Mufti Abu Layth Archive: Responding to Refutations

What did the leak of Yasir Qadhi's emails on the Quran's preservation lead to?

Wed, 19 Aug 2020 00:00:00 +0000

What did the leak of Yasir Qadhi's emails on the Quran's preservation lead to?

The leak of Yasir Qadhi's emails set off a fitna in which people doubted or left Islam, and Yasir Qadhi's own explanation made it worse. Being clever and well-read does not make someone an academic.

Answer from 19 August 2020 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Farid Gangu Teli leaking Yasir Qadhi's emails | Mufti Abu Layth (at 8:46)

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

Watch on YouTube at 8:46 · Open the segment

Ismail Patel's published exchange: the apology and the 'academic' consulted

Wed, 19 Aug 2020 00:00:00 +0000

Ismail Patel's published exchange: the apology and the 'academic' consulted

Ismail Patel published his email exchange with Farid, in which Farid apologises for the leak and says he had consulted Abdul Rahman Hassan as an academic.

Answer from 19 August 2020 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Recording: Farid Gangu Teli leaking Yasir Qadhi's emails | Mufti Abu Layth (at 5:11)

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

Watch on YouTube at 5:11 · Open the segment

Who leaked the emails: the missing link revealed

Wed, 19 Aug 2020 00:00:00 +0000

Who leaked the emails: the missing link revealed

After years of uncertainty over who leaked Yasir Qadhi's email, Mufti Abu Layth says it has transpired that Farid was behind the leak.

Answer from 19 August 2020 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Recording: Farid Gangu Teli leaking Yasir Qadhi's emails | Mufti Abu Layth (at 2:34)

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

Watch on YouTube at 2:34 · Open the segment

Introduction: the Quran-preservation debacle and a leaked 2016 email

Wed, 19 Aug 2020 00:00:00 +0000

Introduction: the Quran-preservation debacle and a leaked 2016 email

Mufti Abu Layth introduces a commentary on who leaked a private 2016 email of Yasir Qadhi on the Quran's preservation, an episode he calls a cataclysmic debacle.

Answer from 19 August 2020 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Recording: Farid Gangu Teli leaking Yasir Qadhi's emails | Mufti Abu Layth (at 0:00)

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

Watch on YouTube at 0:00 · Open the segment

Is it a Sunnah for women to pray in a wardrobe or the innermost room?

Fri, 17 Jan 2020 00:00:00 +0000

Is it a Sunnah for women to pray in a wardrobe or the innermost room?

The claim that women praying in a wardrobe is a Sunnah rests on a weak, indeed false, hadith that is not a saying of the Prophet. Mufti Abu Layth sees the following of such claims as dogma and herd mentality. Mufti Abu Layth says the report used to call women praying in a wardrobe a Sunnah is a weak and in fact false hadith, not a saying of the Prophet.

Answer from 17 January 2020 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Reply to Daniel Haqiqatjou on Mufti Menk | Mufti Abu Layth (at 5:05)

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 5:05 · Open the segment

Reaction to Daniel Haqiqatjou's post about Mufti Menk writing 'Almighty' instead of 'Allah'

Fri, 17 Jan 2020 00:00:00 +0000

Reaction to Daniel Haqiqatjou's post about Mufti Menk writing 'Almighty' instead of 'Allah'

Mufti Abu Layth mocks Daniel Haqiqatjou's complaint that Mufti Menk tweets 'Almighty' rather than 'Allah' as petty, says Haqiqatjou is not trained in the Sharia, and says he is driven by hostility to the left rather than scholarship.

Answer from 17 January 2020 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Recording: Reply to Daniel Haqiqatjou on Mufti Menk | 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 Islam was not forced on people, why did so many convert?

Mon, 16 Dec 2019 00:00:00 +0000

If Islam was not forced on people, why did so many convert?

Forced conversion was never the norm: Islam's power, trade and prestige drew people, and nobody could have policed the faith of a rural population. Some were surely forced, but not most. Mufti Abu Layth says he is sure that, over the whole of history, many people were converted by force, but that this was never the norm or the majority of how Islam spread.

Answer from 16 December 2019 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: A Response to Yasir Qadhi: "Islam was spread by the sword" | Mufti Abu Layth (at 8:15)

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

Watch on YouTube at 8:15 · Open the segment

Why did people in the past convert to new religions so readily?

Mon, 16 Dec 2019 00:00:00 +0000

Why did people in the past convert to new religions so readily?

People in the past were far more open to new gods than we are, adopting them in hope of good luck, so judging their conversions by today's identity-bound religion misleads. Mufti Abu Layth says people in the past were much more open to new gods and welcomed them if they felt they would bring them good luck.

Answer from 16 December 2019 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: A Response to Yasir Qadhi: "Islam was spread by the sword" | Mufti Abu Layth (at 3:11)

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

Watch on YouTube at 3:11 · Open the segment

Was Islam spread by the sword?

Mon, 16 Dec 2019 00:00:00 +0000

Was Islam spread by the sword?

Mufti Abu Layth says it is simply not true that Islam was spread by the sword, though there was surely compulsion in some places, and that it was wrong. Mufti Abu Layth says the claim that Islam was spread by the sword is simply not true, though he is sure there was compulsion in certain places.

Answer from 16 December 2019 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: A Response to Yasir Qadhi: "Islam was spread by the sword" | Mufti Abu Layth (at 0:01)

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

Watch on YouTube at 2:33 · Open the segment

Can old interpretations of the Quran be revisited, and what role does reason play?

Sun, 03 Nov 2019 00:00:00 +0000

Can old interpretations of the Quran be revisited, and what role does reason play?

Mufti Abu Layth says long-standing interpretations that are not the Quran's clear expression may be revisited and that reason has primacy, but one must not condemn others for doing what one does oneself. Mufti Abu Layth says the voice of reason is always paramount and that he gives it primacy, because through it one can understand that the deen of Islam holds true.

Answer from 3 November 2019 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: A Response to Yasir Qadhi on Miracles | Mufti Abu Layth (at 46:59)

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 46:59 · Open the segment

Did the Salafi movement play a part in producing modern extremism?

Sun, 03 Nov 2019 00:00:00 +0000

Did the Salafi movement play a part in producing modern extremism?

Mufti Abu Layth says Salafis now oppose terrorism but their movement helped produce it, from the 1970s Salafi group to the 1979 Kaaba seizure, and that Qadhi's teachers belonged to that past. Mufti Abu Layth says that, although Salafis today are against terrorism, a huge part of the terrorism seen today came from these Wahhabis.

Answer from 3 November 2019 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: A Response to Yasir Qadhi on Miracles | Mufti Abu Layth (at 40:39)

A more recent answer on society/extremism-crime-and-justice exists (29 September 2024): How scholars' rhetoric fed Pakistan's blasphemy killings, in Mufti Abu Layth's view

Watch on YouTube at 40:39 · Open the segment

Is it inconsistent to reinterpret Gog and Magog by geography but not other beliefs by science?

Sun, 03 Nov 2019 00:00:00 +0000

Is it inconsistent to reinterpret Gog and Magog by geography but not other beliefs by science?

Mufti Abu Layth says Qadhi calls him a heretic for revisiting interpretations on grounds of science and reason, yet revisits Gog and Magog on grounds of geography with his own teacher's precedent, which he calls hypocrisy.

Answer from 3 November 2019 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: A Response to Yasir Qadhi on Miracles | Mufti Abu Layth (at 33:10)

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 33:10 · Open the segment

Does the Quran say Jesus was born of a virgin?

Sun, 03 Nov 2019 00:00:00 +0000

Does the Quran say Jesus was born of a virgin?

Mufti Abu Layth says the Quran does not explicitly state a virgin birth, citing recent scholars who read Mary's glad tidings like those given to Ibrahim and Zakariyya. Mufti Abu Layth says the Quran does not explicitly mention that Jesus was born of a virgin birth.

Answer from 3 November 2019 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: A Response to Yasir Qadhi on Miracles | Mufti Abu Layth (at 28:07)

A more recent answer on quran/stories-of-the-prophets/jesus exists (19 February 2022): What do you think of the rational readings of the Quran on the Marvelous Quran channel?

Watch on YouTube at 28:07 · Open the segment

Who were the Mu'tazila and what did they believe?

Sun, 03 Nov 2019 00:00:00 +0000

Who were the Mu'tazila and what did they believe?

The Mu'tazila were an extinct early sect who held that a sinning Muslim is neither believer nor kafir; Mufti Abu Layth says later theologians' defensive reaction left some Muslims thinking the intellect is bad, which he calls the dumbest idea. Mufti Abu Layth says that the belief of some Muslims that the intellect is bad is the dumbest thing anybody could say.

Answer from 3 November 2019 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: A Response to Yasir Qadhi on Miracles | Mufti Abu Layth (at 25:33)

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 25:33 · Open the segment

Do most Sunnis consider Wahhabis and Salafis to be Sunni?

Sun, 03 Nov 2019 00:00:00 +0000

Do most Sunnis consider Wahhabis and Salafis to be Sunni?

Mufti Abu Layth says it is ironic for a Wahhabi to expel others from Sunni Islam, since most Sunnis do not count Wahhabis as Sunni, while he himself is among the few who do. Mufti Abu Layth says he is among the minority who hold that Salafis too should be considered part of the Sunni majority of Muslims.

