Mufti Abu Layth Archive: quran/stories-of-the-prophets/moses

What do you think of the rational readings of the Quran on the Marvelous Quran channel?

Sat, 19 Feb 2022 00:00:00 +0000

What do you think of the rational readings of the Quran on the Marvelous Quran channel?

Mufti Abu Layth welcomes his fresh, reason-based approach to the Quran but does not agree with some readings he understood from him, such as Zakariya being the father of Jesus. Mufti Abu Layth says he personally does not agree with the view, if he has understood it correctly, that Zakariya married Mary and was the father of Jesus.

Answer from 19 February 2022 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: What Are You Thoughts About The Channel Marvelous Quran? | Mufti Abu Layth (at 0:00)

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

Watch on YouTube at 0:00 · Open the segment

Are there answers to the hardest ethical questions about stories in the Quran?

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

Are there answers to the hardest ethical questions about stories in the Quran?

Mufti Abu Layth says he has answered every hard question on his 2016 list, such as the killing of the boy in Moses' story, by research true to the text, and others can build on it.

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 40:01)

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 40:01 · Open the segment

Was the murdered man in the story of the cow brought back to life?

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

Was the murdered man in the story of the cow brought back to life?

The verse of the heifer does not say the dead man was revived; like 'in retaliation there is life', it refers to lives saved when a ritual of justice averted tribal war.

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 3:33:04)

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 3:33:04 · Open the segment

Did the parting of the sea have a natural explanation?

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

Did the parting of the sea have a natural explanation?

God acts through the laws of nature, so the parting of the sea can have a natural explanation such as a strong wind, and Moses exposed the magicians' tricks rather than outdoing them with magic.

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 3:26:41)

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 3:26:41 · Open the segment

Was the Prophet Moses actually the pharaoh Akhenaten?

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

Was the Prophet Moses actually the pharaoh Akhenaten?

Mufti Abu Layth leans towards the theory that Moses was Akhenaten but says his research is ongoing and it is not established; he notes that the Levites bore Egyptian names. Mufti Abu Layth says he is inclined towards the theory that Moses was Akhenaten, though his research is still ongoing and he cannot say it as a fact.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Monday Nights with Mufti #204 | Q&A Unscripted & Unrestricted! 😉 | Mufti Abu Layth (at 37:14)

A more recent answer on quran/stories-of-the-prophets/moses exists (19 February 2022): What do you think of the rational readings of the Quran on the Marvelous Quran channel?

Watch on YouTube at 37:14 · Open the segment

Is Prophet Shu'ayb the same as Jethro in the Bible?

Tue, 26 Jan 2021 00:00:00 +0000

Is Prophet Shu'ayb the same as Jethro in the Bible?

At face value they seem to be the same person, since Moses goes to the priest of Midian in both accounts, but he says he has not researched it.

Answer from 26 January 2021 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Monday Nights with Mufti #199 | Q&A Unscripted & Unrestricted! 😉 | Mufti Abu Layth (at 45:11)

A more recent answer on quran/stories-of-the-prophets/moses exists (19 February 2022): What do you think of the rational readings of the Quran on the Marvelous Quran channel?

Watch on YouTube at 45:11 · Open the segment

Why did Moses have to strike the sea with his staff for it to part?

Tue, 19 Jan 2021 00:00:00 +0000

Why did Moses have to strike the sea with his staff for it to part?

The sea did not part instantly but over a long while, Mufti Abu Layth says; striking it showed the Israelites the way would be through it. Mufti Abu Layth says the sea did not just part; it took a long while.

Answer from 19 January 2021 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Monday Nights with Mufti #198 | Q&A Unscripted & Unrestricted! 😉 | Mufti Abu Layth (at 2:43:20)

A more recent answer on quran/stories-of-the-prophets/moses exists (19 February 2022): What do you think of the rational readings of the Quran on the Marvelous Quran channel?

Watch on YouTube at 2:43:20 · Open the segment

What is the Ark of the Covenant in Islam?

Tue, 19 Jan 2021 00:00:00 +0000

What is the Ark of the Covenant in Islam?

The Quran mentions the Ark (tabut) without saying what was in it, Mufti Abu Layth says; one early Maliki linguist described the sakinah in a way that resembles the cherubim. Mufti Abu Layth says the Quran briefly mentions the Ark of the Covenant but it is not clear what the things in it were.

