Mufti Abu Layth Archive: From the Mind of a Mufti

Why did Islam not abolish slavery outright?

Tue, 28 Apr 2020 00:00:00 +0000

Why did Islam not abolish slavery outright?

Islam did not abolish slavery outright because the collective consciousness of the age could not yet see it as wrong, but it encouraged emancipation as a route to that change. Slavery was always wrong, and Mufti Abu Layth says Jonathan Brown's three axioms rest on a shallow analysis. Mufti Abu Layth holds that Islam did not abolish slavery outright because the collective consciousness of the age could not yet perceive it as wrong, and that, now that it can be seen, owning another human being is a problem and slavery has always been wrong, though past societies cannot be held to account for a perception they lacked.

Answer from 28 April 2020 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Sex Slaves: Concubines and Collective Consciousness -Mufti Abu Layth (at 11:48)

A more recent answer on fiqh/legal-theory exists (18 October 2025): If reason helps us understand the Quran, does the reasoning of earlier scholars matter too?

Watch on YouTube at 11:48 · Open the segment

How could men in early Islam have sex with their female slaves?

Tue, 28 Apr 2020 00:00:00 +0000

How could men in early Islam have sex with their female slaves?

Sexual relations with female slaves were condoned because the society Islam was revealed in had a very different mindset: its slavery resembled servitude rather than transatlantic slavery, and it drew no line between a slave's labour and sexual utility, so the practice could not be changed at once. Mufti Abu Layth says that, in his understanding, one reason sexual relations with female slaves were condoned is that the society in which Islam was revealed had a very different mindset: its slavery resembled servitude rather than transatlantic slavery, and it drew no line between a slave's labour and sexual utility, a mindset that could not be changed at once.

Answer from 28 April 2020 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Sex Slaves: Concubines and Collective Consciousness -Mufti Abu Layth (at 2:37)

A more recent answer on fiqh/legal-theory exists (18 October 2025): If reason helps us understand the Quran, does the reasoning of earlier scholars matter too?

Watch on YouTube at 3:55 · Open the segment

Is slavery haram in Islam, and did Muslim scholars ban it before the UN?

Tue, 28 Apr 2020 00:00:00 +0000

Is slavery haram in Islam, and did Muslim scholars ban it before the UN?

Slavery is categorically haram today, and Maliki scholars issued fatwas forbidding it long before the UN; Mufti Abu Layth explains this through trajectory hermeneutics. Concubines were female slaves, not wives. Mufti Abu Layth holds that slavery is categorically haram today, that Maliki and other scholars forbade it by fatwa long before the UN resolution, and that the Quran's rulings on slavery set a trajectory towards its prohibition once human ethics developed.

Answer from 28 April 2020 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Sex Slaves: Concubines and Collective Consciousness -Mufti Abu Layth (at 0:00)

A more recent answer on fiqh/legal-theory exists (18 October 2025): If reason helps us understand the Quran, does the reasoning of earlier scholars matter too?

Watch on YouTube at 0:00 · Open the segment

Did the Prophet marry his cousin?

Sun, 08 Mar 2020 00:00:00 +0000

Did the Prophet marry his cousin?

Mufti Abu Layth says the Prophet's marriage to Zaynab bint Jahsh, a relative only through her mother, is unlike families where everyone marries cousins; he also says marriage without a wali is valid. Mufti Abu Layth says he believes that a person can get married without a wali.

Answer from 8 March 2020 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Genetics and marrying relatives | Mufti Abu Layth (at 0:00)

A more recent answer on relationships/marriage/choosing-a-spouse exists (10 December 2022): What is the story of the woman who tricked Abu Hanifa into a marriage proposal?

Watch on YouTube at 2:16 · Open the segment

What does the Mufti think of Shaykh Ramadan al-Buti?

Tue, 03 Mar 2020 00:00:00 +0000

What does the Mufti think of Shaykh Ramadan al-Buti?

Mufti Abu Layth regards al-Buti as a great scholar of his time whose books, especially Ma'a al-Nas, he benefited from. He says it is a shame al-Buti got caught up in Syrian politics.

Answer from 3 March 2020 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Thoughts on Shaykh Ramadan Al-Bouti | Mufti Abu Layth (at 0:00)

A more recent answer on dialogue/views-on-contemporary-scholars exists (22 February 2023): Should scholars publicly condemn a scholar said to have joined in a libation ritual?

Watch on YouTube at 0:00 · Open the segment

What did Mufti Abu Layth think of Mu'awiya?

Fri, 28 Feb 2020 00:00:00 +0000

What did Mufti Abu Layth think of Mu'awiya?

Mufti Abu Layth highly respects Mu'awiya as a great figure and an astute statesman, while acknowledging the Companions' disagreements. Mufti Abu Layth says he highly respects Mu'awiya and likes his statesmanship, calling him cut out to rule.

Answer from 28 February 2020 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Fadak between Fatima (r) & Abu Bakr (r) Detailed Overview | Mufti Abu Layth (at 34:46)

A more recent answer on history/umayyads-and-abbasids exists (10 March 2023): Why was Imam Malik flogged?

Watch on YouTube at 34:46 · Open the segment

Should election campaigns only be publicly funded?

Fri, 28 Feb 2020 00:00:00 +0000

Should election campaigns only be publicly funded?

Mufti Abu Layth thinks there should be some regulation of election funding, though banning private funding outright would restrict liberties, so it is a tough question. Mufti Abu Layth says there should be some regulation of election funding, while calling it a really tough question.

Answer from 28 February 2020 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Fadak between Fatima (r) & Abu Bakr (r) Detailed Overview | Mufti Abu Layth (at 33:27)

A more recent answer on society/current-events exists (19 August 2022): What was Salman Rushdie's family background?

Watch on YouTube at 33:27 · Open the segment

Do Muslims believe in reincarnation?

Fri, 28 Feb 2020 00:00:00 +0000

Do Muslims believe in reincarnation?

No: he does not believe in past lives in this world, though he feels souls are connected to each other and to God, which may explain the feeling of having lived before. Mufti Abu Layth says he does not believe in reincarnation as it is generally understood, the soul returning to this world as another.

Answer from 28 February 2020 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Fadak between Fatima (r) & Abu Bakr (r) Detailed Overview | Mufti Abu Layth (at 31:30)

A more recent answer on belief/soul-nafs-and-consciousness exists (26 April 2021): What does Lupe Fiasco think the soul is?

Watch on YouTube at 31:30 · Open the segment

Is it halal to buy bad loans and foreclose on people's homes?

Fri, 28 Feb 2020 00:00:00 +0000

Is it halal to buy bad loans and foreclose on people's homes?

Buying property as a business is permissible in his view, but exploiting people who cannot pay and evicting them is oppression he is against. Mufti Abu Layth says he is against exploiting people who lack money by throwing them out of their homes.

Answer from 28 February 2020 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Fadak between Fatima (r) & Abu Bakr (r) Detailed Overview | Mufti Abu Layth (at 30:52)

A more recent answer on fiqh/finance/riba-and-mortgages exists (29 January 2021): Could a senior scholar ever publicly change his fatwa on mortgages?

Watch on YouTube at 30:52 · Open the segment

Was Abu Bakr wrong to refuse Fatima Fadak?

Fri, 28 Feb 2020 00:00:00 +0000

Was Abu Bakr wrong to refuse Fatima Fadak?

Not in his view: Abu Bakr was right that Fadak was public fay', while Fatima was right that prophets can be inherited from, so both were right from different angles. Mufti Abu Layth says he feels Abu Bakr and Fatima were both right, from different perspectives.

Answer from 28 February 2020 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Fadak between Fatima (r) & Abu Bakr (r) Detailed Overview | Mufti Abu Layth (at 28:19)

A more recent answer on history/early-succession-and-civil-strife exists (16 March 2021): Who are the Ibadis and what do you think of Ibadism?

Watch on YouTube at 28:19 · Open the segment

Why might Abu Bakr have refused Fatima's claim so quickly?

Fri, 28 Feb 2020 00:00:00 +0000

Why might Abu Bakr have refused Fatima's claim so quickly?

Mufti Abu Layth speculates, stressing it is only speculation, that the size of the claim at a time of crisis may have led Abu Bakr to refuse it at once. Mufti Abu Layth speculates, stressing it is pure speculation, that the sheer quantity of Fatima's claim may have led Abu Bakr to deny it instantly.

Answer from 28 February 2020 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Fadak between Fatima (r) & Abu Bakr (r) Detailed Overview | Mufti Abu Layth (at 25:05)

A more recent answer on history/early-succession-and-civil-strife exists (16 March 2021): Who are the Ibadis and what do you think of Ibadism?

Watch on YouTube at 25:05 · Open the segment

Why didn't Ali take back Fadak when he became caliph?

Fri, 28 Feb 2020 00:00:00 +0000

Why didn't Ali take back Fadak when he became caliph?

Mufti Abu Layth finds it a huge open question that Ali never reclaimed Fadak as caliph, and says the Shia answers he heard did not make sense to him. Mufti Abu Layth says it is a huge question mark that Ali never took Fadak back during his caliphate.

Answer from 28 February 2020 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Fadak between Fatima (r) & Abu Bakr (r) Detailed Overview | Mufti Abu Layth (at 19:52)

A more recent answer on history/umayyads-and-abbasids exists (10 March 2023): Why was Imam Malik flogged?

Watch on YouTube at 19:52 · Open the segment

Who was right about Fadak, Fatima or Abu Bakr?

Fri, 28 Feb 2020 00:00:00 +0000

Who was right about Fadak, Fatima or Abu Bakr?

Both, in his view: Fatima was right that prophets can be inherited from, but Fadak was fay' belonging to the public, so Abu Bakr was right to keep it under the state. Mufti Abu Layth says he feels Fatima was right from the perspective of inheritance, since the Quran suggests prophets do inherit.

Answer from 28 February 2020 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Fadak between Fatima (r) & Abu Bakr (r) Detailed Overview | Mufti Abu Layth (at 16:39)

A more recent answer on dialogue/sunni-shia-dialogue exists (22 February 2023): Should Sunnis preach to Shia Muslims about what they get wrong?

Watch on YouTube at 16:39 · Open the segment

Why did Abu Bakr refuse to give Fadak to Fatima?

Fri, 28 Feb 2020 00:00:00 +0000

Why did Abu Bakr refuse to give Fadak to Fatima?

Abu Bakr cited the hadith that prophets leave no inheritance; Shia sources say Fadak had been gifted to Fatima, while Sunni sources say the Prophet did not give it to her.