Answer from 3 November 2019 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: A Response to Yasir Qadhi on Miracles | Mufti Abu Layth (at 22:29)

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 22:29 · Open the segment

What did Yasir Qadhi say about Mufti Abu Layth on the Mad Mamluks podcast?

Sun, 03 Nov 2019 00:00:00 +0000

What did Yasir Qadhi say about Mufti Abu Layth on the Mad Mamluks podcast?

Mufti Abu Layth says Qadhi, trying to reassert his traditional credentials on a podcast, said people like Mufti should declare themselves Mu'tazila rather than Sunni.

Answer from 3 November 2019 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: A Response to Yasir Qadhi on Miracles | Mufti Abu Layth (at 16:47)

A more recent answer on belief/sectarianism-and-takfir exists (22 February 2023): Should Sunnis preach to Shia Muslims about what they get wrong?

Watch on YouTube at 16:47 · Open the segment

Can Yasir Qadhi's zombie theory of Gog and Magog be defended?

Sun, 03 Nov 2019 00:00:00 +0000

Can Yasir Qadhi's zombie theory of Gog and Magog be defended?

Mufti Abu Layth says Qadhi's zombie theory, refuted even by Salafi critics, cannot be justified and should simply be disowned.

Answer from 3 November 2019 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: A Response to Yasir Qadhi on Miracles | Mufti Abu Layth (at 12:00)

A more recent answer on dialogue/responses-to-critics/yasir-qadhi exists (13 April 2021): Where are the answers to the questions on the Jesus debate?

Watch on YouTube at 12:00 · Open the segment

What are Ya'juj and Ma'juj (Gog and Magog), and could they be zombies?

Sun, 03 Nov 2019 00:00:00 +0000

What are Ya'juj and Ma'juj (Gog and Magog), and could they be zombies?

Qadhi rejected the traditional reading of Ya'juj and Ma'juj on geographical grounds and floated colonialism and zombies; Mufti Abu Layth says the colonial reading holds strongly for him and mocks the zombie idea. Mufti Abu Layth says he has said in the past that the colonial phenomenon holds a very strong interpretation of Ya'juj and Ma'juj for him.

Answer from 3 November 2019 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: A Response to Yasir Qadhi on Miracles | Mufti Abu Layth (at 6:22)

A more recent answer on dialogue/responses-to-critics/yasir-qadhi exists (13 April 2021): Where are the answers to the questions on the Jesus debate?

Watch on YouTube at 6:22 · Open the segment

Why is Mufti Abu Layth responding to Yasir Qadhi?

Sun, 03 Nov 2019 00:00:00 +0000

Why is Mufti Abu Layth responding to Yasir Qadhi?

Mufti Abu Layth says he feels Qadhi may be in an existential crisis and does not believe much of what he says, and that even hypocrisy should keep some integrity, like the frankly self-confessed fraud of an Urdu poem.

Answer from 3 November 2019 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: A Response to Yasir Qadhi on Miracles | Mufti Abu Layth (at 2:34)

A more recent answer on dialogue/responses-to-critics/yasir-qadhi exists (13 April 2021): Where are the answers to the questions on the Jesus debate?

Watch on YouTube at 2:34 · Open the segment

Moving to Yasir Qadhi, by way of an Urdu couplet on Moses at Sinai

Sun, 03 Nov 2019 00:00:00 +0000

Moving to Yasir Qadhi, by way of an Urdu couplet on Moses at Sinai

Before turning to Yasir Qadhi Mufti Abu Layth recites Urdu verses on Moses at Sinai and on passion carrying one to one's destiny.

Answer from 3 November 2019 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Recording: A Response to Yasir Qadhi on Miracles | Mufti Abu Layth (at 0:01)

A more recent answer on arts/urdu-poetry exists (6 April 2021): An Urdu poem of living on after the beloved

Watch on YouTube at 0:01 · Open the segment

How should Muslims respond to ex-Muslims who hate God?

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

How should Muslims respond to ex-Muslims who hate God?

Meet hatred with love: hating God does not harm God, so there is no need to abuse such people. Many ex-Muslims are hurting, and Muslims can stay their friends. Mufti Abu Layth says that if someone hates God, Muslims need not attack or abuse them but can extend a hand of humanity and remain friends.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: A reply to Asadulah Al-Andalusi on the age of Aisha (r) | Mufti Abu Layth (at 19:20)

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 19:20 · Open the segment

Converts who start teaching at once, with lines of Urdu poetry

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

Converts who start teaching at once, with lines of Urdu poetry

Mufti Abu Layth continues that some people, as soon as they embrace Islam, start teaching it to others. He recites Urdu and Persian verses, poorly captured in the transcript, on a road that does not lead to a destination and on taking two or three steps without completing a journey, and on embracing even those who are not one's own. He says he has never claimed piety, and cites the Quranic rebuke of those who consider their becoming Muslim a favour. He says it bothers him when he sees this, and that it is not exclusive to converts, as many born Muslims tread the same path.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: A reply to Asadulah Al-Andalusi on the age of Aisha (r) | Mufti Abu Layth (at 16:22)

A more recent answer on society/converts-and-newcomers exists (9 May 2023): How do I stop worrying about the ups and downs of my faith?

Watch on YouTube at 16:22 · Open the segment

Islamic institutes, preachers' depth of learning, and passionate converts

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

Islamic institutes, preachers' depth of learning, and passionate converts

Mufti Abu Layth says the preacher was, he believes, referring to the Yaqeen Institute, and that if this is what they promote they need to revisit themselves. He says he respects and applauds Omar Suleiman's social justice work and protests for discriminated communities, but says such preachers have not really studied Islam in depth or qualified through a formal institute, are put on a pedestal by the institution and must then cement it, and were mostly very Wahhabi-inclined at one point. He says Asadullah al-Andalusi [?] once held ridiculous views about killing ex-Muslims and apostates, which he thinks he has since turned away from. He applauds converts for a step he thinks few born Muslims would take, mentioning Hamza Yusuf as one who studied deeply and to whom many are indebted, while noting that some converts with turbulent backgrounds embrace Islam as a cause.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: A reply to Asadulah Al-Andalusi on the age of Aisha (r) | Mufti Abu Layth (at 13:07)

A more recent answer on society/converts-and-newcomers exists (9 May 2023): How do I stop worrying about the ups and downs of my faith?

Watch on YouTube at 13:07 · Open the segment

Are the hadith about Aisha's young age authentic?

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

Are the hadith about Aisha's young age authentic?

Mufti Abu Layth says every chain for Aisha's young age is flawed, resting on narrators accused of tadlis and all going back to Urwa. Those who defend them put al-Bukhari's sanctity above the Prophet's honour. Mufti Abu Layth says he can show that every chain brought to prove Aisha's young age is massively flawed.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: A reply to Asadulah Al-Andalusi on the age of Aisha (r) | Mufti Abu Layth (at 6:57)

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?

Watch on YouTube at 6:57 · Open the segment

How old was Aisha when she married the Prophet?

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

How old was Aisha when she married the Prophet?

Mufti Abu Layth says the report that Aisha was six or nine is false and that she was in her late teens, about seventeen to nineteen. Promoting the child-marriage story and then taking offence at the charge of paedophilia is irresponsible. Mufti Abu Layth says the story that Aisha was six, seven or nine is not true and that she would have been in her late teens.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: A reply to Asadulah Al-Andalusi on the age of Aisha (r) | Mufti Abu Layth (at 2:30)

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?

Watch on YouTube at 2:30 · Open the segment

Should Muslims build bridges with ex-Muslims?

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

Should Muslims build bridges with ex-Muslims?

Yes: he hopes Muslims can talk with ex-Muslims and critics as fellow human beings, as the early converts were won by human connection. He contrasts this with a preacher who refused any friendship with them. Mufti Abu Layth says he hopes Muslims can build bridges with ex-Muslims and anyone who has issues with Islam, since we are human beings first and foremost.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: A reply to Asadulah Al-Andalusi on the age of Aisha (r) | Mufti Abu Layth (at 0:00)

A more recent answer on dialogue/atheists-and-polemicists exists (13 April 2021): Are there answers to the hardest ethical questions about stories in the Quran?

Watch on YouTube at 0:00 · Open the segment

Is forcing your wife to have sex a sin in Islam?

Thu, 25 Jul 2019 00:00:00 +0000

Is forcing your wife to have sex a sin in Islam?

Yes: Mufti Abu Layth says coercive sex with one's wife is haram, and that Muslims who deny this create the problem. He cites Imam Malik's saying that what set right the first of this umma will set right its last, meaning the independence to challenge inherited readings shaped by medieval patriarchy. Mufti Abu Layth holds that coercive sex with one's wife is haram, that Muslims who deny this are the problem, and that, following Imam Malik's saying, the umma is set right by the independence to challenge inherited readings shaped by the patriarchy of past ages.

Answer from 25 July 2019 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: A Reply to Abdullah Sameer's Allegation: The Quran Teaches Paedophilia | Mufti Abu Layth (at 32:36)

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 32:36 · Open the segment

How does the rule that a clear verse overrides an ambiguous one apply to Quran 65:4?

Thu, 25 Jul 2019 00:00:00 +0000

How does the rule that a clear verse overrides an ambiguous one apply to Quran 65:4?

