Mufti Abu Layth Archive: Quick Fiqh!

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

Is DMT haram?

Tue, 14 Jan 2020 00:00:00 +0000

Is DMT haram?

Mufti Abu Layth says DMT is not haram and calls it an entheogen, though it is not for everyone; legality and health are separate questions. He holds the same for psilocybin. Mufti Abu Layth says he does not think DMT is haram.

Answer from 14 January 2020 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Ruling on DMT | Mufti Abu Layth (at 0:00)

A more recent answer on fiqh/intoxicants-and-substances/psychedelics exists (30 August 2021): Is a DMT ego death the same as the Sufi idea of fana?

Watch on YouTube at 0:00 · Open the segment

Can I hug my female friends?

Thu, 10 Oct 2019 00:00:00 +0000

Can I hug my female friends?

No ruling is given: Mufti Abu Layth answers the question with jokes about the questioner being friend-zoned and declines to issue a fatwa. He moves on saying the questioner has bigger issues to worry about.

Answer from 10 October 2019 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

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

Recording: Can I hug friends of a different gender? | Mufti Abu Layth (at 0:00)

A more recent answer on fiqh/gender-interaction exists (13 April 2021): Does a community gathering have to be gender segregated?

Watch on YouTube at 0:00 · Open the segment

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?

Watch on YouTube at 48:15 · Open the segment

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?

Watch on YouTube at 36:43 · Open the segment

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?

Watch on YouTube at 15:47 · Open the segment

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

Is it a sin to pee standing up?

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

Is it a sin to pee standing up?

Mufti Abu Layth says it is not a sin at all; scholars only disliked it because the loose clothing of the past made splashes likely. Mufti Abu Layth says urinating standing up is absolutely fine and there is no sin in it at all.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Is urinating whilst standing allowed? | Mufti Abu Layth (at 0:00)

A more recent answer on fiqh/purification exists (18 October 2025): Why does the guest's prayer have no fixed number of units, and what counts as wudu?

Watch on YouTube at 1:18 · 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

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

Is it haram for a man to wear an earring?

Wed, 24 Jul 2019 00:00:00 +0000

Is it haram for a man to wear an earring?

No: men's earrings are permissible, with the precedent of Hasan, Husayn, Imam Malik and Sufyan ibn Uyayna, and the later scholars who opposed them were likely influenced by outside traditions. Mufti Abu Layth accepts that others may call it haram but says the evidence speaks for itself. Mufti Abu Layth concludes that wearing earrings is permissible for men, with the precedent of Hasan, Husayn, Imam Malik and Sufyan ibn Uyayna, that the later ulama's opposition may reflect the influence of the Christian church or other traditions, and that calling it imitation of women is an arbitrary claim.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Holistic Overview: Can Men Wear Earrings? -Mufti Abu Layth (at 36:38)

A more recent answer on fiqh/dress-and-appearance/jewellery-gold-and-silk exists (10 March 2023): Is it haram for men to wear earrings?

Watch on YouTube at 36:38 · Open the segment

Can reports from Shia sources about Hasan and Husayn be trusted?

Wed, 24 Jul 2019 00:00:00 +0000

Can reports from Shia sources about Hasan and Husayn be trusted?

Mufti Abu Layth accepts the reports as factual, saying the Shia had no reason to invent earrings for their own Imams, and calls it hypocrisy that Sunnis accept Imran ibn Hittan, a Khariji who praised Ali's killer, as a narrator in Sahih al-Bukhari while rejecting anything from Imam Jafar al-Sadiq. Mufti Abu Layth says he believes Hasan and Husayn wore earrings, that dismissing every Shia report as a lie is prejudice, and that accepting the Khariji narrator Imran ibn Hittan, who praised Ali's killer, in Sahih al-Bukhari while rejecting Imam Jafar's reports is a hypocrisy.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Holistic Overview: Can Men Wear Earrings? -Mufti Abu Layth (at 31:22)

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

Watch on YouTube at 31:22 · Open the segment

Is a man wearing an earring imitating women or harmful?

Wed, 24 Jul 2019 00:00:00 +0000

Is a man wearing an earring imitating women or harmful?

