Today is Sunday; 19th of the Iranian month of Ordibehesht 1395 solar hijri; corresponding to 1st of the Islamic month of Sha’ban 1437 lunar hijri; and May 8, 2016, of the Christian Gregorian Calendar.
Today is the first of Sha’ban; the month of worship and acceptance of forgiveness in the divine court. Prophet Mohammad (SAWA) and the Infallible Imams have emphasized on fasting, charity and other virtuous acts in this month. We have prepared a special feature on the observation of virtues of Sha’ban, especially on its first day, which we will present to you later in our programme.
1118 lunar years ago, on this day in 319 AH, Head of the Baghdad branch of the Mu’tazila sect, Abu’l-Qasim Abdullah bin Ahmad al-Balkhi al-Ka’bi, died. He was from the Khorasani city of Balkh (presently in Afghanistan) and spent most of his life in Baghdad, where after him the Ka’biya sub-sect of the Mu’tazila was known. He was introduced to Mu’tazili doctrines by Abu’l-Hussain al-Khayyat. The Mu’tazila sect was founded in Basra, Iraq by Wasil ibn Ata. Among the books written by Abu’l-Qasim Balkhi are "The Glories of Khorasan”, "The Good Points about the Taherids” (dynasty of governors which ruled in Khorasan from 821 till 873 under the Abbasid caliphs), and an exegesis of the holy Qur’an to suit Mu’tazili ideas.
744 lunar years ago, on this day in 693 AH, the famous scholar and literary figure, Seyyed Ghiyas od-Din Abdul-Karim ibn Ahmad ibn Musa ibn Tawous Hilli, passed away in the Iraqi city of Kazemain at the age of 45 and his body was taken to holy Najaf for burial. He was born in the holy city of Karbala. His father Ahmad ibn Musa is the compiler of the famous book "Iqbaal al-A’maal”. The Tawous family was prominent in Iraq and Iran, and its members not only were educated and knowledgeable, but also widely respected by for their virtue, piety, and devotion to the cause of the Ahl al-Bayt. Abdul-Karim memorized the Holy Qur’an by the age of 11 and studied Arabic literature and theology under prominent figures, including his father, as well as Muhaqqiq Hilli and Khwajah Naseer od-Din Tusi. He is the author of several books including "Farhat al-Ghari be Sarhat al-Ghari”, and "Farhat al-Ghariy fi ta’yin Qabr Amir al-Mu’minin Ali”.
243 solar years ago, on this day in 1773 AD, Ali Bey al-Kabir, the Mamluk ruler who made Egypt independent of the Ottoman Empire for four years, was killed outside Cairo at the age of 45, a year after being removed from power. Born to a Christian priest in Abkhazia in what is now Georgia in the Caucasus, he was sold into slavery and brought to Cairo in 1743 as a 15-year old. Recruited as a Muslim into the Mamluk force, he gradually rose in ranks and influence, winning the top office of "Shaykh al-Balad” (Chief of the Country) in 1760. Attempting to gain complete control, he sought to exile his rival Abdur-Rahman in 1762 when the latter was conducting the Hajj caravan to Mecca, but was instead sentenced to exile at Gaza. Ali Bey started for that city, but on the third day made to the Hijaz where he was joined by a number of his followers, and from there travelled to Girga where he spent the next two years, until his supporters in Cairo effected his recall. In 1768, he deposed the Ottoman governor Rakım Mohammad Pasha and assumed the post of acting governor. He stopped the annual tribute to the court in Istanbul and in an unprecedented usurpation of the Ottoman Sultan’s privileges had his own name struck on local coins in 1769 (alongside the sultan’s emblem), effectively declaring Egypt’s independence from Ottoman rule. In 1770 he gained control of the Hijaz and a year later temporarily occupied Syria, thereby reconstituting the Mamluk state that had been occupied in 1517 by the Ottomans. However, a few days after a major victory of his forces, in alliance with Dhaher al-Omar on 6 June 1771 against the Ottomans, Abu al-Dhahab, the commander of his troops in Syria, refused to continue the fight after an Ottoman agent stirred up mistrust between him and Ali Bey. As a result, Ali Bey lost power in 1772. During his time in power, he successfully expanded Egypt’s trade with Britain and France. He also hired European advisers for his military, and bought European weapons.
222 solar years ago, on this day in 1794 AD, the French scientist and one of the founders of modern chemistry, Antoine Lavoisier, was executed at the age of 51, following the French Revolution. He was a member of the French Academy, and during his research, he discovered the constituting elements of air, thereby classifying oxygen and its importance in combustion. This discovery led to foundation of the science of Thermo Chemistry. Many of the new chemical combinations are the result of his studies and researches. He has left behind a large number of compilations.
199 solar years ago, on this day in 1817 AD, British physician and paleontologist, James Parkinson, published his "Essay on the Shaking Palsy”, and was the first to describe in detail in modern medical terms, the neuromuscular disease which is now known by his name as "Parkinson’s Disease”, although throughout history, physicians of difference cultures and civilizations have written about this disease. The symptoms of this disease are a generalized slowness of movement, a tremor or slight shaking on one side of the body when at rest, some stiffness of the limbs, and problems of gait or balance. Several early sources describe symptoms resembling what is now known as "Parkinson’s Disease”. An Egyptian papyrus from the 12th century BC mentions a king drooling with age. An Ayurvedic medical treatise from India supposed to date back to the 10th century BC describes a disease that evolves with tremor, lack of movement, drooling and other symptoms. In the first Chinese medical text, written by Huang Di Nei Jing Su Wen more than 2,500 years ago, the symptoms of this disease are mentioned. The famous Greek physician Galen also wrote about this disease. Among the Islamic physicians, Abu Ali Sina the Iranian multi-sided genius and Ibn Rushd the Spanish polymath have also described this disease.
