Today is Sunday; 30th of the Iranian month of Shahrivar 1393 solar hijri; corresponding to 25th of the Islamic month of Zil-Q'adah 1435 lunar hijri; and September 21, 2014, of the Christian Gregorian Calendar.
Several millennium years ago, on this day (the 25th of Zil-Qa’dah), by God’s commandment the first part of dry land emerged from under the seas on Planet Earth which until then was filled with water without any soil on its surface. This blessed spot is the same place where Adam built the Symbolic House of God, the Holy Ka’ba (focal point of prayer for Muslims throughout the globe). From here dry land gradually spread around the globe forming continents, land masses, and islands. This day is thus known as "Dahw al-Ardh” or Emergence and Spread of Land. According to narrations, Imam Mahdi (AS) the Saviour of Humanity and the 12th and Last Successor of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA), will reappear on this day in the end times to cleanse the earth of all vestiges of corruption and oppression, and to establish the global government of peace, prosperity and justice. Special prayers have been recommended on this day.
Over 4,000 lunar years ago, on the eve of the 25th of Zil-Qa’dah, Prophet Abraham (AS) was born in Mesopotamia. He needs no introduction; and today all the three monotheistic faiths – Judaism, Christianity, and Islam – regard him as the progenitor. The holy Qur’an calls him "millah” or a nation by himself. Islam considers Abraham as one the Five Great Prophets – the other four being Noah, Moses, Jesus, and Prophet Mohammad (SAWA).
2033 solar years ago, on this day in 19 BC; the famous poet of ancient Rome, Publius Vergilius Maro, popularly known as "Virgil", died at the age of 51. His masterpiece is the epic Latin poem "Aeniad" that tells the legend of Aeneas, a Trojan who travelled to Italy, where he became the ancestor of the Romans. It is composed of 9,896 lines in dactylic hexameter. The first six of the poem's twelve books tell the story of Aeneas's wanderings from Troy to Italy, and the poem's second half tells of the Trojans' ultimately victorious war upon the Latins, under whose name Aeneas and his Trojan followers are destined to be subsumed.
Some 2070 lunar years ago, on the eve of the 25th of Zil-Qa’dah, according to a narration, Prophet Jesus (AS) was born to the Virgin Mary (SA) by the Will of God, without the association of a male. The holy Qur’an testifies to his miraculous birth and goes on to refute his alleged crucifixion and the weird concept of Trinity, as well as the allegation that he was the son of God – the Almighty Creator is far too glorious to have such human traits as the need for spouse or children. Prophet Jesus (AS) gave tidings of the advent of the Last and Greatest Messenger, Prophet Mohammad (SAWA) – a prophecy found in ayah 6 of Surah Saff of the holy Qur’an, as well as St. John’s Gospel despite the tampering of the Bible over the past centuries.
1425 lunar years ago, on this day in 10 AH, Prophet Mohammad (SAWA) left Medina for Mecca to perform his Farewell Hajj, and was joined by over 100,000 Muslims from various regions. During the pilgrimage he showed the correct performance of the Hajj rituals, and at Mount Mercy on the plain of Arafaat he delivered his famous sermon, saying he was about to depart from the world and was leaving behind for guidance of the Ummah, the Thaqalayn (two invaluable things), that is, the holy Qur'an and his infallible progeny, the Ahl al-Bayt. While returning home from his Farewell Pilgrimage, the Prophet was commanded by God to halt at Ghadeer-Khom near Juhfa to proclaim his cousin and son-in-law, Imam Ali, (AS) as vicegerent.
