Mufti Abu Layth Archive: quran/tafsir

Why are two of the daily prayers recited silently when 17:110 says not to be silent?

2025-10-18T00:00:00Z

Why are two of the daily prayers recited silently when 17:110 says not to be silent?

The silent prayers come from the living tradition Malik described, handed down from the Companions' descendants; Mufti Abu Layth reads 17:110 as being about crying out to Allah, neither in despair nor in silence, rather than the five prayers, citing 8:35 where 'prayer' means whistling and clapping.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Br Muhammad MFG | Quranist Only Belief - A Dialogue | MindTrap #82 - Mufti Abu Layth (at 2:31:09)

Watch on YouTube at 2:31:09 · Open the segment

Why did Mufti Abu Layth bring up 3:188 against the Quran-only position?

2025-10-18T00:00:00Z

Why did Mufti Abu Layth bring up 3:188 against the Quran-only position?

Mufti Abu Layth cited 3:188 because its apparent reading is harsher than the Prophet's explanation, showing that the reasoning of those who came before is valuable; the guest says he asked for the Prophet's book of explanations and was pointed back to the Quran.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Br Muhammad MFG | Quranist Only Belief - A Dialogue | MindTrap #82 - Mufti Abu Layth (at 2:14:00)

Watch on YouTube at 2:14:00 · Open the segment

Is it a sin to enjoy being praised?

2025-10-18T00:00:00Z

Is it a sin to enjoy being praised?

The guest holds that 3:188 describes people buying into the worldly life, exulting in what they have and loving praise for what they have not done, and that such people are punished; pressed, he confirms that anyone with these traits faces punishment.

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

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

Recording: Br Muhammad MFG | Quranist Only Belief - A Dialogue | MindTrap #82 - Mufti Abu Layth (at 2:04:39)

Watch on YouTube at 2:04:39 · Open the segment

Does 3:188 mean everyone who likes praise will be punished?

2025-10-18T00:00:00Z

Does 3:188 mean everyone who likes praise will be punished?

The apparent reading of 3:188 threatens anyone who loves praise for what he has not done, which troubled the Companions until the Prophet explained it as concerning tyrants and the arrogant; the guest reads it as a warning listing traits a believer must shed.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Br Muhammad MFG | Quranist Only Belief - A Dialogue | MindTrap #82 - Mufti Abu Layth (at 1:58:33)

Watch on YouTube at 1:58:33 · Open the segment

Can 'light' in 5:15 refer to the Prophet, or only to guidance and the book?

2025-10-18T00:00:00Z

Can 'light' in 5:15 refer to the Prophet, or only to guidance and the book?

Mufti Abu Layth says the primary readings of 'light' in 5:15 are guidance or the Prophet, as many mufassirun held, and that the guest's reading as the book is acceptable but may not negate the others; the guest says the word cannot refer to a human and that the mufassirun inserted the Prophet from presupposition.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Br Muhammad MFG | Quranist Only Belief - A Dialogue | MindTrap #82 - Mufti Abu Layth (at 1:08:12)

Watch on YouTube at 1:08:12 · Open the segment

Is the 'light' that came with the clear book in 5:15 the Prophet or the Quran itself?

2025-10-18T00:00:00Z

Is the 'light' that came with the clear book in 5:15 the Prophet or the Quran itself?

The guest reads the light of 5:15 as an aspect of the book itself, arguing from the pronoun in 5:16 and the conjunction in 33:7; Mufti Abu Layth presents the view of the mufassirun that the light is the Prophet and accepts the guest's reading as one interpretation while objecting that the others are not negated.

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

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

Recording: Br Muhammad MFG | Quranist Only Belief - A Dialogue | MindTrap #82 - Mufti Abu Layth (at 1:01:24)

Watch on YouTube at 1:02:02 · Open the segment

Does 16:44 mean the Prophet explains the Quran, or that the Quran clarifies earlier scriptures?

2025-10-18T00:00:00Z

Does 16:44 mean the Prophet explains the Quran, or that the Quran clarifies earlier scriptures?

