Mufti Abu Layth Archive: belief/god-and-attributes

How much does Allah love me?

Mon, 04 Mar 2024 00:00:00 +0000

How much does Allah love me?

Mufti Abu Layth says Allah has an unimaginable love for every one of us, so we should take a chance on ourselves. Mufti Abu Layth says Allah has an unimaginable love for each and every one of us.

Answer from 4 March 2024 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Take A Chance On Yourself #Shorts #Perspective #MALM (at 0:02)

Watch on YouTube at 0:02 · Open the segment

Is worship or how I treat people the real sign of faith?

Fri, 16 Dec 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Is worship or how I treat people the real sign of faith?

Mufti Abu Layth says worship is a personal matter between you and God, while how you behave among people is the true measure of your iman. Mufti Abu Layth says that how you behave amongst people is your true sign of faith.

Answer from 16 December 2022 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Not Praying, The Bigger Sin? | Mufti Abu Layth (at 7:08)

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 7:08 · Open the segment

Is God someone I should mainly be afraid of?

Tue, 13 Apr 2021 00:00:00 +0000

Is God someone I should mainly be afraid of?

No: Mufti Abu Layth says seeing God as an angry disciplinarian is a distortion, and that Allah is the Most Merciful who invites people to reflect. Mufti Abu Layth says the picture of God as an angry, strict disciplinarian or tyrant is a distortion, and that Allah is al-Rahman al-Rahim, who invites people to ponder the cosmos.

Answer from 13 April 2021 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Monday Nights with Mufti #210 | Q&A Unscripted & Unrestricted! 😉 | Mufti Abu Layth (at 1:07:35)

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

Watch on YouTube at 1:07:35 · Open the segment

Does Allah love everybody?

Tue, 06 Apr 2021 00:00:00 +0000

Does Allah love everybody?

Allah loves His creation and detests harmful actions, not creatures. Pork being forbidden, most likely for hygiene, does not mean God hates pigs. Mufti Abu Layth says Allah loves His creation and detests harmful actions rather than creatures, so pork being forbidden, most likely for reasons of hygiene, does not mean God hates pigs.

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 2:10:23)

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

Watch on YouTube at 2:10:23 · Open the segment

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

Tue, 16 Feb 2021 00:00:00 +0000

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

How can God be timeless and still perceive time?

Tue, 02 Feb 2021 00:00:00 +0000

How can God be timeless and still perceive time?

Linear time is our perspective, Mufti Abu Layth says, not necessarily how God sees events; he also says tattoos are not haram for men. Mufti Abu Layth says that perceiving events in linear time is our perspective and does not mean that time is like that.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Monday Nights with Mufti #200| Q&A Unscripted & Unrestricted! 😉 | Mufti Abu Layth (at 2:48:29)

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

Watch on YouTube at 2:48:56 · Open the segment

Is it unfair that some are born Muslim, and is God's throne literal?

Tue, 12 Jan 2021 00:00:00 +0000

Is it unfair that some are born Muslim, and is God's throne literal?

Mufti Abu Layth says the throne is a literary expression meaning the kingdom is God's, and that salvation in the hereafter is not the exclusive property of Muslims. Mufti Abu Layth says the Quran's description of God establishing Himself over the throne is not literal but a literary expression meaning that the kingdom is His.

Answer from 12 January 2021 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Monday Nights with Mufti #197 | Q&A Unscripted & Unrestricted! 😉 | Mufti Abu Layth (at 2:52:39)

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

Watch on YouTube at 2:52:39 · Open the segment

Is process theology compatible with the Quran?

Tue, 12 Jan 2021 00:00:00 +0000

Is process theology compatible with the Quran?

No: he says its idea that God depends on creation as creation depends on God is not the Quranic worldview. Mufti Abu Layth says the process-relational idea that God is dependent on creation as creation is dependent on God is not the Quranic worldview.

Answer from 12 January 2021 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Monday Nights with Mufti #197 | Q&A Unscripted & Unrestricted! 😉 | Mufti Abu Layth (at 2:48:51)

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

Watch on YouTube at 2:49:23 · Open the segment

Does Sahih al-Bukhari really say God dangled in front of the Prophet?

Tue, 12 Jan 2021 00:00:00 +0000

Does Sahih al-Bukhari really say God dangled in front of the Prophet?

