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Everyday questions › Doubts and faith

Doubts and faith

When belief wobbles: reason and revelation, the problem of evil, atheist arguments, questions about God's nature, and the difference between a doubt and a sin.

Example phrasings, not quotations. Each one runs a search.

Latest answers

283 segments in 78 recordings, newest first
18 Oct 2025MindTrap with Mufti Abu Layth LatestIs the Prophet Muhammad the most beloved of creation and a mercy to the worlds? The guest holds that God's sending of the messenger, not the Prophet himself, is the mercy, and that calling him the most beloved of creation is unprovable celebrity worship; Mufti Abu Layth says the Prophet is a mercy for the worlds and that if some are more beloved than others one must be at the top. Discussionguest speechBr Muhammad (MFG, MuhammadFromGod channel)Quran 21:107 (we sent you only as a mercy for the worlds)Ibrahim (Abraham)Musa (Moses) machine5 min27:42on YouTube
18 Oct 2025MindTrap with Mufti Abu Layth LatestDoes 'we sent you only as a mercy' (21:107) describe the Prophet or the act of sending him? Mufti Abu Layth says the primary Arabic reading of 21:107 is that the Prophet himself was sent as a mercy for the worlds, with the exclusive negation amplifying that, while the guest's reading that the sending is the mercy is a secondary understanding he may hold but not impose. Discussionguest speechBr Muhammad (MFG, MuhammadFromGod channel)Quran 21:107 (we sent you only as a mercy for the worlds)hal (circumstantial state) [?]masdar (verbal noun) machine10 min 54 s32:42on YouTube
18 Oct 2025MindTrap with Mufti Abu Layth LatestDoes 16:44 mean the Prophet explains the Quran, or that the Quran clarifies earlier scriptures? Mufti Abu Layth reads 16:44 as showing the Prophet's role in explaining the revelation, as nearly every tafsir does; the guest says the verse is about the Quran clarifying earlier scriptures to the people of the book, and points to 5:15 as naming a single source. Discussionguest speechBr Muhammad (MFG, MuhammadFromGod channel)Quran 16:44 (we revealed to you the reminder so that you may clarify to people what was revealed to them)Quran 5:15 (there has come to you from Allah a light and a clear book)Harun (Aaron) machine4 min 44 s57:24on YouTube
18 Oct 2025MindTrap with Mufti Abu Layth LatestDoes the Quran alone say what breaks the fast? The guest says 2:187 shows that eating, drinking and intercourse break the fast by making them lawful at night; Mufti Abu Layth says the verse does not explicitly forbid them by day, so the Quran-only reader is inferring by reason rather than reporting what God said. Discussionguest speechBr Muhammad (MFG, MuhammadFromGod channel)Quran 2:187 (lawful for you on the night of the fast; eat and drink until the white thread)sawm (fasting) machine4 min 25 s1:42:01on YouTube
18 Oct 2025MindTrap with Mufti Abu Layth Can the Quran be used to call the Prophet the best of creation? The guest says calling the Prophet the best of creation is an unprovable inference contradicted by verses and reports favouring Abraham; Mufti Abu Layth says the guest rejects inference for that title while relying on inference to say what breaks the fast. Discussionquoted view, not his positionguest speechBr Muhammad (MFG, MuhammadFromGod channel)Ibrahim (Abraham)report: the best of creation is ibrahim (as cited by the guest)Quran 21:107 (we sent you only as a mercy for the worlds) machine3 min 36 s1:47:07on YouTube
18 Oct 2025MindTrap with Mufti Abu Layth LatestIf reason helps us understand the Quran, does the reasoning of earlier scholars matter too? Both agree reason is essential to understanding revelation; Mufti Abu Layth adds that by the same logic the reasoning of the Prophet, the Companions and the scholars before us is a valuable reservoir, not his reason alone, and the guest demands the Prophet's own explanation. Discussionguest speechBr Muhammad (MFG, MuhammadFromGod channel)Imam MalikIbrahim (Abraham)salaf machine2 min 56 s1:56:30on YouTube
18 Oct 2025MindTrap with Mufti Abu Layth Does 3:188 mean everyone who likes praise will be punished? The apparent reading of 3:188 threatens anyone who loves praise for what he has not done, which troubled the Companions until the Prophet explained it as concerning tyrants and the arrogant; the guest reads it as a warning listing traits a believer must shed. Discussionguest speechBr Muhammad (MFG, MuhammadFromGod channel)Quran 3:188 (those who rejoice in what they have done and love to be praised for what they have not done)report: the companions asked does not each of us love to be praised for what he has not doneQuran 28:76 (Qarun told not to exult) machine6 min 06 s1:58:33on YouTube