By a principle of usul the ambiguous phrase 'those who have not menstruated' is read in the light of the clear opening term women, which cancels any reading that includes girls. The Quran could have said fatayat but addressed them as nisa. Mufti Abu Layth holds that by the usuli principle that a clear text governs an ambiguous one, the opening term nisa in Surah al-Talaq cancels any reading of 'those who have not menstruated' that would include girls.

Answer from 25 July 2019 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: A Reply to Abdullah Sameer's Allegation: The Quran Teaches Paedophilia | Mufti Abu Layth (at 29:58)

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 29:58 · Open the segment

Did Imam Malik allow marriage to be consummated with a girl who was not yet nubile?

Thu, 25 Jul 2019 00:00:00 +0000

Did Imam Malik allow marriage to be consummated with a girl who was not yet nubile?

No: Mufti Abu Layth says Imam Malik's fatwa was clear that sexual relations with a wife are haram unless she is nubile. Scholars who read 65:4 to include girls were men influenced by the patriarchy of their age and were wrong, while others such as Ibn Ashur, al-Samarqandi, Abu Hayyan and al-Alusi did not read it so. Mufti Abu Layth holds that Imam Malik ruled sexual relations with a wife haram unless she was nubile, and that the commentators who read 65:4 to include girls were wrong and influenced by the patriarchy of their age, which is not Islam.

Answer from 25 July 2019 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: A Reply to Abdullah Sameer's Allegation: The Quran Teaches Paedophilia | Mufti Abu Layth (at 27:19)

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 27:19 · Open the segment

Does the word 'women' in Surah al-Talaq rule out children?

Thu, 25 Jul 2019 00:00:00 +0000

Does the word 'women' in Surah al-Talaq rule out children?

Yes: the passage opens with nisa, women, a word never used of a six- or seven-year-old, just as boys are never called rijal, and the verses go on to envisage pregnancy, which nobody would expect of a child. Mufti Abu Layth holds that the word nisa with which the passage opens is never used of a little girl, any more than rijal is used of a boy, and that the passage's provision for pregnancy shows it concerns adult women.

Answer from 25 July 2019 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: A Reply to Abdullah Sameer's Allegation: The Quran Teaches Paedophilia | Mufti Abu Layth (at 24:43)

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

Watch on YouTube at 24:43 · Open the segment

Did classical scholars really say Quran 65:4 includes little girls?

Thu, 25 Jul 2019 00:00:00 +0000

Did classical scholars really say Quran 65:4 includes little girls?

Yes, some did: Mufti Abu Layth concedes that commentators such as Ibn Kathir and al-Qurtubi wrote that the phrase can include little girls, which he condemns as a mistake. He says their saying so is not the Quran saying so, and the evidence lies in how the passage opens. Mufti Abu Layth concedes that commentators such as Ibn Kathir and al-Qurtubi wrote that 65:4 can include little girls, condemns this as a mistake, and holds that a commentator's reading does not make the Quran say it.

Answer from 25 July 2019 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: A Reply to Abdullah Sameer's Allegation: The Quran Teaches Paedophilia | Mufti Abu Layth (at 22:06)

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

Watch on YouTube at 22:06 · Open the segment

Does 'those who have not menstruated' in Quran 65:4 refer to little girls?

Thu, 25 Jul 2019 00:00:00 +0000

Does 'those who have not menstruated' in Quran 65:4 refer to little girls?

No: Mufti Abu Layth says the phrase refers to women whose cycles are absent through illness or irregularity, as Abu Hayyan, Ibn Ashur, al-Samarqandi, Abu al-Su'ud and Ibn Atiyya read it. Al-Tha'labi records that the verse was revealed about a man who divorced his wife during her menses. Mufti Abu Layth holds that 'those who have not menstruated' in 65:4 refers to women whose cycles are absent through illness or irregularity, not to prepubescent girls, as Abu Hayyan, Ibn Ashur and other commentators read it.

Answer from 25 July 2019 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: A Reply to Abdullah Sameer's Allegation: The Quran Teaches Paedophilia | Mufti Abu Layth (at 18:09)

A more recent answer on fiqh/divorce exists (10 March 2023): Why was Imam Malik flogged?

Watch on YouTube at 18:09 · Open the segment

What does Quran 65:4 say about the waiting period for women whose periods have stopped?

Thu, 25 Jul 2019 00:00:00 +0000

What does Quran 65:4 say about the waiting period for women whose periods have stopped?

Women who have despaired of menstruation wait three months, a rule Mufti Abu Layth reads as addressed to men who are unsure whether a woman has reached the menopause, so that pregnancy can be excluded; the pregnant wait until childbirth. Mufti Abu Layth holds that the doubt in 65:4 is the men's doubt about whether a woman has reached the menopause, in which case her iddah is a flat three months so that pregnancy can be excluded.

Answer from 25 July 2019 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: A Reply to Abdullah Sameer's Allegation: The Quran Teaches Paedophilia | Mufti Abu Layth (at 15:33)

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

Watch on YouTube at 15:33 · Open the segment

What does the Quran say about how a divorce should end and about a divorced woman's future?

Thu, 25 Jul 2019 00:00:00 +0000

What does the Quran say about how a divorce should end and about a divorced woman's future?

At the end of the iddah the couple must either reconcile or part with kindness before witnesses, and Mufti Abu Layth reads the promise that God makes a way out and provides from unexpected places as reassurance to the vulnerable party that she need not accept oppression for shelter. The objector, he says, skips all of this. Mufti Abu Layth holds that the promise in 65:2-3 that God makes a way out and provides from unexpected places is addressed to the vulnerable party in a divorce, who need not accept oppression for the sake of shelter and food.

Answer from 25 July 2019 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: A Reply to Abdullah Sameer's Allegation: The Quran Teaches Paedophilia | Mufti Abu Layth (at 10:20)

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

Watch on YouTube at 10:20 · Open the segment

What is the iddah after divorce and why does the Quran require it?

Thu, 25 Jul 2019 00:00:00 +0000

What is the iddah after divorce and why does the Quran require it?

The iddah is a waiting period of one to three cycles after a divorce which establishes whether the woman is pregnant and prevents suspicion and conflict, and during it she keeps the right to stay in the home. Mufti Abu Layth reads this as the opening of the passage the objector quotes from. Mufti Abu Layth holds that the iddah in Surah al-Talaq serves to establish pregnancy and to prevent suspicion and conflict after a divorce, and that the divorced woman is entitled to remain in the home during it.

Answer from 25 July 2019 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: A Reply to Abdullah Sameer's Allegation: The Quran Teaches Paedophilia | Mufti Abu Layth (at 6:26)

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

Watch on YouTube at 6:26 · Open the segment

How should Muslims respond to an ex-Muslim who criticises the Quran?

Thu, 25 Jul 2019 00:00:00 +0000

How should Muslims respond to an ex-Muslim who criticises the Quran?

Attack the argument, not the person: Mufti Abu Layth says a genuine seeker deserves respect, that the claim itself is false, and that Muslims who call the Prophet a mercy to the world must show it in how they respond. Mufti Abu Layth holds that people who are genuine in their search should be left to search wherever it takes them, and that Muslims should not attack an ex-Muslim critic as a person.

Answer from 25 July 2019 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: A Reply to Abdullah Sameer's Allegation: The Quran Teaches Paedophilia | Mufti Abu Layth (at 5:07)

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

Watch on YouTube at 5:07 · Open the segment

Who transmitted the hadith 'whoever changes his religion, kill him', and does the Quran punish apostasy?

Thu, 25 Jul 2019 00:00:00 +0000

Who transmitted the hadith 'whoever changes his religion, kill him', and does the Quran punish apostasy?

Mufti Abu Layth says the Quran is ambivalent about those who leave Islam and that the call to kill apostates is nonsense; the report 'whoever changes his religion, kill him' in Bukhari rests solely on Ikrima, a Khariji whom Imam Malik and Ibn Umar distrusted. He introduces Abdullah Sameer's post as the subject he will answer. Mufti Abu Layth holds that the Quran is ambivalent towards those who leave Islam and prescribes no killing of apostates, and that the report 'whoever changes his religion, kill him' rests solely on Ikrima, a Khariji whom Imam Malik and companions distrusted.

Answer from 25 July 2019 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: A Reply to Abdullah Sameer's Allegation: The Quran Teaches Paedophilia | Mufti Abu Layth (at 0:00)

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

Watch on YouTube at 1:18 · Open the segment

Final thoughts: mental health, persecution, free speech and the victim card

Tue, 15 Jan 2019 00:00:00 +0000

Final thoughts: mental health, persecution, free speech and the victim card

Mufti Abu Layth condemns any persecution of Ahmadis but says criticising their beliefs is free speech, not persecution, and that not calling them Muslims does not amount to persecuting them. Mufti Abu Layth condemns any persecution of Ahmadis but holds that criticising their beliefs is free speech, not persecution, and that not declaring them Muslims does not add to their persecution.

Answer from 15 January 2019 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: A Reply to False Messiahs: Mirza Ghulam Qadiani! -Mufti Abu Layth (at 35:37)

A more recent answer on society/blasphemy-and-free-speech exists (29 September 2024): How scholars' rhetoric fed Pakistan's blasphemy killings, in Mufti Abu Layth's view

Watch on YouTube at 35:37 · Open the segment

Mirza Ghulam Ahmad's unfulfilled prophecies, the mubahala oaths and his death

Tue, 15 Jan 2019 00:00:00 +0000

Mirza Ghulam Ahmad's unfulfilled prophecies, the mubahala oaths and his death

Mirza's prophecies about living to eighty, further marriages, another son and dying in Makkah or Madinah were not fulfilled, and he died first after mubahala oaths. He died of cholera and bowel illness, as his son's biography records. Mufti Abu Layth says Mirza Ghulam Ahmad's prophecies about his lifespan, his marriages, a further son and his place of death were not fulfilled, and that he died of cholera and bowel illness.

