Mufti Abu Layth Archive: belief/creed-and-kalam-schools

Why orthodoxy took hold, and who wrote the checklist

2023-02-13T00:00:00Z

Why orthodoxy took hold, and who wrote the checklist

Orthodoxy offered clarity, but its checklist was written by men from their own school and position, not by Allah and his Messenger. Mufti Abu Layth says the creedal list was taught not by Allah and his Messenger but by men, who wrote from their own perspective.

Answer from 13 February 2023 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Birth Of Islamic Orthodoxy And Institutionalisation | Mufti Abu Layth (at 30:09)

Watch on YouTube at 30:09 · Open the segment

The created Quran controversy and the birth of a creedal checklist

2023-02-13T00:00:00Z

The created Quran controversy and the birth of a creedal checklist

In his research, orthodoxy began with the created-Quran controversy, which gave rise to the language of divine attributes and to growing creedal checklists. Mufti Abu Layth says that in his research he feels orthodoxy originates with the question of the creation of the Quran.

Answer from 13 February 2023 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Birth Of Islamic Orthodoxy And Institutionalisation | Mufti Abu Layth (at 10:49)

Watch on YouTube at 10:49 · Open the segment

Apophatic definition: the early main body defined by what it was not

2023-02-13T00:00:00Z

Apophatic definition: the early main body defined by what it was not

Early Muslims had no creed checklist: you belonged to the main body as long as you did not hold the positions of the known sects. Mufti Abu Layth says that in the time of the salaf the main body of Muslims was identified by contrast with outgroups, with no checklist of what to believe.

Answer from 13 February 2023 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Birth Of Islamic Orthodoxy And Institutionalisation | Mufti Abu Layth (at 5:46)

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 5:46 · Open the segment

The birth of orthodoxy: a nameless main body and the hadith project

2023-02-13T00:00:00Z

The birth of orthodoxy: a nameless main body and the hadith project

Orthodoxy means belief deemed correct by those with power. For two centuries the main body of Muslims had no name and was marked out by involvement in hadith. Mufti Abu Layth says the name Ahl al-Sunnah did not exist until over two hundred years after the Prophet.

Answer from 13 February 2023 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Birth Of Islamic Orthodoxy And Institutionalisation | Mufti Abu Layth (at 0:00)

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

Watch on YouTube at 0:00 · Open the segment

Are the signs of the Hour part of Islamic creed?

2021-04-06T00:00:00Z

Are the signs of the Hour part of Islamic creed?

One can be a Maliki and doubt these reports: Ibn Ashur, Shaykh al-Islam of the Malikis, classed the signs of the Hour as information rather than creed, and Imam Ahmad said the malahim reports have no foundation.

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 2:51:30)

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 2:51:30 · Open the segment

Does using reason in Islam make someone a Mu'tazili?

2021-03-15T00:00:00Z

Does using reason in Islam make someone a Mu'tazili?

The Mu'tazila were defined by doctrines about sin and God's obligations, not by reason; the Sunni distrust of reason was a later reaction to losing debates. Calling someone Mu'tazili for using reason is a tactic to avoid debate. Mufti Abu Layth says Sunnis started to say that the deen is not built on intellect only as a reaction, to get back at their opponents in debate, and that later generations inherited this narrative.

Answer from 15 March 2021 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Why isn't Mufti from the Mu'tazilah? | Mufti Abu Layth (at 6:58)

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 6:58 · Open the segment

Is Mufti Abu Layth a Mu'tazili?

2021-03-15T00:00:00Z

Is Mufti Abu Layth a Mu'tazili?

Mufti Abu Layth is not a Mu'tazili because he is Sunni. The Mu'tazila were an early faction defined by their view of sinners, and calling them 'super rationalists' is later Sunni propaganda.

Answer from 15 March 2021 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Why isn't Mufti from the Mu'tazilah? | Mufti Abu Layth (at 0:01)

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 0:01 · Open the segment

Is separating hadith from the Sunnah a Hanafi and Maliki principle, and what does Mufti Abu Layth say about Salafi creed?

2021-03-14T00:00:00Z

Is separating hadith from the Sunnah a Hanafi and Maliki principle, and what does Mufti Abu Layth say about Salafi creed?