No: Qadi Khan of the Hanafis allowed boys' earrings since the jahiliyya practice went uncriticised by the Prophet, the harm argument cannot permit piercing for girls and forbid it for boys, and history shows men wearing earrings. Men wearing kohl shows that what is 'effeminate' is a cultural matter. Mufti Abu Layth holds that the objections to men's earrings fail: if piercing is permitted for girls the harm argument cannot forbid it for boys, the imitation-of-women claim ignores thousands of years of men wearing earrings, and men wearing kohl shows that what counts as effeminate is a cultural matter.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Holistic Overview: Can Men Wear Earrings? -Mufti Abu Layth (at 27:25)

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 27:25 · Open the segment

What did Imam Malik and the Maliki jurists say about boys wearing earrings?

Wed, 24 Jul 2019 00:00:00 +0000

What did Imam Malik and the Maliki jurists say about boys wearing earrings?

Malik preferred that boys not wear gold earrings, which Ibn Rushd explains as a ruling about gold rather than earrings, and Maliki theft rulings by al-Lakhmi and Ibn Abi Zayd treat an earring stolen from a boy as an ordinary case. Mufti Abu Layth concludes that boys wearing earrings was common and not seen as feminine. Mufti Abu Layth says that Malik's reported preference against gold earrings for boys concerned the gold rather than the earring, and that the Maliki theft rulings of al-Lakhmi and Ibn Abi Zayd about earrings stolen from boys show that boys commonly wore them and the early generations did not treat earrings as restricted to women.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Holistic Overview: Can Men Wear Earrings? -Mufti Abu Layth (at 22:12)

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 22:12 · Open the segment

Did Imam Malik wear an earring?

Wed, 24 Jul 2019 00:00:00 +0000

Did Imam Malik wear an earring?

Yes: his teacher's biography of Imam Malik records that Malik, while still a youth studying with Rabi'a, had an earring in his ear, and another Maliki work on the hadith of the Mudawwana says the same. Mufti Abu Layth says that Imam Malik wore an earring as a young man while studying with Rabi'a, as recorded in his teacher Abd al-Ghani al-Daqr's biography of Malik and in another Maliki source.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Holistic Overview: Can Men Wear Earrings? -Mufti Abu Layth (at 19:33)

A more recent answer on history/scholars-and-imams/imam-malik exists (19 April 2023): Did Imam Malik reject the hadith he did not act on?

Watch on YouTube at 19:33 · Open the segment

Did early Sunni hadith scholars such as Sufyan ibn Uyayna wear earrings?

Wed, 24 Jul 2019 00:00:00 +0000

Did early Sunni hadith scholars such as Sufyan ibn Uyayna wear earrings?

Yes: the Musnad of Abu Ya'la records a hadith student wearing two earrings, and al-Dhahabi's Siyar A'lam al-Nubala describes the young Sufyan ibn Uyayna sitting in Amr ibn Dinar's hadith class with an earring in his ear.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Holistic Overview: Can Men Wear Earrings? -Mufti Abu Layth (at 16:58)

A more recent answer on fiqh/dress-and-appearance/jewellery-gold-and-silk exists (10 March 2023): Is it haram for men to wear earrings?

Watch on YouTube at 16:58 · Open the segment

Did Hasan and Husayn wear earrings?

Wed, 24 Jul 2019 00:00:00 +0000

Did Hasan and Husayn wear earrings?

Ibn Abbas lists piercing the ear among seven sunnahs for a newborn boy, and Hasan and Husayn had their ears pierced and wore earrings, Husayn wearing two. The reports come through Imam Jafar al-Sadiq's chain and an eyewitness account from Karbala. Mufti Abu Layth says that the Prophet's grandsons Hasan and Husayn had their ears pierced and wore earrings, Husayn wearing two, as Shia traditions through Imam Jafar al-Sadiq and accounts of Karbala relate.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Holistic Overview: Can Men Wear Earrings? -Mufti Abu Layth (at 13:00)

A more recent answer on fiqh/dress-and-appearance/jewellery-gold-and-silk exists (10 March 2023): Is it haram for men to wear earrings?

Watch on YouTube at 13:00 · Open the segment

Did men and boys wear earrings in the time of the Prophet and the early Muslims?

Wed, 24 Jul 2019 00:00:00 +0000

Did men and boys wear earrings in the time of the Prophet and the early Muslims?

