The 20th of Jamadiyolthani is the "Day of Kowthar". After the death of the children of the noble Prophet of Islam (pbuh), the Qoraysh polytheists rejoiced and made taunting remarks claiming that the progeny of the Prophet (pbuh) will not survive! Just then, this judgment came from God, the Creator; "Surely, we have given thee "the Kowthar", i.e. abundance. So, pray unto thy Creator and sacrifice.
Surely, thy foe is the one who shall be of no posterity" (The Holy Qoran, sura Al-Kowthar [Abundance], verses 1-3). That very great day the nectar of Guardianship and Imamate streamed on the earth and the Lady of Chastity and Faith, Her Holiness Seddiqeh Tahereh (pbuh) was born destined to be consort to our eternal Imam of justice and humanism, Ali (pbuh) to produce together a generation of which the eleven stars of imamate standing on the high road to salvation are but one example. A generation whose peace and wars; whose prayers and silence; whose patience, knowledge, and life of constant resistance and pain and martyrdom and finally the awaited Occultation, all reveal divine expediencies. All this prove that God's servants are not left to themselves during periods of descension and caged in the fences of time and nature. Furthermore, the seekers of truth and those who stride in the path of guidance always have a pathfinder and the earth is never without signs of God. The period
of Occultation began while the struggle between the good and the bad continued. Generation after generation, the rebels, mammonists and carriers of vice stood up in their dark front; and on the opposite side, stood firm the faithful believers and the pious men and pure nobles gathered in their lighted plane. The lights of inspiration were cast upon the world, and Islam, conquesting the hearts of God's good servants, was extending its domain, advancing to the Far East on the one side and to the heart of Europe on the other. A great, unprecedented civilization was in the offing and mankind was witnessing a wonderous leap and evolution in areas of science, literature, culture, arts and all signs of true civilization based on a solid foundation of faith and motives.
The awakened intuitive approaches toward the salvation message of the trusty Prophet (pbuh) was so deep and widespread that even the weakness and cruelty of the incompetent rulers could not stop the advancement of God's religion. Europe was aflame in the barbarism of the Middle Ages and the materialists ruling over the oppressed servants of God had taken up offensive position behind the holy cross to prevent the message of him--whose advent, Jesus Christ (pbuh) had heralded--from reaching their dark world. So they did to prevent the medieval church-shop, devoid of the spirit of the ideology of Jesus and censorship-ridden of opinions or inquisition--which is indeed a stain on history of man's reputation--lose currency. How surprising and woeful it was that exactly at the time they had gotten ready to do away with the religion of the last divine Prophet, the fires of friction, power-seeking and ruinous factionalism were being kindled on this front.
It was at this same time that a variety of causes and elements prepared the grounds for scientific and industrial changes in Europe when machinery and technology fell into the hands of the enemy's might and their governments. The spread of new sciences and techniques, the development of which Islam had a major decisive part in, gave prosperity to the stagnant and primitive European community.
Instead of seeking a remedy, the rulers and leaders of Muslim lands accepted the shame of negligence and backwardness rather than toil of struggle and crusade. Consequently, the enemies (of Islam) became stronger day after day, extending their possessions. Parts of the Islamic territories were practically and painfully colonized by colonialists. The bitter story of the rule of might and capital, and challenging the Almighty God as well as overt and covert interference of the colonialists in the destinies of the Islamic lands continued for several centuries.
In Iran, monarchical dynasties came to power one after another. In spite of constant oppression over the hard-working nation of Iran--a nation that had very early voluntarily accepted the call to monotheism--remained for a long time the vanguard of Islamic civilization and culture. But tyranny by the monarchs and schism by the neo-colonialists increased, especially now that the enemy had entered the scene under the disguise of development and
progress. The treason of the Qajar monarchs(پ), their loyalties to the foreigners and their concomitant rule with the era of Anglo-Russian interference in Iran, had produced the most painful circumstances.
Embassies of colonial powers directly involved themselves with and interfered in all aspects of the country's affairs, even in appointments and dismissal of ministers of state, courtiers and military commanders. It was at this juncture, filled with affliction and pain, that wide stretches of Iranian territories and Islamic homeland were ceded to foreigners by shameful agreements or treaties. Within the country, too, insecurity, injustice and governmental corruption were devastating. The Tobacco() Boycott Decree in the form of a fatwa by the great clergyman, the Grand Ayatollah Shirazi, the reformist cries and calls of Seyyed Jamaloddin Asadabadi() and the uprisings of the ulama in Iran and Najaf against the British colonialism had revealed the might of the Islamic clergy. The British government had recognized the source of danger. Because of this,a wave of anti-clergy challenge and of separation of religion from politics, started using various ruses and tricks. Amid all this, the Freemasons and the queer "Westernized" elements were, under assumed intellectualism, fanning the fires inside the country.
Mozaffaroddin Shah() Qajar, not seeing a foothold for himself among people, had courted the Anglo-Russian support for the fulfillment of his wishes and hopes, and surely, other Islamic countries were bogged down in similar regrettable conditions.