Mufti Abu Layth Archive: belief/reason-and-revelation

Why did Mufti Abu Layth bring up 3:188 against the Quran-only position?

Sat, 18 Oct 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Why did Mufti Abu Layth bring up 3:188 against the Quran-only position?

Mufti Abu Layth cited 3:188 because its apparent reading is harsher than the Prophet's explanation, showing that the reasoning of those who came before is valuable; the guest says he asked for the Prophet's book of explanations and was pointed back to the Quran.

Answer from 18 October 2025 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Br Muhammad MFG | Quranist Only Belief - A Dialogue | MindTrap #82 - Mufti Abu Layth (at 2:14:00)

Watch on YouTube at 2:14:00 · Open the segment

If reason helps us understand the Quran, does the reasoning of earlier scholars matter too?

Sat, 18 Oct 2025 00:00:00 +0000

If reason helps us understand the Quran, does the reasoning of earlier scholars matter too?

Both agree reason is essential to understanding revelation; Mufti Abu Layth adds that by the same logic the reasoning of the Prophet, the Companions and the scholars before us is a valuable reservoir, not his reason alone, and the guest demands the Prophet's own explanation.

Answer from 18 October 2025 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Br Muhammad MFG | Quranist Only Belief - A Dialogue | MindTrap #82 - Mufti Abu Layth (at 1:55:37)

Watch on YouTube at 1:56:30 · Open the segment

Can we ever be completely certain about religious answers?

Fri, 10 Mar 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Can we ever be completely certain about religious answers?

Only God is certain; every answer we hold is limited by our own understanding and that of those we learned from, a humility Imam Malik modelled. Mufti Abu Layth says the ultimate certainty is God alone, and whatever we think is the answer is ultimately limited by our understanding.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: The Legendary Imam Malik Ibn Anas | Mufti Abu Layth (at 57:27)

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 57:27 · Open the segment

Is it normal for faith to keep changing over a lifetime?

Mon, 26 Apr 2021 00:00:00 +0000

Is it normal for faith to keep changing over a lifetime?

Mufti Abu Layth says faith is a lifelong journey and iman an organic process, not a fixed mould to be fitted onto everyone.

Answer from 26 April 2021 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Lupe Fiasco | Stardom, Semiotics & Soul-searching | MindTrap#56 | Mufti Abu Layth al-Maliki MALM (at 42:17)

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 42:17 · Open the segment

What did Ibn Rushd mean by the 'double truth' of religion and philosophy?

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

What did Ibn Rushd mean by the 'double truth' of religion and philosophy?

Mufti Abu Layth says it is not 'double truth', but he agrees fully with Ibn Rushd that the sharia is built for ordinary people while the gifted can find its deeper meanings. Mufti Abu Layth says he agrees fully with Ibn Rushd that the sharia is designed for ordinary people, who need structured and visible religion, while those gifted with deeper understanding can discover its deeper meanings.

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 2:35:57)

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 2:35:57 · Open the segment

When should reason take priority over religious texts?

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

When should reason take priority over religious texts?

Reason always comes first, Mufti Abu Layth says, because every reading of scripture is already an interpretation; hadith dogmatism grew from Ibn Taymiyya's era and revived under colonialism. Mufti Abu Layth says reason necessarily comes first because scripture can only be understood through human interpretation, and that hadith dogmatism took shape in the era of Ibn Taymiyya and revived under colonialism, when attacks on religion amid instability pushed people towards fundamentalism.

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 2:09:48)

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 2:09:48 · Open the segment

Will religious dogmatism ever disappear?

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

Will religious dogmatism ever disappear?

No: Mufti Abu Layth says dogmatism is built into institutional religion and will survive, so his aim is to keep the voice of reason alive as a choice. Mufti Abu Layth says dogmatism will not disappear because it is built into institutionalised religion, and that his aim is not to end it but to keep the voice of reason alive so that people can choose.

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 1:51:19)

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 1:51:19 · Open the segment

Should Muslims judge their own sources by the standards they apply to other religions?

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

Should Muslims judge their own sources by the standards they apply to other religions?

Yes: Mufti Abu Layth says Muslims should hold their own sources to the standard they use for others, giving the example of Bukhari resting on one unvouched-for transmitter. Mufti Abu Layth says Muslims should apply to their own tradition the critical standards they apply to other faiths, noting that Sahih al-Bukhari rests on one transmitter whom no one vouched for for about 150 years.

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 33:26)

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

Watch on YouTube at 33:26 · Open the segment

Should my faith make me happy?

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

Should my faith make me happy?

