Today is Saturday; 13th of the Iranian month of Bahman 1397 solar hijri; corresponding to 26th of the Islamic month of Jamadi al-Awwal 1440 lunar hijri; and February 2, 2019, of the Christian Gregorian Calendar.

1160 lunar years ago, on this day in 280 AH, Iranian linguist and Arabic poet, Abu’l-Fazl Ahmad, popular as Ibn Abi Taher Tayfur, passed away at the age of 76 in his hometown Baghdad and was laid to rest in Bab ash-Sham cemetery in the section reserved for notables. His father Tayfur was from the Khorasani city of Marv (presently in Turkmenistan). Ibn Tayfur played a vital role in revolutionizing Arabic literature. He was the first writer to devote a book to writers. His works include the 3-volume“Kitab al-Manthour wa’l-Manzoum” (Book of Prose and Poetry), which is the first attested multi-author anthology. Another of his work was the 6-volume “Kitab Baghdad” (Book of Baghdad), of which only one volume has survived. He also compiled “Balaghat an-Nisa” (Eloquence of Women), in which he has cited the two sermons of Hazrat Fatema az-Zahra (SA), the daughter of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA), following seizure of her patrimony of the orchard of Fadak and the usurpation of the right of political leadership of her husband the Commander of the Faithful, Imam Ali ibn Abi Taleb (AS). He has also cited the eloquently moving sermon of Omm Kolthoum, the Prophet’s granddaughter, delivered in the aftermath of the tragedy of Karbala and the martyrdom of her brother Imam Husain (AS).

1159 lunar years ago, on this day in 281 AH, Iranian polymath, Abu Hanifah Ahmad ibn Dawoud Dinawari, passed away at the age of 70 in his birthplace Dinawar – a Kurdish region halfway between Hamedan and Kermanshah in western Iran. He studied astronomy, mathematics and mechanics in Isfahan and Arabic philology and poetry in Kufa and Basra. He also excelled in agriculture, botany, metallurgy, history and geography. His most renowned contribution is “Kitab an-Nabaat” (Book of Plants), for which he is considered the founder of Islamic botany, for his scientific classification and listing of thousands of varieties of different plants, with detailed discussion from their evolution to birth and subsequent death. He is also among the very first writers to discuss the ancestry of the Kurdish people. He wrote a book on this subject titled “Ansaab al-Akraad” (Ancestry of the Kurds). All his works are in Arabic including “Kitab al-Kusouf” (Book of Solar Eclipses), “Kitab al-Akhbar at-Tiwaal” (General History), “Kitab al-Boldaan” (Book of Geography), and “Kitab ash-She'r wa'sh-Shu'ara” (Book of Poetry and Poets). Dinawari's works also deal with astronomy, meteorology and agriculture. He describes the astronomical and meteorological character of the sky, the planets and constellations, the sun and moon, the lunar phases indicating seasons and rain, the atmospheric phenomena such as winds, thunder, lightning, snow, floods, rivers, lakes, wells and other sources of water.

1154 solar years ago, on this day in 865 AD, The Battle of Morcuera in Spain saw the Muslims led by Mohammad I, the Emir of Cordoba, defeat the Christian forces of Castile and Asturias under Rodrigo of Castile. The historian Ahmad Ibn Mohammad Ibn al-Edhari has given a detailed account of the battle in “al-Bayan al-Mughrib fI Akhbar Mulouk al-Andalus wa'l-Maghreb” (or ‘Amazing Story of the History of the Kings of Spain and Western North Africa’). This book is regarded by modern researchers as containing valuable information not found elsewhere, including excerpts from older works now lost, and has been translated into European languages.

811 solar years ago, on this day in 1208 AD, notorious anti-Muslim King James I of Aragon was born. He occupied the prosperous Spanish Muslim Ta'efa of Valencia (Arabic Balansiya), through treachery, granting asylum to its deposed ruler, the apostate Zayd Abu Zayd, who adopted the Christian name Vicente Bellvis, married a Christian woman, and betrayed the Muslims. The Siege of Burriana in 1233 and the Battle of the Puig in 1237 launched by James were resisted by Zayyan ibn Mardanish of Valencia, who was overpowered in 1238, thereby ending over five centuries of glorious Muslim rule over this region on Spain’s eastern coast. James next attacked and occupied the Muslim-ruled Balearic Islands in the Mediterranean, exterminating the local Spanish Muslim population and settling Christian Catalans in their place.

561 solar years ago, on this day in 1448 AD, the hadith scholar, poet, and historian, Shahab od-Din Ahmad ibn Ali Ibn Hajar Asqalani, passed away at the age of 76 in his hometown Cairo, and his funeral was attended by an estimated 50,000 people including the Mamluk Sultan. He had memorized the Holy Qur'an at the age of ten and thereafter traveled to different lands to acquire different sciences. A prolific writer, he compiled some 150 books and treatises on various topics including the God-given merits of the Ahl al-Bayt of Prophet Mohammad (blessings of God upon him and his progeny).

525 solar years ago, on this day in 1494 AD, Italian navigator Christopher Columbus, who was commissioned by Christian Spain to explore the Atlantic Ocean and with the help of Spanish Muslim seafarers reached the Caribbean islands near the Americas, attacked the peaceful natives, took many of them captives and enslaved them, thus starting the sordid practice of slavery in the New World, where soon hundreds of thousands of black-skinned Africans were forcibly brought to work as slaves.

483 solar years ago, on this day in 1536 AD, the Argentine city of Buenos Aires was founded on the western shore of the estuary of Río de la Plata, by Pedro de Mendoza of Spain, who killed and drove away the Querandies tribal people from their lands, despite the fact that they had provided the Spanish invaders with food and provisions.