1289 lunar years ago, on this day in 145 AH Ibrahim Ibn Abdullah Ibn al-Hassan al-Muthanna, was martyred near Kufa in a battle with the forces of Mansour Dawaniqi, the 2nd self-styled caliph of the usurper Abbasid regime, shortly after the martyrdom of his brother Mohammad Nafs Zakiyya in an uprising in Hijaz. He was a great grandson of Prophet Mohammad’s (SAWA) elder grandson and 2nd Infallible Heir, Imam Hasan Mujtaba (AS), while his grandmother, Fatema (SA) was the daughter of the Prophet's 3rd Infallible Heir, Imam Husain (AS) the Martyr of Karbala. He launched his uprising in Ramadhan in Basra in coordination with his brother’s uprising in Hijaz, and within two months had liberated the whole of southern Iraq and Iran from the Abbasids, while Nafs Zakiyya liberated Arabia and Yemen, thus cornering Mansour in his capital Hirah in central Iraq (Baghdad was not yet built). It is worth noting that years earlier during the repressive rule of the Godless Omayyads, the Prophet's clan, the Hasehmites, had held an assembly at Abwa where Abu’l-Abbas as-Saffah and Mansour Dawaniqi (the future usurpers of the caliphate) had sworn allegiance to Nafs Zakiyya. But with the toppling of the Omayyads, the Abbasid brothers indulged in propaganda to hijack the rule of the realm by breaking their promise to handover the caliphate to the Prophet's progeny. Imam Ja'far Sadeq (AS), as the Prophet’s 6th Infallible Heir, sensed the plot and stayed away from the political tussle. He spurned the offer of caliphate by burning the sealed envelope sent by a victorious commander of the anti-Omayyad uprising, since his right was God-given and beyond the power of politicians. Among the offspring of Imam Hasan (AS), however, Nafs Zakiyya aspired for political power and challenged the Abbasids for breaching their promise. Thus, as a result of the uprising of the two brothers, when Mansour was on the verge of defeat, news arrived of the martyrdom in Medina of Nafs Zakiyya. This emboldened the Abbasids and in the battle near Kufa, an arrow pierced Ibrahim’s neck and he was unhorsed and decapitated. Mansour, who three years later martyred Imam Sadeq (AS) through poisoning, is notorious for shedding the blood of the Prophet's progeny, especially Imam Hasan's (AS) offspring.
1048 lunar years ago, on this day in 387 AH, the esteemed Egyptian legist and historian Abu’l Hassan Ibn Ibrahim Ibn Zulaq, passed away. Among his works is the book "Kitab Sirat al-Mu‘iz" on the life of the Fatemid Ismaili Shi'ite Caliph, al-Mu'iz, who shifted his seat of power to Egypt from what is now Tunisia in North Africa, after his general, Jowhar as-Siqili, conquered the Land of the Nile and built the city of Cairo including the famous al-Azhar Academy. Ibn Zulaq is considered a reliable authority on Fatemid history.
577 solar years ago, on this day in 1437 AD, Sultan Nasser Khan Farouqi of the Khandesh Muslim kingdom of Central India, died heartbroken three days after his humiliating defeat at the Battle of Lalling and the sack of his capital, Burhanpur, by the forces of Sultan Ala od-Din Ahmad Shah Bahmani of the Deccan. During his 38-year rule, Nasser Khan had built a strong realm which he had inherited from his father, but after him, under his weak and divided successors, the kingdom deteriorated and was finally absorbed by the expanding Mughal Empire.
356 solar years ago, on this day in 1658 AD, the scholar and controversial religious reformer of the Malay Peninsula and the Indonesian Archipelago, Noor od-Din Mohammad Ibn Ali Ibn Hassan ar-Raniri, passed away in India. Born in Gujarat, India, in the late 1500s to a father of a mixed Yemeni-Indian ancestry and a Malay mother, he studied in Hijaz, was a follower of the Shafe’i school of jurisprudence, and a member of the Rifa'iyya Sufi order. In 1637, he arrived in Acheh, North Sumatra, whose ruler, Sultan Iskandar Thani, gave him the highest religious office. He left Acheh in 1644 for Pahang in the Malay Peninsula, and after serving for several years, returned to India, where he died. During his years in Southeast Asia he wrote numerous works, including "as-Sirat al-Mustaqim” (The Straight Path) that led to the Islamization of Kedah. His longest work is the encyclopedic "Bustan al-Salatin fi Dhikr al-Awwalin wa’l-Akherin”.
