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

What was the real crime of the people of Lut?

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

What was the real crime of the people of Lut?

Mufti Abu Layth says the people of Lut were destroyed for rejecting God, as in every prophet's story, with their other behaviour secondary. Mufti Abu Layth says the crime for which the people of Lut, like the other peoples in the stories of the prophets, were destroyed was their rejection of God, other behaviours mentioned being secondary signs of arrogance.

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 2:42:28)

A more recent answer on relationships/sexuality-and-orientation exists (22 February 2023): Is it okay for adults or children to change gender?

Watch on YouTube at 2:42:28 · Open the segment

Was Solomon's hudhud really a bird?

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

Was Solomon's hudhud really a bird?

The hudhud is addressed in Arabic forms used only for humans, so Mufti Abu Layth reads it as a person, perhaps an agent of Solomon's intelligence service, and he rejects a reading that makes a prophet steal a throne.

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 3:36:01)

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 3:36:01 · Open the segment

Did Abraham really cut up birds that came back to life?

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

Did Abraham really cut up birds that came back to life?

In the verse of Abraham and the birds he reads a symbol: birds nurtured by Abraham come to him from afar, a sign of the soul's affinity to God, rather than birds cut up and revived.

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 3:19:16)

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 3:19:16 · Open the segment

Did Noah really live 950 years?

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

Did Noah really live 950 years?

Noah's 950 years refers to an ancient counting system like those of the Sumerian king lists, signalled by the verse's unusual wording, not to ordinary years; he never said the Quran copied an error from the Bible.

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 3:14:46)

A more recent answer on history/ancient-near-east-and-scripture exists (15 May 2021): Is there archaeological evidence for David's kingdom, and how did Jerusalem become holy for Muslims?

Watch on YouTube at 3:15:33 · Open the segment

Why does the Quran focus so much on the Israelites?

Tue, 16 Feb 2021 00:00:00 +0000

Why does the Quran focus so much on the Israelites?

Most peoples had prophets, he says; the Israelites are highlighted because in the Prophet's Arabia they were seen as the scholars of the people of scripture. Mufti Abu Layth says the Israelites are highlighted in the Quran because around the Prophet's time in Arabia they were seen as the academics of the people of scripture.

Answer from 16 February 2021 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Monday Nights with Mufti #202| Q&A Unscripted & Unrestricted! 😉 | Mufti Abu Layth (at 1:21:32)

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 1:21:32 · Open the segment

Can I say Prophet Yusuf was more handsome than Prophet Muhammad?

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

Can I say Prophet Yusuf was more handsome than Prophet Muhammad?

Praising Yusuf's beauty takes nothing from the Prophet Muhammad, Mufti Abu Layth says; the prophets are not in a competition. Mufti Abu Layth says the prophets are not in a competition, so saying Yusuf was especially handsome does not require insisting the Prophet Muhammad was more handsome.

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 2:34:28)

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 2:35:33 · Open the segment

A preacher's 'discoveries': Gog and Magog in Kyrgyzstan and Noah's ark at al-Judi

Tue, 12 Jan 2021 00:00:00 +0000

A preacher's 'discoveries': Gog and Magog in Kyrgyzstan and Noah's ark at al-Judi

Mockery of a preacher's claims to have located Gog and Magog in Kyrgyzstan and Noah's ark in Turkey.

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

Recording: Monday Nights with Mufti #197 | Q&A Unscripted & Unrestricted! 😉 | Mufti Abu Layth (at 3:02:00)

A more recent answer on quran/stories-of-the-prophets exists (13 April 2021): What was the real crime of the people of Lut?

Watch on YouTube at 3:02:00 · Open the segment

Why does the Quran give so little detail about some prophets?

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

Why does the Quran give so little detail about some prophets?

The guest says the brief, repeated stories are archetypes recalled to console the Prophet, which audiences already knew; Mufti Abu Layth argues that following an archetype does not show a story was invented.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Dr Javad T. Hashmi | Axis of Morality & Archetypal Myths in the Quran | MindTrap 46 |Mufti Abu Layth (at 2:25:43)

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 2:25:43 · Open the segment

Why does the Quran tell the same story in different ways?

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

Why does the Quran tell the same story in different ways?

The guest says the Quran's stories are set in sacred, not historical, time and follow archetypes that speak to the Prophet's own circumstances, which is why the same story, such as Lot's or the golden calf, is told differently.

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 1:20:23)

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 1:20:23 · Open the segment

Does the Quran speak in symbols and metaphors?

