Mufti Abu Layth Archive: hadith/authentication/narrator-criticism

Why does the practice of Madinah matter more than a single hadith?

2023-04-19T00:00:00Z

Why does the practice of Madinah matter more than a single hadith?

Mufti Abu Layth says the inherited practice of Madinah, like its adhan, outweighs an isolated report, since not every Sunnah was documented and narrators made honest mistakes; this is why he favours the school of Madinah. Mufti Abu Layth says he greatly favours the method of the school of Madinah.

Answer from 19 April 2023 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: The Methodology Of Imam Malik | How To Treat Hadith | Mufti Abu Layth (at 6:49)

A more recent answer on hadith/sunnah-versus-hadith exists (18 October 2025): Does the Muwatta show that the Companions' practice had already changed by Malik's time?

Watch on YouTube at 6:49 · Open the segment

Is Engineer Muhammad Ali Mirza consistent in how he criticises hadith?

2023-02-06T00:00:00Z

Is Engineer Muhammad Ali Mirza consistent in how he criticises hadith?

Not fully, says Mufti Abu Layth: Engineer Mirza's rational critique of others' hadith stops short of scrutinising how sahih hadith were authenticated. Mufti still calls him a legend and a much-needed voice.

Answer from 6 February 2023 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Engineer Muhammad Mirza's Methods | Hadith Vs Sunnah | Mufti Abu Layth (at 0:01)

A more recent answer on hadith/sunnah-versus-hadith exists (18 October 2025): Does the Muwatta show that the Companions' practice had already changed by Malik's time?

Watch on YouTube at 0:01 · Open the segment

Can the hadith on Jesus's return be questioned, and how many of them depend on Abu Hurayra?

2021-03-14T00:00:00Z

Can the hadith on Jesus's return be questioned, and how many of them depend on Abu Hurayra?

Reports that go against reason can be questioned, and not one unquestionable hadith establishes the return: eighty percent of them come through Abu Hurayra alone, about half through one man, and the other companions cited are obscure. Mufti Abu Layth promises a continuing series, Disclosure with a big D. Mufti Abu Layth holds that reports which go against reason may be questioned, that eighty percent of the hadith on Jesus's return come through Abu Hurayra alone and about half through one man, and that the other companions cited are obscure, so no unquestionable hadith establishes the return.

Answer from 14 March 2021 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Reply to Yasir Qadhi's False Claims on 2nd Coming of Jesus | Mufti Abu Layth (at 2:13:58)

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 2:13:58 · Open the segment

Who was the blind narrator of the return hadith who relied on his slave girl?

2021-03-14T00:00:00Z

Who was the blind narrator of the return hadith who relied on his slave girl?

One transmitter of the return reports went blind, lost his memory and relied on his slave girl to check what he doubted; Mufti Abu Layth uses the case, with extended mockery, to argue that these hadith can be questioned. Mufti Abu Layth says a transmitter of the return reports, Yazid, went blind, lost his memory and relied on his slave girl to check what he doubted, which shows the state of some of those transmitting these hadith and why they can be questioned.

Answer from 14 March 2021 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Reply to Yasir Qadhi's False Claims on 2nd Coming of Jesus | Mufti Abu Layth (at 2:11:22)

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

Watch on YouTube at 2:11:22 · Open the segment

What does Mufti Abu Layth say about the Ibn Mas'ud hadith on the end of time and Jesus's return?

2021-03-14T00:00:00Z

What does Mufti Abu Layth say about the Ibn Mas'ud hadith on the end of time and Jesus's return?

The Ibn Mas'ud report has unknown narrators, opens by noting the Christians' claim that Jesus will return, and ends with life regrowing from a seminal fluid sent from beneath the Throne, a detail Mufti Abu Layth calls preposterous and uses to argue that such reports can be questioned. Mufti Abu Layth says the Ibn Mas'ud report of the return opens by noting the Christians' claim that Jesus will return, which shows the belief creeping in, has unidentifiable narrators in its chain, and ends with life regrowing from a seminal fluid sent from beneath the Throne, a detail he calls preposterous.

Answer from 14 March 2021 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Reply to Yasir Qadhi's False Claims on 2nd Coming of Jesus | Mufti Abu Layth (at 2:07:24)

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

Watch on YouTube at 2:07:24 · Open the segment

Is the hadith of Aisha about Jesus and the Dajjal reliable?

2021-03-14T00:00:00Z

Is the hadith of Aisha about Jesus and the Dajjal reliable?

The hadith of Aisha on Jesus's return rests on a lone transmitter, an undervalued narrator who dictated 41,000 reports from memory in Isbahan with a thousand errors, and whose version alone has the Dajjal emerging from the Jews of Isbahan, which Mufti Abu Layth finds suspicious. Mufti Abu Layth says the hadith of Aisha on Jesus's return rests on a lone transmitter, an undervalued narrator who dictated some forty-one thousand reports from memory in Isbahan with at least a thousand errors and whose version alone has the Dajjal emerging from the Jews of Isbahan, which he finds suspicious.