In the Prophet's society and among the Salaf boys commonly wore earrings, and many considered it sunnah for a boy. Later Sunni clergy prohibited the practice, perhaps influenced by the Christian church, while the Shia kept it alive. Mufti Abu Layth says that boys commonly wore earrings in the Prophet's time and among the Salaf, that later Sunni clergy prohibited the practice perhaps under the influence of the Christian church, and that the Shia kept it alive.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Holistic Overview: Can Men Wear Earrings? -Mufti Abu Layth (at 10:22)

A more recent answer on fiqh/dress-and-appearance/jewellery-gold-and-silk exists (10 March 2023): Is it haram for men to wear earrings?

Watch on YouTube at 10:22 · Open the segment

Have men historically worn earrings, or is it a recent fashion?

Wed, 24 Jul 2019 00:00:00 +0000

Have men historically worn earrings, or is it a recent fashion?

Men have worn earrings for thousands of years, in Assyria, Egypt, among the Israelites, in Persia, India and Europe, usually as a mark of nobility or soldiery. Only the European church restricted them to women, which is why defiant groups such as pirates kept wearing them. Mufti Abu Layth says that men across the ancient world, from Assyria and Egypt to Persia, India and Europe, wore earrings for thousands of years, often as a mark of nobility or soldiery, and that their restriction to women in Europe came from the church.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Holistic Overview: Can Men Wear Earrings? -Mufti Abu Layth (at 2:37)

A more recent answer on fiqh/dress-and-appearance/jewellery-gold-and-silk exists (10 March 2023): Is it haram for men to wear earrings?

Watch on YouTube at 2:37 · Open the segment

Can men wear earrings in Islam?

Wed, 24 Jul 2019 00:00:00 +0000

Can men wear earrings in Islam?

Yes, men may wear earrings according to Islam. Mufti Abu Layth sets out to show, through history and the practice of the Salaf, that the idea that earrings are effeminate is a misconception. Mufti Abu Layth holds that men may wear earrings according to Islam, and that the idea that earrings are effeminate or exclusive to women is a misconception.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Holistic Overview: Can Men Wear Earrings? -Mufti Abu Layth (at 0:00)

A more recent answer on fiqh/dress-and-appearance/jewellery-gold-and-silk exists (10 March 2023): Is it haram for men to wear earrings?

Watch on YouTube at 0:00 · Open the segment

Is my prayer valid if I pray in a bikini or swimwear?

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

Is my prayer valid if I pray in a bikini or swimwear?

On the Maliki view of Qadi Isma'il, which he finds strong, her prayer would have been valid, since covering is an obligation separate from salah; it is still not something he recommends. Either way nobody has the right to attack her. Mufti Abu Layth says he personally feels Qadi Isma'il and the Malikis have a strong point in holding that covering oneself in salah is a separate obligation, not a condition of the prayer.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Can Women Pray in Bikinis? -Mufti Abu Layth (at 0:00)

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 0:38 · Open the segment

Is it haram for men to wear gold or silk?

Tue, 10 Jul 2018 00:00:00 +0000

Is it haram for men to wear gold or silk?

In Mufti Abu Layth's view the prohibition of gold and silk for men is a matter of dislike (karaha), not a categorical haram, since many Companions wore both all their lives and the Prophet's aim was to keep people focused in hard times. He notes the popular opinion is that it is haram and says nobody has to follow his understanding. Mufti Abu Layth says he is in line with the ulama who held that the Prophet's prohibition of gold and silk for men was a matter of karaha intended to keep the early community focused and away from luxury in a dangerous time, not a categorical haram, while noting that the popular opinion is that it is haram.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Why it is Not Haram for Men to Wear Gold or Silk -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

Do I have to grow a beard?

Tue, 12 Jun 2018 00:00:00 +0000

Do I have to grow a beard?

The beard was the custom of all Arabs, not something the Prophet introduced, and the 'be different from the Jews and Christians' wording is applied selectively, since the same words command dyeing hair and praying in shoes. The Prophet never defined what a beard should look like, and scholars disagree whether the command was binding. Mufti Abu Layth holds that the beard was the common custom of all Arabs including the disbelievers of Quraysh rather than something the Prophet introduced, that the 'be different from the Jews and Christians' wording is applied selectively since the same words command dyeing the hair and praying in shoes, and that the Prophet never once defined what the beard should look like.

Answer from 12 June 2018 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Do You Have to Grow a Beard? -Mufti Abu Layth (at 0:00)

A more recent answer on hadith/hadith-in-legal-reasoning 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

Can women wear perfume when they go out?