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

Does the Quran speak in symbols and metaphors?

Mufti Abu Layth agrees with Ibn Rushd that the Quran speaks in symbols and that scripture is a kind of art, but asks whether the guest thinks the prophets and their stories are fictitious.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Dr Javad T. Hashmi | Axis of Morality & Archetypal Myths in the Quran | MindTrap 46 |Mufti Abu Layth (at 1:13:07)

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 1:13:07 · Open the segment

Are the stories in the Quran meant to be literal history?

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

Are the stories in the Quran meant to be literal history?

The guest argues, following Khalafallah and Ibn Rushd, that the Quran's stories are sacred literature and legend, using symbol and parable for theological ends rather than reporting literal history.

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 1:02:23)

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 1:02:23 · Open the segment

Does Surah Yusuf prove the evil eye is real?

Sun, 15 Nov 2020 00:00:00 +0000

Does Surah Yusuf prove the evil eye is real?

No: Jacob told his sons to use different gates for their safety and to avoid drawing attention, not because of the evil eye. They had already been to Egypt, so the evil eye reading makes no sense. Mufti Abu Layth says Jacob told his sons to split up at the gates to look out for them, not because of the evil eye, which makes no sense since they had already been to Egypt.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: There is NO evil eye in Islam (Detailed Overview) | Mufti Abu Layth (at 44:28)

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 44:28 · Open the segment

If God never commanded the sacrifice, why do the early sources all say he did?

Wed, 28 Oct 2020 00:00:00 +0000

If God never commanded the sacrifice, why do the early sources all say he did?

Mufti Abu Layth agrees that no primary sources support his reading and explains it by early Muslims absorbing Israelite material, by the brutal environment of the age being projected onto God, and by the absence of anything from the Prophet saying God commanded it. He repeats that a God who stages a mock execution of a child is unacceptable, and that Allah never says the command was his. Mufti Abu Layth holds that the absence of early sources for his reading is explained by early Muslims absorbing Israelite narratives and projecting a brutal environment onto God, that nothing established from the Prophet says God commanded the sacrifice, and that Allah's silence on the command's origin ends the debate.

Answer from 28 October 2020 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: "God did NOT ask Abraham to sacrifice his son" | Mufti Abu Layth (at 25:03)

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 26:22 · Open the segment

Are Muslims who believe God commanded the sacrifice guilty of blasphemy?

Wed, 28 Oct 2020 00:00:00 +0000

Are Muslims who believe God commanded the sacrifice guilty of blasphemy?

No: Mufti Abu Layth does not accuse individual Muslims of blasphemy, because they repeat a story they were raised with and have not examined it. He distinguishes this from agenda-driven claims about the Prophet, and ridicules the defence that God only asked Ibrahim to assist his son's suicide. Mufti Abu Layth says that he does not accuse individual Muslims who hold the belief of blasphemy, since they repeat an inherited story without having thought about it.

Answer from 28 October 2020 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: "God did NOT ask Abraham to sacrifice his son" | Mufti Abu Layth (at 23:45)

A more recent answer on belief/sectarianism-and-takfir exists (22 February 2023): Should Sunnis preach to Shia Muslims about what they get wrong?

Watch on YouTube at 23:45 · Open the segment

Did the classical scholars ever question whether God would command Ibrahim to kill his son?

Wed, 28 Oct 2020 00:00:00 +0000

Did the classical scholars ever question whether God would command Ibrahim to kill his son?

Mufti Abu Layth says earlier scholars debated the side issues, such as rulings coming through dreams or abrogation before an act, but none asked whether God would want a father to kill his son. He satirises the discussions as all grammar and no elephant in the room. Mufti Abu Layth says the scholars of the past discussed every subsidiary question of the sacrifice story without ever asking whether God would want a father to kill his son.

Answer from 28 October 2020 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: "God did NOT ask Abraham to sacrifice his son" | Mufti Abu Layth (at 21:09)

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 21:09 · Open the segment

Is it wrong to believe that God asked Ibrahim to kill his son?

Wed, 28 Oct 2020 00:00:00 +0000

Is it wrong to believe that God asked Ibrahim to kill his son?

Mufti Abu Layth says the belief is absurd and, on inspection, blasphemous, because it has God asking a father to murder his child for his pleasure and then stopping him, like a mock execution. The Quran never says God told Ibrahim to sacrifice, though it could have. Mufti Abu Layth says the belief that God commanded Ibrahim to kill his son is absurd, sadistic and, upon true inspection, blasphemous, since the Quran never says God gave the command though it could have.

