Today is Thursday; 11th of the Iranian month of Shahrivar 1395 solar hijri; corresponding to 29th of the Islamic month of Zi’l-Qa’dah 1437 lunar hijri; and September 1, 2016, 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 for 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) was inspired to construct the cubic-shaped edifice as the first-ever model of a house and dedicate 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 day 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).
1431 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 says in this regard in the opening ayah of Surah Fath: "Indeed, We have opened for you a Manifest Victory." It is worth noting that when 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, 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 Mecca 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 the Arabian Peninsula, and established the rapidly increasing Muslim community as the paramount power. The terms of the Treaty of Hodaibiyya were violated by the Arab infidels, 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.
1299 solar years ago,  on this day in 717 AD, the Omayyad siege of Constantinople with an armada of 1,800 ships ended in defeat because of the deceit by General Leo the Isaurian, who after rising up against Emperor Theodosios III. Leo tricked the Muslims and secured the Byzantine throne for himself. The campaign marked the culmination of twenty years of attacks and progressive Arab occupation of the Byzantine borderlands.  
871 solar years ago, on this day in 1145 AD, the Spanish Muslim geographer, traveler and Arabic poet, Abu’l-Hussain Mohammad Ibn Ahmad Ibn Jubayr al-Kinaani was born in Valencia. Son of a civil servant, he served as secretary to the governor of Granada (Gharnata in Arabic), but left the post for the Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca, which began in 1183 and ended with his return to his homeland, Muslim Spain, in 1185. He has written a lively account of his journey, titled "ar-Rihlah” (translated into English by R.J.C. Broadhurst as The Travels of Ibn Jubayr). It is a valuable source for the history of the period, containing descriptions of voyages across the Mediterranean and of the lands he passed through. In describing Cairo, he has given an account of the seizure of Egypt ten years earlier from the Fatemid Ismaili Shi’ite Muslim dynasty by the Kurdish adventurer, Salah od-Din Ayyubi, and the Muslim victories in the Levant over the European Crusader invaders. On his return journey to Spain, Ibn Jubayr passed through Sicily, which a century earlier had been lost by Muslims to the Christian invaders, and makes several observations on the hybrid Islamic-Norman polyglot culture that flourished there. He has given eyewitness accounts of the Red Sea port of Jeddah, the holy cities of Mecca and Medina, and of Iraq and Baghdad which he also visited. He made two more voyages, with the third ending with his death in 1217 in Alexandria, Egypt, at the age of 72.
842 solar years ago, on this day in 1174 AD, the construction of the Pisa Tower started in the Italian city of Pisa. Soon after start of construction operations, the 55-meter tower tilted almost five meters from the vertical line. Currently, with the efforts of experts and engineers of different countries, the increasing tilt every year of the Leaning Tower of Pisa has been slightly reduced.
534 solar years ago, on this day in 1482 AD, a Tartar Muslim army of the Crimean Khanate, led by Mengli Giray Khan, attacked Kiev, the Ukrainian capital and sacked it on instigation of Duke Ivan III of Moscow. The invasion was the result of shifting alliances that brought about a period of Muscovite-Crimean cooperation against the disintegrating Golden Horde and Poland-Lithuania. This cooperation lasted from 1472 to 1511, and is seen by Russian historians as a great diplomatic achievement by Duke Ivan who sent seven diplomatic missions to Mengli Giray Khan from 1472 to 1482 for the attack and sack of Kiev. Mengli who ruled till 1515 was the maternal grandfather of Sultan Suleyman of the Ottoman Empire – his daughter having married Sultan Selim I. Mengli’s son and successor, Mohammad Giray Khan allied with Poland and Lithuania in 1520 against Muscovy, and the next year his Muslim army inflicted a crushing defeat on Duke Vasili III of Russia near Moscow, making him sue for peace. Established in 1449 by Tatar Muslims in what are now southern Ukraine, southern Russia and Moldova, the Khanate of Crimea ruled the area for over three centuries untill it fell to Russian expansionism in 1783. It was closely allied to the Ottoman Empire and became its vassal state in its last century of rule. The Crimean Khanate established a flourishing Islamic culture, used the Perso-Arabic script, and built splendid mosques, bazaars, public baths, fountains, palaces, and libraries, which were criminally destroyed by the Russians who removed all traces of Muslim culture.   