Fri, 04 May 2018 00:00:00 +0000

Can women wear perfume when they go out?

Yes, women may wear perfume when they go out; Mufti Abu Layth says people should smell good and be presentable, and the slanderous reports must not be attributed to the Prophet. Mufti Abu Layth says women may wear perfume when they go out, that everyone should smell good and be presentable, and that the reports calling such women fornicators must not be attributed to the Prophet.

Answer from 4 May 2018 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: On Women Wearing Perfume: Debunking Weak and Blasphemous Hadith -Mufti Abu Layth (at 26:15)

A more recent answer on hadith/false-and-fabricated/about-women exists (6 April 2021): Did the Prophet say a wife should prostrate to her husband?

Watch on YouTube at 27:34 · Open the segment

Is a woman's prayer rejected if she wears perfume to the mosque?

Fri, 04 May 2018 00:00:00 +0000

Is a woman's prayer rejected if she wears perfume to the mosque?

No: Mufti Abu Layth says the report is a statement attributed to Abu Hurayra through unknown and weak narrators, not a hadith of the Prophet, and no one holds that such a prayer is invalid. Mufti Abu Layth says the report that a perfumed woman's prayer is not accepted until she bathes is not from the Prophet, rests on unknown and weak narrators, and is followed by no one.

Answer from 4 May 2018 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: On Women Wearing Perfume: Debunking Weak and Blasphemous Hadith -Mufti Abu Layth (at 23:40)

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

Watch on YouTube at 23:40 · Open the segment

Doesn't the hadith of Zaynab forbid women from wearing perfume to the mosque?

Fri, 04 May 2018 00:00:00 +0000

Doesn't the hadith of Zaynab forbid women from wearing perfume to the mosque?

The report only tells women not to wear perfume to the late Isha, sometimes Zaynab alone, so Mufti Abu Layth reads it as a specific instruction, not a general ban. Mufti Abu Layth says Zaynab's report, which mentions only the late Isha and in some versions addresses her alone, was a specific instruction for an unstated reason and not a general prohibition of perfume for women.

Answer from 4 May 2018 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: On Women Wearing Perfume: Debunking Weak and Blasphemous Hadith -Mufti Abu Layth (at 19:47)

A more recent answer on hadith/false-and-fabricated/about-women exists (6 April 2021): Did the Prophet say a wife should prostrate to her husband?

Watch on YouTube at 19:47 · Open the segment

Would the Prophet really call a woman wearing perfume a fornicator?

Fri, 04 May 2018 00:00:00 +0000

Would the Prophet really call a woman wearing perfume a fornicator?

No: Mufti Abu Layth says calling a woman a fornicator is the crime of qadhf under Quran 24:4, punished by the Malikis whatever the intention, and the Prophet was never obscene, so the report insults him. Mufti Abu Layth says the report slanders the Prophet, since calling a woman a fornicator is qadhf punishable under the Quran and, for the Malikis, regardless of intention, and the Prophet was never obscene and would not have labelled women this way to deter them.

Answer from 4 May 2018 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: On Women Wearing Perfume: Debunking Weak and Blasphemous Hadith -Mufti Abu Layth (at 10:32)

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 10:32 · Open the segment

Is the hadith about women wearing perfume being zaniya authentic?

Fri, 04 May 2018 00:00:00 +0000

Is the hadith about women wearing perfume being zaniya authentic?

Mufti Abu Layth says the report is not authentic: every version comes through one weak narrator, Thabit ibn Umara, from the obscure Ghunaym ibn Qays, and some early authorities stopped it at the companion. Mufti Abu Layth says the perfume report is not sahih and is a lie attributed to the Prophet, because it rests on a single chain through the weak Thabit ibn Umara from the little-known Ghunaym ibn Qays, and some early authorities did not attribute it to the Prophet.

Answer from 4 May 2018 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: On Women Wearing Perfume: Debunking Weak and Blasphemous Hadith -Mufti Abu Layth (at 2:39)

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

Watch on YouTube at 2:39 · Open the segment

Is there a hadith that says a woman who wears perfume outside is a zaniya?

Fri, 04 May 2018 00:00:00 +0000

Is there a hadith that says a woman who wears perfume outside is a zaniya?

The report, transmitted only from Abu Musa al-Ash'ari and found in al-Nasa'i, Abu Dawud, Ahmad and al-Tirmidhi, says a woman who passes people while wearing perfume is a fornicator.

