Mufti Abu Layth Archive: quran/preservation-and-qiraat

Why is lanasfa'an in Quran 96:15 written with an alif, and is it a mistake?

2024-09-29T00:00:00Z

Why is lanasfa'an in Quran 96:15 written with an alif, and is it a mistake?

It is not a mistake: Mufti Abu Layth shows from Sibawayh that the emphatic nun becomes an alif when stopping on it, so the alif spelling is the traditional one. Mufti Abu Layth says that writing the emphatic nun of lanasfa'an with an alif is the traditional way of writing it.

Answer from 29 September 2024 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Deen of Hope NOT Hate - Mufti Tariq Masood | Mufti Abu Layth (at 14:51)

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

Watch on YouTube at 14:51 · Open the segment

Is someone who says something wrong about the Prophet guilty of blasphemy?

2024-09-29T00:00:00Z

Is someone who says something wrong about the Prophet guilty of blasphemy?

Not when there was no such intention: Mufti Abu Layth says Mufti Tariq Masood was clearly wrong, but he meant to praise the Prophet, so calling him a blasphemer is unacceptable. Mufti Abu Layth says that when people make mistakes it does not mean they are blaspheming, even if the mistake is horrendous.

Answer from 29 September 2024 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Deen of Hope NOT Hate - Mufti Tariq Masood | Mufti Abu Layth (at 5:12)

Watch on YouTube at 5:12 · Open the segment

Mufti Tariq Masood's remark on scribal errors, and Islam as a deen of mercy

2024-09-29T00:00:00Z

Mufti Tariq Masood's remark on scribal errors, and Islam as a deen of mercy

Mufti Abu Layth says there are no mistakes in the Quran's script, but Islam is a deen of mercy, so Mufti Tariq Masood's error should not bring calls for his death. Mufti Abu Layth says that Islam is a deen of mercy.

Answer from 29 September 2024 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Deen of Hope NOT Hate - Mufti Tariq Masood | Mufti Abu Layth (at 0:03)

Watch on YouTube at 0:03 · Open the segment

Why wasn't the Quran compiled as a book in the Prophet's time?

2021-01-12T00:00:00Z

Why wasn't the Quran compiled as a book in the Prophet's time?

Mufti Abu Layth says the Quran was written but not bound as a book in the Prophet's lifetime because it was dynamic, allowing variations that did not change its meaning. Mufti Abu Layth says he would feel the Quran was not collected as a book because it was dynamic in nature, allowing substitutable variations that did not change the meaning.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Monday Nights with Mufti #197 | Q&A Unscripted & Unrestricted! 😉 | Mufti Abu Layth (at 1:16:57)

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 1:17:34 · Open the segment

Can we substitute words of the Quran today as the companions did?

2020-12-10T00:00:00Z

Can we substitute words of the Quran today as the companions did?

No: the Quran was dynamic in the Prophet's time, but after Uthman's codex and the canonised readings it has reached us fixed, so changing it today would not be correct. He feels word substitution was the original default, not a mere dispensation. Mufti Abu Layth says he feels that the companions' substituting of words was the default ruling for the Quran rather than merely a dispensation.

Answer from 10 December 2020 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Yasir Qadhi's reply to Jay Smith & ultracrepidarian | Mufti Abu Layth (at 28:34)

A more recent answer on quran/preservation-and-qiraat exists (29 September 2024): Why is lanasfa'an in Quran 96:15 written with an alif, and is it a mistake?

Watch on YouTube at 28:34 · Open the segment

Was the Quran always fixed word for word, or was it flexible at first?

2020-12-10T00:00:00Z

Was the Quran always fixed word for word, or was it flexible at first?

Mufti Abu Layth holds the Quran was dynamic in the Prophet's time, with companions allowed to substitute synonyms, and that a fixed vowel-for-vowel text is a modern idea. Writing it down in a worldly script brought its own constraints. Mufti Abu Layth says he finds himself in line with the view that the Arabic Quran came into being in the mind of the Prophet, revealed to him and not invented by him.

Answer from 10 December 2020 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Yasir Qadhi's reply to Jay Smith & ultracrepidarian | Mufti Abu Layth (at 19:43)

A more recent answer on quran/preservation-and-qiraat exists (29 September 2024): Why is lanasfa'an in Quran 96:15 written with an alif, and is it a mistake?

Watch on YouTube at 19:43 · Open the segment

Yasir Qadhi still has not explained his 'holes in the narrative'

2020-12-10T00:00:00Z

Yasir Qadhi still has not explained his 'holes in the narrative'

Mufti Abu Layth says that the controversy over 'holes in the narrative' is one Yasir Qadhi landed himself in deeply, since he never offered a response or clarity at the time beyond suggesting people take his course. He expects critics like Jay Smith to chase him over it because they know he cannot answer it. He jokes at length about Yasir Qadhi wanting Muslims to popularise the word 'ultracrepidarian', saying it shows he has lived most of his life in a library. He says he respects him for saying he holds a different view and for raising awareness that there are some forty views, but is disappointed that in what was meant as his final word he again evaded explaining what he actually believes.

Answer from 10 December 2020 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Yasir Qadhi's reply to Jay Smith & ultracrepidarian | Mufti Abu Layth (at 13:57)

A more recent answer on quran/preservation-and-qiraat exists (29 September 2024): Why is lanasfa'an in Quran 96:15 written with an alif, and is it a mistake?

Watch on YouTube at 13:57 · Open the segment

Is Jay Smith a reliable critic of the Quran's preservation?

2020-12-10T00:00:00Z

Is Jay Smith a reliable critic of the Quran's preservation?