Answer from 28 October 2020 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: "God did NOT ask Abraham to sacrifice his son" | Mufti Abu Layth (at 14:34)

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 14:34 · Open the segment

Why did most commentators say God commanded the sacrifice?

Wed, 28 Oct 2020 00:00:00 +0000

Why did most commentators say God commanded the sacrifice?

Ibn Abbas is reported to have read Ibrahim's words as 'I think I have been commanded', and some commentators say the relief itself was the test. Mufti Abu Layth attributes the common view to early Muslims absorbing Jewish narratives. Mufti Abu Layth says the traditional view that God commanded the sacrifice entered Islamic thought through Jewish and Judaeo-Christian narratives taken by early Muslims, and he cites the reading attributed to Ibn Abbas that Ibrahim saw something that suggested to him he had been commanded.

Answer from 28 October 2020 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: "God did NOT ask Abraham to sacrifice his son" | Mufti Abu Layth (at 11:55)

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 11:55 · Open the segment

Does the Quran say the sacrifice of Ibrahim's son was a test from God?

Wed, 28 Oct 2020 00:00:00 +0000

Does the Quran say the sacrifice of Ibrahim's son was a test from God?

The verses say Ibrahim was truthful to his vision and that this was a clear trial, but never that God sent the dream or the trial. In Mufti Abu Layth's reading the ransom of a ram rescued the son and ended human sacrifice. Mufti Abu Layth holds that the words 'this was indeed the clear trial' in 37:106 do not say the trial came from God, that Allah never says he showed Ibrahim the dream, and that the ransom of the ram rescued the son and declared human sacrifice forbidden thereafter.

Answer from 28 October 2020 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: "God did NOT ask Abraham to sacrifice his son" | Mufti Abu Layth (at 7:55)

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 7:55 · Open the segment

Where did the idea of sacrificing a son come from in Ibrahim's time?

Wed, 28 Oct 2020 00:00:00 +0000

Where did the idea of sacrificing a son come from in Ibrahim's time?

Human sacrifice to gods such as Moloch and Baal was a widespread practice of the ancient Near East, and the Bible's story of Jephthah sacrificing his daughter shows it. Mufti Abu Layth says this surrounding culture explains how such a dream could come to Ibrahim. Mufti Abu Layth holds that Ibrahim's dream of sacrificing his son is explained by the surrounding Near Eastern culture of human sacrifice working on the subconscious, not by a command from God.

Answer from 28 October 2020 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: "God did NOT ask Abraham to sacrifice his son" | Mufti Abu Layth (at 3:58)

A more recent answer on history/ancient-near-east-and-scripture exists (15 May 2021): Is there archaeological evidence for David's kingdom, and how did Jerusalem become holy for Muslims?

Watch on YouTube at 3:58 · Open the segment

Did God really command Ibrahim to sacrifice his son?

Wed, 28 Oct 2020 00:00:00 +0000

Did God really command Ibrahim to sacrifice his son?

No: in Mufti Abu Layth's reading the command did not come from God, and the Quran in Surah al-Saffat only reports that Ibrahim saw a dream and that his son urged him to act on it. The notion of sacrificing a son is traced to the culture of the ancient Near East. Mufti Abu Layth holds that the command to sacrifice his son did not come from God, and that the Quran in Surah al-Saffat reports only that Ibrahim saw a dream which his son urged him to carry out.

Answer from 28 October 2020 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: "God did NOT ask Abraham to sacrifice his son" | Mufti Abu Layth (at 0:00)

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 0:00 · Open the segment

What does Mufti Abu Layth think of Mufti Menk?

Fri, 18 Oct 2019 00:00:00 +0000

What does Mufti Abu Layth think of Mufti Menk?

Mixed: Menk fills a real demand for simple, uplifting stories and is likeable and funny, but Mufti Abu Layth says such preachers spread inauthentic stories and cement false beliefs, and he suspects Menk is less strict than he portrays himself.

Answer from 18 October 2019 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Thoughts on Mufti Menk | Mufti Abu Layth (at 0:02)

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 0:02 · Open the segment

Is the story of Hajar running seven times between Safa and Marwa true?

Mon, 08 Jul 2019 00:00:00 +0000

Is the story of Hajar running seven times between Safa and Marwa true?