Answer from 4 May 2018 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

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

Recording: On Women Wearing Perfume: Debunking Weak and Blasphemous Hadith -Mufti Abu Layth (at 0:00)

A more recent answer on hadith/false-and-fabricated/about-women exists (6 April 2021): Did the Prophet say a wife should prostrate to her husband?

Watch on YouTube at 0:00 · Open the segment

Should I refuse to shake hands with the opposite sex where it is the custom?

Fri, 04 May 2018 00:00:00 +0000

Should I refuse to shake hands with the opposite sex where it is the custom?

Follow the convention you are in: where people do not shake hands, do not; where they do, you may act on the fatwa of the scholars who permit it, since no clear verse or hadith forbids it. Losing citizenship over a handshake was not a battle worth choosing. His own understanding is that one follows the convention of one's society: where people do not shake hands one does not, following the general ulama, but where it is the convention one may act on the fatwa of the scholars who permit it, since, as many ulama say, no clear verse or hadith makes it haram, and Muslims should choose their battles wisely.

Answer from 4 May 2018 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Hadith Analysis: Why men and women CAN shake hands -Mufti Abu Layth (at 9:10)

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 9:10 · Open the segment

What evidence do scholars use to allow men and women to shake hands?

Fri, 04 May 2018 00:00:00 +0000

What evidence do scholars use to allow men and women to shake hands?

Scholars who permit it cite 'do not frighten people away', the verse on returning greetings, Abu Musa having a woman comb his hair on Hajj, and the Sahih report that Umm Haram combed the Prophet's hair and let him nap at her house. The Umm Haram report is one scholars struggled with.

Answer from 4 May 2018 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

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

Recording: Hadith Analysis: Why men and women CAN shake hands -Mufti Abu Layth (at 6:33)

A more recent answer on fiqh/gender-interaction exists (13 April 2021): Does a community gathering have to be gender segregated?

Watch on YouTube at 6:33 · Open the segment

Which scholars say men and women may shake hands, and what about 'I do not shake hands with women'?

Fri, 04 May 2018 00:00:00 +0000

Which scholars say men and women may shake hands, and what about 'I do not shake hands with women'?

The hadith 'I do not shake hands with women' is set against Umm Atiyya's narrations of the women's pledge, which some read as the Prophet shaking hands. Contemporary scholars including the Shaykh of al-Azhar, Bin Bayyah and the European fatwa council have ruled that shaking hands is permitted.

Answer from 4 May 2018 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

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

Recording: Hadith Analysis: Why men and women CAN shake hands -Mufti Abu Layth (at 2:36)

A more recent answer on fiqh/madhhabs-and-following exists (10 December 2022): What did Abu Hanifa say about Imam Malik?

Watch on YouTube at 2:36 · Open the segment

Is it haram for men and women to shake hands?

Fri, 04 May 2018 00:00:00 +0000

Is it haram for men and women to shake hands?

Nothing in the Quran or Sunnah explicitly says shaking hands with the opposite sex is haram; that is a popular convention, not an established ruling. The iron-rod hadith is not authentic as claimed, and many scholars read its 'touch' as a euphemism for sex. Mufti Abu Layth says that nothing in the Quran or Sunnah explicitly and clearly proves that shaking hands with the opposite gender is haram, and that the report preferring an iron rod in the head to touching a woman is not authentic as people would like and was understood by many ulama as a euphemism for sex.

Answer from 4 May 2018 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Hadith Analysis: Why men and women CAN shake hands -Mufti Abu Layth (at 0:00)

A more recent answer on hadith/authentication exists (19 August 2022): Why did Ibn Hajar say the satanic verses story has some basis?

Watch on YouTube at 0:00 · Open the segment

Are tattoos haram in Islam?

Thu, 03 May 2018 00:00:00 +0000

Are tattoos haram in Islam?

Tattoos are permissible in Mufti Abu Layth's understanding, though he notes most scholars held them haram and some Malikis only makruh. He reads the prohibition in its historical context of branding slaves and cattle rather than beautification. Mufti Abu Layth says tattoos are permissible in his understanding, because the hadith condemning tattooing addressed the branding and disfigurement of slaves and cattle in its historical context rather than beautification, while noting that most scholars held them haram and some Malikis only makruh.

Answer from 3 May 2018 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Why Tattoos are NOT Haram by 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

Is it safe and allowed for a woman to fly alone?

