Mufti Abu Layth Archive: Hadith Studies

Is there a sahih hadith on where to put my hands in salah?

2021-10-06T00:00:00Z

Is there a sahih hadith on where to put my hands in salah?

There is no sahih hadith fixing where the hands go in salah; sadl, praying with the hands at the sides, is a sunnah of the school of Madinah without a hadith. Not every hadith is sunnah and not every sunnah was recorded in a hadith. Mufti Abu Layth says there is not a single sahih hadith establishing where the hands are placed in prayer, that sadl is a sunnah of the school of Madinah without a hadith, and that people should not be guilt-tripped over how they hold their hands.

Answer from 6 October 2021 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Sunnah vs Hadith (Case Study: Hands in Salah) | 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

What is the difference between the Ash'ari and Athari (Hanbali) creeds?

2019-11-05T00:00:00Z

What is the difference between the Ash'ari and Athari (Hanbali) creeds?

The core difference is that the Athari (Hanbali) creed attributes body parts to God and the Ash'ari creed does not. Mufti Abu Layth would broadly align himself with the Ash'aris, with reservations, and ranks the philosophers above all the theologians. Mufti Abu Layth dismisses the Athari (Hanbali) creed, which he says attributes body parts to God, says he would broadly align himself with the Ash'ari school while disagreeing with it on certain points, and ranks the philosophers above all the theologians.

Answer from 5 November 2019 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: The differences between the Ashari & Athari School | Mufti Abu Layth (at 0:00)

A more recent answer on belief/god-and-attributes exists (4 March 2024): How much does Allah love me?

Watch on YouTube at 0:00 · Open the segment

Did the Prophet really split the moon in half?

2019-10-18T00:00:00Z

Did the Prophet really split the moon in half?

No: Mufti Abu Layth says the moon was not split; the companions described what they perceived, most likely a lunar eclipse, and Quran 54:1 is about the end of the world. Mufti Abu Layth says the moon was not split and that the verse of the Quran on the moon splitting has nothing to do with that alleged event.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Hadith on The Moon Splitting | Mufti Abu Layth (at 0:02)

A more recent answer on belief/prophethood-and-miracles exists (18 October 2025): Can the Quran be used to call the Prophet the best of creation?

Watch on YouTube at 0:40 · Open the segment

Why the Quran could not be corrupted like hadith, and the fashion for chains

2019-09-28T00:00:00Z

Why the Quran could not be corrupted like hadith, and the fashion for chains

Corrupting the Quran was next to impossible because it was recited en masse everywhere; hadith, written down a century later, were easy to fabricate, and chains for the Quran came later as a fashion. Mufti Abu Layth says the Quran was never transmitted through a sole transmitter but taught en masse, so problematising hadith does not problematise the Quran.

Answer from 28 September 2019 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Does criticising Hadith transmission mean criticising the Quran tranmssion? | Mufti Abu Layth (at 12:47)

A more recent answer on hadith/mutawatir-and-epistemology exists (18 October 2025): Is the Quran-only position an argument from epistemology or from principle?

Watch on YouTube at 12:47 · Open the segment

Why people fabricated hadith: good intentions, false memories, money and politics

2019-09-28T00:00:00Z

Why people fabricated hadith: good intentions, false memories, money and politics

Hadith were fabricated for many reasons: pious intentions, false memories, malice, commercial interests, and political and sectarian aims on all sides. Mufti Abu Layth says some people fabricated teachings with good intentions, saying they lied for the Prophet rather than against him.

Answer from 28 September 2019 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Does criticising Hadith transmission mean criticising the Quran tranmssion? | Mufti Abu Layth (at 7:38)

A more recent answer on hadith/false-and-fabricated exists (18 October 2025): Why does Mufti Abu Layth see the Quran-only movement as a reaction of anger?

Watch on YouTube at 7:38 · Open the segment

If some hadith are unreliable, doesn't that make the Quran unreliable too?

2019-09-28T00:00:00Z

If some hadith are unreliable, doesn't that make the Quran unreliable too?

No: the Quran was passed on en masse as a recited living tradition, so doubts about particular hadith chains do not carry over to it. Mufti Abu Layth says those who argue that weakening hadith weakens the Quran have not truly understood how the Quran was transmitted.