Answer from 14 March 2021 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Reply to Yasir Qadhi's False Claims on 2nd Coming of Jesus | Mufti Abu Layth (at 2:02:15)

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

Watch on YouTube at 2:02:15 · Open the segment

Is there a single hadith on Jesus's return with an unproblematic chain?

2021-03-14T00:00:00Z

Is there a single hadith on Jesus's return with an unproblematic chain?

Every chain Mufti Abu Layth examined for the strongest reports in Bukhari and Muslim contains a criticised narrator, so Qadhi's claim that they leave no doubt fails; accepting a report because al-Bukhari included it, while ignoring critics who were his equals or seniors, is arbitrary. Mufti Abu Layth says every chain he examined for the strongest reports of Jesus's return in Bukhari and Muslim has a criticised narrator, so Qadhi's claim that they leave no doubt fails, and that accepting a report because al-Bukhari included it while ignoring critics who were his equals or seniors is arbitrary.

Answer from 14 March 2021 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Reply to Yasir Qadhi's False Claims on 2nd Coming of Jesus | Mufti Abu Layth (at 1:57:02)

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

Watch on YouTube at 1:57:02 · Open the segment

Who are the problematic narrators in the Sahih Muslim reports on Jesus's return?

2021-03-14T00:00:00Z

Who are the problematic narrators in the Sahih Muslim reports on Jesus's return?

The Sahih Muslim chains include a narrator who suffered memory loss, a narrator who cannot be identified and could not have met Abu Hurayra, a major mudallis whose reports some critics discarded as fabrications, and Abu al-Zubayr, whom Abu Hatim did not consider reliable. Mufti Abu Layth says the Sahih Muslim chains for Jesus's return include a narrator who suffered memory loss, a narrator who cannot be identified and could not have met Abu Hurayra, a major mudallis whose reports some critics discarded as fabrications, and Abu al-Zubayr, whom Abu Hatim did not consider reliable.

Answer from 14 March 2021 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Reply to Yasir Qadhi's False Claims on 2nd Coming of Jesus | Mufti Abu Layth (at 1:50:30)

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

Watch on YouTube at 1:50:30 · Open the segment

What problems does Mufti Abu Layth find in the Sahih Muslim chains for Jesus's return?

2021-03-14T00:00:00Z

What problems does Mufti Abu Layth find in the Sahih Muslim chains for Jesus's return?

The second Bukhari chain passes through Qutayba, who once concealed a known forger in a chain, and the Sahih Muslim chains pass through narrators faulted for lax or inaccurate transmission from al-Zuhri, notably Yunus ibn Yazid, with al-Zuhri himself recurring in each. Mufti Abu Layth says the second Bukhari chain passes through Qutayba, who once concealed a known forger in a chain and presented the report as heard from al-Layth, and that the Sahih Muslim chains pass through Yunus ibn Yazid and other narrators whose transmission from al-Zuhri the critics faulted, with al-Zuhri recurring in each.

Answer from 14 March 2021 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Reply to Yasir Qadhi's False Claims on 2nd Coming of Jesus | Mufti Abu Layth (at 1:45:14)

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

Watch on YouTube at 1:45:14 · Open the segment

Why does Mufti Abu Layth say the Bukhari chain for Jesus's descent is unreliable?

2021-03-14T00:00:00Z

Why does Mufti Abu Layth say the Bukhari chain for Jesus's descent is unreliable?

The first Bukhari chain leaves two narrators' names ambiguous, a practice al-Dhahabi and Ibn Hajar record of al-Bukhari, and passes through al-Zuhri, whom the critics describe as inserting his own words into reports and making mursal reports reach the Prophet. Mufti Abu Layth says the first Bukhari chain for Jesus's descent is unreliable because al-Bukhari left the names of Ishaq and Salih ambiguous, which he says al-Bukhari did on purpose with teachers' names so as to deceive readers, as al-Dhahabi and Ibn Hajar record, and because al-Zuhri was known to insert his own words into reports and to make mursal reports reach the Prophet.

Answer from 14 March 2021 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Reply to Yasir Qadhi's False Claims on 2nd Coming of Jesus | Mufti Abu Layth (at 1:35:56)

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 1:35:56 · Open the segment

Did Yasir Qadhi himself say a hadith came into Islam from Jewish sources through Abu Hurayra?

2021-03-14T00:00:00Z

Did Yasir Qadhi himself say a hadith came into Islam from Jewish sources through Abu Hurayra?

Qadhi's clip endorses Ibn Kathir's view that the Gog and Magog report is defective and came from Israelite material through Abu Hurayra and Ka'b al-Ahbar. Mufti Abu Layth calls this hypocrisy, since Qadhi called the same claim about the Jesus reports preposterous.

Answer from 14 March 2021 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Reply to Yasir Qadhi's False Claims on 2nd Coming of Jesus | Mufti Abu Layth (at 47:19)

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

Watch on YouTube at 47:19 · Open the segment

Can the hadith about Jesus's return be questioned?