No: he agrees with Yasir Qadhi that Jay Smith and David Wood are not clued up and chase sensation, repeating academics' summaries without understanding them.

Answer from 10 December 2020 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Yasir Qadhi's reply to Jay Smith & ultracrepidarian | Mufti Abu Layth (at 6:58)

A more recent answer on quran/preservation-and-qiraat exists (29 September 2024): Why is lanasfa'an in Quran 96:15 written with an alif, and is it a mistake?

Watch on YouTube at 6:58 · Open the segment

Yasir Qadhi's reply to Jay Smith over 'holes in the standard narrative'

2020-12-10T00:00:00Z

Yasir Qadhi's reply to Jay Smith over 'holes in the standard narrative'

A played clip of Yasir Qadhi answering Christian polemicists who used his 'holes in the standard narrative' remark, calling them unqualified and likening variant readings to accents.

Answer from 10 December 2020 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

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

Recording: Yasir Qadhi's reply to Jay Smith & ultracrepidarian | Mufti Abu Layth (at 0:00)

A more recent answer on quran/preservation-and-qiraat exists (29 September 2024): Why is lanasfa'an in Quran 96:15 written with an alif, and is it a mistake?

Watch on YouTube at 0:00 · Open the segment

Is it right to attack critics of Islam personally?

2020-08-24T00:00:00Z

Is it right to attack critics of Islam personally?

Mufti Abu Layth says Mohammed Hijab bears some responsibility for provoking the Quran-tearing, and urges Muslims to attack arguments, not people and their families.

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 1:35:34)

A more recent answer on society/dawah-and-debate-culture exists (18 October 2025): How should Muslims engage people with very different views of the religion?

Watch on YouTube at 1:35:34 · Open the segment

What did the leak of Yasir Qadhi's emails on the Quran's preservation lead to?

2020-08-19T00:00:00Z

What did the leak of Yasir Qadhi's emails on the Quran's preservation lead to?

The leak of Yasir Qadhi's emails set off a fitna in which people doubted or left Islam, and Yasir Qadhi's own explanation made it worse. Being clever and well-read does not make someone an academic.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Farid Gangu Teli leaking Yasir Qadhi's emails | Mufti Abu Layth (at 8:46)

A more recent answer on society/dawah-and-debate-culture exists (18 October 2025): How should Muslims engage people with very different views of the religion?

Watch on YouTube at 8:46 · Open the segment

Who leaked the emails: the missing link revealed

2020-08-19T00:00:00Z

Who leaked the emails: the missing link revealed

After years of uncertainty over who leaked Yasir Qadhi's email, Mufti Abu Layth says it has transpired that Farid was behind the leak.

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

Recording: Farid Gangu Teli leaking Yasir Qadhi's emails | Mufti Abu Layth (at 2:34)

A more recent answer on society/dawah-and-debate-culture exists (18 October 2025): How should Muslims engage people with very different views of the religion?

Watch on YouTube at 2:34 · Open the segment

Introduction: the Quran-preservation debacle and a leaked 2016 email

2020-08-19T00:00:00Z

Introduction: the Quran-preservation debacle and a leaked 2016 email

Mufti Abu Layth introduces a commentary on who leaked a private 2016 email of Yasir Qadhi on the Quran's preservation, an episode he calls a cataclysmic debacle.

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

Recording: Farid Gangu Teli leaking Yasir Qadhi's emails | Mufti Abu Layth (at 0:00)

A more recent answer on society/dawah-and-debate-culture exists (18 October 2025): How should Muslims engage people with very different views of the religion?

Watch on YouTube at 0:00 · Open the segment

If the Quran wasn't a book, why is it on a heavenly tablet?

2020-07-03T00:00:00Z

If the Quran wasn't a book, why is it on a heavenly tablet?

The guest says the one verse on the guarded tablet refers to 'a recitation', not an Arabic text, and that the Quran became Arabic for its audience.

Answer from 3 July 2020 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

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

Recording: Prof. Dr Khalil Andani | The Oral Text & the Ontology of The Quran | Mindtrap with Mufti #28 (at 1:35:02)

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 1:35:02 · Open the segment

Were the companions allowed to change words of the Quran, and was that only a temporary concession?

2020-07-03T00:00:00Z

Were the companions allowed to change words of the Quran, and was that only a temporary concession?

The guest argues the Prophet allowed multiple oral forms of the Quran; Mufti Abu Layth says this dynamism was the Quran's inherent nature, not a temporary concession.

Answer from 3 July 2020 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Prof. Dr Khalil Andani | The Oral Text & the Ontology of The Quran | Mindtrap with Mufti #28 (at 1:03:08)

A more recent answer on quran/preservation-and-qiraat exists (29 September 2024): Why is lanasfa'an in Quran 96:15 written with an alif, and is it a mistake?

Watch on YouTube at 1:03:43 · Open the segment

Is the Ash'ari view of God's speech really different from the Mu'tazili view?

2020-07-03T00:00:00Z

Is the Ash'ari view of God's speech really different from the Mu'tazili view?

The guest says the Ash'aris borrowed heavily from the Mu'tazila but differ on whether speech is sounds and letters or meaning; Mufti Abu Layth says sectarian politics produced ambiguous creeds.

Answer from 3 July 2020 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Prof. Dr Khalil Andani | The Oral Text & the Ontology of The Quran | Mindtrap with Mufti #28 (at 46:24)

A more recent answer on quran/preservation-and-qiraat exists (29 September 2024): Why is lanasfa'an in Quran 96:15 written with an alif, and is it a mistake?