Answer from 28 February 2020 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: quoted view (stated in order to be discussed, not necessarily held)

Recording: Fadak between Fatima (r) & Abu Bakr (r) Detailed Overview | Mufti Abu Layth (at 10:15)

A more recent answer on dialogue/sunni-shia-dialogue exists (22 February 2023): Should Sunnis preach to Shia Muslims about what they get wrong?

Watch on YouTube at 10:15 · Open the segment

What was Fadak and why did it matter?

Fri, 28 Feb 2020 00:00:00 +0000

What was Fadak and why did it matter?

Fadak was fertile land near Khaybar that came to the Prophet as fay', without war, and he used its produce for travellers, his household and public needs. Mufti Abu Layth says Fadak came to the Prophet as fay', land obtained through a truce rather than through war.

Answer from 28 February 2020 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Fadak between Fatima (r) & Abu Bakr (r) Detailed Overview | Mufti Abu Layth (at 4:33)

A more recent answer on quran/tafsir exists (18 October 2025): Why are two of the daily prayers recited silently when 17:110 says not to be silent?

Watch on YouTube at 4:33 · Open the segment

A visit to the Al-Mahdi Institute symposium on Fadak

Fri, 28 Feb 2020 00:00:00 +0000

A visit to the Al-Mahdi Institute symposium on Fadak

Mufti Abu Layth describes attending a Sunni-Shia symposium on Fadak at the Al-Mahdi Institute in Birmingham and calls for more collaboration.

Answer from 28 February 2020 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Recording: Fadak between Fatima (r) & Abu Bakr (r) Detailed Overview | Mufti Abu Layth (at 0:00)

A more recent answer on dialogue/sunni-shia-dialogue exists (22 February 2023): Should Sunnis preach to Shia Muslims about what they get wrong?

Watch on YouTube at 0:00 · Open the segment

Is it Sunnah to drink camel urine as medicine?

Sun, 16 Feb 2020 00:00:00 +0000

Is it Sunnah to drink camel urine as medicine?

No, you should not drink camel urine: he calls it nonsense and says the report is problematic in its chain and its text, even though it is in al-Bukhari. Mufti Abu Layth says that one should not drink camel urine and calls the idea nonsense.

Answer from 16 February 2020 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Drinking Camel Urine? -Mufti Abu Layth (at 0:00)

A more recent answer on hadith/bukhari exists (18 October 2025): Why did Mufti Abu Layth challenge hadith in BukhariGate, and can the Prophet be called the most beloved of creation?

Watch on YouTube at 0:00 · Open the segment

Is it Sunnah to drink camel urine as medicine?

Sun, 16 Feb 2020 00:00:00 +0000

Is it Sunnah to drink camel urine as medicine?

Answer from 16 February 2020 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Drinking Camel Urine? -Mufti Abu Layth (at 0:00)

A more recent answer on hadith/bukhari exists (18 October 2025): Why did Mufti Abu Layth challenge hadith in BukhariGate, and can the Prophet be called the most beloved of creation?

Watch on YouTube at 0:00 · Open the segment

Why are Indo-Pak Muslims adopting Gulf Arab culture?

Thu, 19 Dec 2019 00:00:00 +0000

Why are Indo-Pak Muslims adopting Gulf Arab culture?

Mufti Abu Layth dislikes the push to Arabise Indo-Pak Islam, from Gulf dress to saying Allah Hafiz, feeling it is political and that culture should be natural, not imposed. Mufti Abu Layth says he personally does not like the Arabisation of Indo-Pak Muslims, feeling that things should be natural and not imposed.

Answer from 19 December 2019 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Arabization of Indo-Pak Islam | Mufti Abu Layth (at 0:00)

A more recent answer on history/subcontinent exists (19 August 2022): What was Salman Rushdie's family background?

Watch on YouTube at 0:00 · Open the segment

Is growing a beard compulsory in Islam?

Tue, 17 Dec 2019 00:00:00 +0000

Is growing a beard compulsory in Islam?

Growing a beard was an ancient Arab custom shared by Muslims and their opponents, not an Islamic requirement in itself. The command to grow it is worded like commands to dye the hair and pray in shoes that nobody treats as obligatory, and no sahih hadith says how to grow it. Mufti Abu Layth says the beard was an ancient Arab custom shared by the Prophet's opponents, that the command to grow it and differ from the Jews and Christians is worded like commands to dye the hair and pray in shoes that nobody treats as obligatory, and that no sahih hadith says how to grow it.

Answer from 17 December 2019 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: The Beard in Islam & Arab Culture | Mufti Abu Layth (at 0:00)

A more recent answer on hadith/sunnah-versus-hadith exists (18 October 2025): Does the Muwatta show that the Companions' practice had already changed by Malik's time?

Watch on YouTube at 0:00 · Open the segment

Why did the earliest mosques face Petra instead of Makkah?

Tue, 17 Dec 2019 00:00:00 +0000

Why did the earliest mosques face Petra instead of Makkah?

Most likely, he says, because Muslims inherited Nabataean devotion sites already aligned to Petra's constellation, so Gibson is right about the measurements but wrong that Petra was Makkah. Makkah was called Umm al-Qura, he suggests, after Petra's name, brought by Qusayy. Mufti Abu Layth says the early mosque foundations that point to Petra were most likely Nabataean devotion sites aligned to Petra's constellation that Muslims inherited, so that Dan Gibson may be right about the foundations but for the wrong reasons, not because Petra was Makkah.

Answer from 17 December 2019 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: A Reply to Dan Gibson: "Why The Early Qiblas Faced Petra?" | Mufti Abu Layth (at 18:21)

A more recent answer on history/pre-islamic-arabia exists (26 April 2021): Did everyone at the time of the Prophet accept Islam without questions?

Watch on YouTube at 18:21 · Open the segment

Did ancient civilisations have knowledge that was later lost?

Tue, 17 Dec 2019 00:00:00 +0000

Did ancient civilisations have knowledge that was later lost?

Mufti Abu Layth finds convincing the view that advanced ancient civilisations were destroyed around the Younger Dryas and left knowledge seen in old maps and constellation-aligned sites. He believes the Nabataeans built on earlier sites at Petra and set up devotion sites aligned to its constellation. Mufti Abu Layth says he finds convincing the view that advanced ancient civilisations with knowledge of the globe were destroyed around the Younger Dryas, and that neither the Nabataeans nor the pharaohs built Petra or the pyramids from scratch but built on earlier structures.

Answer from 17 December 2019 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: A Reply to Dan Gibson: "Why The Early Qiblas Faced Petra?" | Mufti Abu Layth (at 14:26)

A more recent answer on arts/science-and-the-universe exists (10 March 2023): Can a pregnancy last for years, as was said of Imam Malik's birth?

Watch on YouTube at 14:26 · Open the segment

Why do early Islamic books call the Ka'bah 'the Shami Ka'bah'?

Tue, 17 Dec 2019 00:00:00 +0000

Why do early Islamic books call the Ka'bah 'the Shami Ka'bah'?

Mufti Abu Layth suggests Qusayy, raised in Petra, rebuilt the Ka'bah and settled Quraysh around it in a Shami style, which is why early books call it the Shami Ka'bah. It does not mean the Ka'bah was in Sham. Mufti Abu Layth says Qusayy's reorganisation of Makkah and the Ka'bah's surroundings may reflect his upbringing in Petra, which is why early books call the Ka'bah 'the Shami Ka'bah', rather than because the Ka'bah was in Sham.

Answer from 17 December 2019 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: A Reply to Dan Gibson: "Why The Early Qiblas Faced Petra?" | Mufti Abu Layth (at 10:31)

A more recent answer on history/pre-islamic-arabia exists (26 April 2021): Did everyone at the time of the Prophet accept Islam without questions?

Watch on YouTube at 10:31 · Open the segment

Who was Qusayy ibn Kilab and where was he raised?

Tue, 17 Dec 2019 00:00:00 +0000

Who was Qusayy ibn Kilab and where was he raised?

Mufti proposes that Petra shaped early Islam through the Prophet's great-grandfather Qusayy, who was raised as a foreigner in Wadi al-Qura, which Mufti Abu Layth identifies with Petra. Qusayy's name means 'little stranger', and his longing for belonging drew him back to Makkah. Mufti Abu Layth proposes that Petra shaped early Islamic phenomena through Qusayy ibn Kilab, the Prophet's great-grandfather, whom he believes was raised in Wadi al-Qura, a place he identifies with Petra.

Answer from 17 December 2019 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: A Reply to Dan Gibson: "Why The Early Qiblas Faced Petra?" | Mufti Abu Layth (at 5:15)

A more recent answer on history/pre-islamic-arabia exists (26 April 2021): Did everyone at the time of the Prophet accept Islam without questions?

Watch on YouTube at 5:15 · Open the segment

What is Dan Gibson's Petra theory and are his measurements trustworthy?

Tue, 17 Dec 2019 00:00:00 +0000

What is Dan Gibson's Petra theory and are his measurements trustworthy?

Gibson measured around 160 early mosque foundations and found the earliest pointing to Petra rather than Makkah. Mufti Abu Layth says the data are transparent and not falsified, though Gibson is somewhat mischievous, and that his explanation of the south-pointing North African mosques is ridiculous.

Answer from 17 December 2019 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: A Reply to Dan Gibson: "Why The Early Qiblas Faced Petra?" | Mufti Abu Layth (at 2:36)

A more recent answer on history/pre-islamic-arabia exists (26 April 2021): Did everyone at the time of the Prophet accept Islam without questions?

Watch on YouTube at 2:36 · Open the segment

Was pre-Islamic Makkah really a significant city?

Tue, 17 Dec 2019 00:00:00 +0000

Was pre-Islamic Makkah really a significant city?

Mufti Abu Layth thinks the revisionists have a point: Makkah was not a significant city or even a popular town, and its later image was an innocent reconstruction by Muslims rather than propaganda. He notes that Crone and Cook placed Makkah further north without settling on Petra. Mufti Abu Layth says the revisionist historians have a point that pre-Islamic Makkah was not a significant city or even a popular town, and that its later image was an innocent reconstruction by later Muslims rather than propaganda.

Answer from 17 December 2019 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: A Reply to Dan Gibson: "Why The Early Qiblas Faced Petra?" | Mufti Abu Layth (at 0:01)

A more recent answer on history/pre-islamic-arabia exists (26 April 2021): Did everyone at the time of the Prophet accept Islam without questions?

