Sources and names › Scholar › Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal
ScholarImam Ahmad ibn Hanbal
Cited in 46 segments across 33 recordings · 2015 to 2023 · scholar/scholar:ahmad-ibn-hanbal
Citing segments
Newest first. Each opens the whole segment, not a bare quote.
10 Mar 2023video
What is the difference between a hadith and the Sunnah in the Maliki school?
The school of Madinah is 'hadith relativist': it accepts a hadith where it matches the living Sunnah and not otherwise, since hadith is historical data and the Sunnah is the Prophet's teaching.
machine5 min 01 s37:24on YouTube
13 Feb 2023video
The created Quran controversy and the birth of a creedal checklist
In his research, orthodoxy began with the created-Quran controversy, which gave rise to the language of divine attributes and to growing creedal checklists.
machine8 min 21 s10:49on YouTube
6 Feb 2023video
Is Engineer Muhammad Ali Mirza consistent in how he criticises hadith?
Not fully, says Mufti Abu Layth: Engineer Mirza's rational critique of others' hadith stops short of scrutinising how sahih hadith were authenticated. Mufti still calls him a legend and a much-needed voice.
machine8 min 28 s0:01on YouTube
6 Oct 2021Malik Resources
Is there a sahih hadith on where to put my hands in salah?
There is no sahih hadith fixing where the hands go in salah; sadl, praying with the hands at the sides, is a sunnah of the school of Madinah without a hadith. Not every hadith is sunnah and not every sunnah was recorded in a hadith.
machine9 min 51 s0:00on YouTube
6 Apr 2021Monday Nights with Mufti Abu Layth
Are the signs of the Hour part of Islamic creed?
One can be a Maliki and doubt these reports: Ibn Ashur, Shaykh al-Islam of the Malikis, classed the signs of the Hour as information rather than creed, and Imam Ahmad said the malahim reports have no foundation.
machine7 min 06 s2:51:30on YouTube
14 Mar 2021video
What problems does Mufti Abu Layth find in the Sahih Muslim chains for Jesus's return?
The second Bukhari chain passes through Qutayba, who once concealed a known forger in a chain, and the Sahih Muslim chains pass through narrators faulted for lax or inaccurate transmission from al-Zuhri, notably Yunus ibn Yazid, with al-Zuhri himself recurring in each.
machine5 min 16 s1:45:14on YouTube
14 Mar 2021video
Is there a single hadith on Jesus's return with an unproblematic chain?
Every chain Mufti Abu Layth examined for the strongest reports in Bukhari and Muslim contains a criticised narrator, so Qadhi's claim that they leave no doubt fails; accepting a report because al-Bukhari included it, while ignoring critics who were his equals or seniors, is arbitrary.
machine5 min 13 s1:57:02on YouTube
2 Mar 2021Monday Nights with Mufti Abu Layth
What is wrong with the other Bukhari and Muslim chains on Jesus's return?
The second Bukhari chain passes through Qutayba, who once concealed a forger, and al-Zuhri; the Sahih Muslim chains include Harmala, Yunus ibn Yazid and others the critics faulted.
machine5 min 42 s2:48:28on YouTube
2 Mar 2021Monday Nights with Mufti Abu Layth
Are the Sahih Muslim reports about Jesus's return reliable?
Further Sahih Muslim chains contain a narrator with memory loss, an unidentifiable narrator who could not have met Abu Hurayra, Ibn Jurayj, whom he calls a major mudallis, and Abu al-Zubayr.
machine6 min 14 s2:54:10on YouTube
2 Mar 2021Monday Nights with Mufti Abu Layth
Is there a single hadith on Jesus's return with a flawless chain?
Every chain he examined among the strongest Bukhari and Muslim reports, including that of al-Nawwas ibn Sam'an, has a criticised narrator, so Qadhi's 'no doubt' fails; preferring al-Bukhari over equal critics is arbitrary.
machine5 min 49 s3:00:24on YouTube
16 Feb 2021Monday Nights with Mufti Abu Layth
Did Imam Ahmad really refuse to say the Quran is created?