222 solar years ago, on this day in 1792 AD, three years after the victory of the French revolution, the monarchic system was formally replaced with a republic and a constitutional assembly called the National Convention took charge of the administration. In January 1793, the deposed King Louis XVI was executed along with many of his family members. The republic barely lasted 12 years, as Napoleon Bonaparte revived the monarchy and styled himself emperor.
198 lunar years ago, on this day in 1237 AH, the prominent Iranian literary and political figure of the Qajarid era, Mirza Bozorg Farahani, passed away in Tabriz. He initiated effective reforms for the progress and development of the country. Among the books and treatises written by him, mention can be made of "Ahkam al-Jihad va Asbab ar-Reshad", in Persian about different types of strivings in the way of God for the progress of the society.
148 solar years ago, on this day in 1866 AD, the English author and historian, Herbert George Wells, was born. He catapulted to fame with his science-fiction novels. Among his works, mention can be made of "The Time Machine", "The Island of Doctor Moreau", "The War of the Worlds", and "A Modern Utopia". He died in 1946.
133 solar years ago, on this day in 1881 AD, Qajarid Iran was forced to recognize Russia's annexation of the ancient Iranian land of Khwarezm in Central Asia through the Treaty of Akhal.  Following Iran’s defeat in 1860, and with the increasing occupation of its territories in the southern Caucasus by Russia, and eastern Khorasan by Britain and the Afghans; Moscow stepped up its campaign to take full control of Central Asia, while Iran was unable to react. The immobilized Naser od-Din Shah sent foreign secretary Mirza Sa'eed Khan Mo'tamen ol-Mulk to sign the treaty, by virtue of which Iran would henceforth cease any claim to all parts of Transoxiania, setting the Atrak River as the new boundary. Three years later in 1884, the historical Iranian cities of Merv, Sarakhs, Ishqabad, and the surrounding areas were transferred to Russian control, and are now part of the modern republic of Turkmenistan. Khwarezm is a large oasis region on the River Oxus delta in West-Central Asia, bordered to the north by the Aral Sea, to the east the Qyzylkum Desert, to the south the Qarakum Desert and to the west the Ustyurt Plateau. Its famous capitals where Iranian scholars and scientists flourished were Kath, Gurganj and from the 16th century onwards Khiva. Today Khwarezm is divided among the republics of Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Kazakhstan.
95 solar years ago, on this day in 1919 AD, the well-known Islamic scholar of Pakistan, Fazl ur-Rahman Malik, was born in the Hazara area of British India (now in Pakistan). He studied Arabic at Punjab University, and went on to Oxford University in Britain, where he wrote a dissertation on the famous Iranian Islamic philosopher-physician, Abu Ali Ibn Sina. Afterwards, he began a teaching career, first at Durham University where he taught Persian language and Islamic philosophy, and then at McGill University where he taught Islamic studies until 1961, when he returned to Pakistan. Because of hindrances, he moved to the US and taught at UCLA. He shifted to the University of Chicago in 1969 and died in 1988. His books include: "Prophecy in Islam: Philosophy and Orthodoxy", "Islam and Modernity: Transformation of an Intellectual Tradition", "Major Themes of the Qur'an", "Islamic Methodology in History", and "Health and Medicine in the Islamic Tradition".
50 solar years ago, on this day in 1964 AD, the island state of Malta in the Mediterranean Sea gained independence from British rule. Once part of the Roman Empire, it became an Islamic island for over three-and-a-half centuries until its occupation by the Crusaders in the medieval era. Several times it was raided by the Ottoman Turks, and in 1798 was occupied by France, before falling to the British. The official language is Maltese which is actually a variant of the now extinct Sicilian Arabic dialect, written today in the Latin alphabet.
 (Courtesy: IRIB English Radio – http://english.irib.ir)