Watch on YouTube at 0:01 · Open the segment

Is al-wala wal-bara, loving and hating for the sake of Allah, part of Islam?

Thu, 12 Dec 2019 00:00:00 +0000

Is al-wala wal-bara, loving and hating for the sake of Allah, part of Islam?

The doctrine of loving and hating for the sake of God (al-wala wal-bara) is a Wahhabi invention spread with Gulf money and not part of the tradition. The Quranic bara'a means detachment of association, not hatred. Mufti Abu Layth says the doctrine of loving and hating for the sake of God, al-wala wal-bara, does not exist in the tradition but is a Wahhabi innovation written about only by Saudi, Gulf and Wahhabi scholars, and that the Quranic bara'a means detachment of association rather than hatred.

Answer from 12 December 2019 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: My Thoughts on Mohammed Hijab & His Approach | Mufti Abu Layth (at 7:52)

A more recent answer on belief/creed-and-kalam-schools exists (13 February 2023): Why orthodoxy took hold, and who wrote the checklist

Watch on YouTube at 7:52 · Open the segment

Why does Mufti Abu Layth say Salafis cannot debate atheists without borrowing Ash'ari arguments?

Thu, 12 Dec 2019 00:00:00 +0000

Why does Mufti Abu Layth say Salafis cannot debate atheists without borrowing Ash'ari arguments?

Salafis argue from a standpoint that cannot hold its own against atheists, so Salafi-background debaters end up using Ash'ari and Maturidi arguments. The Hanbalis were literalists, not the theologians of the tradition.

Answer from 12 December 2019 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: My Thoughts on Mohammed Hijab & His Approach | Mufti Abu Layth (at 6:33)

A more recent answer on dialogue/views-on-contemporary-scholars exists (22 February 2023): Should scholars publicly condemn a scholar said to have joined in a libation ritual?

Watch on YouTube at 6:33 · Open the segment

Does the Quran forbid Muslims from being friends with non-Muslims who challenge Islam?

Thu, 12 Dec 2019 00:00:00 +0000

Does the Quran forbid Muslims from being friends with non-Muslims who challenge Islam?

The verse about not loving those who oppose Allah was revealed when tribes were confederating to attack the Muslims and concerns loyalty to them, not friendship with non-Muslims. Permission to marry Christians and Jews shows love and friendship with non-Muslims are allowed. Mufti Abu Layth says the verse that believers will not be found loving those who oppose Allah and His Messenger was revealed about Muslims who kept ties with tribes confederating to attack the Muslims, and that it does not forbid friendship with non-Muslims, as the permission to marry Christians and Jews shows.

Answer from 12 December 2019 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: My Thoughts on Mohammed Hijab & His Approach | Mufti Abu Layth (at 2:40)

A more recent answer on quran/tafsir exists (18 October 2025): Why are two of the daily prayers recited silently when 17:110 says not to be silent?

Watch on YouTube at 2:40 · Open the segment

What does Mufti Abu Layth think of Mohammed Hijab's aggressive debating style?

Thu, 12 Dec 2019 00:00:00 +0000

What does Mufti Abu Layth think of Mohammed Hijab's aggressive debating style?

Mohammed Hijab is intelligent, articulate and shows maturity of thought, but deliberately shouting at and dominating opponents on the claim that Allah commands harshness towards those who challenge Islam is, if that is what he meant, nonsensical and unacceptable.

Answer from 12 December 2019 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: My Thoughts on Mohammed Hijab & His Approach | Mufti Abu Layth (at 0:02)

A more recent answer on society/dawah-and-debate-culture exists (18 October 2025): How should Muslims engage people with very different views of the religion?

Watch on YouTube at 0:02 · Open the segment

What does Mufti Abu Layth think of Shaykh Imran Hosein?

Sat, 09 Nov 2019 00:00:00 +0000

What does Mufti Abu Layth think of Shaykh Imran Hosein?

Mufti Abu Layth has not watched much of Imran Hosein but finds him preoccupied with doomsday culture, which he opposes. Islam, he says, is about optimism and seizing the day, as the hadith about carrying on planting when the Hour comes shows, and doom and gloom can fuel death cults.

Answer from 9 November 2019 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: My Thoughts on Sheikh Imran Hosein | Mufti Abu Layth (at 0:00)

A more recent answer on wellbeing/motivation-and-purpose exists (4 March 2024): How much does Allah love me?

Watch on YouTube at 0:00 · Open the segment

What should I think about when choosing a name for my child?

Wed, 06 Nov 2019 00:00:00 +0000

What should I think about when choosing a name for my child?

Mufti Abu Layth says parents should think carefully about the names they give their children, especially names that will be mocked in the West. Mufti Abu Layth says people need to pay attention to the names that they choose for their children.

Answer from 6 November 2019 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Inappropriate Names | Mufti Abu Layth (at 0:03)

A more recent answer on relationships/parents-and-children/raising-children exists (10 March 2023): How did Imam Malik come to study religion?

Watch on YouTube at 0:03 · Open the segment

Is mut'ah (temporary marriage) haram?

Mon, 04 Nov 2019 00:00:00 +0000

Is mut'ah (temporary marriage) haram?

Mut'ah is not haram in his understanding: the reports prohibiting it are contradictory and it is very hard to prove haram. Nobody is obliged to do it, and much of the hostility to it is anti-Shia sentiment.

Answer from 4 November 2019 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Banning Mutah? | Mufti Abu Layth (at 0:03)

A more recent answer on fiqh/polygamy-and-mutah exists (22 February 2023): Is there an LGBTQ push in media and schools?

Watch on YouTube at 0:03 · Open the segment

What does Mufti Abu Layth think of Mufti Menk?

Fri, 18 Oct 2019 00:00:00 +0000

What does Mufti Abu Layth think of Mufti Menk?

Mixed: Menk fills a real demand for simple, uplifting stories and is likeable and funny, but Mufti Abu Layth says such preachers spread inauthentic stories and cement false beliefs, and he suspects Menk is less strict than he portrays himself.

Answer from 18 October 2019 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Thoughts on Mufti Menk | Mufti Abu Layth (at 0:02)

A more recent answer on society/dawah-and-debate-culture exists (18 October 2025): How should Muslims engage people with very different views of the religion?

Watch on YouTube at 0:02 · Open the segment

Is a prayer mark on the forehead a sign of piety in Islam?

Fri, 11 Oct 2019 00:00:00 +0000

Is a prayer mark on the forehead a sign of piety in Islam?

A burn mark on the forehead from prostration has nothing to do with Islam and is not a sign of piety. The verse about the believers' mark on their faces refers to a glow of commitment, and an early report rebukes a man who bore such a mark. Mufti Abu Layth says that a burn mark on the forehead from prostration has nothing to do with Islam and is not a sign of piety, and that the verse about the believers' mark on their faces refers to a radiance and visible commitment rather than a burnt forehead.

Answer from 11 October 2019 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Sajdah Mark on Forehead | Mufti Abu Layth (at 0:01)

A more recent answer on fiqh/prayer exists (18 October 2025): Why are two of the daily prayers recited silently when 17:110 says not to be silent?

Watch on YouTube at 0:01 · Open the segment

Is it okay to criticise the companions of the Prophet?

Thu, 19 Sep 2019 00:00:00 +0000

Is it okay to criticise the companions of the Prophet?

Mufti Abu Layth advises most people to view the companions with veneration, but says anyone who chooses critical, academic study must apply it to every companion, Ali included, rather than selectively. Mufti Abu Layth says one may either venerate the companions or study them critically as fully human, that critical study must then apply equally to every companion including Ali, and that he personally advises people to take the venerating approach.

Answer from 19 September 2019 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Can we criticise the companions of the Prophet (s) | Mufti Abu Layth (at 0:00)

A more recent answer on dialogue/sunni-shia-dialogue exists (22 February 2023): Should Sunnis preach to Shia Muslims about what they get wrong?

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What is Mufti Abu Layth's final verdict on whether music is haram?

Wed, 18 Sep 2019 00:00:00 +0000

What is Mufti Abu Layth's final verdict on whether music is haram?

Music is not haram: no clear sahih hadith prohibits it and the default law makes everything permissible unless proven otherwise. Mufti Abu Layth calls it the nourishment of the soul, notes that sound is only vibration interpreted by a listener, and cites music therapy in medieval Muslim hospitals. Mufti Abu Layth holds that music is not haram, since the evidence does not support a prohibition and the default law makes everything permissible unless proven otherwise, and he calls music arguably the nourishment of the soul, citing its healing use in medieval Muslim hospitals.

Answer from 18 September 2019 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: In Depth: Is Music allowed in Islam? | Mufti Abu Layth (at 1:06:32)

A more recent answer on fiqh/legal-theory exists (18 October 2025): If reason helps us understand the Quran, does the reasoning of earlier scholars matter too?

Watch on YouTube at 1:06:32 · Open the segment

Why is celibacy praised despite a hadith against it while music is condemned without one?

Wed, 18 Sep 2019 00:00:00 +0000

Why is celibacy praised despite a hadith against it while music is condemned without one?

A sahih hadith condemns the vow never to marry, yet unmarried scholars are praised in books like Abu Ghudda's, because celibacy fits the picture of religion as self-denial; music, which fits the opposite picture, is condemned although no clear sahih hadith names it. The default law remains that everything is permissible unless proven otherwise. Mufti Abu Layth says celibacy was praised in the tradition despite a sahih hadith condemning it, because it fits people's picture of religion as suffering and self-denial, whereas music, which has no sahih hadith against it, is condemned.

Answer from 18 September 2019 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: In Depth: Is Music allowed in Islam? | Mufti Abu Layth (at 1:00:02)

A more recent answer on belief/reason-and-revelation exists (18 October 2025): Why did Mufti Abu Layth bring up 3:188 against the Quran-only position?

Watch on YouTube at 1:00:02 · Open the segment

Why do people assume music must be haram before looking at any evidence?

Wed, 18 Sep 2019 00:00:00 +0000

Why do people assume music must be haram before looking at any evidence?

People come to Islam with a prior picture of what religion must be, which includes sacrifice, suffering and asceticism and excludes entertainment, and this backdrop rather than the texts drives their judgement that music is haram. Even with no hadith against it, music would be forbidden on that basis. Mufti Abu Layth says most people's judgement that music is haram comes from a preconceived ontology of religion, which treats entertainment and desire as opposed to religion, rather than from the texts, which serve only as confirmation bias.