Sun, 22 Apr 2018 00:00:00 +0000

Is it safe and allowed for a woman to fly alone?

Yes: Mufti Abu Layth says a woman may travel alone, including by air, since the ruling was always about safety, and rejects the claim that only a husband can protect her. Mufti Abu Layth says it is absolutely fine for a woman to travel on her own, the key thing having been safety.

Answer from 22 April 2018 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Hadith Analysis & Fatwa: Women Can Travel Without a Mahram - Mufti Abu Layth (at 35:07)

A more recent answer on society/women-and-gender exists (10 March 2023): Who carried on Imam Malik's teaching after him?

Watch on YouTube at 35:07 · Open the segment

Is it safe and allowed for a woman to fly alone?

Sun, 22 Apr 2018 00:00:00 +0000

Is it safe and allowed for a woman to fly alone?

Answer from 22 April 2018 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Hadith Analysis & Fatwa: Women Can Travel Without a Mahram - Mufti Abu Layth (at 35:07)

A more recent answer on society/women-and-gender exists (10 March 2023): Who carried on Imam Malik's teaching after him?

Watch on YouTube at 35:07 · Open the segment

What did the Maliki scholars say about women travelling with a safe group?

Sun, 22 Apr 2018 00:00:00 +0000

What did the Maliki scholars say about women travelling with a safe group?

Mufti Abu Layth cites al-Baji that a woman is safe without a mahram in large caravans and busy highways, and reads Imam Malik's ordering of the hadith as showing they were about safety. Mufti Abu Layth says the Prophet's calling two travellers devils was religious rhetoric used in that age to safeguard people in hostile territory.

Answer from 22 April 2018 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Hadith Analysis & Fatwa: Women Can Travel Without a Mahram - Mufti Abu Layth (at 30:39)

A more recent answer on fiqh/maliki-school/muwatta-and-mudawwana exists (18 October 2025): Does the Muwatta show that the Companions' practice had already changed by Malik's time?

Watch on YouTube at 30:39 · Open the segment

What did the Maliki scholars say about women travelling with a safe group?

Sun, 22 Apr 2018 00:00:00 +0000

What did the Maliki scholars say about women travelling with a safe group?

Answer from 22 April 2018 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Hadith Analysis & Fatwa: Women Can Travel Without a Mahram - Mufti Abu Layth (at 30:39)

A more recent answer on fiqh/maliki-school/muwatta-and-mudawwana exists (18 October 2025): Does the Muwatta show that the Companions' practice had already changed by Malik's time?

Watch on YouTube at 30:39 · Open the segment

Did the Prophet foresee women travelling alone safely?

Sun, 22 Apr 2018 00:00:00 +0000

Did the Prophet foresee women travelling alone safely?

Yes: Mufti Abu Layth cites the Prophet's prophecy to Adi ibn Hatim of a lone woman travelling from Iraq to Makkah, which Adi lived to see. Mufti Abu Layth says the Prophet's prophecy to Adi ibn Hatim of a woman travelling alone from al-Hira to Makkah came true as stability came to the region.

Answer from 22 April 2018 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Hadith Analysis & Fatwa: Women Can Travel Without a Mahram - Mufti Abu Layth (at 27:28)

A more recent answer on history/sirah exists (9 May 2023): How did the Prophet balance gentleness and strength?

Watch on YouTube at 27:28 · Open the segment

Did the Prophet foresee women travelling alone safely?

Sun, 22 Apr 2018 00:00:00 +0000

Did the Prophet foresee women travelling alone safely?

Answer from 22 April 2018 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Hadith Analysis & Fatwa: Women Can Travel Without a Mahram - Mufti Abu Layth (at 27:28)

A more recent answer on history/sirah exists (9 May 2023): How did the Prophet balance gentleness and strength?

Watch on YouTube at 27:28 · Open the segment

Why did the Prophet say women should not travel without a mahram?

Sun, 22 Apr 2018 00:00:00 +0000

Why did the Prophet say women should not travel without a mahram?

For their safety: Mufti Abu Layth says the limits tracked how far the safe zone around Madinah reached, widening as treaties spread, not a rule to confine women. Mufti Abu Layth says the Prophet was not setting boundaries to confine women in these hadith but was trying to safeguard them.

