Mufti Abu Layth Archive: fiqh/legal-theory

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

2025-10-18T00:00:00Z

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

Is the daytime ban on eating and intimacy in Ramadan stated in the Quran or inferred?

2025-10-18T00:00:00Z

Is the daytime ban on eating and intimacy in Ramadan stated in the Quran or inferred?

The daytime prohibition of eating and intimacy in Ramadan comes from 2:187 by mafhum al-mukhalafa, an adverse inference Mufti Abu Layth accepts but which is not the explicit reading, so some verses need the tradition's explanation; the guest says each reader is rewarded according to his understanding.

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 1:50:02)

Watch on YouTube at 1:50:43 · Open the segment

Language embeds power: 'inconvenience' versus 'hardship' in tayammum

2023-02-13T00:00:00Z

Language embeds power: 'inconvenience' versus 'hardship' in tayammum

The words scholars choose, such as 'inconvenience' or 'hardship', already decide the ruling, embedding power even when used sincerely. Mufti Abu Layth says that the moment we deploy words we embed power structures, maybe subconsciously.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Birth Of Islamic Orthodoxy And Institutionalisation | Mufti Abu Layth (at 26:17)

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

Watch on YouTube at 26:17 · Open the segment

Orthodoxy and power: adding to the checklist, ijma and cancel culture

2023-02-13T00:00:00Z

Orthodoxy and power: adding to the checklist, ijma and cancel culture

Once creed became a checklist, those in power could keep adding to it, as with ijma; everyone acts from power, even when sincere. Mufti Abu Layth says everybody acts from power and that doing so does not mean one is disingenuous.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Birth Of Islamic Orthodoxy And Institutionalisation | Mufti Abu Layth (at 19:10)

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 19:10 · Open the segment

Why did Abu Hanifa allow things like praying in Persian?

2022-12-10T00:00:00Z

Why did Abu Hanifa allow things like praying in Persian?

Abu Hanifa's legal stratagems, such as letting someone who knew no Arabic pray in Persian, were meant to create ease for new Muslims, not to change Islam, and Mufti Abu Layth says that spirit is needed today. Mufti Abu Layth says Abu Hanifa's legal stratagems, such as allowing prayer in Persian, were meant to create ease and welcome people rather than to change Islam, and that this spirit is the one needed today.

Answer from 10 December 2022 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Imam Abu Hanifa | Mufti Abu Layth (at 17:01)

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 17:01 · Open the segment

Why did scholars say a slave woman's awrah is the same as a man's?

2021-05-09T00:00:00Z

Why did scholars say a slave woman's awrah is the same as a man's?

Mufti Abu Layth says most scholars of the past legitimised the practice of slave girls out of pragmatism, realism and sex, and even presented it as a religious act. He contrasts this with music, which they were less keen to permit, and polygamy, which few manage today. Mufti Abu Layth says that, if one is honest, the way most scholars of the past dealt with slave girls was simply an issue of pragmatism, realism and, he supposes, sex.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Hypocrisy of scholars regarding awrah of free women & slave women | Mufti Abu Layth (at 0:01)

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 0:38 · Open the segment

Is everything halal unless proven haram?

2021-04-13T00:00:00Z

Is everything halal unless proven haram?

Yes: Mufti Abu Layth says things are halal by default and prohibiting is a heavy task, and teachers should say 'in my understanding' because they could be wrong. Mufti Abu Layth says things are halal by default and declaring something haram is a heavy task, and that a teacher should present rulings as his own understanding of what God wants, acknowledging that he could be wrong.

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 1:03:39)

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 1:03:39 · Open the segment

Is forex trading halal or haram?

2021-04-06T00:00:00Z

Is forex trading halal or haram?

Mufti Abu Layth refers the question to his earlier videos and says inherited fiqh is so out of date that much of it can no longer be applied. Mufti Abu Layth says inherited fiqh is so out of date that much of it cannot be applied and its teaching has become largely ritual, partly because past jurists closed it to later rulings.

Answer from 6 April 2021 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Monday Nights with Mufti #209 | Q&A Unscripted & Unrestricted! 😉 | Mufti Abu Layth (at 21:11)

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 21:11 · Open the segment

Why did Imam Malik say nothing between spouses is haram and only pork is forbidden to eat?

2021-03-05T00:00:00Z

Why did Imam Malik say nothing between spouses is haram and only pork is forbidden to eat?

Imam Malik held that nothing sexual between spouses is haram and that no meat is haram in itself except pig, and Mufti Abu Layth says such rulings defend the principle that only Allah declares things haram. Saying something is not haram is not the same as recommending it. Mufti Abu Layth says that imams such as Malik, in ruling that nothing sexual between spouses is haram and that no meat but pig is haram in itself, were not advocating those practices but defending the principle that no one may declare haram what Allah has not, since a scholar is not God.

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 3:59)

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 3:59 · Open the segment

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

2021-02-09T00:00:00Z

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

Is growing a beard obligatory in the Hanafi school?

2021-01-29T00:00:00Z

Is growing a beard obligatory in the Hanafi school?

The guest says Hanafi principles act as a constitution before which everyone is equal, and that by them keeping the beard is mubah, not wajib as subcontinent scholars concluded.

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

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

Recording: Shaykh Atabek Shukurov | Mortgages, Madhabs & Molvi-ism | MindTrap 48 | Mufti Abu Layth (at 17:37)

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 18:37 · Open the segment

If the Prophet couldn't forbid what Allah allowed, how can scholars issue fatwas?

2021-01-26T00:00:00Z

If the Prophet couldn't forbid what Allah allowed, how can scholars issue fatwas?

The verse rebukes the Prophet for forbidding himself something permissible to please others, not for legislating; things are permissible by default, so declaring something haram is a weighty step. Mufti Abu Layth says 66:1 addresses the Prophet for forbidding himself something permissible to console others, not for legislating, and that because everything is permissible by default, declaring something haram is a weighty matter, while a prohibition lapses when its reason disappears.

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 41:12)

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 41:12 · Open the segment

What does Islamic law say about the harms of social media?

2021-01-12T00:00:00Z

What does Islamic law say about the harms of social media?