2021-03-02T00:00:00Z

Can the hadith about Jesus's return be questioned?

No report on the return is beyond question: about eighty percent come through Abu Hurayra and about half through one narrator, none from Abu Bakr, Umar or Ali; the series will continue. Mufti Abu Layth says eighty percent of the hadith on Jesus's return come through Abu Hurayra alone.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Monday Nights with Mufti #204 | Q&A Unscripted & Unrestricted! 😉 | Mufti Abu Layth (at 3:17:49)

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 3:17:49 · Open the segment

Who was the blind narrator of the return hadith who relied on his slave girl?

2021-03-02T00:00:00Z

Who was the blind narrator of the return hadith who relied on his slave girl?

One transmitter of the return reports went blind, lost his memory and relied on his slave girl to check his hadith, which Mufti Abu Layth says shows the state of some of these narrators. Mufti Abu Layth says a narrator in one of the chains who transmits that Jesus will come back is not reliable.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Monday Nights with Mufti #204 | Q&A Unscripted & Unrestricted! 😉 | Mufti Abu Layth (at 3:14:47)

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

Watch on YouTube at 3:14:47 · Open the segment

What does the Ibn Mas'ud hadith about the end of time say, and is it reliable?

2021-03-02T00:00:00Z

What does the Ibn Mas'ud hadith about the end of time say, and is it reliable?

The Ibn Mas'ud report has unknown narrators, opens by citing the Christians' claim that Jesus will return, and ends with life regrowing from a fluid sent from beneath the Throne, which Mufti Abu Layth calls preposterous. Mufti Abu Layth says one report begins with the statement that the Christians claim Jesus will come back, which shows the belief creeping in.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Monday Nights with Mufti #204 | Q&A Unscripted & Unrestricted! 😉 | Mufti Abu Layth (at 3:10:42)

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

Watch on YouTube at 3:10:42 · Open the segment

Is the hadith of Aisha about Jesus and the Dajjal reliable?

2021-03-02T00:00:00Z

Is the hadith of Aisha about Jesus and the Dajjal reliable?

The Aisha report rests on one transmitter who dictated tens of thousands of hadith from memory in Isbahan, and only his version has the Dajjal emerge from the Jews of Isbahan, which Mufti Abu Layth finds suspicious. Mufti Abu Layth says only one transmitter relates from Aisha the report with Jesus in it.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Monday Nights with Mufti #204 | Q&A Unscripted & Unrestricted! 😉 | Mufti Abu Layth (at 3:06:13)

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

Watch on YouTube at 3:06:13 · Open the segment

Is there a single hadith on Jesus's return with a flawless chain?

2021-03-02T00:00:00Z

Is there a single hadith on Jesus's return with a flawless chain?

Every chain he examined among the strongest Bukhari and Muslim reports, including that of al-Nawwas ibn Sam'an, has a criticised narrator, so Qadhi's 'no doubt' fails; preferring al-Bukhari over equal critics is arbitrary. Mufti Abu Layth says every single chain he examined among the strongest reports in Bukhari and Muslim has a problem in it.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Monday Nights with Mufti #204 | Q&A Unscripted & Unrestricted! 😉 | Mufti Abu Layth (at 3:00:24)

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

Watch on YouTube at 3:00:24 · Open the segment

Are the Sahih Muslim reports about Jesus's return reliable?

2021-03-02T00:00:00Z

Are the Sahih Muslim reports about Jesus's return reliable?

Further Sahih Muslim chains contain a narrator with memory loss, an unidentifiable narrator who could not have met Abu Hurayra, Ibn Jurayj, whom he calls a major mudallis, and Abu al-Zubayr. Mufti Abu Layth says one narrator from Abu Hurayra in a Sahih Muslim chain for the return transmits no other hadith and is a ghost who does not exist.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Monday Nights with Mufti #204 | Q&A Unscripted & Unrestricted! 😉 | Mufti Abu Layth (at 2:54:10)

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

Watch on YouTube at 2:54:10 · Open the segment

What is wrong with the other Bukhari and Muslim chains on Jesus's return?

2021-03-02T00:00:00Z

What is wrong with the other Bukhari and Muslim chains on Jesus's return?

The second Bukhari chain passes through Qutayba, who once concealed a forger, and al-Zuhri; the Sahih Muslim chains include Harmala, Yunus ibn Yazid and others the critics faulted. Mufti Abu Layth says Qutayba heard a fabricated hadith from a known forger, dropped him and presented it as heard from al-Layth, which puts at least a question mark over him.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Monday Nights with Mufti #204 | Q&A Unscripted & Unrestricted! 😉 | Mufti Abu Layth (at 2:48:28)

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

Watch on YouTube at 2:48:28 · Open the segment

Is the hadith in Bukhari about Jesus coming down reliable?

2021-03-02T00:00:00Z

Is the hadith in Bukhari about Jesus coming down reliable?

