Today is Saturday; 23rd of the Iranian month of Esfand 1399 solar hijri; corresponding to 29th of the Islamic month of Rajab 1442 lunar hijri; and March 13, 2021, of the Christian Gregorian Calendar.
1397 solar years ago, on this day in 624 AD, the pagan Arabs of Mecca lost the Battle of Badr, which they had imposed as the first armed encounter upon Prophet Mohammad (SAWA). With God’s help the poorly armed Muslim defenders, numbering only 313, emerged victorious against the more than a thousand fully armed Arab aggressors. The hero of the battle was the Prophet’s dearest first cousin, Imam Ali ibn Abi Taleb (AS), who subsequently became his son-in-law, and was later proclaimed by him as vicegerent on the express commandment of God Almighty at the historic gathering of Ghadeer-Khom.
1292 lunar years ago, on this day in 150 AH, Iranian Sunni Muslim Jurisprudent, Noman ibn Sabet ibn Zuta ibn Marzuban, known as Abu Hanifa, passed away in Baghdad at the age of 68 in the prison of the 2nd self-styled Abbasid caliph, Mansour Dawaniqi. Born in Kufa in a family of Zoroastrian origin from Kabul, he learned the holy Qur’an and hadith, and after two years of incomplete study under Imam Ja’far Sadeq (AS), the 6th Infallible Heir of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA), he founded a jurisprudential school of his own, known as Hanafi. Contrary to the clear definition of Ijtihad, based on the holy Qur’an and the genuine hadith of the Prophet, Abu Hanifa resorted to "qiyas” (analogy) regarding legal issues, despite warnings from Imam Sadeq (AS) that the first one to indulge in "qiyas” was Iblis the Satan.
836 lunar years ago, on this day in 606 AH, Atabek Arsalan Shah of Mosul, died. He had asserted his independence from the Iran-based Seljuq Empire, and is famous for building the Madrasa Shafe’iyyah in the Iraqi city of Mosul.
574 solar years ago, on this day in 1447 AD, Shah Rukh Mirza, the ruler of Iran, Central Asia and what is now Afghanistan and parts of Pakistan and northwestern India, died during a journey to Rayy (near modern Tehran) at the age of 70 after a reign of 42 years. He was the son and successor of the fearsome Turkic conqueror, Amir Timur, and in contrast to his father, was a peace-loving ruler. His mother was a Tajik or a Persian-speaking lady. Although he lost Iraq to the Qara Quyunlu Turks, he hotly contested for control of Anatolia (modern Turkey) with the Ottomans, who were decisively crushed by his father. His capital was Herat in Khorasan – currently in Afghanistan. He was a great patron of arts and sciences, especially Persian architecture and literature, as well as works in Chaghatay and Arabic languages. Shah Rukh commissioned a number of historical and geographic works by the Iranian scholar Hafez-e Abru. Among them is "Tariḵh-e Shah Rukh” – a history of his reign that was later incorporated by its author into the larger "universal history” compilations "Majmu’a-e Ḥafeẓ-e Abru” (a universal history work) and "Majma’ at-Tawariḵh as-Solṭani” (section "Zobdat at-Tawarikh-e Baysonqori”). His wife, the highly refined Iranian lady, Gowhar Shad, funded the construction of two outstanding mosques and theological colleges in Mashhad and Herat. The Grand Gowhar-Shad-Mosque adjacent to the shrine of Imam Reza (AS) – the 8th Infallible Successor of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA) – was finished in 1418. He was succeeded in Transoxiana by his elder son, Ulugh Beg who was an accomplished astronomer and scholar, while almost all other sons had predeceased him including the famous calligrapher Baysonqor Mirza. Shah Rukh maintained diplomatic relations with the Mamluk rulers of Egypt-Syria, the Venetian Empire of the Mediterranean, China and the Muslim and Hindu rulers of the Deccan (South India). In fact, two of his ambassadors have left detailed account of their missions. The first is the detailed diary of Ghiyas od-Din Naqqash who was sent to the court of the Ming Emperor of China, and the second is the book "Matla us-Sa’dain wa Majma’ ul-Bahrain” by Abdur-Razzaq Samarqandi, the Iranian ambassador to the court of the Zamorin of Calicut (Kozikhode in Kerala), who during his 3-year stay (1442-45) in the Deccan also visited the Vijaynagar capital Hampi.
430 solar years ago, on this day in 1591 AD, Moroccan forces of the Sa’di Dynasty led by their general of Spanish origin, Judar Pasha, won Battle of Tondibi in Mali against the numerically superior forces of the Songhai Empire. In the subsequent battles the Moroccans conquered almost all major cities including Timbuktu. Founded in southern Morocco in 1509, the Sa’di Dynasty, which claimed descent from Prophet Mohammad (SAWA) through his elder grandson, Imam Hasan Mujtaba (AS), controlled all of Morocco by 1554 until its collapse in 1659. The most famous sultan was Ahmad al-Mansur (1578–1603), the builder of the famous al-Badi Palace in Marakesh. One of the most important achievements of the Sa’di Dynasty was the decisive defeat it inflicted on the Portuguese at the Battle of Qasr al-Kabir on 4 August 1578.
288 solar years ago, on this day in 1733 AD, the English chemist and physicist, Joseph Priestley, was born in the city of Fieldhead. He is supposed to be the discoverer of oxygen and nitrogen gases, and died in 1804. He is considered the first European to discover sulfur dioxide, ammonia, nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide and silicon fluoride, which had been determined centuries earlier by Muslim scientists. His political opinions and support of the French Revolution were unpopular. After his home and laboratory were set afire in 1791 in England, he sailed for the US where he spent the rest of his life.