Answer from 22 April 2018 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Hadith Analysis & Fatwa: Women Can Travel Without a Mahram - Mufti Abu Layth (at 23:01)

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

Watch on YouTube at 23:01 · Open the segment

Why did the Prophet say women should not travel without a mahram?

Sun, 22 Apr 2018 00:00:00 +0000

Why did the Prophet say women should not travel without a mahram?

Answer from 22 April 2018 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Hadith Analysis & Fatwa: Women Can Travel Without a Mahram - Mufti Abu Layth (at 23:01)

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

Watch on YouTube at 23:01 · Open the segment

What do Saudi scholars say about women travelling without a mahram?

Sun, 22 Apr 2018 00:00:00 +0000

What do Saudi scholars say about women travelling without a mahram?

Mufti Abu Layth reports the Saudi fatwa board and Ibn Baz forbidding any journey without a mahram, even a short staff bus trip, and mocks the strictness.

Answer from 22 April 2018 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

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

Recording: Hadith Analysis & Fatwa: Women Can Travel Without a Mahram - Mufti Abu Layth (at 19:38)

A more recent answer on belief/sectarianism-and-takfir/salafism-and-wahhabism exists (19 August 2022): What does the Mufti think of Ibn Taymiyya and Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab?

Watch on YouTube at 19:38 · Open the segment

What do Saudi scholars say about women travelling without a mahram?

Sun, 22 Apr 2018 00:00:00 +0000

What do Saudi scholars say about women travelling without a mahram?

Mufti Abu Layth reports the Saudi fatwa board and Ibn Baz forbidding any journey without a mahram, even a short staff bus trip, and mocks the strictness.

Answer from 22 April 2018 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

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

Recording: Hadith Analysis & Fatwa: Women Can Travel Without a Mahram - Mufti Abu Layth (at 19:38)

A more recent answer on belief/sectarianism-and-takfir/salafism-and-wahhabism exists (19 August 2022): What does the Mufti think of Ibn Taymiyya and Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab?

Watch on YouTube at 19:38 · Open the segment

Is it haram for a woman to travel more than 48 miles alone?

Sun, 22 Apr 2018 00:00:00 +0000

Is it haram for a woman to travel more than 48 miles alone?

No: Mufti Abu Layth calls the 48-mile rule absurd, a later Hanafi hardening of Abu Hanifa's three-day limit, which was itself meant to ease things for women. Mufti Abu Layth says forbidding a woman to travel 48 miles is absurd and makes a mockery of the religion.

Answer from 22 April 2018 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Hadith Analysis & Fatwa: Women Can Travel Without a Mahram - Mufti Abu Layth (at 15:45)

A more recent answer on society/women-and-gender exists (10 March 2023): Who carried on Imam Malik's teaching after him?

Watch on YouTube at 15:45 · Open the segment

Is it haram for a woman to travel more than 48 miles alone?

Sun, 22 Apr 2018 00:00:00 +0000

Is it haram for a woman to travel more than 48 miles alone?

Answer from 22 April 2018 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Hadith Analysis & Fatwa: Women Can Travel Without a Mahram - Mufti Abu Layth (at 15:45)

A more recent answer on society/women-and-gender exists (10 March 2023): Who carried on Imam Malik's teaching after him?

Watch on YouTube at 15:45 · Open the segment

Must a kidnapped woman have a mahram to escape?

Sun, 22 Apr 2018 00:00:00 +0000

Must a kidnapped woman have a mahram to escape?

Mufti Abu Layth ridicules the classical debate over whether a captive woman may flee without a mahram, saying past scholars reasoned within their own environment. Mufti Abu Layth says scholars of the past did not always think the way we do, but were thinking within their own environment.

Answer from 22 April 2018 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Hadith Analysis & Fatwa: Women Can Travel Without a Mahram - Mufti Abu Layth (at 12:03)

A more recent answer on fiqh/madhhabs-and-following/hanafi-school exists (10 December 2022): What did Abu Hanifa say about Imam Malik?

Watch on YouTube at 12:03 · Open the segment

Must a kidnapped woman have a mahram to escape?

Sun, 22 Apr 2018 00:00:00 +0000

Must a kidnapped woman have a mahram to escape?

Answer from 22 April 2018 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Hadith Analysis & Fatwa: Women Can Travel Without a Mahram - Mufti Abu Layth (at 12:03)

A more recent answer on fiqh/madhhabs-and-following/hanafi-school exists (10 December 2022): What did Abu Hanifa say about Imam Malik?