Answer from 15 January 2019 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: A Reply to False Messiahs: Mirza Ghulam Qadiani! -Mufti Abu Layth (at 27:43)

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 27:43 · Open the segment

Early denials, the second coming, revelations in English and claims of divinity

Tue, 15 Jan 2019 00:00:00 +0000

Early denials, the second coming, revelations in English and claims of divinity

Mirza's early denials of prophethood were superseded by later claims to be Christ, to receive Quranic verses, to own the real al-Aqsa and to be God. Mufti Abu Layth believes Mirza was mentally unwell rather than lying. Mufti Abu Layth says he believes Mirza Ghulam Ahmad was not lying but had mental health problems, and that the Ahmadi denial of the second coming rests on Mirza's claim to be the awaited Christ.

Answer from 15 January 2019 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: A Reply to False Messiahs: Mirza Ghulam Qadiani! -Mufti Abu Layth (at 21:06)

A more recent answer on belief/ahmadiyya-and-false-messiahs exists (14 March 2021): Who does Yasir Qadhi say first denied the return of Jesus, and what is the Ahmadiyya connection?

Watch on YouTube at 21:06 · Open the segment

Mirza Ghulam Ahmad's developing claims: reformer, messiah, prophet, Krishna

Tue, 15 Jan 2019 00:00:00 +0000

Mirza Ghulam Ahmad's developing claims: reformer, messiah, prophet, Krishna

The claim that Mirza never claimed prophethood is a half-truth: he began as a reformer in 1884, then claimed to be the promised messiah, a prophet in 1901 and Krishna in 1904. Mufti Abu Layth quotes these claims from Mirza's own books. Mufti Abu Layth says the claim that Mirza Ghulam Ahmad never claimed prophethood is a half-truth, since his early writings disclaim it but from 1891 onward he claimed to be the promised messiah, then a prophet, then Krishna.

Answer from 15 January 2019 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: A Reply to False Messiahs: Mirza Ghulam Qadiani! -Mufti Abu Layth (at 14:32)

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 14:32 · Open the segment

Who Mirza Ghulam Ahmad was and the claim that God spoke to him in Punjabi

Tue, 15 Jan 2019 00:00:00 +0000

Who Mirza Ghulam Ahmad was and the claim that God spoke to him in Punjabi

Mirza Ghulam Ahmad was born in 1839 in Punjab. Mufti Abu Layth argues that God intervening in an age of colonial suffering by merely talking to one man in Punjabi, with nothing changing, is not a credible divine plan.

Answer from 15 January 2019 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: A Reply to False Messiahs: Mirza Ghulam Qadiani! -Mufti Abu Layth (at 6:33)

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 6:33 · Open the segment

Backdrop: trolling by Ahmadis and the video that prompted the reply

Tue, 15 Jan 2019 00:00:00 +0000

Backdrop: trolling by Ahmadis and the video that prompted the reply

The reply was prompted by an Ahmadi video claiming Mufti Abu Layth borrowed his views from them, followed by days of online trolling. Mufti says he opposes persecution of Ahmadis but will respond.

Answer from 15 January 2019 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Recording: A Reply to False Messiahs: Mirza Ghulam Qadiani! -Mufti Abu Layth (at 0:00)

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

Watch on YouTube at 0:00 · Open the segment

Sign-off

Sat, 20 Oct 2018 00:00:00 +0000

Sign-off

Mufti Abu Layth signs off, wishing the audience a good night and telling Yasir Qadhi not to take his words to heart.

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

Recording: A Reply to Sheikh Yasir Qadhi - Mufti Abu Layth (at 1:26:21)

Watch on YouTube at 1:26:21 · Open the segment

When is a hadith set aside, and is rejecting hadith acceptable?

Sat, 20 Oct 2018 00:00:00 +0000

When is a hadith set aside, and is rejecting hadith acceptable?

Mufti Abu Layth is not in favour of rejecting hadith in general, but follows Imam Malik in setting aside a report where it goes against the established tradition, reason, the principles of Islam or the Quran. He calls the khutbah dangerous and regrets what he sees as Qadhi's turn away from reason. Mufti Abu Layth says he is not in favour of rejecting hadith in general, but follows Imam Malik in rejecting a report where it goes against the established tradition, reason, the principles of Islam or the Quran.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: A Reply to Sheikh Yasir Qadhi - Mufti Abu Layth (at 1:23:42)

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 1:23:42 · Open the segment

Is a new interpretation of the Quran the same as claiming to be a new prophet?

Sat, 20 Oct 2018 00:00:00 +0000

Is a new interpretation of the Quran the same as claiming to be a new prophet?

Equating a new interpretation with a claim to prophethood is out of order, since the Salafi movement itself is a radical reinterpretation that rejects the majority and holds that God has a leg and a foot. The majority of Muslims have always accepted metaphor in the Quran. Mufti Abu Layth says that equating a new interpretation with a claim to prophethood is out of order, that the Salafi movement is itself a radical reinterpretation which rejects the majority and attributes a leg and a foot to God, and that the majority of Muslims have always accepted non-literal usage in the Quran.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: A Reply to Sheikh Yasir Qadhi - Mufti Abu Layth (at 1:19:53)

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

Watch on YouTube at 1:19:53 · Open the segment

Is hadith the same as the sunnah, and is hadith certain knowledge?

Sat, 20 Oct 2018 00:00:00 +0000

Is hadith the same as the sunnah, and is hadith certain knowledge?

The sunnah is distinct from hadith and reaches Muslims through the living tradition of fiqh, not from hadith books. Hadith are khabar ahad, not certain knowledge, so the Ash'ari and Maturidi orthodoxy does not build beliefs on them, and the Hanafis and Malikis reject solitary reports that contradict reason or their principles. Mufti Abu Layth says the sunnah is distinct from hadith and reaches Muslims through the living tradition of fiqh, that hadith are khabar ahad and so cannot found beliefs according to the Ash'ari and Maturidi orthodoxy, and that the Hanafi and Maliki schools reject solitary reports that contradict reason or their principles.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: A Reply to Sheikh Yasir Qadhi - Mufti Abu Layth (at 1:13:18)

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 1:13:18 · Open the segment

Is evolution compatible with the Quran?

Sat, 20 Oct 2018 00:00:00 +0000

Is evolution compatible with the Quran?

The Quran's verses on creation in stages, growth from the earth, the single self and the couple of 7:189 are reconcilable with evolution, which Mufti Abu Layth calls a scientific fact established through genetics. Hawwa is not named in the Quran, and those who accept evolution should not be called deviants. Mufti Abu Layth says the Quran's verses on creation in stages, growth from the earth and the single self are reconcilable with evolution, which he calls a scientific fact established through genetics, that Hawwa is not named in the Quran, and that those who accept evolution should not be called deviants.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: A Reply to Sheikh Yasir Qadhi - Mufti Abu Layth (at 1:02:49)

A more recent answer on quran/quran-and-science/evolution exists (19 January 2022): Where do Neanderthals fit in the Islamic story of Adam?

Watch on YouTube at 1:02:49 · Open the segment

Which verses are used to argue that Jesus had a father, and does the Quran rule it out?

Sat, 20 Oct 2018 00:00:00 +0000

Which verses are used to argue that Jesus had a father, and does the Quran rule it out?

The Quranic account of Mary implies a virgin conception but does not state it, and 66:12 is not read literally by anyone, so demanding literal reading everywhere is inconsistent. The scholars who held Jesus had a father argue from 6:85-87 and 6:101, and calling them deviants is a huge stretch. Mufti Abu Layth says the Quranic account of Mary implies but does not state a virgin conception, that 66:12 is read literally by no Muslim so literal reading cannot be demanded everywhere, and that declaring deviant those scholars who hold Jesus had a natural birth is a huge stretch; he presents 6:85-87 and 6:101 as those scholars' arguments.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: A Reply to Sheikh Yasir Qadhi - Mufti Abu Layth (at 54:58)

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

Watch on YouTube at 54:58 · Open the segment

Does the Quran say Jesus was born of a virgin?

Sat, 20 Oct 2018 00:00:00 +0000

Does the Quran say Jesus was born of a virgin?

No verse of the Quran states that Jesus's birth was a virgin birth, only implies it, and Muslim scholars have differed on it. Mary is never called the Virgin Mary in Islam; she was married, and some scholars held that she conceived naturally. Mufti Abu Layth says that no verse of the Quran states that Jesus's birth was a virgin birth, only implies it, that Muslim scholars have differed on the question, and that Mary, who was married, is never called the Virgin Mary in Islam.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: A Reply to Sheikh Yasir Qadhi - Mufti Abu Layth (at 49:47)

A more recent answer on quran/stories-of-the-prophets/jesus exists (19 February 2022): What do you think of the rational readings of the Quran on the Marvelous Quran channel?

Watch on YouTube at 49:47 · Open the segment

Why does the Quran call Jesus the Word of God and speak of the Holy Spirit?