Answer from 19 January 2021 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Monday Nights with Mufti #198 | Q&A Unscripted & Unrestricted! 😉 | Mufti Abu Layth (at 1:06:12)

A more recent answer on quran/stories-of-the-prophets/moses exists (19 February 2022): What do you think of the rational readings of the Quran on the Marvelous Quran channel?

Watch on YouTube at 1:06:12 · Open the segment

Does God's morality change over time?

Fri, 11 Dec 2020 00:00:00 +0000

Does God's morality change over time?

The guest says universal morality does not change, only ritual law: the Quran corrects the biblical conquest narrative by implying the Israelites inherited Egypt rather than slaughtering another people.

Answer from 11 December 2020 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

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

Recording: Dr Javad T. Hashmi | Axis of Morality & Archetypal Myths in the Quran | MindTrap 46 |Mufti Abu Layth (at 47:41)

A more recent answer on quran/stories-of-the-prophets/moses exists (19 February 2022): What do you think of the rational readings of the Quran on the Marvelous Quran channel?

Watch on YouTube at 47:41 · Open the segment

Why were the Israelites told to sacrifice a heifer, and what does it teach about religious detail?

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

Why were the Israelites told to sacrifice a heifer, and what does it teach about religious detail?

The heifer was commanded to break the Israelites' lingering reverence for their Egyptian masters' cow worship, and the rabbis' frivolous questions about it exemplify the clerical obsession with detail. Mufti Abu Layth agrees and recalls arguing the same.

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 2:36:06)

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 2:36:06 · Open the segment

Does the Quran say the Israelites were slaves in Egypt?

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

Does the Quran say the Israelites were slaves in Egypt?

A chat question cites 26:22, where Moses says Pharaoh enslaved the Israelites; Mufti Abu Layth says historians describe them as outcast second-class citizens rather than slaves but grants the verse deserves a closer look.

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 2:24:24)

A more recent answer on quran/stories-of-the-prophets/moses exists (19 February 2022): What do you think of the rational readings of the Quran on the Marvelous Quran channel?

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

Why did Moses carry a staff?

Sun, 29 Dec 2019 00:00:00 +0000

Why did Moses carry a staff?

Mufti Abu Layth says Moses' staff partly reflects the Pharaonic culture he grew up in, and that keeping cultural practices is fine without affiliating with paganism. Mufti Abu Layth says he thinks part of Moses' staff was the culture of the Pharaohs he grew up in, where the pine-cone staff symbolised Osiris.

Answer from 29 December 2019 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Who is Uzair in the Quran? Ezra or Osiris? | Mufti Abu Layth (at 14:29)

A more recent answer on quran/tafsir/contested-verses exists (19 August 2022): Is Quran 22:52 about the satanic verses incident?

Watch on YouTube at 14:29 · Open the segment

Why did the Israelites ask Moses for an idol after leaving Egypt?

Sun, 29 Dec 2019 00:00:00 +0000

Why did the Israelites ask Moses for an idol after leaving Egypt?

Mufti Abu Layth says the Israelites' request for an idol in 7:138 shows the Egyptian culture they carried, which explains them calling Osiris a son of God. Mufti Abu Layth says the Israelites emerging from Egypt carried a huge cultural baggage.

Answer from 29 December 2019 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Who is Uzair in the Quran? Ezra or Osiris? | Mufti Abu Layth (at 11:26)

A more recent answer on quran/tafsir/contested-verses exists (19 August 2022): Is Quran 22:52 about the satanic verses incident?

Watch on YouTube at 11:26 · Open the segment

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

Sat, 14 Sep 2019 00:00:00 +0000

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

Is al-Khidr a real person who is still alive?

Mon, 14 Jan 2019 00:00:00 +0000

Is al-Khidr a real person who is still alive?

No: he reads al-Khidr as part of a vision shown to Musa, whose three events mirrored Musa's own life and mission. The boy was not really killed, and al-Khidr does not roam the earth. Mufti Abu Layth says al-Khidr was part of Musa's vision and not actually a real person who roams among us.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Who Was Khidr (a.s.)? -Mufti Abu Layth (at 22:48)

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 22:48 · Open the segment

Was the story of Musa and al-Khidr a dream?

Mon, 14 Jan 2019 00:00:00 +0000

Was the story of Musa and al-Khidr a dream?

Mufti Abu Layth reads everything after Musa and his companion fell asleep at the rock as a vision, which explains its strange details. Scholars who read it literally struggled to explain them. Mufti Abu Layth says that he feels earlier scholars overlooked that everything after Musa and his companion fell asleep at the rock happened in a vision.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Who Was Khidr (a.s.)? -Mufti Abu Layth (at 8:22)

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 8:22 · Open the segment

What happened between Musa and al-Khidr in Surat al-Kahf?

