Mufti Abu Layth Archive: belief/free-will-and-destinyAnswers on belief/free-will-and-destiny, newest recording first.https://muftiabulayth.org/feeds/topics/belief-free-will-and-destiny.atom.xml2025-10-18T00:00:00ZMufti Abu Layth Archivepipeline/feeds.pyIf most people love praise and are punished, how is God the most merciful?https://muftiabulayth.org/r/onzjd7xmdhe/s/26/2025-10-18T00:00:00Z2025-10-18T00:00:00ZIf most people love praise and are punished, how is God the most merciful?
The guest says most people are mushrikun according to the Quran and that God is merciful in giving them messengers and exits, so those who refuse to reason deserve punishment; guidance follows the attributes God has set, not chance.
Answer from 18 October 2025 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors
Kind: quoted view (stated in order to be discussed, not necessarily held)
Recording: Br Muhammad MFG | Quranist Only Belief - A Dialogue | MindTrap #82 - Mufti Abu Layth (at 2:10:46)
Watch on YouTube at 2:10:46: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ONzjD7XMDhE&t=7846s<p><b>If most people love praise and are punished, how is God the most merciful?</b></p>
<p>The guest says most people are mushrikun according to the Quran and that God is merciful in giving them messengers and exits, so those who refuse to reason deserve punishment; guidance follows the attributes God has set, not chance.</p>
<p>Answer from 18 October 2025 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors</p>
<p>Kind: quoted view (stated in order to be discussed, not necessarily held)</p>
<p>Recording: Br Muhammad MFG | Quranist Only Belief - A Dialogue | MindTrap #82 - Mufti Abu Layth (at 2:10:46)</p>
<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ONzjD7XMDhE&t=7846s">Watch on YouTube at 2:10:46</a> · <a href="https://muftiabulayth.org/r/onzjd7xmdhe/s/26/">Open the segment</a></p>If a jinn could possess me, how could I be blamed for anything?https://muftiabulayth.org/r/6apj1fumn24/s/6/2020-11-21T00:00:00Z2020-11-21T00:00:00ZIf a jinn could possess me, how could I be blamed for anything?
Satan's own words in 14:22, that he had no power over people and only invited them, rule out possession: if the devil could physically prevent prayer or cause harm, people could not be blamed and responsibility would collapse. Mufti Abu Layth holds that 14:22, in which Satan says he had no power over people and only invited them, rules out jinn possession, because if the devil could physically prevent prayer or cause illness people could not be blamed and moral responsibility would be meaningless.
Answer from 21 November 2020 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors
Kind: general teaching
Recording: There is no jinn possession in Islam (reply to Sh Omar Suleiman's video) | Mufti Abu Layth (at 20:58)
A more recent answer on belief/free-will-and-destiny exists (18 October 2025): https://muftiabulayth.org/r/onzjd7xmdhe/s/26/
Watch on YouTube at 20:58: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6aPj1fuMN24&t=1258s<p><b>If a jinn could possess me, how could I be blamed for anything?</b></p>
<p>Satan's own words in 14:22, that he had no power over people and only invited them, rule out possession: if the devil could physically prevent prayer or cause harm, people could not be blamed and responsibility would collapse. Mufti Abu Layth holds that 14:22, in which Satan says he had no power over people and only invited them, rules out jinn possession, because if the devil could physically prevent prayer or cause illness people could not be blamed and moral responsibility would be meaningless.</p>
<p>Answer from 21 November 2020 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors</p>
<p>Kind: general teaching</p>
<p>Recording: There is no jinn possession in Islam (reply to Sh Omar Suleiman's video) | Mufti Abu Layth (at 20:58)</p>
<p><b>A more recent answer on belief/free-will-and-destiny exists</b> (18 October 2025): <a href="https://muftiabulayth.org/r/onzjd7xmdhe/s/26/">If most people love praise and are punished, how is God the most merciful?</a></p>
<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6aPj1fuMN24&t=1258s">Watch on YouTube at 20:58</a> · <a href="https://muftiabulayth.org/r/6apj1fumn24/s/6/">Open the segment</a></p>If I commit a crime, was it my free will or my destiny?https://muftiabulayth.org/r/hiu1gjszg1e/s/14/2020-10-13T00:00:00Z2020-10-13T00:00:00ZIf I commit a crime, was it my free will or my destiny?
Humans have real free will: as in a video game, every outcome was designed, but where you go and what you do is your own doing. Mufti Abu Layth says human beings do have free will, likening it to a video game whose outcomes were all designed but whose course is up to the player.