Sat, 20 Oct 2018 00:00:00 +0000

Why does the Quran call Jesus the Word of God and speak of the Holy Spirit?

The Quran applies to Jesus terms it uses of no other prophet, the Word of God and the Holy Spirit, which Muslims do not read literally. Mufti Abu Layth suggests this Christian rhetoric may have been meant to build bridges with Christians. Mufti Abu Layth says the Quran applies to Jesus terms such as the Word of God and the Holy Spirit that it uses for no other prophet and that Muslims do not take literally, and suggests this Christian rhetoric may have been meant to build bridges with the Christian community.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: A Reply to Sheikh Yasir Qadhi - Mufti Abu Layth (at 43:11)

A more recent answer on quran/stories-of-the-prophets/jesus exists (19 February 2022): What do you think of the rational readings of the Quran on the Marvelous Quran channel?

Watch on YouTube at 43:11 · Open the segment

Does the Quran say Ibrahim was thrown into the fire, or that the table was sent down to Jesus's disciples?

Sat, 20 Oct 2018 00:00:00 +0000

Does the Quran say Ibrahim was thrown into the fire, or that the table was sent down to Jesus's disciples?

No verse of the Quran says that Ibrahim was thrown into the fire or that the table came down to the disciples, and 'incline them towards you' is the literal wording of 2:260. These are readings of the text as it stands, and calling those who hold them deviants is unacceptable. Mufti Abu Layth says that no verse of the Quran states that Ibrahim was thrown into the fire or that the table was sent down to the disciples, and that reading 2:260 as 'incline them towards you' is the literal wording, so these are readings of the text as it stands rather than reinterpretations, and calling those who hold them deviants is unacceptable.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: A Reply to Sheikh Yasir Qadhi - Mufti Abu Layth (at 31:27)

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

Watch on YouTube at 31:27 · Open the segment

Are the Salafis themselves orthodox by their own standard?

Sat, 20 Oct 2018 00:00:00 +0000

Are the Salafis themselves orthodox by their own standard?

The Salafis are themselves unorthodox: the orthodoxy of the ummah has been Ash'ari and the four schools of law, both of which they reject, so their appeal to orthodoxy against new interpretations is inconsistent. Mufti Abu Layth says the Salafis are themselves unorthodox, since the orthodoxy of the ummah has been Ash'ari in belief and the four schools in law, both of which they reject, so their appeal to orthodoxy against new interpretations of verses is inconsistent.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: A Reply to Sheikh Yasir Qadhi - Mufti Abu Layth (at 28:50)

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

Watch on YouTube at 28:50 · Open the segment

What did Yasir Qadhi write in the leaked emails about the Quran's preservation and the theological schools?

Sat, 20 Oct 2018 00:00:00 +0000

What did Yasir Qadhi write in the leaked emails about the Quran's preservation and the theological schools?

In emails leaked by Dawah Man, Qadhi wrote that the letter-for-letter account of the Quran's preservation cannot stand and proposed discarding the theological schools to rethink kalam from scratch. Mufti Abu Layth reads this as a radical reinterpretation from the man now condemning them.

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

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

Recording: A Reply to Sheikh Yasir Qadhi - Mufti Abu Layth (at 24:51)

A more recent answer on quran/preservation-and-qiraat exists (29 September 2024): Why is lanasfa'an in Quran 96:15 written with an alif, and is it a mistake?

Watch on YouTube at 24:51 · Open the segment

What is Yasir Qadhi's background, and where does the Salafi movement come from?

Sat, 20 Oct 2018 00:00:00 +0000

What is Yasir Qadhi's background, and where does the Salafi movement come from?

Qadhi's arguments stem from a hard-line Salafi formation, and Wahhabism in Mufti Abu Layth's account is a doctrine of literalism hostile to reason founded by Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab, whom he calls a deviant for permitting the killing and enslavement of Muslims. He traces the Salafi scholars of the 1970s to the movement behind the 1979 seizure of Mecca. Mufti Abu Layth says Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab was a deviant because he held it permissible to kill Muslims he deemed disbelievers, enslave their wives and take their wealth, including pilgrims on Hajj, and that Wahhabism is in essence a doctrine of literalism and dogmatism hostile to reason.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: A Reply to Sheikh Yasir Qadhi - Mufti Abu Layth (at 14:22)

A more recent answer on society/extremism-crime-and-justice exists (29 September 2024): How scholars' rhetoric fed Pakistan's blasphemy killings, in Mufti Abu Layth's view

Watch on YouTube at 14:22 · Open the segment

Is Yasir Qadhi's case for reading the Quran literally consistent?

Sat, 20 Oct 2018 00:00:00 +0000

Is Yasir Qadhi's case for reading the Quran literally consistent?

The khutbah is internally inconsistent: it allows the Quran to unlock new meanings while condemning new interpretations, and it demands literal reading while itself reading 'the hand of God' non-literally as God's mercy.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: A Reply to Sheikh Yasir Qadhi - Mufti Abu Layth (at 10:26)

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

Watch on YouTube at 10:26 · Open the segment

What are the three points of Yasir Qadhi's khutbah on orthodoxy, and is hadith certain knowledge?

Sat, 20 Oct 2018 00:00:00 +0000

What are the three points of Yasir Qadhi's khutbah on orthodoxy, and is hadith certain knowledge?

The khutbah's three points are that reinterpreting the Quran through reason or science is heresy, that doubting the hadith sources is heresy, and that a radical new interpretation amounts to claiming prophethood. Mufti Abu Layth agrees that rejecting hadith wholesale is wrong but says the hadith quoted for it is weak and that hadith is khabar ahad, not certain knowledge. Mufti Abu Layth says he agrees that rejecting hadith altogether is misguided, but that the hadith quoted to prove it is weak and that hadith are khabar ahad, which is not certain knowledge but good enough to act on.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: A Reply to Sheikh Yasir Qadhi - Mufti Abu Layth (at 3:53)

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

Watch on YouTube at 3:53 · Open the segment

Introduction: Yasir Qadhi's khutbah on orthodoxy and why he is replying

Sat, 20 Oct 2018 00:00:00 +0000

Introduction: Yasir Qadhi's khutbah on orthodoxy and why he is replying

Mufti Abu Layth introduces Yasir Qadhi's khutbah 'The Importance of Orthodoxy in Islam', which he believes was aimed at him, and says he will reply to its three points despite warnings of repercussions, while affirming his respect for Qadhi.

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

Recording: A Reply to Sheikh Yasir Qadhi - Mufti Abu Layth (at 0:00)

A more recent answer on dialogue/responses-to-critics/yasir-qadhi exists (13 April 2021): Where are the answers to the questions on the Jesus debate?

Watch on YouTube at 0:00 · Open the segment

Who should I listen to about political ideas in Islam?

Mon, 03 Sep 2018 00:00:00 +0000

Who should I listen to about political ideas in Islam?

Anyone speaking about ideas in Islam should at least be a scholar; he warns young people away from caliphate groups and points to Hamza Yusuf's lecture calling the caliphate a myth. Mufti Abu Layth says anyone who wants to speak about ideas within Islam should at least be a scholar, though they can still be wrong.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Response to Abdullah al Andalusi (at 18:31)

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

Watch on YouTube at 18:31 · Open the segment

Did al-Ghazali say Muslims must establish a caliphate?

Mon, 03 Sep 2018 00:00:00 +0000

Did al-Ghazali say Muslims must establish a caliphate?

When al-Ghazali argued for a caliph he meant a king who keeps law and order, as opposed to anarchy, not a system to be set against democracy. Mufti Abu Layth says that when al-Ghazali and scholars of his time wrote of the caliph they meant kingship as opposed to anarchy, not as opposed to democracy.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Response to Abdullah al Andalusi (at 14:42)

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

Watch on YouTube at 14:42 · Open the segment

Are the hadith about the khilafah authentic?

Mon, 03 Sep 2018 00:00:00 +0000

Are the hadith about the khilafah authentic?

Mufti Abu Layth says every hadith about the khilafah is fabricated, since the notion did not exist in the Prophet's lifetime and the Companions did not know them. Mufti Abu Layth says every hadith about the khilafah is fabricated.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Response to Abdullah al Andalusi (at 12:04)

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 12:04 · Open the segment

Is the world today dar al-harb, the land of war?

Mon, 03 Sep 2018 00:00:00 +0000

Is the world today dar al-harb, the land of war?

Mufti Abu Layth rejects the teaching that the whole world is dar al-harb, saying it puts people one step from treating their neighbours as enemy combatants. Mufti Abu Layth says that believing the world is the land of war puts people only a step away from declaring the people around them enemy combatants.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Response to Abdullah al Andalusi (at 9:31)

A more recent answer on society/extremism-crime-and-justice exists (29 September 2024): How scholars' rhetoric fed Pakistan's blasphemy killings, in Mufti Abu Layth's view

Watch on YouTube at 9:31 · Open the segment

Reply to Abdullah al-Andalusi: the 'white saviour' and the caliphate

Mon, 03 Sep 2018 00:00:00 +0000

Reply to Abdullah al-Andalusi: the 'white saviour' and the caliphate

Mufti Abu Layth mocks Abdullah al-Andalusi's call to establish the caliphate as a 'white saviour complex', while praising converts who devoted themselves to study.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Response to Abdullah al Andalusi (at 0:00)

A more recent answer on society/converts-and-newcomers exists (9 May 2023): How do I stop worrying about the ups and downs of my faith?