Mufti Abu Layth thinks the story of Hajar running seven times between Safa and Marwa was most likely added later to give the ritual an Abrahamic link, though he believes the Zamzam story is true. The Quran mentions Safa and Marwa only as a remembrance of God, without linking them to Hajar or Abraham. Mufti Abu Layth says the story that Hajar ran seven times between Safa and Marwa was most likely invented later to give the ritual an Abrahamic link, while he believes the story of the Zamzam spring is most likely true.

Answer from 8 July 2019 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Between Authenticity & Paganism: The Black Stone and Safa & Marwa -Mufti Abu Layth (at 15:38)

A more recent answer on fiqh/hajj-and-umrah exists (18 October 2025): How do Quranists perform Hajj and apply Islam without the fiqh tradition?

Watch on YouTube at 15:38 · Open the segment

Is al-Khidr a prophet, and is he still alive?

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

Is al-Khidr a prophet, and is he still alive?

Classical scholars disagreed on whether al-Khidr was a prophet or a saint, and many held he is still alive while others denied it. Mufti Abu Layth likens the stories of his appearances to saint legends in other religions.

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

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

Recording: Who Was Khidr (a.s.)? -Mufti Abu Layth (at 14:02)

A more recent answer on belief/sufism exists (28 February 2024): A fate worse than death: each of us is a mirror for divine potential

Watch on YouTube at 14:02 · Open the segment

Who was al-Khidr and why is he called the green one?

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

Who was al-Khidr and why is he called the green one?

Al-Khidr is a figure of Islamic literature and folk belief whose name means the green one, said to be because the ground turned green where he sat. Earlier scholars preferred the pronunciation al-Khadir.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Who Was Khidr (a.s.)? -Mufti Abu Layth (at 0:00)

A more recent answer on quran/stories-of-the-prophets exists (13 April 2021): What was the real crime of the people of Lut?

Watch on YouTube at 0:00 · Open the segment

What happened when the Queen of Sheba came to Sulayman?

Tue, 08 Jan 2019 00:00:00 +0000

What happened when the Queen of Sheba came to Sulayman?

She was shown a throne grander than hers in a mere waiting room and humbled, then became Muslim; her uncovering her legs on the glass floor was no obscenity. Mufti Abu Layth says that if the Queen of Sheba uncovering her lower legs had been an obscenity, it would not be stated in the Quran.

Answer from 8 January 2019 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: In Depth: Sulaiman (a.s.), the Throne of Sheba, and Miracles in the Quran -Mufti Abu Layth (at 40:51)

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 40:51 · Open the segment

Did Prophet Sulayman steal the Queen of Sheba's throne?

Tue, 08 Jan 2019 00:00:00 +0000

Did Prophet Sulayman steal the Queen of Sheba's throne?

No: he reads the story as Sulayman having a grander replica made from a detailed description, since prophets do not steal thrones. Mufti Abu Layth says it does not befit prophets to steal thrones.

Answer from 8 January 2019 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: In Depth: Sulaiman (a.s.), the Throne of Sheba, and Miracles in the Quran -Mufti Abu Layth (at 33:54)

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 33:54 · Open the segment

Did a jinn really bring the Queen of Sheba's throne to Sulayman?

Tue, 08 Jan 2019 00:00:00 +0000

Did a jinn really bring the Queen of Sheba's throne to Sulayman?

Mufti Abu Layth doubts it: following Athari's tafsir, the 'jinn' here were a division of Sulayman's forces, one of three branches of his state. Mufti Abu Layth says the reading that a demon from the jinn would bring the throne does not, in his understanding, make much sense.

Answer from 8 January 2019 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: In Depth: Sulaiman (a.s.), the Throne of Sheba, and Miracles in the Quran -Mufti Abu Layth (at 27:28)

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 27:28 · Open the segment

What does the Quran say about kings in the story of Sheba?

Tue, 08 Jan 2019 00:00:00 +0000

What does the Quran say about kings in the story of Sheba?

The Queen's saying that kings ruin the towns they enter raises the question of what gives anyone the right to rule others. Mufti Abu Layth says kingship began when some person one day assumed the right to subjugate others, and it became a human legacy.

Answer from 8 January 2019 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: In Depth: Sulaiman (a.s.), the Throne of Sheba, and Miracles in the Quran -Mufti Abu Layth (at 24:54)

A more recent answer on fiqh/public-law-and-governance exists (26 April 2021): Why does China try to control who becomes the Dalai Lama?

Watch on YouTube at 24:54 · Open the segment

Was the hoopoe in the story of Sulayman really a bird?

