Mufti Abu Layth Archive: history/early-succession-and-civil-strife/karbala

Is it right to curse the companions or beat oneself in mourning for Husayn?

Fri, 16 Oct 2020 00:00:00 +0000

Is it right to curse the companions or beat oneself in mourning for Husayn?

Mufti Abu Layth condemns using Husayn's mourning to curse the companions, a disservice to Husayn, and calls self-flagellation ignorance that many Shia authorities also reject. Mufti Abu Layth says he condemns using the mourning of Husayn as an excuse to curse the companions, which he feels is a disservice to Husayn.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Karbala & it's precursors | Mufti Abu Layth (at 1:01:53)

A more recent answer on dialogue/sunni-shia-dialogue exists (22 February 2023): Should Sunnis preach to Shia Muslims about what they get wrong?

Watch on YouTube at 1:01:53 · Open the segment

Who was really responsible for the killing of Husayn at Karbala?

Fri, 16 Oct 2020 00:00:00 +0000

Who was really responsible for the killing of Husayn at Karbala?

Mufti Abu Layth blames first the Shia who invited Husayn, then Ubaydullah ibn Ziyad as the active agent, and Yazid as the passive one. Mufti Abu Layth says he feels responsibility for Karbala was shared, but that in order the real culprits were first the Shia who invited Husayn, then Ibn Ziyad as the active element, and Yazid as the passive element.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Karbala & it's precursors | Mufti Abu Layth (at 1:00:00)

Watch on YouTube at 1:00:00 · Open the segment

Was Yazid a kafir, and is it right to curse him?

Fri, 16 Oct 2020 00:00:00 +0000

Was Yazid a kafir, and is it right to curse him?

No: Mufti Abu Layth calls Yazid a wretched, arrogant tyrant, but he does not call him a kafir or curse him, since he rejects a culture of cursing. He can believe Yazid would not have killed Husayn himself. Mufti Abu Layth says he does not curse Yazid or encourage people to curse him, because he does not believe in a culture of cursing.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Karbala & it's precursors | Mufti Abu Layth (at 56:51)

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

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Should Muslims mourn Husayn every year on Ashura?

Fri, 16 Oct 2020 00:00:00 +0000

Should Muslims mourn Husayn every year on Ashura?

Mufti Abu Layth does not see annual mourning for Husayn as an Islamic practice and does not do it, but he does not condemn those who do. Mufti Abu Layth says that in his opinion ritual annual mourning for Husayn is not an Islamic practice, though he does not condemn people who choose to do it.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Karbala & it's precursors | Mufti Abu Layth (at 54:55)

A more recent answer on dialogue/sunni-shia-dialogue exists (22 February 2023): Should Sunnis preach to Shia Muslims about what they get wrong?

Watch on YouTube at 54:55 · Open the segment

Are the stories that Husayn's family was denied water at Karbala true?

Fri, 16 Oct 2020 00:00:00 +0000

Are the stories that Husayn's family was denied water at Karbala true?

Mufti Abu Layth doubts many details of the Karbala story, including the denial of water, and thinks Yazid did not want Husayn killed but was not troubled that it happened. Mufti Abu Layth says he is personally not convinced that Husayn's party and the babies were denied water.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Karbala & it's precursors | Mufti Abu Layth (at 50:20)

Watch on YouTube at 50:20 · Open the segment

Why did the army at Karbala not let Husayn go back?

Fri, 16 Oct 2020 00:00:00 +0000

Why did the army at Karbala not let Husayn go back?

After Muslim ibn Aqil was killed, Husayn's party was intercepted and the men martyred; Mufti Abu Layth thinks the army may have refused to let him go because some of its own clans had invited him. Mufti Abu Layth says he feels there may be some truth to the Sunni reports that Husayn recognised in the army men of clans that had petitioned him to come.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Karbala & it's precursors | Mufti Abu Layth (at 45:10)

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Why did Husayn go to Kufa when he was warned not to?

Fri, 16 Oct 2020 00:00:00 +0000

Why did Husayn go to Kufa when he was warned not to?