Mon, 14 Jan 2019 00:00:00 +0000

What happened between Musa and al-Khidr in Surat al-Kahf?

Musa and his companion travel to the meeting of two seas, meet a servant of Allah who damages a ship, kills a boy and repairs a wall, and is rebuked by Musa each time. Al-Bukhari's hadith adds the detail that Musa had claimed to be the most knowledgeable of people.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Who Was Khidr (a.s.)? -Mufti Abu Layth (at 2:35)

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 2:35 · Open the segment

Why did Khidr kill the boy in Surah al-Kahf?

Mon, 24 Dec 2018 00:00:00 +0000

Why did Khidr kill the boy in Surah al-Kahf?

Mufti Abu Layth reads the ship, the boy and the wall as a vision mirroring Musa's mission; no child was really killed, since God would never allow that. Mufti Abu Layth says the boy was not killed in reality, since God would never allow anybody to murder a child.

Answer from 24 December 2018 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: The Story Explained: Did Musa & Khidr (a.s.) Kill a Child? -Mufti Abu Layth (at 11:22)

A more recent answer on quran/stories-of-the-prophets/moses exists (19 February 2022): What do you think of the rational readings of the Quran on the Marvelous Quran channel?

Watch on YouTube at 11:22 · Open the segment

Did the journey of Musa and Khidr really happen, or was it a vision?

Mon, 24 Dec 2018 00:00:00 +0000

Did the journey of Musa and Khidr really happen, or was it a vision?

Mufti Abu Layth holds that everything after Musa and Joshua slept at the rock happened in a vision, which explains the story's strange shifts. Mufti Abu Layth says that he feels earlier scholars overlooked that everything after Musa and his companion fell asleep at the rock happened in a vision.

Answer from 24 December 2018 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: The Story Explained: Did Musa & Khidr (a.s.) Kill a Child? -Mufti Abu Layth (at 5:31)

A more recent answer on quran/tafsir/contested-verses exists (19 August 2022): Is Quran 22:52 about the satanic verses incident?

Watch on YouTube at 5:31 · Open the segment

The story of Musa and the servant of Allah in Surah al-Kahf and al-Bukhari

Mon, 24 Dec 2018 00:00:00 +0000

The story of Musa and the servant of Allah in Surah al-Kahf and al-Bukhari

Mufti Abu Layth outlines the story of Musa and the servant of Allah from Surah al-Kahf 18:60 onwards and its fuller telling in al-Bukhari's hadith 4725.

Answer from 24 December 2018 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: The Story Explained: Did Musa & Khidr (a.s.) Kill a Child? -Mufti Abu Layth (at 0:01)

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 0:01 · Open the segment

Did Musa beat Pharaoh's magicians with stronger magic?

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

Did Musa beat Pharaoh's magicians with stronger magic?

No: Mufti Abu Layth prefers the reading that Musa's staff exposed the magicians' trickery, since out-doing their magic would only teach that might is right. Mufti Abu Layth says that Musa exposing the magicians' trickery, rather than outperforming their magic, sits better with his understanding.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Did the Staff of Moses (AS) really turn into a snake? - Mufti Abu Layth al-Maliki (at 6:16)

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 6:16 · Open the segment

Did Musa's staff really turn into a snake?

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

Did Musa's staff really turn into a snake?

No: Mufti Abu Layth holds the staff was described as moving as though it were a snake, while the magicians' sticks moved by a chemical trick. Mufti Abu Layth says that in his understanding the staff of Musa was not an actual snake but was described as though it were one.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Did the Staff of Moses (AS) really turn into a snake? - Mufti Abu Layth al-Maliki (at 0:01)

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 0:01 · Open the segment

Magic in the Quran: Musa and Pharaoh's magicians, an illusion

Sun, 15 Apr 2018 00:00:00 +0000

Magic in the Quran: Musa and Pharaoh's magicians, an illusion

In the Quran the magic of Pharaoh's magicians was only an illusion; Musa's fear was a natural human reaction, not proof that the magic was real. Mufti Abu Layth says the claim of any fantasy magic is absolutely absurd.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Magic: Myth and Reality in Islam by Mufti Abu Layth (at 10:13)

A more recent answer on quran/stories-of-the-prophets/moses exists (19 February 2022): What do you think of the rational readings of the Quran on the Marvelous Quran channel?

Watch on YouTube at 10:13 · Open the segment