Today is Sunday; 23rd of the Iranian month of Khordad 1400 solar hijri; corresponding to 2nd of the Islamic month of Zil-Qa’dah 1442 lunar hijri; and June 13, 2021, of the Christian Gregorian Calendar.
1131 lunar years ago, on this day in 311 AH, the Iranian Sunni Muslim compiler of hadith, Mohammad ibn Ishaq Ibn Khuzaymah Naishapuri, passed away at the age of 88. After basic studies in his homeland he travelled to Iraq, Syria, and Egypt, collecting hadith from different sources before returning to Iran, where he took up residence in Gorgan. He is the compiler of the book “Mukhtasar al-Mukhtasar min al-Musnad as-Sahih”, which is known as “Sahih Ibn Khuzaymah”. Though not included in the “Sihah as-Sitta” or the Six Canonical Hadith Compendiums of the Ahl as-Sunnah, it is considered by many prominent Sunni figures, such as the medieval Egyptian scholar, Jalal od-Din Suyuti, as next only to “Sahih Bukhari” and “Sahih Muslim”. Like all other compilers of Sunni hadith – all of whom were Iranians and are held in high esteem by modern day Arab Salafis – Ibn Khuzaymah failed to have any direct contact with the Infallible Imams or their disciples for determination of authentic hadith, though he has mentioned some of the unsurpassed merits of the Prophet’s Ahl al-Bayt. He also authored the book “Kitab at-Towheed wa Ithbat Sifat ar-Rabb”.
1119 lunar years ago, on this day in 323 AH, the imposter and apostate, Mohammad ibn Ali ash-Shalmaghani, who falsely claimed to be an emissary and gateway to Imam Mahdi (AS), was executed and hanged in Baghdad by Caliph Raadhi-Billah, when he failed to serve the evil designs of the usurper Abbasid regime in undermining the followers of the Ahl al-Bayt during the “Ghaybat-as-Sughra” (Minor Occultation) of the 12th and Last Heir of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA) – may Allah hasten his reappearance to cleanse the earth of all vestiges of oppression and corruption, and to establish the global government of peace, prosperity and justice. Shalmaghani, after a good beginning as a scholar, fell prey to the satanic temptations of greed and jealousy, because of his personal enmity with the 12th Imam’s 3rd Deputy, Hussain Ibn Rouh Nowbakhti, and finally went completely astray, to the extent that the Imam had to personally issue a denunciation with his sacred seal so as to caution the followers of the Ahl al-Bayt against believing in his false claims.
985 solar years ago, on this day in 1036 AD, Ali az-Zaher, the 7th self-styled caliph of the Ismaili Shi’ite Muslim Fatemid Dynasty of Egypt, North Africa-Syria, died at the age of 31 due to a plague after a 15-year reign. Son of al-Hakim be-Amrillah, his youth and weakness allowed the Turkic slave guards to seize the vizierate, as a result of which the Empire slipped into decadence, although the bid of the Byzantine Christian Empire to encroach upon Syria and Aleppo was thwarted.
696 solar years ago, on this day in 1325 AD, the famous Muslim worldwide traveler, Shams od-Din Mohammad bin Abdullah, popularly known as Ibn Battuta, began his journey, leaving his home in Tangiers for the Hajj pilgrimage to holy Mecca at the age of 24. Born in the northwest African city of Tangiers, which is now in Morocco, after performing the Hajj, he kept on travelling, visiting over a period of thirty years, most of the Islamic world as well as many non-Muslim lands in the three continents of Africa, Asia and Europe. His journeys including trips to North Africa, the Horn of Africa, West Africa, Southern Europe and Eastern Europe in the West, and to West Asia, South Asia, Central Asia, Southeast Asia and China, cover a total of 121,000 km, surpassing by threefold the travels of his near-contemporary Marco Polo of Venice. In Iraq, he visited the holy shrine in Najaf of the Commander of the Faithful, Imam Ali ibn Abi Taleb (AS), and although a Sunni, he has admitted how people from far and near are cured of their ailments on seeking intercession with God through the First Infallible Heir of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA). He then travelled all over Iran, and after visiting the Byzantine Empire, Europe and Russia, he arrived in India, where he was appointed the Qazi of Delhi by Sultan Mohammad bin Tughlaq. On his return to his homeland Morocco, he again served as Qazi. He dictated to scribes the details of his travels in his book titled “ar-Rehla”. He died in 1369 in his homeland.