Mufti Abu Layth reads 16:44 as showing the Prophet's role in explaining the revelation, as nearly every tafsir does; the guest says the verse is about the Quran clarifying earlier scriptures to the people of the book, and points to 5:15 as naming a single source.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Br Muhammad MFG | Quranist Only Belief - A Dialogue | MindTrap #82 - Mufti Abu Layth (at 56:40)

Watch on YouTube at 57:24 · Open the segment

What is the 'wisdom' the Prophet teaches alongside the Book in 2:129?

2025-10-18T00:00:00Z

What is the 'wisdom' the Prophet teaches alongside the Book in 2:129?

The guest holds that the wisdom taught alongside the Book is the Quran's own application and is found in the Quran itself; Mufti Abu Layth says the primary reading of 2:129 is that the messenger teaches the Book and, separately, the wisdom, and himself purifies the people.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Br Muhammad MFG | Quranist Only Belief - A Dialogue | MindTrap #82 - Mufti Abu Layth (at 50:49)

Watch on YouTube at 51:35 · Open the segment

What are the satanic verses in Islamic history?

2022-08-19T00:00:00Z

What are the satanic verses in Islamic history?

Mufti Abu Layth explains that the Prophet's recitation of Surah al-Najm and the prostration of everyone present are documented, but that the added story of him praising the three goddesses is false. Mufti Abu Layth says the prostration of everyone present when the Prophet recited Surah al-Najm is documented, possibly out of respect at the mention of their gods, but that the narrations claiming the Prophet praised the three goddesses are false.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Salman Rushdie & The Satanic Verses | Mufti Abu Layth (at 1:00:37)

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 1:00:37 · Open the segment

Which Quranic verses count against Jesus returning?

2021-03-14T00:00:00Z

Which Quranic verses count against Jesus returning?

Mufti Abu Layth reads 43:61 as the Quran being knowledge of the Hour, as Hasan and others said, and cites 5:75, 21:34 and 43:59 against a return: Jesus ate food and was subject to natural laws, no human before the Prophet was given eternal life, and Jesus is called an example for the children of Israel alone. Mufti Abu Layth holds that 43:61 means the Quran is knowledge of the Hour, as Hasan and others said, and that 5:75, 21:34 and 43:59 count against a second coming, since Jesus ate food and was subject to natural laws, no human before the Prophet was given eternal life, and Jesus is called an example for the children of Israel alone.

Answer from 14 March 2021 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Reply to Yasir Qadhi's False Claims on 2nd Coming of Jesus | Mufti Abu Layth (at 1:25:27)

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 1:25:27 · Open the segment

Does 'he will speak to people in maturity' or 'before his death' prove that Jesus will return?

2021-03-14T00:00:00Z

Does 'he will speak to people in maturity' or 'before his death' prove that Jesus will return?

The verse about Jesus speaking in the cradle and in maturity concerns those he addresses, children and grown men, and the first to read it as a return was al-Husayn ibn al-Fadl, who died in 282 AH and transmitted strange reports. 'Before his death' was recited by Ubayy and Ibn Abbas as 'before their death' and read by commentators as referring to Jesus, the Prophet, the truth or Allah. Mufti Abu Layth holds that 'he will speak to people in the cradle and in maturity' refers to those Jesus addresses, children and grown men, not to a return, that the first to read it as a return was al-Husayn ibn al-Fadl al-Bajali (d. 282 AH), a transmitter of strange reports, and that 'before his death' was recited as 'before their death' and read by commentators as referring to Jesus, the Prophet, the truth or Allah.

Answer from 14 March 2021 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Reply to Yasir Qadhi's False Claims on 2nd Coming of Jesus | Mufti Abu Layth (at 1:20:13)

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 1:20:13 · Open the segment

Which verses of the Quran count against Jesus coming back?

2021-03-02T00:00:00Z

Which verses of the Quran count against Jesus coming back?

43:61 refers to the Quran as knowledge of the Hour, not to Jesus; 5:75, 21:34 and 43:59, which Qadhi does not mention, count against a return. Mufti Abu Layth says it makes much more sense to read 43:61 as speaking of the Quran, since revelation ends with it, than of Jesus as a sign of the Hour.

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 2:28:09)

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 2:28:09 · Open the segment

Does the verse about Jesus speaking 'in maturity' mean he will come back?