The first Bukhari chain is doubtful: al-Bukhari left two narrators unnamed, which he is known to have done deliberately, and the chain runs through al-Zuhri, who was known to insert his own words into hadith. Mufti Abu Layth says al-Bukhari on purpose referred to his teacher Muhammad ibn Yahya by names he was not known by, so as to deceive his readers.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Monday Nights with Mufti #204 | Q&A Unscripted & Unrestricted! 😉 | Mufti Abu Layth (at 2:38:55)

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 2:38:55 · Open the segment

Did Yasir Qadhi himself say a hadith came into Islam from Jewish lore?

2021-03-02T00:00:00Z

Did Yasir Qadhi himself say a hadith came into Islam from Jewish lore?

Mufti Abu Layth says Qadhi is inconsistent: he calls Israelite origins for the return preposterous, yet with Ibn Kathir firmly believes the Gog and Magog report came from Israelite lore through Abu Hurayra's circle.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Monday Nights with Mufti #204 | Q&A Unscripted & Unrestricted! 😉 | Mufti Abu Layth (at 1:50:26)

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

Watch on YouTube at 1:50:26 · Open the segment

Why does Bukhari accept a narrator who praised Ali's killer while Shia narrators are rejected?

2021-02-15T00:00:00Z

Why does Bukhari accept a narrator who praised Ali's killer while Shia narrators are rejected?

Mufti Abu Layth calls it a double standard that al-Bukhari accepts as trustworthy a narrator who praised Ibn Muljam for killing Ali, while reports from Imam Jafar and other Shia imams are rejected because of their source. Mufti Abu Layth says it is prejudice and a double standard that al-Bukhari accepts as trustworthy a narrator who openly praised Ibn Muljam for killing Ali, while reports from Imam Jafar and the other Shia imams are rejected because they come from Shia sources.

Answer from 15 February 2021 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Hypocrisy in the Sunni Hadith Methodology | Mufti Abu Layth (at 0:00)

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 0:00 · Open the segment

Can al-Firabri, the transmitter of Sahih al-Bukhari, be trusted?

2021-02-09T00:00:00Z

Can al-Firabri, the transmitter of Sahih al-Bukhari, be trusted?

Mufti Abu Layth says al-Firabri deserves some suspicion: not evil, but not the great imam later generations made him. Mufti Abu Layth says al-Firabri, the transmitter of Sahih al-Bukhari, is somewhat dubious and that there must be some level of suspicion towards him.

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 57:47)

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 58:18 · Open the segment

How could Abu Hurayra narrate 5,000 hadith after only two years with the Prophet?

2021-01-26T00:00:00Z

How could Abu Hurayra narrate 5,000 hadith after only two years with the Prophet?

Mufti Abu Layth says it is implausible that Abu Hurayra narrated so much after about two years with the Prophet, that Umar restrained him, and that impossible reports such as the Ruqayya comb story should be rejected by Sunnis themselves. Mufti Abu Layth says it is implausible that Abu Hurayra, who spent about two years with the Prophet, narrated some five thousand hadith, that false memories likely entered his reports, and that Sunnis should themselves reject reports that are factually impossible.

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 2:50:05)

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

Watch on YouTube at 2:50:05 · Open the segment

How could hadith chains and texts have been standardised over time?

2021-01-26T00:00:00Z

How could hadith chains and texts have been standardised over time?

Mufti Abu Layth says editors who standardised variant chains and texts, as Ahmad Shakir did with Ibn Jurayj's version, erased how reports were really transmitted, and that this may have happened unnoticed in the classical collections. Mufti Abu Layth says editors who standardise variant chains and texts to match the majority, even with good intentions, erase evidence of how reports were actually transmitted, and that this may also have happened unnoticed with the classical hadith collections.

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 2:04:13)

A more recent answer on hadith/false-and-fabricated exists (18 October 2025): Why does Mufti Abu Layth see the Quran-only movement as a reaction of anger?

Watch on YouTube at 2:04:13 · Open the segment

Are the hadith about the evil eye authentic?

2020-11-15T00:00:00Z

Are the hadith about the evil eye authentic?

No: he says the evil eye hadith rest on weak or criticised narrators and odd reports, and a belief so important would have come from many companions and the Quran. He calls them baseless. Mufti Abu Layth says the hadith on the evil eye are baseless and all problematic.

Answer from 15 November 2020 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: There is NO evil eye in Islam (Detailed Overview) | Mufti Abu Layth (at 56:07)

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

Watch on YouTube at 56:07 · Open the segment

Are there other narrations of Aisha's age besides Bukhari's?

2020-10-27T00:00:00Z

Are there other narrations of Aisha's age besides Bukhari's?

Mufti Abu Layth says every chain on Aisha's age was engineered, with Hisham as the common link and Iraqi narrators throughout. Mufti Abu Layth says every single chain of narration about the age of Aisha was fabricated, which he rephrases as engineered.

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 1:27:50)

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 1:27:50 · Open the segment

If a reliable narrator reports from someone, does that make the source reliable?

2020-10-09T00:00:00Z

If a reliable narrator reports from someone, does that make the source reliable?