Watch on YouTube at 0:00 · Open the segment

How should Muslims decide which hadith to accept and which to reject?

Fri, 03 Aug 2018 00:00:00 +0000

How should Muslims decide which hadith to accept and which to reject?

Follow Imam Malik: accept some hadith and reject others. A report is accepted if it does not clash with reason, the Quran, the transmitted and corroborated Sunnah such as the practice of Madinah, or a principle of Islam; otherwise it is treated with caution. Mufti Abu Layth holds that the ummah must return to Imam Malik's method of accepting some hadith and rejecting others, accepting a report only if it does not clash with reason, the Quran, the corroborated Sunnah such as the practice of Madinah, or a principle of Islam.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Reply to Sunni (Wahhabi) Defence Pt. IV -Mufti Abu Layth (at 15:35)

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 15:35 · Open the segment

Can Sahih al-Bukhari be proven to go back to Imam al-Bukhari?

Fri, 03 Aug 2018 00:00:00 +0000

Can Sahih al-Bukhari be proven to go back to Imam al-Bukhari?

Mufti Abu Layth says it cannot be proven beyond reasonable doubt: the printed Sultaniyya rests on the lost Yuniniyya, the copies disagree, al-Saghani's claimed copy of Farabri's text is unseen, and Farabri himself was vouched for only centuries later. He challenges his critics to prove otherwise. Mufti Abu Layth holds that Sahih al-Bukhari cannot be proven beyond reasonable doubt to go back to Imam al-Bukhari, since the Sultaniyya edition rests on the lost Yuniniyya, the recensions disagree, and the book's transmission depends on Farabri, whom no contemporary vouched for.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Reply to Sunni (Wahhabi) Defence Pt. IV -Mufti Abu Layth (at 9:05)

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 9:05 · Open the segment

Is there an authentic hadith that a wife may never refuse her husband sex?

Fri, 03 Aug 2018 00:00:00 +0000

Is there an authentic hadith that a wife may never refuse her husband sex?

Mufti Abu Layth says no version of the report that a wife cannot refuse her husband is free of criticism, since its chains run through al-A'mash and Qatada and carry hidden defects. He challenges his critics to produce one that cannot be faulted. Mufti Abu Layth says that the report that a woman may not refuse her husband cannot be attributed to the Prophet without blasphemy, and challenges his critics to bring one version of it whose chain he cannot show to carry weakness or hidden defects.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Reply to Sunni (Wahhabi) Defence Pt. IV -Mufti Abu Layth (at 3:50)

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 3:50 · Open the segment

Why does Mufti Abu Layth call the Sunni Defence channel blasphemous?

Fri, 03 Aug 2018 00:00:00 +0000

Why does Mufti Abu Layth call the Sunni Defence channel blasphemous?

Mufti Abu Layth says the group's own words, asking what is wrong with the Prophet being sexually impotent and defending the report of Musa running naked, are blasphemous. That, he says, is why he described them as he did.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Reply to Sunni (Wahhabi) Defence Pt. IV -Mufti Abu Layth (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 0:00 · Open the segment

What is the point of checking a hadith's chain of narrators?

Sun, 08 Jul 2018 00:00:00 +0000

What is the point of checking a hadith's chain of narrators?

Chain criticism exists only to judge whether a hadith's content is sound; content against reason, the Quran or Islam's principles is a problem. Treating Bukhari as infallible is nonsense. Mufti Abu Layth says chain criticism was not a goal in itself but was only invented to know whether the content of a hadith was sound.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Reply to Sunni (Wahhabi) Defence Pt. II -Mufti Abu Layth (at 13:53)

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 13:53 · Open the segment

Was al-A'mash a reliable hadith narrator?

Sun, 08 Jul 2018 00:00:00 +0000

Was al-A'mash a reliable hadith narrator?

Mufti Abu Layth cites classical critics who say al-A'mash committed tadlis, sometimes hiding weak narrators, and made many mistakes. This does not mean every narration of his in Bukhari and Muslim is weak.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Reply to Sunni (Wahhabi) Defence Pt. II -Mufti Abu Layth (at 4:25)

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 4:25 · Open the segment

Is it haram to pressure a wife into sex by saying God will be angry?

Sun, 08 Jul 2018 00:00:00 +0000

Is it haram to pressure a wife into sex by saying God will be angry?

Yes: marital rape is categorically haram, and so is religious blackmail, using God's anger to get sex. He reads the hadith of the angels cursing a refusing wife as justifying that. Mufti Abu Layth says, repeating what he said in an earlier session, that marital rape is categorically haram and that this includes religious blackmail.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Reply to Sunni (Wahhabi) Defence Pt. II -Mufti Abu Layth (at 0:00)

A more recent answer on dialogue/responses-to-critics exists (6 April 2021): Donors, deathbed remarks and 'no hatred': an invitation to the critic

Watch on YouTube at 0:00 · Open the segment

Critics silent on marital rape, and a story about research and conclusions

Sun, 08 Jul 2018 00:00:00 +0000

Critics silent on marital rape, and a story about research and conclusions

Mufti Abu Layth says his critics avoid the real issue of marital rape, and challenges them to produce a sound chain for the hadith.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Reply to Sunni (Wahhabi) Defence Pt. III -Mufti Abu Layth (at 12:34)

A more recent answer on dialogue/responses-to-critics exists (6 April 2021): Donors, deathbed remarks and 'no hatred': an invitation to the critic

Watch on YouTube at 12:34 · Open the segment

Thanks for the correction, but the chain is still flawed

Sun, 08 Jul 2018 00:00:00 +0000

Thanks for the correction, but the chain is still flawed

Mufti Abu Layth accepts that three forum quotes were misrepresented but says he never relied on them: his case rests on the narrator's tadlis, which his critics have not refuted. Mufti Abu Layth says that one should be grateful when people point things out.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Reply to Sunni (Wahhabi) Defence Pt. III -Mufti Abu Layth (at 7:00)

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 7:00 · Open the segment

Do the angels curse a wife who refuses her husband in bed?

Sun, 08 Jul 2018 00:00:00 +0000

Do the angels curse a wife who refuses her husband in bed?

No: Mufti Abu Layth holds the hadith is weak, resting on narrators who practised tadlis, and clashes with the Quran's command to treat wives with kindness. Mufti Abu Layth says he believes the hadith about a wife who stays away from her husband's bed is weak and unacceptable, clashing with the Quran.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Reply to Sunni (Wahhabi) Defence Pt. III -Mufti Abu Layth (at 3:12)

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 3:12 · Open the segment

Is it rape if a husband uses religion to pressure his wife into sex?

Sun, 08 Jul 2018 00:00:00 +0000

Is it rape if a husband uses religion to pressure his wife into sex?

Yes: Mufti Abu Layth says using religious threats to pressure a wife into sex is still rape and categorically haram. Mufti Abu Layth says that pressuring a wife into sex by threatening her with Allah's punishment is no less rape than threatening to beat her.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Reply to Sunni (Wahhabi) Defence Pt. III -Mufti Abu Layth (at 0:00)

A more recent answer on dialogue/responses-to-critics exists (6 April 2021): Donors, deathbed remarks and 'no hatred': an invitation to the critic

Watch on YouTube at 0:00 · Open the segment

If I doubt one hadith in Bukhari, will I end up doubting the Quran?

Sun, 01 Apr 2018 00:00:00 +0000

If I doubt one hadith in Bukhari, will I end up doubting the Quran?

The warning that doubting one hadith leads to doubting the Quran is scare-mongering: Bukhari and Muslim are not the word of God, some of their reports must be rejected, and the deen does not fall apart from questioning. Mufti Abu Layth says Jesus is not going to come but treats the matter as a difference of opinion, not a sectarian one. Mufti Abu Layth says that warning people that doubting one hadith leads to doubting the Quran is scare-mongering, since Bukhari and Muslim are not the word of God and the deen does not fall apart from questioning; he says that in his view Jesus is not going to come, while asking that the matter be treated as a difference of opinion rather than a sectarian one.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Reflections on Sh. Hassan Ali's video of Jesus Christ's 2nd coming - Mufti Abu Layth al-Maliki (at 22:12)

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 22:12 · Open the segment

On what principles can a hadith in Bukhari be rejected, and may ordinary Muslims do so?

Sun, 01 Apr 2018 00:00:00 +0000

On what principles can a hadith in Bukhari be rejected, and may ordinary Muslims do so?

A valid chain is not enough: a report must not go against reason, the established Quran and Sunnah, or the principles of Islam, and the Hanafi-Maturidi majority require mutawatir hadith for creed. Lay people may suspend a hadith that troubles them while seeking guidance; the gecko hadith is given as a report Mufti Abu Layth considers made up. Mufti Abu Layth says that a hadith with a valid chain must still be rejected if it goes against reason, the established Quran and Sunnah, or the principles of Islam, that creed requires mutawatir reports according to the Hanafi and Maturidi majority, that lay people may suspend a hadith that troubles them while seeking guidance, and that the gecko hadith is made up.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Reflections on Sh. Hassan Ali's video of Jesus Christ's 2nd coming - Mufti Abu Layth al-Maliki (at 18:17)

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 18:17 · Open the segment

Why do almost all the hadith about Jesus returning come through Abu Hurayra?