Watch on YouTube at 46:24 · Open the segment

Is the 'Book of Allah' the same thing as the written Quran?

2020-07-03T00:00:00Z

Is the 'Book of Allah' the same thing as the written Quran?

The guest argues that equating Kitab Allah with the Mushaf is a later interpretation that downsized the Quran's concept of a transcendent divine writing.

Answer from 3 July 2020 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

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

Recording: Prof. Dr Khalil Andani | The Oral Text & the Ontology of The Quran | Mindtrap with Mufti #28 (at 27:58)

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 27:58 · Open the segment

What difference does it make that the Quran was first oral and only later written down?

2020-07-03T00:00:00Z

What difference does it make that the Quran was first oral and only later written down?

The guest argues that the Mushaf is a secondary product that loses the context and immediacy of the oral revelation, like a printed map compared with live navigation.

Answer from 3 July 2020 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

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

Recording: Prof. Dr Khalil Andani | The Oral Text & the Ontology of The Quran | Mindtrap with Mufti #28 (at 12:59)

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 13:26 · Open the segment

Did Muslims always see the Quran as God's word in the form of a book?

2020-07-03T00:00:00Z

Did Muslims always see the Quran as God's word in the form of a book?

The guest argues that the idea of the Quran as God's literal words in book form was not held by all Muslims historically, and that the Quran presents itself as a series of oral revelations manifesting a heavenly writing.

Answer from 3 July 2020 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

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

Recording: Prof. Dr Khalil Andani | The Oral Text & the Ontology of The Quran | Mindtrap with Mufti #28 (at 6:48)

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 7:40 · Open the segment

Does the number 19 structure work in all the readings of the Quran?

2020-06-26T00:00:00Z

Does the number 19 structure work in all the readings of the Quran?

The guest says the 19 structure is found in the Hafs reading, where it revealed two spelling errors and two added verses, and that the Warsh reading differs little; he also expresses regard for Ghulam Ahmad Parwez.

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

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

Recording: Prof. Edip Yuksel | Rejecting Hadith, Rashad Khalifa & Realizing '19' | MindTrap with Mufti #27 (at 2:21:49)

A more recent answer on hadith/quran-only-movement exists (18 October 2025): How should Muslims engage people with very different views of the religion?

Watch on YouTube at 2:21:49 · Open the segment

Did Rashad Khalifa claim to be a messenger of God?

2020-06-26T00:00:00Z

Did Rashad Khalifa claim to be a messenger of God?

The guest says Rashad Khalifa did claim to be a messenger, not a prophet, commissioned to unveil the miracle of 19, and that the Quran calls Muhammad the last prophet rather than the last messenger. Khalifa held the last two verses of Surat al-Tawba to be interpolations.

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

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

Recording: Prof. Edip Yuksel | Rejecting Hadith, Rashad Khalifa & Realizing '19' | MindTrap with Mufti #27 (at 1:52:57)

A more recent answer on hadith/quran-only-movement exists (18 October 2025): How should Muslims engage people with very different views of the religion?

Watch on YouTube at 1:52:57 · Open the segment

Does the Quran abrogate its own verses?

2020-06-26T00:00:00Z

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

Which reading of the Quran reached India, Malaysia and Indonesia, and why?

2020-06-19T00:00:00Z

Which reading of the Quran reached India, Malaysia and Indonesia, and why?

The common reading, later called the reading of Hafs, reached the subcontinent and the Far East through the masses, while the other readings took root only where scholars arrived first. Mufti Abu Layth sums up: the Quran is preserved as the qira'a al-'amma of the Prophet's final recitation, and Hafs coincides with it because he made no choices of his own.

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

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

Recording: Dr. Shehzad Saleem | the Preservation of the Quran & the Problem of Qira'at | MindTrap with Mufti#26 (at 1:46:43)

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

Watch on YouTube at 1:46:43 · Open the segment

Did the variant readings of the Quran come from missing dots and vowel marks?

2020-06-19T00:00:00Z

Did the variant readings of the Quran come from missing dots and vowel marks?

Partly: the guest says the lack of diacritics let words like ya'lamun and ta'lamun be read either way where both were ascribed to the Prophet, one of several causes he lists. Mufti Abu Layth clarifies that nobody is claiming a verse of rajm exists in the Quran.

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

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

Recording: Dr. Shehzad Saleem | the Preservation of the Quran & the Problem of Qira'at | MindTrap with Mufti#26 (at 1:41:28)

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

Watch on YouTube at 1:41:28 · Open the segment

Was Ibn Mas'ud's Quran different from the Quran we have?

2020-06-19T00:00:00Z

Was Ibn Mas'ud's Quran different from the Quran we have?

No: the guest says the reports that Ibn Mas'ud rejected al-Fatiha or the last two surahs are wrongly ascribed to him, and the major companions vouched for the same Quran, the only traceable dispute being over the word 'qul'. Mufti Abu Layth also says he would not advocate cutting the hand today, since for him the hudud have already changed with the age.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Dr. Shehzad Saleem | the Preservation of the Quran & the Problem of Qira'at | MindTrap with Mufti#26 (at 1:37:31)

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

Watch on YouTube at 1:37:31 · Open the segment

Does a reciter's chain of teachers back to the Prophet prove the Quran's text?

2020-06-19T00:00:00Z

Does a reciter's chain of teachers back to the Prophet prove the Quran's text?

A single chain of huffaz only testifies who taught whom and does not authenticate the text on its own; preservation rests on the vast number of people transmitting the same thing, of which one chain is a drop in the ocean.