2021-03-02T00:00:00Z

Does the verse about Jesus speaking 'in maturity' mean he will come back?

Neither verse proves a return: 'in the cradle and in maturity' refers to the people Jesus addresses, the return reading began with a late transmitter of strange reports, and 'before his death' has several readings. Mufti Abu Layth says that in the verse on speaking in the cradle and in maturity it is the people Jesus addresses, the child and the mature man, who are meant, not Jesus speaking at an older age.

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 2:23:16)

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 2:23:16 · Open the segment

Why didn't the Prophet explain every verse of the Quran himself?

2021-02-16T00:00:00Z

Why didn't the Prophet explain every verse of the Quran himself?

Leaving the Quran undefined was a blessing, he says: a fixed tafsir would have restricted it, while leaving it to each age's understanding gives it timelessness. Mufti Abu Layth says that leaving the Quran to human understanding, read in light of each age, rather than defining everything, is what gives it its timelessness.

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 24:40)

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 25:17 · Open the segment

What does the raven in the story of Cain and Abel mean?

2021-02-02T00:00:00Z

What does the raven in the story of Cain and Abel mean?

Mufti Abu Layth reads the Cain and Abel verses as allowing more than one grammatical reading, and takes God to be the one teaching Cain. Mufti Abu Layth says that, in his understanding, the one teaching Cain in the verse is God, though some have understood it as the raven.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Monday Nights with Mufti #200| Q&A Unscripted & Unrestricted! 😉 | Mufti Abu Layth (at 1:48:21)

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 1:48:21 · Open the segment

If the Prophet couldn't forbid what Allah allowed, how can scholars issue fatwas?

2021-01-26T00:00:00Z

If the Prophet couldn't forbid what Allah allowed, how can scholars issue fatwas?

The verse rebukes the Prophet for forbidding himself something permissible to please others, not for legislating; things are permissible by default, so declaring something haram is a weighty step. Mufti Abu Layth says 66:1 addresses the Prophet for forbidding himself something permissible to console others, not for legislating, and that because everything is permissible by default, declaring something haram is a weighty matter, while a prohibition lapses when its reason disappears.

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 41:12)

A more recent answer on fiqh/legal-theory exists (18 October 2025): If reason helps us understand the Quran, does the reasoning of earlier scholars matter too?

Watch on YouTube at 41:12 · Open the segment

Who is Surah al-Munafiqun about?

2021-01-12T00:00:00Z

Who is Surah al-Munafiqun about?

Mufti Abu Layth says that, though the verses are general, Surah al-Munafiqun referred at the time to the hypocrites of Medina. Mufti Abu Layth says that, although the verses are general, Surah al-Munafiqun would at the time have referred to the hypocrites within Medina.

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 49:28)

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 50:06 · Open the segment

What do the unusual words in the Dhul Qarnayn verses mean?

2020-12-11T00:00:00Z

What do the unusual words in the Dhul Qarnayn verses mean?

Mufti Abu Layth argues the wording of 18:83-90 is too vague to be a retelling of the Alexander legend; the guest says the Syriac subtext explains it and that without it the passage invites endless speculative readings, and they agree to differ.

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 2:17:04)

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 2:17:04 · Open the segment

Why does the Quran tell the story of Dhul Qarnayn so briefly?

2020-12-11T00:00:00Z

Why does the Quran tell the story of Dhul Qarnayn so briefly?

The guest says the Quran retells the known legend concisely to show the Prophet's knowledge from God, while stripping its Christian imperial ending; Mufti Abu Layth objects that its unusual wording is too vague for that.

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 2:11:24)

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 2:11:24 · Open the segment

Is the Dhul Qarnayn story based on the legend of Alexander?

2020-12-11T00:00:00Z

Is the Dhul Qarnayn story based on the legend of Alexander?

The guest says scholarship shows the Dhul Qarnayn story derives from a Byzantine Christian legend of Alexander walling in Gog and Magog, known to the Quran's first audience; Mufti Abu Layth asks why the Quran then tells it so ambiguously.

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 2:06:50)

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 2:06:50 · Open the segment

Who was Dhul Qarnayn, and who are Gog and Magog?

2020-12-11T00:00:00Z

Who was Dhul Qarnayn, and who are Gog and Magog?