Tue, 08 Jan 2019 00:00:00 +0000

Was the hoopoe in the story of Sulayman really a bird?

Probably not, in his reading: the Arabic used of it is used only for humans, so the tafsir that it was one of Sulayman's intelligence agents makes sense. Mufti Abu Layth says the reading of the hudhud as one of Sulayman's intelligence agents makes sense given the verbs used, which refer to human beings.

Answer from 8 January 2019 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: In Depth: Sulaiman (a.s.), the Throne of Sheba, and Miracles in the Quran -Mufti Abu Layth (at 18:30)

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 18:30 · Open the segment

Does the Quran criticise the Queen of Sheba for ruling over men?

Tue, 08 Jan 2019 00:00:00 +0000

Does the Quran criticise the Queen of Sheba for ruling over men?

No: the Quran portrays her as a woman of great power over male ministers and never rebukes her for it. Mufti Abu Layth says the Quran does not rebuke the Queen of Sheba in any sense for her power over an administration of men.

Answer from 8 January 2019 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: In Depth: Sulaiman (a.s.), the Throne of Sheba, and Miracles in the Quran -Mufti Abu Layth (at 15:58)

A more recent answer on society/women-and-gender exists (10 March 2023): Who carried on Imam Malik's teaching after him?

Watch on YouTube at 15:58 · Open the segment

How should Muslims read the stories in the Quran?

Tue, 08 Jan 2019 00:00:00 +0000

How should Muslims read the stories in the Quran?

Quranic stories can be read as narrative and for lessons, but where they suggest the supernatural we must ask how to read them, unlike myths we never take as real. Mufti Abu Layth says some stories in the Quran suggest supernatural events without explicitly stating them.

Answer from 8 January 2019 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: In Depth: Sulaiman (a.s.), the Throne of Sheba, and Miracles in the Quran -Mufti Abu Layth (at 0:00)

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 1:57 · Open the segment

Is homosexuality haram in Islam, and why were the people of Lut destroyed?

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

Is homosexuality haram in Islam, and why were the people of Lut destroyed?

Mufti Abu Layth accepts the majority view that homosexual acts are haram, but says the punishments scholars assigned were variable public-order measures that changed over time, that the people of Lut were destroyed primarily for rejecting their prophet, and that the ruling does not require hatred of homosexual people. Mufti Abu Layth says the overwhelming majority of scholars held homosexual acts to be haram and he accepts that they are haram, while saying that the punishments scholars assigned varied between places and changed over time, that the people of Lut were destroyed primarily for rejecting their prophet, and that the ruling does not require hatred.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Homosexuality and Islam -Mufti Abu Layth (at 18:27)

A more recent answer on relationships/sexuality-and-orientation exists (22 February 2023): Is it okay for adults or children to change gender?

Watch on YouTube at 18:27 · Open the segment

Does the Quran say Ibrahim was thrown into the fire, or that the table was sent down to Jesus's disciples?

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

Does the Quran say Ibrahim was thrown into the fire, or that the table was sent down to Jesus's disciples?

No verse of the Quran says that Ibrahim was thrown into the fire or that the table came down to the disciples, and 'incline them towards you' is the literal wording of 2:260. These are readings of the text as it stands, and calling those who hold them deviants is unacceptable. Mufti Abu Layth says that no verse of the Quran states that Ibrahim was thrown into the fire or that the table was sent down to the disciples, and that reading 2:260 as 'incline them towards you' is the literal wording, so these are readings of the text as it stands rather than reinterpretations, and calling those who hold them deviants is unacceptable.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: A Reply to Sheikh Yasir Qadhi - Mufti Abu Layth (at 31:27)

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 31:27 · Open the segment

Why does Mufti Abu Layth reject the Bukhari report of Sulayman and the hundred women?

Sat, 01 Sep 2018 00:00:00 +0000

Why does Mufti Abu Layth reject the Bukhari report of Sulayman and the hundred women?

The report of Sulayman going to a hundred women in one night is absurd and disrespects a prophet, and its moral that God punished him with a disabled child paints a troubling picture of God. A report that clashes with reason, the Quran or Islamic principles goes out of the window. Mufti Abu Layth says the Bukhari report of Sulayman and the hundred women is absurd, puts a prophet in a bad light and portrays God as punishing a prophet with a disabled child, and that any report which clashes with reason, the Quran and the general understanding of Islam, or uproots an Islamic principle, is to be rejected.

