Yesterday was Saturday; corresponding to 21st of the Islamic month of Ramadhan 1435 lunar hijri, and July 19, 2014, of the Christian Gregorian Calendar. Some three-and-a-half millennium ago, on this date (Ramadhan 21), Prophet Moses (AS), passed away at the age of over 120, after delivering the Israelites from bondage in Pharaonic Egypt, expounding the laws of the heavenly scripture Torah, and giving the tidings of the Last and Greatest Messenger to be raised among the Ishmaelite Arabs, Prophet Mohammad (SAWA). Over three millennium ago, on this date (Ramadhan 21) Prophet Joshua (Yousha’) passed away. He was the cousin and successor of Prophet Moses (AS). Over two millennium ago, on this date (Ramadhan 21) Prophet Jesus (AS) was raised alive to the sky by God, to save him from death at the hands of the Romans, following his betrayal by the treacherous Israelite, Judas Iscariot, who instead was crucified. God revealed the Evangel to him for guidance of the Israelites, who refused to listen to his tidings of the coming of the Last and Greatest Messenger with the universal message of Islam, Prophet Mohammad (SAWA). 1395 lunar years ago, on this day in 40 AH, the Commander of True Believers, the Leader of the Pious, the Symbol of Justice, the Epitome of Valour, and the Gateway of the City of Knowledge, Imam Ali Ibn Abi Taleb (AS), was martyred in Kufa and laid to rest in nearby Najaf, which today is one of the foremost centres of pilgrimage with its golden domed shrine. Two days earlier, while in the state of ritual prayer, he was fatally struck on the head by the poisoned sword of the renegade, Abdur-Rahman Ibn Muljam al-Moradi. As the cousin, ward, son-in-law, and divinely-decreed vicegerent of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA), Imam Ali (AS) needs no introduction. His model government of social justice, which no administration anywhere in the world has ever succeeded to match, continues to be an inspiration for the seekers of truth. As the unrivalled master of eloquence and wisdom, his sermons, letters and maxims, have been collected in book form for more than a millennium and two centuries, with the Nahj al-Balaghah” (Highway of Eloquence), being the most famous. Interestingly, all Sufi or mystical orders trace their origin to his ascetic way of life, while even Sunni Muslims, despite regarding him as the 4th caliph in the order of political succession, consider him to be superior to all and everybody else after Prophet Mohammad (SAWA). 1303 solar years ago, on this day in 711 AD, the Muslim forces, led by Tareq Ibn Ziyad won a decisive victory in the Battle of Guadalete by routing the Visigoth Christian army of King Roderick and sweeping across Spain. Later, the Muslims crossed the Pyrenees into France. Tareq landed on the island known ever since as Gibraltar (corruption of the Arabic Jabal at-Tareq” – Rock of Tareq). He was governor of Tangiers under Musa Ibn Nusayr, the Emir of Ifriqiya (western Libya, Algeria, Tunisia, and Morocco).Tareq and Musa were called back to Damascus by the jealous Omayyad caliph, Walid I and humiliated. Arab historians have given various accounts of Tareq’s origins – he was a Persian from Hamadan; a member of the Arabicised Sadf tribe; a North African Berber. Musa is said to have been a son of an Iranian Christian, while others say he was born in the Lakhmid Arab clan who were clients of Iran’s Sassanid Empire. 331 lunar years ago, on this day in 1104 AH, the famous Islamic scholar, Mohammad Ibn Hassan al-Amili al-Mashghari, known as Shaikh Horr-e Ameli, passed away in Mashhad at the age of 71 and was laid to rest in a porch of the Grand Mausoleum of Imam Reza (AS). Born in Jabal Amel, southern Lebanon, he studied in his homeland under prominent scholars, and later performed the Hajj and pilgrimage to the holy shrines of Iraq. At the age 40 he migrated to Iran, and in Isfahan after a meeting with the famous Iranian scholar, Allamah Mohammad Baqer Majlisi, he was appointed as Shaikh al-Islam in Mashhad – a duty which he discharged for 30 years. A prolific writer, his works include the Hadith Encyclopedia Wasa’el ash-Shi’a”. 34 solar years ago, on this day in 1980 AD, the renowned Islamic scholar and literary figure, Jalaleddin Homai, passed away. Born in Isfahan in a virtuous family, he started learning under his father, and after attending the seminaries, attained the status of Ijtehad. He was a polymath in literature, philosophy, jurisprudence, theology, and astronomy. He groomed numerous students, and was a prolific writer. Among his books is The History of Iran’s Literature”. He also prepared school and university textbooks on literature and Islamic teachings. Two solar year ago, on this day in 2012 AD, Iranian meteorologist and academic, Mohammad Hassan Ganji, passed away in Tehran at the age of 100 years. Born in Birjand, in southern Khorasan, northeastern Iran, he is credited as being the father of modern geography in Iran. Ganji established the Iran Meteorological Organization in 1955 and served as the head of Iran’s Department General of Meteorology from 1956 to 1968.
Posted on: Sun, 20 Jul 2014 13:41:23 +0000
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