Yes: Mufti Abu Layth says faith should make you happy, not hateful or bitter, because Islam is meant to complement daily life. Mufti Abu Layth says faith ought to make a person happy rather than hateful or bitter, and that Islam is meant to complement day-to-day life.

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 29:29)

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 29:29 · Open the segment

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

Mon, 15 Mar 2021 00:00:00 +0000

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

Do those who deny Jesus's return reject the unseen, as Yasir Qadhi claims?

Sun, 14 Mar 2021 00:00:00 +0000

Do those who deny Jesus's return reject the unseen, as Yasir Qadhi claims?

Mufti Abu Layth rejects Qadhi's charge that deniers of the return refuse the unseen: belief itself concerns the unseen God, and Mufti is preoccupied with consciousness, which science cannot explain and which he understands to be non-local. Qadhi's clip names Mufti among the heretics.

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 22:25)

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 22:25 · Open the segment

Do people who deny Jesus's return reject the unseen?

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

Do people who deny Jesus's return reject the unseen?

Mufti Abu Layth rejects Qadhi's charge that deniers of the return reject the unseen: belief itself is in the unseen God, and he is himself preoccupied with consciousness, which science cannot explain.

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 1:26:08)

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 1:26:08 · Open the segment

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

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

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

Was al-Ghazali against science and philosophy?

Tue, 09 Feb 2021 00:00:00 +0000

Was al-Ghazali against science and philosophy?

Mufti Abu Layth says al-Ghazali was not against reason at first, but after a crisis of faith he turned to ascetic mysticism, and through later Sufism this indirectly harmed the voice of reason. Mufti Abu Layth says it is true that al-Ghazali's influence had a detrimental impact on the voice of reason, although he thinks it did so indirectly.

Answer from 9 February 2021 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Monday Nights with Mufti #201| Q&A Unscripted & Unrestricted! 😉 | Mufti Abu Layth (at 34:23)

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 34:23 · Open the segment

How does Ibn Rushd compare to other critical-minded scholars?

Tue, 19 Jan 2021 00:00:00 +0000

How does Ibn Rushd compare to other critical-minded scholars?

Ibn Rushd is the most philosophical and most inclined to reason of the critical-minded scholars, Mufti Abu Layth says, and steadier in temperament than one he calls quick to takfir. Mufti Abu Layth says Ibn Rushd is more inclined towards reason than the other critical-minded scholars he was asked about, though all of them are critical-minded.

Answer from 19 January 2021 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Monday Nights with Mufti #198 | Q&A Unscripted & Unrestricted! 😉 | Mufti Abu Layth (at 2:27:24)

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 2:27:24 · Open the segment

How did Ibn Rushd answer al-Ghazali's attack on the philosophers?

Tue, 19 Jan 2021 00:00:00 +0000

How did Ibn Rushd answer al-Ghazali's attack on the philosophers?

Mufti Abu Layth explains that Ibn Rushd answered al-Ghazali by showing that what he refuted was mostly neoplatonism, not Aristotle. Mufti Abu Layth says it was true that al-Ghazali's sources on the philosophers had been ill-informed, because early translations mixed up Aristotle's and Plato's views.

Answer from 19 January 2021 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Monday Nights with Mufti #198 | Q&A Unscripted & Unrestricted! 😉 | Mufti Abu Layth (at 2:16:37)

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 2:16:37 · Open the segment

Why do clever preachers stay stuck in dogmatism?

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

Why do clever preachers stay stuck in dogmatism?

Mufti Abu Layth says knowing a lot is not the same as reasoning well; much of the dogmatist scene relies on rote learning, and Zakir Naik has done Islam real damage.

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 1:51:38)

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 1:51:38 · Open the segment

Can I accept evolution and still take the Quran's stories as true?

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

Can I accept evolution and still take the Quran's stories as true?

The guest calls for reading the Quran wholesale as sacred literature, accepting evolution as scientific fact while holding that religion's symbolic truths, not science, ground human rights and meaning.

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 1:09:21)

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 1:09:21 · Open the segment

If we all recognise harm, why do people still do terrible things?

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

If we all recognise harm, why do people still do terrible things?

Mufti Abu Layth says empathy can be overridden by instincts such as power, and that a shared consciousness shapes the moral feel of an age; he notes the Quran commands justice without defining it, which the guest links to the Mu'tazila.

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 53:58)

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 53:58 · Open the segment

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

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

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?

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

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

What would jinn gain by possessing people, and what follows if they could?

Sat, 21 Nov 2020 00:00:00 +0000

What would jinn gain by possessing people, and what follows if they could?