Watch on YouTube at 12:03 · Open the segment

Can a woman go on Hajj without a mahram?

Sun, 22 Apr 2018 00:00:00 +0000

Can a woman go on Hajj without a mahram?

Mufti Abu Layth reports that al-Shafi'i allowed a woman to go with a group of women and Imam Malik with any safe company, while Abu Hanifa required a mahram for journeys over three days.

Answer from 22 April 2018 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

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

Recording: Hadith Analysis & Fatwa: Women Can Travel Without a Mahram - Mufti Abu Layth (at 9:31)

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 9:31 · Open the segment

Can a woman go on Hajj without a mahram?

Sun, 22 Apr 2018 00:00:00 +0000

Can a woman go on Hajj without a mahram?

Mufti Abu Layth reports that al-Shafi'i allowed a woman to go with a group of women and Imam Malik with any safe company, while Abu Hanifa required a mahram for journeys over three days.

Answer from 22 April 2018 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

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

Recording: Hadith Analysis & Fatwa: Women Can Travel Without a Mahram - Mufti Abu Layth (at 9:31)

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 9:31 · Open the segment

Can a woman travel without a mahram?

Sun, 22 Apr 2018 00:00:00 +0000

Can a woman travel without a mahram?

Yes: Mufti Abu Layth says a woman can travel without a mahram, since the ruling was about safety. The reports behind it disagree on how long a journey they mean. Mufti Abu Layth says that of course a woman can travel without a mahram, the ruling having been simply about safety.

Answer from 22 April 2018 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Hadith Analysis & Fatwa: Women Can Travel Without a Mahram - Mufti Abu Layth (at 0:00)

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

Watch on YouTube at 1:12 · Open the segment

Can a woman travel without a mahram?

Sun, 22 Apr 2018 00:00:00 +0000

Can a woman travel without a mahram?

Answer from 22 April 2018 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Hadith Analysis & Fatwa: Women Can Travel Without a Mahram - Mufti Abu Layth (at 0:00)

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

Watch on YouTube at 1:12 · Open the segment

Do Muslim women have to wear the niqab?

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

Do Muslim women have to wear the niqab?

Mufti Abu Layth does not consider the niqab part of the religion: it is a cultural measure, sensible only where a woman's safety requires it, and in the West he thinks it should not be worn. The screen rules for the Prophet's wives were specific to them. Mufti Abu Layth says that, as far as religion is concerned, he does not consider the niqab to be part of the religion at all.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Should women wear the Niqab? - Mufti Abu Layth al-Maliki (at 0:00)

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 0:37 · Open the segment

Do Muslim women have to wear the niqab?

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

Do Muslim women have to wear the niqab?

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Should women wear the Niqab? - Mufti Abu Layth al-Maliki (at 0:00)

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 0:37 · Open the segment

Is it haram for men to wear earrings?

Mon, 05 Mar 2018 00:00:00 +0000

Is it haram for men to wear earrings?

It is not haram for men to wear earrings, though it is not the general custom. Boys wore them in the early period, and Imam Malik objected only to gold, not to the earring. Mufti Abu Layth holds that it is not haram for men to wear earrings, although it is not the general custom, noting that boys wore them in the medieval period and that Imam Malik objected only to a boy wearing gold, not to the earring itself.

Answer from 5 March 2018 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Fatwa: Can men wear earrings? - Mufti Abu Layth al-Maliki (at 0:00)

A more recent answer on fiqh/dress-and-appearance/jewellery-gold-and-silk exists (10 March 2023): Is it haram for men to wear earrings?

Watch on YouTube at 0:00 · Open the segment

Are tattoos haram?

Mon, 05 Mar 2018 00:00:00 +0000

Are tattoos haram?

Small tattoos for beautification are not haram, at most discouraged. Tattoos that disfigure, such as gang face tattoos, he considers haram. Mufti Abu Layth says he inclines to the view that tattoos are not haram as long as they are not entirely disfiguring, small ones being at most discouraged.

Answer from 5 March 2018 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Fatwa on Tattoos - Mufti Abu Layth al-Maliki (at 0:00)

A more recent answer on fiqh/dress-and-appearance exists (10 March 2021): Reply to Mufti Mangera: does the ban on muthla forbid piercing?

Watch on YouTube at 0:00 · Open the segment