Answer from 18 September 2019 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: In Depth: Is Music allowed in Islam? | Mufti Abu Layth (at 52:08)

A more recent answer on belief/reason-and-revelation exists (18 October 2025): Why did Mufti Abu Layth bring up 3:188 against the Quran-only position?

Watch on YouTube at 52:08 · Open the segment

Does sound exist if nobody hears it?

Wed, 18 Sep 2019 00:00:00 +0000

Does sound exist if nobody hears it?

Sound, colour, taste and smell are the brain's interpretations of vibrations and waves, so the universe itself is silent and colourless. A tree falling with nobody to hear it makes no sound, only vibrations. Mufti Abu Layth says that in reality the universe is colourless, soundless and odourless, since sound and colour exist only as a brain's interpretation of vibrations and waves.

Answer from 18 September 2019 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: In Depth: Is Music allowed in Islam? | Mufti Abu Layth (at 48:15)

A more recent answer on arts/science-and-the-universe exists (10 March 2023): Can a pregnancy last for years, as was said of Imam Malik's birth?

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If obscene lyrics make music haram, what about the classical Arabic poetry taught in madrasas?

Wed, 18 Sep 2019 00:00:00 +0000

If obscene lyrics make music haram, what about the classical Arabic poetry taught in madrasas?

Classical Arabic poetry taught in every major madrasa, from Abu Nuwas to the Hamasa and Imru' al-Qais, is as full of violence, alcohol and sex as rap lyrics, so condemning rap on religious grounds is a double standard. Parents may set their own rules for their children without attributing them to God. Mufti Abu Layth says classical Arabic poetry, such as that of Abu Nuwas, the Hamasa and the Mu'allaqa of Imru' al-Qais, is full of violence, alcohol and sex much like rap lyrics and is taught in major madrasas, so treating rap differently is a double standard, and parents may set their own rules without attributing them to God.

Answer from 18 September 2019 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: In Depth: Is Music allowed in Islam? | Mufti Abu Layth (at 36:43)

A more recent answer on fiqh/entertainment/music exists (10 March 2023): Is it haram for men to wear earrings?

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Why is everything permissible by default in Islamic law unless proven haram?

Wed, 18 Sep 2019 00:00:00 +0000

Why is everything permissible by default in Islamic law unless proven haram?

By default everything is conclusively permissible, since Allah created everything on earth for us and what He was silent about is pardoned, and that certainty can only be removed by certainty, not by a hadith that remains probable. So Mufti Abu Layth does not declare music halal; Allah has, and the evidence against it falls short of overturning that. Mufti Abu Layth holds, as he says many Malikis of the school of Madinah did, that everything is conclusively permissible by default, because Allah created everything for us and pardoned what He was silent about, and that this certainty can be removed only by certainty, so when he calls something halal he is not making it so.

Answer from 18 September 2019 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: In Depth: Is Music allowed in Islam? | Mufti Abu Layth (at 30:08)

A more recent answer on fiqh/legal-theory exists (18 October 2025): If reason helps us understand the Quran, does the reasoning of earlier scholars matter too?

Watch on YouTube at 30:08 · Open the segment

Is it haram to write or sing lyrics about alcohol?

Wed, 18 Sep 2019 00:00:00 +0000

Is it haram to write or sing lyrics about alcohol?

Lyrics about alcohol are not haram, since such poetry was recited in the Prophet's mosque, and declaring something haram because it might lead to bad behaviour is lying on God's behalf. Enjoining good is not policing, scholars need not be followed blindly, and God understands sarcasm as well as we do. Mufti Abu Layth says the scholars who called music haram gave their reasons but need not be followed blindly, since not all scholars said so and many challenged it from the Prophet's time on.

Answer from 18 September 2019 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: In Depth: Is Music allowed in Islam? | Mufti Abu Layth (at 26:09)

A more recent answer on fiqh/legal-theory exists (18 October 2025): If reason helps us understand the Quran, does the reasoning of earlier scholars matter too?

Watch on YouTube at 26:09 · Open the segment

Who has the authority to declare music haram if God has not?

Wed, 18 Sep 2019 00:00:00 +0000

Who has the authority to declare music haram if God has not?

God has not made music haram and neither Mufti Abu Layth nor the scholars have the authority to do so: the authentic hadith speak of entertainment, which could mean many things, and the scholars' prohibition is their own interpretation. Those who dislike music need not listen to it, but it is allowed. Mufti Abu Layth says God has not made music haram, so no one may make it haram, since the authentic hadith speak of entertainment rather than music and the scholars who prohibited it did so by their own interpretation.

Answer from 18 September 2019 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: In Depth: Is Music allowed in Islam? | Mufti Abu Layth (at 22:21)

A more recent answer on fiqh/legal-theory exists (18 October 2025): If reason helps us understand the Quran, does the reasoning of earlier scholars matter too?

Watch on YouTube at 22:21 · Open the segment

Is music with explicit or violent lyrics haram?

Wed, 18 Sep 2019 00:00:00 +0000

Is music with explicit or violent lyrics haram?

Lyrics do not make music haram: Arabic poetry about sex and alcohol was recited in the Prophet's mosque and is still studied by every scholar, and Ka'b ibn Zuhayr recited his love-opening ode from the Prophet's minbar. Mufti Abu Layth does not promote a culture of violence and drugs but says people can judge content for themselves. Mufti Abu Layth says that lyrics do not make music haram, since Arabic poetry about sex and alcohol was recited in the Prophet's mosque, and that while he does not promote a culture of violence and drugs, people are intelligent enough to judge content for themselves.

Answer from 18 September 2019 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: In Depth: Is Music allowed in Islam? | Mufti Abu Layth (at 15:47)

A more recent answer on fiqh/entertainment/music exists (10 March 2023): Is it haram for men to wear earrings?

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Is listening to music haram?

Wed, 18 Sep 2019 00:00:00 +0000

Is listening to music haram?

In Mufti Abu Layth's understanding music is not forbidden, because no text is at once conclusive, sahih and explicit: the Bukhari hadith speaks of entertainment, not music, and the texts naming music are not authentic. People find this hard to accept because they come to religion expecting it to oppose entertainment and desire. Mufti Abu Layth says that in his understanding music is not forbidden, since nothing in Islam is at once conclusive, sahih and explicit in prohibiting it, the Bukhari hadith speaks of entertainment rather than music, and the texts that name music are not authentic.

Answer from 18 September 2019 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: In Depth: Is Music allowed in Islam? | Mufti Abu Layth (at 10:31)

A more recent answer on belief/reason-and-revelation exists (18 October 2025): Why did Mufti Abu Layth bring up 3:188 against the Quran-only position?

Watch on YouTube at 10:31 · Open the segment

Which scholars held that music is permissible, and what did Imam Malik's school say?

Wed, 18 Sep 2019 00:00:00 +0000

Which scholars held that music is permissible, and what did Imam Malik's school say?

Al-Shawkani, Ibn Hazm, Abu Bakr ibn al-Arabi and al-Fakihani all found no sahih hadith prohibiting music, and the people of Madinah, including the qadi Sa'd ibn Ibrahim, held it permissible, with some transmitting this as Imam Malik's own position. Only Allah and His Messenger are authorities, so a refutation needs a sahih hadith. Mufti Abu Layth holds that there is no sahih hadith prohibiting music, citing al-Shawkani, Ibn Hazm, Abu Bakr ibn al-Arabi and al-Fakihani, and that since only Allah and His Messenger are authorities in religion, anyone refuting him must bring a sahih hadith.

Answer from 18 September 2019 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: In Depth: Is Music allowed in Islam? | Mufti Abu Layth (at 2:41)

A more recent answer on fiqh/maliki-school exists (19 April 2023): Why does the practice of Madinah matter more than a single hadith?

Watch on YouTube at 2:41 · Open the segment

Is the hadith that singing breeds hypocrisy in the heart authentic?

Wed, 18 Sep 2019 00:00:00 +0000

Is the hadith that singing breeds hypocrisy in the heart authentic?

The hadith that singing breeds hypocrisy in the heart is weak in every one of its chains, which run from Ibn Mas'ud to the Prophet in some versions and stop at Ibn Mas'ud in others. Mufti Abu Layth restates that nothing categorically proves music haram and that lyrics do not make it so. Mufti Abu Layth says nothing categorically proves music to be haram and that lyrics do not make something haram even when they speak of sex or fighting, though one may not want to listen to them or let one's children do so.

Answer from 18 September 2019 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: In Depth: Is Music allowed in Islam? | Mufti Abu Layth (at 0:04)

A more recent answer on fiqh/entertainment/music exists (10 March 2023): Is it haram for men to wear earrings?

Watch on YouTube at 0:04 · Open the segment

Closing: build bridges, talk to everyone, and an invitation to Daniel Haqiqatjou

Wed, 21 Aug 2019 00:00:00 +0000

Closing: build bridges, talk to everyone, and an invitation to Daniel Haqiqatjou

Talk to everyone, including ex-Muslims, and hold dialogue where ideas differ. Mufti Abu Layth has invited Daniel Haqiqatjou to a dialogue on apostasy.

Answer from 21 August 2019 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Recording: Don't let people bully you into beliefs | Mufti Abu Layth (at 18:17)

A more recent answer on society/dawah-and-debate-culture exists (18 October 2025): How should Muslims engage people with very different views of the religion?

Watch on YouTube at 18:17 · Open the segment

Did the Prophet teach a formal creed of what Muslims must believe?

Wed, 21 Aug 2019 00:00:00 +0000

Did the Prophet teach a formal creed of what Muslims must believe?

The Prophet taught faith, not a creed: beyond a handful of beliefs no hadith prescribes what to believe, and for 150 years the salaf up to Imam Malik wrote down no dogma. Policing people's ideas is the antithesis of Islam, so think for yourself. Mufti Abu Layth holds that the Prophet never taught a creed beyond a handful of beliefs, that the salaf up to Imam Malik never taught or wrote down dogma for over a hundred and fifty years, and that forcing faith and policing people's ideas is the antithesis of what Islam came with.

Answer from 21 August 2019 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Don't let people bully you into beliefs | Mufti Abu Layth (at 15:41)

A more recent answer on belief/reason-and-revelation exists (18 October 2025): Why did Mufti Abu Layth bring up 3:188 against the Quran-only position?

Watch on YouTube at 15:41 · Open the segment

How should I deal with religious circles that pressure me into beliefs?

Wed, 21 Aug 2019 00:00:00 +0000

How should I deal with religious circles that pressure me into beliefs?