If jinn could possess people or take any form, nothing in Islam could be trusted and no one would be responsible for their crimes; Mufti Abu Layth notes that only Muslims who believe in possession seem to be afflicted. Mufti Abu Layth says that if jinn could possess people or take any form, as Ibn Taymiyya held, nothing in Islam could be trusted and no one would be responsible for their crimes, and he notes that only Muslims who believe in possession seem to be afflicted by it.

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 11:49)

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 11:49 · Open the segment

Can there be a balanced view on whether jinn possess people?

Sat, 21 Nov 2020 00:00:00 +0000

Can there be a balanced view on whether jinn possess people?

A supernatural claim cannot be balanced; possession is either real or not. If disobedience, missing prayer and riba invited possession, most of the globe would be possessed. Mufti Abu Layth says there can be no balanced version of a supernatural claim, since jinn possession is either real or not, and that if disobedience, missing prayer or riba invited possession then most of the globe would be possessed.

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 6:34)

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 6:34 · 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

Why do you believe in God and that the Quran is from God?

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

Why do you believe in God and that the Quran is from God?

Mufti Abu Layth says consciousness points to the transcendent divine, and that among world religions only Islam passes the test of reason for him. Mufti Abu Layth says he feels consciousness cannot come from nothing and is, to him, reflective of the transcendent divine.

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 2:51:02)

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 2:51:27 · Open the segment

If human reason is limited, why rely on it in religion?

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

If human reason is limited, why rely on it in religion?

Reason has limits, but it is the best tool humans have for any shared dialogue, and a God who calls people through reason would not then demand belief in the irrational. Mufti Abu Layth says reason has its limitations but is the best that human beings have for any intersubjective dialogue.

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 57:31)

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 57:31 · Open the segment

Why do some Muslims struggle to accept that Adam might have had parents?

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

Why do some Muslims struggle to accept that Adam might have had parents?

Mufti Abu Layth says nothing in Islam falls apart if Adam had parents, so the resistance must come from something other than Islam, and God keeping His own rules is no limitation. Mufti Abu Layth says God sticking to the rules He created is not a restriction on Him.

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 43:06)

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 43:06 · 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 questioning religion with reason destroy faith?

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

Does questioning religion with reason destroy faith?

Not for him: he says he has put every matter of the deen to his reason and his faith stood the test, though he does not ask others to do the same.

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 11:40)

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 11:40 · Open the segment

Why does Mufti Abu Layth not believe Jesus will return?

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

Why does Mufti Abu Layth not believe Jesus will return?

What collapsed the belief for him was its incoherence: a this-worldly event so spectacular must have a purpose, and the answers given raise hundreds more questions. Mufti Abu Layth says what really collapsed for him the belief that Jesus will come back was its incoherence.

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 7:08)

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 7:08 · Open the segment

Was Iblis condemned for using his reason?

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

Was Iblis condemned for using his reason?

No: Iblis was condemned for arrogance and stubbornness, not reason, and much of what people picture about angels is imagination filling in the Quran's outline. Mufti Abu Layth says Iblis was never condemned for using reason; the problem was his arrogance and stubbornness.

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 3:56)

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 4:34 · Open the segment

Why does Mufti Abu Layth hold views that most scholars disagree with?

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

Why does Mufti Abu Layth hold views that most scholars disagree with?

Mufti Abu Layth takes his beliefs from the Quran in the light of reason, since God calls people to faith through reason, and tests whether a belief is coherent as a whole. Mufti Abu Layth says he takes his beliefs from the Quran in the light of reason, since God calls people to faith based on reason.

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 0:07)

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 0:45 · Open the segment

Can a hadith be rejected because it goes against reason?

Fri, 09 Oct 2020 00:00:00 +0000

Can a hadith be rejected because it goes against reason?

Mufti Abu Layth says reason is what immediately tells you whether a hadith is sahih, and that an early classical text on hadith says so. Mufti Abu Layth says reason is what immediately tells you whether a hadith is sahih or not.

Answer from 9 October 2020 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Sahih hadith criteria: Cannot go against reason | Mufti Abu Layth (at 0:01)

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 0:01 · Open the segment

What do you think of the Mu'tazila?

Tue, 22 Sep 2020 00:00:00 +0000

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

Why do Muslims treat reason as the enemy of tradition?

Wed, 22 Apr 2020 00:00:00 +0000

Why do Muslims treat reason as the enemy of tradition?

