Mufti Abu Layth Archive: fiqh/madhhabs-and-following/hanafi-school

What did Abu Hanifa say about Imam Malik?

Sat, 10 Dec 2022 00:00:00 +0000

What did Abu Hanifa say about Imam Malik?

Abu Hanifa called the younger Imam Malik a blonde, blue-eyed lad. Mufti Abu Layth closes that the Hanafi madhhab became restrictive in recent centuries while schools such as the Maliki kept their freedoms. Mufti Abu Layth says the Hanafi madhhab became very restrictive and controlling, especially in the last two or three centuries, whereas other schools such as the Maliki kept their freedoms.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Imam Abu Hanifa | Mufti Abu Layth (at 1:08:15)

A more recent answer on history/scholars-and-imams/imam-malik exists (19 April 2023): Did Imam Malik reject the hadith he did not act on?

Watch on YouTube at 1:08:15 · Open the segment

What is the story of the woman who tricked Abu Hanifa into a marriage proposal?

Sat, 10 Dec 2022 00:00:00 +0000

What is the story of the woman who tricked Abu Hanifa into a marriage proposal?

Abu Hanifa died in 150 AH and is buried in Baghdad. In a story of uncertain accuracy, a woman tricked him into a marriage with a different bride to get him back for the clever reference he once gave a poor suitor.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Imam Abu Hanifa | Mufti Abu Layth (at 56:24)

Watch on YouTube at 56:24 · Open the segment

What did Abu Hanifa do about his neighbour who drank and sang at night?

Sat, 10 Dec 2022 00:00:00 +0000

What did Abu Hanifa do about his neighbour who drank and sang at night?

Rather than punishing his drunken, noisy neighbour, Abu Hanifa had him released from custody and asked whether he had let him go to waste, a kindness that transformed the man's life. Mufti Abu Layth draws from the story of Abu Hanifa's drunkard neighbour that doing kindness to people conquers their hearts.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Imam Abu Hanifa | Mufti Abu Layth (at 45:49)

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 45:49 · Open the segment

How did Abu Hanifa die, and what was he known for among people?

Sat, 10 Dec 2022 00:00:00 +0000

How did Abu Hanifa die, and what was he known for among people?

Abu Hanifa was imprisoned by the Abbasids for supporting an uprising from the Prophet's family and died, perhaps poisoned, in prison; he was loved above all for his compassion and generosity. Mufti Abu Layth says the feature that most made Abu Hanifa's legacy glow and won people's hearts was his compassion and generosity towards students, teachers and people in need.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Imam Abu Hanifa | Mufti Abu Layth (at 41:54)

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 41:54 · Open the segment

How did Abu Hanifa solve the case of two brides sent to the wrong grooms?

Sat, 10 Dec 2022 00:00:00 +0000

How did Abu Hanifa solve the case of two brides sent to the wrong grooms?

Where Sufyan al-Thawri advised divorces, a waiting period and remarriage to the original spouses, Abu Hanifa had each man marry on the spot the woman he had spent the night with, sparing a waiting period and jealousy.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Imam Abu Hanifa | Mufti Abu Layth (at 32:42)

Watch on YouTube at 32:42 · Open the segment

Did Abu Hanifa allow wudu with nabidh when there was no water?

Sat, 10 Dec 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Did Abu Hanifa allow wudu with nabidh when there was no water?

In the early school of Abu Hanifa, someone without water could make wudu with nabidh, a weak fermented date drink, and he helped people out of rash conditional divorce oaths, unlike the sterner Imam Malik.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Imam Abu Hanifa | Mufti Abu Layth (at 28:48)

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 28:48 · Open the segment

How did the Hanafi school develop from Abu Hanifa's teaching?

Sat, 10 Dec 2022 00:00:00 +0000

How did the Hanafi school develop from Abu Hanifa's teaching?

Abu Hanifa's students, above all Imam Muhammad, turned his spirit into an institution through the six books of the zahir al-riwaya, and Mufti Abu Layth feels the madhhab later lost that spirit and became focused on the letter of the law. Mufti Abu Layth says the Hanafi madhhab, over the generations, lost the spirit Abu Hanifa brought, became radically institutionalised and focused on the letter of the law, declaring most things haram, contrary to his concern to create ease.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Imam Abu Hanifa | Mufti Abu Layth (at 24:52)

Watch on YouTube at 24:52 · Open the segment

Was Abu Hanifa involved in politics?

Sat, 10 Dec 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Was Abu Hanifa involved in politics?