Leave the judgmental bubble of religious circles and be true to your faith and yourself rather than letting people bully you into beliefs. He cites a shaykh attacked for calling for updated thinking and Usama Canon's regret at having deprived himself for fear of what others said. Mufti Abu Layth advises religious people to expand and burst the 'religious people bubble', which he calls among the most judgmental places to be trapped in, and to be true to their faith and to themselves rather than be bullied into beliefs.

Answer from 21 August 2019 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Don't let people bully you into beliefs | Mufti Abu Layth (at 9:10)

A more recent answer on wellbeing/personal-stories exists (18 October 2025): Is there a middle way between rejecting all hadith and accepting every hadith?

Watch on YouTube at 9:10 · Open the segment

Is the Quran's description of paradise and hell literal or symbolic?

Wed, 21 Aug 2019 00:00:00 +0000

Is the Quran's description of paradise and hell literal or symbolic?

Mufti Abu Layth reads the Quran's imagery of the afterlife as symbolic, chosen to resonate with the people it was revealed to, while holding that life continues after this world. Allah also describes himself in imagery, and people are free to disagree. Mufti Abu Layth holds that the imagery of the afterlife in the Quran is symbolic, chosen to appeal to the people it was revealed to, while there is a real continuity beyond this life that no human can conceptualise, and he says people are free to disagree with this reading.

Answer from 21 August 2019 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Don't let people bully you into beliefs | Mufti Abu Layth (at 2:38)

A more recent answer on quran/hermeneutics exists (18 October 2025): Does 3:188 mean everyone who likes praise will be punished?

Watch on YouTube at 2:38 · Open the segment

5Pillars' coverage of Mufti Abu Layth and its article claiming he denies the afterlife

Wed, 21 Aug 2019 00:00:00 +0000

5Pillars' coverage of Mufti Abu Layth and its article claiming he denies the afterlife

Mufti Abu Layth reacts to a 5Pillars article claiming he does not believe in the afterlife, which drew on a clip of him calling the Quran's afterlife imagery symbolic. He says no press is bad press and that he has addressed the issue in many videos.

Answer from 21 August 2019 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Recording: Don't let people bully you into beliefs | Mufti Abu Layth (at 0:00)

A more recent answer on society/technology-and-media exists (22 February 2023): Is there an LGBTQ push in media and schools?

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What does Mufti Abu Layth think of Shaykh Saqib Shaami?

Sat, 17 Aug 2019 00:00:00 +0000

What does Mufti Abu Layth think of Shaykh Saqib Shaami?

Mufti Abu Layth respects Saqib Shaami for turning people lost to drugs and crime into good human beings and finds his influence in the East unique for a Western-raised shaykh. He sees him as focused on spirituality and tasawwuf rather than academic or contemporary intellectual issues.

Answer from 17 August 2019 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: My Thoughts on Shaykh Saqib Shaami | Mufti Abu Layth (at 0:00)

A more recent answer on belief/sufism exists (28 February 2024): A fate worse than death: each of us is a mirror for divine potential

Watch on YouTube at 0:00 · Open the segment

Supporting women's rights while rejecting hostility to masculinity

Wed, 14 Aug 2019 00:00:00 +0000

Supporting women's rights while rejecting hostility to masculinity

Mufti Abu Layth backs women's rights and condemns abuse, but rejects what he sees as a campaign against masculinity, while accepting men who are naturally soft. Mufti Abu Layth says he seriously does not understand the hostility of this age against masculinity.

Answer from 14 August 2019 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: What does Islam say about Gender Dysphoria? | Mufti Abu Layth (at 5:11)

A more recent answer on relationships/masculinity-and-gender-roles exists (9 May 2023): How did the Prophet balance gentleness and strength?

Watch on YouTube at 5:11 · Open the segment

Does Islam allow gender transition for someone diagnosed with gender dysphoria?

Wed, 14 Aug 2019 00:00:00 +0000

Does Islam allow gender transition for someone diagnosed with gender dysphoria?

Where there are legitimate biological concerns and medical input, he believes it is permissible, but he opposes sowing doubt about gender in children. Mufti Abu Layth says he believes there is permissibility where there are legitimate biological concerns, with medical experts giving their input.

Answer from 14 August 2019 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: What does Islam say about Gender Dysphoria? | Mufti Abu Layth (at 0:00)

A more recent answer on fiqh/medical-ethics exists (10 March 2023): Can a pregnancy last for years, as was said of Imam Malik's birth?

Watch on YouTube at 0:00 · Open the segment

Is music haram in Islam?

Sun, 04 Aug 2019 00:00:00 +0000

Is music haram in Islam?

No: he says music is not haram and is arguably nourishment for the soul, pointing to its use for healing in medieval Muslim hospitals. Mufti Abu Layth says music is not haram and is arguably the nourishment of the soul.

Answer from 4 August 2019 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Is Music Haram? | Mufti Abu Layth (at 0:00)

A more recent answer on fiqh/entertainment/music exists (10 March 2023): Is it haram for men to wear earrings?

Watch on YouTube at 0:00 · Open the segment

'Islam gave these rights first' and blinding people with jargon

Sun, 04 Aug 2019 00:00:00 +0000

'Islam gave these rights first' and blinding people with jargon

Mufti Abu Layth addresses the lecture's point that Islam gave rights such as voting 1,400 years before the suffragettes, saying that is fine to mention but people alive in 2019 will ask why Muslim rulings are still backward today, so it is nothing to gloat about. He criticises dropping philosophical names and terms that impress those who do not know them but make Muslims look weaker to those who do, as some did in arguments for God, and parodies such jargon. He says a real discussion would define liberalism and admit that some fascist versions of it exist and can be dangerous, but that liberalism is an attitude against imposed authority, not a separate religion. He concludes that the lecture was a straw man resting on Locke, Hobbes and Kant, and hopes Mohammed Hijab might reflect on it. Mufti Abu Layth says that throwing in impressive philosophical jargon makes Muslims look much weaker to those who know and to non-Muslims.

Answer from 4 August 2019 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Thoughts on Muhammad Hijab's talk on Liberalism & Islam | Mufti Abu Layth (at 37:17)

A more recent answer on society/dawah-and-debate-culture exists (18 October 2025): How should Muslims engage people with very different views of the religion?

Watch on YouTube at 37:17 · Open the segment

Is capital punishment, including for apostasy, justified?

Sun, 04 Aug 2019 00:00:00 +0000

Is capital punishment, including for apostasy, justified?

Mufti Abu Layth opposes capital punishment as absurd, killing to stop killing, and calls justifying death for apostasy as treason a stupid argument. He welcomes Mohammed Hijab's apparent move away from the classical ruling to kill apostates. Mufti Abu Layth says he finds it ironic and absurd that, to stop people from killing, the state kills people.

Answer from 4 August 2019 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Thoughts on Muhammad Hijab's talk on Liberalism & Islam | Mufti Abu Layth (at 29:52)

A more recent answer on fiqh/public-law-and-governance/apostasy-and-blasphemy exists (29 September 2024): Is someone who says something wrong about the Prophet guilty of blasphemy?

Watch on YouTube at 29:52 · Open the segment

Ethics evolve: slavery, human agency and the genetic fallacy

Sun, 04 Aug 2019 00:00:00 +0000

Ethics evolve: slavery, human agency and the genetic fallacy

Mufti Abu Layth argues that if ethics do not develop over time and only seventh-century ethics count, one would have to say slavery is fine, since the Quran acknowledged its ubiquity without abolishing it at the time, which he calls ridiculous. He says people hold liberal attitudes without having read Locke or Rousseau, being capable agents, not automatons. By the lecture's logic, he says, everything in Islam first championed by others would belong to them, as Socrates and Plato spoke of God and the soul first, which he calls an infantilising theory. He gives his own opposition to capital punishment, shared by most people in Europe, as an example of a view held without allegiance to Rousseau, Locke, Bentham or Bertrand Russell. Mufti Abu Layth says that human beings are very capable agents who construct their worldview as they go along, not people who adopt views because they read philosophers.

Answer from 4 August 2019 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Thoughts on Muhammad Hijab's talk on Liberalism & Islam | Mufti Abu Layth (at 24:46)

A more recent answer on society/islam-and-modernity exists (19 August 2022): Should all religions be free to compete without state backing?

Watch on YouTube at 24:46 · Open the segment

Can people be moral without religion?

Sun, 04 Aug 2019 00:00:00 +0000

Can people be moral without religion?

Yes: humans know that killing is wrong without scripture, which came to reinforce it, and secular European societies have reached ethics without God. He strongly disagrees with deriding that. Mufti Abu Layth says human beings knew killing was wrong without scripture, and the commandment came only to reinforce it.

Answer from 4 August 2019 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Thoughts on Muhammad Hijab's talk on Liberalism & Islam | Mufti Abu Layth (at 19:02)

A more recent answer on belief/reason-and-revelation exists (18 October 2025): Why did Mufti Abu Layth bring up 3:188 against the Quran-only position?

Watch on YouTube at 19:02 · Open the segment

Should Muslims campaign against LGBTQ people, and is homosexuality unnatural?

Sun, 04 Aug 2019 00:00:00 +0000

Should Muslims campaign against LGBTQ people, and is homosexuality unnatural?

Muslims should leave LGBTQ people alone, since fighting them will only deface Islam. Calling homosexuality unnatural is inaccurate, as it is widely found in nature, unlike incest. Mufti Abu Layth says he feels Muslims should really leave LGBTQ people alone and let them be.

Answer from 4 August 2019 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Thoughts on Muhammad Hijab's talk on Liberalism & Islam | Mufti Abu Layth (at 12:43)

A more recent answer on relationships/sexuality-and-orientation exists (22 February 2023): Is it okay for adults or children to change gender?

Watch on YouTube at 12:43 · Open the segment

What is liberalism, and do liberals have to follow John Locke?

Sun, 04 Aug 2019 00:00:00 +0000

What is liberalism, and do liberals have to follow John Locke?

Liberalism is essentially a stance against authoritarianism, not allegiance to historical philosophers. Agreeing with Locke on one point does not make anyone a Christian or bind them to his whole philosophy. Mufti Abu Layth says liberalism is, in essence, simply a stance against authoritarianism.

Answer from 4 August 2019 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Thoughts on Muhammad Hijab's talk on Liberalism & Islam | Mufti Abu Layth (at 6:24)

A more recent answer on society/islam-and-modernity exists (19 August 2022): Should all religions be free to compete without state backing?