Mufti Abu Layth agrees fiqh is out of sync with problems like social media's harms and needs updating. Mufti Abu Layth says fiqh is definitely out of sync and needs to catch up and be updated.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Monday Nights with Mufti #197 | Q&A Unscripted & Unrestricted! 😉 | Mufti Abu Layth (at 2:51:22)

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 2:51:22 · Open the segment

Why do you call yourself a Maliki?

2021-01-12T00:00:00Z

Why do you call yourself a Maliki?

Mufti Abu Layth calls himself Maliki because he follows the lens of the school of Medina: the Quran at the centre, Medinan practice, reason and the aims of the shari'ah. Mufti Abu Layth says the school of Medina placed the Quran centrally, gave precedence to the inherited practice of Medina and held reason to be vital.

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 1:41:27)

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 1:41:27 · Open the segment

Am I doing wrong if I follow a minority opinion?

2021-01-12T00:00:00Z

Am I doing wrong if I follow a minority opinion?

No: the hadith is weak, and even its valid meaning is about the whole ummah agreeing, not about majorities, so following a minority view is not doom. Mufti Abu Layth says the hadith that the ummah will not agree upon misguidance is unfortunately weak, although its meaning is kind of valid.

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 1:37:49)

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 1:38:29 · Open the segment

Has Islam become more polarised between puritans and liberals?

2021-01-12T00:00:00Z

Has Islam become more polarised between puritans and liberals?

Yes, he says Islam is far more polarised today than historically, but he is optimistic it is a fever through which a more natural Islam can return. Mufti Abu Layth says he feels Islam has become massively polarized in the modern age, in many ways much more than historically.

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 35:08)

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 35:37 · Open the segment

Has the Salafi movement done more good or harm?

2021-01-12T00:00:00Z

Has the Salafi movement done more good or harm?

Mufti Abu Layth says the Salafi dawah revived interest in hadith and forced a re-evaluation, but its dislodging of the tradition did far more damage overall. Mufti Abu Layth says the biggest problem of the Salafi dawah was that it dislodged the entire tradition that was the general understanding of Islam.

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 32:40)

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 32:40 · Open the segment

Does the Quran treat every human life as sacred, even in war?

2020-12-11T00:00:00Z

Does the Quran treat every human life as sacred, even in war?

The guest says the Quran holds every human soul sacred, which classical exegetes on jihad missed; Mufti Abu Layth says Muslim scholarship must shift from outdated fiqh to ethics.

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 1:52:45)

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 1:52:45 · Open the segment

If morality is universal, why was slavery accepted for so long?

2020-12-11T00:00:00Z

If morality is universal, why was slavery accepted for so long?

The guest says moral ideals exist in God and humans approximate them; past acceptance of slavery came from not recognising others' full humanity, and ritual laws such as the pork prohibition differ from universal moral law.

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 43:17)

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 43:17 · Open the segment

Did the classical scholars ever question whether God would command Ibrahim to kill his son?

2020-10-28T00:00:00Z

Did the classical scholars ever question whether God would command Ibrahim to kill his son?

Mufti Abu Layth says earlier scholars debated the side issues, such as rulings coming through dreams or abrogation before an act, but none asked whether God would want a father to kill his son. He satirises the discussions as all grammar and no elephant in the room. Mufti Abu Layth says the scholars of the past discussed every subsidiary question of the sacrifice story without ever asking whether God would want a father to kill his son.

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 21:09)

A more recent answer on quran/tafsir exists (18 October 2025): Why are two of the daily prayers recited silently when 17:110 says not to be silent?

Watch on YouTube at 21:09 · Open the segment

Is Sharia-compliant investing really different from normal investing?

2020-10-27T00:00:00Z

Is Sharia-compliant investing really different from normal investing?

Mufti Abu Layth says ethical investing is fine, but interest loopholes are absurd: bank interest is not Quranic riba and mortgages are permissible. Mufti Abu Layth says he does not believe the modern interest system is the riba of the Quran, and that mortgages are permissible.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Monday Nights with Mufti #188 | Q&A Unscripted & Unrestricted! 😉 | Mufti Abu Layth (at 1:00:13)

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 1:00:41 · Open the segment

Is drawing lots or playing the lottery haram in Islam?

2020-09-22T00:00:00Z

Is drawing lots or playing the lottery haram in Islam?

Mufti Abu Layth says drawing lots is an established principle of the Shari'ah, and that a small lottery stake is not haram, though he does not encourage it. Mufti Abu Layth says he does not encourage the small lottery people play, a pound here or there, but it is not haram.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Monday Nights with Mufti #183 | Q&A Unscripted & Unrestricted! 😉 | Mufti Abu Layth (at 1:42:38)

A more recent answer on hadith/hadith-in-legal-reasoning exists (18 October 2025): Is there a middle way between rejecting all hadith and accepting every hadith?

Watch on YouTube at 1:42:38 · Open the segment

Are Sharia rules brand new, or based on what people already did?

2020-09-22T00:00:00Z

Are Sharia rules brand new, or based on what people already did?

Mufti Abu Layth says the Shari'ah did not bring otherworldly rules but took existing practices and set limits on them, like kintsugi mending pottery. Mufti Abu Layth says the Shari'ah took people's existing rulings and placed parameters on them so they do not transgress.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Monday Nights with Mufti #183 | Q&A Unscripted & Unrestricted! 😉 | Mufti Abu Layth (at 1:36:57)

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 1:36:57 · Open the segment

If alcohol is haram, aren't drugs like DMT haram too?

2020-08-24T00:00:00Z

If alcohol is haram, aren't drugs like DMT haram too?

Mufti Abu Layth agrees that what is haram cannot be changed, but says neither the Quran nor the Sunnah forbids substances like mushrooms or DMT. Mufti Abu Layth says the Quran and the Sunnah do not say that things like mushrooms or DMT are haram.

Answer from 24 August 2020 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Monday Nights with Mufti #179 | Q&A Unscripted & Unrestricted! 😉 | Mufti Abu Layth (at 39:51)

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 39:51 · Open the segment

Does 'leave what makes you doubt' mean I should always follow the strictest opinion?

2020-07-14T00:00:00Z

Does 'leave what makes you doubt' mean I should always follow the strictest opinion?