Distinguishing hadith from the Sunnah is the usul of the Hanafi and Maliki schools, not Abduh's invention, and Qadhi applies to Gog and Magog the very reasoning he condemns in others. Mufti Abu Layth adds that Salafi kalam rests on fabricated chains, such as companions debating whether the Quran is created, a debate that arose only around 190 to 210 AH. Mufti Abu Layth holds that distinguishing hadith from the Sunnah is the usul of the Hanafi and Maliki schools rather than an innovation of Abduh, that Qadhi applies to Gog and Magog the reasoning he condemns in others, and that Salafi kalam rests on fabrications such as chains to companions debating whether the Quran is created, a debate that arose only around 190 to 210 AH.

Answer from 14 March 2021 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Reply to Yasir Qadhi's False Claims on 2nd Coming of Jesus | Mufti Abu Layth (at 1:15:01)

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 1:15:01 · Open the segment

Does Yasir Qadhi hold that even positions in aqidah lie within a spectrum of opinion?

2021-03-14T00:00:00Z

Does Yasir Qadhi hold that even positions in aqidah lie within a spectrum of opinion?

In the clip Qadhi says that even in aqidah positions lie within a spectrum, that absorbing one's teachers' view does not make it true, and that no scholar's word is evidence in itself. Mufti Abu Layth says this sits ill with Qadhi declaring him a heretic for departing from the majority on the return of Jesus.

Answer from 14 March 2021 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Reply to Yasir Qadhi's False Claims on 2nd Coming of Jesus | Mufti Abu Layth (at 1:05:54)

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 1:05:54 · Open the segment

Is separating hadith from the Sunnah a Hanafi and Maliki principle?

2021-03-02T00:00:00Z

Is separating hadith from the Sunnah a Hanafi and Maliki principle?

The hadith-Sunnah distinction is Hanafi and Maliki usul, not Abduh's invention; Mufti Abu Layth lists Qadhi's inconsistencies and says Salafi kalam rests on fabricated chains. Mufti Abu Layth says that distinguishing hadith from the Sunnah is the usul of the Hanafi and Maliki madhhabs.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Monday Nights with Mufti #204 | Q&A Unscripted & Unrestricted! 😉 | Mufti Abu Layth (at 2:18:13)

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 2:18:13 · Open the segment

Can positions in aqidah fall within a range of scholarly opinion?

2021-03-02T00:00:00Z

Can positions in aqidah fall within a range of scholarly opinion?

Mufti Abu Layth shows Qadhi teaching that even aqidah positions lie on a spectrum and that no scholar's word is evidence in itself, while calling Mufti a heretic for departing from the majority.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Monday Nights with Mufti #204 | Q&A Unscripted & Unrestricted! 😉 | Mufti Abu Layth (at 2:09:14)

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 2:09:14 · Open the segment

An invitation to MindTrap on aqidah and Bukhari, and an open challenge to Salafi imams

2021-02-22T00:00:00Z

An invitation to MindTrap on aqidah and Bukhari, and an open challenge to Salafi imams

Mufti Abu Layth invites Abdul Rahman Hassan, and any Salafi imam, to discuss aqidah or Bukhari on MindTrap, challenging them to prove the Salafi creed from the Quran and Sunnah alone. Mufti Abu Layth says his challenge is that Salafi imams will not be able to prove their aqidah from the Quran or Sunnah alone.

Answer from 22 February 2021 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Ustadh Abdul Rahman Hassan Misquoting Hadith & Invite Challenge | Mufti Abu Layth (at 10:01)

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 10:01 · Open the segment

Did Imam Ahmad really refuse to say the Quran is created?

2021-02-16T00:00:00Z

Did Imam Ahmad really refuse to say the Quran is created?

Mufti Abu Layth says later Hanbalis made Imam Ahmad a hero of the Mihna, though he likely said the Quran was created to save himself; Ash'ari books also call the worded Quran created. Mufti Abu Layth says that, to be honest, the account that Imam Ahmad said the Quran was created to please the caliph and was let off is not hard to believe, since saying so to save one's life would not be haram.

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 1:02:31)

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

Watch on YouTube at 1:02:31 · Open the segment

Do Ash'aris believe the Quran is created?

2021-02-16T00:00:00Z

Do Ash'aris believe the Quran is created?

Mufti Abu Layth says Ash'ari texts do teach that the Arabic Quran is created, but use the word muhdath instead of makhluq because of the stigma; many Ash'aris today do not know this. Mufti Abu Layth says the Ash'aris believe the Quran was created but, embarrassed by it, hide the wording behind terms the public would not understand.

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 59:57)

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 59:57 · Open the segment

Were the Mu'tazila really defined by their use of reason?

2021-02-16T00:00:00Z

Were the Mu'tazila really defined by their use of reason?