Historically the Ahl al-Hadith defeated the Ahl al-Ra'y, which preserved the tradition but left reason demonised; today reason and tradition must work together. Mufti Abu Layth says asking whether one prefers reason to revelation is a false framing, since the real choice is between one understanding of the Quran and another.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Shaykh Dr. Shabir Ally | Juxtaposing the Quran, Jumbling Aisha's age & Jinn Possession | MindTrap#16 (at 27:18)

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 28:36 · Open the segment

Is using reason to interpret Islam just preferring my own intellect over revelation?

Wed, 22 Apr 2020 00:00:00 +0000

Is using reason to interpret Islam just preferring my own intellect over revelation?

The intellect alone is not a reliable guide, but an intellect guided by the Quran is tamed and becomes the right tool for understanding revelation. The word aql itself means the tether that keeps a camel from straying, and the Quran praises its use.

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

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

Recording: Shaykh Dr. Shabir Ally | Juxtaposing the Quran, Jumbling Aisha's age & Jinn Possession | MindTrap#16 (at 24:41)

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

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

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

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

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

Kind: general teaching

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Kind: general teaching

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Kind: general teaching

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

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

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Why is celibacy praised despite a hadith against it while music is condemned without one?

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

Why is celibacy praised despite a hadith against it while music is condemned without one?

A sahih hadith condemns the vow never to marry, yet unmarried scholars are praised in books like Abu Ghudda's, because celibacy fits the picture of religion as self-denial; music, which fits the opposite picture, is condemned although no clear sahih hadith names it. The default law remains that everything is permissible unless proven otherwise. Mufti Abu Layth says celibacy was praised in the tradition despite a sahih hadith condemning it, because it fits people's picture of religion as suffering and self-denial, whereas music, which has no sahih hadith against it, is condemned.

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 1:00:02)

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 do people assume music must be haram before looking at any evidence?

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

Why do people assume music must be haram before looking at any evidence?

People come to Islam with a prior picture of what religion must be, which includes sacrifice, suffering and asceticism and excludes entertainment, and this backdrop rather than the texts drives their judgement that music is haram. Even with no hadith against it, music would be forbidden on that basis. Mufti Abu Layth says most people's judgement that music is haram comes from a preconceived ontology of religion, which treats entertainment and desire as opposed to religion, rather than from the texts, which serve only as confirmation bias.

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 52:08)

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 listening to music haram?

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

Is listening to music haram?

In Mufti Abu Layth's understanding music is not forbidden, because no text is at once conclusive, sahih and explicit: the Bukhari hadith speaks of entertainment, not music, and the texts naming music are not authentic. People find this hard to accept because they come to religion expecting it to oppose entertainment and desire. Mufti Abu Layth says that in his understanding music is not forbidden, since nothing in Islam is at once conclusive, sahih and explicit in prohibiting it, the Bukhari hadith speaks of entertainment rather than music, and the texts that name music are not authentic.

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 10:31)

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?

Wed, 21 Aug 2019 00:00:00 +0000

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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Can people be moral without religion?

Sun, 04 Aug 2019 00:00:00 +0000

Can people be moral without religion?

Yes: humans know that killing is wrong without scripture, which came to reinforce it, and secular European societies have reached ethics without God. He strongly disagrees with deriding that. Mufti Abu Layth says human beings knew killing was wrong without scripture, and the commandment came only to reinforce it.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Thoughts on Muhammad Hijab's talk on Liberalism & Islam | Mufti Abu Layth (at 19:02)

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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If God can do anything, why not take the miracles in Quranic stories literally?

Tue, 08 Jan 2019 00:00:00 +0000

If God can do anything, why not take the miracles in Quranic stories literally?

Reading the stories as suspensions of natural law means ditching reason, which leaves no ground to reject any myth; reason must be all in, though the prophets were real people. Mufti Abu Layth says reason is either all in or out, and one cannot follow it only ninety per cent of the time.

Answer from 8 January 2019 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: In Depth: Sulaiman (a.s.), the Throne of Sheba, and Miracles in the Quran -Mufti Abu Layth (at 9:32)

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

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What should Muslims learn from the Wood versus Hijab debate?

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

What should Muslims learn from the Wood versus Hijab debate?

Thorough knowledge wins debates, Muslims must raise their adab, and they must be consistent: if the laws of nature do not matter for miracles, then there is no ground to say three cannot equal one. Clips about camel urine or suspended laws of nature send a confusing message. Mufti Abu Layth holds that Muslims must be consistent in following the voice of reason, because if they say the laws of nature do not matter when it comes to miracles they lose any ground for saying that three cannot equal one, and that Muslims also need to raise their adab in debate.

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 27:53)

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?

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?

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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?

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

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

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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What was Hijab's main argument against the Trinity, and did Wood answer it?