Abu Hanifa supported Zayd ibn Ali's uprising and fled to Makkah under the Umayyads, and the Abbasids later made him chief supervisor of the building of Baghdad.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Imam Abu Hanifa | Mufti Abu Layth (at 22:16)

A more recent answer on history/umayyads-and-abbasids exists (10 March 2023): Why was Imam Malik flogged?

Watch on YouTube at 22:16 · Open the segment

Why did Abu Hanifa allow things like praying in Persian?

Sat, 10 Dec 2022 00:00:00 +0000

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 was Abu Hanifa criticised so much in his own time?

Sat, 10 Dec 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Why was Abu Hanifa criticised so much in his own time?

Abu Hanifa was accused in his lifetime of following desire and opinion over the Quran, partly by rivals such as Sufyan al-Thawri, though the imams generally stayed respectful of one another. Mufti Abu Layth says the hostility Sufyan al-Thawri often showed towards Abu Hanifa was not a good thing, and that he has never read Abu Hanifa being venomous about others.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Imam Abu Hanifa | Mufti Abu Layth (at 13:05)

A more recent answer on history/scholars-and-imams/imam-malik exists (19 April 2023): Did Imam Malik reject the hadith he did not act on?

Watch on YouTube at 13:05 · Open the segment

How did Abu Hanifa become a scholar after starting out as a merchant?

Sat, 10 Dec 2022 00:00:00 +0000

How did Abu Hanifa become a scholar after starting out as a merchant?

Encouraged by al-Sha'bi to join the circles of knowledge, the merchant Abu Hanifa studied with Hammad ibn Abi Sulayman, succeeded him as the central figure of Kufa and became the voice of the school of reason. Mufti Abu Layth says Abu Hanifa concretised the school of reason in Kufa and was a legendary voice of reason whose story is inspiring.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Imam Abu Hanifa | Mufti Abu Layth (at 6:36)

Watch on YouTube at 6:36 · Open the segment

Who was Imam Abu Hanifa and where did he come from?

Sat, 10 Dec 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Who was Imam Abu Hanifa and where did he come from?

Abu Hanifa, a kunya that became his name, was of Persian ancestry with roots in Kabul, was born in Kufa in 80 AH and grew up as a stylish, successful cloth trader before turning to knowledge.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Imam Abu Hanifa | Mufti Abu Layth (at 0:00)

Watch on YouTube at 0:00 · Open the segment

Can I pray while carrying my child?

Tue, 27 Apr 2021 00:00:00 +0000

Can I pray while carrying my child?

Yes: the Hanafi rule that three consecutive movements break the prayer is made up, and the Prophet prayed carrying Umama; Mufti Abu Layth puts the attacks on Shaykh Aslam down to jealousy. Mufti Abu Layth says rulings such as prayer breaking after three consecutive movements are made up.

Answer from 27 April 2021 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Shaykh Aslam & Sectarian Jealousy of the Molvis | Mufti Abu Layth (at 4:23)

A more recent answer on belief/sectarianism-and-takfir exists (22 February 2023): Should Sunnis preach to Shia Muslims about what they get wrong?

Watch on YouTube at 4:23 · Open the segment

Does today's Hanafi madhhab reflect Imam Abu Hanifa?

Tue, 27 Apr 2021 00:00:00 +0000

Does today's Hanafi madhhab reflect Imam Abu Hanifa?

Not in spirit: Mufti Abu Layth calls later Hanafi rulings fossilised and pedantic, behind the sectarian attacks on Shaykh Aslam, and praises Shaykh Atabek as a fresh voice. Mufti Abu Layth says the Hanafi madhhab as it is today is like a Frankenstein compared to what Imam Abu Hanifa was.

Answer from 27 April 2021 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Shaykh Aslam & Sectarian Jealousy of the Molvis | Mufti Abu Layth (at 0:00)

A more recent answer on belief/sectarianism-and-takfir exists (22 February 2023): Should Sunnis preach to Shia Muslims about what they get wrong?

Watch on YouTube at 0:00 · Open the segment

What does Mufti Abu Layth think of al-Shaybani's critique of the Madinan school?

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

What does Mufti Abu Layth think of al-Shaybani's critique of the Madinan school?

Mufti Abu Layth calls al-Shaybani's book an arrogant reply to Malik that failed from its title, since Islam was lived in Madinah and preserved in Malik's school. Mufti Abu Layth says al-Shaybani's book against the people of Madinah failed from its title, since Islam was lived and taught in Madinah and captured by Imam Malik, whose school tries to preserve the practice of Madinah.

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 3:02:08)

A more recent answer on fiqh/maliki-school exists (19 April 2023): Why does the practice of Madinah matter more than a single hadith?