Answer from 28 September 2019 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Does criticising Hadith transmission mean criticising the Quran tranmssion? | Mufti Abu Layth (at 0:01)

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 1:58 · Open the segment

Would Mufti Abu Layth debate Shaykh al-Yaqoubi on Sahih al-Bukhari?

2019-08-21T00:00:00Z

Would Mufti Abu Layth debate Shaykh al-Yaqoubi on Sahih al-Bukhari?

Yes: he invites al-Yaqoubi to a civil, respectful discussion because he rejects the claim that Sahih al-Bukhari is impossible to doubt. He expects it will never happen.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: A Reply to Shaykh Muhammad Al-Yaqoubi on Sahih Al-Bukhari| Mufti Abu layth (at 24:49)

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 24:49 · Open the segment

Is al-Yaqoubi's edition of Sahih al-Bukhari really the most authentic copy on earth?

2019-08-21T00:00:00Z

Is al-Yaqoubi's edition of Sahih al-Bukhari really the most authentic copy on earth?

No special claim can rest on being based on the Sultaniyya, Mufti Abu Layth says, since every copy of Bukhari is. He sees the advertising as business, which he does not mind in itself, but calls the tactics problematic.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: A Reply to Shaykh Muhammad Al-Yaqoubi on Sahih Al-Bukhari| Mufti Abu layth (at 20:54)

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 20:54 · Open the segment

Why did medieval scholars like al-Nawawi write that boys are prettier than women?

2019-08-21T00:00:00Z

Why did medieval scholars like al-Nawawi write that boys are prettier than women?

Mufti Abu Layth says al-Nawawi voiced a sentiment of his age, shared by many medieval Muslims and by the Greeks, in which attraction to adolescent boys was assumed; reporting this is not mockery. A Saudi critic's reply that many women are ugly, he says, proves the point. Mufti Abu Layth holds that Imam al-Nawawi was articulating the sentiment of his age, in which, as among the ancient Greeks, attraction to adolescent boys was taken as a given, and that reporting this from his book is not mockery.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: A Reply to Shaykh Muhammad Al-Yaqoubi on Sahih Al-Bukhari| Mufti Abu layth (at 16:59)

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 16:59 · Open the segment

Did Mufti Abu Layth mock Imam al-Nawawi?

2019-08-21T00:00:00Z

Did Mufti Abu Layth mock Imam al-Nawawi?

Mufti Abu Layth says he did not mock al-Nawawi but read his own words, which assume as a given that young boys are prettier than many women and that anyone would be tempted by them. Al-Yaqoubi, he says, should have watched the whole video before judging.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: A Reply to Shaykh Muhammad Al-Yaqoubi on Sahih Al-Bukhari| Mufti Abu layth (at 13:09)

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 13:09 · Open the segment

Does Mufti Abu Layth regard Sufi tariqahs led by pirs as cults?

2019-08-21T00:00:00Z

Does Mufti Abu Layth regard Sufi tariqahs led by pirs as cults?

Mufti Abu Layth says all such tariqahs are in essence cults, though al-Yaqoubi's is a better and less harmful one than the usual exploitative pir. The SKT charity boycott, he says, shows how much power such shaykhs now wield.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: A Reply to Shaykh Muhammad Al-Yaqoubi on Sahih Al-Bukhari| Mufti Abu layth (at 10:33)

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 10:33 · Open the segment

How did Shaykh al-Yaqoubi become so influential in the UK?

2019-08-21T00:00:00Z

How did Shaykh al-Yaqoubi become so influential in the UK?

After his earlier UK hosts parted with him, al-Yaqoubi found a devoted following in the Barelvi community of the Midlands and the north, learnt to avoid praising Deobandi scholars, and rose to prominence, wealth and power on its back.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: A Reply to Shaykh Muhammad Al-Yaqoubi on Sahih Al-Bukhari| Mufti Abu layth (at 6:36)

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 6:36 · Open the segment

What does Mufti Abu Layth think of Shaykh Muhammad al-Yaqoubi?

2019-08-21T00:00:00Z

What does Mufti Abu Layth think of Shaykh Muhammad al-Yaqoubi?