559 lunar years ago, on this day in 883 AH, the Treaty of Istanbul was signed by the Ottoman Empire and the Republic of Venice, officially ending the 15-year war between the two sides as a result of the advance of the Turks under Sultan Mohammad Fateh (conqueror of Constantinople) to the outskirts of Venice. The Venetians ceded Shkodra and other territories on the Dalmatian coastline, as well as the Greek islands of Negroponte and Lemnos. They also agreed to pay a tribute of around 10,000 ducats per year for trading privileges in the Black Sea.
539 lunar years ago, on this day in 903 AH, the prominent Iranian historian, Seyyed Mohammad Ibn Khwandshah Ibn Maḥmoud, popular as Mir-Khwand, passed away in the Khorasani city of Herat (presently in Afghanistan) at the age of 67. Born in Balkh, he belonged to a noble family of Bukhara (presently in Uzbekistan) that traced its descent from Prophet Mohammad (SAWA). He lived most of his life in Herat at the Timurid court of Sultan Hussain Bayqarah, and authored the famous universal history “Rawzat as-Safa” (Garden of Purity). He was a friend of the scholarly minister, Ali Shir Navaei. Mir-Khwand’s grandson (daughter’s son) was the famous Persian historian, Ghiyas od-Din Khwandamir, the author of “Habeeb as-Siyar” and “Qanoun-e Humayuni”, who also flourished at the court of Herat, and moved to India in the waning years of his life to the court of another branch of the Timurids, the Mughals, founded by Zaheer od-Din Babar.
190 solar years ago, on this day in 1831 AD, Scottish physicist, Clerk Maxwell, was born. He showed that electrical, magnetic and optical phenomena were all united in a single universal force, electromagnetism, and formulated electromagnetic theory,
156 solar years ago, on this day in 1865 AD, poet and playwright, William Butler Yeats, was born to an Anglo-Irish family in a Dublin suburb. He is best remembered for his poems titled “Byzantium” and “Easter 1916.” He won the Nobel Prize in 1923. The first volume of his autobiography was “Reveries over Childhood and Youth”, published by him in 1915. “The Lake Isle of Innisfree” is his best known poem. He died in 1939.
129 solar years ago, on this day in 1892 AD, Grand Ayatollah Shaikh Zain ol-Abedin Mazandarani, passed away at the age of 80 in the holy city of Karbala, where he was based as the “Marja’” or Source of Emulation for Shi’a Muslims worldwide. Born in Babol in Mazandaran Province on the Caspian Sea, after preliminary studies in Iran, he left for Iraq for higher studies at the holy city of Karbala, and 8 years later he shifted to the famous Islamic seminary of holy Najaf to study under the celebrated Grand Ayatollah Sheikh Morteza Ansari Dezfuli. On attaining the status of “Ijtihad”, he returned to Karbala at the age of 37, where he lived until the end of his life, grooming students and writing books, which include “Dhakhirat-al-Ma’ad”, “Zinat-al-Ebaad”, and “Treatise on Hajj Rituals”. He always thought of the poor and the needy and strove to solve their problems. He was also very modest and was highly respected by the ulema and people. He was instrumental in enlightening a sizeable section of the Nizari Ismaili community of India with the rational beliefs of the “Ithna-Ash’ari” (Twelver) School during discussions in Karbala with a Khoja delegation that had come on pilgrimage. At his behest Mullah Qader Hussain returned to the Subcontinent espousing the Twelver Shi’ite creed. His preaching was instrumental in convincing several more Khoja families to leave Nizari Ismailism and become Twelvers.
115 solar years ago, on this day in 1906 AD, Sinn Fein was established in Ireland by prominent journalist, Arthur Griffith, as the political wing of the Irish Republican Army (IRA), for independence from British colonial rule. Sinn Fein’s efforts finally resulted in independence for Southern Ireland in 1921. The party, alongside IRA, continued its political struggle for unity of Northern and Southern Ireland. Finally, after two years of intense negotiations with the British regime and Protestant parties, the leaders of Sinn Fein signed a peace agreement with London on April 10, 1998, according to which Northern Ireland turned into an autonomous region.
