Mufti Abu Layth Archive: hadith/hadith-in-legal-reasoning

Is there a middle way between rejecting all hadith and accepting every hadith?

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

Is there a middle way between rejecting all hadith and accepting every hadith?

There is a middle way between rejecting hadith and hadith absolutism: Malik and Abu Hanifa distinguished Sunnah from hadith and accepted reports only if they do not contradict reason, the Quran, the living tradition or a principle of Islam. Mufti Abu Layth says Quranists should be met with love, not cornered, and recalls his own past anger. Mufti Abu Layth holds the middle position of Imam Malik and Abu Hanifa that the Sunnah is what is followed and hadith only document it, so a report is accepted unless it contradicts reason, the Quran or the living tradition or uproots a principle of Islam, and that discarding the Sunnah is a disservice to faith.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Br Muhammad MFG | Quranist Only Belief - A Dialogue | MindTrap #82 - Mufti Abu Layth (at 10:44)

Watch on YouTube at 10:44 · Open the segment

Did Imam Malik reject the hadith he did not act on?

Wed, 19 Apr 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Did Imam Malik reject the hadith he did not act on?

No: Mufti Abu Layth says Imam Malik respected such hadith by recording them in the Muwatta while noting that Madinah did not act on them, a model of hadith relativism he recommends following. Mufti Abu Layth says, as his own thought, that someone choosing an imam to guide them in a broad methodology should look to legends like Imam Malik.

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 0:01)

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

Watch on YouTube at 0:01 · Open the segment

Did one of al-Bukhari's teachers call Imam Malik a disbeliever?

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

Did one of al-Bukhari's teachers call Imam Malik a disbeliever?

Mufti Abu Layth knows of no such takfir by a teacher of al-Bukhari; harsh words against Malik came from a contemporary who objected to his not acting on some sahih hadith. Mufti Abu Layth says he knows of no teacher of al-Bukhari who declared Imam Malik a disbeliever, and that harsh statements against Malik came from a contemporary, Ibn Abi Dhi'b [?], over Malik not acting on some sahih hadith.

Answer from 13 April 2021 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Monday Nights with Mufti #210 | Q&A Unscripted & Unrestricted! 😉 | Mufti Abu Layth (at 2:33:20)

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 2:33:20 · Open the segment

Why does the Muwatta contain hadith that Imam Malik did not follow?

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

Why does the Muwatta contain hadith that Imam Malik did not follow?

Malik included in the Muwatta reports he did not practise, and the only report about Jesus there shows him telling a pig to pass in peace. Mufti Abu Layth reads this as a sign Malik rejected the reports that Jesus will return to kill pigs. Mufti Abu Layth says Imam Malik included in the Muwatta reports he did not practise, and infers from the only report about Jesus there, in which Jesus tells a pig to pass in peace, that Malik had a problem with the reports that Jesus will return and kill pigs.

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 2:25:05)

A more recent answer on fiqh/maliki-school/muwatta-and-mudawwana exists (18 October 2025): Does the Muwatta show that the Companions' practice had already changed by Malik's time?

Watch on YouTube at 2:25:05 · Open the segment

What is wijada, and why does it matter for the hadith on killing apostates?

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

What is wijada, and why does it matter for the hadith on killing apostates?

The guest says the apostasy hadith cannot justify killing, since its own wording is not followed and it reaches us only by wijada; Mufti Abu Layth blames the Salafi call for putting raw hadith in place of the madhhabs.

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 1:06:26)

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

Watch on YouTube at 1:06:26 · Open the segment

Do I lose good deeds if I keep a dog as a pet?

Tue, 05 Jan 2021 00:00:00 +0000

Do I lose good deeds if I keep a dog as a pet?

No, owning a dog does not cost you reward; he reads the dog hadith as hygiene measures against diseases like rabies, citing Ibn Rushd al-Jadd. Mufti Abu Layth says owning a dog does not make you lose rewards.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Monday Nights with Mufti #196 | Q&A Unscripted & Unrestricted! 😉 | Mufti Abu Layth (at 40:04)

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 40:54 · Open the segment

Is drawing lots or playing the lottery haram in Islam?

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

Is drawing lots or playing the lottery haram in Islam?

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

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

Kind: general teaching

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

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

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

Why do Salafis ignore Imam Malik's Muwatta?

Sun, 23 Aug 2020 00:00:00 +0000

Why do Salafis ignore Imam Malik's Muwatta?

Mufti Abu Layth feels Salafis struggle with Imam Malik because he is a master of hadith who also rejects hadith that go against established practice. In the Muwatta he narrates a hadith and then says it is not acted upon. Mufti Abu Layth says he feels that deep down Salafis struggle with Imam Malik, who is an unquestionable authority in hadith yet rejects hadith that go against certain practices.