Mufti Abu Layth likes al-Yaqoubi as one of the more level-headed and knowledgeable pirs, from a family of scholars, though he has only seen his generic talks. He recalls meeting him in Damascus two decades ago as an ordinary, respected academic with no entourage.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: A Reply to Shaykh Muhammad Al-Yaqoubi on Sahih Al-Bukhari| Mufti Abu layth (at 2:35)

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 2:35 · Open the segment

Opening: al-Yaqoubi's heated public remarks about Mufti Abu Layth, and the title 'His Eminence'

2019-08-21T00:00:00Z

Opening: al-Yaqoubi's heated public remarks about Mufti Abu Layth, and the title 'His Eminence'

Al-Yaqoubi criticised Mufti Abu Layth in a public gathering for mocking al-Nawawi, for his remarks on homosexuality and for calling himself a mufti; Mufti says he was surprised and partly flattered, and teases the title 'His Eminence'.

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

Recording: A Reply to Shaykh Muhammad Al-Yaqoubi on Sahih Al-Bukhari| 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

If I drank alcohol, are my prayers and fasts rejected for 40 days?

2019-05-24T00:00:00Z

If I drank alcohol, are my prayers and fasts rejected for 40 days?

No: the fast and prayer are valid. He calls the forty-days hadith an isolated, weak report that clashes with the Quran and reason, though alcohol stays haram. Mufti Abu Layth says the salah and fast of someone who has drunk alcohol or taken drugs remain valid.

Answer from 24 May 2019 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Hadith Analysis: Does drinking alcohol or doing drugs invalidate your prayer or fast for 40 days? (at 0:00)

A more recent answer on hadith/false-and-fabricated/about-the-prophet exists (19 August 2022): Recap: the novel, insult versus critique, and the false story summarised

Watch on YouTube at 0:38 · Open the segment

Why does hadith dogmatism fail, according to the war-wager paradox?

2018-09-20T00:00:00Z

Why does hadith dogmatism fail, according to the war-wager paradox?

Using the crocodile paradox, he argues that a sound system cannot produce an unsound result, so hadith dogmatism fails and Imam Malik's method should be followed instead. Mufti Abu Layth says hadith dogmatism, which lets reports override the Quran, does not work and that Muslims should return to the method taught by Imam Malik.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: The War-Wager Hadith Paradox (Debunking Dogmatism) -Mufti Abu Layth (at 15:43)

A more recent answer on hadith/mutawatir-and-epistemology exists (18 October 2025): Is the Quran-only position an argument from epistemology or from principle?

Watch on YouTube at 15:43 · Open the segment

If a mutawatir hadith has to be reinterpreted, what does that say about hadith transmission?

2018-09-20T00:00:00Z

If a mutawatir hadith has to be reinterpreted, what does that say about hadith transmission?

Mufti Abu Layth says that because its defenders must reinterpret a report they call mutawatir, the transmission system itself is shown to be fallible rather than airtight. Mufti Abu Layth says that when a report claimed to be mutawatir produces a meaning its own defenders must reinterpret as incomplete, this shows that the hadith transmission system is not airtight and cannot be treated as conclusive.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: The War-Wager Hadith Paradox (Debunking Dogmatism) -Mufti Abu Layth (at 7:54)

A more recent answer on hadith/mutawatir-and-epistemology exists (18 October 2025): Is the Quran-only position an argument from epistemology or from principle?

Watch on YouTube at 7:54 · Open the segment

What is the war-wager hadith paradox?

2018-09-20T00:00:00Z

What is the war-wager hadith paradox?

Mufti Abu Layth presents the report that the Prophet was commanded to fight people until they believe, which hadith dogmatists call mutawatir, and notes that the same scholars agree no one may be fought merely for disbelief or compelled into Islam. Mufti Abu Layth says hadith dogmatists, loyal above all to the chain of transmission, have departed from the teaching of Imam Malik and Abu Hanifa not to abandon reason, and he holds that there is no compulsion at all in matters of religion.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: The War-Wager Hadith Paradox (Debunking Dogmatism) -Mufti Abu Layth (at 0:00)

A more recent answer on hadith/mutawatir-and-epistemology exists (18 October 2025): Is the Quran-only position an argument from epistemology or from principle?

Watch on YouTube at 0:00 · Open the segment

Why does Mufti Abu Layth say BukhariGate matters?

2018-09-01T00:00:00Z

Why does Mufti Abu Layth say BukhariGate matters?