No: he reads it the opposite way, since nothing should be made binding unless proven with certainty; it is a general rule about dubious matters, not a call to strictness. Mufti Abu Layth says the hadith telling people to leave what makes them doubt does not mean following the strictest of all opinions.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Monday Nights with Mufti Abu Layth 173 (at 59:03)

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 59:42 · Open the segment

What do you think of Shah Wali Allah?

2020-07-14T00:00:00Z

What do you think of Shah Wali Allah?

Mufti Abu Layth calls Shah Wali Allah an amazing scholar, ahead of his time, who revived hadith studies and wrote on the objectives of the Sharia without using the word maqasid. Mufti Abu Layth says Shah Wali Allah was an amazing individual, ahead of the curve, who reinvigorated hadith studies.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Monday Nights with Mufti Abu Layth 173 (at 30:50)

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 31:30 · Open the segment

Why were the Israelites told to sacrifice a heifer, and what does it teach about religious detail?

2020-06-26T00:00:00Z

Why were the Israelites told to sacrifice a heifer, and what does it teach about religious detail?

The heifer was commanded to break the Israelites' lingering reverence for their Egyptian masters' cow worship, and the rabbis' frivolous questions about it exemplify the clerical obsession with detail. Mufti Abu Layth agrees and recalls arguing the same.

Answer from 26 June 2020 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Prof. Edip Yuksel | Rejecting Hadith, Rashad Khalifa & Realizing '19' | MindTrap with Mufti #27 (at 2:36:06)

A more recent answer on quran/tafsir exists (18 October 2025): Why are two of the daily prayers recited silently when 17:110 says not to be silent?

Watch on YouTube at 2:36:06 · Open the segment

If the Quran abolished slavery, why is there no explicit verse saying so?

2020-06-26T00:00:00Z

If the Quran abolished slavery, why is there no explicit verse saying so?

The guest says rabb is used in the Quran only for God, so that owning a slave is shirk and la ilaha illa Allah is itself the abolition of slavery. Mufti Abu Layth notes that rabb has ordinary linguistic uses and that non-Muslims recorded Muslims as owning slaves.

Answer from 26 June 2020 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

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

Recording: Prof. Edip Yuksel | Rejecting Hadith, Rashad Khalifa & Realizing '19' | MindTrap with Mufti #27 (at 1:19:08)

A more recent answer on quran/arabic-language exists (18 October 2025): Is the 'light' that came with the clear book in 5:15 the Prophet or the Quran itself?

Watch on YouTube at 1:19:08 · Open the segment

Does the Quran ban slavery, and what does 'what your right hand possesses' mean?

2020-06-26T00:00:00Z

Does the Quran ban slavery, and what does 'what your right hand possesses' mean?

The guest says the Quran abolishes slavery as the greatest crime, since owning a slave is to claim to be a rabb like Pharaoh, and that what the right hand possesses means contractual marriage. Mufti Abu Layth holds that slavery is abrogated through trajectory hermeneutics rather than by an explicit ban.

Answer from 26 June 2020 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Prof. Edip Yuksel | Rejecting Hadith, Rashad Khalifa & Realizing '19' | MindTrap with Mufti #27 (at 1:08:39)

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 1:08:39 · Open the segment

Why did Islam not abolish slavery outright?

2020-04-28T00:00:00Z

Why did Islam not abolish slavery outright?

Islam did not abolish slavery outright because the collective consciousness of the age could not yet see it as wrong, but it encouraged emancipation as a route to that change. Slavery was always wrong, and Mufti Abu Layth says Jonathan Brown's three axioms rest on a shallow analysis. Mufti Abu Layth holds that Islam did not abolish slavery outright because the collective consciousness of the age could not yet perceive it as wrong, and that, now that it can be seen, owning another human being is a problem and slavery has always been wrong, though past societies cannot be held to account for a perception they lacked.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Sex Slaves: Concubines and Collective Consciousness -Mufti Abu Layth (at 11:48)

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 11:48 · Open the segment

How could men in early Islam have sex with their female slaves?

2020-04-28T00:00:00Z

How could men in early Islam have sex with their female slaves?

Sexual relations with female slaves were condoned because the society Islam was revealed in had a very different mindset: its slavery resembled servitude rather than transatlantic slavery, and it drew no line between a slave's labour and sexual utility, so the practice could not be changed at once. Mufti Abu Layth says that, in his understanding, one reason sexual relations with female slaves were condoned is that the society in which Islam was revealed had a very different mindset: its slavery resembled servitude rather than transatlantic slavery, and it drew no line between a slave's labour and sexual utility, a mindset that could not be changed at once.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Sex Slaves: Concubines and Collective Consciousness -Mufti Abu Layth (at 2:37)

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 3:55 · Open the segment

Is slavery haram in Islam, and did Muslim scholars ban it before the UN?

2020-04-28T00:00:00Z

Is slavery haram in Islam, and did Muslim scholars ban it before the UN?

Slavery is categorically haram today, and Maliki scholars issued fatwas forbidding it long before the UN; Mufti Abu Layth explains this through trajectory hermeneutics. Concubines were female slaves, not wives. Mufti Abu Layth holds that slavery is categorically haram today, that Maliki and other scholars forbade it by fatwa long before the UN resolution, and that the Quran's rulings on slavery set a trajectory towards its prohibition once human ethics developed.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Sex Slaves: Concubines and Collective Consciousness -Mufti Abu Layth (at 0:00)

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 0:00 · Open the segment

Can hudud punishments such as stoning or hand-cutting change with the times?

2020-04-22T00:00:00Z

Can hudud punishments such as stoning or hand-cutting change with the times?

Mufti Abu Layth holds that stoning was a pre-Quranic practice abrogated by the Quran and that the Sharia's punishments reflect their age, as Maliki scholars and the Ottomans applied. The guest agrees that the spirit of the law can require departing from its letter, as Umar did when he suspended hand-cutting in a famine.

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 18:08)

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 18:08 · Open the segment

Why did earlier scholars not see what reform-minded scholars see today?

2020-04-22T00:00:00Z

Why did earlier scholars not see what reform-minded scholars see today?

