Today is Monday; 4th of the Islamic month of Moharam 1434 lunar hijri; and November 19, 2012, of the Christian Gregorian Calendar.
1,411 years ago, on this day in 23 AH, Osman bin Affan formally took office as the 3rd caliph, five days after the death of Omar ibn Khattab, who on his deathbed had appointed a 6-man Shura or council with instructions that the person backed by Abdur-Rahman Ouf should be selected as ruler – in order to continue to deprive the Prophet's heir, Imam Ali (AS), of his political right to govern the Islamic state. Another reason the caliphate was not returned to Imam Ali (AS) by Abdur-Rahmad Ouf was the Imam's clear statement that he would rule only in accordance with the holy Qur'an and the practice of his cousin Prophet Mohammad (SAWA) without attaching any importance to the questionable innovations of the past two reigns. On becoming caliph, Osman immediately celebrated the occasion by holding a gathering of his kinsmen, the Omayyads, in which the notorious clan-chief, Abu Sufyan, who had become a Muslim in order to escape death for his crimes against Muslims, openly declared his atheism and animosity against Islam, by saying: O Omayyads the ball of caliphate is now with you; make sure to keep it amongst ourselves, for life is limited only to this world, after which there is no resurrection nor judgement, neither heaven nor hell. Osman, despite his claim to be the political heir of the Prophet, made the first breach of the laws of Islam in office, by allowing an apostate like Abu Sufyan to remain free. His next violation of the laws of Islam was to call back to Medina and entrust important posts to his other infidel kinsmen, Amr bin Hakam and Marwan bin Hakam, whom the Prophet had banished for their blasphemous deeds and mockery of the laws of God. Osman's 3rd blatant trampling of Islamic laws was the expulsion from Medina of the Prophet's prominent companion, Abu Zar Ghaffari. These and other major defects in his character, including hoarding of wealth at the expense of the state, finally led to his killing by Muslims 12 years later.
949 lunar years ago, on this day in 485 AH, the poet, author and literary figure, Abu'l-Qasem Mohammad Baghdadi, known as "Ibn Naqiyya", passed away. He is among the innovators of the genre called "Maqamaat" and comes chronologically midway between Badi az-Zamaan al-Hamadani of Iran and Mohammad al-Qassem ibn Ali al-Hariri of Basra. He amplifies more the irreverent tone than the linguistic register of Badi az-Zamaan Hamadani. The 6th Maqamah of Ibn Naqiyya (one of ten surviving pieces) shows in the author a quite detailed knowledge of philosophy, and from it we sense the growing tension between philosophy and Sunni theology in the eleventh century AD. He depicted the social corruption of his era through such works. He also wrote an exegesis of Holy Qur'an, covering 226 ayahs.
520 solar years ago, on this day in 1492, the prominent Persian poet and literary figure, Noureddin Abdur-Rahman Jami, passed away at the age of 81. He was born in the city of Jam, in Khorasan Province. He went to Samarqand to learn Islamic sciences, literature and history, and visited several other lands, before settling in Herat. He has left behind a large number of works in prose and verse, including “Baharestan”. Jami also composed beautiful odes in praise of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA) and the Ahl al-Bayt.
170 lunar years ago, on this day in 1264 AH, the Moroccan Muslim minister, author, and poet, Abu Abdullah Mohammad Amravi Faasi, also known as "Ibn Idris" passed away. He started his studies with memorization of Holy Qur'an and soon mastered grammar. He composed an ode on the invasion of Algeria by the French, inviting Muslims to Jihad. Because of the conspiracies of his opponents, the Moroccan Sultan accused him of provoking riots, imprisoned him and tortured him. After his release, Ibn Idris kept a low profile but continued to compose poetry. The majority of his poems are in praise of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA).
35 solar years ago, on this day in 1977, Egyptian president, Anwar Sadaat, humiliated himself and backstabbed the Palestinian cause, by paying an official visit to the illegal Zionist entity called Israel. The visit enraged world Muslims, including Arabs, and especially Palestinians. A year later, Sadaat further betrayed the Palestinian cause by signing the scandalous Camp David Treaty in the US with the usurper Zionist entity. Most Muslim states severed ties with Egypt in protest, and finally Sadaat paid dearly for his treason when in October 1981 while inspecting a military parade he was executed in revolutionary style by Major Khaled Islambouli.