Mufti Abu Layth reports from a classical text that a narrator transmitting from someone does not make that person reliable.

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

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

Recording: Sahih hadith criteria: Cannot go against reason | Mufti Abu Layth (at 4:13)

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

Watch on YouTube at 4:13 · Open the segment

Is the hadith that Aisha was married at six authentic?

2020-08-24T00:00:00Z

Is the hadith that Aisha was married at six authentic?

Mufti Abu Layth holds the hadith on Aisha's young age to be fabricated, since every transmitter is Iraqi, and says sectarian scholars defend it out of loyalty to their teachers. Mufti Abu Layth says the hadith on Aisha's age at marriage is fabricated, attributing it to Hisham and noting that all its transmitters at the lower level are Iraqi.

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 1:17:12)

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 1:17:12 · Open the segment

How did hadith scholars know narrators who died a century earlier were reliable?

2020-08-04T00:00:00Z

How did hadith scholars know narrators who died a century earlier were reliable?

Mufti Abu Layth says later hadith critics never disclosed how they knew long-dead narrators were reliable, leaving gaps in an impressive system. Mufti Abu Layth says the later hadith critics, when declaring narrators trustworthy, do not say how they came to know that.

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 2:13:00)

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

Watch on YouTube at 2:13:00 · Open the segment

Where did the idea that Aisha was six or nine come from?

2020-07-14T00:00:00Z

Where did the idea that Aisha was six or nine come from?

Mufti Abu Layth says the six-and-nine narration seems to originate with Aisha's nephew Urwa, countering rumours spread against her, and that every chain runs through him. Mufti Abu Layth says the narration of Aisha being six and then nine seems to come from her nephew Urwa, who was trying to combat rumours about her.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Monday Nights with Mufti Abu Layth 173 (at 54:44)

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 54:44 · 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?

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Are the hadith about Aisha's young age authentic?

2019-09-19T00:00:00Z

Are the hadith about Aisha's young age authentic?

Mufti Abu Layth says every chain for Aisha's young age is flawed, resting on narrators accused of tadlis and all going back to Urwa. Those who defend them put al-Bukhari's sanctity above the Prophet's honour. Mufti Abu Layth says he can show that every chain brought to prove Aisha's young age is massively flawed.

Answer from 19 September 2019 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: A reply to Asadulah Al-Andalusi on the age of Aisha (r) | Mufti Abu Layth (at 6:57)

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

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Who transmitted the hadith 'whoever changes his religion, kill him', and does the Quran punish apostasy?

2019-07-25T00:00:00Z

Who transmitted the hadith 'whoever changes his religion, kill him', and does the Quran punish apostasy?

Mufti Abu Layth says the Quran is ambivalent about those who leave Islam and that the call to kill apostates is nonsense; the report 'whoever changes his religion, kill him' in Bukhari rests solely on Ikrima, a Khariji whom Imam Malik and Ibn Umar distrusted. He introduces Abdullah Sameer's post as the subject he will answer. Mufti Abu Layth holds that the Quran is ambivalent towards those who leave Islam and prescribes no killing of apostates, and that the report 'whoever changes his religion, kill him' rests solely on Ikrima, a Khariji whom Imam Malik and companions distrusted.

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 0:00)

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 1:18 · Open the segment

Can reports from Shia sources about Hasan and Husayn be trusted?

2019-07-24T00:00:00Z

Can reports from Shia sources about Hasan and Husayn be trusted?

Mufti Abu Layth accepts the reports as factual, saying the Shia had no reason to invent earrings for their own Imams, and calls it hypocrisy that Sunnis accept Imran ibn Hittan, a Khariji who praised Ali's killer, as a narrator in Sahih al-Bukhari while rejecting anything from Imam Jafar al-Sadiq. Mufti Abu Layth says he believes Hasan and Husayn wore earrings, that dismissing every Shia report as a lie is prejudice, and that accepting the Khariji narrator Imran ibn Hittan, who praised Ali's killer, in Sahih al-Bukhari while rejecting Imam Jafar's reports is a hypocrisy.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Holistic Overview: Can Men Wear Earrings? -Mufti Abu Layth (at 31:22)

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

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Is the hadith about women praying in the darkest part of the house authentic?

2019-05-04T00:00:00Z

Is the hadith about women praying in the darkest part of the house authentic?

No: the chains run through unknown, abandoned or weak narrators, so the reports are fabricated or very weak and clash with the sahih hadith. Mufti Abu Layth says the narrations about a woman praying in the darkest part of her house are either fabricated or very weak.

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 23:22)

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

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Is the chain of the hadith that the Prophet died of poison reliable?

2018-09-17T00:00:00Z

Is the chain of the hadith that the Prophet died of poison reliable?

Mufti Abu Layth finds the chains unacceptable: the Bukhari version runs through Yunus, whom early critics faulted for his memory, and through al-Zuhri, who does not state that he heard it, while the Abu Dawud version has a narrator criticised for mistakes. Mufti Abu Layth holds that the chain of the poisoning report is unacceptable because Yunus was faulted by early critics for his memory and al-Zuhri does not state that he heard it.