Past scholars were great but fallible and bound by their time, like people in a smoke-filled room or marchers in a procession, while today we can see the whole history of ideas from the balcony. Mufti Abu Layth adds that the apostasy rule rests on one problematic narration from Ikrima in Bukhari.

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 14:11)

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 15:30 · Open the segment

If pornography is not called haram, does that mean it is encouraged?

2020-04-19T00:00:00Z

If pornography is not called haram, does that mean it is encouraged?

The guest distinguishes saying something should not be done from declaring it haram; Mufti Abu Layth restates that they are not encouraging pornography, which may be harmful, but not calling it haram.

Answer from 19 April 2020 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

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

Recording: Shaykh Kashif Khan | Policing thought, Pornography & Pandora's box | MindTrap with Mufti #15 (at 1:44:16)

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 1:44:16 · Open the segment

Is looking at an image of a naked person the same as looking at a real one in Islamic law?

2020-04-19T00:00:00Z

Is looking at an image of a naked person the same as looking at a real one in Islamic law?

The guest says he cannot call something haram without a text prohibiting it, so he presents the scholars' differing views on looking at a reflection or image and leaves the choice to the asker.

Answer from 19 April 2020 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

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

Recording: Shaykh Kashif Khan | Policing thought, Pornography & Pandora's box | MindTrap with Mufti #15 (at 1:28:23)

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 1:28:23 · Open the segment

Is it a sin for a Muslim woman not to cover her hair?

2019-11-03T00:00:00Z

Is it a sin for a Muslim woman not to cover her hair?

Contemporary scholars who say covering the hair is not obligatory hold a valid position, and not wearing hijab is an equally valid opinion to wearing it, which Mufti Abu Layth calls good as part of a woman's identity. What the Quran explicitly establishes is modesty, and the choice is a personal journey, not something to impose. Mufti Abu Layth holds that scholars who say covering the hair is not obligatory have a valid position, that wearing hijab is a good thing as part of a woman's identity, and that not wearing it is an equally valid opinion and not a matter of going to hell, since only modesty is explicitly established in the Quran and the sound Sunnah.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Verse in Surah Al-Nur about the Hijab | Mufti Abu Layth (at 9:10)

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?

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What is Mufti Abu Layth's final verdict on whether music is haram?

2019-09-18T00:00:00Z

What is Mufti Abu Layth's final verdict on whether music is haram?

Music is not haram: no clear sahih hadith prohibits it and the default law makes everything permissible unless proven otherwise. Mufti Abu Layth calls it the nourishment of the soul, notes that sound is only vibration interpreted by a listener, and cites music therapy in medieval Muslim hospitals. Mufti Abu Layth holds that music is not haram, since the evidence does not support a prohibition and the default law makes everything permissible unless proven otherwise, and he calls music arguably the nourishment of the soul, citing its healing use in medieval Muslim hospitals.

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 1:06:32)

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 1:06:32 · Open the segment

Why is everything permissible by default in Islamic law unless proven haram?

2019-09-18T00:00:00Z

Why is everything permissible by default in Islamic law unless proven haram?

By default everything is conclusively permissible, since Allah created everything on earth for us and what He was silent about is pardoned, and that certainty can only be removed by certainty, not by a hadith that remains probable. So Mufti Abu Layth does not declare music halal; Allah has, and the evidence against it falls short of overturning that. Mufti Abu Layth holds, as he says many Malikis of the school of Madinah did, that everything is conclusively permissible by default, because Allah created everything for us and pardoned what He was silent about, and that this certainty can be removed only by certainty, so when he calls something halal he is not making it so.

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 30:08)

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 30:08 · Open the segment

Is it haram to write or sing lyrics about alcohol?

2019-09-18T00:00:00Z

Is it haram to write or sing lyrics about alcohol?

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

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

Kind: general teaching

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

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

Watch on YouTube at 26:09 · Open the segment

Who has the authority to declare music haram if God has not?

2019-09-18T00:00:00Z

Who has the authority to declare music haram if God has not?

God has not made music haram and neither Mufti Abu Layth nor the scholars have the authority to do so: the authentic hadith speak of entertainment, which could mean many things, and the scholars' prohibition is their own interpretation. Those who dislike music need not listen to it, but it is allowed. Mufti Abu Layth says God has not made music haram, so no one may make it haram, since the authentic hadith speak of entertainment rather than music and the scholars who prohibited it did so by their own interpretation.

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 22:21)

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 22:21 · Open the segment

How did classical scholars treat intersex people (khuntha) and their right to marry?

2019-08-02T00:00:00Z

How did classical scholars treat intersex people (khuntha) and their right to marry?

Classical scholars ruled that a khuntha, an intersex person, can neither marry nor be married, which Mufti Abu Layth calls cruel, absurd and a failure of scholarship to give a truly Islamic answer. Mufti Abu Layth says the classical ruling that a khuntha can never marry was ridiculous and absurd, and a case study of scholarship failing to provide a truly Islamic answer to a challenge of its age.

Answer from 2 August 2019 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Why are homosexual activities forbidden? | Mufti Abu Layth (at 5:12)

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 5:12 · Open the segment

Why does Islam forbid homosexual activity?

2019-08-02T00:00:00Z

Why does Islam forbid homosexual activity?

Islam did not address homosexuality directly; it outlawed all sex outside marriage to build strong family units, and homosexuality was prohibited as a by-product. There are no clear sahih hadith on it, and scholars differed on related questions such as anal sex. Mufti Abu Layth says that Islam did not address homosexuality directly but outlawed all sexual activity outside marriage in order to build strong family units, so that homosexuality was prohibited as a by-product, and that there are no clear sahih hadith on it.

Answer from 2 August 2019 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Why are homosexual activities forbidden? | Mufti Abu Layth (at 0:01)

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 0:01 · Open the segment

Is forcing your wife to have sex a sin in Islam?

2019-07-25T00:00:00Z

Is forcing your wife to have sex a sin in Islam?