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

What was Hijab's main argument against the Trinity, and did Wood answer it?

Hijab's central argument was that the Trinitarian creed defined at Nicaea in 325 cannot be shown in any earlier Christian source, which Mufti Abu Layth calls precise and well researched and which Wood failed to answer sufficiently. Wood seemed shaky and unprepared, and the debate leaned less on reason than it could have.

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 5:15)

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 topic of Tawhid versus the Trinity favour the Muslim side, and how well prepared was Hijab?

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

Did the topic of Tawhid versus the Trinity favour the Muslim side, and how well prepared was Hijab?

Tawhid appeals to reason while the Trinity is held by Christians as a supra-rational truth, so the topic itself favoured Hijab. Even so, Mufti Abu Layth was impressed by Hijab's thorough biblical research and impromptu quotation of the Bible, while Wood seemed unprepared. Mufti Abu Layth holds that when one side of a debate appeals to reason and the other defends what it calls irrational truths, the side of reason will generally prevail, so the topic favoured Hijab, whose biblical research he nonetheless credits as impressive.

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 2:38)

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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Who is Mufti Abu Layth's message aimed at?

Mon, 23 Apr 2018 00:00:00 +0000

Who is Mufti Abu Layth's message aimed at?

His message is for the majority of Muslims who do not practise or feel Islam cannot stand up to reason, to show them that it can.

Answer from 23 April 2018 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: What is My Mission? -Mufti Abu Layth (at 0:00)

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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What is the 'jinn of the gaps'?

Sun, 15 Apr 2018 00:00:00 +0000

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?

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How do we know mental illness is not really jinn possession?

Sun, 15 Apr 2018 00:00:00 +0000

How do we know mental illness is not really jinn possession?

Mufti Abu Layth answers that an explanation which fits everything, like a child told that cyborgs cause all events, is not thereby true; the jinn have become the Muslim catch-all. Such belief is what Basil Mitchell's parable of the partisan describes, a faith no evidence can shake. Mufti Abu Layth holds that using the jinn to explain anything unexplained is like a child's all-purpose conspiracy, an unfalsifiable non-propositional faith such as Basil Mitchell's partisan holds, which no evidence or reasoning can touch.

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 28:46)

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?

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Why do only believers in jinn possession seem to experience it?

Sun, 15 Apr 2018 00:00:00 +0000

Why do only believers in jinn possession seem to experience it?

Mufti Abu Layth says personal and family anecdotes are used to defend possession while the same Muslims dismiss Hindu miracles or Christian doctrine by reasoning against them, applying reason to everyone's claims but their own. He cites a study finding the brain's rational centre quietens during one's own religious experience. Mufti Abu Layth holds that Muslims apply reason to dismiss other religions' miracles and doctrines but switch it off for possession once a belief has been Islamised, relying instead on anecdotal experiences that only ever afflict believers.

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 24:48)

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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Should I believe something just because people say the Quran or hadith say so?

Sun, 15 Apr 2018 00:00:00 +0000

Should I believe something just because people say the Quran or hadith say so?

No: Mufti Abu Layth says the Quran itself appeals to reason, asking people to look, reflect and ponder, and condemns following forefathers blindly, so claims like possession must be tested against reason through the Quran. Someone reading the Quran without a cultural inheritance would never derive possession from it. Mufti Abu Layth holds that the Quran calls people to reason rather than to belief because it says so, and that a claim such as possession, which no one would derive from the Quran without a cultural inheritance, must be tested against reason through the Quran.

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 19:34)

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?

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

Sun, 15 Apr 2018 00:00:00 +0000

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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Does jinn possession exist in Islam?

Sun, 15 Apr 2018 00:00:00 +0000

Does jinn possession exist in Islam?

Not as popularly pictured, Mufti Abu Layth holds: the idea of demons taking over a body and causing illness and insanity does not survive the Quran, the authentic Sunnah and reason. He asks what the jinn would even gain by it and sets out to trace where the belief comes from. Mufti Abu Layth holds that jinn or demonic possession, as popularly pictured, does not exist when examined against the Quran, the authentic Sunnah and reason, and that the first question to ask is what objective the jinn would have in possessing anyone.

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 0:00)

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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Should loyalty to Sahih al-Bukhari outweigh how a report presents the Prophet?

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

Should loyalty to Sahih al-Bukhari outweigh how a report presents the Prophet?

