My Old Stompin’ Grounds …

While browsing through Wikipedia looking for one of the well-known areas here in Toronto where one of my old friends grew up, I came across this article on the area I grew up in, Thorncliffe Park. I found it pretty interesting; particularly the current demographic statistics. They’re quite different from what they were like back when I was growing up there. Also of particular interest was something mentioned in the Talk Page concerning the percentage of Muslims living in the area. It was considerably lower during the time I lived there (from 1977-2000), but started creaping up to the figure quoted closer to the time my family and I moved out of the area.

Anyhow, for those interested, here’s a bit from the article:

Thorncliffe Park is a multi cultural neighbourhood in central east Toronto, Ontario, Canada, in the former Borough of East York. East York merged with five other municipalities and a regional government in 1998 to form the new “City of Toronto”.

Doubts & Their Replies: Part 1

By: Shaikh Muhammad Nâsir ad-Dîn al-Albânî

The linking of all who affirm transcendence[1] for Allah, exalted is He, to being an anthropomorphist or an embodier, or to the attribution of area[2] and place[3] to Allah, has certainly become widespread among the later generations.[4] Thus, it is necessary to remove the doubt concerning these three matters.

The First Doubt: Anthropomorphism

It is possible to take the answer to this doubt from what has preceded of the [statements] conveyed from the imams, and from what we will see in the following texts of the book;[5] I will mention some of them now.

1. Nu’aim bin Hammâd al-Hâfidh said, “Whoever likens Allah to His creation, then he has disbelieved. And [likewise,] whoever rejects what He described Himself with, then he has disbelieved. What He described Himself with is not anthropomorphism, nor [is what] His messenger [described Him with].”

2. Is·hâq bin Râhawaih said, “Certainly anthropomorphism would be if [one] said ‘hand like my hand,’ or ‘hearing like my hearing’; then this is anthropomorphism. As for if [one] said just as Allah said: ‘hand, and hearing, and sight,’ then he did not say ‘how’ or ‘the likes of …’, then this is not anthropomorphism. Allah, exalted is He, said, «Nothing is like His likes and He is the Hearing, the Seeing» (42:11).”

The Rich … and the Rest of Us

I found this quite interesting, although not too surprising—after all, they do say that the rich just keep getting richer while the poor just keep getting poorer.

In one of today’s free dailies …

The rich … and the rest
Wealthy incomes soar as income gap grows

The vast majority of Canadian families — almost 80 per cent — are working more and earning less of the national economic pie than they did 30 years ago even as incomes of the richest families are soaring, says a new study to be released today.