Mufti Abu Layth says the Mu'tazila were defined by doctrines like a sinner leaving Islam and God being duty-bound, not by reason; the Sunni rejection of reason came later as a reaction. Mufti Abu Layth says what split the Mu'tazila off was nothing to do with reason, but doctrines such as a sinner no longer being a Muslim and God being duty-bound to reward good.

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 51:46)

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 51:46 · Open the segment

Why isn't the Mufti a Mu'tazili?

2021-02-16T00:00:00Z

Why isn't the Mufti a Mu'tazili?

Mufti Abu Layth says he is simply Sunni; sects are defined by core doctrines, the Shia by the sacred bloodline's right to rule, and mut'ah was pinned on them as propaganda. Mufti Abu Layth says mut'ah had nothing to do with being a Shia, and that tying it to them was a propaganda campaign.

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 44:58)

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

Watch on YouTube at 44:58 · Open the segment

Can I blindly follow scholars in matters of belief?

2021-02-14T00:00:00Z

Can I blindly follow scholars in matters of belief?

No: Mufti Abu Layth says blind following in belief is forbidden by scholarly consensus, and the majority of one school is not ijma'. Mufti Abu Layth says it is forbidden, by the consensus of the scholars, to blindly follow others in matters of belief.

Answer from 14 February 2021 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Caller runs off from the debate - Will Jesus Return | Mufti Abu Layth (at 8:13)

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 8:13 · Open the segment

Did Abu Hanifa really write al-Fiqh al-Akbar?

2021-01-29T00:00:00Z

Did Abu Hanifa really write al-Fiqh al-Akbar?

The guest says Abu Hanifa did write al-Fiqh al-Akbar but the text has later additions, and that Zufar's books survive only in fragments.

Answer from 29 January 2021 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

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

Recording: Shaykh Atabek Shukurov | Mortgages, Madhabs & Molvi-ism | MindTrap 48 | Mufti Abu Layth (at 1:20:26)

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 1:20:26 · Open the segment

Isn't reason subjective, and is something good only because God commands it?

2020-12-11T00:00:00Z

Isn't reason subjective, and is something good only because God commands it?

The guest says the Ash'ari voluntarist view of ethics is the real relativism and argues for universal moral values grounded in God's nature; Mufti Abu Layth calls the Ash'ari denial of inherent good and bad nonsense.

Answer from 11 December 2020 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Dr Javad T. Hashmi | Axis of Morality & Archetypal Myths in the Quran | MindTrap 46 |Mufti Abu Layth (at 29:42)

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 29:42 · Open the segment

If blind following in faith is forbidden, why must I accept a school's creed without question?

2020-12-11T00:00:00Z

If blind following in faith is forbidden, why must I accept a school's creed without question?

Mufti Abu Layth finds it paradoxical that schools forbid blind following in faith but demand blind acceptance of their creeds; the guest says traditionalists use reason only to reach revelation and then discard it, whereas reason must stay in continuous use.

Answer from 11 December 2020 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Dr Javad T. Hashmi | Axis of Morality & Archetypal Myths in the Quran | MindTrap 46 |Mufti Abu Layth (at 22:39)

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 24:25 · Open the segment

Why don't madrasas teach the Islamic philosophers and the Mu'tazila?

2020-12-11T00:00:00Z

Why don't madrasas teach the Islamic philosophers and the Mu'tazila?

The guest says traditionalists value only a narrow sliver of Islam's diverse intellectual heritage, ignoring the philosophers, the early Qadariyya and Mu'tazila, Shia thinkers and modernists, and that he found answers on religion and science in Ibn Rushd.

Answer from 11 December 2020 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

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

Recording: Dr Javad T. Hashmi | Axis of Morality & Archetypal Myths in the Quran | MindTrap 46 |Mufti Abu Layth (at 15:30)

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 15:30 · Open the segment

Was the Quran always fixed word for word, or was it flexible at first?

2020-12-10T00:00:00Z

Was the Quran always fixed word for word, or was it flexible at first?

Mufti Abu Layth holds the Quran was dynamic in the Prophet's time, with companions allowed to substitute synonyms, and that a fixed vowel-for-vowel text is a modern idea. Writing it down in a worldly script brought its own constraints. Mufti Abu Layth says he finds himself in line with the view that the Arabic Quran came into being in the mind of the Prophet, revealed to him and not invented by him.

Answer from 10 December 2020 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Yasir Qadhi's reply to Jay Smith & ultracrepidarian | Mufti Abu Layth (at 19:43)

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 19:43 · Open the segment

Would the Mufti debate a Salafi scholar on aqidah?