Yes: Mufti Abu Layth says coercive sex with one's wife is haram, and that Muslims who deny this create the problem. He cites Imam Malik's saying that what set right the first of this umma will set right its last, meaning the independence to challenge inherited readings shaped by medieval patriarchy. Mufti Abu Layth holds that coercive sex with one's wife is haram, that Muslims who deny this are the problem, and that, following Imam Malik's saying, the umma is set right by the independence to challenge inherited readings shaped by the patriarchy of past ages.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: A Reply to Abdullah Sameer's Allegation: The Quran Teaches Paedophilia | Mufti Abu Layth (at 32:36)

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 32:36 · Open the segment

How does the rule that a clear verse overrides an ambiguous one apply to Quran 65:4?

2019-07-25T00:00:00Z

How does the rule that a clear verse overrides an ambiguous one apply to Quran 65:4?

By a principle of usul the ambiguous phrase 'those who have not menstruated' is read in the light of the clear opening term women, which cancels any reading that includes girls. The Quran could have said fatayat but addressed them as nisa. Mufti Abu Layth holds that by the usuli principle that a clear text governs an ambiguous one, the opening term nisa in Surah al-Talaq cancels any reading of 'those who have not menstruated' that would include girls.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: A Reply to Abdullah Sameer's Allegation: The Quran Teaches Paedophilia | Mufti Abu Layth (at 29:58)

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?

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Did Imam Malik allow marriage to be consummated with a girl who was not yet nubile?

2019-07-25T00:00:00Z

Did Imam Malik allow marriage to be consummated with a girl who was not yet nubile?

No: Mufti Abu Layth says Imam Malik's fatwa was clear that sexual relations with a wife are haram unless she is nubile. Scholars who read 65:4 to include girls were men influenced by the patriarchy of their age and were wrong, while others such as Ibn Ashur, al-Samarqandi, Abu Hayyan and al-Alusi did not read it so. Mufti Abu Layth holds that Imam Malik ruled sexual relations with a wife haram unless she was nubile, and that the commentators who read 65:4 to include girls were wrong and influenced by the patriarchy of their age, which is not Islam.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: A Reply to Abdullah Sameer's Allegation: The Quran Teaches Paedophilia | Mufti Abu Layth (at 27:19)

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 27:19 · Open the segment

Is a man wearing an earring imitating women or harmful?

2019-07-24T00:00:00Z

Is a man wearing an earring imitating women or harmful?

No: Qadi Khan of the Hanafis allowed boys' earrings since the jahiliyya practice went uncriticised by the Prophet, the harm argument cannot permit piercing for girls and forbid it for boys, and history shows men wearing earrings. Men wearing kohl shows that what is 'effeminate' is a cultural matter. Mufti Abu Layth holds that the objections to men's earrings fail: if piercing is permitted for girls the harm argument cannot forbid it for boys, the imitation-of-women claim ignores thousands of years of men wearing earrings, and men wearing kohl shows that what counts as effeminate is a cultural matter.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Holistic Overview: Can Men Wear Earrings? -Mufti Abu Layth (at 27:25)

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 27:25 · Open the segment

Is Islam meant to be applied the same rigid way everywhere?

2019-05-04T00:00:00Z

Is Islam meant to be applied the same rigid way everywhere?

No: Islam was revealed to a tiny population but came for all mankind, so it is flexible enough to take in every people's backgrounds and needs. Mufti Abu Layth says Islam came with the flexibility to incorporate people's backgrounds, perspectives and needs.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Daniel Haqiqatjou and Women praying in the Wardrobe -Mufti Abu Layth (at 38:06)

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 38:06 · Open the segment

What is fiqh, and is it the same as Shari'ah?

2019-03-22T00:00:00Z

What is fiqh, and is it the same as Shari'ah?

Fiqh is our understanding of what is expected of us towards God and towards people. It overlaps with Shari'ah, which people usually keep for the legal side, and it has different ways of deriving rulings. Mufti Abu Layth says fiqh is our understanding of what is expected of us towards God and towards people, partly synonymous with Shari'ah, a word people tend to reserve for the legal side.

Answer from 22 March 2019 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Why did I Choose Maliki Fiqh? -Mufti Abu Layth (at 0:00)

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 0:00 · Open the segment

Why do some scholars still insist Aisha was nine?

2018-11-30T00:00:00Z

Why do some scholars still insist Aisha was nine?

Lacking an earlier authority is no reason to keep the young age, since medieval scholars also accepted slavery and other rulings no one would defend today. No hadith gives certain knowledge, so an inconclusive report that blemishes the Prophet's honour is rejected. Mufti Abu Layth says that the lack of an earlier authority is no reason to keep the young age, since medieval scholars also held slavery acceptable and gave rulings he calls haram, and that because no hadith gives certain knowledge, an inconclusive report that blemishes the Prophet's honour is rejected.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Shaykh Omar Suleiman & the Yaqeen Institutes On Age of Aisha (r.a.) -Mufti Abu Layth (at 15:43)

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?

Watch on YouTube at 15:43 · Open the segment

Is it haram for men to wear gold or silk?

2018-07-10T00:00:00Z

Is it haram for men to wear gold or silk?

In Mufti Abu Layth's view the prohibition of gold and silk for men is a matter of dislike (karaha), not a categorical haram, since many Companions wore both all their lives and the Prophet's aim was to keep people focused in hard times. He notes the popular opinion is that it is haram and says nobody has to follow his understanding. Mufti Abu Layth says he is in line with the ulama who held that the Prophet's prohibition of gold and silk for men was a matter of karaha intended to keep the early community focused and away from luxury in a dangerous time, not a categorical haram, while noting that the popular opinion is that it is haram.

Answer from 10 July 2018 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Why it is Not Haram for Men to Wear Gold or Silk -Mufti Abu Layth (at 0:00)

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 0:00 · Open the segment

Do I have to grow a beard?

2018-06-12T00:00:00Z

Do I have to grow a beard?

The beard was the custom of all Arabs, not something the Prophet introduced, and the 'be different from the Jews and Christians' wording is applied selectively, since the same words command dyeing hair and praying in shoes. The Prophet never defined what a beard should look like, and scholars disagree whether the command was binding. Mufti Abu Layth holds that the beard was the common custom of all Arabs including the disbelievers of Quraysh rather than something the Prophet introduced, that the 'be different from the Jews and Christians' wording is applied selectively since the same words command dyeing the hair and praying in shoes, and that the Prophet never once defined what the beard should look like.

