Mufti Abu Layth Archive: arts/science-and-the-universe

Can a pregnancy last for years, as was said of Imam Malik's birth?

2023-03-10T00:00:00Z

Can a pregnancy last for years, as was said of Imam Malik's birth?

No: reports of years-long pregnancies are best explained by phantom pregnancies followed by real conception, not dismissed as lies or taken literally. Mufti Abu Layth says the old reports of pregnancies lasting years, as with Imam Malik's, can be explained by phantom pregnancies.

Answer from 10 March 2023 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: The Legendary Imam Malik Ibn Anas | Mufti Abu Layth (at 5:36)

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

Watch on YouTube at 6:54 · Open the segment

Is it haram to believe the universe will never end?

2021-04-06T00:00:00Z

Is it haram to believe the universe will never end?

It is not haram: creation, including the afterlife, once brought into being remains forever in some form while still being other than God. Mufti Abu Layth says it is not haram to believe the universe is never-ending, depending on what is meant, since creation once brought into existence, including the afterlife, remains forever in some form while still being other than God.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Monday Nights with Mufti #209 | Q&A Unscripted & Unrestricted! 😉 | Mufti Abu Layth (at 1:34:16)

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

Watch on YouTube at 1:34:16 · Open the segment

Can atheism explain consciousness?

2021-02-16T00:00:00Z

Can atheism explain consciousness?

Mufti Abu Layth says atheists have strong points, but their case collapses at consciousness and quantum physics; atheism only works against Newtonian, institutional religion. Mufti Abu Layth says that while atheists have strong arguments on many things, overall their case collapses when it comes face to face with consciousness.

Answer from 16 February 2021 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Monday Nights with Mufti #202| Q&A Unscripted & Unrestricted! 😉 | Mufti Abu Layth (at 1:42:23)

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

Watch on YouTube at 1:42:23 · Open the segment

Clip: a raven mimicking human speech

2021-02-02T00:00:00Z

Clip: a raven mimicking human speech

Mufti Abu Layth shows a raven mimicking speech and says crows and ravens are equally intelligent corvids.

Answer from 2 February 2021 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Recording: Monday Nights with Mufti #200| Q&A Unscripted & Unrestricted! 😉 | Mufti Abu Layth (at 2:10:08)

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

Watch on YouTube at 2:10:08 · Open the segment

Is the evil eye based on science?

2020-11-15T00:00:00Z

Is the evil eye based on science?

It rested on the old belief that eyes shoot out rays, which people once took as science; Ibn al-Qayyim described envious 'arrows' from the eye. Ibn al-Haytham and later science showed that eyes only take in light. Mufti Abu Layth says that in antiquity the evil eye was regarded as science, built on the belief that the eyes emit rays, a theory since debunked.

Answer from 15 November 2020 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: There is NO evil eye in Islam (Detailed Overview) | Mufti Abu Layth (at 28:32)

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

Watch on YouTube at 28:32 · Open the segment

Did ancient civilisations have knowledge that was later lost?

2019-12-17T00:00:00Z

Did ancient civilisations have knowledge that was later lost?

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

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

Kind: general teaching

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

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

Watch on YouTube at 14:26 · Open the segment

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

2019-09-18T00:00:00Z

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

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

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

Kind: general teaching

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

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

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

Does sound exist if nobody hears it?

2019-09-18T00:00:00Z

Does sound exist if nobody hears it?

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

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

Kind: general teaching

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

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

Watch on YouTube at 48:15 · Open the segment

Is music haram in Islam?

2019-08-04T00:00:00Z

Is music haram in Islam?

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

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

Kind: general teaching

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

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

Watch on YouTube at 0:00 · Open the segment

What is the 'jinn of the gaps'?

2018-04-15T00:00:00Z

What is the 'jinn of the gaps'?

It is Mufti Abu Layth's name for blaming the jinn for anything not yet understood, as atheists accuse believers of a god of the gaps. He lists conditions such as Capgras delusion, hemispatial neglect, aphantasia and foreign accent syndrome that have or will have natural explanations but would once have been called possession. Mufti Abu Layth holds that attributing whatever cannot yet be explained to the jinn is a 'jinn of the gaps' argument, as weak as the god of the gaps that atheists criticise, and that not knowing an answer does not mean it cannot be known.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Jinn: Myth and Reality in Islam by Mufti Abu Layth (at 48:28)

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 48:28 · Open the segment

If exorcisms and ruqya sometimes work, does that prove possession is real?

