Today is Tuesday; 31st of the Iranian month of Shahrivar 1396 solar hijri, corresponding to 29th of the Islamic month of Zil-Qa’dah 1438 lunar hijri; and August 22, 2017, of the Christian Gregorian Calendar.
Several millennia ago, after the descent of Adam (AS) and Eve (SA) on Planet Earth, the Almighty Creator showered one of His permanent blessings on the first human pair and their offspring that would multiply and spread around the globe, by sending the structure of the holy Ka’ba on the very spot that ages before had emerged as the first piece of dry land from under waters, in what is now Mecca. Adam (AS) thus built the cubic-shaped edifice as the first-ever model of a house and dedicated it to the worship of the Unseen but Omnipresent God. It was rebuilt by Prophet Abraham (AS) after the damage it had suffered in the Great Deluge of the days of Prophet Noah (AS), while the rituals of its pilgrimage, the Hajj, were finalized by Prophet Mohammad (SAWA). It is the focal point of worship for Muslims all over the world, and not a single moment passes as the earth rotates on its axis while revolving around the sun to determine minutes, hours, days and nights, when people around the globe are not bowing towards it. The only person ever born in the holy Ka’ba, by the Will of God, is the Prophet’s divinely-decreed vicegerent Imam Ali (AS).
1432 lunar years ago, on this day in 6 AH, God granted Islam and Muslims a Great Victory over the pagan Arabs with the signing of the Treaty of Hodaibiyya by Prophet Mohammad (SAWA). The holy Qur'an, in the opening ayah of Surah Fath, says in this regard: "Indeed, We have opened for you a Manifest Victory." The Prophet, along with some 1,400 unarmed Muslims, set out from Medina to perform the Umrah or the minor pilgrimage and reached within 20 km of the city of Mecca, when the pagan Arabs breached their word and blocked his way at a place called Hodaibiyya. Negotiations took place between the two parties and it was decided that the Muslims would return to Medina for now, but would be allowed to perform the pilgrimage next year. A treaty was drafted specifying the terms of truce between the two sides and their allies, provided the clauses were not violated. Imam Ali (AS) acted as the scribe of the Prophet, who placed his seal and signature on the document despite the opposition to its contents by some of his companions. The Prophet, however, insisted on honouring the letter and spirit of the treaty, which was indeed a new and dynamic development in Arabia, and established the rapidly increasing Muslim community as the paramount power. The terms of the Treaty of Hodaibiyya were violated by the Arabs, and two years later in 8 AH, the Prophet was commanded by God to march peacefully upon Mecca, which surrendered without bloodshed to the Muslims. This was another milestone in the history of monotheism and led to the cleansing of the holy Ka'ba of the idols that the pagan Arabs had installed in Prophet Abraham's edifice to the One and Only God.
1218 lunar years ago, on this day in 220 AH, Imam Mohammad Taqi (AS) the 9th Infallible Heir of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA) attained martyrdom in Baghdad as a result of a fatal dose of poison administered by Mu'tasim, the 8th self-styled caliph of the usurper Abbasid regime. Known as Jawad (Generous), because of his generosity in both spiritual and material matters, he was only 25 years old on this day, having been entrusted with the Imamate by God Almighty 17 years earlier at the tender age of 8, following the martyrdom of his father, Imam Reza (AS) in distant Khorasan. Like the Prophets Jesus and John the Baptist, who were blessed with wisdom since childhood, he displayed his God-given wisdom to enlighten all those who came into contact with him. His memorable debates with scholars, while yet a boy, are recorded in books of history and hadith.
491 solar years ago, on this day in 1526 AD, Sultan Qutb od-Din Bahadur Shah, after returning from exile in Delhi, ascended the throne of Gujarat in western India by removing his youngest brother Mahmoud Shah II, who had been installed as king by the nobles on the murder of the eldest brother, Sikandar Shah, within a few months of the death of his father, Muzaffar Shah II. During his 11-year reign he had to face the menace of the Portuguese who raided the seaports of his realm and seized several islands including what would later be known as Bombay. He made the fatal mistake of seeking assistance from the Portuguese against the expansion of the Mughals of northern India. While on board a Portuguese ship to sign a treaty, he was treacherously killed by the Portuguese admiral and his body dumped into the sea. The Gujarat kingdom that declared itself independent of the Delhi Sultanate in 1407 by Muzaffar Shah I (son of a Rajput convert to Islam) was a Persianate state and promoted Islamic art, culture and architecture for 166 years until its annexation by the Mughal Emperor, Akbar the Great in 1573.
390 solar years ago, on this day in 1627 AD, the last Battle of La Rochelle broke out between the French Catholics and Protestants. This battle started due to provocation by England. The Catholics, under command of Cardinal Richelieu emerged victorious in the battle of La Rochelle in western France.