No: Mufti Abu Layth says loyalty belongs to the Prophet, not to al-Bukhari, and cites the age-of-Aisha report, which he holds untrue and disrespectful since Arabs of the time did not marry girls that young, as an example of what must be re-examined. Mufti Abu Layth holds that the report of Aisha's age at marriage is untrue and presents the Prophet disrespectfully, since Arab culture of the time did not marry girls as young as six or seven, and that loyalty to the Prophet should outrank loyalty to al-Bukhari.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: The Role Of Reason In Religion - Mufti Abu Layth (at 1:23:36)

A more recent answer on history/sirah/age-of-aisha exists (18 October 2025): Why does Mufti Abu Layth see the Quran-only movement as a reaction of anger?

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If reason judges religion, whose reason counts, and what about rituals?

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

If reason judges religion, whose reason counts, and what about rituals?

The concept of ritual must make sense, not every detail; the shared judgement of a healthy mind is the standard; and, by Malik's rule that only the Messenger's words are beyond rejection, following a school is not belonging to a cult. Mufti Abu Layth says that the concept of ritual rather than its details must accord with reason, that the shared judgement of a healthy mind is the standard of reason, and that following the Maliki school does not make one a cult member, since Malik taught that everyone's words may be rejected except the Messenger's.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: The Role Of Reason In Religion - Mufti Abu Layth (at 1:14:24)

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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When should a hadith be rejected, and can a Muslim refuse a religious command that makes no sense?

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

When should a hadith be rejected, and can a Muslim refuse a religious command that makes no sense?

A hadith is accepted only if it does not contradict reason, the transmitted sources or an established principle, as Ibn al-Jawzi wrote; the companion who refused an order to jump into a fire shows reason rightly judging a command. Mufti Abu Layth holds, following Ibn al-Jawzi, that a hadith is accepted only if it does not contradict reason, the transmitted sources or an established principle of Islam, and that the companion who refused an order to jump into a fire shows reason rightly judging a religious command.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: The Role Of Reason In Religion - Mufti Abu Layth (at 1:09:12)

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 miracles in the Quran break the laws of nature?

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

Do miracles in the Quran break the laws of nature?

No, in Mufti Abu Layth's understanding: Allah does not break the laws He set, so every event called a miracle in the Quran has an explanation within nature, as fish falling from the sky does; abandoning reason would make every religion's claims equally valid. Mufti Abu Layth holds that Allah never breaks the laws He set in nature, so everything called a miracle in the Quran has an explanation within those laws even if not yet known, and that abandoning reason would make every religion's claims equally valid.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: The Role Of Reason In Religion - Mufti Abu Layth (at 1:05:16)

A more recent answer on belief/prophethood-and-miracles exists (18 October 2025): Can the Quran be used to call the Prophet the best of creation?

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Does Ali's saying about wiping the socks prove that religion is not based on reason?

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

Does Ali's saying about wiping the socks prove that religion is not based on reason?

No: Mufti Abu Layth says the 'if the deen were by opinion' wording has a weak chain and is absent from several versions, that Malik's Muwatta records wiping both sides of the khuff, and that rituals are practices rather than claims against reason. Mufti Abu Layth says the report attributed to Ali that the bottom of the khuff would deserve wiping if religion were by opinion is weak in its chain and absent from several versions, that Malik's Muwatta records wiping both top and bottom, and that rituals are practices rather than claims against reason.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: The Role Of Reason In Religion - Mufti Abu Layth (at 1:01:20)

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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Will using reason make me lose my faith?

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

Will using reason make me lose my faith?

No, Mufti Abu Layth says: fearing that reason leads out of Islam betrays a lack of belief that Islam is true, and doubt that leads to a more certain understanding is legitimate, as Ibrahim's request to see how Allah revives the dead shows. Mufti Abu Layth holds that fearing reason will lead people out of Islam betrays a lack of real belief that Islam is true, and that doubt which leads to a more certain understanding is legitimate, as Ibrahim's question and the hadith about his doubt show.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: The Role Of Reason In Religion - Mufti Abu Layth (at 58:44)

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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How did the Golden Age backlash and the clergy contribute to Muslim hostility to reason?

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

How did the Golden Age backlash and the clergy contribute to Muslim hostility to reason?

The philosophy and reason promoted in the Golden Age provoked a reaction that dumbed reason down, and institutionalised clergy found 'who said the deen is supposed to make sense' a useful tool of control. Mufti Abu Layth says the backlash against the philosophy of the Golden Age and the institutionalisation of religion among the clergy produced a culture in which the idea that the deen need not make sense became a tool 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 56:08)

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?

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

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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Does Islam stand the test of reason, and why should Muslims not fear examining it?

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

Does Islam stand the test of reason, and why should Muslims not fear examining it?