Watch on YouTube at 3:02:08 · Open the segment

Can I carry a child while I pray?

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

Can I carry a child while I pray?

Mufti Abu Layth says one may carry a child while praying and that Hanafi rulings such as the three-movement rule, or that laughing or reading something breaks the prayer, are made up. He sees the campaign against the preacher who showed this as sectarian jealousy. Mufti Abu Layth says that one may carry a child while praying and that Hanafi rulings such as the invalidation of prayer by three consecutive movements, by laughing or by mentally processing information are made up.

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 23:17)

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 23:17 · Open the segment

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

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 does the Mufti think of Shaykh Dedew, and did Imam Ahmad dislike Abu Hanifa?

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

What does the Mufti think of Shaykh Dedew, and did Imam Ahmad dislike Abu Hanifa?

Imam Ahmad did say harsh things about Abu Hanifa, he says; of Shaykh Dedew, take his critical views and stay open-minded on his dogmatic ones.

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 2:24:25)

A more recent answer on dialogue/views-on-contemporary-scholars exists (22 February 2023): Should scholars publicly condemn a scholar said to have joined in a libation ritual?

Watch on YouTube at 2:24:25 · 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

What do you think of Abdur Rahman Mangera?

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

What do you think of Abdur Rahman Mangera?

Mufti Abu Layth calls Abdur Rahman Mangera very talented and respectful, but says his thinking is ultimately closed Deobandi thinking.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Monday Nights with Mufti #200| Q&A Unscripted & Unrestricted! 😉 | Mufti Abu Layth (at 1:03:22)

A more recent answer on dialogue/views-on-contemporary-scholars exists (22 February 2023): Should scholars publicly condemn a scholar said to have joined in a libation ritual?

Watch on YouTube at 1:03:47 · Open the segment

When should I pray Isha in the UK summer when it never gets fully dark?

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

When should I pray Isha in the UK summer when it never gets fully dark?

The guest says that where twilight never fades, the Hanafi school allows Isha to be prayed keeping the order of prayers, rather than dividing the night into seven.

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 1:28:21)

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?

Watch on YouTube at 1:28:21 · Open the segment

Who was Abu Hanifa's most trusted student?

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

Who was Abu Hanifa's most trusted student?

The guest relies chiefly on Zufar, whom he says Abu Hanifa himself authorised to teach, over Imam Muhammad, who was a teenager when Abu Hanifa died; Zufar's sidelining is left for another session.

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 1:16:23)

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 1:16:23 · 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

Did the early Hanafis hold that apostates should be killed?

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

Did the early Hanafis hold that apostates should be killed?

The guest says the early Hanafi view, from Abu Hanifa and Zufar, is that apostasy itself carries no punishment and only an actual threat is punished; Mufti Abu Layth calls today's Hanafi blasphemy laws upside down.

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 1:11:04)

A more recent answer on fiqh/public-law-and-governance/apostasy-and-blasphemy exists (29 September 2024): Is someone who says something wrong about the Prophet guilty of blasphemy?

Watch on YouTube at 1:11:43 · Open the segment

Why do Hanafis defend Sahih al-Bukhari when their school differs from it?

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

Why do Hanafis defend Sahih al-Bukhari when their school differs from it?

Mufti Abu Layth says Bukhari has question marks and is not the gold standard; the guest says its canonisation was an Abbasid-era Athari project, and that for Hanafis the Athar of their own imams should rank highest.

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 58:48)

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 59:28 · Open the segment

Was there a power struggle in the early Hanafi school?

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

Was there a power struggle in the early Hanafi school?

Mufti Abu Layth feels the early Hanafi school saw power struggles and that Abu Yusuf lacked Abu Hanifa's reason; the guest calls Ahmad ibn Hanbal the greatest muhaddith but not a jurist of the first rank.

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 50:40)

A more recent answer on history/scholars-and-imams exists (10 December 2022): How did Abu Hanifa become a scholar after starting out as a merchant?

Watch on YouTube at 51:13 · Open the segment

Why does Shaykh Atabek want to restore the early Hanafi school?

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

Why does Shaykh Atabek want to restore the early Hanafi school?

The guest wants to restore the early Hanafi school of a fully independent Abu Hanifa; Mufti Abu Layth says Abu Hanifa championed reason but his school later became almost his opposite.

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 46:49)

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 46:49 · Open the segment

Is growing a beard obligatory in the Hanafi school?

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

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

How do people react when a scholar from Uzbekistan challenges subcontinent scholars?

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

How do people react when a scholar from Uzbekistan challenges subcontinent scholars?