18 Oct 2025MindTrap with Mufti Abu Layth LatestIf most people love praise and are punished, how is God the most merciful? The guest says most people are mushrikun according to the Quran and that God is merciful in giving them messengers and exits, so those who refuse to reason deserve punishment; guidance follows the attributes God has set, not chance. Discussionquoted view, not his positionguest speechBr Muhammad (MFG, MuhammadFromGod channel)Quran 12:106 (most of them do not believe in Allah without associating others with Him)shirk machine3 min 14 s2:10:46on YouTube
18 Oct 2025MindTrap with Mufti Abu Layth Why did Mufti Abu Layth bring up 3:188 against the Quran-only position? Mufti Abu Layth cited 3:188 because its apparent reading is harsher than the Prophet's explanation, showing that the reasoning of those who came before is valuable; the guest says he asked for the Prophet's book of explanations and was pointed back to the Quran. Discussionguest speechBr Muhammad (MFG, MuhammadFromGod channel)Quran 3:188 (those who rejoice in what they have done and love to be praised for what they have not done)report: the companions asked does not each of us love to be praised for what he has not donetafsir machine4 min 51 s2:14:00on YouTube
4 Mar 2024Shorts LatestHow much does Allah love me? Mufti Abu Layth says Allah has an unimaginable love for every one of us, so we should take a chance on ourselves. Lessonposition checked machine1 min0:02on YouTube
10 Mar 2023video Can we ever be completely certain about religious answers? Only God is certain; every answer we hold is limited by our own understanding and that of those we learned from, a humility Imam Malik modelled. Lessonposition checkedImam Malikmaslaha (public welfare)Quran 3:173 (God is sufficient for us)Quran 45:32 (we only think it is conjecture and we are not certain) machine4 min 50 s57:27on YouTube
22 Feb 2023video Will gay people around us make Muslims gay? Mufti Abu Layth says people being gay does not make others gay and the fear of it is an unnecessary insecurity; like Imam Malik on others' customs, their way of life is theirs. Discussionposition checkedMatt WalshImam MalikMajus (Zoroastrians) [?]Jared Diamond machine3 min 51 s24:50on YouTube
16 Dec 2022video Is worship or how I treat people the real sign of faith? Mufti Abu Layth says worship is a personal matter between you and God, while how you behave among people is the true measure of your iman. Lessonposition checkedreport: ya ibna adam maridtu fa lam taudni (God is found with the sick and the hungry)Quran 2:177Quran 21:107report: lan yudkhila ahadan amaluhu al-janna (no one enters paradise by his deeds) machine2 min 34 s7:08on YouTube
19 Aug 2022video What does the Quran say against the satanic verses story? Mufti Abu Layth says al-Suyuti repeated Ibn Hajar's mistake, while the Quran rules the story out: the Prophet does not speak from desire and Satan has no power to speak in his voice. Lessonposition checkedal-SuyutiIbn Hajar al-Asqalanial-Tabarireport: the water of zamzam is for whatever it is drunk for (unresolved; collection not stated) machine7 min 51 s1:26:29on YouTube
16 Apr 2022Positive Faith LatestAm I only praying because I fear God will punish me? Mufti Abu Layth says praying only out of fear of punishment is unhealthy: salah is devotion that benefits us, bringing structure and order into our day. Question raised by Mufti Abu Laythposition checkedsalahQuran 74:42-46 (what brought you to Saqar? We were not of those who prayed ... we used to deny)Blaise PascalJordan Peterson machine8 min 20 s0:38on YouTube
25 Oct 2021video Will Allah judge someone who follows only the Quran by the Quran alone? Mufti Abu Layth will not speak on who is saved: he finds it arrogant for a human to presume where anyone ends up, since Allah's mercy encompasses everything. We should concern ourselves with our own path. Question from a callerposition checkedQuranist (Quran-only)sunnahSalafiShia machine4 min 30 s2:36on YouTube
26 Apr 2021MindTrap with Mufti Abu Layth Is it normal for faith to keep changing over a lifetime? Mufti Abu Layth says faith is a lifelong journey and iman an organic process, not a fixed mould to be fitted onto everyone. Discussionguest speechLupe Fiasco (guest)iman machine1 min 18 s42:17on YouTube
26 Apr 2021MindTrap with Mufti Abu Layth LatestDo obscene or blasphemous thoughts during prayer ruin my salah? Intrusive or blasphemous thoughts in prayer are not a reason to worry: noticing them is a sign of faith, as a hadith says. Mufti Abu Layth adds that jinn in the Quran means the unseen and possession stories are folklore. Discussionguest speechLupe Fiasco (guest)salahwuduwaswasa machine7 min 40 s1:31:29on YouTube
