factory built homes

We bought a new house, this one will be built on an assembly line in a factory. I went to the site a few months ago and spoke to one of their engineers expressing some concerns about the stability of the house when being transported from the factory to its final destination.

The Mattamy guy assured us that they've put test / model houses under stress test and they've held up pretty well, no cracks in the wall, broken tile or wood. This remains to be seen as none of the new homes have closed yet.

Daddy 2007

My vision of myself for as long as I can remember has been to be married and start a family before 30. My wife is now 8 months pregnant with our first child, we named her Safiyah after my grandmother.

I'm happy and excited to be a father but not sure what to expect, I mean it hasn't hit me yet how much my life will change but I am beginning to understand the loving parent's devotion to his children, to secure their safety and well-being, to see them happy and provide for them all the opportunities life has to offer.

but for now I need to find me a "big daddy" T-shirt.

Leadership and the divine will

بِسْمِ اللّهِ الرَّحْمـَنِ الرَّحِيمِ

وَإِذْ قَالَ رَبُّكَ لِلْمَلاَئِكَةِ إِنِّي جَاعِلٌ فِي الأَرْضِ خَلِيفَةً قَالُواْ أَتَجْعَلُ فِيهَا مَن يُفْسِدُ فِيهَا وَيَسْفِكُ الدِّمَاء وَنَحْنُ نُسَبِّحُ بِحَمْدِكَ وَنُقَدِّسُ لَكَ قَالَ إِنِّي أَعْلَمُ مَا لاَ تَعْلَمُونَ

In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.
And when you're Lord said to the angels, I am going to place in the earth a khalif (vicegerent), they said: What! Wilt Thou place in it such as shall make mischief in it and shed blood, and we celebrate Thy praise and extol Thy holiness? He said: Surely I know what you do not know. (Quran 2:30)

It is a common misconception among our sunni brothers that the concept of Imamah (divinely appointed leader of the believers) is not founded in the Quran. This is mostly because they don't understand what Imamah means and therefore view the shia as a misguided group of Muslims. However the concept of Imamah is founded in the Quran and in this article I will answer "the Quran challenge" and present the Quranic argument that Imamah or leadership is not an office to be chosen democratically but an office that is divinely legislated.

Qualifying Divine Will

Before proceeding further, we have to first qualify divine will. What does it mean and what does it encompass? Simply put, divine Will can be either generative (Irada Takwini) or legislative (Irada tashri'i). The generative will deals with the creation. I.e. the universe and everything in it while the legislative will, deals with the rules and laws that regulate and govern the creation. For example; the creation of mankind is through the generative will while the command to pray, fast, and perform hajj is through the legislative will. When Allah(swt) spoke to the angels about creating Adam, he demonstrated both the generative and the legislative will by saying to them "I am going to create a mortal" and "I am going to place in the earth a khalifa"


And when your Lord said to the angels: Surely I am going to create a mortal of the essence of black mud fashioned in shape. Quran (15:28)
Here, Allah (swt) informs the angels about his decree to create a new creature called man. This is the generative will

And when your Lord said to the angels, I am going to place in the earth a khalif (vicegerent)… Quran (2:30)
Here, Allah (swt) informs the angels about his decree to place or appoint a representative of his on the earth. One who will carry out his commands and is to be obeyed by the people. This is the legislative will

We read in the Quran that Allah had a conversation with the angels where He informs them about his decision to place a khalifa in the earth. The angels object to this appointment on the basis that this new creature will cause mischief and shed blood. Allah refutes their objection by telling them he knows what they don't know.

First: We know the angels are sinless beings; they do not commit any sin because they do not have free will like humans. The angels simply perform the acts which they have been created to perform. Even though the angels are sinless, Allah (swt) did not give them a choice in the matter. It was Allah's decision alone, He legislated the khilafat before he created Adam.

Second: The one who says "I am going to place in the earth a khalif" is the same One who says "I am going to create a mortal of the essence of black mud", therefore the one who appoints or legislates this position must have the ability to create. Read Quran 2:30 and Quran 15:28 above.

Third: The roots are always more important than the branches. If the roots of a tree are bad or rotten, that tree will never give out good fruit no matter how much you water it or give it sunlight. Healthy and firm roots will have healthy and strong branches. This is a law of nature. The roots of faith apply to all people with no exception while the branches of faith only apply to a subset of people. Tawhid (Oneness of Allah) is the most important of the roots and it applies to all people while fasting and hajj are of the branches and only apply to those who are able. In other words no matter how old, young, weak or strong a person is, they have to believe in the Oneness of Allah without exceptions but if a person is severely sick he does not have to fast. If a person has no money, he is not required to perform Hajj. Likewise, the legislation (choosing) of a leader by Allah (swt) is one of the roots and applies to all people without any exception.