Mufti Abu Layth says UK Islam comes almost wholly from Indo-Pakistani and Saudi culture; the guest says challenging subcontinent scholars from Uzbekistan draws harsh reactions, but open-minded people keep him going.

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 13:06)

A more recent answer on dialogue/guest-conversations exists (18 October 2025): How should Muslims engage people with very different views of the religion?

Watch on YouTube at 15:01 · Open the segment

Are king prawns halal?

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

Are king prawns halal?

Yes, prawns are halal: in the school of Medina everything from the sea is halal, and only the pig is haram by its nature. Mufti Abu Layth says that in Islam everything in the sea is halal, according to the school of Medina.

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 44:32)

A more recent answer on fiqh/maliki-school exists (19 April 2023): Why does the practice of Madinah matter more than a single hadith?

Watch on YouTube at 44:32 · 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

Can a waqf never be overturned, as the argument for the Hagia Sophia claims?

Thu, 16 Jul 2020 00:00:00 +0000

Can a waqf never be overturned, as the argument for the Hagia Sophia claims?

Mufti Abu Layth says the waqf argument fails because Abu Hanifa himself held that an endowment can be overturned, a view Hanafis abandon when it does not serve the powerful or the clergy. He calls the reconversion part of a rising right-wing fascism that includes Muslims. Mufti Abu Layth says the reconversion is part of a rising right-wing fascism that includes Muslims, and that the waqf argument fails because Abu Hanifa himself held that an endowment can be overturned, a view Hanafis abandon when it does not serve the powerful or the clergy.

Answer from 16 July 2020 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Why converting the Hagia Sophia to a mosque is a mistake | Mufti Abu Layth (at 22:22)

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 22:22 · Open the segment

Can a mosque that was once a waqf never be anything else?

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

Can a mosque that was once a waqf never be anything else?

The waqf argument fails, he says, because Abu Hanifa held that an endowment can be overturned, a view Hanafis drop when it does not serve power. Mufti Abu Layth says Abu Hanifa himself held that a waqf is not perpetual and can be overturned.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Monday Nights with Mufti Abu Layth 173 (at 1:37:09)

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 1:37:09 · Open the segment

Did Abu Hanifa hold that there is no hadd punishment for sodomy?

Sun, 19 Apr 2020 00:00:00 +0000

Did Abu Hanifa hold that there is no hadd punishment for sodomy?

The guest says Abu Hanifa held there is no hadd for sodomy, that Salafis attack Hanafis for it, and that a Salafi mufti used the same view to shield one of their own scholars.

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 2:28:54)

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 2:28:54 · Open the segment

Can a past relationship or an accidental touch make my spouse haram for me?

Sun, 19 Apr 2020 00:00:00 +0000

Can a past relationship or an accidental touch make my spouse haram for me?

Mufti Abu Layth says Hanafi fatwas of hurmat al-musahara that dissolve marriages over a premarital relationship with an in-law or an accidental touch destroy families, and that the Maliki school does not hold the ruling.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Shaykh Kashif Khan | Policing thought, Pornography & Pandora's box | MindTrap with Mufti #15 (at 1:07:01)

A more recent answer on dialogue/guest-conversations exists (18 October 2025): How should Muslims engage people with very different views of the religion?

Watch on YouTube at 1:07:01 · Open the segment

Is a man wearing an earring imitating women or harmful?

Wed, 24 Jul 2019 00:00:00 +0000

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

Why does Mufti Abu Layth follow the Maliki school rather than the Hanafi?

Fri, 22 Mar 2019 00:00:00 +0000

Why does Mufti Abu Layth follow the Maliki school rather than the Hanafi?

Mufti Abu Layth follows the Maliki school of Madinah because it is built on welfare and rooted in evidence and made the most sense to him. He says the Hanafi school, despite Abu Hanifa's greatness, has been hijacked into a controlling school. Mufti Abu Layth says he follows the Maliki school of Madinah because it is built upon welfare and rooted in evidence and made the most sense, and that the Hanafi school, though Abu Hanifa was a legend, has long been hijacked and become a controlling school that is the antithesis of its founder.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Why did I Choose Maliki Fiqh? -Mufti Abu Layth (at 2:35)

A more recent answer on fiqh/maliki-school exists (19 April 2023): Why does the practice of Madinah matter more than a single hadith?

Watch on YouTube at 2:35 · Open the segment

Were apostates punished for disbelief or for fighting against Muslims?

Thu, 10 May 2018 00:00:00 +0000

Were apostates punished for disbelief or for fighting against Muslims?