100 solar years ago, on this day in 1921 AD, with the influx of the first batch of European Jews, the Palestinians launched their national movement against the Zionists. The British, along with Zionist terrorist bands, brutally suppressed the Palestinian people and continued to bring in hundreds of thousands of illegal Jewish migrants from various parts of Europe that resulted in the illegitimate birth of Israel in 1948.
80 solar years ago, on this day in 1941 AD, the Soviet Union, which had occupied the former Romanian province a year earlier, loaded 22,600 Moldovans on cargo trains bound for Siberia, where the deportees were used for forced labor.
77 solar years ago, on this day in 1944 AD, the first ever surface-to-surface missile was used in warfare, when Nazi Germany targeted Britain with its V-1. Until then, only warplanes would bomb enemy sites. Missiles were cheaper than aircraft and prevented loss of life and machines. In the aftermath of World War II, other countries developed missile technology and built today’s advanced intercontinental ballistic missiles.
41 solar years ago, on this day in 1980 AD, the Founder of Islamic Republic of Iran, Imam Khomeini (RA), ordered establishment of Cultural Revolution Headquarters for reformation of universities. The message called for plans to evaluate courses based on Islamic culture and values in order to develop Iran’s higher education system by removing influences of undesirable western values.
38 solar years ago, on this day in 1983 AD, Iran’s lady jurisprudent, mujtaheda, and exegete of the Holy Qur’an, Seyyedah Bano Nosrat Begum Amin, passed away in Isfahan at the age of 97. Daughter of Seyyed Moḥammad Ali Amin at-Tujjar, she was married to her cousin, Mirza Moin at-Tujjar. Several ladies of her family were noted for their high degree of religious scholarship. Her aunt was the mujtaheda, Seyyedah Hashimiyah at-Tujjar, while her student and husband’s niece was the equally prominent, Seyyedah Iffat az-Zamaan Amin Iftekhar at-Tujjar. She groomed numerous lady students, including the famous Zeenat-as Sadaat Homayuni, the director for thirty years of Isfahan’s Women’s Seminary Maktab-e Fatemah. Bano Nosrat wrote several books such as the 15-volume exegesis of the Holy Qur’an titled “Makhzan al-Irfan” in Persian. She also authored for the moral uplifting of Iranian women the book “Ravesh Khoshbakhti va Towsiyeh beh Khaharan-e Imani” (Methods of Happiness and Prosperity for Sisters-in-Faith). Another of her excellent books is on the unsurpassed merits of the Commander of the Faithful Imam Ali (AS) titled “Makhzan al-La’ali fi Manaqeb Mawla-al-Mawali, Ali.” She was a staunch supporter of the Islamic Revolution and was held in deep respect by Imam Khomeini (RA).
14 solar years ago, on this day in 2007 AD, at around 9 a.m. local time, a sacrilegious bomb attack was carried out by agents of Global Arrogance at the holy shrine of al-Askariyayn at Samarra, resulting in the destruction of the two ten-story high gold-plated minarets, flanking the earlier destroyed golden dome. This was the second bombing of the holy shrine of Imam Ali al-Hadi (AS) and Imam Hassan al-Askari (AS) – the 10th and 11th Infallible Successors of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA). The first sacrilegious bomb attack had occurred in Samarra on 22nd February 2006, destroying the shrine’s magnificent golden dome. The terrorists were on the payroll of Saudi Arabia and the US. The holy shrine is now under construction on a grand scale.
11 solar years ago, on this day in 2010 AD, in the central Philippines a bus rented by Iranian medical students plunged into a ravine while travelling a mountain road, killing 21 people and injuring 26 others.
9 solar years ago, on this day in 2012 AD, Takfiri terrorists, backed by Saudi Arabia and the US, carried out a series of bombings in Shi’a Muslim areas across Iraq, including Baghdad, Hillah, Balad, Taji, and Kirkuk, martyring over a hundred men, women and children, and wounding over 400 others.