Mufti Abu Layth says Husayn was invited by thousands in Kufa but warned by his relatives and Ibn Abbas, who urged Yemen instead, while Ibn al-Zubayr resisted Yazid from Makkah. Mufti Abu Layth says he does not believe Yazid was a kafir, but accepts that most people would have seen him at the very least as a disappointment.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Karbala & it's precursors | Mufti Abu Layth (at 40:51)

A more recent answer on history/companions exists (2 March 2021): Why did Abdullah ibn Abi Sarh leave Islam for a time?

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What kind of ruler was Yazid?

Fri, 16 Oct 2020 00:00:00 +0000

What kind of ruler was Yazid?

Mufti Abu Layth calls Muawiya's choice of Yazid a grave mistake: Yazid was a Muslim but a disappointment who attacked Madinah and installed the tyrant Ubaydullah ibn Ziyad in Kufa. Mufti Abu Layth says he feels Muawiya's ultimate grave mistake was placing Yazid as his heir.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Karbala & it's precursors | Mufti Abu Layth (at 35:11)

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

Watch on YouTube at 35:11 · Open the segment

Where did the rivalry between Banu Umayya and Banu Hashim come from?

Fri, 16 Oct 2020 00:00:00 +0000

Where did the rivalry between Banu Umayya and Banu Hashim come from?

The rivalry behind Karbala began before Islam between Banu Umayya and Banu Hashim; Mufti Abu Layth holds that Makkah and Quraysh mattered far less in pre-Islamic Arabia than later Muslims assumed. Mufti Abu Layth says that in his understanding Makkah was an almost irrelevant town in pre-Islamic Arabia, not as later Muslims thought it was.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Karbala & it's precursors | Mufti Abu Layth (at 6:25)

A more recent answer on history/pre-islamic-arabia exists (26 April 2021): Did everyone at the time of the Prophet accept Islam without questions?

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Who were the Shia who invited Husayn to Kufa?

Fri, 16 Oct 2020 00:00:00 +0000

Who were the Shia who invited Husayn to Kufa?

The Shia who invited Husayn to Kufa were a political faction favouring Ali, not today's sect; a force of perhaps a couple of hundred under Umar ibn Sa'd intercepted him at Karbala. Mufti Abu Layth says that in early Islam Shia was more a political than a theological thing, meaning those who favoured Ali.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Karbala & it's precursors | Mufti Abu Layth (at 1:50)

A more recent answer on history/early-succession-and-civil-strife exists (16 March 2021): Who are the Ibadis and what do you think of Ibadism?

Watch on YouTube at 1:50 · Open the segment

What is the Sunni view of Karbala?

Fri, 16 Oct 2020 00:00:00 +0000

What is the Sunni view of Karbala?

Karbala was unquestionably a great tragedy, and Mufti Abu Layth says Muslims generally agree on that; the major events are known and only details are disputed. Mufti Abu Layth says Karbala was unquestionably a great tragedy for the Ummah, and thinks all Muslims, for the most part, agree that the martyrdom of Husayn was a great tragedy.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Karbala & it's precursors | Mufti Abu Layth (at 0:01)

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Did Hasan and Husayn wear earrings?

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

Did Hasan and Husayn wear earrings?

Ibn Abbas lists piercing the ear among seven sunnahs for a newborn boy, and Hasan and Husayn had their ears pierced and wore earrings, Husayn wearing two. The reports come through Imam Jafar al-Sadiq's chain and an eyewitness account from Karbala. Mufti Abu Layth says that the Prophet's grandsons Hasan and Husayn had their ears pierced and wore earrings, Husayn wearing two, as Shia traditions through Imam Jafar al-Sadiq and accounts of Karbala relate.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Holistic Overview: Can Men Wear Earrings? -Mufti Abu Layth (at 13:00)

A more recent answer on fiqh/dress-and-appearance/jewellery-gold-and-silk exists (10 March 2023): Is it haram for men to wear earrings?

Watch on YouTube at 13:00 · Open the segment