Answer from 23 August 2020 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Why do the salafis struggle with the Muwatta? | Mufti Abu Layth (at 0:00)

A more recent answer on fiqh/maliki-school/muwatta-and-mudawwana exists (18 October 2025): Does the Muwatta show that the Companions' practice had already changed by Malik's time?

Watch on YouTube at 0:00 · Open the segment

Does the Quran abrogate its own verses?

Fri, 26 Jun 2020 00:00:00 +0000

Does the Quran abrogate its own verses?

The guest denies abrogation, reading 2:106 as about miracles replaced over time, since ayah in the singular never means a verse. Mufti Abu Layth says he is not against abrogation in principle but that 2:106 does not prove it and that no verse was ever lifted from the Quran.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Prof. Edip Yuksel | Rejecting Hadith, Rashad Khalifa & Realizing '19' | MindTrap with Mufti #27 (at 59:27)

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

Watch on YouTube at 59:27 · Open the segment

Can hadith be sifted with criteria, or must the whole corpus be rejected?

Fri, 26 Jun 2020 00:00:00 +0000

Can hadith be sifted with criteria, or must the whole corpus be rejected?

Mufti Abu Layth says the Prophet's practice survives as a living tradition in fiqh and that he accepts a hadith only if it passes reason, the texts and the principles. The guest replies that narrators who fabricated a stoning verse forfeit all credibility, like a false witness in the Quran.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Prof. Edip Yuksel | Rejecting Hadith, Rashad Khalifa & Realizing '19' | MindTrap with Mufti #27 (at 48:57)

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 48:57 · Open the segment

Why do Muslims treat reason as the enemy of tradition?

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

Why do Muslims treat reason as the enemy of tradition?

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

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

Kind: general teaching

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

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

Watch on YouTube at 28:36 · Open the segment

When is a hadith set aside, and is rejecting hadith acceptable?

Sat, 20 Oct 2018 00:00:00 +0000

When is a hadith set aside, and is rejecting hadith acceptable?

Mufti Abu Layth is not in favour of rejecting hadith in general, but follows Imam Malik in setting aside a report where it goes against the established tradition, reason, the principles of Islam or the Quran. He calls the khutbah dangerous and regrets what he sees as Qadhi's turn away from reason. Mufti Abu Layth says he is not in favour of rejecting hadith in general, but follows Imam Malik in rejecting a report where it goes against the established tradition, reason, the principles of Islam or the Quran.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: A Reply to Sheikh Yasir Qadhi - Mufti Abu Layth (at 1:23:42)

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 1:23:42 · Open the segment

Why does hadith dogmatism fail, according to the war-wager paradox?

Thu, 20 Sep 2018 00:00:00 +0000

Why does hadith dogmatism fail, according to the war-wager paradox?

Using the crocodile paradox, he argues that a sound system cannot produce an unsound result, so hadith dogmatism fails and Imam Malik's method should be followed instead. Mufti Abu Layth says hadith dogmatism, which lets reports override the Quran, does not work and that Muslims should return to the method taught by Imam Malik.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: The War-Wager Hadith Paradox (Debunking Dogmatism) -Mufti Abu Layth (at 15:43)

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 15:43 · Open the segment

What is the war-wager hadith paradox?

Thu, 20 Sep 2018 00:00:00 +0000

What is the war-wager hadith paradox?

Mufti Abu Layth presents the report that the Prophet was commanded to fight people until they believe, which hadith dogmatists call mutawatir, and notes that the same scholars agree no one may be fought merely for disbelief or compelled into Islam. Mufti Abu Layth says hadith dogmatists, loyal above all to the chain of transmission, have departed from the teaching of Imam Malik and Abu Hanifa not to abandon reason, and he holds that there is no compulsion at all in matters of religion.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: The War-Wager Hadith Paradox (Debunking Dogmatism) -Mufti Abu Layth (at 0:00)

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 0:00 · Open the segment

Why should Muslims reject the hadith that the Prophet died of poison?

Mon, 17 Sep 2018 00:00:00 +0000

Why should Muslims reject the hadith that the Prophet died of poison?

Following Imam Malik, a hadith that contradicts the overall message of the Quran is set aside; Mufti Abu Layth rules the poisoning report false on chain and content and says that calling the Prophet's death a poisoning insults Islam, God and the Prophet. Mufti Abu Layth holds that a hadith contradicting the overall message of the Quran must be set aside, as Imam Malik did, and that saying the Prophet died of poisoning insults Islam, God and the Prophet.

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 12:47)

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

Watch on YouTube at 12:47 · Open the segment

How should Muslims decide which hadith to accept and which to reject?

Fri, 03 Aug 2018 00:00:00 +0000

How should Muslims decide which hadith to accept and which to reject?

