Mufti Abu Layth Archive: fiqh/intoxicants-and-substances

What counts as khamr, and is a drink with very little alcohol haram?

Fri, 05 Mar 2021 00:00:00 +0000

What counts as khamr, and is a drink with very little alcohol haram?

In the Quran khamr is wine; other drinks are haram if they intoxicate similarly, but a drink so weak that normal consumption does not intoxicate is not haram. This was Abu Hanifa's ruling, for which the Hanafi school was attacked for centuries until later Hanafis grew embarrassed by it. Mufti Abu Layth says that in Quranic usage khamr is wine, that other drinks are haram when they intoxicate in a similar way, and that drinks with alcohol so weak that an average consumption does not intoxicate are not haram, which is the ruling Abu Hanifa defended.

Answer from 5 March 2021 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Intoxicants: Imam Abu Hanifa vs the rest | Mufti Abu Layth (at 0:00)

A more recent answer on fiqh/madhhabs-and-following/hanafi-school exists (10 December 2022): What did Abu Hanifa say about Imam Malik?

Watch on YouTube at 0:00 · Open the segment

Is drinking poison haram in Islam?

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

Is drinking poison haram in Islam?

Drinking poison is categorically haram, he says, so it is inconsistent to call DMT haram while justifying publicly drinking poison. Mufti Abu Layth says drinking poison is categorically haram in Islam, with no ifs or buts.

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 3:10:59)

A more recent answer on dialogue/responses-to-critics exists (6 April 2021): Donors, deathbed remarks and 'no hatred': an invitation to the critic

Watch on YouTube at 3:10:59 · Open the segment

Is smoking marijuana haram?

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

Is smoking marijuana haram?

Marijuana is haram for the young because of the harm, he says, but not for an adult whose brain has developed, though Islam does not encourage it. Mufti Abu Layth says that once a person's brain has developed, usually around 25, it would not be haram for them to take marijuana, though Islam does not encourage it.

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 3:05:48)

A more recent answer on fiqh/intoxicants-and-substances exists (5 March 2021): What counts as khamr, and is a drink with very little alcohol haram?

Watch on YouTube at 3:05:48 · Open the segment

Is cannabis an intoxicant like alcohol in Islam?

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

Is cannabis an intoxicant like alcohol in Islam?

Mufti Abu Layth says marijuana is not an intoxicant in the way alcohol is, and accuses the preacher of not understanding the difference between psychoactive substances and intoxicants.

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 2:54:22)

A more recent answer on dialogue/responses-to-critics exists (6 April 2021): Donors, deathbed remarks and 'no hatred': an invitation to the critic

Watch on YouTube at 2:55:00 · Open the segment

Did Abu Hanifa allow nabidh only as medicine?

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

Did Abu Hanifa allow nabidh only as medicine?

Mufti Abu Layth says the reports Abu Hanifa's school transmitted, of Umar and Ibn Mas'ud drinking and diluting nabidh, are about drinking with food, not medicine.

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 2:41:57)

A more recent answer on fiqh/madhhabs-and-following/hanafi-school exists (10 December 2022): What did Abu Hanifa say about Imam Malik?

Watch on YouTube at 2:47:32 · Open the segment

What is Birmingham really like for Muslims?

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

What is Birmingham really like for Muslims?

Mufti Abu Layth defends Birmingham but calls drugs a cancer in its Muslim community, and says cannabis should be legalised and regulated. Mufti Abu Layth says he thinks several drugs should be legalised, especially things like cannabis.

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 1:29:06)

A more recent answer on society/extremism-crime-and-justice exists (29 September 2024): How scholars' rhetoric fed Pakistan's blasphemy killings, in Mufti Abu Layth's view

Watch on YouTube at 1:29:06 · Open the segment

What counts as khamr, and is a drink with a little alcohol haram?

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

What counts as khamr, and is a drink with a little alcohol haram?

Mufti Abu Layth says khamr in the Quran meant wine; other drinks were haram only when they intoxicated like it, which was Abu Hanifa's position. Mufti Abu Layth says that in Quranic terminology khamr was just wine.

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 23:50)

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 24:29 · Open the segment

Did Abu Hanifa allow drinks with a little alcohol?

Fri, 29 Jan 2021 00:00:00 +0000

Did Abu Hanifa allow drinks with a little alcohol?