Watch on YouTube at 6:24 · Open the segment

Mohammed Hijab's liberalism lecture argues like a sectarian polemic

Sun, 04 Aug 2019 00:00:00 +0000

Mohammed Hijab's liberalism lecture argues like a sectarian polemic

Mufti Abu Layth turns to a university lecture by Mohammed Hijab on liberalism, which people had sent him and which claimed liberalism is baseless. He says the lecture seemed aimed at a Muslim audience and that, since Mohammed Hijab is intelligent, he is unsure whether he has not grasped the concept or is deliberately arguing to win points, but calls it a very poor job. He explains that the lecture argues against liberalism the way Muslims conduct sectarian debates: finding a figure the opponent supposedly reveres, such as Abu Hanifa, Ibn Taymiyya, Imam Malik or a Shia ayatollah, and quoting him to corner the opponent through compelling authority. He says this tactic makes no sense outside religion, where people do not feel bound by allegiance to such figures.

Answer from 4 August 2019 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Thoughts on Muhammad Hijab's talk on Liberalism & Islam | Mufti Abu Layth (at 0:00)

A more recent answer on society/dawah-and-debate-culture exists (18 October 2025): How should Muslims engage people with very different views of the religion?

Watch on YouTube at 0:00 · Open the segment

What did Ibn al-Arabi write about a classmate who was both bearded and breasted?

Fri, 02 Aug 2019 00:00:00 +0000

What did Ibn al-Arabi write about a classmate who was both bearded and breasted?

Qadi Abu Bakr ibn al-Arabi recorded a classmate with a beard and breasts who came to al-Ghazali's lessons with two servant girls and whose nature puzzled him for years. Mufti Abu Layth reads this as an example of people in the past finding outlets with servants and slaves. Mufti Abu Layth says that in the past, it seems, people who were stuck, such as those who were homosexual or bisexual without an apparent outlet, and presumably khuntha too, found a loophole with servants and slaves.

Answer from 2 August 2019 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Why are homosexual activities forbidden? | Mufti Abu Layth (at 11:42)

A more recent answer on relationships/sexuality-and-orientation exists (22 February 2023): Is it okay for adults or children to change gender?

Watch on YouTube at 11:42 · Open the segment

How did classical scholars treat intersex people (khuntha) and their right to marry?

Fri, 02 Aug 2019 00:00:00 +0000

How did classical scholars treat intersex people (khuntha) and their right to marry?

Classical scholars ruled that a khuntha, an intersex person, can neither marry nor be married, which Mufti Abu Layth calls cruel, absurd and a failure of scholarship to give a truly Islamic answer. Mufti Abu Layth says the classical ruling that a khuntha can never marry was ridiculous and absurd, and a case study of scholarship failing to provide a truly Islamic answer to a challenge of its age.

Answer from 2 August 2019 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Why are homosexual activities forbidden? | Mufti Abu Layth (at 5:12)

A more recent answer on fiqh/legal-theory exists (18 October 2025): If reason helps us understand the Quran, does the reasoning of earlier scholars matter too?

Watch on YouTube at 5:12 · Open the segment

Why does Islam forbid homosexual activity?

Fri, 02 Aug 2019 00:00:00 +0000

Why does Islam forbid homosexual activity?

Islam did not address homosexuality directly; it outlawed all sex outside marriage to build strong family units, and homosexuality was prohibited as a by-product. There are no clear sahih hadith on it, and scholars differed on related questions such as anal sex. Mufti Abu Layth says that Islam did not address homosexuality directly but outlawed all sexual activity outside marriage in order to build strong family units, so that homosexuality was prohibited as a by-product, and that there are no clear sahih hadith on it.

Answer from 2 August 2019 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Why are homosexual activities forbidden? | Mufti Abu Layth (at 0:01)

A more recent answer on fiqh/legal-theory exists (18 October 2025): If reason helps us understand the Quran, does the reasoning of earlier scholars matter too?

Watch on YouTube at 0:01 · Open the segment

Was the first qibla really Petra, as Dan Gibson claims?

Fri, 19 Jul 2019 00:00:00 +0000

Was the first qibla really Petra, as Dan Gibson claims?

Mufti Abu Layth is not convinced that the first qibla was Petra: the statistical argument is a fallacy and Sunnis, Shia and Khawarij would never all have agreed on the Ka'bah. He still finds revisionist research compelling on some other matters and says Muslims should engage with it. Mufti Abu Layth says he is not convinced by Dan Gibson's thesis that the early qibla was Petra, since its statistical argument is a fallacy and Sunnis, Shia and Khawarij would never all have agreed on the Ka'bah, though he finds revisionist research compelling on some other matters and says Muslims should engage with it.

Answer from 19 July 2019 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: My thoughts on Dan Gibson's Petra research | Mufti Abu Layth (at 0:00)

A more recent answer on history/orthodoxy-and-how-islam-spread exists (13 February 2023): Why orthodoxy took hold, and who wrote the checklist

Watch on YouTube at 0:00 · Open the segment

Banter with the chat after the al-Suyuti answer

Thu, 18 Jul 2019 00:00:00 +0000

Banter with the chat after the al-Suyuti answer

Light-hearted banter with viewers after the al-Suyuti answer, with no ruling given.

Answer from 18 July 2019 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Recording: My thoughts on Imam Suyuti's book on sex | Mufti Abu Layth (at 2:32)

Watch on YouTube at 2:32 · Open the segment

What is al-Suyuti's book about sex?

Thu, 18 Jul 2019 00:00:00 +0000

What is al-Suyuti's book about sex?

Al-Suyuti wrote about sex, including a section on names for the penis, and endorsed a saying that the two greatest worldly pleasures are horse riding and sex. Mufti Abu Layth agrees with al-Ghazali that orgasm is the closest worldly pleasure to those of paradise. Mufti Abu Layth says he cannot object to al-Ghazali's point that the closest worldly pleasure to the pleasures of paradise is orgasm.

Answer from 18 July 2019 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: My thoughts on Imam Suyuti's book on sex | Mufti Abu Layth (at 0:00)

A more recent answer on history/scholars-and-imams exists (10 December 2022): How did Abu Hanifa become a scholar after starting out as a merchant?

Watch on YouTube at 0:00 · Open the segment

Did the Prophet restore the original rituals of Ibrahim at the Kaaba?

Mon, 08 Jul 2019 00:00:00 +0000

Did the Prophet restore the original rituals of Ibrahim at the Kaaba?

No: nothing was in Makkah when Ibrahim arrived, and although he and Ismail built the house of remembrance, Safa and Marwa are never linked to him. The Quran presents them only as symbols for remembering God, so there is no point guessing at older origins. Mufti Abu Layth says the Prophet could not have restored original Abrahamic rituals of Safa and Marwa, since nothing was in Makkah when Ibrahim arrived and the Quran presents Safa and Marwa only as symbols for remembering God, without linking them to Ibrahim.

Answer from 8 July 2019 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Between Authenticity & Paganism: The Black Stone and Safa & Marwa -Mufti Abu Layth (at 24:46)

A more recent answer on fiqh/hajj-and-umrah exists (18 October 2025): How do Quranists perform Hajj and apply Islam without the fiqh tradition?

Watch on YouTube at 24:46 · Open the segment

Is the story of Hajar running seven times between Safa and Marwa true?

Mon, 08 Jul 2019 00:00:00 +0000

Is the story of Hajar running seven times between Safa and Marwa true?

Mufti Abu Layth thinks the story of Hajar running seven times between Safa and Marwa was most likely added later to give the ritual an Abrahamic link, though he believes the Zamzam story is true. The Quran mentions Safa and Marwa only as a remembrance of God, without linking them to Hajar or Abraham. Mufti Abu Layth says the story that Hajar ran seven times between Safa and Marwa was most likely invented later to give the ritual an Abrahamic link, while he believes the story of the Zamzam spring is most likely true.

Answer from 8 July 2019 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Between Authenticity & Paganism: The Black Stone and Safa & Marwa -Mufti Abu Layth (at 15:38)

A more recent answer on fiqh/hajj-and-umrah exists (18 October 2025): How do Quranists perform Hajj and apply Islam without the fiqh tradition?

Watch on YouTube at 15:38 · Open the segment

Why did God stop Abraha's army but let the Qaramita steal the Black Stone?

Mon, 08 Jul 2019 00:00:00 +0000

Why did God stop Abraha's army but let the Qaramita steal the Black Stone?

The Black Stone has no sanctity of its own: it was most likely a remnant of pre-Islamic stone worship that Islam kept as a ritual of submission to God, so its theft by the Qaramita, though wrong, was no great matter. Umar himself said it was only a stone that can neither harm nor benefit. Mufti Abu Layth says the Black Stone has no sanctity in itself and was most likely a remnant of pre-Islamic pagan worship, kept by Muslims and kissed by the Prophet only as a ritual of submission to God, so its theft by the Qaramita, though not a good thing, was no great matter.

Answer from 8 July 2019 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Between Authenticity & Paganism: The Black Stone and Safa & Marwa -Mufti Abu Layth (at 0:00)

A more recent answer on fiqh/hajj-and-umrah exists (18 October 2025): How do Quranists perform Hajj and apply Islam without the fiqh tradition?

Watch on YouTube at 0:00 · Open the segment

What should Muslims learn from the Wood versus Hijab debate?

Mon, 24 Dec 2018 00:00:00 +0000

What should Muslims learn from the Wood versus Hijab debate?

Thorough knowledge wins debates, Muslims must raise their adab, and they must be consistent: if the laws of nature do not matter for miracles, then there is no ground to say three cannot equal one. Clips about camel urine or suspended laws of nature send a confusing message. Mufti Abu Layth holds that Muslims must be consistent in following the voice of reason, because if they say the laws of nature do not matter when it comes to miracles they lose any ground for saying that three cannot equal one, and that Muslims also need to raise their adab in debate.

Answer from 24 December 2018 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: On the David Wood and Muhammad Hijab Debate: Reflections & Review -Mufti Abu Layth (at 27:53)

A more recent answer on belief/reason-and-revelation exists (18 October 2025): Why did Mufti Abu Layth bring up 3:188 against the Quran-only position?

Watch on YouTube at 27:53 · Open the segment

Was Hijab right to show David Wood no respect in the debate?

Mon, 24 Dec 2018 00:00:00 +0000

Was Hijab right to show David Wood no respect in the debate?

Hijab's aggressive, loud and condescending manner, which he justified by Wood's record of bigotry, was used by non-Muslim commenters as ammunition and made Muslims look rowdy, while Wood stayed composed. Mufti Abu Layth sees it as damned if you do, damned if you don't.