Follow Imam Malik: accept some hadith and reject others. A report is accepted if it does not clash with reason, the Quran, the transmitted and corroborated Sunnah such as the practice of Madinah, or a principle of Islam; otherwise it is treated with caution. Mufti Abu Layth holds that the ummah must return to Imam Malik's method of accepting some hadith and rejecting others, accepting a report only if it does not clash with reason, the Quran, the corroborated Sunnah such as the practice of Madinah, or a principle of Islam.

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 15:35)

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 15:35 · Open the segment

Do I have to grow a beard?

Tue, 12 Jun 2018 00:00:00 +0000

Do I have to grow a beard?

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

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

Kind: general teaching

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

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

Watch on YouTube at 0:00 · Open the segment

Which hadith are used to justify killing apostates, and were the scholars who used them right?

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

Which hadith are used to justify killing apostates, and were the scholars who used them right?

Some scholars did rule that apostates be killed, and he says they were clearly wrong, products of a ruthless age; the time given to apostates in the reports makes sense only as time to withdraw from rebellion. Mufti Abu Layth says that scholars who ruled that apostates be executed unless they returned to Islam were clearly and categorically wrong, being products of an age that placed little value on human life.

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 23:28)

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 23:28 · 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

What did the Maliki scholars say about women travelling with a safe group?

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

What did the Maliki scholars say about women travelling with a safe group?

Mufti Abu Layth cites al-Baji that a woman is safe without a mahram in large caravans and busy highways, and reads Imam Malik's ordering of the hadith as showing they were about safety. Mufti Abu Layth says the Prophet's calling two travellers devils was religious rhetoric used in that age to safeguard people in hostile territory.

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 30:39)

A more recent answer on fiqh/maliki-school/muwatta-and-mudawwana exists (18 October 2025): Does the Muwatta show that the Companions' practice had already changed by Malik's time?

Watch on YouTube at 30:39 · Open the segment

Why did the Prophet say women should not travel without a mahram?

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

Why did the Prophet say women should not travel without a mahram?

For their safety: Mufti Abu Layth says the limits tracked how far the safe zone around Madinah reached, widening as treaties spread, not a rule to confine women. Mufti Abu Layth says the Prophet was not setting boundaries to confine women in these hadith but was trying to safeguard them.

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 23:01)

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 23:01 · Open the segment

Can a woman travel without a mahram?

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

Can a woman travel without a mahram?

Yes: Mufti Abu Layth says a woman can travel without a mahram, since the ruling was about safety. The reports behind it disagree on how long a journey they mean. Mufti Abu Layth says that of course a woman can travel without a mahram, the ruling having been simply about safety.

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 0:00)

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

Watch on YouTube at 1:12 · Open the segment

Stop calling Bukhari the most authentic book after the Quran; fiqh preserved the living Sunnah

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

Stop calling Bukhari the most authentic book after the Quran; fiqh preserved the living Sunnah

Sahih al-Bukhari is an excellent effort but should not be called the most authentic book after the Quran; hadith are sifted, while fiqh and the madhhabs carry the Sunnah in living form. Mufti Abu Layth says Sahih al-Bukhari should not be called the most authentic book after the Quran: it is an excellent effort whose reports are still sifted, while fiqh and the madhhabs preserved the Sunnah in living form.

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 2:21:55)

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 2:21:55 · Open the segment

Refute me with sahih evidence: lying about the Prophet and the charge of misguidance

Tue, 02 Jan 2018 00:00:00 +0000

Refute me with sahih evidence: lying about the Prophet and the charge of misguidance

Mufti Abu Layth invites refutation but only on categorical evidence from the Quran and sahih hadith, and says quoting weak reports falsely attributed to the Prophet is shameful. Mufti Abu Layth says anyone may try to prove him wrong but must bring categorical evidence from the Quran and the Sunnah, and that quoting weak reports as the Prophet's words is attributing lies to him.

Answer from 2 January 2018 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Reply to Abu Ibraheem (Salafi)- By Mufti Abu Layth al-Maliki (at 36:43)

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 36:43 · Open the segment

Is judging hadith by their content a modern invention of jurists rather than hadith scholars?

Wed, 11 Jan 2017 00:00:00 +0000

Is judging hadith by their content a modern invention of jurists rather than hadith scholars?

Judging a report by its content is not modern; it goes back to Ibn Abbas and Imam Malik, who left authentic reports they did not hold to be the sunnah. Hadith absolutism displaced it only at times. Mufti Abu Layth holds that reasoning with the content of hadith is not a modern approach but one practised by the companions and Imam Malik from the beginning.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Age of Aisha (ra)- Mufti Abu Layth (at 1:49:58)

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

Watch on YouTube at 1:49:58 · Open the segment

Can an ordinary Muslim reject a hadith that seems irrational?