378 solar years ago, on this day in 1639 AD, Madras was founded by the British East India Company on a sliver of land bought from local Nayak rulers in the district of Chennaipatanam which was leased from King Abdullah Qutb Shah of the dynasty of Iranian origin of Hyderabad-Deccan. The area was added to the Qutb Shahi dominions by the Iranian statesman and adventurer, Mohammad Sa’eed Ardestani of Isfahan, titled "Mir Jumla”, who later went over to the Mughal court in northern India, was made governor of Bengal with capital in Dhaka (Bangladesh), and died in Khizrpur, Garo Hills, in what is now the Meghalaya-Assam border while returning from an expedition to Assam. Madras is derived from the Arabic word Madrasah for schools, since there were several Islamic schools in the area. Currently it is called Chennai and is the capital of Tamilnadu State.
319 solar years ago, on this day in 1698 AD, a treaty was signed by Russia, Poland, and Denmark against Sweden. The kings of these three countries intended to divide Sweden amongst themselves by defeating the young Swedish king, Charles XII. Thus, two years later on April 1700 AD they attacked Sweden, but were defeated. Charles XII concluded peace with Denmark, and attacked and occupied Poland in 1704, but suffered defeat in his war against Russia.
199 solar years ago, on this day in 1818 AD, Warren Hastings, the first Governor-General of the British occupied parts of India, died in England at the age of 86. He rose from low positions to become governor of the British trading post of Qassimbazaar in Bengal, where he learned Urdu and Persian. He was rapidly promoted in view of his administrative abilities as the crafty British started occupying more parts of Bengal from the Najafi dynasty of Iranian origin, becoming the first Governor of the Presidency of Fort William, the head of the Supreme Council of Bengal, and thereby the first de facto Governor-General of British possessions in India from 1772 to 1785. He was accused of corruption and impeached in 1787.
172 lunar years ago, on this day in 1266 AH, the prominent jurisprudent Mullah Mohammad Hussain Fesharaki, was born in Isfahan. After initial studies under elder brother Shaikh Mohammad Baqer Fesharaki, he left for Iraq, where his teachers included Ayatollah Mirza Habibollah Rashti, Ayatollah Shaikh Zain al-Abedin Mazandarani, and Ayatollah Mirza Hassan Shirazi (famous for the fatwa against tobacco consumption in order to save Iranian economy from British exploitation). On his return to Iran, he taught at the Isfahan seminary, and was active both socially and politically, in order to counter un-Islamic trends and laws creeping into the Iranian society. He formed a council of ulema in Isfahan in support of the ulema of Tehran who were active against the despotic policies of the Qajarid monarchy, and in order to safeguard Iranian economy, issued a 5-point declaration specifying that the ulema will not attest any document written on imported paper, and will not perform the funeral prayer of any deceased person whose shroud is made of imported cloth instead of Iranian cloth. The British installed Pahlavi dictator, Reza Khan, despite his disdain and maltreatment of the ulema, was afraid of Ayatollah Mohammad Hussain Fesharaki, who passed away in Isfahan at the age of 87
169 solar years ago, on this day in 1848 AD, the US, as part of its expansionist policies, annexed New Mexico. In the 1830s, it had occupied Texas and in 1846 had seized from Mexico the large region of California including what are now the southwestern US states.
168 solar years ago, on this day in 1849 AD, the first air raid in history was launched by Austria through pilotless balloons against the city of Venice.
157 solar years ago, on this day in 1860 AD, one of the inventors of TV, Paul Gottlieb Nipkow, was born in Germany. He conducted extensive research for telecasting of images, and finally invented a device which could emit image waves for 30-meter distance, died in 1940.
153 solar years ago, on this day in 1864 AD, the Geneva Convention was signed by twelve countries for providing assistance to soldiers wounded on the battlefields. It stipulated that medical personnel and relief workers are impartial and should be immune from any aggression. The initiator of this treaty was the Swiss figure, Henry Dunant.
77 lunar years ago, on this day in 1361 AH, prominent Iranian scholar of the seminary of holy Najaf, Ayatollah Ziya od-Din Iraqi, passed away at the age of 83 in Iraq. Born in a village near Arak in Iran’s Markazi Province, after basic studies he left for Iraq and studied under leading scholars of holy Najaf, especially Ayatollah Seyyed Mohammad Fesharaki. He mastered the various branches of Islamic sciences and succeeded Akhound Khorasani as the leading scholar. He was famous for his eloquent oratory skills as well as fluent style of writing. He wrote several books and groomed many scholars.
69 solar years ago, on this day in 1950 AD, Egypt’s Hassan Abdur-Rahim, the first Muslim to swim the English Channel between Britain and France, did it for the 3rd time and won the Daily Mail race. In all, he successfully swam across the English Channel four times – 1948, 1949, 1950, and 1951.
10 solar years ago, on this day in 2007 AD, Iran developed a new 2,000-pound "smart" bomb, the latest in a recent series of new measures to upgrade the weapons systems, for strengthening the defence capabilities of the Islamic Republic.
7 solar years ago, on this day in 2010 AD Iran started mass production of two models of high-speed missile-launching assault boats, as part of efforts to boost security along its large coastlines on the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman.
(Courtesy: IRIB English Radio – http://parstoday.com/en)    
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