Today is Sunday; 6th of the Iranian month of Mehr 1399 solar hijri; corresponding to 9th of the Islamic month of Safar 1442 lunar hijri; and September 27, 2020, of the Christian Gregorian Calendar.
1405 lunar years ago, on this day in 37 AH, Ammar Yasser, one of the close disciples of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA), attained martyrdom at the age of 93 during a battle in the War of Siffin, in defence of Islam, while fighting hypocrisy and sedition, in the company of Prophet’s First Infallible Heir, Imam Ali (AS). He was killed in a cowardly manner from behind by a commander of the Omayyad rebel, Mu’awiyah ibn Abu Sufyan, and thus the Prophet’s prediction that Ammar will be martyred by a heretical group came true. His parents, Yaser and Somayyah, were the first martyrs of Islam. They were tortured to death by the pagan Arabs of Mecca, such as Abu Sufyan. Ammar stood firm against the persecutions of disbelievers and on several occasions accompanied the Prophet in the expeditions against the pagan Arabs. After the Prophet, he stood firmly beside Imam Ali (AS) and refused to accept the regime in Medina for usurping political power through the coup at Saqifa Bani Sa’da. Ammar’s mausoleum situated in Reqqa, Syria, at the site of his martyrdom, has been desecrated by Takfiri terrorists.
1404 lunar years ago, on this day in 38 AH, the Commander of the Faithful, Imam Ali ibn Abi Taleb (AS), decisively defeated at Nahrawan in Iraq, an army of some 2000 Khawarej or renegades who had turned away from Islam to start armed rebellion against Prophet Mohammad’s (SAWA) divinely-designated Heir. Initially, part of the Imam’s forces at the inconclusive War of Siffeen against the rebel, Mu’awiyah ibn Abu Sufyan, these misled people, duped by the Omayyad stratagem in raising copies of the holy Qur’an on spear-points, had forced the Imam to stop the battle on the verge of victory, imposed upon him the weak-willed Abu Musa Ash’ari for the arbitration, rejected its outcome, and then broke away from the Islamic army by claiming the sword should have decided the conflict, when they themselves were the cause of the stalemate. They numbered 12,000 and the next year when Imam Ali (AS) called upon them to join his fresh campaign against Mu’awiyah, they now not only refused but gathered in warlike manner at Nahrawan, where they butchered the governor Abdullah ibn Khabbab ibn al-Arath, and four women including a pregnant maid, whose womb they inhumanly tore to kill the fetus. At this the Imam sent Hareth ibn Murrah al-Abdi to investigate but he too was killed by the Khawarej, who now seemed intent on attacking Kufa in the Imam’s absence. The Imam who had already set out for Syria, decided to curb this new sedition before dealing with Mu’awiyah and sent Sa’sa’ ibn Sauhan, Ziyad ibn Nazr al-Harethi, and Abdullah ibn Abbas, to urge them to repent and return to the fold of Islam. He then personally came and explained to them their misinterpretation of events, demanding the handing over of the killers of innocent people, and offering them amnesty through the Prophet’s companion, Abu Ayyub al-Ansari, who hoisted a banner for all those willing to break ranks with the Khawarej. As many as 10,000 people came over, leaving some 2000 hardcore hypocrites led by Abdullah ibn Wahhab to oppose the Imam. The Imam had exhausted all efforts to avoid bloodshed and when these misguided elements attacked the forces of Islam they were all annihilated except for 9 who fled the battlefield towards Basra. On Imam Ali’s (AS) side only 8 persons were killed.
1021 lunar years ago, on this day in 421 AH, the prominent Iranian Islamic scientist, historian, and thinker, Abu Ali Ahmad ibn Mohammad ibn Yaqoub Ibn Miskawaiyh, passed away at the age of 101.