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 18:15)

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 18:15 · Open the segment

Why does the Quran call the ruler in Yusuf's story a king but Musa's a Pharaoh?

Sat, 11 Aug 2018 00:00:00 +0000

Why does the Quran call the ruler in Yusuf's story a king but Musa's a Pharaoh?

The thousand sana follow the counting of Nuh's own people and the fifty 'am are years as we count them. The Quran relates narratives in the terms of their own time, as when Yusuf's ruler is a king and Musa's is Pharaoh. Mufti Abu Layth holds that in Quran 29:14 the thousand sana follow the counting of Nuh's own people while the fifty 'am are years as we count them, and that the Quran relates narratives in the terms of their own time, as when the ruler in Yusuf's story is called a king and not a pharaoh.

Answer from 11 August 2018 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: The Prophet Noah (a.s.) Did Not Live for 950 Years -Mufti Abu Layth (at 9:09)

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 9:09 · Open the segment

Why do ancient texts say people lived for hundreds or thousands of years?

Sat, 11 Aug 2018 00:00:00 +0000

Why do ancient texts say people lived for hundreds or thousands of years?

The enormous reigns in the Sumerian king lists reflect a different counting system, likely based on sixty, and the numbers shorten after the flood. Mufti Abu Layth believes the Old Testament's long lifespans were inherited from this Babylonian material. Mufti Abu Layth holds that the enormous reigns in the Sumerian king lists reflect a different counting system and that the long lifespans in the Old Testament were inherited from this Babylonian material.

Answer from 11 August 2018 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: The Prophet Noah (a.s.) Did Not Live for 950 Years -Mufti Abu Layth (at 3:53)

A more recent answer on history/ancient-near-east-and-scripture exists (15 May 2021): Is there archaeological evidence for David's kingdom, and how did Jerusalem become holy for Muslims?

Watch on YouTube at 3:53 · Open the segment

Did the Prophet Nuh really live for 950 years?

Sat, 11 Aug 2018 00:00:00 +0000

Did the Prophet Nuh really live for 950 years?

Nuh did not literally live 950 years, Mufti Abu Layth says. The verse's use of two different words for year, sana and 'am, is deliberate and not just rhetorical variation. Mufti Abu Layth holds that Nuh did not literally live for nine hundred and fifty years and that the Quran's use of two different words for year in 29:14, sana and 'am, is deliberate rather than mere rhetorical variation.

Answer from 11 August 2018 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: The Prophet Noah (a.s.) Did Not Live for 950 Years -Mufti Abu Layth (at 0:00)

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 0:00 · Open the segment

Is it possible for Prophet Yunus to have survived inside a whale?

Sat, 26 May 2018 00:00:00 +0000

Is it possible for Prophet Yunus to have survived inside a whale?

Highly unlikely but not impossible: the Quran describes no superhuman feat, only that he was swallowed and thrown out very sick. Mufti Abu Layth says Yunus being swallowed and surviving was a very unlikely event but not impossible.

Answer from 26 May 2018 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Was Prophet Yunus (a.s.) Swallowed by a Whale? Is that Possible in Nature? -Mufti Abu Layth (at 0:00)

A more recent answer on quran/stories-of-the-prophets exists (13 April 2021): What was the real crime of the people of Lut?

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Will using reason make me lose my faith?

Mon, 09 Apr 2018 00:00:00 +0000

Will using reason make me lose my faith?

No, Mufti Abu Layth says: fearing that reason leads out of Islam betrays a lack of belief that Islam is true, and doubt that leads to a more certain understanding is legitimate, as Ibrahim's request to see how Allah revives the dead shows. Mufti Abu Layth holds that fearing reason will lead people out of Islam betrays a lack of real belief that Islam is true, and that doubt which leads to a more certain understanding is legitimate, as Ibrahim's question and the hadith about his doubt show.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: The Role Of Reason In Religion - Mufti Abu Layth (at 58:44)

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?

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Ritualisation of the deen and the angels' question about Adam: can believers ask?

Tue, 15 Mar 2016 00:00:00 +0000

Ritualisation of the deen and the angels' question about Adam: can believers ask?

The deen has been ritualised so that scholarly conclusions cannot be questioned, while the angels' question to Allah about creating Adam is read as a model that believers may ask questions.

Answer from 15 March 2016 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

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

Recording: Ustadh Nouman Ali Khan & Mufti Abu Layth - A Discussion on Contemporary Issues (at 23:55)

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 23:55 · Open the segment