Mufti Abu Layth says the Bukhari report of God 'dangling' before the Prophet is unacceptable, and any hadith that clashes with reason or the Quran must be rejected. Mufti Abu Layth says that describing God as dangling in front of the Prophet, as in this hadith, is utterly unacceptable.

Answer from 12 January 2021 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Monday Nights with Mufti #197 | Q&A Unscripted & Unrestricted! 😉 | Mufti Abu Layth (at 1:58:33)

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

Watch on YouTube at 1:58:33 · Open the segment

Are the stories in the Quran meant to be literal history?

Fri, 11 Dec 2020 00:00:00 +0000

Are the stories in the Quran meant to be literal history?

The guest argues, following Khalafallah and Ibn Rushd, that the Quran's stories are sacred literature and legend, using symbol and parable for theological ends rather than reporting literal history.

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 1:02:23)

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 1:02:23 · Open the segment

If God never commanded the sacrifice, why do the early sources all say he did?

Wed, 28 Oct 2020 00:00:00 +0000

If God never commanded the sacrifice, why do the early sources all say he did?

Mufti Abu Layth agrees that no primary sources support his reading and explains it by early Muslims absorbing Israelite material, by the brutal environment of the age being projected onto God, and by the absence of anything from the Prophet saying God commanded it. He repeats that a God who stages a mock execution of a child is unacceptable, and that Allah never says the command was his. Mufti Abu Layth holds that the absence of early sources for his reading is explained by early Muslims absorbing Israelite narratives and projecting a brutal environment onto God, that nothing established from the Prophet says God commanded the sacrifice, and that Allah's silence on the command's origin ends the debate.

Answer from 28 October 2020 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: "God did NOT ask Abraham to sacrifice his son" | Mufti Abu Layth (at 25:03)

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 26:22 · Open the segment

Why does the biblical tradition say God commanded Abraham to sacrifice his son?

Wed, 28 Oct 2020 00:00:00 +0000

Why does the biblical tradition say God commanded Abraham to sacrifice his son?

Mufti Abu Layth says the Israelites adopted the name Yahweh, a Near Eastern war god from the household of El, and that god's brutal character carried over into their picture of God, making such a command plausible to them. For Muslims, he says, that is not the true image of Allah. Mufti Abu Layth holds that the Israelite picture of God inherited the brutal character of the war god Yahweh, which made a command to sacrifice a son plausible to them, and that this is not the true image of Allah.

Answer from 28 October 2020 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: "God did NOT ask Abraham to sacrifice his son" | Mufti Abu Layth (at 17:12)

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

Watch on YouTube at 17:12 · Open the segment

Is it wrong to believe that God asked Ibrahim to kill his son?

Wed, 28 Oct 2020 00:00:00 +0000

Is it wrong to believe that God asked Ibrahim to kill his son?

Mufti Abu Layth says the belief is absurd and, on inspection, blasphemous, because it has God asking a father to murder his child for his pleasure and then stopping him, like a mock execution. The Quran never says God told Ibrahim to sacrifice, though it could have. Mufti Abu Layth says the belief that God commanded Ibrahim to kill his son is absurd, sadistic and, upon true inspection, blasphemous, since the Quran never says God gave the command though it could have.

Answer from 28 October 2020 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: "God did NOT ask Abraham to sacrifice his son" | Mufti Abu Layth (at 14:34)

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 14:34 · Open the segment

Does God really care whether I have a beard?

Tue, 27 Oct 2020 00:00:00 +0000

Does God really care whether I have a beard?

Mufti Abu Layth says the Sharia exists to preserve life and order, and that picturing God as obsessed with beards shrinks God into a child throwing tantrums. Mufti Abu Layth says the basis of the Sharia was the preservation of life.

Answer from 27 October 2020 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Monday Nights with Mufti #188 | Q&A Unscripted & Unrestricted! 😉 | Mufti Abu Layth (at 1:12:12)

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

Watch on YouTube at 1:12:12 · Open the segment

If God made the laws of nature, can He break them?

Tue, 13 Oct 2020 00:00:00 +0000

If God made the laws of nature, can He break them?

God is not stuck with the laws of nature; He created them by choice and keeps to them, just as He keeps His promises about salvation. Mufti Abu Layth says God is not stuck with the laws of nature but created them by choice.

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 31:16)

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?

Watch on YouTube at 31:16 · Open the segment

Does God not love non-believers?

Fri, 03 Jul 2020 00:00:00 +0000

Does God not love non-believers?

The guest reads the verse as saying that certain deeds block God's love from reaching a person, not that God's love is selective.