Sun, 01 Apr 2018 00:00:00 +0000

Why do almost all the hadith about Jesus returning come through Abu Hurayra?

Mufti Abu Layth does not believe the Prophet said the second-coming hadith: about eighty percent come through Abu Hurayra alone, who learned from the converts Ka'b al-Ahbar and Abdullah ibn Salam, and some of his reports appear elsewhere as Ka'b's words from the Torah. No such hadith comes from Abu Bakr, Umar, Ali or Uthman. Mufti Abu Layth says he does not believe the Prophet said the hadith about Jesus coming back, since almost eighty percent of them come through Abu Hurayra alone, who learned from Ka'b al-Ahbar and Abdullah ibn Salam, some of his reports appear elsewhere as Ka'b's words from the Torah, and none comes from Abu Bakr, Umar, Ali or Uthman.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Reflections on Sh. Hassan Ali's video of Jesus Christ's 2nd coming - Mufti Abu Layth al-Maliki (at 10:26)

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 10:26 · Open the segment

Does it matter that the second coming of Jesus is the majority opinion and Mufti Abu Layth's view a minority one?

Sun, 01 Apr 2018 00:00:00 +0000

Does it matter that the second coming of Jesus is the majority opinion and Mufti Abu Layth's view a minority one?

If every detail of the second-coming hadith is a metaphor, Mufti Abu Layth asks why Jesus himself is not. Majority and minority opinions are decided later by power and politics, as Abu Hanifa's case shows: condemned as a deviant by his contemporaries, his school spread when Abu Yusuf appointed only Hanafi judges. Mufti Abu Layth says that if the details of the second-coming hadith are metaphors then the whole account could be one, and that which opinion counts as majority or minority is decided later by power and politics rather than by contemporaries, as the case of Abu Hanifa shows.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Reflections on Sh. Hassan Ali's video of Jesus Christ's 2nd coming - Mufti Abu Layth al-Maliki (at 5:13)

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

Watch on YouTube at 5:13 · Open the segment

Is the second coming of Jesus proven by the Quran or by the fact that most Muslims believe it?

Sun, 01 Apr 2018 00:00:00 +0000

Is the second coming of Jesus proven by the Quran or by the fact that most Muslims believe it?

The second coming cannot be proven from the Quran, as Hassan Ali concedes, and the fact that most Muslims believe it only reflects what they were taught as children, as with folk tales of Ya'juj and Ma'juj. The hadith on it have chain problems and, more importantly, details that clash with Islam. Mufti Abu Layth says the second coming of Jesus cannot be clearly proven from the Quran, that majority belief in it reflects childhood indoctrination rather than proof, and that the hadith on it have chain problems and contain details, such as Jesus forcing people to become Muslim, that clash with Islam.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Reflections on Sh. Hassan Ali's video of Jesus Christ's 2nd coming - Mufti Abu Layth al-Maliki (at 1:19)

A more recent answer on hadith/authentication/text-criticism-and-reason exists (19 August 2022): What does the Quran say against the satanic verses story?

Watch on YouTube at 1:19 · Open the segment

Introduction: reflections on Shaykh Hassan Ali's video, and respect for him

Sun, 01 Apr 2018 00:00:00 +0000

Introduction: reflections on Shaykh Hassan Ali's video, and respect for him

Mufti Abu Layth introduces his reply to Shaykh Hassan Ali's video on the second coming of Jesus and affirms his respect for him despite earlier disagreements such as on jinn possession.

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

Recording: Reflections on Sh. Hassan Ali's video of Jesus Christ's 2nd coming - Mufti Abu Layth al-Maliki (at 0:00)

A more recent answer on belief/eschatology/second-coming-of-jesus exists (13 April 2021): Where are the answers to the questions on the Jesus debate?

Watch on YouTube at 0:00 · Open the segment

What are the main problems with the hadith about Jesus returning?

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

What are the main problems with the hadith about Jesus returning?

Mufti Abu Layth says the return narrations conflict with the Quran, the Sunnah and Islam's principles, rest on solitary reports that cannot found aqidah, and contradict one another, from Constantinople to who the Dajjal is. He notes that the hadith of Jibril on faith and the Prophet's answers on the signs of the hour do not mention Jesus. Mufti Abu Layth holds that the narrations of Jesus's return conflict with the Quran, the Sunnah and the established principles of Islam, are solitary reports that are not part of creed in the way people have made them, and contradict one another.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: A response to Shadee Elmasry - Mufti Abu Layth al-Maliki (at 15:42)

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 15:42 · Open the segment

Why would Jesus need to come back at all?

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

Why would Jesus need to come back at all?

Mufti Abu Layth says the reasons given for a return do not hold together: the Dajjal simply melts, hatred of Jews contradicts Jesus's own message as a Jew preaching compassion, and killing pigs contradicts a report in Malik that Jesus was peaceful towards pigs. Mufti Abu Layth holds that the reasons given for Jesus's return, killing the Dajjal who simply melts, killing the Jews, and killing pigs, conflict with each other and with Jesus's own message, and that a report in Malik has Jesus peaceful towards pigs.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: A response to Shadee Elmasry - Mufti Abu Layth al-Maliki (at 13:02)

A more recent answer on hadith/authentication/text-criticism-and-reason exists (19 August 2022): What does the Quran say against the satanic verses story?

Watch on YouTube at 13:02 · Open the segment

Does Quran 43:61 say Jesus is the sign of the hour?

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

Does Quran 43:61 say Jesus is the sign of the hour?

No: Hasan al-Basri read 'knowledge of the hour' as the Quran, others as the Prophet, and the verse says knowledge, not sign, so the critics must interpret it too. Mufti Abu Layth adds that the Mahdi was also called mutawatir by Ibn Hajar, al-Shawkani and others yet is absent from al-Tahawi's creed. Mufti Abu Layth holds that 43:61 does not state that Jesus is the sign of the hour, that the critics contradict themselves by invoking mutawatir and consensus claims they reject elsewhere, and that the second-coming narrative reads exactly from the Gospels.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: A response to Shadee Elmasry - Mufti Abu Layth al-Maliki (at 10:26)

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 10:26 · Open the segment

Does 'before his death' in Quran 4:159 refer to the return of Jesus?

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

Does 'before his death' in Quran 4:159 refer to the return of Jesus?

No: Mufti Abu Layth says early authorities including Ibn Abbas, Mujahid and al-Dahhak read the pronoun as the Christian who realises the truth at death, and Ubayy ibn Ka'b's recitation has 'before their death'. Referring it to Jesus's return would exclude every Christian who died over two thousand years. Mufti Abu Layth holds that 'before his death' in 4:159 refers to the death of each Christian, not to Jesus, following Ibn Abbas, Mujahid and al-Dahhak and the plural reading of Ubayy ibn Ka'b, and that the second-coming reading makes no sense of the Christians who have already died.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: A response to Shadee Elmasry - Mufti Abu Layth al-Maliki (at 7:51)

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

Watch on YouTube at 7:51 · Open the segment

Does the verse about Jesus speaking as a kahl prove he will return?

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

Does the verse about Jesus speaking as a kahl prove he will return?

No: kahl means mature adulthood from about thirty or forty, and al-Razi says Jesus reached that age on earth. The reading of the verse as the second coming first appeared with a scholar who died in the 280s AH, not among the salaf. Mufti Abu Layth holds that kahl in the verse means mature adulthood, which Jesus reached on earth as al-Razi states, and that the reading of the verse as a prophecy of his return originated with a scholar who died in the 280s AH and was unknown to the salaf.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: A response to Shadee Elmasry - Mufti Abu Layth al-Maliki (at 5:13)

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

Watch on YouTube at 5:13 · Open the segment

Is someone who denies a line of al-Tahawi's creed a kafir?

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

Is someone who denies a line of al-Tahawi's creed a kafir?

No: Mufti Abu Layth says this makes al-Tahawi rather than the Quran the standard, that Elmasry himself departs from al-Tahawi on several points, that Ash'ari creed does not make takfir of the people of the qibla, and that al-Tahawi wrote 250 years after the Prophet and is not an Ash'ari authority.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: A response to Shadee Elmasry - Mufti Abu Layth al-Maliki (at 2:36)

A more recent answer on belief/sectarianism-and-takfir exists (22 February 2023): Should Sunnis preach to Shia Muslims about what they get wrong?

Watch on YouTube at 2:36 · Open the segment

Reaction to being called a probable kafir by Shadee Elmasry and others

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

Reaction to being called a probable kafir by Shadee Elmasry and others

Mufti Abu Layth rejects being called a probable kafir and apostate by Shadee Elmasry and others, says no pressure can remove him from Islam, and calls the readiness to throw people out of Islam a god complex.

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

Recording: A response to Shadee Elmasry - Mufti Abu Layth al-Maliki (at 0:00)

A more recent answer on belief/sectarianism-and-takfir exists (22 February 2023): Should Sunnis preach to Shia Muslims about what they get wrong?

Watch on YouTube at 0:00 · Open the segment

Is it fair to say Mufti Abu Layth has no knowledge of the Maliki school?

Wed, 28 Feb 2018 00:00:00 +0000

Is it fair to say Mufti Abu Layth has no knowledge of the Maliki school?

Mufti Abu Layth challenges his critic to a discussion on the Maliki school and says disagreement with his interpretation is fair, but calling him ignorant of the school is misleading.