Mufti Abu Layth says he has certainty that Islam has stood the test of reason as well as time, that the hadith of the grave condemns faith that merely repeats what people say, and that Muslims must take reason back rather than shy away. Mufti Abu Layth says he has certainty that Islam has stood the test of reason as well as of time, that Muslims owe it to Islam to measure it openly, and that the hadith of the grave in which the dead person says he merely repeated what people said is evidence that reason is required in 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 36:33)

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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How do we know the Quran is the word of God, if not by reason?

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

How do we know the Quran is the word of God, if not by reason?

Arguments that the Quran is true because it says so, is unlike other books, is eloquent or flawless, or speaks of rain and fruit are no stronger than a spiderweb, Mufti Abu Layth says; without reason one only believes Islam is true because one was told. Mufti Abu Layth says that arguments for the Quran's truth which rest on the book asserting its own truth, its uniqueness, its eloquence, its lack of mistakes or its verses about rain and fruit are no stronger than a spiderweb, and that revelation can only be known to be true through reason.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: The Role Of Reason In Religion - Mufti Abu Layth (at 28:45)

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 are so many Muslims and scholars opposed to using reason in religion?

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

Why are so many Muslims and scholars opposed to using reason in religion?

Opposition to reason comes from insecurity, Mufti Abu Layth says; God is not unreasonable and would not give people reason and then command what clashes with it, and Muslims have ceded reason, once called hikmah, to atheists and scientists. Mufti Abu Layth says God is not unreasonable and would not give people reason to discover Him and then command what clashes with reason, and that reason, which Muslim scholars once called hikmah, has been ceded to atheists and scientists.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: The Role Of Reason In Religion - Mufti Abu Layth (at 23:41)

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

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

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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How do Muslims know Islam is true and other religions are not?

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

How do Muslims know Islam is true and other religions are not?

Muslims reject Hinduism and the Trinity by reason, relying on a shared human intersubjectivity that judges by practical facts; Mufti Abu Layth says the same standard of reason must therefore be applied to Islam. Mufti Abu Layth holds that Muslims use reason to reject Hinduism and the Trinity, that a shared human intersubjectivity lets a healthy mind judge such claims absurd, and that the same standard of reason must be applied to Islam.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: The Role Of Reason In Religion - Mufti Abu Layth (at 9:20)

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 do Muslims need reason if they already have the Quran and Sunnah?

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

Why do Muslims need reason if they already have the Quran and Sunnah?

Mufti Abu Layth asks why reason matters once Islam has reached us, hears audience suggestions, and says the most important answer still lies before all of them, in the prequel he is about to give.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: The Role Of Reason In Religion - Mufti Abu Layth (at 5:13)

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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What does reason mean in religion, and what does the Quran say about it?

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

What does reason mean in religion, and what does the Quran say about it?

Reason is the ability of a healthy mind to think and make judgements based on practical facts, broader than formal logic; Mufti Abu Layth takes the Surah al-Hajj verse that the hearts, not the eyes, are blind as the backdrop of the talk. Mufti Abu Layth says reason is the ability of a healthy mind to think and make judgements based on practical facts, broader than formal logic, and that the Quran in Surah al-Hajj urges people to travel and perceive so as to gain hearts that reason.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: The Role Of Reason In Religion - Mufti Abu Layth (at 0:00)

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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A belief that changed nothing for the dead; the hadith on his teacher's wall

Tue, 13 Mar 2018 00:00:00 +0000

A belief that changed nothing for the dead; the hadith on his teacher's wall

The belief in Jesus's return has had zero impact on anyone who died until today, so it cannot be a core part of faith; Mufti Abu Layth introduces the hadith that shaped his approach. Mufti Abu Layth holds that the belief in Jesus's return has had no impact on the faith of anyone who died until today, so it cannot be a core part of Islam.

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 1:41:17)

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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Calling to the Quran and Sunnah, not hadith; the winged horse on national television

Tue, 13 Mar 2018 00:00:00 +0000

Calling to the Quran and Sunnah, not hadith; the winged horse on national television

Mufti Abu Layth calls people to the Quran and Sunnah rather than to hadith as such, since hadith must be sifted; the Dawkins and Mehdi Hasan exchange shows why religion must withstand reason. Mufti Abu Layth holds that religion must make sense because the Quran calls to reason, and he calls people to the Quran and the Sunnah rather than to hadith as such, since hadith contain contradictions that must be sifted.

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 25:32)

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?