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 1:38:38)

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

Watch on YouTube at 1:38:38 · Open the segment

Is the Quran eternal, or was it created?

Fri, 03 Jul 2020 00:00:00 +0000

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

Is love one of God's attributes in Islam?

Fri, 03 Jul 2020 00:00:00 +0000

Is love one of God's attributes in Islam?

The guest says Sufi traditions understand God's mercy as love even though Kalam rarely speaks of it, and rejects the polemic that the God of Islam is not loving.

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 1:33:10)

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

Watch on YouTube at 1:33:37 · Open the segment

Where do anthropomorphic ideas of God in Islam come from?

Fri, 03 Jul 2020 00:00:00 +0000

Where do anthropomorphic ideas of God in Islam come from?

Mufti Abu Layth suggests anthropomorphic texts were partly inherited from the Judeo-Christian tradition; the guest describes the Sufi, philosophical and Isma'ili view that God's names describe relations, not his essence.

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 1:24:04)

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

Watch on YouTube at 1:24:04 · Open the segment

Do Salafis believe God has a body?

Fri, 03 Jul 2020 00:00:00 +0000

Do Salafis believe God has a body?

Mufti Abu Layth says Hanbalis and modern Salafis in effect believe God has body parts and so project a human image onto God; the guest notes philosophers and Isma'ilis objected that attributes give God parts.

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 1:20:44)

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

Watch on YouTube at 1:21:43 · Open the segment

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

Fri, 03 Jul 2020 00:00:00 +0000

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

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

Fri, 03 Jul 2020 00:00:00 +0000

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

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

Tue, 05 Nov 2019 00:00:00 +0000

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?

Watch on YouTube at 0:00 · Open the segment

Is it haram to write or sing lyrics about alcohol?

Wed, 18 Sep 2019 00:00:00 +0000

Is it haram to write or sing lyrics about alcohol?

Lyrics about alcohol are not haram, since such poetry was recited in the Prophet's mosque, and declaring something haram because it might lead to bad behaviour is lying on God's behalf. Enjoining good is not policing, scholars need not be followed blindly, and God understands sarcasm as well as we do. Mufti Abu Layth says the scholars who called music haram gave their reasons but need not be followed blindly, since not all scholars said so and many challenged it from the Prophet's time on.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: In Depth: Is Music allowed in Islam? | Mufti Abu Layth (at 26:09)

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

Watch on YouTube at 26:09 · Open the segment

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

Mon, 24 Dec 2018 00:00:00 +0000

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?

Watch on YouTube at 17:38 · Open the segment

If Muslims accept miracles that defy reason, can they still object that the Trinity is irrational?

Mon, 24 Dec 2018 00:00:00 +0000

If Muslims accept miracles that defy reason, can they still object that the Trinity is irrational?

Muslims must hold the Quran to be in line with reason, because accepting miracles that make no sense removes any ground for objecting that three cannot equal one; consistency is all or nothing. Hijab denied that Muslims ever held anthropomorphic beliefs, but some did, though Mufti Abu Layth does not share them. Mufti Abu Layth holds that Muslims must believe the Quran to be in line with the voice of reason, since accepting miracles that make no sense would leave no ground to object that three cannot equal one, and he says that some Muslims did hold anthropomorphic beliefs about God, which he does not share.

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 15:14)

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 15:14 · 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

Does the Dajjal (Antichrist) exist in Islam?

Mon, 09 Apr 2018 00:00:00 +0000

Does the Dajjal (Antichrist) exist in Islam?

No: the Dajjal as the Antichrist is a myth that does not exist in Islam, since a God who tested people with a miracle-working devil child would contradict al-Rahman and al-Rahim. The Dajjal hadith refer either to Shaytan or, tentatively, to an age where the virtual becomes indistinguishable from the real. Mufti Abu Layth holds that the Dajjal as an Antichrist figure is a myth that does not exist in Islam, that the hadith linking the Dajjal with the second coming of Jesus and the Mahdi are unacceptable because a God who tested people with a miracle-working devil child would be unreasonable and clash with al-Rahman and al-Rahim, and that the Dajjal reports refer either to Shaytan or, on his tentative reading, to an age in which the virtual becomes indistinguishable from the real.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Why the Anti-Christ (Dajjal)? Concept is problematic in Islam - Mufti Abu Layth al-Maliki (at 0:00)

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

Watch on YouTube at 0:00 · Open the segment