Answer from 17 September 2018 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: False Hadith: The Prophet ﷺ Was Poisoned Before He Died (at 3:26)

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 3:26 · Open the segment

What does Mufti Abu Layth say about the Bukhari report of the wolf and the cow that spoke?

2018-09-01T00:00:00Z

What does Mufti Abu Layth say about the Bukhari report of the wolf and the cow that spoke?

The Bukhari report in which a wolf and a cow speak eloquent Arabic about purpose and the future is absurd, Mufti Abu Layth says, and the phrase radi Allahu anhuma placed in the Prophet's mouth is an anachronism from a later age. Mufti Abu Layth says the Bukhari report of the talking wolf and cow is absurd, since animals do not grasp concepts such as purpose and future events, that its chain is poor, and that the phrase radi Allahu anhuma attributed to the Prophet is an anachronism from a later age.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: BukhariGate Part 2: Sahih Bukhari is NOT so Sahih -Mufti Abu Layth (at 22:10)

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 22:10 · Open the segment

Who vouched for Farabri? Baji, Sam'ani and whether transmission implies reliability

2018-08-30T00:00:00Z

Who vouched for Farabri? Baji, Sam'ani and whether transmission implies reliability

Nobody who knew Farabri declared him reliable, and the attributions to al-Baji and al-Sam'ani cannot be found in their works. That scholars transmitted from him proves nothing, since transmission is not endorsement. Mufti Abu Layth says no contemporary who knew Farabri ever declared him reliable, that the later attributions to al-Baji and al-Sam'ani are unsupported in their own works, and that a scholar transmitting from someone does not make that person reliable.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: BukhariGate Part 1: Sahih Bukhari is NOT so Sahih -Mufti Abu Layth (at 1:16:51)

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 1:16:51 · Open the segment

Imam Bukhari's own practice: transmission by meaning, hidden names, a Khariji narrator

2018-08-30T00:00:00Z

Imam Bukhari's own practice: transmission by meaning, hidden names, a Khariji narrator

Imam Bukhari set a gold standard but did not always apply it: he transmitted by meaning, hid the names of problematic teachers and narrated from a Khariji who praised Ali's killer. Mufti Abu Layth's quarrel is not with Bukhari himself but with how the book is treated. Mufti Abu Layth says Imam Bukhari set a gold standard for authenticity but did not always apply it himself, since he transmitted by meaning, concealed the names of problematic teachers and narrated from a Khariji, so the narrators of his book are not all beyond question.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: BukhariGate Part 1: Sahih Bukhari is NOT so Sahih -Mufti Abu Layth (at 47:51)

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 47:51 · Open the segment

Is there an authentic hadith that a wife may never refuse her husband sex?

2018-08-03T00:00:00Z

Is there an authentic hadith that a wife may never refuse her husband sex?

Mufti Abu Layth says no version of the report that a wife cannot refuse her husband is free of criticism, since its chains run through al-A'mash and Qatada and carry hidden defects. He challenges his critics to produce one that cannot be faulted. Mufti Abu Layth says that the report that a woman may not refuse her husband cannot be attributed to the Prophet without blasphemy, and challenges his critics to bring one version of it whose chain he cannot show to carry weakness or hidden defects.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Reply to Sunni (Wahhabi) Defence Pt. IV -Mufti Abu Layth (at 3:50)

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

Watch on YouTube at 3:50 · Open the segment

Are the chains of the 'women lack intellect' hadith sound?

2018-07-29T00:00:00Z

Are the chains of the 'women lack intellect' hadith sound?

Not unquestionably: Mufti Abu Layth says every chain, in al-Bukhari, Muslim and elsewhere, has a weak or disputed link, too little to override the Quran. Mufti Abu Layth says all the chains of the report have some problem, so it is not unquestionably sound.

Answer from 29 July 2018 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Hadith Analysis: Did the Prophet ﷺ Refer to Women as Lacking Intellect and Faith? (at 30:42)

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 30:42 · Open the segment

Was al-A'mash a reliable hadith narrator?

2018-07-08T00:00:00Z

Was al-A'mash a reliable hadith narrator?

Mufti Abu Layth cites classical critics who say al-A'mash committed tadlis, sometimes hiding weak narrators, and made many mistakes. This does not mean every narration of his in Bukhari and Muslim is weak.

Answer from 8 July 2018 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Reply to Sunni (Wahhabi) Defence Pt. II -Mufti Abu Layth (at 4:25)

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

Watch on YouTube at 4:25 · Open the segment

Thanks for the correction, but the chain is still flawed

2018-07-08T00:00:00Z

Thanks for the correction, but the chain is still flawed

Mufti Abu Layth accepts that three forum quotes were misrepresented but says he never relied on them: his case rests on the narrator's tadlis, which his critics have not refuted. Mufti Abu Layth says that one should be grateful when people point things out.