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

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

Recording: Dr. Shehzad Saleem | the Preservation of the Quran & the Problem of Qira'at | MindTrap with Mufti#26 (at 1:36:25)

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

Watch on YouTube at 1:36:25 · Open the segment

Was there ever a verse of stoning in the Quran, and does stoning still apply?

2020-06-19T00:00:00Z

Was there ever a verse of stoning in the Quran, and does stoning still apply?

The guest says Umar's 'verse of rajm' refers to the muharaba verse 5:33, from which exemplary punishment including stoning derives, and that it still applies to extreme crimes under strict conditions. Mufti Abu Layth holds that the Prophet only condoned stoning from Jewish practice until the lashing verse, and that under Maliki scholars like al-Burzuli the hudud change with the age.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Dr. Shehzad Saleem | the Preservation of the Quran & the Problem of Qira'at | MindTrap with Mufti#26 (at 1:31:11)

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

Watch on YouTube at 1:31:11 · Open the segment

If Allah promised to preserve the Quran, why are there variant readings at all?

2020-06-19T00:00:00Z

If Allah promised to preserve the Quran, why are there variant readings at all?

The guest says Allah preserved his part, the real Quran, and left people the discretion that produced the other readings, just as he allowed hadith to be misreported; the test is in seeking the truth through them. Mufti Abu Layth states his own view that the Quran we have is from an umbrella revelation that allowed variations.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Dr. Shehzad Saleem | the Preservation of the Quran & the Problem of Qira'at | MindTrap with Mufti#26 (at 1:27:17)

A more recent answer on belief/free-will-and-destiny exists (18 October 2025): If most people love praise and are punished, how is God the most merciful?

Watch on YouTube at 1:27:17 · Open the segment

Is the guest's approach to the Quran's history just confirmation bias?

2020-06-19T00:00:00Z

Is the guest's approach to the Quran's history just confirmation bias?

The guest says his questions came from the Muslim sources themselves, not from Western scholars, who have merely extracted the same data from Muslim books. Muslims must answer such questions rather than snub them, since the Quran is a book for all mankind.

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

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

Recording: Dr. Shehzad Saleem | the Preservation of the Quran & the Problem of Qira'at | MindTrap with Mufti#26 (at 1:24:40)

A more recent answer on society/dawah-and-debate-culture exists (18 October 2025): How should Muslims engage people with very different views of the religion?

Watch on YouTube at 1:24:40 · Open the segment

Where does the claim that the Quran is preserved to the very dot come from?

2020-06-19T00:00:00Z

Where does the claim that the Quran is preserved to the very dot come from?

Mufti Abu Layth says the slogan that the Quran is preserved to the very dot is not traditional but a creed cemented in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, when religious people entrenched themselves in fundamentalism against modernity and colonialism. Early Muslims were comfortable with a Quran that was preserved while allowing variation.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Dr. Shehzad Saleem | the Preservation of the Quran & the Problem of Qira'at | MindTrap with Mufti#26 (at 1:21:11)

A more recent answer on quran/preservation-and-qiraat exists (29 September 2024): Why is lanasfa'an in Quran 96:15 written with an alif, and is it a mistake?

Watch on YouTube at 1:21:11 · Open the segment

Isn't it too convenient that the one preserved reading is exactly the Hafs Quran we have?

2020-06-19T00:00:00Z

Isn't it too convenient that the one preserved reading is exactly the Hafs Quran we have?

Mufti Abu Layth states his own view that the Quran was always dynamic and allowed some flexibility of wording, as Imam Malik and al-Shafi'i held companions could substitute words. The guest answers the convenience objection by saying the reasoning, not the result, should be judged, and that later scholars missed the verses of al-Qiyamah because of a flawed report from Ibn Abbas and a hadith-centric mindset.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Dr. Shehzad Saleem | the Preservation of the Quran & the Problem of Qira'at | MindTrap with Mufti#26 (at 1:15:59)

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 1:18:35 · Open the segment

Do the early manuscripts with different words undermine the preservation of the Quran?

2020-06-19T00:00:00Z

Do the early manuscripts with different words undermine the preservation of the Quran?

The guest says such manuscripts were bound to exist once people wrote down the readings, and that a reading needs correct Arabic and a chain to the Prophet, with ijtihad only in preference. Mufti Abu Layth adds that the harshest critics of the readings were Muslim grammarians of Basra such as al-Mazini, until later grammarians like Ibn Malik embraced them.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Dr. Shehzad Saleem | the Preservation of the Quran & the Problem of Qira'at | MindTrap with Mufti#26 (at 1:09:29)

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

Watch on YouTube at 1:10:45 · Open the segment

If Quraysh did not pronounce the hamza, why does the Hafs reading of the Quran?

2020-06-19T00:00:00Z

If Quraysh did not pronounce the hamza, why does the Hafs reading of the Quran?

The guest says dialect only changes pronunciation, not the word, and such variation was permitted, while the claim that Quraysh had no hamza is itself unproven. Mufti Abu Layth says he had concluded that the Quran came in a standardised formal Arabic that used the hamza.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Dr. Shehzad Saleem | the Preservation of the Quran & the Problem of Qira'at | MindTrap with Mufti#26 (at 1:02:58)

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

Watch on YouTube at 1:04:16 · Open the segment

Why did the reading of Hafs from Asim become the standard Quran?

2020-06-19T00:00:00Z

Why did the reading of Hafs from Asim become the standard Quran?

The guest relays Ghamidi's thesis that Hafs alone transmitted the common reading without adding his own choices, so his reading coincides with the original. The seven-ahruf hadith was taken as licence for the reciters' choices, and Ibn Mujahid's seven prevailed through his standing and state position.