179 solar years ago, on this day in 1842 AD, Henry Shrapnel, English soldier and inventor of the Shrapnel shell, a spherical case designed to explode in midair, spreading its content of small lead musket balls to injure and kill people over a wide area, died at the age of 81 in Southampton, Britain. On joining the army, he spent his life in service during which time he devised and refined his shell, invented a percussion lock for small arms (patented 1834) and other improvements in fuses, ammunition and small arms. He also prepared important artillery range tables and originated the brass tangent slide to improve the sighting of guns.
73 solar years ago, on this day in 1948 AD, armed Zionists of the terrorist outfit, Haganah, attacked the Palestinian village of "Husseiniyeh”, razing Muslim homes to the ground and massacring sixty Palestinian villagers. In a separate terrorist attack the same day, Zionists also blew up the homes of Palestinians in a district of Bayt al-Moqaddas, martyring and wounding several people. The carnage of Palestinian Muslims was a prelude to the illegitimate birth of Israel, following the withdrawal of British forces from Palestine, which took place two months after the massacre at Husseiniyeh Village.
64 solar years ago, on this day in 1957 AD, with the help of the notorious US spy ring CIA and the illegal Zionist entity, the British-installed and American-backed Pahlavi potentate, Mohammad Reza, set up the dreaded SAVAK, which is abbreviation of the Persian term Sazeman-e Ettela’aat va Amniyat-e Keshvar, meaning Organization of Intelligence and National Security. It was dissolved on the eve of the triumph of the Islamic Revolution in 1979. SAVAK has been described as Iran’s "most hated and feared institution”, because of its practice of torturing and executing opponents of the Pahlavi regime. At its peak, SAVAK had as many as 60,000 agents, who tortured and murdered thousands of the Islamic activists, including Ayatollah Mohammad Reza Sa’idi. It had virtually unlimited powers. It operated its own detention centers, like Evin Prison. In addition to domestic security, SAVAK’s surveillance extended to Iranians abroad. Brute force was used on victims, and other methods of torture such as the bastinado; sleep deprivation; extensive solitary confinement; glaring searchlights; standing in one place for hours on end; nail extractions; snakes (favoured for use with women); electrical shocks with cattle prods, often into the rectum; cigarette burns; sitting on hot grills; acid dripped into nostrils; near-drownings; mock executions; and an electric chair with a large metal mask to muffle screams while amplifying them for the victim. Prisoners were also humiliated by being raped, urinated upon, and forced to stand naked.
59 solar years ago, on this day in 1962 AD, the courageous religious leader and well-known political figure of Iran’s contemporary history, Ayatollah Seyyed Abu’l-Qasem Kashani, passed away. He attained the status of Ijtehad – independent reasoning based on Holy Qur’an and Hadith – at the Najaf Seminary at a young age, simultaneous with his struggles against British colonial rule over Iraq, in the company of other ulema. He was expelled from Iraq by the British, and on arriving in Iran, he launched his struggle against British colonial infiltration, which led to his imprisonment for several years. Following his release, the people of Tehran elected him to the parliament. With Ayatollah Kashani’s support for Dr. Mohammad Mosaddeq and the continued struggles of the masses, Iran’s oil industry was nationalized and Mosaddeq was chosen as the Prime Minister. But, when the Shah appointed the British stooge, Qawwam os-Saltanah, as the Premier; Ayatollah Kashani issued a statement calling on the people to enter the scene. As a result, the July 21, 1952 uprising took place. The terrified Shah removed Qawwam and Dr. Mosaddeq was reinstated as the Premier. Following the US-staged coup in 1953 and the fugitive Shah’s return to Iran, his agents put Ayatollah Kashani under surveillance until his death on this day, after his lifelong struggles against domestic despotism and foreign hegemony.
47 lunar years ago, on this day in 1395 AH, Seyyed Mohammad Hadi Milani passed away at the age of 82 in the holy city of Mashhad, Khorasan, and was laid to rest in the Towhid-Khana Aiwan of the blessed shrine of Imam Reza (AS), the 8th Infallible Heir of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA). Born and educated in holy Najaf, where his mother Bibi Khanum and maternal grandfather, Ayatollah Mohammad Hassan Mamaqani were among the leading scholars, he studied under Sheikh Ibrahim Hamadani, Akhund Mullah Hussain Tabrizi, Sheikh Ibrahim Salyani, and Seyyed Ja’far Ardebili. He migrated to Iran and became the leading scholar of the Mashhad Seminary, grooming scholars in various fields of Islamic sciences, such as Ayatollah Hussain Waheed Khorasani, Mohammad Taqi Ja’fari, and Seyyed Mohammad Baqer Tabatabaie. He established the Husaini Institute of Islamic Sciences, and wrote several important books, including the 10-volume "Muhadharaat fi’l-Fiqh-al-Imamiya” (Discourses on Imami Jurisprudence), "Qadutana Kaifa Ta’refahom” (How to Become Familiar with our Leaders).
15 solar years ago, on this day in 2006 AD, Iranian lawmakers approved $15 million to investigate and counter US attempts to infiltrate the Islamic Republic of Iran. Ever since, Washington was thrown out following the victory of the Islamic Revolution in 1979, it has tried in vain to re-impose its influence on Iran and has resorted to various plots – all of which have been defeated thanks to the people’s vigilance.
11 solar years ago, on this day in 2010 AD, Iran busted a US-funded cyber network group linked to MKO hypocrites to collect data on Iranian nuclear scientists. Some 30 culprits with links to the MKO terrorists were arrested and admitted their treason.