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News ID: 90058
Publish Date : 09 May 2021 - 22:58

This Day in History

This Day in History (May 10)
Today is Monday; 20th of the Iranian month of Ordibehesht 1400 solar hijri; corresponding to 27th of the Islamic month of Ramadhan 1442 lunar hijri; and May 10, 2021, of the Christian Gregorian Calendar.
2049 solar years ago, on this day in 28 BC, a sunspot is observed by Han Dynasty astronomers during the reign of Emperor Cheng of Han, one of the earliest dated sunspot observations in China.
1187 lunar years ago, on this day in 255 AH, the rebellion against the Abbasid regime by Sahib az-Zanj or Leader of the black-skinned people of East African origin, was launched in southern Iraq by a person of obscure origin who was said to be a descendant of slaves. A Godless person who went by the name of Ali bin Mohammad, he unleashed a great sedition and destruction that claimed tens of thousands of lives. He lived for a while in the Abbasid capital, Samarra, where he mixed with some influential slaves of Caliph Muntasir and saw the deep financial discrimination among Muslims as a result of state policy. He moved to the Persian Gulf island of Bahrain, where he pretended to be Shi’a Muslim in order to rouse the people into rebellion against the caliphate. His followers grew so large that land taxes were collected in his name, He then relocated to the Iraqi port city of Basra, where he claimed himself to be a Kharijite or renegade from Islam and started collecting around him the bonded labourers of the marshlands. Soon, supported by Bedouin Arabs and black-skinned people, he styled himself Emir and embarked on plunder, death and destruction. He launched a general massacre of the populace, burning entire localities including the Jame’ Mosque, where he killed the eminent grammarian Abbas bin Faraj Riyyashi while in prayer. His rebellion, which coincided with the secession of Egypt by Ahmad ibn Toloun and of the uprising in Iran of Yaqoub bin Laith Saffar, lasted 14 years, during which he seized southern Iraq up to Wasset and parts of Iran’s Khuzestan, defeating several armies sent by the Abbasid caliphs, until he was defeated and killed. He left a trail of destruction and famine, with agricultural lands desolate and as many as half-a-million people killed. The Commander of the Faithful, Imam Ali (AS), had prophesied the revolt of Saheb az-Zanj two centuries earlier, citing Prophet Mohammad (SAWA) as source of information, as is evident from the following passage in Sermon 127 of Nahj al-Balagha:
"O’ Ahnaf! It is as though I see him advancing with an army which has neither dust nor noise, nor rustling of reins, nor neighing of horses. They are trampling the ground with their feet as if they are the feet of ostriches.”
1137 solar years ago, on this day in 884 AD, Ahmad ibn Tulun, founder of the short-lived Tulunid Dynasty of Egypt, died after a 17-year rule during which he killed at least eighteen thousand people. His father, Tulun, was a Turkic slave sent as part of a tribute by the Iranian governor of Bukhara to the Abbasid caliph, Ma’mun. The Abbasids used to recruit Turkic slaves to serve as military officers. Ibn Tulun received military training in Samarra, the new Abbasid capital, where he was appointed commander of special-forces of the tyrannical caliph, Mutawakkil. After serving in military campaigns against the Byzantine Empire in Tarsus, he gained the favor of Musta’in, and in the reign of the next caliph, Mu’taz, he was sent as governor to Egypt. Since, the then capital of Egypt, al-Fustat, was too small to accommodate his armies, he founded a new city nearby called "Madinat al-Qatta’i” (or the Quartered City), to serve as his capital. It was laid out in the style of the grand cities of Iran, including a large public square, a palace, and a large ceremonial mosque, which was named after Ibn Tulun. This city was razed on the fall of the Tulunid Dynasty, and only the mosque has survived. Ibn Tulun asserted his independence from the Baghdad caliphate by minting coins in his name and seizing control of large parts of Syria. He defeated an Abbasid army sent to Egypt against him. Within two decades after his death, the inefficient rule of his son and grandsons brought about the collapse of the dynasty and re-imposition of Abbasid rule on Egypt.