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

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

Recording: Dr. Shehzad Saleem | the Preservation of the Quran & the Problem of Qira'at | MindTrap with Mufti#26 (at 57:45)

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

Watch on YouTube at 57:45 · Open the segment

How did the seven canonical readings of the Quran come about?

2020-06-19T00:00:00Z

How did the seven canonical readings of the Quran come about?

In the second and third centuries leading reciters were given the privilege of ikhtiyar, choosing one of the inherited variants for each verse by their own criteria, and Ibn Mujahid later popularised seven of them. Mufti Abu Layth says he agrees these readings are not mutawatir and not on the level of the common reading.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Dr. Shehzad Saleem | the Preservation of the Quran & the Problem of Qira'at | MindTrap with Mufti#26 (at 52:29)

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 53:49 · Open the segment

What was the qira'a al-'amma, and why does Morocco recite a different reading?

2020-06-19T00:00:00Z

What was the qira'a al-'amma, and why does Morocco recite a different reading?

The common reading of Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman, Ali and the companions, al-qira'a al-'amma, is the mushaf we have, while the other readings stayed in scholars' books; Morocco reads Nafi' only because a third-century ruler imposed it on account of Imam Malik's preference. Mufti Abu Layth adds that the early generations were more secure in their faith than later, institutionalised Islam.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Dr. Shehzad Saleem | the Preservation of the Quran & the Problem of Qira'at | MindTrap with Mufti#26 (at 47:15)

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

Watch on YouTube at 48:32 · Open the segment

Why did Muslim scholars record disagreements about the Quran's text rather than hide them?

2020-06-19T00:00:00Z

Why did Muslim scholars record disagreements about the Quran's text rather than hide them?

The guest says the scholars transmitted the variant reports out of sheer honesty, just as they preserved and marked scribal errors in the mushaf, and that variation was inevitable once the revealed sequence was rearranged. Mufti Abu Layth notes in passing that he agrees with Ghamidi that there is no second coming of Jesus.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Dr. Shehzad Saleem | the Preservation of the Quran & the Problem of Qira'at | MindTrap with Mufti#26 (at 41:59)

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

Watch on YouTube at 44:35 · Open the segment

Is the hadith that the Quran was revealed in seven ahruf authentic, and what does it mean?

2020-06-19T00:00:00Z

Is the hadith that the Quran was revealed in seven ahruf authentic, and what does it mean?

The guest says the seven-ahruf hadith is ambiguous, as al-Suyuti admitted, that its forty-odd interpretations are inconsistent and its versions unsoundly reported and contradictory, so they cancel each other out. He refrains from guessing what the Prophet originally said.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Dr. Shehzad Saleem | the Preservation of the Quran & the Problem of Qira'at | MindTrap with Mufti#26 (at 36:47)

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 38:06 · Open the segment

How did the earlier recitation and other readings get mixed up with the Quran?

2020-06-19T00:00:00Z

How did the earlier recitation and other readings get mixed up with the Quran?

The guest names four sources of the variant readings: remnants of the earlier revelatory sequence kept by the companions and later blurred with the Quran under al-Shafi'i's scholarly transmission, the mixing of similar passages, companions' explanatory synonyms taken as readings, and fabrication in the second and third centuries.

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

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

Recording: Dr. Shehzad Saleem | the Preservation of the Quran & the Problem of Qira'at | MindTrap with Mufti#26 (at 28:54)

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

Watch on YouTube at 28:54 · Open the segment

Where do the variant readings of the Quran come from?

2020-06-19T00:00:00Z

Where do the variant readings of the Quran come from?

The guest says the Quran was revealed chronologically and then recompiled in a new divine order, as 75:16-19 describes; remnants of the earlier recitation kept by the companions are the biggest source of the qira'at. The final order was fixed when the Prophet revised the Quran twice with Jibril in his last Ramadan.

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

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

Recording: Dr. Shehzad Saleem | the Preservation of the Quran & the Problem of Qira'at | MindTrap with Mufti#26 (at 24:57)

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

Watch on YouTube at 24:57 · Open the segment

Did the Prophet leave a written Quran, and what did the caliphs really do?

2020-06-19T00:00:00Z

Did the Prophet leave a written Quran, and what did the caliphs really do?

At the Prophet's death the Quran lived in the community's recitation, teaching and notes; he deliberately left no official codex. The caliphs merely spread copies, and the guest says the Bukhari narratives about their compilation are weak in chain and content.

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

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

Recording: Dr. Shehzad Saleem | the Preservation of the Quran & the Problem of Qira'at | MindTrap with Mufti#26 (at 21:00)

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

Watch on YouTube at 21:00 · Open the segment

How was the Quran preserved: by memory or in writing?

2020-06-19T00:00:00Z

How was the Quran preserved: by memory or in writing?

The Quran was preserved primarily by thousands of companions memorising it and passing it on generation to generation, which is what tawatur means; writing was secondary and always needed a hafiz's testimony.

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

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

Recording: Dr. Shehzad Saleem | the Preservation of the Quran & the Problem of Qira'at | MindTrap with Mufti#26 (at 17:05)

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 17:05 · Open the segment

Is the Quran preserved exactly as it was revealed?

2020-06-19T00:00:00Z

Is the Quran preserved exactly as it was revealed?

The guest says the Quran is preserved absolutely, dot for dot and in the revealed order, and that the other readings need a separate explanation; preservation in its original language is what distinguishes it from the Bible. His view develops Farahi's thesis as transmitted through Islahi and Ghamidi.