Fourth: If Allah (swt) did not give permission or ability to anyone to legislate (chose) hajj and zakat while it is from the branches then how does he give them the ability to legislate (chose) the khalifa while it is from the roots? Allah did not give authority for anyone to chose the Hajj or zakat and salaat, we have to take these from the Quran and from revelation, how is He going to give us permission to chose the khilafa and the khalifa? This is also something we have to take from the Quran and from revelation.

Fifth: A khalif (leader) always points to the one who appoints him. Suppose a king dies and appoints his prince son the next Heir to the kingdom. If the Prince is an oppressor, the people will say the king was also an oppressor because if he was a just king then how could he chose a son as heir after him who is an oppressor who oppresses the people? Then if the oppressive prince points to the oppressiveness of the king who appointed him, Allah's choice of Khaliph demands the khaliph's infallibility because Allah is JUST and does not oppress anyone even an atoms weight. So the khalifa also must not sin. Allah does not appoint a liar, cheater, thief and murderer as his representative on earth because this person would oppress the people and Allah is not an oppressor.

If we read the Quran more carefully we will see that every single imam, khaliph or king representing Allah's religion was divinely appointed.

"...Then He said: Lo! I appoint you an Imam (leader) for mankind" Quran (2:124)
Allah (swt) tests Prophet Ibrahim (as) and after Ibrahim (as) passes all of Allah's tests. He appoints him an Imam for mankind

"And We made them Imams (leaders), guiding (men) by Our Command..." Quran (21:73)
Allah (swt) again speaks about Ibrahim (as) and his family, Lot, Issac, and Jacob, and tells us He appointed them as Imams to guide by His command.

"And We appointed, from among them, Imams (leaders), giving guidance under Our command…" Quran (32:24)
Allah (swt) speaks to the prophet (pbuh.gif.gif) that He appointed from among the children of Israel leaders to guide under His command.

"...they said to a prophet (That was) among them: "Appoint for us a king, that we May fight in the cause of Allah."....Their Prophet said to them: "(Allah) hath appointed Talut as king over you." Quran (2:246-247)
The story here is that Allah appointed Salih (as) [Samuel] as a prophet over the Bani Israel (children of Israel), they asked him to appoint a king for them who will lead them into battle and give them victory. They knew that the king who will govern them is not someone they can chose, they knew this was a person who has to be divinely chosen so they asked Prophet Salih (as) . Salih (as) prayed to Allah to appoint them a king and Allah chose Talut [Saul] as king over them. Even a king to govern is chosen by Allah and not by the people themselves.

All of this points to one thing that is clear as daylight. Allah appoints the Imam, the khaliph and the king, In the very first example, the sinless angels had no choice or say in the matter then how can we, the sinful people legislate our own khalifa? And In the very last example the children of Israel asked for a king to govern them and Allah chose Talut as their king. There is no room for democracy here because the matter is in Allah's hands only just as Allah decides and legislates the Prayer, Fasting, Hajj, and Zakat for us, He also legislates the Imam who will govern and rule over us.

A Blessed Ramadan

In a speech about the merits and virtue of the Month of Ramadan, the noble prophet Said:

Oh people, verily Allah's month has arrived with blessings and mercy and forgiveness. In Allah's sight it is the best of all months and its days are best of all days and its nights are the best of all nights and its hour is the best of all hours. It is a month in which you are called to be Allah's guests, and are honored by Him. Your very breaths (in this month) are chants, your sleep is worship, your (good) deeds are accepted and your prayers are answered. So ask Allah your Lord with true intentions and pure hearts that he grant you success in fasting and reading his holy book. Verily the miserable person is the one who has been deprived from Allah's forgiveness in this great month. Remember with your hunger and thirst in this month the hunger and thirst of the day of judgment. Give in charity to your poor and needy. Have great regard for your elderly and be merciful towards the young ones. Connect with your blood ties and guard your tongues. keep your eyes and ears away from what has been forbidden to look at and listen to. Be kind towards the orphans of others and they will be kind to your orphans. Repent towards Him from your sins and lift your hands to Him in supplication during prayer times for indeed it is the best hours where Allah looks with mercy towards his servants, he answers them when they confide in Him, He responds when they call Him.

Oh People, your souls are pawned by your deeds so free it with your forgiveness. Your backs are heavy with from your burdens so lighten it by extending your prostration (in prayer). And know that Allah (swt) has taken an oath by His Glory not to punish those who pray and prostrate and not to frighten them with the fire on the day people will be gathered to their Lord.