445 solar years ago, on this day in 1571 AD, Famagusta on the island of Cyprus, surrendered to Mustafa Pasha, the commander of the Ottoman forces after nearly a year-long siege. With its surrender by its Venetian occupiers, Cyprus was once again brought under Muslim rule, several centuries after the end of Arab rule. It was leased to the British in 1878 on condition of protecting the decaying Turkish Empire from Russian attacks. In 1923, when the Ottomans were pressured to give up all of their European territories, except Istanbul, Britain forced the truncated state of Turkey to relinquish all claims to Cyprus, and in 1925 declared it as a crown colony. In 1960, Cyprus gained its independence from British rule as per the Zürich and London Agreement between Britain, Greece and Turkey, with quotas on ethnic basis for government posts and public offices, which were violated by the Greek majority. The present division of the island occurred in 1974, following the massacre of over 125 Muslims in Cyprus and the plot to merge it with Greece, prompting Turkey to dispatch troops to seize Famagusta and the northern part of the island, which since then is known as the Turkish Democratic Republic of Cyprus.
136 solar years ago, on this day in 1880 AD, the army of Mohammad Ayub Khan was routed by the British at the Battle of Qandahar, ending the Second Anglo-Afghan War.
93 solar years ago, on this day in 1923 AD, the Great Kanto earthquake devastated Tokyo and Yokohama, killing about 105,000 people.
85 solar years ago, on this day in 1931 AD, Indian Islamic scholar, Dr. Mohammad Abdul Haq Ansari, was born in Tamkohi in Deoaria district of what is now Uttar Pradesh State. He completed Islamic studies from Darsgah-e Islami, Rampur in 1953, did bachelors in Arabic in 1957, M.A. in philosophy in 1959, PhD in 1962 from Aligarh Muslim University, and M.T.S in Comparative Religion and Theology from Harvard University, USA in 1972. Ansari served as Professor and Head of the Department of Arabic, Persian and Islamic Studies, Vishwa Bharti University, Shantiniketan, Bengal State from 1965 to 1978. He was the president of Jamaat-e-Islami-e Hind (JIH) from 2003 to 2007. He was also the Chancellor of Jamia Islamia, Shantapuram, Kerala. His book "Learning the Language of Qur’an” is considered as one of the best English guides for the beginners of Qur'anic studies. Among his works, before he taught at universities in Saudi Arabia, are well-researched books on two of the Iranian philosophers, titled "The Ethical Philosophy of Miskawaih” (1964), and "The Moral Philosophy of al-Farabi” (1965). He died in October 2012.
77 solar years ago, on this day in 1939 AD, World War 2 broke out following the invasion of Poland by Nazi Germany. The goal of Nazi leader, Adolph Hitler, was to avenge the humiliating terms imposed on Germany by the Allied Powers at the end of World War I. In a short while, Germany occupied a large section of Europe and parts of North Africa. Meanwhile, the two other allies of Germany in World War II, Italy and Japan also occupied other regions in Africa and Asia respectively. In early 1943, however, the tide turned against the German forces following their failure to overcome stiff Soviet resistance in Stalingrad (which is now called Volgograd). Finally on May 1945 Germany surrendered unconditionally. Almost 40 million people were killed and billions of dollars worth of damages inflicted on different countries during World War II.
76 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 the Central Province of Iran, After basic studies in Arak he left for Iraq and studied leading scholars of holy Najaf, especially Ayatollah Seyyed Mohammad Fesharaki. He mastered the various branches of Islamic science 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.
55 solar years ago, on this day in 1961 AD, the first Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) Summit was held in Belgrade, the capital of Yugoslavia, attended by senior officials of 25 countries. The NAM was formed to help independent countries pursue a neutral stance during the Cold War, without being aligned to the then two power blocs of the Capitalist West and Communist East. The founding fathers were President Joseph Tito of Yugoslavia, President Ahmed Sukarno of Indonesia, President Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana, President Jamal Abdun-Nasser of Egypt, and Prime Minister Jawahar Lal Nehru of India – all of whom believed in struggle against colonialism. Differences of opinion in different domains continue to exist among NAM member states and for this reason the Non-Aligned Movement has not been able to form a powerful front in the face of the big expansionist powers, despite having a two-third majority among UN member states. The last NAM Summit was hosted by current chairman, Iran, in 2012 during the tenure of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, with 120 member countries in attendance in what is viewed as a slap to the US attempts to isolate Iran.
47 solar years ago, on this day in 1969 AD, Colonel Mu’ammar Qadhafi seized power in the North African country of Libya through a military coup, while King Mohammad Idris was in Turkey for medical treatment. For the next 42 years until his downfall and killing in August 2011, Qadhafi, was in power in Libya through his covert ties with the US and Western Europe, although he claimed to be revolutionary and followed the socialist policies of the Soviet Union. He treated oil-rich Libya as his personal property and through his eccentric policies tarnished the image of Islam, especially by his brutal killing of the venerable Iranian-Lebanese religious leader, Imam Musa Sadr, who was invited to Tripoli and then imprisoned and tortured to death, while Qadhafi lied to the whole world that Imam Sadr had left Libya.
(Courtesy: IRIB English Radio – http://parstoday.com/en)
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