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

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

Recording: Dr. Shehzad Saleem | the Preservation of the Quran & the Problem of Qira'at | MindTrap with Mufti#26 (at 10:32)

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

Watch on YouTube at 13:10 · Open the segment

How did Dr Shehzad Saleem come to research the history of the Quran?

2020-06-19T00:00:00Z

How did Dr Shehzad Saleem come to research the history of the Quran?

Teaching the history of the Quran at Al-Mawrid in 1999, the guest was shocked by questions in the Muslim sources themselves: multiple extant readings, reports of a lost rajm verse, compilation by two witnesses, differing companion codices and the Shia account. His book is the result of the quest that followed.

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

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

Recording: Dr. Shehzad Saleem | the Preservation of the Quran & the Problem of Qira'at | MindTrap with Mufti#26 (at 2:56)

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

Watch on YouTube at 4:02 · Open the segment

What should Yasir Qadhi have said about the preservation of the Quran?

2020-06-17T00:00:00Z

What should Yasir Qadhi have said about the preservation of the Quran?

Mufti Abu Layth says the mistake was raising the problem in public without any answer: Qadhi should have given some answer, such as saying plainly that the Quran would come out the same as it is today. The fallout, he says, is Qadhi's own fault.

Answer from 17 June 2020 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: On Shaykh Yasir Qadhi "How not to do controversy!" | Mufti Abu Layth (at 10:24)

A more recent answer on society/dawah-and-debate-culture exists (18 October 2025): How should Muslims engage people with very different views of the religion?

Watch on YouTube at 10:24 · Open the segment

What did Yasir Qadhi say to Mohammed Hijab about the preservation of the Quran?

2020-06-17T00:00:00Z

What did Yasir Qadhi say to Mohammed Hijab about the preservation of the Quran?

In Mufti Abu Layth's account, Yasir Qadhi said there were 'huge problems' with the preservation of the Quran, discussed only the problem and not the answer, and pointed people to his paid course. Mufti himself says the standard narrative has holes and leaves pressing questions unanswered.

Answer from 17 June 2020 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: On Shaykh Yasir Qadhi "How not to do controversy!" | Mufti Abu Layth (at 0:00)

A more recent answer on quran/preservation-and-qiraat exists (29 September 2024): Why is lanasfa'an in Quran 96:15 written with an alif, and is it a mistake?

Watch on YouTube at 0:00 · Open the segment

Why the Quran could not be corrupted like hadith, and the fashion for chains

2019-09-28T00:00:00Z

Why the Quran could not be corrupted like hadith, and the fashion for chains

Corrupting the Quran was next to impossible because it was recited en masse everywhere; hadith, written down a century later, were easy to fabricate, and chains for the Quran came later as a fashion. Mufti Abu Layth says the Quran was never transmitted through a sole transmitter but taught en masse, so problematising hadith does not problematise the Quran.

Answer from 28 September 2019 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Does criticising Hadith transmission mean criticising the Quran tranmssion? | Mufti Abu Layth (at 12:47)

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 12:47 · Open the segment

If some hadith are unreliable, doesn't that make the Quran unreliable too?

2019-09-28T00:00:00Z

If some hadith are unreliable, doesn't that make the Quran unreliable too?

No: the Quran was passed on en masse as a recited living tradition, so doubts about particular hadith chains do not carry over to it. Mufti Abu Layth says those who argue that weakening hadith weakens the Quran have not truly understood how the Quran was transmitted.

Answer from 28 September 2019 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Does criticising Hadith transmission mean criticising the Quran tranmssion? | Mufti Abu Layth (at 0:01)

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 1:58 · Open the segment

If God knew earlier scriptures would change, why not send the Quran first?

2019-09-14T00:00:00Z

If God knew earlier scriptures would change, why not send the Quran first?

The earlier prophets were sent only to the Israelites and their books were never meant to be preserved word for word, so the question rests on a misunderstanding. Mufti Abu Layth says that, as far as Muslims are concerned, Jesus came only for the Israelites and not for mankind.

Answer from 14 September 2019 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Is the Quran corrupted? | Mufti Abu Layth (at 11:21)

A more recent answer on belief/prophethood-and-miracles exists (18 October 2025): Can the Quran be used to call the Prophet the best of creation?

Watch on YouTube at 11:21 · Open the segment

How do I answer Christians who say the Quran could be corrupted like the Bible?

2019-09-14T00:00:00Z

How do I answer Christians who say the Quran could be corrupted like the Bible?

Earlier revelation was not like the Quran: the Quran is a recitation meant to be preserved word for word, while the Torah was a message and laws and the Injil was the good news Jesus preached. Mufti Abu Layth says Muslims wrongly assume that earlier revelation was like the revelation they have, the Quran.

Answer from 14 September 2019 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Is the Quran corrupted? | Mufti Abu Layth (at 0:01)

A more recent answer on quran/preservation-and-qiraat exists (29 September 2024): Why is lanasfa'an in Quran 96:15 written with an alif, and is it a mistake?

Watch on YouTube at 0:39 · Open the segment

Does the Sana'a manuscript support or undermine the Muslim account of the Quran's history?

2019-03-01T00:00:00Z

Does the Sana'a manuscript support or undermine the Muslim account of the Quran's history?

The Sana'a find confirms the traditional account: a first-century Quran, companions who sometimes erred as the hadith say, and Uthman's standardisation of one reading. The largest discrepancy is a dropped word that exists elsewhere in the Quran. Mufti Abu Layth says the Sana'a find confirms the traditional account of the Quran's history, a first-century text, companions who sometimes misread, and Uthman's standardisation of one reading, and so vindicates the transparency of the Muslim tradition.