The guest says Abu Hanifa's ruling that mildly fermented non-wine drinks are not haram shows he followed the Quran over reports; Mufti Abu Layth says the lesson is his way of thinking.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Shaykh Atabek Shukurov | Mortgages, Madhabs & Molvi-ism | MindTrap 48 | Mufti Abu Layth (at 1:12:59)

A more recent answer on fiqh/madhhabs-and-following/hanafi-school exists (10 December 2022): What did Abu Hanifa say about Imam Malik?

Watch on YouTube at 1:13:24 · Open the segment

If a lot of anything can intoxicate, does that make tiny amounts of alcohol haram?

Tue, 26 Jan 2021 00:00:00 +0000

If a lot of anything can intoxicate, does that make tiny amounts of alcohol haram?

The hadith refers to drinks that intoxicate in the amount normally drunk, so a little of such a drink is haram; foods with trace alcohol that cannot intoxicate are not covered. Mufti Abu Layth says the hadith refers to drinks that intoxicate in the amounts normally drunk, so even a small amount of such a drink is haram, while foods with trace alcohol that cannot intoxicate in normal consumption are not covered.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Monday Nights with Mufti #199 | Q&A Unscripted & Unrestricted! 😉 | Mufti Abu Layth (at 46:28)

A more recent answer on hadith/individual-hadith-explained exists (14 March 2021): Does the Quran say Jesus died, and how did the Prophet understand the verse 'when you took me'?

Watch on YouTube at 46:28 · Open the segment

Mufti Abu Layth's chat round: answering critics, soft drinks and Syrian rue

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

Mufti Abu Layth's chat round: answering critics, soft drinks and Syrian rue

Mufti Abu Layth says he only answers persistent public critics, that non-alcoholic drinks are halal, and that he has not read the reports on Syrian rue.

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

Recording: Monday Nights with Mufti #188 | Q&A Unscripted & Unrestricted! 😉 | Mufti Abu Layth (at 46:55)

A more recent answer on dialogue/the-mufti-and-the-channel exists (18 May 2021): Response to accusations over Palestine remarks and claims he is not Muslim

Watch on YouTube at 46:55 · Open the segment

Do the Hanafis allow beer?

Tue, 04 Aug 2020 00:00:00 +0000

Do the Hanafis allow beer?

Mufti Abu Layth says the classical Hanafis restricted khamr to grape and date wine, and today's Deobandis do not reflect Abu Hanifa. Mufti Abu Layth says the Deobandi school, for example, is not really a reflection of Imam Abu Hanifa at all.

Answer from 4 August 2020 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Monday Nights with Mufti Abu Layth #176 *Q&A Unscripted & Unrestricted!* 🤣 (at 2:23:18)

A more recent answer on fiqh/madhhabs-and-following/hanafi-school exists (10 December 2022): What did Abu Hanifa say about Imam Malik?

Watch on YouTube at 2:23:48 · Open the segment

Is it haram to sit at a table where people are drinking alcohol?

Tue, 04 Aug 2020 00:00:00 +0000

Is it haram to sit at a table where people are drinking alcohol?

Mufti Abu Layth says it is not a sin to sit at a table where alcohol is served; the hadith was part of a gradual move away from alcohol. Mufti Abu Layth says there is no sin in sitting at a table where there is alcohol.

Answer from 4 August 2020 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Monday Nights with Mufti Abu Layth #176 *Q&A Unscripted & Unrestricted!* 🤣 (at 16:30)

A more recent answer on hadith/individual-hadith-explained exists (14 March 2021): Does the Quran say Jesus died, and how did the Prophet understand the verse 'when you took me'?

Watch on YouTube at 16:58 · Open the segment

Can I wear perfume that contains alcohol?

Tue, 14 Jul 2020 00:00:00 +0000

Can I wear perfume that contains alcohol?

It is pure and nothing to worry about: alcohol is not impure for many scholars of Madinah, and perfume alcohol is not the drinking kind anyway. Mufti Abu Layth says perfume with an alcohol base is pure and there is nothing to worry about.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Monday Nights with Mufti Abu Layth 173 (at 1:50:34)

A more recent answer on fiqh/purification exists (18 October 2025): Why does the guest's prayer have no fixed number of units, and what counts as wudu?

Watch on YouTube at 1:50:34 · Open the segment

Is alcohol under forty percent permissible, as a Pakistani mufti reportedly said?