2020-11-17T00:00:00Z

Would the Mufti debate a Salafi scholar on aqidah?

Yes: he challenges any learned Salafi to prove their aqidah obligatory from the Quran alone. He says he is sure none can do it clearly. Mufti Abu Layth says he guarantees that no Salafi scholar can clearly prove from the Quran alone that the Salafi aqidah, as they preach it, is valid and a must.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Debate challenge to any salafi scholar on aqeedah | Mufti Abu Layth (at 0:00)

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 0:00 · Open the segment

What do you think of the Mu'tazila?

2020-09-22T00:00:00Z

What do you think of the Mu'tazila?

Mufti Abu Layth says the Mu'tazila were an extinct, extremist yet rationalist sect, and mocks calling anyone who uses reason a Mu'tazili. Mufti Abu Layth says the Mu'tazila were an ancient sect that has not existed for something like six or seven hundred years.

Answer from 22 September 2020 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Monday Nights with Mufti #183 | Q&A Unscripted & Unrestricted! 😉 | Mufti Abu Layth (at 2:06:56)

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

Watch on YouTube at 2:06:56 · Open the segment

Who were the Murji'a and why do Salafis talk about them so much?

2020-09-22T00:00:00Z

Who were the Murji'a and why do Salafis talk about them so much?

Mufti Abu Layth says Salafis fixate on long-extinct sects because they read Ibn Taymiyya, whom he sees as a troubled man with mental health issues whom they all but worship. Mufti Abu Layth says Ibn Taymiyya suffered from a lot of mental health issues.

Answer from 22 September 2020 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Monday Nights with Mufti #183 | Q&A Unscripted & Unrestricted! 😉 | Mufti Abu Layth (at 1:18:25)

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 1:18:25 · Open the segment

What was al-Ash'ari's argument against the Mu'tazila about God always doing what is best?

2020-07-14T00:00:00Z

What was al-Ash'ari's argument against the Mu'tazila about God always doing what is best?

Mufti Abu Layth tells the debate attributed to al-Ash'ari, in which a disbeliever asks why he was not allowed to die as a child, and says this is where the Mu'tazili view of a God bound to do the best crumbles. Mufti Abu Layth says the paradox in the debate attributed to al-Ash'ari is where the Mu'tazili view that God is bound to act by a fixed rule crumbles.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Monday Nights with Mufti Abu Layth 173 (at 49:45)

A more recent answer on belief/free-will-and-destiny exists (18 October 2025): If most people love praise and are punished, how is God the most merciful?

Watch on YouTube at 49:45 · Open the segment

Is al-Zamakhshari's tafsir al-Kashshaf worth reading?

2020-07-14T00:00:00Z

Is al-Zamakhshari's tafsir al-Kashshaf worth reading?

Mufti Abu Layth praises al-Kashshaf as linguistically overwhelming and al-Zamakhshari as a legend, while noting the Mu'tazili oddities in it; the Mu'tazila were great scholars, often over-demonised. Mufti Abu Layth says some scholars over-demonise the Mu'tazila, who were in their own right great and intelligent scholars of Islam, though some of their views were a bit warped.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Monday Nights with Mufti Abu Layth 173 (at 45:21)

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 45:21 · Open the segment

Is the Quran eternal, or was it created?

2020-07-03T00:00:00Z

Is the Quran eternal, or was it created?

The guest says the Arabic Quran in the tablet is, on most views, pre-existent but created; only God's languageless speech is eternal for Ash'aris and Maturidis.

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

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

Recording: Prof. Dr Khalil Andani | The Oral Text & the Ontology of The Quran | Mindtrap with Mufti #28 (at 1:36:51)

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

Watch on YouTube at 1:36:51 · Open the segment

How did Muslim theologians reconcile God being one with his many names and attributes?

2020-07-03T00:00:00Z

How did Muslim theologians reconcile God being one with his many names and attributes?

The guest and host trace how the Mu'tazila, Hanbalis and Ash'aris reconciled God's oneness with his many names and attributes.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Prof. Dr Khalil Andani | The Oral Text & the Ontology of The Quran | Mindtrap with Mufti #28 (at 1:10:02)

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

Watch on YouTube at 1:10:57 · Open the segment

Is Arabic an eternal, divine language?

2020-07-03T00:00:00Z

Is Arabic an eternal, divine language?