847 lunar years ago, on this day in 595 AH, the famous Spanish Muslim philosopher and polymath, Mohammad Ibn Ahmad Ibn Rushd, known to Medieval Europe as "Averroes”, passed away at the age of 72, while on a visit to Marakesh, from where his body was brought back to Spain and buried in his birthplace Cordoba. His well-known book in this field is "Kitab al-Kulliyaat fi’t-Tibb”, whose Latin translation known as "Colliget” aroused much interest in medieval Europe. Ibn Rushd’s important original philosophical work is "Tahafut at-Tahafut” (Incoherence of the Incoherence), which is a refutation of the Iranian Shafei theologian, Ghazali’s "Tahafut al-Falasefa” (Incoherence of the Philosophers).
730 solar years ago, on this day in 1290 AD a massive earthquake in China’s Gulf of Chili killed an estimated 100,000 people.
496 lunar years ago, on this day in 946 AH, the second Mughal emperor, Humayun Shah, retreating for Agra from Mongir, was intercepted and defeated by the Afghan chieftain, Sher Shah Suri, at Chapar Ghat near Baksar. Humayun fled to Iran from where he returned with assistance from Shah Tahmasp Safavi to regain the throne of Delhi on the death of Sher Shah.
491 solar years ago, on this day in 1529 AD, the Siege of Vienna started with the attack of Suleiman I on the Austrian capital. It signalled the pinnacle of the Ottoman Empire’s power, the maximum extent of Muslim expansion in central Europe.
351 solar years ago, on this day in 1669 AD, the Venetians surrendered to the Ottoman Empire the fortress of Candia on the island of Crete, thus ending the 21-year siege – the longest in history. Candia is called Heraklion today.
199 solar years ago, on this day in 1821 AD, Mexico gained independence from Spain.
187 solar years ago, on this day in 1833 AD, Indian humanitarian and reformer, Ram Mohan Roy, whose study of the holy Qur’an, led him to discover the concept of monotheism in Vedic texts and to denounce idol-worship and polytheism of Hindus as innovations, died at the age of 61 at Stapleton near Bristol, while serving as ambassador to Britain of the penultimate Mughal king, Akbar Shah II. He was buried in Arnos Vale Cemetery.
123 lunar years ago, on this day in 1319 AH, the concession for drilling of Iran’s oil was given to the British investor, William Knox D’Arcy, by the weak Qajarid ruler, Mozaffar od-Din Shah, without considering the grave consequences to Iran’s national interests. Three decades after the Constitutional Movement, D’Arcy’s contract was annulled in view of its unjust nature.
71 solar years ago, on this day in 1949 AD, the populous city of Beijing was officially chosen as the Chinese capital. Beijing is situated in East China and is considered as one of the major political, economic, and cultural hubs of China.
58 solar years ago, on this day in 1962 AD, a day after overthrow of the Zaydi Shi’a Muslim dynasty of North Yemen through a military coup by Colonel Abdullah Sallal, assisted by Egypt’s President Jamal Abdun-Nasser, the Yemen Arab Republic was established. The coup marked the beginning of the North Yemen civil war that pitted pro-monarchy and revolutionary elements.
43 solar years ago, on this day in 1977 AD, Iranian composer and trombone player, Hussain Nassehi, passed away at the age of 52.
29 solar years ago, on this day in 1991 AD, Iranian author, translator, and political activist, Behzad Bashi, passed away.
27 solar years ago, on this day in 1993 AD, a brutal massacre took place in Sukhumi on its capture by Abkhazian separatists, who drove out some 250,000 Georgians, as part of ethnic cleansing. It is said the Armenians assisted the Abkhaz militia in torturing and killing Georgian men, women, and children.
26 lunar years ago, on this day in 1416 AH, the jurisprudent and prominent researcher, Ayatollah Seyyed Mohammad Hussain Hussaini Tehrani, passed away in his hometown Tehran at the age of 69.
24 solar years ago, on this day in 1996 AD, the Taleban militia, which was formed in Pakistan, funded by Saudi Arabia and armed by the US, occupied the Afghan capital, Kabul, after ousting the legal government of President Burhan od-Din Rabbani. The Taleban forced the UN mission in Kabul to hand them over, General Mohammad Najibollah, the last communist president of Afghanistan, and brutally executed him.