2018-04-15T00:00:00Z

If exorcisms and ruqya sometimes work, does that prove possession is real?

No: real symptoms can be produced or relieved by belief alone, as Ted Kaptchuk's study with fake pills and retractable needles showed, so an exorcism or ruqya can 'work' through the placebo effect. Some people would also have recovered regardless. Mufti Abu Layth holds that the placebo and nocebo effects, demonstrated in Ted Kaptchuk's sham-treatment study, explain why people genuinely feel better or worse after exorcisms and ruqya, and that some would have recovered anyway.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Jinn: Myth and Reality in Islam by Mufti Abu Layth (at 40:37)

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

Watch on YouTube at 40:37 · Open the segment

What medical conditions could have been mistaken for possession in the past?

2018-04-15T00:00:00Z

What medical conditions could have been mistaken for possession in the past?

Conditions such as palinopsia, where after-images persist, and Charles Bonnet syndrome, where people see faces, teeth and buildings that are not there, have known brain causes today but would once have looked like demons. Oliver Sacks's patient knew her visions were unreal, unlike the persecutory beliefs of psychosis. Mufti Abu Layth holds that conditions now explained neurologically, such as palinopsia and Charles Bonnet syndrome, would in the past have been read as demons or possession for want of any other explanation.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Jinn: Myth and Reality in Islam by Mufti Abu Layth (at 36:39)

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

Watch on YouTube at 36:39 · Open the segment

Could strange symptoms blamed on jinn have medical explanations?

2017-09-20T00:00:00Z

Could strange symptoms blamed on jinn have medical explanations?

Yes: face blindness, mirror-touch synaesthesia, phantom limbs, alien hand syndrome, the Capgras delusion, hemispatial neglect, aphantasia and foreign accent syndrome are all documented conditions that the past could only call demons. Blaming the unexplained on jinn is a 'jinn of the gaps'; the Prophet's hadith on cures says go and find the knowledge. Mufti Abu Layth says the many neurological conditions science now describes, from prosopagnosia to foreign accent syndrome, show that attributing the unexplained to jinn is a 'jinn of the gaps' fallacy, and that the Prophet's hadith on cures tells people to seek the knowledge.

Answer from 20 September 2017 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Jinn Possessions: Myth and Reality in Islam by Sh. Akram Nadwi & Mufti Abu Layth (at 1:37:52)

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

Watch on YouTube at 1:37:52 · Open the segment

If someone got better after ruqya or an exorcism, does that prove it worked?

2017-09-20T00:00:00Z

If someone got better after ruqya or an exorcism, does that prove it worked?

Not necessarily: the placebo and nocebo effects produce real relief and real symptoms, as Kaptchuk's trial with cornstarch pills and retractable needles showed. Some patients would also have recovered anyway and are counted as cures. Mufti Abu Layth says that apparent cures through ruqya or exorcism can be explained by the placebo and nocebo effects, which Ted Kaptchuk's sham acupuncture trial showed produce real symptoms and real relief, or by people who would have recovered anyway.

Answer from 20 September 2017 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Jinn Possessions: Myth and Reality in Islam by Sh. Akram Nadwi & Mufti Abu Layth (at 1:31:20)

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

Watch on YouTube at 1:31:20 · Open the segment

Could seeing figures or faces that are not there be a brain condition rather than a jinn?

2017-09-20T00:00:00Z

Could seeing figures or faces that are not there be a brain condition rather than a jinn?

Yes: palinopsia makes after-images persist and Charles Bonnet syndrome makes an overactive fusiform gyrus produce faces, teeth and buildings, as Oliver Sacks's patient saw men with long teeth while knowing they were not real. In the past such visions could only be explained as demons. Mufti Abu Layth says conditions such as palinopsia and Charles Bonnet syndrome show how abnormalities in the brain produce visions of people and shapes that someone in the past could only have explained as demons.

Answer from 20 September 2017 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Jinn Possessions: Myth and Reality in Islam by Sh. Akram Nadwi & Mufti Abu Layth (at 1:27:25)

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

Watch on YouTube at 1:27:25 · Open the segment