Oh people, whoever among you improves his manners in this month, Allah grants him a firm pass to cross the straight path (siratul mustakeem) on the day that people's feet will be shaky. Whomever is easy on his subordinates this month. Allah will be easy in taking his account on. Whomever keeps his evil away, Allah will keep His anger from him on the day he meets Him. Whomever honors an orphan in this month, Allah will honor him on the day he meets Him. Whomever connected with his kinfolk, Allah will connect him with his mercy on the day He meets him. Whomever severed ties with his kinfolk, Allah will sever him from his mercy. Whoever volunteers extra prayers Allah will write for him an immunity from the fire. Whoever fulfills an obligatory deed will have the reward of one who fulfills 70 obligatory deeds in the other months. And whoever increases in sending peace and blessings upon me, Allah will make his scale heavy on the day the scales will be light. Whoever recites one verse of the Quran will have the reward of reading the Quran from cover to cover in the other months.

Oh people, verily the gates of heaven are open in this month so ask your lord not to close it on you. The gates of Hellfire are closed so asked your lord not to open it on you. The evil ones (shayateen) are chained so ask your Lord not to unleash them upon you.

Source: Mafatihul-Jinan Page 225

أيّها النّاس أنّه قد أقبل إليكم شهر الله بالبركة والرّحمة والمغفرة، شهر هو عند الله أفضل الشّهور، وأيّامه أفضل الأيّام، ولياليه أفضل اللّيالي، وساعاته أفضل السّاعات، هو شهر دعيتم فيه الى ضيافة الله، وجعلتم فيه من أهل كرامة الله، أنفاسكم فيه تسبيح، ونومكم فيه عبادة، وعملكم فيه مقبول، ودعاؤكم فيه مستجاب، فسلوا الله ربّكم بنيّات صادقة، وقلُوب طاهرة أن يوفّقكم لصيامه، وتلاوة كتابه، فإنّ الشّقي من حرم غفران الله في هذا الشّهر العظيم، واذكروا بجوعكم وعطشكم فيه جوع يوم القيامة وعطشه، وتصدّقوا على فقرائكم ومساكينكم، ووقرّوا كباركم، وارحموا صغاركم، وصلوا أرحامكم، واحفظوا ألسنتكم، وغضّوا عمّا لا يحلّ النّظر إليه أبصاركم، وعمّا لا يحلّ الاستماع إليه اسماعكم و تحننوا على أيتام الناس يتحنّن على أيتامكم وتوبوا إليه من ذنوبكم، وارفعوا إليه أيديكم بالدّعاء في أوقات صلواتكم فانّها أفضل السّاعات ينظر الله عزوجل فيها بالرّحمة الى عباده يجيبهم إذا ناجوه، ويلبّيهم إذا نادوه، ويستجيب لهم اذا دعوه .

أيّها الناس إنّ أنفسكم مرهونة بأعمالكم ففكّوها باستغفاركم، وظهوركم ثقيلة من أوزاركم فخفّفوا عنها بطول سجودكم، واعلموا أنّ الله تعالى ذكره أقسمَ بعزّته أن لا يعذّب المصلّين والسّاجدين، وأن لا يروعهم بالنّار يوم يقوم النّاس لربّ العالمين ، أيّها النّاس من فطّر منكم صائماً مؤمناً في هذا الشّهر كان له بذلك عند الله عتق رقبة، ومغفرة لما مضى من ذنوبه ، قيل : يا رسول الله (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) وليس كّلنا يقدر على ذلك ، فقال (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) : اتّقوا النّار ولو بشقّ تمرة اتقّوا النّار ولو بشربة من ماء، فإنّ الله تعالى يهب ذلك الأجر لمن عمل هذا اليسير إذا لم يقدر على أكثر منه ، يا أيّها النّاس من حسّن منكم في هذا الشّهر خُلقه كان له جواز على الصّراط يوم تزلّ فيه الاقدام، ومن خفّف في هذا الشّهر عمّا ملكت يمنيه خفّف الله عليه حسابه، ومن كفّ فيه شرّه كفّ الله عنه غضبه يوم يلقاه، ومن أكرم فيه يتيماً أكرمه الله يوم يلقاه، ومن وصل فيه رحمه وصله الله برحمته يوم يلقاه، ومن قطع فيه رحمه قطع الله عنه رحمته يوم يلقاه، ومن تطوّع فيه بصلاة كتب الله له براءة من النّار، ومن أدّى فيه فرضاً كان له ثواب مَن أدّى سبعين فريضة فيما سواه من الشّهور، من أكثر فيه من الصّلاة عليّ ثقل الله ميزانه يوم تخفّ الموازين، ومن تلا فيه آية من القرآن كان له مثل أجر من ختم القرآن في غيره من الشّهور ، أيّها النّاس إنّ أبواب الجنان في هذا الشّهر مفتحة فسلوا ربّكم أن لا يغلقها عليكم، وأبواب النّيران مغلقة فسلوا ربّكم أن لا يفتحها عليكم، والشّياطين مغلولة فسلوا ربّكم أن لا يسلّطها عليكم