BukhariGate matters because the whole of Sahih al-Bukhari rests on one transmitter, al-Farabri, and because the reports in it repay the Prophet and his companions with disrespect. Mufti Abu Layth attributes their circulation to Wahhabis and their sympathisers, whom he condemns in strong terms. Mufti Abu Layth holds that BukhariGate matters because the whole of Sahih al-Bukhari rests on al-Farabri alone and because its reports repay the Prophet, Umar and Aisha with disrespect, and he attributes the circulation of these reports to Wahhabis and their sympathisers, whom he calls haters of the Prophet.

Answer from 1 September 2018 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: BukhariGate Part 2: Sahih Bukhari is NOT so Sahih -Mufti Abu Layth (at 30:03)

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 30:03 · Open the segment

Does Sahih al-Bukhari say the Prophet pointed to Aisha's house as the source of fitna?

2018-09-01T00:00:00Z

Does Sahih al-Bukhari say the Prophet pointed to Aisha's house as the source of fitna?

The Bukhari report in which the Prophet points to Aisha's house and says the fitna and the horn of Shaytan will rise there is, Mufti Abu Layth says, disrespectful to the Prophet and to Aisha, and Muslims should question what they pass off as authentic. Mufti Abu Layth says the Bukhari report in which the Prophet points to Aisha's house as the place where the fitna and the horn of Shaytan will rise is disrespectful to the Prophet and to Aisha, and that Muslims need to question what they present as authentic.

Answer from 1 September 2018 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: BukhariGate Part 2: Sahih Bukhari is NOT so Sahih -Mufti Abu Layth (at 28:43)

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 28:43 · Open the segment

What does the Bukhari report that Shaytan touches every newborn except Mary and Jesus mean?

2018-09-01T00:00:00Z

What does the Bukhari report that Shaytan touches every newborn except Mary and Jesus mean?

The Bukhari report that Shaytan touches every newborn except Mary and Jesus makes even the Prophet Muhammad subject to the devil's touch while exempting the two figures of Christian doctrine, which Mufti Abu Layth presents as a Christian idea in the collection.

Answer from 1 September 2018 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: BukhariGate Part 2: Sahih Bukhari is NOT so Sahih -Mufti Abu Layth (at 26:05)

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 26:05 · Open the segment

What does Mufti Abu Layth say about the Bukhari report of the wolf and the cow that spoke?

2018-09-01T00:00:00Z

What does Mufti Abu Layth say about the Bukhari report of the wolf and the cow that spoke?

The Bukhari report in which a wolf and a cow speak eloquent Arabic about purpose and the future is absurd, Mufti Abu Layth says, and the phrase radi Allahu anhuma placed in the Prophet's mouth is an anachronism from a later age. Mufti Abu Layth says the Bukhari report of the talking wolf and cow is absurd, since animals do not grasp concepts such as purpose and future events, that its chain is poor, and that the phrase radi Allahu anhuma attributed to the Prophet is an anachronism from a later age.

Answer from 1 September 2018 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: BukhariGate Part 2: Sahih Bukhari is NOT so Sahih -Mufti Abu Layth (at 22:10)

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 22:10 · Open the segment

Why does Mufti Abu Layth reject the Bukhari report of Sulayman and the hundred women?

2018-09-01T00:00:00Z

Why does Mufti Abu Layth reject the Bukhari report of Sulayman and the hundred women?

The report of Sulayman going to a hundred women in one night is absurd and disrespects a prophet, and its moral that God punished him with a disabled child paints a troubling picture of God. A report that clashes with reason, the Quran or Islamic principles goes out of the window. Mufti Abu Layth says the Bukhari report of Sulayman and the hundred women is absurd, puts a prophet in a bad light and portrays God as punishing a prophet with a disabled child, and that any report which clashes with reason, the Quran and the general understanding of Islam, or uproots an Islamic principle, is to be rejected.

Answer from 1 September 2018 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: BukhariGate Part 2: Sahih Bukhari is NOT so Sahih -Mufti Abu Layth (at 18:15)

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 18:15 · Open the segment

What is the Bukhari deathbed report in which the companions ask whether the Prophet is delirious?

2018-09-01T00:00:00Z

What is the Bukhari deathbed report in which the companions ask whether the Prophet is delirious?