Mufti Abu Layth says later Hanbalis made Imam Ahmad a hero of the Mihna, though he likely said the Quran was created to save himself; Ash'ari books also call the worded Quran created.
machine8 min 12 s1:02:31on YouTube
16 Feb 2021Monday Nights with Mufti Abu Layth
What does the Mufti think of Shaykh Dedew, and did Imam Ahmad dislike Abu Hanifa?
Imam Ahmad did say harsh things about Abu Hanifa, he says; of Shaykh Dedew, take his critical views and stay open-minded on his dogmatic ones.
machine2 min 25 s2:24:25on YouTube
9 Feb 2021Monday Nights with Mufti Abu Layth
Were some of the great imams autistic?
Mufti Abu Layth says he feels Imam Ahmad and Imam al-Shafi'i were autistic, and suspects Ibn Taymiyya had bipolar or a psychotic disorder.
machine2 min 33 s47:04on YouTube
2 Feb 2021Monday Nights with Mufti Abu Layth
Is the hadith that nobody will believe in Allah at the end of time authentic?
Most end-times hadith are made up, Mufti Abu Layth says, citing Imam Ahmad on genres with no basis.
machine1 min 27 s1:31:01on YouTube
29 Jan 2021MindTrap with Mufti Abu Layth
Was there a power struggle in the early Hanafi school?
Mufti Abu Layth feels the early Hanafi school saw power struggles and that Abu Yusuf lacked Abu Hanifa's reason; the guest calls Ahmad ibn Hanbal the greatest muhaddith but not a jurist of the first rank.
machine3 min 59 s51:13on YouTube
29 Jan 2021MindTrap with Mufti Abu Layth
Is the Musnad really Imam Ahmad's book, and is it authentic?
The guest says the Musnad is Imam Ahmad's draft but cannot be authentic by its own rules, since it reached us by wijada with additions by his son; Mufti Abu Layth holds that it was not Ahmad's book at all.
machine4 min 09 s55:06on YouTube
12 Jan 2021Monday Nights with Mufti Abu Layth
Is the hadith 'if there were a prophet after me it would be Umar' authentic?
Mufti Abu Layth says the hadith is a fabrication, made up to glorify Umar; one may revere Umar and still disagree with his opinions.
machine5 min 26 s2:56:34on YouTube
12 Jan 2021video
Why was Ibn Taymiyya put in prison?
Ibn Taymiyya made powerful enemies by declaring Muslims kafir, and Maliki judges finally jailed him over his fatwa, voiced by his student in Jerusalem, that one may not travel to visit the Prophet's grave. Mufti Abu Layth calls the view foolish but says no one should be punished for an opinion.
machine8 min 17 s0:00on YouTube
15 Nov 2020video
Are the hadith about the evil eye authentic?
No: he says the evil eye hadith rest on weak or criticised narrators and odd reports, and a belief so important would have come from many companions and the Quran. He calls them baseless.
machine12 min 11 s56:07on YouTube
16 Oct 2020video
Was Yazid a kafir, and is it right to curse him?
No: Mufti Abu Layth calls Yazid a wretched, arrogant tyrant, but he does not call him a kafir or curse him, since he rejects a culture of cursing. He can believe Yazid would not have killed Husayn himself.
machine3 min 09 s56:51on YouTube
9 Oct 2020video
If a reliable narrator reports from someone, does that make the source reliable?
Mufti Abu Layth reports from a classical text that a narrator transmitting from someone does not make that person reliable.
machine1 min 45 s4:13on YouTube
22 Sep 2020Monday Nights with Mufti Abu Layth
Is drawing lots or playing the lottery haram in Islam?
Mufti Abu Layth says drawing lots is an established principle of the Shari'ah, and that a small lottery stake is not haram, though he does not encourage it.
machine15 min 17 s1:42:38on YouTube
4 Aug 2020Monday Nights with Mufti Abu Layth
Is it haram to sit at a table where people are drinking alcohol?
Mufti Abu Layth says it is not a sin to sit at a table where alcohol is served; the hadith was part of a gradual move away from alcohol.
machine3 min 36 s16:58on YouTube
4 Aug 2020Monday Nights with Mufti Abu Layth
Does Abu Bakr's war on Musaylima justify killing someone who claims prophethood?