Answer from 1 March 2019 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: In Depth: The Sanaʽa Manuscript -Mufti Abu Layth (at 32:35)

A more recent answer on quran/preservation-and-qiraat exists (29 September 2024): Why is lanasfa'an in Quran 96:15 written with an alif, and is it a mistake?

Watch on YouTube at 32:35 · Open the segment

Does the Sana'a manuscript prove the Quran evolved over time?

2019-03-01T00:00:00Z

Does the Sana'a manuscript prove the Quran evolved over time?

The discrepancies in the Sana'a text are petty changes of pronouns and dropped words that serve no purpose, so they cannot be a deliberate evolution of the Quran, which nobody would have risked his life for. They are most likely a writer's mistaken notes. Mufti Abu Layth holds that the Sana'a discrepancies cannot be a deliberate evolution of the Quran, because they change nothing of substance and no one would have risked his life for such petty alterations.

Answer from 1 March 2019 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: In Depth: The Sanaʽa Manuscript -Mufti Abu Layth (at 28:39)

A more recent answer on quran/preservation-and-qiraat exists (29 September 2024): Why is lanasfa'an in Quran 96:15 written with an alif, and is it a mistake?

Watch on YouTube at 28:39 · Open the segment

How did Uthman standardise the Quran, and does that explain the Sana'a text?

2019-03-01T00:00:00Z

How did Uthman standardise the Quran, and does that explain the Sana'a text?

Uthman locked in one reading in an undotted script that still allowed the known variant readings, so the lower text is either a person's mistaken note or, less likely, a reading not locked in at that time. Mufti Abu Layth prefers the first, as simple human error from memory. Mufti Abu Layth says Uthman standardised a single reading whose undotted script still allowed the variant readings, and that the Sana'a lower text is either a mistaken personal reading, which he thinks more likely, or a reading from the Prophet's time that was not locked in.

Answer from 1 March 2019 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: In Depth: The Sanaʽa Manuscript -Mufti Abu Layth (at 24:43)

A more recent answer on quran/preservation-and-qiraat exists (29 September 2024): Why is lanasfa'an in Quran 96:15 written with an alif, and is it a mistake?

Watch on YouTube at 24:43 · Open the segment

What are the differences between the Sana'a lower text and today's Quran?

2019-03-01T00:00:00Z

What are the differences between the Sana'a lower text and today's Quran?

The lower text differs from today's Quran in twenty to thirty mostly small ways, such as a missing word or a changed pronoun. Mufti Abu Layth's assessment is that it is one person's, possibly a companion's, personal notes written from a mistaken or personal reading. Mufti Abu Layth holds that the lower text of the Sana'a palimpsest is most likely someone's personal notes, possibly a companion's, written from his own and probably mistaken reading, rather than an alternative Quran.

Answer from 1 March 2019 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: In Depth: The Sanaʽa Manuscript -Mufti Abu Layth (at 22:07)

A more recent answer on quran/preservation-and-qiraat exists (29 September 2024): Why is lanasfa'an in Quran 96:15 written with an alif, and is it a mistake?

Watch on YouTube at 22:07 · Open the segment

Was the Sana'a palimpsest an official copy of the Quran or someone's personal notes?

2019-03-01T00:00:00Z

Was the Sana'a palimpsest an official copy of the Quran or someone's personal notes?

The lower text contains notes such as 'do not say bismillah here' before Surat al-Tawba, which shows it was someone's personal script, as Asma Hilali argues, and not a standard copy sent out to communities. Mufti Abu Layth finds no evidence for the Puins' view that it was official. Mufti Abu Layth holds that the lower text of the Sana'a palimpsest is somebody's personal script with his own notes, not a standard manuscript, and that there is no evidence for the view that it was an official copy.

Answer from 1 March 2019 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: In Depth: The Sanaʽa Manuscript -Mufti Abu Layth (at 19:34)

A more recent answer on quran/preservation-and-qiraat exists (29 September 2024): Why is lanasfa'an in Quran 96:15 written with an alif, and is it a mistake?

Watch on YouTube at 19:34 · Open the segment

Why might an early Arab have written a Quranic word differently?

2019-03-01T00:00:00Z

Why might an early Arab have written a Quranic word differently?

The companions spoke classical Arabic as their everyday language, so substituting a word from memory was far easier for them than for later Muslims who memorise Quranic Arabic as a separate language. Tribal pronunciation differences were known and are not the issue; the general transmission is.

Answer from 1 March 2019 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: In Depth: The Sanaʽa Manuscript -Mufti Abu Layth (at 16:56)

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

Watch on YouTube at 16:56 · Open the segment

Did the companions ever read or understand the Quran differently from each other?

2019-03-01T00:00:00Z

Did the companions ever read or understand the Quran differently from each other?

Muslims already accept that the Quran was revealed with fluidity: the Prophet approved different recitations, and the tradition openly records companions such as Ibn Mas'ud holding mistaken views about what was part of the Quran and pronouncing letters by their tribal dialect. None of this is a shock to Muslims. Mufti Abu Layth says the tradition itself records that the Prophet approved different recitations and that companions such as Ibn Mas'ud sometimes held mistaken views about what belonged to the Quran, so variant readings in an early manuscript are nothing new to Muslims.

Answer from 1 March 2019 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: In Depth: The Sanaʽa Manuscript -Mufti Abu Layth (at 13:02)

A more recent answer on quran/preservation-and-qiraat exists (29 September 2024): Why is lanasfa'an in Quran 96:15 written with an alif, and is it a mistake?