Mon, 29 Jun 2020 00:00:00 +0000

Is alcohol under forty percent permissible, as a Pakistani mufti reportedly said?

Mufti Abu Layth says he cannot tell what the mufti meant: forty percent strength would be ridiculous, a diluted drink might rest on the Hanafi view on nabidh, and the cigarette analogy made no sense to him. He wants to hear the mufti's explanation before judging.

Answer from 29 June 2020 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Masala Segment: Mufti Abdul Qavi & Alcohol | Mufti Abu Layth (at 0:00)

A more recent answer on society/current-events/pakistan exists (29 September 2024): How scholars' rhetoric fed Pakistan's blasphemy killings, in Mufti Abu Layth's view

Watch on YouTube at 1:13 · Open the segment

Does smoking break my fast?

Sat, 25 May 2019 00:00:00 +0000

Does smoking break my fast?

Some scholars hold that smoking does not break the fast and those who follow them are not to blame, but Mufti Abu Layth's own advice is to use nicotine patches instead. Mufti Abu Layth says his own advice and ruling is for a fasting smoker to resort to nicotine patches rather than smoke.

Answer from 25 May 2019 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Can we use nicotine packs or smoke/vape while fasting? -Mufti Abu Layth (at 4:29)

A more recent answer on fiqh/fasting/what-breaks-the-fast exists (18 October 2025): Is the daytime ban on eating and intimacy in Ramadan stated in the Quran or inferred?

Watch on YouTube at 4:29 · Open the segment

Does a nicotine patch or vaping break my fast?

Sat, 25 May 2019 00:00:00 +0000

Does a nicotine patch or vaping break my fast?

No: Mufti Abu Layth says a nicotine patch does not break the fast, and he feels vaping is the same, though neither is being encouraged. Mufti Abu Layth says wearing a nicotine patch does not violate the fast.

Answer from 25 May 2019 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Can we use nicotine packs or smoke/vape while fasting? -Mufti Abu Layth (at 0:01)

A more recent answer on fiqh/fasting/what-breaks-the-fast exists (18 October 2025): Is the daytime ban on eating and intimacy in Ramadan stated in the Quran or inferred?

Watch on YouTube at 1:18 · Open the segment

If I drank alcohol, are my prayers and fasts rejected for 40 days?

Fri, 24 May 2019 00:00:00 +0000

If I drank alcohol, are my prayers and fasts rejected for 40 days?

No: the fast and prayer are valid. He calls the forty-days hadith an isolated, weak report that clashes with the Quran and reason, though alcohol stays haram. Mufti Abu Layth says the salah and fast of someone who has drunk alcohol or taken drugs remain valid.

Answer from 24 May 2019 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Hadith Analysis: Does drinking alcohol or doing drugs invalidate your prayer or fast for 40 days? (at 0:00)

A more recent answer on hadith/false-and-fabricated/about-the-prophet exists (19 August 2022): Recap: the novel, insult versus critique, and the false story summarised

Watch on YouTube at 0:38 · Open the segment

Rapid-round replies: steroids, state control and prenuptial agreements

Mon, 05 Mar 2018 00:00:00 +0000

Rapid-round replies: steroids, state control and prenuptial agreements

Steroids are a matter of legality rather than theology, prenuptial agreements are not legally binding in the UK, and Mufti Abu Layth says he is against state control and favours a hands-off approach to governing.

Answer from 5 March 2018 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Recording: Zina, Marriage and Relationships - Mufti Abu Layth al-Maliki (at 22:06)

A more recent answer on fiqh/marriage-contracts exists (10 December 2022): How did Abu Hanifa solve the case of two brides sent to the wrong grooms?

Watch on YouTube at 22:06 · Open the segment

How can I help someone stop drinking without pushing them away?

Wed, 21 Dec 2016 00:00:00 +0000

How can I help someone stop drinking without pushing them away?

Drinking is unacceptable, but like any addiction it needs wisdom: offer an alternative and help with the person's problems, as Abu Hanifa did with his drinking neighbour. Mufti Abu Layth says that with someone who drinks there has to be wisdom and encouragement to good, giving them an alternative rather than only telling them to stop.

Answer from 21 December 2016 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Islam in the 21st Century | Mufti Abu Layth | Ha Meem Foundation (at 1:02:22)

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 1:03:05 · Open the segment