Answer from 24 December 2018 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: On the David Wood and Muhammad Hijab Debate: Reflections & Review -Mufti Abu Layth (at 21:22)

A more recent answer on society/dawah-and-debate-culture exists (18 October 2025): How should Muslims engage people with very different views of the religion?

Watch on YouTube at 21:22 · Open the segment

Did the Prophet teach a creed about God's attributes, and when did the Muslim creed emerge?

Mon, 24 Dec 2018 00:00:00 +0000

Did the Prophet teach a creed about God's attributes, and when did the Muslim creed emerge?

The Prophet taught faith, not a formal creed; the Muslim creed emerged two to three hundred years later, and its doctrine of attributes 'neither God nor other than God' is, in Mufti Abu Layth's view, irrational and unfounded in the Quran and Sunnah. Ordinary Muslims do not know this material, which is why Wood's objections did not land. Mufti Abu Layth holds that the Prophet came to teach faith rather than creed, that the Muslim formal creed emerged two to three hundred years after him, and that the doctrine of divine attributes that are neither God nor other than God is irrational and not based in the Quran and Sunnah.

Answer from 24 December 2018 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: On the David Wood and Muhammad Hijab Debate: Reflections & Review -Mufti Abu Layth (at 17:38)

A more recent answer on belief/reason-and-revelation exists (18 October 2025): Why did Mufti Abu Layth bring up 3:188 against the Quran-only position?

Watch on YouTube at 17:38 · Open the segment

If Muslims accept miracles that defy reason, can they still object that the Trinity is irrational?

Mon, 24 Dec 2018 00:00:00 +0000

If Muslims accept miracles that defy reason, can they still object that the Trinity is irrational?

Muslims must hold the Quran to be in line with reason, because accepting miracles that make no sense removes any ground for objecting that three cannot equal one; consistency is all or nothing. Hijab denied that Muslims ever held anthropomorphic beliefs, but some did, though Mufti Abu Layth does not share them. Mufti Abu Layth holds that Muslims must believe the Quran to be in line with the voice of reason, since accepting miracles that make no sense would leave no ground to object that three cannot equal one, and he says that some Muslims did hold anthropomorphic beliefs about God, which he does not share.

Answer from 24 December 2018 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: On the David Wood and Muhammad Hijab Debate: Reflections & Review -Mufti Abu Layth (at 15:14)

A more recent answer on belief/reason-and-revelation exists (18 October 2025): Why did Mufti Abu Layth bring up 3:188 against the Quran-only position?

Watch on YouTube at 15:14 · Open the segment

Do Muslims accept doctrines as irrational as the Trinity, such as the uncreated Quran?

Mon, 24 Dec 2018 00:00:00 +0000

Do Muslims accept doctrines as irrational as the Trinity, such as the uncreated Quran?

Wood's real challenge was that Muslims who mock the Trinity as irrational themselves accept doctrines such as the uncreated Quran and attributes that are 'neither God nor other than God'. Mufti Abu Layth says this was a genuinely tough point that Hijab did not fully answer, but Wood put it so badly that few noticed.

Answer from 24 December 2018 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: On the David Wood and Muhammad Hijab Debate: Reflections & Review -Mufti Abu Layth (at 11:16)

A more recent answer on belief/reason-and-revelation exists (18 October 2025): Why did Mufti Abu Layth bring up 3:188 against the Quran-only position?

Watch on YouTube at 11:16 · Open the segment

What does it mean that Allah performs salah upon the Prophet?

Mon, 24 Dec 2018 00:00:00 +0000

What does it mean that Allah performs salah upon the Prophet?

Wood kept asking to whom Allah prays if He 'performs salah' on the Prophet, which Hijab answered well as sending blessings. Mufti Abu Layth says pressing a linguistic point after it was answered, without knowing Arabic, was pathetic.

Answer from 24 December 2018 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: On the David Wood and Muhammad Hijab Debate: Reflections & Review -Mufti Abu Layth (at 9:11)

A more recent answer on quran/arabic-language exists (18 October 2025): Is the 'light' that came with the clear book in 5:15 the Prophet or the Quran itself?

Watch on YouTube at 9:11 · Open the segment

What was Hijab's main argument against the Trinity, and did Wood answer it?

Mon, 24 Dec 2018 00:00:00 +0000

What was Hijab's main argument against the Trinity, and did Wood answer it?

Hijab's central argument was that the Trinitarian creed defined at Nicaea in 325 cannot be shown in any earlier Christian source, which Mufti Abu Layth calls precise and well researched and which Wood failed to answer sufficiently. Wood seemed shaky and unprepared, and the debate leaned less on reason than it could have.

Answer from 24 December 2018 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: On the David Wood and Muhammad Hijab Debate: Reflections & Review -Mufti Abu Layth (at 5:15)

A more recent answer on belief/reason-and-revelation exists (18 October 2025): Why did Mufti Abu Layth bring up 3:188 against the Quran-only position?

Watch on YouTube at 5:15 · Open the segment

Did the topic of Tawhid versus the Trinity favour the Muslim side, and how well prepared was Hijab?

Mon, 24 Dec 2018 00:00:00 +0000

Did the topic of Tawhid versus the Trinity favour the Muslim side, and how well prepared was Hijab?

Tawhid appeals to reason while the Trinity is held by Christians as a supra-rational truth, so the topic itself favoured Hijab. Even so, Mufti Abu Layth was impressed by Hijab's thorough biblical research and impromptu quotation of the Bible, while Wood seemed unprepared. Mufti Abu Layth holds that when one side of a debate appeals to reason and the other defends what it calls irrational truths, the side of reason will generally prevail, so the topic favoured Hijab, whose biblical research he nonetheless credits as impressive.

Answer from 24 December 2018 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: On the David Wood and Muhammad Hijab Debate: Reflections & Review -Mufti Abu Layth (at 2:38)

A more recent answer on belief/reason-and-revelation exists (18 October 2025): Why did Mufti Abu Layth bring up 3:188 against the Quran-only position?

Watch on YouTube at 2:38 · Open the segment

Who won the David Wood versus Mohammed Hijab debate on Tawhid and the Trinity?

Mon, 24 Dec 2018 00:00:00 +0000

Who won the David Wood versus Mohammed Hijab debate on Tawhid and the Trinity?

Mufti Abu Layth calls the Wood versus Hijab debate on Tawhid and the Trinity monumental and worth watching, and says Mohammed Hijab clearly won. He introduces David Wood as an evangelical, anti-Islam preacher who has debated many Muslims.

Answer from 24 December 2018 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: On the David Wood and Muhammad Hijab Debate: Reflections & Review -Mufti Abu Layth (at 0:00)

A more recent answer on society/dawah-and-debate-culture exists (18 October 2025): How should Muslims engage people with very different views of the religion?

Watch on YouTube at 0:00 · Open the segment

Is homosexuality haram in Islam, and why were the people of Lut destroyed?

Thu, 20 Dec 2018 00:00:00 +0000

Is homosexuality haram in Islam, and why were the people of Lut destroyed?

Mufti Abu Layth accepts the majority view that homosexual acts are haram, but says the punishments scholars assigned were variable public-order measures that changed over time, that the people of Lut were destroyed primarily for rejecting their prophet, and that the ruling does not require hatred of homosexual people. Mufti Abu Layth says the overwhelming majority of scholars held homosexual acts to be haram and he accepts that they are haram, while saying that the punishments scholars assigned varied between places and changed over time, that the people of Lut were destroyed primarily for rejecting their prophet, and that the ruling does not require hatred.

Answer from 20 December 2018 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Homosexuality and Islam -Mufti Abu Layth (at 18:27)

A more recent answer on relationships/sexuality-and-orientation exists (22 February 2023): Is it okay for adults or children to change gender?

Watch on YouTube at 18:27 · Open the segment

Were there Muslim scholars and caliphs in history known to be homosexual?

Thu, 20 Dec 2018 00:00:00 +0000

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.

Answer from 20 December 2018 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: quoted view (stated in order to be discussed, not necessarily held)

Recording: Homosexuality and Islam -Mufti Abu Layth (at 7:56)

A more recent answer on history/umayyads-and-abbasids exists (10 March 2023): Why was Imam Malik flogged?

Watch on YouTube at 7:56 · Open the segment

Does Islam say homosexuals should be thrown off buildings or executed?

Thu, 20 Dec 2018 00:00:00 +0000

Does Islam say homosexuals should be thrown off buildings or executed?

There is no sahih hadith in which the Prophet spoke about homosexuals, the reports of Ali ordering executions are not authentic in Mufti Abu Layth's view, and the early jurists disagreed, with the Hanafis holding it is not a hadd offence. The claim of a consensus that homosexual acts deserve death is false. Mufti Abu Layth says there is no sahih hadith in which the Prophet spoke about homosexuals, that he does not believe the reports of Ali ordering executions to be authentic, and that the claim of a consensus that anyone who commits homosexual acts deserves death is false, since the jurists disagreed and the Hanafis held it is not a hadd.

Answer from 20 December 2018 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Homosexuality and Islam -Mufti Abu Layth (at 0:00)

A more recent answer on relationships/sexuality-and-orientation exists (22 February 2023): Is it okay for adults or children to change gender?

Watch on YouTube at 0:00 · Open the segment

Did Adam come from Neanderthals?

Sat, 10 Nov 2018 00:00:00 +0000

Did Adam come from Neanderthals?

No: Neanderthals were cousins of Homo sapiens, not ancestors. He believes Adam was the father of the cognitive revolution about 70,000 years ago. Mufti Abu Layth says he believes Adam was the father of the cognitive revolution of about 70,000 years ago.

Answer from 10 November 2018 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Neanderthals, Sapiens & Adam (a.s.) - Mufti Abu Layth (at 0:01)

A more recent answer on history/human-origins exists (19 January 2022): Is it true that Africans have no Neanderthal DNA?

Watch on YouTube at 0:01 · Open the segment

An imam faking his tarawih recitation: a memory from Mufti Abu Layth's hifz days

Fri, 31 Aug 2018 00:00:00 +0000

An imam faking his tarawih recitation: a memory from Mufti Abu Layth's hifz days

A personal story: as a teenager memorising the Quran, Mufti Abu Layth caught a village imam faking his tarawih recitation and told him privately that misleading people with the Quran was wrong.