Wed, 11 Jan 2017 00:00:00 +0000

Can an ordinary Muslim reject a hadith that seems irrational?

An ordinary Muslim should refer puzzling hadith to scholars rather than reject them, but may decline to act on a report that clearly clashes with Islam's universal teachings. Going through the hadith books one by one is not the duty of the unskilled. Mufti Abu Layth holds that ordinary Muslims should refer puzzling reports to scholars but may decline to act on a report that plainly clashes with Islam's universal teachings.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Age of Aisha (ra)- Mufti Abu Layth (at 1:42:08)

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

Watch on YouTube at 1:42:08 · Open the segment

Why is the report that Aisha was six and nine so much better known than the others?

Wed, 11 Jan 2017 00:00:00 +0000

Why is the report that Aisha was six and nine so much better known than the others?

The six-and-nine report became prominent as a by-product of hadith absolutism and the later sanctification of Bukhari and Muslim. Ordinary Muslims historically knew only that Aisha was young. Mufti Abu Layth says the prominence of the six-and-nine report is a by-product of hadith absolutism and the later sanctification of Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim, not the view of the earliest Muslims.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Age of Aisha (ra)- Mufti Abu Layth (at 1:27:41)

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 1:27:41 · Open the segment

Why is Aisha's age only being questioned now, and is it just to appease the West?

Wed, 11 Jan 2017 00:00:00 +0000

Why is Aisha's age only being questioned now, and is it just to appease the West?

The age was treated as an issue historically through rulings against marrying girls incapable of marriage, and it is prominent now because Islam faces more scrutiny. Mufti Abu Layth rejects the report with certainty and calls the appeasement charge preposterous. Mufti Abu Layth says he rejects the six-and-nine report with personal certainty and that doing so is a matter of consistency, not appeasement of the West.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Age of Aisha (ra)- Mufti Abu Layth (at 1:17:16)

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

Watch on YouTube at 1:18:33 · Open the segment

Unacceptable reports in the Sahihayn and judging a hadith by its content

Wed, 11 Jan 2017 00:00:00 +0000

Unacceptable reports in the Sahihayn and judging a hadith by its content

Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim contain some reports scholars reject as wrong, so a report is judged by its content as well as its chain. Their sanctification came centuries later. Mufti Abu Layth holds that Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim contain some reports that are not acceptable, and that a report should be judged by its content as well as its chain.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Age of Aisha (ra)- Mufti Abu Layth (at 30:00)

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 30:00 · Open the segment

Premise two: hadith absolutism versus hadith relativism

Wed, 11 Jan 2017 00:00:00 +0000

Premise two: hadith absolutism versus hadith relativism

Scholars were divided from the start between treating every authenticated hadith as binding and reading it against Islam's wider principles. Imam Malik and the school of Madinah left many sound-chained reports they did not hold to be the sunnah. Mufti Abu Layth says that from the earliest period many scholars, Imam Malik and the school of Madinah among them, treated hadith as relative to the wider principles of Islam and left reports with sound chains that they did not hold to be the sunnah.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Age of Aisha (ra)- Mufti Abu Layth (at 16:58)

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 16:58 · Open the segment

Is it haram to trim my beard shorter than a fist's length?

Sat, 12 Apr 2014 00:00:00 +0000

Is it haram to trim my beard shorter than a fist's length?

Trimming the beard below a fist is not haram according to many great scholars, a well-founded view in the tradition, though others may follow stricter opinions. Mufti Abu Layth says the opinion that trimming the beard below a fist's length is not haram is well founded in the tradition.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Cutting-edge Perspective: Trimming the beard in Islam (pt 2)- Mufti Abu Layth (at 0:04)

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

Watch on YouTube at 0:04 · Open the segment

What do the sound hadith about the beard actually say?

Sat, 12 Apr 2014 00:00:00 +0000

What do the sound hadith about the beard actually say?

Only three hadith on the beard have undisputed chains, and each pairs trimming the moustache with the beard and gives the reason of differing from the Jews and Christians, the Majus or the mushrikin. Many read this as an obligatory command, but Mufti Abu Layth says other hadith show otherwise. Mufti Abu Layth holds that the sound hadith on the beard reduce to three, each pairing the moustache with the beard and giving the reason of being different from non-Muslims, and that the command need not be read as obligatory, as other hadith show.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Cutting-edge Perspective: Trimming the beard in Islam (pt 1)- Mufti Abu Layth (at 9:16)

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 9:16 · Open the segment

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

Wed, 12 Mar 2014 00:00:00 +0000

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

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

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

Kind: general teaching

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

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

Watch on YouTube at 7:47 · Open the segment