The Bukhari deathbed report in which the companions dispute and ask whether the Prophet is speaking deliriously portrays the companions badly and is not true, Mufti Abu Layth says, and Sunnis hand the Shia a weapon by accepting it. Mufti Abu Layth says the Bukhari deathbed report in which the companions dispute before the Prophet and ask whether he is speaking deliriously portrays the companions badly and is not true, and that Sunnis allow the Shia to use it against the companions by accepting it.

Answer from 1 September 2018 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: BukhariGate Part 2: Sahih Bukhari is NOT so Sahih -Mufti Abu Layth (at 15:38)

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 15:38 · Open the segment

What is the Bukhari report about the Prophet seeing a woman beside Umar's palace in paradise?

2018-09-01T00:00:00Z

What is the Bukhari report about the Prophet seeing a woman beside Umar's palace in paradise?

The Bukhari report in which the Prophet sees a woman beside Umar's palace in paradise and turns away because of Umar's jealousy casts the Prophet in a poor light, Mufti Abu Layth says. Mufti Abu Layth says the Bukhari report in which the Prophet turns away from a woman beside Umar's palace in paradise because of Umar's jealousy casts the Prophet in a poor light.

Answer from 1 September 2018 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: BukhariGate Part 2: Sahih Bukhari is NOT so Sahih -Mufti Abu Layth (at 13:02)

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 13:02 · Open the segment

What does Mufti Abu Layth say about the Bukhari report of the Prophet falling unconscious when he uncovered himself?

2018-09-01T00:00:00Z

What does Mufti Abu Layth say about the Bukhari report of the Prophet falling unconscious when he uncovered himself?

The Bukhari report that the Prophet removed his izar while carrying stones for the Kaaba, fell unconscious and was never seen naked again is, in Mufti Abu Layth's words, nonsense that disrespects the Prophet, and he dismisses the scholars' attempts to soften it. Mufti Abu Layth says the Bukhari report that the Prophet fell unconscious after removing his izar to carry stones for the Kaaba and was never seen naked again is nonsense that disrespects the Prophet, and that the scholars' efforts to soften it contradict its own wording.

Answer from 1 September 2018 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: BukhariGate Part 2: Sahih Bukhari is NOT so Sahih -Mufti Abu Layth (at 10:23)

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 10:23 · Open the segment

Does Sahih al-Bukhari say the Prophet forgot verses of the Quran and that there was a verse of stoning?

2018-09-01T00:00:00Z

Does Sahih al-Bukhari say the Prophet forgot verses of the Quran and that there was a verse of stoning?

Two Bukhari reports have the Prophet forgetting a verse of the Quran and Umar speaking of a verse of stoning that they used to recite. Mufti Abu Layth says there is no such verse, that this disrespects Umar and the Prophet, and that it implies the Quran has changed. Mufti Abu Layth says the Bukhari report in which Umar speaks of a verse of stoning that was revealed and recited is disrespectful to Umar and to the Quran, since there is no verse of stoning in the Quran and the report amounts to saying the Quran has changed, and he highlights another Bukhari report in which the Prophet forgets a verse.

Answer from 1 September 2018 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: BukhariGate Part 2: Sahih Bukhari is NOT so Sahih -Mufti Abu Layth (at 5:10)

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 5:10 · Open the segment

What is BukhariGate and why does Mufti Abu Layth say Sahih al-Bukhari is not reliable?

2018-09-01T00:00:00Z

What is BukhariGate and why does Mufti Abu Layth say Sahih al-Bukhari is not reliable?

Sahih al-Bukhari cannot reliably be traced to its author because it reaches us through one transmitter, al-Farabri, whom nobody vouched for in his lifetime, and because transmission and memory reconstruct what they pass on. Mufti Abu Layth accepts hadith by the scholars' own standards, that a report not contradict reason, the Quran or an Islamic principle, while relying on the living tradition that Imam Malik called the Sunnah. Mufti Abu Layth holds that Sahih al-Bukhari cannot reliably be traced to al-Bukhari because it reaches us through al-Farabri alone, whom nobody vouched for in his lifetime, that the deen is conveyed by the living tradition which Imam Malik distinguished from hadith, and that he accepts hadith only by the muhaddithin's own standards: a report must not contradict reason, the Quran and transmitted sources, or an Islamic principle.

Answer from 1 September 2018 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: BukhariGate Part 2: Sahih Bukhari is NOT so Sahih -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

Sign-off and where to follow the page

2018-08-30T00:00:00Z

Sign-off and where to follow the page

Mufti Abu Layth signs off, invites viewers to like the page and subscribe to the YouTube channel, and says goodbye until the following week.