Answer from 12 June 2018 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Do You Have to Grow a Beard? -Mufti Abu Layth (at 0:00)

A more recent answer on hadith/hadith-in-legal-reasoning exists (18 October 2025): Is there a middle way between rejecting all hadith and accepting every hadith?

Watch on YouTube at 0:00 · Open the segment

Does the sanctity of life in Islam rule out killing apostates?

2018-05-10T00:00:00Z

Does the sanctity of life in Islam rule out killing apostates?

Life has conclusive sanctity in Islam, and preserving life and freedom of religion for everyone are among the aims of the shari'ah. Mufti Abu Layth says the sanctity of life is conclusive in Islam and that the preservation of life and freedom of religion for everyone are among the aims of the shari'ah.

Answer from 10 May 2018 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Apostasy has NO punishment in Islam: A Qur'an & Sunnah Analysis by Mufti Abu Layth (at 5:16)

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 5:16 · Open the segment

Are tattoos haram in Islam?

2018-05-03T00:00:00Z

Are tattoos haram in Islam?

Tattoos are permissible in Mufti Abu Layth's understanding, though he notes most scholars held them haram and some Malikis only makruh. He reads the prohibition in its historical context of branding slaves and cattle rather than beautification. Mufti Abu Layth says tattoos are permissible in his understanding, because the hadith condemning tattooing addressed the branding and disfigurement of slaves and cattle in its historical context rather than beautification, while noting that most scholars held them haram and some Malikis only makruh.

Answer from 3 May 2018 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Why Tattoos are NOT Haram by Mufti Abu Layth (at 0:00)

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 0:00 · Open the segment

Is jinn possession just a difference of opinion among scholars?

2018-04-15T00:00:00Z

Is jinn possession just a difference of opinion among scholars?

Mufti Abu Layth refuses to treat it that way: although scholars from Fakhr al-Din al-Razi to Shaltut, Ibn Ashur and al-Shawkani rejected possession while Ibn Taymiyya affirmed it, this is not a harmless fiqh difference like raising the hands in prayer, because the belief drives abuse and exploitation and brings ridicule on Islam. Mufti Abu Layth refuses to treat possession as one of two acceptable opinions, since unlike a difference such as raising the hands in prayer it unleashes mass exploitation and abuse and brings ridicule on Islam and the Prophet, and he notes that a number of scholars, among them al-Razi and al-Shawkani, rejected it.

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 1:05:31)

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 1:05:31 · Open the segment

Everyone picks and chooses: later scholars on mawlid, shrines, hadra and the Jesus hadith

2018-03-13T00:00:00Z

Everyone picks and chooses: later scholars on mawlid, shrines, hadra and the Jesus hadith

Every group accepts later scholars against earlier ones when it suits them; Mufti Abu Layth says rejecting the Jesus hadith on the later scholars' authority is no different. Mufti Abu Layth says everyone, Salafis included, picks and chooses between early and later scholars, so rejecting the Jesus hadith on the authority of later scholars is no different from what others do.

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 1:56:59)

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 1:56:59 · Open the segment

Shawkani against claimed consensus: music, following a madhhab, four wives, raf' al-yadayn

2018-03-13T00:00:00Z

Shawkani against claimed consensus: music, following a madhhab, four wives, raf' al-yadayn

Those who cite Shawkani's claim that the return is mutawatir do not follow him when he rejects other consensuses or calls raf' al-yadayn mutawatir; claimed consensuses have been overturned before. Mufti Abu Layth says Shawkani's claim that the return of Jesus is mutawatir cannot bind when Shawkani himself rejected claimed consensuses on music, following a madhhab and marrying more than four wives, and those who cite him ignore him elsewhere.

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 1:53:04)

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 1:53:04 · Open the segment

Isn't the return of Jesus established by ijma and mutawatir hadith?

2018-03-13T00:00:00Z

Isn't the return of Jesus established by ijma and mutawatir hadith?

There is no consensus on what ijma is, and tawatur is applied selectively: the same scholars reject the Gospels, Hindu miracle reports and Shia transmissions that would qualify by their own definition. Mufti Abu Layth holds that there is no consensus on what consensus is, that ijma began as collective assurance rather than a source of Sharia, and that accepting only one's own mutawatir while rejecting others' is inconsistent.

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 1:33:26)

A more recent answer on hadith/mutawatir-and-epistemology exists (18 October 2025): Is the Quran-only position an argument from epistemology or from principle?

Watch on YouTube at 1:34:43 · Open the segment

If the Safiyya story is in Sahih al-Bukhari, why question it?

2018-02-21T00:00:00Z

If the Safiyya story is in Sahih al-Bukhari, why question it?

Because Bukhari's own narrations of the incident conflict, all rest on Anas, and Anas himself says nobody witnessed a marriage and they only assumed one from her being veiled. Earlier scholars were great but shaped by their times, and loyalty to them should not come before the Prophet's honour. Mufti Abu Layth holds that a report being in Sahih al-Bukhari does not settle the matter when Bukhari's own narrations of it conflict and rest on one companion's assumption, and that Muslims are not bound by earlier scholars' understanding, shaped by their age, when the Prophet's honour is at stake.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: The Story of Safiyya: the Prophet's Jewish wife -Mufti Abu Layth al-Maliki (at 40:25)

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

Watch on YouTube at 40:25 · Open the segment

Does a mufti have to be appointed by the government?

2018-02-15T00:00:00Z

Does a mufti have to be appointed by the government?

No. Being a mufti can be a salaried professional role, as in fatwa institutions, or a voluntary, freelance one. Mufti Abu Layth says a mufti does not have to be appointed by the state and can hold a voluntary or a professional role.

Answer from 15 February 2018 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: The Maulana/Madrassa crisis & Why my views appear to be different? - Mufti Abu Layth al-Maliki (at 17:50)

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 17:50 · Open the segment

Does the Quran forbid every kind of excess when it forbids riba?

2017-10-19T00:00:00Z

Does the Quran forbid every kind of excess when it forbids riba?