Answer from 28 February 2018 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: A response to Hamza Maqbool (Deobandi/Maliki) - Mufti Abu Layth al-Maliki (at 18:11)

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 18:11 · Open the segment

What do the classical Maliki books say about witnesses in a marriage?

Wed, 28 Feb 2018 00:00:00 +0000

What do the classical Maliki books say about witnesses in a marriage?

The Maliki authorities he reads hold that a marriage without witnesses is valid unless it is meant to be secret; witnesses or an announcement are required before consummation. Mufti Abu Layth says the standard Maliki texts, including al-Kafi, the Mudawwana as quoted by Ibn Yunus, and later authorities, state that a nikah without witnesses is valid provided it is not meant to be secret, witnessing being a condition of consummation rather than of validity.

Answer from 28 February 2018 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: A response to Hamza Maqbool (Deobandi/Maliki) - Mufti Abu Layth al-Maliki (at 9:00)

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 9:00 · Open the segment

Are witnesses required for a nikah in the Maliki school?

Wed, 28 Feb 2018 00:00:00 +0000

Are witnesses required for a nikah in the Maliki school?

In the Maliki school witnesses are not needed for the nikah to be valid; witnesses or an announcement are needed before consummation. Hamza Maqbool's tweet said Mufti Abu Layth does not represent the school. Mufti Abu Layth says the Maliki school does not require witnesses for a valid nikah, only witnesses or a public announcement before the marriage is consummated, and that many of the Prophet's marriages were not witnessed.

Answer from 28 February 2018 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: A response to Hamza Maqbool (Deobandi/Maliki) - Mufti Abu Layth al-Maliki (at 5:06)

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 5:06 · Open the segment

Did the Prophet marry Safiyya on the same night she was captured?

Wed, 28 Feb 2018 00:00:00 +0000

Did the Prophet marry Safiyya on the same night she was captured?

No: Mufti Abu Layth says Safiyya was a Muslim when the Prophet married her and so had to observe a waiting period, which rules out a marriage on the night of her capture. Mufti Abu Layth says the claim that the Prophet took Safiyya and married her on the same night cannot stand, since as a Muslim she was bound by the waiting period, and even a single menstrual cycle could not have passed in one or two nights.

Answer from 28 February 2018 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: A response to Hamza Maqbool (Deobandi/Maliki) - Mufti Abu Layth al-Maliki (at 2:28)

A more recent answer on history/sirah/defending-the-prophet exists (19 August 2022): Should loyalty to a scholar ever come before the honour of the Prophet?

Watch on YouTube at 2:28 · Open the segment

Reactions to his Safiyya narrative, and the parable of the wife who is never pleased

Wed, 28 Feb 2018 00:00:00 +0000

Reactions to his Safiyya narrative, and the parable of the wife who is never pleased

Mufti Abu Layth notes that his account of Safiyya was mostly well received, but some critics still found fault, which he illustrates with the story of a wife who cannot be pleased.

Answer from 28 February 2018 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Recording: A response to Hamza Maqbool (Deobandi/Maliki) - Mufti Abu Layth al-Maliki (at 0:01)

A more recent answer on history/sirah/wives-of-the-prophet exists (5 January 2021): Did the Prophet fall in love with Zaynab bint Jahsh?

Watch on YouTube at 0:01 · Open the segment

What does he say to critics who accept that the Prophet was impotent, married a nine-year-old or was bewitched into clumsiness?

Wed, 21 Feb 2018 00:00:00 +0000

What does he say to critics who accept that the Prophet was impotent, married a nine-year-old or was bewitched into clumsiness?

Mufti Abu Layth says these claims are untrue attacks on the Prophet's honour, resting on reports whose chains he has shown to be defective, and that critics who affirm them to win an argument are themselves being blasphemous. He adds that he does not support capital punishment for such speech. Mufti Abu Layth says the claims that the Prophet was sexually impotent, married a nine-year-old or became clumsy under a spell are untrue and an attack on the Prophet's honour, that he has shown the reports on the marriage to have problems in their chains, and that those who affirm such claims are themselves being blasphemous.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Reply to Sunni (Wahhabi) Defence Pt.I -Mufti Abu Layth (at 40:19)

A more recent answer on history/sirah/defending-the-prophet exists (19 August 2022): Should loyalty to a scholar ever come before the honour of the Prophet?

Watch on YouTube at 42:14 · Open the segment

Did Ibn Ma'in consider Isma'il ibn Abi Uways and his family reliable?

Wed, 21 Feb 2018 00:00:00 +0000

Did Ibn Ma'in consider Isma'il ibn Abi Uways and his family reliable?

Mufti Abu Layth says that although one transmitted opinion of Ibn Ma'in accepts him, Ibn Ma'in is also transmitted as counting the household of Abu Uways among the weak. He adds that Abu al-Zubayr was weakened by several critics, so none of the chains the critics brought is conclusive.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Reply to Sunni (Wahhabi) Defence Pt.I -Mufti Abu Layth (at 36:28)

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 36:28 · Open the segment

Are the Jabir chains for the crying-tree hadith through Isra'il, Abd al-Razzaq and Ibn Jurayj sound?

Wed, 21 Feb 2018 00:00:00 +0000

Are the Jabir chains for the crying-tree hadith through Isra'il, Abd al-Razzaq and Ibn Jurayj sound?

Mufti Abu Layth argues they are not: one chain rests on Isra'il, whom Yahya ibn Sa'id and Ibn al-Madini weakened, and an unknown narrator; the other on Abd al-Razzaq, criticised for errors from memory, and Ibn Jurayj, a mudallis whose 'akhbarani' referred to books rather than hearing.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Reply to Sunni (Wahhabi) Defence Pt.I -Mufti Abu Layth (at 31:15)

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 31:15 · Open the segment

Is the chain Hammad ibn Salama from Thabit from Anas for the crying-tree hadith sound?

Wed, 21 Feb 2018 00:00:00 +0000

Is the chain Hammad ibn Salama from Thabit from Anas for the crying-tree hadith sound?

Mufti Abu Layth argues it is not: critics report that Hammad ibn Salama's memory failed late in life, that Bukhari did not transmit from him, and that Thabit was not the most reliable transmitter from Anas, Qatada and Humayd al-Tawil being ranked above him.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Reply to Sunni (Wahhabi) Defence Pt.I -Mufti Abu Layth (at 24:42)

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 26:01 · Open the segment

Can a hadith narrated by Jabir alone be mutawatir?

Wed, 21 Feb 2018 00:00:00 +0000

Can a hadith narrated by Jabir alone be mutawatir?

No: mutawatir requires so many transmissions that a lie is impossible, which a report from Jabir alone cannot be, and he says the report is not even sahih. He defends following the critics who weakened the narrator rather than those who graded him reliable. Mufti Abu Layth says hadith grading is not settled by a majority, so that he is entitled to follow the hadith critic who weakened a narrator rather than those who graded him reliable.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Reply to Sunni (Wahhabi) Defence Pt.I -Mufti Abu Layth (at 19:41)

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 19:41 · Open the segment

Does the Maliki school distinguish between hadith and Sunnah, and did Imam Malik ever reject a hadith?

Wed, 21 Feb 2018 00:00:00 +0000

Does the Maliki school distinguish between hadith and Sunnah, and did Imam Malik ever reject a hadith?

Yes: the school of Madinah embraces the Sunnah while remaining critical of individual hadith, and Imam Malik rejected several reports when the practice of Madinah did not reflect them. He says he stated clearly that scholars differed on the report's grading. Mufti Abu Layth says the school of Madinah distinguishes hadith from Sunnah, embracing the Sunnah while remaining critical of individual hadith, and that Imam Malik did reject several hadith when the practice of Madinah did not reflect them.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Reply to Sunni (Wahhabi) Defence Pt.I -Mufti Abu Layth (at 17:03)

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 17:03 · Open the segment

Is it acceptable to criticise a hadith in Sahih al-Bukhari?

Wed, 21 Feb 2018 00:00:00 +0000

Is it acceptable to criticise a hadith in Sahih al-Bukhari?

Al-Albani himself rejected around a dozen reports in Bukhari, so criticising a Bukhari report does not make someone a deviant. The salaf understood the Quran's miracles in several ways, and miracles had causes within God's natural law. Mufti Abu Layth says that criticising reports in Sahih al-Bukhari cannot make a person a deviant when al-Albani rejected around a dozen of them, and that the salaf understood the Quran's miracles in several ways, miracles always having causes within God's law of nature.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Reply to Sunni (Wahhabi) Defence Pt.I -Mufti Abu Layth (at 14:23)

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 14:23 · Open the segment

How does he view the Salafi movement, and is hadith narrator criticism a divine science?

Wed, 21 Feb 2018 00:00:00 +0000

How does he view the Salafi movement, and is hadith narrator criticism a divine science?

The Salafi movement began as a courageous rejection of tradition but, once established, became as dogmatic as what it opposed. Narrator criticism is a human science, so it is always open to revision and disagreement. Mufti Abu Layth says the Salafi movement, having begun as a courageous iconoclastic rejection of tradition, became as dogmatic as what it opposed once established, and that narrator criticism (ilm al-rijal) is a human science open to revision and disagreement rather than a divine one.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Reply to Sunni (Wahhabi) Defence Pt.I -Mufti Abu Layth (at 10:29)

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 10:29 · Open the segment