171 lunar years ago, on this day in 1266 AH, the prominent Islamic scholar, Sheikh Mohammad Hassan Najafi, famous as "Saheb-e Jawaher”, because of writing the famous jurisprudential work, "Jawaher al-Kalaam”, passed away. Son of Sheikh Mohammad Baqer, he was a student of Shaikh Ja’far Kashef ul-Gheta, and took over forty years to complete his monumental work which is still held in high esteem in Islamic seminaries. The book is an extended exposition of "ash-Shara’e al-Islam” of Muhaqqiq Hilli. In the preface to "Jawaher al-Kalaam”, which is indeed a comprehensive encyclopedia of discursive Fiqh, the author says that his purpose in writing this work is to acquaint jurisprudents with the hidden delicacies of the "ash-Sharae’e al-Islam”, illustrate its problems, explicate the mistakes made by other commentators of the book, and deal with the views of fuqaha and their arguments.
143 solar years ago, on this day in 1873 AD, the English philosopher and economist, John Stuart Mill, died at the age of 67. He learned logic and economics under his father and thereafter worked as a journalist and a writer. He was elected as representative to the House of Commons for a single term. Stuart Mill followed the views of the French philosopher Auguste Comte and believed in the originality of experience. In economics, he supported profiteering coupled with some vague concept of social justice. The books he wrote include "Principles of Political Economy”.
114 solar years ago, on this day in 1902 AD, due to eruption of Pelee Volcano in southern France, the city of Saint-Pierre, situated on the foothills, was buried. In this catastrophe which lasted only three minutes, almost 30,000 people lost their lives. This volcano was dormant for several years and its eruption took place suddenly. It has remained dormant as of the year 1902 eruption.
92 solar years ago, on this day in 1924 AD, Grand Ayatollah Abdul-Hussain Lari passed away at the age of 77 and was laid to rest in Jahrom. He completed his higher studies in holy Najaf, Iraq, where after attaining the status of Ijtehad, he was deputized to Iran’s Fars Province by Grand Ayatollah Mirza Hassan Shirazi – famous for his fatwa against tobacco to save Iranian economy from British exploitation. Ayatollah Lari led the people of Shiraz and Fars during the Constitutional Revolution, and firmly backed the people of Tangistan, near Bushehr in the struggle against British invasion of 1915. He groomed several students and wrote around 40 books on jurisprudence, theology, Hadith, and social issues.
89 solar years ago, on this day in 1927 AD, the Iranian Majlis (parliament) voted to cancel the colonial clause of "capitulation” that was imposed by colonialist powers to subjugate and humiliate other countries, and a year later all treaties and agreements concluded during the Qajar dynasty in which some concessions had been granted to foreign countries were revoked. Capitulation which means "surrender” was first imposed on Iran in 1928 in the terms and conditions of the British-mediated Turkmenchay Treaty that led to annexation by Czarist Russia of vast parts of Iranian territory in the Caucasus.  In 1962, enactment of Capitulation was proposed by the US embassy to Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, and was approved by the cabinet ministers in October 1963. In August 1964, the Senate approved this act followed by its approval on 13 October 1964 by the Shah’s rubber stamp Majlis, granting immunity from persecution to Americans in Iran. The Father of the Islamic Revolution, Imam Khomeini (God bless him), strongly censured this legislation on October 26, resulting in his arrest and subsequent exile. After victory of the Islamic Revolution in 1979 the humiliating clause of capitulation for abrogated forever.
71 solar years ago, on this day in 1945 AD, World War II formally ended in Europe with German forces agreeing in Rheims, France, to an unconditional surrender and the end of Adolf Hitler’s Third Reich. On 30 April Hitler had committed suicide during the Battle of Berlin, and so the surrender of Germany was authorized by his replacement, President of Germany Karl Dönitz. World War II, which is considered as the most destructive wars in history, claimed the life of 55 million people, and inflicted major losses.
71 solar years ago, on this day in 1945 AD, Algerian Muslims while celebrating in Setif, Algeria, news of victory of the Allied forces in Europe over the Germans, and at the same time demanding the independence of their own country, were attacked by French occupation forces. In the resulting clashes, in addition to hundreds of Algerian deaths, some 103 French forces also lost their life. Five days later, the French military, including the notorious Foreign Legion, carried out summary executions of Algerians, while inaccessible Muslim villages were bombed by French aircraft, and the cruiser Duguay-Trouin standing off the coast in the Gulf of Bougie, shelled Kerrata. In jails, Algerian prisoners were lynched by French guards or randomly shot. As a result, over 12,000 Algerian men, women and children, were massacred by the French occupation forces. Some figures speak of as much as 45,000 deaths. This bloody incident intensified demands for Algerian independence and nine years later in 1954, the general uprising started against French colonial rule. Finally in 1962 after much bloodshed and the killing of at least one million Algerian Muslims, the French were forced to grant independence to Algeria.
65 solar years ago, on this day in 1951 AD, Iranian poet, researcher, and translator, Rashid Yasami, passed away. He founded the magazine Daneshkadeh with the cooperation of the celebrated Iranian poet, Malek osh-Sho’ara Mohammad Taqi Bahar. He published his writings in this magazine and other magazines as well. Yasami has left behind numerous compilations and translations, including "The History of Iranian Literature”, and "Iran in the Sassanid Era”.
(Courtesy: IRIB English Radio – http://parstoday.com/en)