1019 solar years ago, on this day in 1002 AD, the historian, hadith compiler and orator, Ahmad bin Ali bin Sabet, known as Khateeb al-Baghdadi, was born near Baghdad. Son of a preacher of Darzidjan, he studied under his father and other ulema, mastering the various sciences with special interest in hadith. At the age of 20 he went to Basra to collect hadith. He travelled east to Iran and made two trips to Naishapur in Khorasan, collecting in his journey more hadith in Rayy and Isfahan. Back in Baghdad, he acquired fame as a preacher and orator, and it is said that teachers and preachers of hadith would usually submit to him what they had collected, before they used them in their lectures or sermons. Initially a follower of the Hanbali School of jurisprudence, he switched to the Shafe’i School – a change that made Hanbalis his bitter enemies and heap accusations against him. This sectarian hostility made him leave for Damascus, where he preached for 8 years, and before returning to Baghdad, spent another year in Tyre, in what is now Lebanon. Khateeb al-Baghdadi was a prolific writer and has authored several books, the most famous of which is the voluminous history "Tarikh al-Baghdad”. He has quoted many of the hadith on the merits of the Ahl al-Bayt or Blessed Household of Prophet Mohammad (blessings of God upon him and his progeny), whose principal members are: Hazrat Fatema Zahra, Imam Ali, Imam Hasan and Imam Husain (peace upon them).
882 lunar years ago, on this day in 560 AH, the famous Spanish Muslim philosopher and Gnostic, Mohi od-Din bin Mohammad Ibn al-Arabi was born in Andalusia, southern Spain. A child prodigy, after acquiring the sciences of the day, he left Spain at the age of 30 to travel over the Islamic world, acquiring further knowledge and writing books during his journeys, which took him on pilgrimage to Mecca, and far off places like Baghdad in Iraq and Qonya in what is now Turkey. In 620 AH, he settled in Damascus, where he lectured and wrote books. Among his well-known works are "Fusus al-Hikam” (Bezels of Wisdom), and "Futuhaat al-Makkiyya”. His Gnostic school of thought has continued to have a profound impact over the centuries despite the senseless attacks on him by the pseudo scholar Ibn Taimiyya, who failed to taint Ibn Arabi’s saintly personality for elaborating the Qur’anic concepts of "wasila” (means of attaining the proximity of God) and "shafa’a” (power of intercession) that God has granted to Prophet Mohammad (SAWA) and the Infallible Imams. He passed away in Damascus in 638 AH.
483 lunar years ago, on this day in 959 AH, the prominent theologian, Hassan bin Zain od-Din, was born in Lebanon to Shaikh Zain od-Din al-Jubai Shaheed Thani (Second Martyr). He was a product of the Najaf Seminary in Iraq and wrote the famous book "Ma’alem al-Usoul”. On returning to his homeland he groomed numerous students and passed away in 1011 AH.
455 solar years ago, on this day in 1566 AD, German physician and botanist, Leonhart Fuchs, died at the age of 65. His fame mainly rests on a large book about plants and their uses as medicines, that he authored and gave the title "Herbal Book”. It was first published in 1542 in Latin. It has about 500 accurate and detailed drawings of plants, which were printed from woodcuts. The botanical genus "Fuchsia” is named in his honour, and consequently the colour "Fuchsia”.
332 lunar years ago, on this day in 1110 AH, the prominent Islamic scholar, Allamah Mohammad Baqer Majlisi, passed away in his hometown Isfahan and was laid to rest beside his equally renowned father, Mullah Mohammad Taqi Majlisi the First. His grandfather, Maqsood Ali was also a theologian and the genealogy of the family is traced back to the famous scholar, Abu Nu’aym Ahmad bin Abdullah Isfahani, the author "Hulyat-al-Awliya” and "Zikr-e Akhbar-e Isfahan.” By the age of 25, he gained certification of "riwayah” from the famous philosopher Mullah Sadra to teach. He was appointed Shaikh ol-Islam (Chief Religious Leader) by the Safavid King, Shah Sultan Hussain. During his 84-year lifespan, he wrote and compiled as many as 600 volumes of books and treatises, including the famous encyclopedic work "Bihar al-Anwaar” on hadith. His books are considered as the most important reference books for Muslims. He also popularized the Friday Prayers and guided tens of thousands of people towards the school of the Ahl al-Bayt of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA).
220 solar years ago, on this day in 1801 AD, the First Barbary War, occurred off the coast of Tripolitania in present day Libya between the North African Berber Muslim states and the intruding US fleet. The principalities of Tripoli, Algiers, and Tunis, which were quasi-independent entities nominally under the Ottoman Empire, along with the semi-independent Sultanate of Morocco, defeated the US navy. The war lasted four years, and the US, as per the advice of France and Spain had to pay war indemnities in order to procure the release of its prisoners. In 1815, the US, now no longer engaged in hostilities with the British, again attacked the North African states in the Second Barbary War (also known as the Algerian War). With Ottoman naval power on the wane and the Mediterranean Sea no longer the Turkish Lake of the past three centuries; the Barbary States were forced to seek peace by paying heavy damages to the US. Within decades, European powers built more sophisticated ships which the Turks and the Barbary States could not match in numbers or technology. These iron-clad warships of the late 19th century and the early 20th century ensured European dominance of the Mediterranean. As a result Algeria and Tunis were occupied by France, although the Turks continued to hold Tripolitania (Libya) till 1911, when it fell to Fascist Italy.