Answer from 30 August 2018 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Recording: BukhariGate Part 1: Sahih Bukhari is NOT so Sahih -Mufti Abu Layth (at 1:48:34)

Watch on YouTube at 1:48:34 · Open the segment

Replies to critics: Jonathan Brown, academic dialogue, going public, the Aisha debate

2018-08-30T00:00:00Z

Replies to critics: Jonathan Brown, academic dialogue, going public, the Aisha debate

The problems with Bukhari should be discussed openly, because hiding them is what makes people lose faith. He finds Jonathan Brown's response emotional rather than academic and will take up the debate on Aisha's age. Mufti Abu Layth says the problems with Sahih al-Bukhari should be discussed openly rather than hidden from ordinary Muslims, because concealing them is what causes people to lose their faith.

Answer from 30 August 2018 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: BukhariGate Part 1: Sahih Bukhari is NOT so Sahih -Mufti Abu Layth (at 1:40:37)

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 1:40:37 · Open the segment

Summing up: judge Bukhari like any other book; the deen comes through living practice

2018-08-30T00:00:00Z

Summing up: judge Bukhari like any other book; the deen comes through living practice

Bukhari should be read like any other hadith book, each report judged on its merits against reason, the Quran and established principles. The religion itself reaches Muslims through the living tradition of practice, not through this book. Mufti Abu Layth says Sahih al-Bukhari should be treated like any other hadith collection, with each report judged on its own merits by whether it contradicts reason, the Quran or an established principle, because the religion already reaches Muslims through the living tradition of practice.

Answer from 30 August 2018 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: BukhariGate Part 1: Sahih Bukhari is NOT so Sahih -Mufti Abu Layth (at 1:32:44)

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 1:32:44 · Open the segment

Farabri's incomplete copy, the differing student copies and the manuscript patchwork

2018-08-30T00:00:00Z

Farabri's incomplete copy, the differing student copies and the manuscript patchwork

Farabri's copy was incomplete and rearranged, his students' copies differ in chains and hadith, and every later manuscript down to the Sultaniyya edition was a patchwork that needed correction. Mufti Abu Layth says Farabri's own copy was incomplete and rearranged by his students, their copies differ in chains and hadith, and every later manuscript down to the Sultaniyya edition is a patchwork that still needed correction.

Answer from 30 August 2018 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: BukhariGate Part 1: Sahih Bukhari is NOT so Sahih -Mufti Abu Layth (at 1:26:03)

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 1:26:03 · Open the segment

Who vouched for Farabri? Baji, Sam'ani and whether transmission implies reliability

2018-08-30T00:00:00Z

Who vouched for Farabri? Baji, Sam'ani and whether transmission implies reliability

Nobody who knew Farabri declared him reliable, and the attributions to al-Baji and al-Sam'ani cannot be found in their works. That scholars transmitted from him proves nothing, since transmission is not endorsement. Mufti Abu Layth says no contemporary who knew Farabri ever declared him reliable, that the later attributions to al-Baji and al-Sam'ani are unsupported in their own works, and that a scholar transmitting from someone does not make that person reliable.

Answer from 30 August 2018 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: BukhariGate Part 1: Sahih Bukhari is NOT so Sahih -Mufti Abu Layth (at 1:16:51)

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 1:16:51 · Open the segment

Ibn Hajar and Ibn Rushayd on the transmissions: Farabri alone, found copies not taught

2018-08-30T00:00:00Z

Ibn Hajar and Ibn Rushayd on the transmissions: Farabri alone, found copies not taught

Ibn Hajar and Ibn Rushayd both record that Farabri's is the only transmission that reached later generations through teaching. Copies found centuries later cannot be taught from, so claims of independent connected transmissions are not honest. Mufti Abu Layth says the only transmission of Sahih al-Bukhari that reached later generations through teaching is Farabri's, and that copies found without teaching cannot be used to claim an independent connected transmission.