The classical punishment targeted apostates who took up arms against the community, not disbelief itself: Umar preferred to restrain and persuade, al-Tahawi tied it to waging war, and the Hanafis exempted women because they were not combatants. Mufti Abu Layth argues that the practice of giving an apostate the chance to return, and the Hanafi exemption of the female apostate, show that the classical punishment was aimed at armed rebellion against the community rather than at disbelief.

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 15:42)

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

Watch on YouTube at 15:42 · Open the segment

Is it haram for a woman to travel more than 48 miles alone?

Sun, 22 Apr 2018 00:00:00 +0000

Is it haram for a woman to travel more than 48 miles alone?

No: Mufti Abu Layth calls the 48-mile rule absurd, a later Hanafi hardening of Abu Hanifa's three-day limit, which was itself meant to ease things for women. Mufti Abu Layth says forbidding a woman to travel 48 miles is absurd and makes a mockery of the religion.

Answer from 22 April 2018 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Hadith Analysis & Fatwa: Women Can Travel Without a Mahram - Mufti Abu Layth (at 15:45)

A more recent answer on society/women-and-gender exists (10 March 2023): Who carried on Imam Malik's teaching after him?

Watch on YouTube at 15:45 · Open the segment

Must a kidnapped woman have a mahram to escape?

Sun, 22 Apr 2018 00:00:00 +0000

Must a kidnapped woman have a mahram to escape?

Mufti Abu Layth ridicules the classical debate over whether a captive woman may flee without a mahram, saying past scholars reasoned within their own environment. Mufti Abu Layth says scholars of the past did not always think the way we do, but were thinking within their own environment.

Answer from 22 April 2018 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Hadith Analysis & Fatwa: Women Can Travel Without a Mahram - Mufti Abu Layth (at 12:03)

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 12:03 · Open the segment

Was Abu Hanifa considered a deviant by the scholars of his time?

Fri, 20 Apr 2018 00:00:00 +0000

Was Abu Hanifa considered a deviant by the scholars of his time?

Many leading scholars of Abu Hanifa's time considered him misguided. His school rose to dominance because his student Abu Yusuf became chief judge and appointed only Hanafis, which Mufti Abu Layth says shows that power, not evidence, often decides which views prevail. Mufti Abu Layth says Abu Hanifa was considered a deviant by many scholars of his time and that the Hanafi school became dominant because his student Abu Yusuf, as chief judge, appointed only Hanafi judges, so that its rise rested on power rather than evidence.

Answer from 20 April 2018 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Imam Abu Hanifa was deemed a heretic/deviant by his contemporaries - Mufti Abu Layth al-Maliki (at 0:00)

A more recent answer on history/orthodoxy-and-how-islam-spread exists (13 February 2023): Why orthodoxy took hold, and who wrote the checklist

Watch on YouTube at 0:00 · Open the segment

Does it matter that the second coming of Jesus is the majority opinion and Mufti Abu Layth's view a minority one?

Sun, 01 Apr 2018 00:00:00 +0000

Does it matter that the second coming of Jesus is the majority opinion and Mufti Abu Layth's view a minority one?

If every detail of the second-coming hadith is a metaphor, Mufti Abu Layth asks why Jesus himself is not. Majority and minority opinions are decided later by power and politics, as Abu Hanifa's case shows: condemned as a deviant by his contemporaries, his school spread when Abu Yusuf appointed only Hanafi judges. Mufti Abu Layth says that if the details of the second-coming hadith are metaphors then the whole account could be one, and that which opinion counts as majority or minority is decided later by power and politics rather than by contemporaries, as the case of Abu Hanifa shows.

Answer from 1 April 2018 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Reflections on Sh. Hassan Ali's video of Jesus Christ's 2nd coming - Mufti Abu Layth al-Maliki (at 5:13)

A more recent answer on history/orthodoxy-and-how-islam-spread exists (13 February 2023): Why orthodoxy took hold, and who wrote the checklist

Watch on YouTube at 5:13 · Open the segment

How did Abu Hanifa deal with his drunkard neighbour?

Sat, 07 Mar 2015 00:00:00 +0000

How did Abu Hanifa deal with his drunkard neighbour?

Abu Hanifa never rebuked his drinking neighbour but bailed him out of jail and asked whether they had let him go to waste, and the man changed his life. Good character carries a message further than one can imagine. Mufti Abu Layth says that good character carries a message further than one can imagine, as Abu Hanifa's gesture towards his drunkard neighbour shows.

Answer from 7 March 2015 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Imam Abu Hanifa and The Young Drunkard | Mufti Abu Layth (at 0:01)

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 0:01 · Open the segment

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

Tue, 03 Mar 2015 00:00:00 +0000

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?

Watch on YouTube at 6:26 · Open the segment