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Two camps of religion: tribal mythology versus religion that must make sense

Tue, 13 Mar 2018 00:00:00 +0000

Two camps of religion: tribal mythology versus religion that must make sense

Religion is approached either as tribal custom with a mythology of superheroes, or as something that must make sense; Mufti Abu Layth says he is speaking only to the second group. Mufti Abu Layth says he addresses only those for whom religion must make sense and be based on reason, since God would not contradict the laws he placed in the world.

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 20:20)

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 does he reject the hadith of the tree crying for the Prophet?

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

Why does he reject the hadith of the tree crying for the Prophet?

The religion is built on reason, so one standard must apply to all religions: a tree that reasons and cries cannot be accepted while other faiths' claims are called absurd. He also urged his critics to reject the demeaning reports about the Prophet, which they instead affirmed. Mufti Abu Layth holds that the religion is built on reason, so a Muslim must apply one set of standards: a report that a tree reasoned and cried cannot be accepted while the claims of other religions are rejected as absurd.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Reply to Sunni (Wahhabi) Defence Pt.I -Mufti Abu Layth (at 3:54)

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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How do we know mental illnesses are not really jinn possessions?

Wed, 20 Sep 2017 00:00:00 +0000

How do we know mental illnesses are not really jinn possessions?

A theory that explains everything, like a child's cyborg conspiracy, is not thereby true, and 'the jinn' is such a theory for Muslims. Like Basil Mitchell's partisan who rationalises everything the stranger does, this is non-propositional faith that no evidence can reach. Mufti Abu Layth says that explaining anything unexplained by the jinn is a one-size-fits-all paradigm like a child's conspiracy theory or Basil Mitchell's partisan, a non-propositional faith that no evidence or reason can touch.

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 1:19:28)

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?

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People I know have seen jinn possession; does that not prove it?

Wed, 20 Sep 2017 00:00:00 +0000

People I know have seen jinn possession; does that not prove it?

Anecdotal experience is no proof: Muslims dismiss other faiths' miracle claims by reason while refusing to reason about their own, and possession afflicts only those who believe in it. A brain study found the prefrontal cortex shutting down during people's own religious experiences. Mufti Abu Layth says Muslims accept anecdotal experiences of possession while dismissing other faiths' miracle claims by reason, that possession seems to afflict only those who believe in it, and that people switch off their reasoning for their own faith.

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 1:15:34)

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?

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Does the hadith that Shaytan flows in a person's blood prove possession?

Wed, 20 Sep 2017 00:00:00 +0000

Does the hadith that Shaytan flows in a person's blood prove possession?

No: the Prophet said it to two men who saw him with his wife Safiyya, about human suspicion, and nobody present was possessed. The Quran itself appeals to reason and proof, so possession must be tested by reason, which someone reading the Quran without cultural baggage would never find in it. Mufti Abu Layth holds that the Quran itself calls people to reason rather than to belief on its own say-so, so a claim like possession must be tested against reason, and that the hadith of Shaytan flowing in the blood concerns human suspicion, as its Safiyya context shows, not possession.

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 1:09:02)

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 Muslim scholars of the past accept the idea of jinn possession?

Wed, 20 Sep 2017 00:00:00 +0000

Why did Muslim scholars of the past accept the idea of jinn possession?

Scholars of the past were the only learned people and were asked to explain everything, from the divisibility of atoms to where the intellect sits, so they explained strange behaviour with the best knowledge they had. That is the backdrop to the confusion over possession, not a proof of it. Mufti Abu Layth says the belief in possession took root because the ulama, as the most learned people in pre-modern societies, were asked to explain every worldly phenomenon and answered as best they could with the knowledge of their time.

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 53:21)

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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Ritualisation of the deen and the angels' question about Adam: can believers ask?

Tue, 15 Mar 2016 00:00:00 +0000

Ritualisation of the deen and the angels' question about Adam: can believers ask?

The deen has been ritualised so that scholarly conclusions cannot be questioned, while the angels' question to Allah about creating Adam is read as a model that believers may ask questions.

Answer from 15 March 2016 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

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

Recording: Ustadh Nouman Ali Khan & Mufti Abu Layth - A Discussion on Contemporary Issues (at 23:55)

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 morality innate? Language acquisition, divine command, and insecurity in faith

Tue, 15 Mar 2016 00:00:00 +0000

Is morality innate? Language acquisition, divine command, and insecurity in faith

The speakers hold that the Quran treats humans as having an innate moral sense, compared to an innate capacity for language, and say faith should not depend on silencing those who question it.

Answer from 15 March 2016 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

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

Recording: Ustadh Nouman Ali Khan & Mufti Abu Layth - A Discussion on Contemporary Issues (at 17:23)

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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