Watch on YouTube at 13:02 · Open the segment

Does the Sana'a manuscript show that the Quran was changed?

2019-03-01T00:00:00Z

Does the Sana'a manuscript show that the Quran was changed?

The Sana'a manuscript and others such as the Birmingham manuscript date to the first century of Islam, when the Quran was the one text Muslims documented and taught everywhere. The Quran was too widespread and too distinctive in style to corrupt profitably, which is why fabrication targeted hadith instead. Mufti Abu Layth holds that the Sana'a find does not show an evolving Quran: the manuscript dates to the first century like others, the Quran was the one text documented and taught everywhere from the start, and it was too widespread and too distinctive in style to corrupt, so fabrication targeted hadith instead.

Answer from 1 March 2019 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: In Depth: The Sanaʽa Manuscript -Mufti Abu Layth (at 7:47)

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 7:47 · Open the segment

Who has studied the Sana'a palimpsest and what is the controversy about?

2019-03-01T00:00:00Z

Who has studied the Sana'a palimpsest and what is the controversy about?

The Sana'a manuscript is a palimpsest studied by the Puins, Asma Hilali, Sadeghi and Goudarzi, and people online have used it to claim that the Quran Muslims have is not the original. Mufti Abu Layth sets out to answer that claim.

Answer from 1 March 2019 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: In Depth: The Sanaʽa Manuscript -Mufti Abu Layth (at 5:10)

A more recent answer on quran/preservation-and-qiraat exists (29 September 2024): Why is lanasfa'an in Quran 96:15 written with an alif, and is it a mistake?

Watch on YouTube at 5:10 · Open the segment

Why does the Sana'a manuscript have two layers of text?

2019-03-01T00:00:00Z

Why does the Sana'a manuscript have two layers of text?

The Sana'a parchment is a reused sheet: an earlier Quranic text was wiped and written over, as was common before paper, and modern imaging has recovered the lower text. That lower text differs in some ways from the Quran as read today.

Answer from 1 March 2019 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: In Depth: The Sanaʽa Manuscript -Mufti Abu Layth (at 2:36)

A more recent answer on quran/preservation-and-qiraat exists (29 September 2024): Why is lanasfa'an in Quran 96:15 written with an alif, and is it a mistake?

Watch on YouTube at 2:36 · Open the segment

What are the Sana'a manuscripts and how were they discovered?

2019-03-01T00:00:00Z

What are the Sana'a manuscripts and how were they discovered?

The Sana'a manuscripts are parchment pages of the Quran, including much of Surat al-Tawba, found in the 1970s in the loft of a mosque dome in Sana'a, where old sacred texts had been stored and forgotten. Storing texts this way was a common practice.

Answer from 1 March 2019 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: In Depth: The Sanaʽa Manuscript -Mufti Abu Layth (at 0:00)

A more recent answer on quran/preservation-and-qiraat exists (29 September 2024): Why is lanasfa'an in Quran 96:15 written with an alif, and is it a mistake?

Watch on YouTube at 0:00 · Open the segment

What did Yasir Qadhi write in the leaked emails about the Quran's preservation and the theological schools?

2018-10-20T00:00:00Z

What did Yasir Qadhi write in the leaked emails about the Quran's preservation and the theological schools?

In emails leaked by Dawah Man, Qadhi wrote that the letter-for-letter account of the Quran's preservation cannot stand and proposed discarding the theological schools to rethink kalam from scratch. Mufti Abu Layth reads this as a radical reinterpretation from the man now condemning them.

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

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

Recording: A Reply to Sheikh Yasir Qadhi - Mufti Abu Layth (at 24:51)

A more recent answer on quran/preservation-and-qiraat exists (29 September 2024): Why is lanasfa'an in Quran 96:15 written with an alif, and is it a mistake?

Watch on YouTube at 24:51 · Open the segment

Does Sahih al-Bukhari say the Prophet forgot verses of the Quran and that there was a verse of stoning?

2018-09-01T00:00:00Z

Does Sahih al-Bukhari say the Prophet forgot verses of the Quran and that there was a verse of stoning?

Two Bukhari reports have the Prophet forgetting a verse of the Quran and Umar speaking of a verse of stoning that they used to recite. Mufti Abu Layth says there is no such verse, that this disrespects Umar and the Prophet, and that it implies the Quran has changed. Mufti Abu Layth says the Bukhari report in which Umar speaks of a verse of stoning that was revealed and recited is disrespectful to Umar and to the Quran, since there is no verse of stoning in the Quran and the report amounts to saying the Quran has changed, and he highlights another Bukhari report in which the Prophet forgets a verse.

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 5:10)

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 5:10 · Open the segment

Does 'before his death' in Quran 4:159 refer to the return of Jesus?

2018-03-15T00:00:00Z

Does 'before his death' in Quran 4:159 refer to the return of Jesus?

No: Mufti Abu Layth says early authorities including Ibn Abbas, Mujahid and al-Dahhak read the pronoun as the Christian who realises the truth at death, and Ubayy ibn Ka'b's recitation has 'before their death'. Referring it to Jesus's return would exclude every Christian who died over two thousand years. Mufti Abu Layth holds that 'before his death' in 4:159 refers to the death of each Christian, not to Jesus, following Ibn Abbas, Mujahid and al-Dahhak and the plural reading of Ubayy ibn Ka'b, and that the second-coming reading makes no sense of the Christians who have already died.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: A response to Shadee Elmasry - Mufti Abu Layth al-Maliki (at 7:51)

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

Watch on YouTube at 7:51 · Open the segment