13 Apr 2021Monday Nights with Mufti Abu Layth Should my faith make me happy? Yes: Mufti Abu Layth says faith should make you happy, not hateful or bitter, because Islam is meant to complement daily life. Lessonposition checkedSalafiMaliki school machine2 min 38 s29:29on YouTube
13 Apr 2021Monday Nights with Mufti Abu Layth Should Muslims judge their own sources by the standards they apply to other religions? Yes: Mufti Abu Layth says Muslims should hold their own sources to the standard they use for others, giving the example of Bukhari resting on one unvouched-for transmitter. Lessonposition checkedone standard for all religionsSahih al-Bukharial-Firabri (referred to, not named: the sole transmitter of Sahih al-Bukhari)Isa (Jesus) machine2 min 38 s33:26on YouTube
13 Apr 2021Monday Nights with Mufti Abu Layth LatestAre there answers to the hardest ethical questions about stories in the Quran? Mufti Abu Layth says he has answered every hard question on his 2016 list, such as the killing of the boy in Moses' story, by research true to the text, and others can build on it. LessonMusa (Moses)al-Khidr (referred to, not named: the one who kills the boy)Christopher HitchensAisha machine7 min 49 s40:01on YouTube
13 Apr 2021Monday Nights with Mufti Abu Layth Is God someone I should mainly be afraid of? No: Mufti Abu Layth says seeing God as an angry disciplinarian is a distortion, and that Allah is the Most Merciful who invites people to reflect. Lessonposition checkedal-Rahman al-Rahim machine2 min 38 s1:07:35on YouTube
13 Apr 2021Monday Nights with Mufti Abu Layth Will religious dogmatism ever disappear? No: Mufti Abu Layth says dogmatism is built into institutional religion and will survive, so his aim is to keep the voice of reason alive as a choice. Question from live chatposition checked machine1 min 19 s1:51:19on YouTube
13 Apr 2021Monday Nights with Mufti Abu Layth When should reason take priority over religious texts? Reason always comes first, Mufti Abu Layth says, because every reading of scripture is already an interpretation; hadith dogmatism grew from Ibn Taymiyya's era and revived under colonialism. Question from live chatposition checkedaql (reason)Sapir-Whorf hypothesisIbn TaymiyyaIbn al-Salah machine9 min 07 s2:09:48on YouTube
13 Apr 2021Monday Nights with Mufti Abu Layth Can I pray for a non-Muslim who has died? Yes: Mufti Abu Layth says Muslims may pray for a non-Muslim like DMX who touched many lives, since no one has a monopoly on salvation, and that music is not haram. Lessonguest speechDMXreport: the prophet stood for the funeral of a jewish woman and said is it not a soul (as told by the host; unresolved)dua machine5 min 15 s2:18:55on YouTube
13 Apr 2021Monday Nights with Mufti Abu Layth What did Ibn Rushd mean by the 'double truth' of religion and philosophy? Mufti Abu Layth says it is not 'double truth', but he agrees fully with Ibn Rushd that the sharia is built for ordinary people while the gifted can find its deeper meanings. Question from live chatposition checkedIbn Rushd (Averroes)Sharia machine6 min 31 s2:35:57on YouTube
13 Apr 2021Monday Nights with Mufti Abu Layth LatestHow can I be sure my reason is not wrong? Mufti Abu Layth says al-Ghazali answered his doubt by relying on God; today, he says, the very existence of a consciousness that can doubt is itself the sign of God. Question from live chatposition checkedal-Ghazalial-Munqidh min al-Dalal (Deliverance from Error)Rene Descartes machine5 min 13 s2:52:58on YouTube
13 Apr 2021Monday Nights with Mufti Abu Layth Is the pursuit of knowledge a deeper drive than sex? Yes for the conscious mind, Mufti Abu Layth says, which is driven by curiosity; and the fact that being is intelligible, as DNA shows, points to a creator. Question from live chatposition checked machine2 min 37 s2:59:31on YouTube
13 Apr 2021Monday Nights with Mufti Abu Layth LatestCan I skip fasting because of work, exams or health, and what do I do instead? It is your call: make the fast up later if you can, or give fidya if your situation will not change, which Mufti Abu Layth bases on the plain wording of Quran 2:184. Question from live chatposition checkedQuran 2:184 (those who are able to fast may give fidya)al-Shatibifidyaqada (making up a missed fast) machine6 min 38 s3:28:21on YouTube
13 Apr 2021Monday Nights with Mufti Abu Layth I don't feel spiritual in Ramadan; am I a bad Muslim? No: Mufti Abu Layth says not feeling Ramadan's atmosphere is no reflection of your faith, since worship is not measured by how good it feels. Question from live chatposition checkedhajj machine2 min 38 s3:34:59on YouTube

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