171 solar years ago, on this day in 1848 AD, the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo was imposed on Mexico by the expansionist US, thereby ending the war and forcing it to cede a huge portion of what is today the American West and Southwest, including California and New Mexico.

137 solar years ago, on this day in 1882 AD, Irish novelist and poet, James Augustine Aloysius Joyce, was born in the Dublin suburb of Rathgar. In 1904, in his early twenties, after finishing college, Joyce emigrated permanently to continental Europe and lived in Trieste, Paris and Zurich. Though most of his adult life was spent abroad, he contributed to the modernist avant-garde in English, and is regarded as one of the most influential and important authors of the 20th century. He is best known for “Ulysses”, which he wrote in 1922 – a landmark work in which the episodes of the ancient Greek historian Homer's “Odyssey” are paralleled in an array of contrasting literary styles. Other well-known works are the short-story collection “Dubliners” and the novels “A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man” and “Finnegans Wake”. His other writings include three books of poetry, a play, occasional journalism and his published letters. He died in Zurich on 13 January 1941.

112 solar years ago, on this day in 1907 AD, Russian scientist and chemist, Dmitry Ivanovich Mendeleev, died in Saint Petersburg, at the age of 73. An important outcome of his researches was regulation of the Periodic Table, which enlisted the existing chemical elements on Earth. This table is still used by the world’s chemists.

85 lunar years ago, on this day in 1355 AH, Source of Emulation, Grand Ayatollah Allamah Mirza Mohammad Hussain Na'ini, passed away at the age of 79. He was born in the central Iranian city of Na'in in a religious family. He completed his preliminary studies in his hometown before leaving for Iraq for higher studies at the famous seminary of holy Najaf. He studied under such prominent ulema as Ayatollah Mirza Mohammad Hassan Shirazi, whose historic fatwa against tobacco saved Iranian economy from British exploitation. Besides theology, Na'ini was well versed in mathematics, philosophy, and mysticism. Among his most important compilations, mention can be made of “Tanbih al-Ummah va Tanzih al-Millah” which outlines the duties of ulema and people and the necessity of campaign against tyrannical regimes. This was an effective step by Grand Ayatollah Na'ini in awakening the Iranian people, whose struggles against local despotism and foreign hegemony triumphed under the guidance of the Father of the Islamic Revolution, Imam Khomeini (RA). Among his other books mention could be made of “Wasilat an-Najaat”.

73 solar years ago, on this day in 1946 AD, a press conference was held at the US University of Pennsylvania for what is considered the first computer, the Electronic Numerical Integrator and Calculator (ENIAC). The machine took up an entire room, weighed 30 tons and used more than 18,000 vacuum tubes to perform functions such as counting to 5,000 in one second. ENIAC was designed by the US Army during World War II to make artillery calculations. It paved the way for modern computer.

49 solar years ago, on this day in 1970 AD, British mathematician, and philosopher, Bertrand Russell, died at the age of 98. He was from Wales, and in 1910 with Alfred Whitehead, he co-authored “Principia Mathematica”. Russell is regarded as one of the important logicians of the 20th century. He was active in social and political campaigns, and advocated pacifism and nuclear disarmament. In 1950 he was awarded the Nobel Prize for literature. The Late Iranian philosopher Allamah Mohammad Taqi Ja’fari held lively discussions with Bertrand Russell through correspondence, opening up for the latter many concepts unknown to him. 

48 solar years ago, on this day in 1971 AD, the “Ramsar Convention” on wetlands of international importance, especially waterfowl habitat, was adopted by participating countries at a meeting in the Iranian city of Ramsar in Mazandaran Province on the Caspian Sea. It recognizes the fundamental ecological functions of wetlands and their economic, cultural, scientific, and recreational value. Known as Ramsar Sites, wetlands of international importance number over 2,000 sites, covering over 200 million hectares worldwide. Iran has ten of its wetlands registered on this list with a total area of 1.5 million hectares. Presently 168 countries are members of the Ramsar Convention. They meet every three years in a member state.

40 solar years ago, on this day in 1979 AD, the US and its surrogate, the illegal Zionist entity, expressed discontent at the historical remarks against Washington’s meddlesome policies in Iran at Tehran’s Behesht-e Zahra Cemetery the day before by the Father of Islamic Revolution, Imam Khomeini (RA). Israel was aghast at Imam Khomeini’s return to Iran from 15 years of exile, in view of his firm support for the cause of the oppressed Palestinian people. Meanwhile, masses of enthusiastic people flocked to the place of residence of the Imam at Alawi High School in Tehran to catch his glimpse and if possible, to meet him. The Beloved Leader delivered a keynote public speech, saying that monarchic rule was against wisdom and human rights, and that every nation has the right to take its destiny into its own hands.

6 solar years ago, on this day in 2013 AD, Dr. Mohammad Reza Baba Mokhayyar, Father of Veterinary Medicine in Iran, passed away at the age of 71. Born in Ardabil, northwestern Iran, after graduation in veterinary sciences from Tehran University, he left for France where he did his post-graduation in Oceanology from Paris University. On his return to Iran, he became Professor of Fishery Diseases at Tehran University. Among works written by him mention could be made of “Pisciculture and Fish Diseases, “Fishes of the Persian Gulf”, and “Agriculture and Natural Resources”.

6 solar years ago, on this day in 2013 AD, the Islamic Republic of Iran unveiled its newest radar-evading combat jet, the Qaher F-313, which means “victorious”.

AS/SS