Answer from 31 August 2018 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Recording: Memoirs of a Mufti: Deceitful Imams Disrespecting Islam -Mufti Abu Layth (at 0:00)

A more recent answer on wellbeing/personal-stories exists (18 October 2025): Is there a middle way between rejecting all hadith and accepting every hadith?

Watch on YouTube at 0:00 · Open the segment

Do any Sunni scholars say mut'ah is not haram?

Sat, 21 Jul 2018 00:00:00 +0000

Do any Sunni scholars say mut'ah is not haram?

A recent Moroccan Maliki scholar argues in a book that mut'ah is not haram; Mufti Abu Layth calls the 'marry me your daughter' retort in his debate with a Salafi immature. Mufti Abu Layth says the debate's 'then marry your daughter to me' retort was an immature and stupid thing to say.

Answer from 21 July 2018 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Sunni & Shia differences on Mutah, theological or political? - Mufti Abu Layth (at 3:15)

A more recent answer on society/dawah-and-debate-culture exists (18 October 2025): How should Muslims engage people with very different views of the religion?

Watch on YouTube at 3:15 · Open the segment

Is mut'ah a matter of belief that divides Sunnis and Shia?

Sat, 21 Jul 2018 00:00:00 +0000

Is mut'ah a matter of belief that divides Sunnis and Shia?

No: accepting temporary marriage or not is a question of fiqh, not belief, so Sunnis are unfair to attack the Shia over mut'ah. Mufti Abu Layth says that whether one accepts temporary marriage or not is a matter of fiqh, not a matter of iman.

Answer from 21 July 2018 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Sunni & Shia differences on Mutah, theological or political? - Mufti Abu Layth (at 0:00)

A more recent answer on fiqh/polygamy-and-mutah exists (22 February 2023): Is there an LGBTQ push in media and schools?

Watch on YouTube at 0:00 · Open the segment

Can people with very different religious views still talk with respect?

Fri, 20 Apr 2018 00:00:00 +0000

Can people with very different religious views still talk with respect?

People who disagree on many things can still sit together, talk with respect and enjoy each other's company, and Mufti Abu Layth says this is the conduct Muslims need to return to, in line with the Prophet's great character. Mufti Abu Layth says that people holding very different positions can and should sit together, talk with respect and enjoy each other's company, and that this is the conduct Muslims need to return to, in keeping with the Prophet's great character.

Answer from 20 April 2018 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Imam Abu Hanifa was deemed a heretic/deviant by his contemporaries - Mufti Abu Layth al-Maliki (at 3:57)

A more recent answer on wellbeing/character-and-virtue exists (29 September 2024): Spread love, and take account of the damage our words have done

Watch on YouTube at 3:57 · Open the segment

Was Abu Hanifa considered a deviant by the scholars of his time?

Fri, 20 Apr 2018 00:00:00 +0000

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. Mufti Abu Layth says Abu Hanifa was considered a deviant by many scholars of his time and that the Hanafi school became dominant because his student Abu Yusuf, as chief judge, appointed only Hanafi judges, so that its rise rested on power rather than evidence.

Answer from 20 April 2018 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Imam Abu Hanifa was deemed a heretic/deviant by his contemporaries - Mufti Abu Layth al-Maliki (at 0:00)

A more recent answer on history/orthodoxy-and-how-islam-spread exists (13 February 2023): Why orthodoxy took hold, and who wrote the checklist

Watch on YouTube at 0:00 · Open the segment

Why do you dress in a t-shirt and joke around while teaching Islam?

Thu, 08 Mar 2018 00:00:00 +0000

Why do you dress in a t-shirt and joke around while teaching Islam?

Mufti Abu Layth dresses and acts the same on and off screen so that nobody meets a different person in real life. Putting on a pious appearance for the camera would be a double standard and would create cognitive dissonance in viewers.

Answer from 8 March 2018 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Why I look & dress the way I do? - Mufti Abu Layth al-Maliki (at 0:00)

A more recent answer on dialogue/the-mufti-and-the-channel exists (18 May 2021): Response to accusations over Palestine remarks and claims he is not Muslim

Watch on YouTube at 0:00 · Open the segment

Does a mufti have to be appointed by the government?

Thu, 15 Feb 2018 00:00:00 +0000

Does a mufti have to be appointed by the government?

No. Being a mufti can be a salaried professional role, as in fatwa institutions, or a voluntary, freelance one. Mufti Abu Layth says a mufti does not have to be appointed by the state and can hold a voluntary or a professional role.

Answer from 15 February 2018 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: The Maulana/Madrassa crisis & Why my views appear to be different? - Mufti Abu Layth al-Maliki (at 17:50)

A more recent answer on fiqh/legal-theory exists (18 October 2025): If reason helps us understand the Quran, does the reasoning of earlier scholars matter too?

Watch on YouTube at 17:50 · Open the segment

Is it worth studying at a madrasa?

Thu, 15 Feb 2018 00:00:00 +0000

Is it worth studying at a madrasa?

The madrasa is an excellent place if you bring critical thinking to it, and dogmatising if you do not; studying with several denominations, as he did, helps you see the good and the bad in each. Mufti Abu Layth says the madrasa is an awesome place if one can bring critical thought, evaluation and application to it, and that otherwise it will further dogmatise one.

Answer from 15 February 2018 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: The Maulana/Madrassa crisis & Why my views appear to be different? - Mufti Abu Layth al-Maliki (at 15:16)

A more recent answer on society/education-and-madrasas/how-to-study-islam exists (10 March 2023): Is studying religious knowledge better than voluntary prayer?

Watch on YouTube at 15:16 · Open the segment

Why do so many maulanas think the way they do?

Thu, 15 Feb 2018 00:00:00 +0000

Why do so many maulanas think the way they do?

Many maulanas grow up mocked, alienated and insecure, are trained in material irrelevant to the real world, and are then made leaders young, and that past shapes their decisions. He says he is shedding light, not disparaging them. Mufti Abu Layth says one would be naive to think that the past of young maulanas, who hardly interact with women, does not influence their decisions when women come to them with questions.

Answer from 15 February 2018 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: The Maulana/Madrassa crisis & Why my views appear to be different? - Mufti Abu Layth al-Maliki (at 5:38)

A more recent answer on history/subcontinent exists (19 August 2022): What was Salman Rushdie's family background?

Watch on YouTube at 5:38 · Open the segment

Why don't most scholars say what Mufti Abu Layth says?

Thu, 15 Feb 2018 00:00:00 +0000

Why don't most scholars say what Mufti Abu Layth says?

Scholars who are articulate leaders able to meet the challenges of the time usually become so in spite of the madrasa system, which does not teach these skills or, in some places, critical thinking. Mufti Abu Layth says that scholars who turn out articulate, charismatic and able to meet the challenges of the time usually do so in spite of having gone through the madrasa system, not because of it.

Answer from 15 February 2018 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: The Maulana/Madrassa crisis & Why my views appear to be different? - Mufti Abu Layth al-Maliki (at 0:00)

A more recent answer on history/subcontinent exists (19 August 2022): What was Salman Rushdie's family background?

Watch on YouTube at 0:38 · Open the segment

Is cyberbullying and attacking someone's honour haram in Islam?

Fri, 29 Sep 2017 00:00:00 +0000

Is cyberbullying and attacking someone's honour haram in Islam?

Harming the honour of a Muslim is graver than destroying the Kaaba, Mufti Abu Layth says citing a hadith, and bullying, cyberbullying and maligning people are haram. A crime goes to the authorities; a haram act is for God alone to judge. Mufti Abu Layth holds that harming the honour of a Muslim is graver than destroying the Kaaba, as the hadith he cites says, and that bullying, cyberbullying and maligning people's character are haram.

Answer from 29 September 2017 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Propaganda against Ustadh Nouman Ali Khan - Mufti Abu Layth (at 40:31)

A more recent answer on wellbeing/character-and-virtue exists (29 September 2024): Spread love, and take account of the damage our words have done

Watch on YouTube at 40:31 · Open the segment

Do Muslims online have the right to demand evidence about a scholar's private life?

Fri, 29 Sep 2017 00:00:00 +0000

Do Muslims online have the right to demand evidence about a scholar's private life?

The public is not a court and has no jurisdiction to demand or weigh evidence about someone's private life, which everyone has a right to. Mufti Abu Layth says those attacking Nouman Ali Khan cannot fill his place when the next generation needs answers about the Quran. Mufti Abu Layth holds that the public is not a court and has no jurisdiction to demand or weigh evidence about a person's private life, and that everyone has a right to a personal life.

Answer from 29 September 2017 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Propaganda against Ustadh Nouman Ali Khan - Mufti Abu Layth (at 36:37)

A more recent answer on dialogue/the-mufti-and-the-channel exists (18 May 2021): Response to accusations over Palestine remarks and claims he is not Muslim

Watch on YouTube at 36:37 · Open the segment

Why does it matter that the word 'abuse' was used about Nouman Ali Khan?

Fri, 29 Sep 2017 00:00:00 +0000

Why does it matter that the word 'abuse' was used about Nouman Ali Khan?

Calling flirtatious messages abuse misuses a word people understand to mean molestation or rape, in Mufti Abu Layth's view, and it was used to destroy a man who made the Quran relevant in English. He calls the campaign coordinated, driven by ulterior motives, and an act of Judas.

Answer from 29 September 2017 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Propaganda against Ustadh Nouman Ali Khan - Mufti Abu Layth (at 32:43)

A more recent answer on dialogue/views-on-contemporary-scholars exists (22 February 2023): Should scholars publicly condemn a scholar said to have joined in a libation ritual?

Watch on YouTube at 32:43 · Open the segment

Did great scholars like Ibn Hajar have private lives that would be condemned today?

Fri, 29 Sep 2017 00:00:00 +0000

Did great scholars like Ibn Hajar have private lives that would be condemned today?

Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani married a woman who had been his wife's slave girl without anyone warning the ummah against him, Mufti Abu Layth says, so such private conduct cannot be called abuse. Words like abuse imply real abuse and are dangerous. Mufti Abu Layth holds that conduct such as Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani's marriage to his wife's former slave girl was never treated as abuse of power or as grounds to warn the ummah against him, and that the word abuse should be kept for real abuse, not the breaking of corporate rules.

Answer from 29 September 2017 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Propaganda against Ustadh Nouman Ali Khan - Mufti Abu Layth (at 30:07)

A more recent answer on history/scholars-and-imams exists (10 December 2022): How did Abu Hanifa become a scholar after starting out as a merchant?

Watch on YouTube at 30:07 · Open the segment