwat al-Wusqa” was published in Paris, under management of Iran's pan-Islamic activist Seyyed Jamal od-Din Asadabadi and Egypt's Shaikh Mohammad Abduh. In order to foster Islamic unity, it was distributed in Europe, India, Egypt, Iran, and other places. It was banned under the political pressure of Britain and other colonial powers.

118 solar years ago, on this day in 1901 AD, with the death of Queen Victoria of Britain at the age of 82, after a long reign of almost 64 years, the Victorian Era came to its end. It was a period of industrial, cultural, political, scientific, and military change within the United Kingdom, and was marked by expansion of the British Empire to its zenith. She was the longest-ruling monarch.

40 solar years ago, on this day in 1979 AD, during the crucial days of the Islamic Revolution, the Shah's troops killed and wounded a large number of people. The Iranian nation, in anticipation of the coming home from years of exile, of the Father of Islamic Revolution, Imam Khomeini (RA), made necessary arrangements to accord a unique welcome to the Imam. For this reason, a headquarters, comprised of ulema and representatives of different strata of the people of Tehran was formed. People from other cities and villages also flooded Tehran to participate in the welcoming ceremony. Meanwhile, following the huge demonstrations of people, 4,000 air force officers, in a show of support for the courageous Iranian nation, went on hunger strike, and demanded the expulsion of the Americans from Iran.

12 solar years ago, on this day in 2007 AD, over a hundred Iraqi Shi’a Muslim men, women, and children were martyred in a busy marketplace in central Baghdad, when Saudi-backed Takfiri terrorists blew up through remote control a car rigged with explosives, just seconds after another car bomb tore through the stalls where vendors were hawking DVDs and clothing. Hundreds of others were injured.

3 solar years ago, on this day in 2016 AD, Iranian philologist, Abu’l-Hassan Najafi, passed away in Tehran at the age of 86. Born in holy Najaf, Iraq, in an Iranian family, he returned to his homeland along with his parents. After graduating in Persian literature from Tehran University, he studied French language and soon went to Paris for higher studies at Sorbonne University, where he completed his masters in linguistics. On his return home, he became a member of the Academy of Persian Language and Literature, and spent a lifetime in translation, editing, and classifying literary and scientific articles. He was editor of the Journal of Comparative Literature. He was noted for his diligence in classifying and categorizing Persian poetry.

AS/SS