Mufti Abu Layth rejects grammarians' claim that Arabic is eternal; both describe the Ash'ari view that revelation takes the language of its audience.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Prof. Dr Khalil Andani | The Oral Text & the Ontology of The Quran | Mindtrap with Mufti #28 (at 50:31)

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 50:31 · Open the segment

Is the Ash'ari view of God's speech really different from the Mu'tazili view?

2020-07-03T00:00:00Z

Is the Ash'ari view of God's speech really different from the Mu'tazili view?

The guest says the Ash'aris borrowed heavily from the Mu'tazila but differ on whether speech is sounds and letters or meaning; Mufti Abu Layth says sectarian politics produced ambiguous creeds.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Prof. Dr Khalil Andani | The Oral Text & the Ontology of The Quran | Mindtrap with Mufti #28 (at 46:24)

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 46:24 · Open the segment

Why do so many Muslims think God speaks Arabic if their scholars said otherwise?

2020-07-03T00:00:00Z

Why do so many Muslims think God speaks Arabic if their scholars said otherwise?

Mufti Abu Layth says scholars' habit of not discussing this before ordinary people helped the public believe something different from their own scholars; the guest describes the popular Hanbali view that even the Mushaf is uncreated.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Prof. Dr Khalil Andani | The Oral Text & the Ontology of The Quran | Mindtrap with Mufti #28 (at 39:44)

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 40:15 · Open the segment

Do Ash'aris and Maturidis believe the Arabic Quran is God's eternal speech?

2020-07-03T00:00:00Z

Do Ash'aris and Maturidis believe the Arabic Quran is God's eternal speech?

In Ash'ari and Maturidi theology God's eternal speech is not Arabic sounds and letters; the Arabic Quran expresses it and is created.

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

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

Recording: Prof. Dr Khalil Andani | The Oral Text & the Ontology of The Quran | Mindtrap with Mufti #28 (at 33:53)

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

Watch on YouTube at 34:47 · Open the segment

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

2019-12-12T00:00:00Z

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

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

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

Kind: general teaching

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

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

Watch on YouTube at 7:52 · Open the segment

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

2019-12-12T00:00:00Z

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

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

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

Kind: general teaching

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

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

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

2019-11-05T00:00:00Z

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

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

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

Kind: general teaching

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

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

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

2019-11-03T00:00:00Z

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?

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

2019-08-21T00:00:00Z

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

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

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

Kind: general teaching

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

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

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

2018-12-24T00:00:00Z

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

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

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

Kind: general teaching

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

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

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

2018-12-24T00:00:00Z

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

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

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

Kind: general teaching

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

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

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Are the Salafis themselves orthodox by their own standard?

2018-10-20T00:00:00Z

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

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

2018-10-20T00:00:00Z

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?

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

2018-08-30T00:00:00Z

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

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

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

Kind: general teaching

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

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

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Why did religious scholars end up explaining things like illness and the mind?

2018-04-15T00:00:00Z

Why did religious scholars end up explaining things like illness and the mind?

Because for most of history the ulama were the only educated class, so people brought them every unexplained question, from the divisibility of atoms to whether the intellect sits in the heart or the brain. They answered with the knowledge of their day, which is the background to the possession belief. Mufti Abu Layth says that the ulama were historically the only learned class and so were asked to explain worldly phenomena with the knowledge of their time, which is the backdrop against which the belief in possession took shape.

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 3:52)

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?

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Why did Muslims become hostile to reason?

2018-04-09T00:00:00Z

Why did Muslims become hostile to reason?

Mufti Abu Layth traces Muslim hostility to reason to the centuries-long sectarian conflict with the Mu'tazila, in which the mainstream answered the Mu'tazila's use of reason by disparaging reason itself and defending absurd narrations. Mufti Abu Layth holds that the Muslim aversion to reason grew out of the sectarian cold war with the Mu'tazila, when the mainstream reacted to the Mu'tazila's use of reason by disparaging reason itself and defending absurd narrations as a method of control.

Answer from 9 April 2018 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: The Role Of Reason In Religion - Mufti Abu Layth (at 49:33)

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?

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Is blind faith (taqlid) in creed acceptable in Islam?

2018-04-09T00:00:00Z

Is blind faith (taqlid) in creed acceptable in Islam?

The theologians held that blind-following in creed is haram and that faith must rest on reasoning; later scholars tolerated inherited faith as a lower level while holding that Islam aspires to faith that knows God to be one. Mufti Abu Layth says the Quran's command to know that there is no god but Allah requires reasoning and comparison rather than mere assertion, and he presents the theologians' view that blind-following in creed is impermissible alongside later scholars' distinction between a tolerated and a richer level of faith.