The definite article in 'Allah forbade riba' points to a specific known kind of riba, not every excess, since most excesses are not haram. Umar wished the Prophet had explained riba, and Ibn Abbas held there was no riba except in delay. Mufti Abu Layth says the definite article in the Quran's prohibition of riba refers to a particular kind of riba already known to its hearers, not to every excess, since riba simply means excess and most excesses are agreed not to be haram.

Answer from 19 October 2017 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Are Mortgages & Bank Loans Haram? - Mufti Abu Layth (at 14:16)

A more recent answer on quran/tafsir exists (18 October 2025): Why are two of the daily prayers recited silently when 17:110 says not to be silent?

Watch on YouTube at 14:16 · Open the segment

Should religious leaders be held to a higher standard than everyone else?

2017-09-29T00:00:00Z

Should religious leaders be held to a higher standard than everyone else?

The claim that leaders deserve greater scrutiny is a modern Western ethic that its proponents apply selectively, in Mufti Abu Layth's view, while a hadith tells Muslims to overlook the slips of people of standing. Workplace rules on relationships are corporate productivity ethics, not religion. Mufti Abu Layth holds that the principle that leaders deserve greater scrutiny is a modern Western ethic applied selectively by those who reject modern ethics elsewhere, and that the Prophet instructed overlooking the slips of people of standing.

Answer from 29 September 2017 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Propaganda against Ustadh Nouman Ali Khan - Mufti Abu Layth (at 19:37)

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 19:37 · Open the segment

Who has the right to tell other Muslims off for doing something haram?

2017-09-29T00:00:00Z

Who has the right to tell other Muslims off for doing something haram?

Hisbah, commanding good and forbidding evil, is for legitimate authority and for qualified scholars, and only in matters that are clearly agreed upon. Imam Malik said one may advise but not argue or dispute. Mufti Abu Layth holds that commanding good and forbidding evil (hisbah) belongs to legitimate authority and to qualified scholars, only in matters that are clearly agreed upon, and not to individuals acting on their own.

Answer from 29 September 2017 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Propaganda against Ustadh Nouman Ali Khan - Mufti Abu Layth (at 13:04)

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 13:04 · Open the segment

If a religious figure does something wrong, should people expose him online?

2017-09-29T00:00:00Z

If a religious figure does something wrong, should people expose him online?

If a crime was committed it must be reported to the authorities, and vigilante justice is haram. If the act is only haram and not a crime, it is for Allah alone to judge, not for people online. Mufti Abu Layth holds that if a crime has been committed it must be reported to the authorities, that vigilante justice is haram, and that a haram act that is not a crime is for Allah alone to judge.

Answer from 29 September 2017 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Propaganda against Ustadh Nouman Ali Khan - Mufti Abu Layth (at 10:30)

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 10:30 · Open the segment

What arguments were used to justify exposing Nouman Ali Khan?

2017-09-29T00:00:00Z

What arguments were used to justify exposing Nouman Ali Khan?

The campaign rested on three claims: a duty to forbid evil, greater accountability for leaders, and the idea that any relationship involving a person of status is abuse. Mufti Abu Layth presents these as the views he is about to answer.

Answer from 29 September 2017 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

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

Recording: Propaganda against Ustadh Nouman Ali Khan - Mufti Abu Layth (at 6:36)

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 6:36 · Open the segment

Is it wrong to choose the easier opinion in Islam?

2017-09-06T00:00:00Z

Is it wrong to choose the easier opinion in Islam?

Mufti Abu Layth says choosing what is easier is the nature of Islam, citing hadith that the Prophet always chose the easier of two options. Islam came to connect people with God, not to make secondary details the main issue.

Answer from 6 September 2017 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Giving rulings based on minority opinions- Shaykh Akram Nadwi & Mufti Abu Layth (at 5:27)

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?

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Should scholars give fatwas based on minority opinions if it makes life easier?

2017-09-06T00:00:00Z

Should scholars give fatwas based on minority opinions if it makes life easier?

In this clip Shaykh Akram Nadwi says scholars may give fatwas on easier minority opinions in minor matters of fiqh, since ease has always guided the jurists. Mufti Abu Layth speaks only at the end.

Answer from 6 September 2017 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

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

Recording: Giving rulings based on minority opinions- Shaykh Akram Nadwi & Mufti Abu Layth (at 0:00)

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?

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Do men need to cover their head to pray, and can I pray in shorts?

2017-04-02T00:00:00Z

Do men need to cover their head to pray, and can I pray in shorts?

No: covering the head is custom and convention, not a sunnah of salah, so praying bareheaded is fine and not makruh. Long shorts are fine if they cover the 'awrah. Mufti Abu Layth says the Maliki school does not regard covering the head as a sunnah of salah but as a matter of custom and convention, so praying bareheaded is neither makruh nor a defect, and long sports shorts that cover the 'awrah are fine to pray in.

Answer from 2 April 2017 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: How to Pray Salah According to the Maliki Madhhab- Mufti Abu Layth (at 45:56)

A more recent answer on fiqh/prayer exists (18 October 2025): Why are two of the daily prayers recited silently when 17:110 says not to be silent?

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Why did jurists like Imam Malik let a father marry off his young daughter without her consent?

2017-01-11T00:00:00Z

Why did jurists like Imam Malik let a father marry off his young daughter without her consent?

Marrying off an underage girl is impermissible today. Imam Malik's exception was a contract only, without intimacy, tied to welfare in his own circumstances and not based on a clear verse or report. Mufti Abu Layth holds that a father marrying off an underage daughter is impermissible in our age, and that Imam Malik's contractual exception was tied to welfare in his own circumstances.

Answer from 11 January 2017 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Age of Aisha (ra)- Mufti Abu Layth (at 2:00:23)

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?

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If ethics change over time, how can today's ethics judge the Prophet's marriage?

2017-01-11T00:00:00Z

If ethics change over time, how can today's ethics judge the Prophet's marriage?

Base ethics such as the wrongness of harm do not change, and the issue is consent, which a minor cannot give. Mufti Abu Layth does not believe people will ever come to accept otherwise. Mufti Abu Layth holds that the question turns on consent, which a minor cannot give, and says he does not believe people will ever come to accept such a marriage, since the prevention of harm is a universal ethical base.

Answer from 11 January 2017 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Age of Aisha (ra)- Mufti Abu Layth (at 1:35:34)

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?