Answer from 30 August 2018 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: BukhariGate Part 1: Sahih Bukhari is NOT so Sahih -Mufti Abu Layth (at 1:10:18)

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 1:10:18 · Open the segment

Bukhari in his own chain, and the other students whose copies did not reach us

2018-08-30T00:00:00Z

Bukhari in his own chain, and the other students whose copies did not reach us

Sahih al-Bukhari reaches us through Farabri alone, although other students transmitted it. Nasafi's copy survives only in a summary of twelve hundred hadith, little of Hammad ibn Shakir's remains, Bazdawi's did not reach us, and Bukhari even appears in a chain in his own book. Mufti Abu Layth says that although Bukhari had other students who transmitted the Sahih, their versions were incomplete or did not reach later generations, so the book in fact reaches us through Farabri alone.

Answer from 30 August 2018 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: BukhariGate Part 1: Sahih Bukhari is NOT so Sahih -Mufti Abu Layth (at 1:02:26)

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 1:02:26 · Open the segment

Bukhari's persecution and why his book reaches us through one transmitter

2018-08-30T00:00:00Z

Bukhari's persecution and why his book reaches us through one transmitter

Bukhari was persecuted and boycotted in his last years by Hanafis and Hanbali literalists, so few transmitted his book and it reaches us through Farabri alone. The same two groups now insist it reaches us with certainty. Mufti Abu Layth says Bukhari's persecution by the Hanafis and the Hanbali literalists in his last years is why his book reaches us through a single transmitter, and that the same two groups now insist it reaches us with certainty.

Answer from 30 August 2018 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: BukhariGate Part 1: Sahih Bukhari is NOT so Sahih -Mufti Abu Layth (at 58:29)

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 58:29 · Open the segment

Imam Bukhari's own practice: transmission by meaning, hidden names, a Khariji narrator

2018-08-30T00:00:00Z

Imam Bukhari's own practice: transmission by meaning, hidden names, a Khariji narrator

Imam Bukhari set a gold standard but did not always apply it: he transmitted by meaning, hid the names of problematic teachers and narrated from a Khariji who praised Ali's killer. Mufti Abu Layth's quarrel is not with Bukhari himself but with how the book is treated. Mufti Abu Layth says Imam Bukhari set a gold standard for authenticity but did not always apply it himself, since he transmitted by meaning, concealed the names of problematic teachers and narrated from a Khariji, so the narrators of his book are not all beyond question.

Answer from 30 August 2018 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: BukhariGate Part 1: Sahih Bukhari is NOT so Sahih -Mufti Abu Layth (at 47:51)

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?

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More troubling reports: Umar's stoning verse, the adulterous monkeys, women in hellfire

2018-08-30T00:00:00Z

More troubling reports: Umar's stoning verse, the adulterous monkeys, women in hellfire

Reports such as monkeys stoning an adulterous monkey, women lacking intellect and women filling hellfire are fabricated or misunderstood. Adultery is a human institution that animals cannot commit, and most crime and bloodshed is committed by men. Mufti Abu Layth says the Bukhari report of monkeys stoning an adulterer makes no sense, since adultery belongs to the human institution of marriage, which does not exist among animals.

Answer from 30 August 2018 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: BukhariGate Part 1: Sahih Bukhari is NOT so Sahih -Mufti Abu Layth (at 43:54)

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 43:54 · Open the segment

The marriage to Aisha at six: consent, and the command to pray at seven

2018-08-30T00:00:00Z

The marriage to Aisha at six: consent, and the command to pray at seven

The report that the Prophet married Aisha at six dishonours him: Bukhari itself requires a virgin's consent, which a six-year-old cannot give, and the command to separate children's beds at ten contradicts the claim that a nine-year-old had a woman's body. Mufti Abu Layth says the report that the Prophet married Aisha at six and consummated at nine is an attack on the Prophet's honour, because a six-year-old cannot give the consent that Bukhari itself requires of a virgin, and the claim of physical maturity at nine contradicts the command to separate children's beds only at ten.

Answer from 30 August 2018 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: BukhariGate Part 1: Sahih Bukhari is NOT so Sahih -Mufti Abu Layth (at 36:02)

A more recent answer on history/sirah/age-of-aisha exists (18 October 2025): Why does Mufti Abu Layth see the Quran-only movement as a reaction of anger?

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Nonsensical Arabic in hadith 5492: the alcohol slaughtered by fish and sun

2018-08-30T00:00:00Z

Nonsensical Arabic in hadith 5492: the alcohol slaughtered by fish and sun

The closing words of hadith 5492 are nonsensical Arabic that early scholars crossed out as an error. Later commentators should admit this rather than strain to make sense of it. Mufti Abu Layth says the closing words of hadith 5492 are a syntactical error that the early scholars rightly crossed out, and that later commentators should admit the sentence is absurd instead of justifying it.