Answer from 9 April 2018 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: The Role Of Reason In Religion - Mufti Abu Layth (at 15:54)

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?

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

2018-03-15T00:00:00Z

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?

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The Creed of Tahawi is not the Quran; Ash'aris do not make takfir of ahl al-qiblah

2018-03-13T00:00:00Z

The Creed of Tahawi is not the Quran; Ash'aris do not make takfir of ahl al-qiblah

Denying a line of Tahawi's creed is not kufr: Ibn Taymiyya rejected several of its points, it refutes whole Muslim groups, and Ash'ari creed forbids takfir of the people of the qiblah. Mufti Abu Layth says the Creed of al-Tahawi was written some 250 years after the Prophet and objects to treating the denial of a line of it as unbelief.

Answer from 13 March 2018 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: PRELUDE: Why There Is NO 2nd Coming Of Jesus (as) In Islam- Mufti Abu Layth (at 2:06:11)

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

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Ibn Ashur, al-Shatibi and Ibn Khaldun on the Mahdi: a discussion within Islam

2018-03-13T00:00:00Z

Ibn Ashur, al-Shatibi and Ibn Khaldun on the Mahdi: a discussion within Islam

Ibn Ashur, al-Shatibi and Ibn Khaldun all problematised the Mahdi reports and treated such matters as information rather than creed; Mufti Abu Layth says the return of Jesus is a discussion within Islam. Mufti Abu Layth holds that the Mahdi and the return of Jesus are matters of Islamic information open to discussion within Islam, not creed, as Ibn Ashur and al-Sha'rawi held.

Answer from 13 March 2018 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: PRELUDE: Why There Is NO 2nd Coming Of Jesus (as) In Islam- Mufti Abu Layth (at 2:00:56)

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

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A Christian belief that crept into Islam; creed cannot be blind-followed

2018-03-13T00:00:00Z

A Christian belief that crept into Islam; creed cannot be blind-followed

Mufti Abu Layth holds that Jesus's return is a Christian belief that entered Islam and contradicts the Quran and its principles. Creed cannot be blind-followed, so he will not be intimidated into it. Mufti Abu Layth holds that the belief in Jesus's return is not Islamic because it contradicts the main teachings of the Quran, the principles of Islam and the Prophet's life and message.

Answer from 13 March 2018 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: PRELUDE: Why There Is NO 2nd Coming Of Jesus (as) In Islam- Mufti Abu Layth (at 37:15)

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

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Can the detailed aqidah taught today be proven from the Quran and Sunnah alone?

2018-01-14T00:00:00Z

Can the detailed aqidah taught today be proven from the Quran and Sunnah alone?

Mufti Abu Layth says aqidah as taught today was put together by Muslims over the ages, while the Prophet taught only simple belief. He challenges the maulana to a face-to-face meeting to prove his aqidah exclusively from the Quran and Sunnah, guaranteeing it cannot be done.

Answer from 14 January 2018 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: A Reply To Zakaullah Saleem (Salafi)- By Mufti Abu Layth (at 5:29)

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

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What did the Green Lane Masjid khutbah say about Mufti Abu Layth?

2018-01-14T00:00:00Z

What did the Green Lane Masjid khutbah say about Mufti Abu Layth?

The khutbah called him a jahil who cannot be a mufti, said he mocks the deen, the people of tawhid and hadith, and blamed his followers' parents for not teaching them the correct aqidah. Mufti Abu Layth reports each charge with mockery and notes a well-funded Salafi organisation targeting one man on Facebook.

Answer from 14 January 2018 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

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

Recording: A Reply To Zakaullah Saleem (Salafi)- By Mufti Abu Layth (at 0:00)

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

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Is the Quran created or uncreated? Why he calls the debate absurd

2018-01-02T00:00:00Z

Is the Quran created or uncreated? Why he calls the debate absurd

Mufti Abu Layth holds that the created or uncreated Quran debate is absurd: the Companions never discussed it, and it arose as a political dispute over the caliphs' authority in the time of al-Ma'mun. The debate over whether the Quran is created or uncreated is absurd and without meaningful outcome: the Companions never discussed it, and it arose as a political dispute over the caliphs' authority in the time of al-Ma'mun.

Answer from 2 January 2018 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Reply to Abu Ibraheem (Salafi)- By Mufti Abu Layth al-Maliki (at 3:56)

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 3:56 · Open the segment