150 solar years ago, on this day in 1871 AD, the Treaty of Frankfurt was signed following the Franco-Prussian War that saw the German-speaking people emerge as a united entity called Germany, due to the efforts of "Iron Chancellor” Otto von Bismarck. Germany became a major power and was no longer known as Prussia.
144 solar years ago, on this day in 1877 AD, the Ottoman provinces of Wallachia and Moldavia, along with Transylvania, which was under Austrian rule, declared themselves independent as a new country called Romania, taking advantage of the declining state of Turkish Empire, which for almost five centuries had established Muslim rule in southwestern Europe. A war followed and four years later Romania became formally independent on March 26, 1881.
86 lunar years ago, on this day in 1356 AH, Ayatollah Seyyed Hassan Modarris was martyred through poisoning by agents of the despotic British-installed Pahlavi ruler, Reza Khan, in the city of Kashmar, Khorasan, at the age of 68, for his untiring efforts to safeguard freedom and liberties in Iran. Born near the city of Ardestan in central Iran, on completion of his studies, he left for the holy city of Najaf in Iraq, to attend the classes of prominent ulema, such as Ayatollah Mirza Hassan Shirazi. On returning to Iran, Ayatollah Modarris started his struggles against the despotic regime and its colonial masters. He was elected to the parliament and lobbied for implementation of Islamic laws in the country, a factor that angered Reza Khan, who exiled him from Tehran.
49 solar years ago, on this day in 1972 AD, Ayatollah Kohistani Behshahri, passed away at the age of 83 in his hometown Kohistan near Behshahr, Mazandaran. A product of the holy Najaf seminary of Iraq, where he reached the status of Ijtehad after studying under such prominent ulema as Grand Ayatollah Mirza Hussain Na’eni and Grand Ayatollah Seyyed Abu’l-Hassan Isfahani, he established the Islamic seminary in his hometown and groomed a number of students, including the revolutionary figure, Martyr Hojjat al-Islam Seyyed Abdul-Karim Hashemi-Nejad, who was a member of the Assembly of Experts.   
48 solar years ago, on this day in 1973 AD, the Western Saharan Liberation Front (POLISARIO) was formed for independence of the northwestern African Muslim region from the Spanish colonial rule. Two years later, Spain was forced to leave West Sahara, but mischievously handed over the region to Morocco and Mauritania. Pressed by POLISARIO, Mauritania gave up its claims, but the Moroccans have continued to occupy Western Sahara. With UN mediation, it was decided in 1991 to hold referendum for determining the fate of this land, but Morocco has continued to stall any plebiscite ever since. Nonetheless, many countries have recognized Western Sahara as an independent country, and the POLISARIO as representative of the Western Saharan people.
38 solar years ago, on this day in 1983 AD, the repressive Ba’th minority regime of Saddam, detained 90 members of the family of Grand Ayatollah Seyyed Mohsin al-Hakeem, and martyred six of them. Two years later, 10 other family members of the Grand Ayatollah were martyred. Saddam’s policy was to demoralize and terrorize Iraq’s Shi’ite Arab majority, especially since the Late Grand Ayatollah’s son, Seyyed Mohammad Baqer al-Hakeem had set up in exile in Tehran, the Supreme Assembly of the Islamic Revolution of Iraq.  Incidentally, on this day in 2003, Baqer al-Hakeem returned triumphantly to his US-occupied homeland after two decades of exile in Iran, and a few months later was martyred by terrorists.
32 solar years ago, on this day in 1989 AD, Iranian author, researcher, and lecturer, Hojjat al-Islam Dr. Seyyed Javad Mostafavi, passed away. An authority on Islamic sciences, following the victory of the Islamic Revolution, he served as chancellor of the University of Islamic Sciences in holy Mashhad. Among the works written by him are "al-Kashef” and "Miftah al-Wasa’el”.
27 solar years ago, on this day in 1994 AD, Nelson Mandela was inaugurated as South Africa’s first black president, after decades of struggle against the apartheid rule of the White European minority.
18 solar years ago, on this day in 2003 AD, leader of Iraq’s Supreme Islamic Assembly, Ayatollah Seyyed Mohammad Baqer al-Hakeem, returned triumphantly to his US-occupied homeland after two decades of exile in Iran, following the overthrow of Saddam’s repressive Ba’th minority regime. The Ayatollah was martyred a few months later after the Friday Prayer in holy Najaf while leaving the shrine of Imam Ali ibn Abi Taleb (AS), by American affiliated Ba’thist-Takfiri terrorists.