Answer from 13 October 2020 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors
Kind: general teaching
Recording: Discussion on Miracles: A fallacy against God | Mufti Abu Layth (at 1:04:33)
A more recent answer on belief/free-will-and-destiny exists (18 October 2025): https://muftiabulayth.org/r/onzjd7xmdhe/s/26/
Watch on YouTube at 1:04:33: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HIU1GJSzg1E&t=3873s<p><b>If I commit a crime, was it my free will or my destiny?</b></p>
<p>Humans have real free will: as in a video game, every outcome was designed, but where you go and what you do is your own doing. Mufti Abu Layth says human beings do have free will, likening it to a video game whose outcomes were all designed but whose course is up to the player.</p>
<p>Answer from 13 October 2020 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors</p>
<p>Kind: general teaching</p>
<p>Recording: Discussion on Miracles: A fallacy against God | Mufti Abu Layth (at 1:04:33)</p>
<p><b>A more recent answer on belief/free-will-and-destiny exists</b> (18 October 2025): <a href="https://muftiabulayth.org/r/onzjd7xmdhe/s/26/">If most people love praise and are punished, how is God the most merciful?</a></p>
<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HIU1GJSzg1E&t=3873s">Watch on YouTube at 1:04:33</a> · <a href="https://muftiabulayth.org/r/hiu1gjszg1e/s/14/">Open the segment</a></p>Mir Taqi Mir's death anniversary: Mufti Abu Layth reads his Urdu poetryhttps://muftiabulayth.org/r/jtyem-eee78/s/2/2020-09-22T00:00:00Z2020-09-22T00:00:00ZMir Taqi Mir's death anniversary: Mufti Abu Layth reads his Urdu poetry
Mufti Abu Layth marks Mir Taqi Mir's death anniversary by translating his Urdu verses and calls him one of the few poets he would give the crown to.
Answer from 22 September 2020 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors
Recording: Monday Nights with Mufti #183 | Q&A Unscripted & Unrestricted! 😉 | Mufti Abu Layth (at 8:51)
A more recent answer on belief/free-will-and-destiny exists (18 October 2025): https://muftiabulayth.org/r/onzjd7xmdhe/s/26/
Watch on YouTube at 8:51: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jTYEM-eEe78&t=531s<p><b>Mir Taqi Mir's death anniversary: Mufti Abu Layth reads his Urdu poetry</b></p>
<p>Mufti Abu Layth marks Mir Taqi Mir's death anniversary by translating his Urdu verses and calls him one of the few poets he would give the crown to.</p>
<p>Answer from 22 September 2020 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors</p>
<p>Recording: Monday Nights with Mufti #183 | Q&A Unscripted & Unrestricted! 😉 | Mufti Abu Layth (at 8:51)</p>
<p><b>A more recent answer on belief/free-will-and-destiny exists</b> (18 October 2025): <a href="https://muftiabulayth.org/r/onzjd7xmdhe/s/26/">If most people love praise and are punished, how is God the most merciful?</a></p>
<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jTYEM-eEe78&t=531s">Watch on YouTube at 8:51</a> · <a href="https://muftiabulayth.org/r/jtyem-eee78/s/2/">Open the segment</a></p>What was al-Ash'ari's argument against the Mu'tazila about God always doing what is best?https://muftiabulayth.org/r/a6h5lye4mn8/s/11/2020-07-14T00:00:00Z2020-07-14T00:00:00ZWhat 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): https://muftiabulayth.org/r/onzjd7xmdhe/s/26/
Watch on YouTube at 49:45: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a6H5lYE4MN8&t=2985s<p><b>What was al-Ash'ari's argument against the Mu'tazila about God always doing what is best?</b></p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>Answer from 14 July 2020 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors</p>
<p>Kind: general teaching</p>
<p>Recording: Monday Nights with Mufti Abu Layth 173 (at 49:45)</p>
<p><b>A more recent answer on belief/free-will-and-destiny exists</b> (18 October 2025): <a href="https://muftiabulayth.org/r/onzjd7xmdhe/s/26/">If most people love praise and are punished, how is God the most merciful?</a></p>
<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a6H5lYE4MN8&t=2985s">Watch on YouTube at 49:45</a> · <a href="https://muftiabulayth.org/r/a6h5lye4mn8/s/11/">Open the segment</a></p>If Allah promised to preserve the Quran, why are there variant readings at all?https://muftiabulayth.org/r/f2bcgwatu5g/s/18/2020-06-19T00:00:00Z2020-06-19T00:00:00ZIf Allah promised to preserve the Quran, why are there variant readings at all?
The guest says Allah preserved his part, the real Quran, and left people the discretion that produced the other readings, just as he allowed hadith to be misreported; the test is in seeking the truth through them. Mufti Abu Layth states his own view that the Quran we have is from an umbrella revelation that allowed variations.
Answer from 19 June 2020 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors
Kind: general teaching
Recording: Dr. Shehzad Saleem | the Preservation of the Quran & the Problem of Qira'at | MindTrap with Mufti#26 (at 1:27:17)
A more recent answer on belief/free-will-and-destiny exists (18 October 2025): https://muftiabulayth.org/r/onzjd7xmdhe/s/26/
Watch on YouTube at 1:27:17: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f2BcGWatU5g&t=5237s<p><b>If Allah promised to preserve the Quran, why are there variant readings at all?</b></p>
<p>The guest says Allah preserved his part, the real Quran, and left people the discretion that produced the other readings, just as he allowed hadith to be misreported; the test is in seeking the truth through them. Mufti Abu Layth states his own view that the Quran we have is from an umbrella revelation that allowed variations.</p>
<p>Answer from 19 June 2020 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors</p>
<p>Kind: general teaching</p>
<p>Recording: Dr. Shehzad Saleem | the Preservation of the Quran & the Problem of Qira'at | MindTrap with Mufti#26 (at 1:27:17)</p>
<p><b>A more recent answer on belief/free-will-and-destiny exists</b> (18 October 2025): <a href="https://muftiabulayth.org/r/onzjd7xmdhe/s/26/">If most people love praise and are punished, how is God the most merciful?</a></p>
<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f2BcGWatU5g&t=5237s">Watch on YouTube at 1:27:17</a> · <a href="https://muftiabulayth.org/r/f2bcgwatu5g/s/18/">Open the segment</a></p>