Answer from 8 July 2018 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Reply to Sunni (Wahhabi) Defence Pt. III -Mufti Abu Layth (at 7:00)

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

Watch on YouTube at 7:00 · Open the segment

Do the angels curse a wife who refuses her husband in bed?

2018-07-08T00:00:00Z

Do the angels curse a wife who refuses her husband in bed?

No: Mufti Abu Layth holds the hadith is weak, resting on narrators who practised tadlis, and clashes with the Quran's command to treat wives with kindness. Mufti Abu Layth says he believes the hadith about a wife who stays away from her husband's bed is weak and unacceptable, clashing with the Quran.

Answer from 8 July 2018 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Reply to Sunni (Wahhabi) Defence Pt. III -Mufti Abu Layth (at 3:12)

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

Watch on YouTube at 3:12 · Open the segment

Are the Abu Hurayra and Hamza al-Aslami narrations on apostasy authentic?

2018-05-10T00:00:00Z

Are the Abu Hurayra and Hamza al-Aslami narrations on apostasy authentic?

The other narrations used for killing apostates, from Abu Hurayra and Hamza al-Aslami, also have problems in their chains: rejected or unknown narrators and a known mudallis.

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 39:14)

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 39:14 · Open the segment

Is the chain of the apostasy hadith through Anas reliable?

2018-05-10T00:00:00Z

Is the chain of the apostasy hadith through Anas reliable?

The alternative chain of the apostasy hadith through Anas is also weak: it includes a narrator with Mu'tazili tendencies and Qatada, who is known for tadlis, and the report clashes with reason, the Quran and the Prophet's life. Mufti Abu Layth says the chain of the apostasy report through Anas is also problematic, because of a narrator with Mu'tazili tendencies and Qatada's known tadlis, and that the report clashes with reason, the Quran, the Prophet's life and the principles of Islam.

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 35:16)

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 35:16 · Open the segment

Is Ikrima, the narrator of the apostasy hadith, reliable?

2018-05-10T00:00:00Z

Is Ikrima, the narrator of the apostasy hadith, reliable?

The main chains of 'whoever changes his religion, kill him' run through Ikrima, whom he describes as a Khariji, and whom Imam Malik and many early authorities rejected or called a liar.

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 28:42)

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 28:42 · Open the segment

Is a woman's prayer rejected if she wears perfume to the mosque?

2018-05-04T00:00:00Z

Is a woman's prayer rejected if she wears perfume to the mosque?

No: Mufti Abu Layth says the report is a statement attributed to Abu Hurayra through unknown and weak narrators, not a hadith of the Prophet, and no one holds that such a prayer is invalid. Mufti Abu Layth says the report that a perfumed woman's prayer is not accepted until she bathes is not from the Prophet, rests on unknown and weak narrators, and is followed by no one.

Answer from 4 May 2018 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: On Women Wearing Perfume: Debunking Weak and Blasphemous Hadith -Mufti Abu Layth (at 23:40)

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

Watch on YouTube at 23:40 · Open the segment

Is the hadith about women wearing perfume being zaniya authentic?

2018-05-04T00:00:00Z

Is the hadith about women wearing perfume being zaniya authentic?

Mufti Abu Layth says the report is not authentic: every version comes through one weak narrator, Thabit ibn Umara, from the obscure Ghunaym ibn Qays, and some early authorities stopped it at the companion. Mufti Abu Layth says the perfume report is not sahih and is a lie attributed to the Prophet, because it rests on a single chain through the weak Thabit ibn Umara from the little-known Ghunaym ibn Qays, and some early authorities did not attribute it to the Prophet.

Answer from 4 May 2018 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: On Women Wearing Perfume: Debunking Weak and Blasphemous Hadith -Mufti Abu Layth (at 2:39)

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

Watch on YouTube at 2:39 · Open the segment

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

2018-04-09T00:00:00Z

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

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

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

Kind: general teaching

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

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

Watch on YouTube at 1:01:20 · Open the segment

Why do almost all the hadith about Jesus returning come through Abu Hurayra?

2018-04-01T00:00:00Z

Why do almost all the hadith about Jesus returning come through Abu Hurayra?

Mufti Abu Layth does not believe the Prophet said the second-coming hadith: about eighty percent come through Abu Hurayra alone, who learned from the converts Ka'b al-Ahbar and Abdullah ibn Salam, and some of his reports appear elsewhere as Ka'b's words from the Torah. No such hadith comes from Abu Bakr, Umar, Ali or Uthman. Mufti Abu Layth says he does not believe the Prophet said the hadith about Jesus coming back, since almost eighty percent of them come through Abu Hurayra alone, who learned from Ka'b al-Ahbar and Abdullah ibn Salam, some of his reports appear elsewhere as Ka'b's words from the Torah, and none comes from Abu Bakr, Umar, Ali or Uthman.