Mufti Abu Layth says Abu Bakr's wars were political and the Prophet never ordered Musaylima killed, so they cannot justify killing a claimant.
machine7 min 16 s1:47:49on YouTube
3 Jul 2020MindTrap with Mufti Abu Layth
How did Muslim theologians reconcile God being one with his many names and attributes?
The guest and host trace how the Mu'tazila, Hanbalis and Ash'aris reconciled God's oneness with his many names and attributes.
machine10 min 42 s1:10:57on YouTube
19 Jun 2020MindTrap with Mufti Abu Layth
How did the seven canonical readings of the Quran come about?
In the second and third centuries leading reciters were given the privilege of ikhtiyar, choosing one of the inherited variants for each verse by their own criteria, and Ibn Mujahid later popularised seven of them. Mufti Abu Layth says he agrees these readings are not mutawatir and not on the level of the common reading.
machine5 min 16 s53:49on YouTube
19 Jun 2020MindTrap with Mufti Abu Layth
Isn't it too convenient that the one preserved reading is exactly the Hafs Quran we have?
Mufti Abu Layth states his own view that the Quran was always dynamic and allowed some flexibility of wording, as Imam Malik and al-Shafi'i held companions could substitute words. The guest answers the convenience objection by saying the reasoning, not the result, should be judged, and that later scholars missed the verses of al-Qiyamah because of a flawed report from Ibn Abbas and a hadith-centric mindset.
machine5 min 12 s1:18:35on YouTube
19 Apr 2020MindTrap with Mufti Abu Layth
Is a marriage between a Muslim and a non-Muslim valid?
Mufti Abu Layth says he holds that a nikah between a Muslim and a non-Muslim would be valid, especially for converts whose spouses remain non-Muslim; both say quoting recorded minority views gets them accused of opening Pandora's box.
machine5 min 13 s1:23:10on YouTube
19 Apr 2020MindTrap with Mufti Abu Layth
Do non-Muslim women in a Muslim country have to cover up?
The guest says early scholars held that non-Muslim women cannot be forced to cover and that the prohibition on looking was applied only to believing women.
machine3 min 57 s1:40:19on YouTube
19 Apr 2020MindTrap with Mufti Abu Layth
If pornography is not called haram, does that mean it is encouraged?
The guest distinguishes saying something should not be done from declaring it haram; Mufti Abu Layth restates that they are not encouraging pornography, which may be harmful, but not calling it haram.
machine3 min 34 s1:44:16on YouTube
19 Apr 2020MindTrap with Mufti Abu Layth
Did classical scholars permit masturbation, and for women too?
The guest cites al-Shawkani's treatise and some Hanafi, Maliki and Hanbali reports permitting masturbation, and says some held the prohibition applies only to men; Mufti Abu Layth notes Malik's disdain as a social attitude.
machine5 min 16 s1:51:38on YouTube
19 Apr 2020MindTrap with Mufti Abu Layth
Doesn't the Islamic teaching on modesty make pornography haram?
The guest says the general teaching on modesty is not enough to declare something haram without clear evidence; Mufti Abu Layth says he is not convinced by the report that eating ice does not break the fast.
machine6 min 14 s2:02:05on YouTube
19 Apr 2020MindTrap with Mufti Abu Layth
Isn't it better to feel guilty when sinning so that you repent?
The guest says most scholars hold watching pornography is haram and people should not watch it, while academically the evidence resembles Imam Ahmad's 'I dislike it but do not say it is haram'.
machine2 min 23 s2:33:37on YouTube
10 May 2019video
Which verses forbid or allow marrying non-Muslims?
Al-Baqarah 221 and the verse on the emigrant women are cited against intermarriage, while al-Ma'idah 5 allows marrying Christian and Jewish women. Imam Malik disliked it because a husband may not stop his Christian wife bringing pork and wine home.
machine6 min 53 s20:24on YouTube
20 Dec 2018From the Mind of a Mufti
Were there Muslim scholars and caliphs in history known to be homosexual?
Mufti Abu Layth reports, without endorsing their views, that several celebrated Abbasid-era figures were known for homosexuality, including a chief judge of Basra who argued for it from the Quran, the caliphs al-Amin and al-Ma'mun, and Muhammad ibn Dawud al-Zahiri. He cites al-Dhahabi and the poetry of the period as his sources.
machine10 min 31 s7:56on YouTube
17 Sep 2018On the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ
Is the chain of the hadith that the Prophet died of poison reliable?