Answer from 30 August 2018 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: BukhariGate Part 1: Sahih Bukhari is NOT so Sahih -Mufti Abu Layth (at 32:03)

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 32:03 · Open the segment

Solomon's ninety women, the rich held back from paradise, Fatima angry with Abu Bakr

2018-08-30T00:00:00Z

Solomon's ninety women, the rich held back from paradise, Fatima angry with Abu Bakr

The reports of Solomon's ninety women, the rich held back from paradise and Fatima dying angry with Abu Bakr are all in Bukhari, and he calls the first disgusting and disrespectful to a prophet. Mufti Abu Layth says the Bukhari report of Solomon vowing to sleep with ninety women and being punished with a disabled child for not saying 'if Allah wills' is disgusting and disrespectful to a prophet of God.

Answer from 30 August 2018 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: BukhariGate Part 1: Sahih Bukhari is NOT so Sahih -Mufti Abu Layth (at 28:02)

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 28:02 · Open the segment

Problematic reports in Bukhari: the Isra, Moses and the rock, magic on the Prophet

2018-08-30T00:00:00Z

Problematic reports in Bukhari: the Isra, Moses and the rock, magic on the Prophet

Several reports in Bukhari are factually wrong or disrespectful: the Isra dated before prophethood, a woman spurning the Prophet, Moses chasing a rock, a verse corrected on the spot, and magic making the Prophet forget intercourse. He also holds the night journey to have been a vision. Mufti Abu Layth says these Bukhari reports contain a factual error, dating the night journey before prophethood, and portray the Prophet and Moses in a disrespectful and irrational light; he adds that he holds the night journey to have been a vision.

Answer from 30 August 2018 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: BukhariGate Part 1: Sahih Bukhari is NOT so Sahih -Mufti Abu Layth (at 18:23)

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 18:23 · Open the segment

The third problem: can Bukhari be traced to its author? The bullet points

2018-08-30T00:00:00Z

The third problem: can Bukhari be traced to its author? The bullet points

Sahih al-Bukhari cannot be traced to its author beyond reasonable doubt. It rests on one unvouched transmitter, his students admit an incomplete and altered copy, their copies disagree, and later editions needed correction. Mufti Abu Layth says the transmission of Sahih al-Bukhari cannot be established back to its author beyond reasonable doubt, because it rests on one unvouched transmitter whose students admit the copy was incomplete and altered, and whose copies disagree with one another.

Answer from 30 August 2018 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: BukhariGate Part 1: Sahih Bukhari is NOT so Sahih -Mufti Abu Layth (at 11:50)

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 11:50 · Open the segment

The first problem: Bukhari's semi-divine status above the Quran in practice

2018-08-30T00:00:00Z

The first problem: Bukhari's semi-divine status above the Quran in practice

Sahih al-Bukhari has been given a semi-divine status that in practice places it on par with or above the Quran, which he rejects outright. The Quran always takes precedence, and Bukhari is a book like the other hadith collections. Mufti Abu Layth says Sahih al-Bukhari has been given a de facto status on par with or above the Quran, which he rejects entirely: it is a book like the other hadith collections and the Quran always takes precedence over it.

Answer from 30 August 2018 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: BukhariGate Part 1: Sahih Bukhari is NOT so Sahih -Mufti Abu Layth (at 6:33)

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 6:33 · Open the segment

Backdrop to BukhariGate: a widespread debate, his training, and transparency

2018-08-30T00:00:00Z

Backdrop to BukhariGate: a widespread debate, his training, and transparency

The criticism of Sahih al-Bukhari is a widespread debate that Mufti Abu Layth joins as a trained scholar who studied the book in full. The religion is not diminished by questioning it, and he refuses requests to keep the discussion private. Mufti Abu Layth says that questioning Sahih al-Bukhari does not diminish the religion and that scholars should discuss its problems transparently rather than ask for the discussion to be kept private.

Answer from 30 August 2018 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: BukhariGate Part 1: Sahih Bukhari is NOT so Sahih -Mufti Abu Layth (at 0:01)

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 0:01 · Open the segment