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 10:26)

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

Watch on YouTube at 10:26 · Open the segment

Zuhri's reports: Fatima's anger, the attempted suicide, and half the Jesus hadith

2018-03-13T00:00:00Z

Zuhri's reports: Fatima's anger, the attempted suicide, and half the Jesus hadith

Scholars discard Zuhri's Fatima and suicide reports as his insertions but refuse to question the Jesus reports, half of which come through him with disconnected chains; Mufti Abu Layth calls this a double standard.

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 1:37:20)

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 1:37:20 · Open the segment

What Imam Malik transmitted: no return of Jesus, Zuhri's reports, the pig passed in peace

2018-03-13T00:00:00Z

What Imam Malik transmitted: no return of Jesus, Zuhri's reports, the pig passed in peace

Imam Malik's Muwatta contains no hadith of Jesus's return and has Jesus greeting a pig in peace; Mufti Abu Layth reads this as Malik rejecting Zuhri's reports, half of which carry the return narrative. Mufti Abu Layth holds that Imam Malik deliberately left the hadith of Jesus's return out of the Muwatta, transmitting only a fraction of al-Zuhri's reports, and that Malik's refusal to accept isolated hadith blindly is the approach to follow.

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 58:03)

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 58:03 · Open the segment

Did Ibn Ma'in consider Isma'il ibn Abi Uways and his family reliable?

2018-02-21T00:00:00Z

Did Ibn Ma'in consider Isma'il ibn Abi Uways and his family reliable?

Mufti Abu Layth says that although one transmitted opinion of Ibn Ma'in accepts him, Ibn Ma'in is also transmitted as counting the household of Abu Uways among the weak. He adds that Abu al-Zubayr was weakened by several critics, so none of the chains the critics brought is conclusive.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Reply to Sunni (Wahhabi) Defence Pt.I -Mufti Abu Layth (at 36:28)

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 36:28 · Open the segment

Are the Jabir chains for the crying-tree hadith through Isra'il, Abd al-Razzaq and Ibn Jurayj sound?

2018-02-21T00:00:00Z

Are the Jabir chains for the crying-tree hadith through Isra'il, Abd al-Razzaq and Ibn Jurayj sound?

Mufti Abu Layth argues they are not: one chain rests on Isra'il, whom Yahya ibn Sa'id and Ibn al-Madini weakened, and an unknown narrator; the other on Abd al-Razzaq, criticised for errors from memory, and Ibn Jurayj, a mudallis whose 'akhbarani' referred to books rather than hearing.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Reply to Sunni (Wahhabi) Defence Pt.I -Mufti Abu Layth (at 31:15)

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

Watch on YouTube at 31:15 · Open the segment

Is the chain Hammad ibn Salama from Thabit from Anas for the crying-tree hadith sound?

2018-02-21T00:00:00Z

Is the chain Hammad ibn Salama from Thabit from Anas for the crying-tree hadith sound?

Mufti Abu Layth argues it is not: critics report that Hammad ibn Salama's memory failed late in life, that Bukhari did not transmit from him, and that Thabit was not the most reliable transmitter from Anas, Qatada and Humayd al-Tawil being ranked above him.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Reply to Sunni (Wahhabi) Defence Pt.I -Mufti Abu Layth (at 24:42)

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

Watch on YouTube at 26:01 · Open the segment

Can a hadith narrated by Jabir alone be mutawatir?

2018-02-21T00:00:00Z

Can a hadith narrated by Jabir alone be mutawatir?

No: mutawatir requires so many transmissions that a lie is impossible, which a report from Jabir alone cannot be, and he says the report is not even sahih. He defends following the critics who weakened the narrator rather than those who graded him reliable. Mufti Abu Layth says hadith grading is not settled by a majority, so that he is entitled to follow the hadith critic who weakened a narrator rather than those who graded him reliable.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Reply to Sunni (Wahhabi) Defence Pt.I -Mufti Abu Layth (at 19:41)

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 19:41 · Open the segment

How does he view the Salafi movement, and is hadith narrator criticism a divine science?

2018-02-21T00:00:00Z

How does he view the Salafi movement, and is hadith narrator criticism a divine science?

The Salafi movement began as a courageous rejection of tradition but, once established, became as dogmatic as what it opposed. Narrator criticism is a human science, so it is always open to revision and disagreement. Mufti Abu Layth says the Salafi movement, having begun as a courageous iconoclastic rejection of tradition, became as dogmatic as what it opposed once established, and that narrator criticism (ilm al-rijal) is a human science open to revision and disagreement rather than a divine one.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Reply to Sunni (Wahhabi) Defence Pt.I -Mufti Abu Layth (at 10:29)

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

Watch on YouTube at 10:29 · Open the segment

Is the hadith of the crying tree trunk authentic?

2018-02-09T00:00:00Z

Is the hadith of the crying tree trunk authentic?

No: Mufti Abu Layth finds weak narrators in each chain, including those in al-Bukhari, and says only the Quran is preserved in its entirety. Mufti Abu Layth says the stories of the tree crying for the Prophet are unreliable.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Hadiths on Prophetic Miracles and Responding to Claims of Blasphemy - Mufti Abu Layth al Maliki (at 7:38)

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 7:38 · Open the segment