Mufti Abu Layth finds the chains unacceptable: the Bukhari version runs through Yunus, whom early critics faulted for his memory, and through al-Zuhri, who does not state that he heard it, while the Abu Dawud version has a narrator criticised for mistakes.
machine3 min 23 s3:26on YouTube
10 May 2018Ponderings on the Holy Quran
Is Ikrima, the narrator of the apostasy hadith, reliable?
The main chains of 'whoever changes his religion, kill him' run through Ikrima, whom he describes as a Khariji, and whom Imam Malik and many early authorities rejected or called a liar.
machine6 min 34 s28:42on YouTube
4 May 2018Clarifying False Hadith Which Insult Islam
Is the hadith about women wearing perfume being zaniya authentic?
Mufti Abu Layth says the report is not authentic: every version comes through one weak narrator, Thabit ibn Umara, from the obscure Ghunaym ibn Qays, and some early authorities stopped it at the companion.
machine7 min 53 s2:39on YouTube
20 Apr 2018From the Mind of a Mufti
Was Abu Hanifa considered a deviant by the scholars of his time?
Many leading scholars of Abu Hanifa's time considered him misguided. His school rose to dominance because his student Abu Yusuf became chief judge and appointed only Hanafis, which Mufti Abu Layth says shows that power, not evidence, often decides which views prevail.
machine3 min 57 s0:00on YouTube
1 Apr 2018Islamic Eschatology
Does it matter that the second coming of Jesus is the majority opinion and Mufti Abu Layth's view a minority one?
If every detail of the second-coming hadith is a metaphor, Mufti Abu Layth asks why Jesus himself is not. Majority and minority opinions are decided later by power and politics, as Abu Hanifa's case shows: condemned as a deviant by his contemporaries, his school spread when Abu Yusuf appointed only Hanafi judges.
machine5 min 13 s5:13on YouTube
21 Feb 2018Responding to Refutations
Is the chain Hammad ibn Salama from Thabit from Anas for the crying-tree hadith sound?
Mufti Abu Layth argues it is not: critics report that Hammad ibn Salama's memory failed late in life, that Bukhari did not transmit from him, and that Thabit was not the most reliable transmitter from Anas, Qatada and Humayd al-Tawil being ranked above him.
machine6 min 33 s26:01on YouTube
21 Feb 2018Responding to Refutations
Are the Jabir chains for the crying-tree hadith through Isra'il, Abd al-Razzaq and Ibn Jurayj sound?
Mufti Abu Layth argues they are not: one chain rests on Isra'il, whom Yahya ibn Sa'id and Ibn al-Madini weakened, and an unknown narrator; the other on Abd al-Razzaq, criticised for errors from memory, and Ibn Jurayj, a mudallis whose 'akhbarani' referred to books rather than hearing.
machine5 min 13 s31:15on YouTube
9 Feb 2018On the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ
Is every hadith in Sahih al-Bukhari authentic?
Not necessarily: Mufti Abu Layth says al-Bukhari did an excellent job, a hundred unreliable reports among eight thousand would be no big deal, and great scholars disagreed in their rulings.
machine3 min 08 s4:30on YouTube
2 Jan 2018Responding to Refutations
Is the Quran created or uncreated? Why he calls the debate absurd
Mufti Abu Layth holds that the created or uncreated Quran debate is absurd: the Companions never discussed it, and it arose as a political dispute over the caliphs' authority in the time of al-Ma'mun.
machine6 min 35 s3:56on YouTube
17 May 2017Ramadan Q&A Fast & Fiqhious
LatestShould I pray 8 or 20 rak'ahs of tarawih?
Tarawih has no fixed number: eight, the least the Prophet prayed, is the base and anything above it is valid. Twenty was the common practice and the schools' broad view, but neither eight nor twenty is wrong.
machine4 min 36 s0:20on YouTube
3 Mar 2015video
What did Imam Malik say about bid'ah?
Imam Malik rejected any 'good' bid'ah and called innovations misguidance, yet he often ruled a given innovation only discouraged (makruh), not haram.
machine4 min 28 s1:58on YouTube