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Should religious Muslims focus on avoiding sin or on doing good?

2016-12-21T00:00:00Z

Should religious Muslims focus on avoiding sin or on doing good?

Focus on building up the good, not on sins: the salaf rarely said haram, things are permissible by default, and the deen should be made easy. Mufti Abu Layth says he sincerely believes that in this age Muslims need to focus on the positives rather than on wrongdoing.

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 31:58)

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?

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Western human rights, unquestioned presuppositions and the labels liberal and conservative

2016-03-15T00:00:00Z

Western human rights, unquestioned presuppositions and the labels liberal and conservative

Both speakers say Muslims should question their own presuppositions and scrutinise Western values rather than dismiss or adopt them wholesale. One objects that Western moral markers shift every decade; the other that labels like liberal and conservative replace argument.

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 6:55)

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?

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Do I have to wear my trousers above my ankles?

2015-03-20T00:00:00Z

Do I have to wear my trousers above my ankles?

No: for men, wearing the garment below the ankles is not haram unless it is done out of arrogance, in which case the hadith apply; otherwise it is at most makruh. In today's societies covering the ankles is normal and carries no arrogance, so insisting on it misses the purpose of the ruling. Mufti Abu Layth holds that a man letting his garment hang below the ankles is not haram unless it is done out of arrogance and is at most makruh otherwise, adding that in present-day societies covering the ankles is normal and is not a sign of arrogance.

Answer from 20 March 2015 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Do I have to wear my trousers above my ankles? | Mufti Abu Layth (at 0:00)

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?

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Should I avoid practices that people call good bid'ah?

2015-03-03T00:00:00Z

Should I avoid practices that people call good bid'ah?

Mufti Abu Layth holds it is safer to stick to the Sunnah as Medina understood it, but does not condemn those who follow good bid'ah, and asks for mutual respect. Mufti Abu Layth says his personal opinion is that it is always safer to stick with the Sunnah, the understanding in Medina at the time of Imam Malik.

Answer from 3 March 2015 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Innovation in Islam? | Mufti Abu Layth alMaliki (at 30:11)

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?

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Is it a bid'ah to pray extra prayers on a fixed day every week?

2015-03-03T00:00:00Z

Is it a bid'ah to pray extra prayers on a fixed day every week?

Fixing a voluntary prayer to a day for convenience is commendable, but fixing it for a religious reason ritualises it, which the Malikis count as discouraged bid'ah. Mufti Abu Layth says that, from the Maliki perspective, the intention of a person can render their own action from a good and rewarding thing to something discouraged.

Answer from 3 March 2015 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Innovation in Islam? | Mufti Abu Layth alMaliki (at 12:51)

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?

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Is making group dua after every salah a bid'ah?

2015-03-03T00:00:00Z

Is making group dua after every salah a bid'ah?

Group dua after every prayer is not from the Sunnah; the Hanafis and Shafi'is count such acts as recommended under general commands to do good, while the other side sees a new practice. Mufti Abu Layth says that making dua together in congregation after every prayer is categorically not from the Sunnah.

Answer from 3 March 2015 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Innovation in Islam? | Mufti Abu Layth alMaliki (at 6:26)

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?

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What did Imam Malik say about bid'ah?

2015-03-03T00:00:00Z

What did Imam Malik say about bid'ah?

Imam Malik rejected any 'good' bid'ah and called innovations misguidance, yet he often ruled a given innovation only discouraged (makruh), not haram. Mufti Abu Layth says that although Imam Malik's wording against innovations is harsh at times, his ruling on a particular innovation is quite often just makruh, not haram.

Answer from 3 March 2015 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Innovation in Islam? | Mufti Abu Layth alMaliki (at 1:58)

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?

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Is there such a thing as good bid'ah?

2015-03-03T00:00:00Z

Is there such a thing as good bid'ah?

Mufti Abu Layth frames the question of whether bid'ah divides into good and bad, defining it as innovation in religious matters, not worldly ones.

Answer from 3 March 2015 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Innovation in Islam? | Mufti Abu Layth alMaliki (at 0:01)

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?

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If the madhhabs differ so much, how can they all be valid?

2014-03-12T00:00:00Z

If the madhhabs differ so much, how can they all be valid?

Compare the hadith an imam relied on with the hadith you quote, not the imam's fatwa with the hadith. The schools differ in application under one constitution of Quran and Sunnah, like US states, and learning every ruling from its evidence without a school is impractical. Mufti Abu Layth holds that the schools of law are all valid in essence, differing in application under the one constitution of the Quran and Sunnah, and that a difference between an imam and a hadith must be framed as hadith against hadith, never as the imam's fatwa against the Prophet's words.

Answer from 12 March 2014 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Do I need to follow a Madhhab?- Mufti Abu Layth (at 7:47)

A more recent answer on hadith/hadith-in-legal-reasoning exists (18 October 2025): Is there a middle way between rejecting all hadith and accepting every hadith?

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Do I have to stick to one madhhab, or can I question its positions?

2014-03-12T00:00:00Z

Do I have to stick to one madhhab, or can I question its positions?

Develop within one school, since each rests on its own principles, like choosing one door into a building; once knowledgeable you may evaluate its positions. Mufti Abu Layth adds that some who resist this seem to struggle with submitting to authority. Mufti Abu Layth says a student should adopt one school of law as the basis for developing their understanding and may, at a later stage as their knowledge grows, analyse and evaluate some of its positions.

Answer from 12 March 2014 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Do I need to follow a Madhhab?- Mufti Abu Layth (at 5:13)

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?

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Do I have to follow a madhhab?

2014-03-12T00:00:00Z

Do I have to follow a madhhab?

Yes in practice: a sound understanding of the deen cannot be acquired without a school of law as the medium, just as knowledge cannot be acquired without a language. It is not a matter of sin or haram, but of what is conceivable. Mufti Abu Layth holds that following a madhhab is a practical necessity for anyone who wants a sound understanding of the deen, as a language is for learning anything, and not a legislated obligation whose neglect is sinful.

Answer from 12 March 2014 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Do I need to follow a Madhhab?- Mufti Abu Layth (at 0:04)

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 0:04 · Open the segment