Mufti Abu Layth identifies Dhul Qarnayn most likely with Cyrus the Great and reads Gog and Magog as havoc-wreaking forces, later the colonial powers; the guest says this already relies on ad hoc literary reinterpretation.

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 2:01:55)

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 2:01:55 · Open the segment

If a jinn could possess me, how could I be blamed for anything?

2020-11-21T00:00:00Z

If a jinn could possess me, how could I be blamed for anything?

Satan's own words in 14:22, that he had no power over people and only invited them, rule out possession: if the devil could physically prevent prayer or cause harm, people could not be blamed and responsibility would collapse. Mufti Abu Layth holds that 14:22, in which Satan says he had no power over people and only invited them, rules out jinn possession, because if the devil could physically prevent prayer or cause illness people could not be blamed and moral responsibility would be meaningless.

Answer from 21 November 2020 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: There is no jinn possession in Islam (reply to Sh Omar Suleiman's video) | Mufti Abu Layth (at 20:58)

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 20:58 · Open the segment

Does the riba verse prove that jinn can possess people?

2020-11-21T00:00:00Z

Does the riba verse prove that jinn can possess people?

The riba verse 2:275 uses the image of being struck by the devil as a frame of reference the Arabs knew, like the heads of devils in 37:65; it does not establish possession. Mufti Abu Layth says the riba verse 2:275 uses the image of being struck by the devil as a frame of reference the Arabs knew, just as 37:65 likens the tree of hell to the heads of devils, and that it does not establish jinn possession.

Answer from 21 November 2020 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: There is no jinn possession in Islam (reply to Sh Omar Suleiman's video) | Mufti Abu Layth (at 17:05)

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 17:05 · Open the segment

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

2020-10-28T00:00:00Z

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

Why did most commentators say God commanded the sacrifice?

2020-10-28T00:00:00Z

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?

2020-10-28T00:00:00Z

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

Does the verse of light describe an expanded state of consciousness?

2020-10-17T00:00:00Z

Does the verse of light describe an expanded state of consciousness?

The verse of light, 24:35, is an approximation that resonates with those whose consciousness has expanded, and entheogenic experience was part and parcel of the tradition without having a name. Mufti Abu Layth says the parable of light in 24:35 is an approximation that resonates with people whose consciousness has expanded, and that entheogenic experience was part and parcel of the Islamic tradition without having a name.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Psychedelics are NOT haram | Mufti Abu Layth (at 29:48)

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 29:48 · Open the segment

Was the ifk in Surat al-Nur really about Aisha?

2020-08-24T00:00:00Z

Was the ifk in Surat al-Nur really about Aisha?

Mufti Abu Layth holds that the Quran's ifk verses were revealed about rumours concerning Mariya, though he believes an earlier incident with Aisha also happened. Mufti Abu Layth says he definitely feels that the ifk mentioned in the Quran refers to an incident with Mariya, not the incident to do with Aisha.

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 2:26:25)

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 2:26:25 · Open the segment

Does Islam allow converting churches and other places of worship into mosques?

2020-07-16T00:00:00Z

Does Islam allow converting churches and other places of worship into mosques?

Islam never set out to convert other religions' holy sites: Umar left Jerusalem's churches alone, and Quran 22:40 counts monasteries, churches and synagogues among places where Allah's name is glorified and which He protects. The Hagia Sophia's conversion happened, but it was not what Islam encourages. Mufti Abu Layth says Islam never set out to convert other religions' holy sites into mosques: Umar did not convert Jerusalem's churches, and Quran 22:40 counts monasteries, churches and synagogues among the places where Allah's name is glorified and which He protects.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Why converting the Hagia Sophia to a mosque is a mistake | Mufti Abu Layth (at 2:43)

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 2:43 · Open the segment

Does Islam allow turning churches into mosques?

2020-07-14T00:00:00Z

Does Islam allow turning churches into mosques?

Islam never set out to convert other faiths' holy sites: Umar left Jerusalem's churches alone, and Quran 22:40 names them among places where Allah's name is glorified. Mufti Abu Layth says Islam never set out to convert other faiths' holy sites into mosques.

Answer from 14 July 2020 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Monday Nights with Mufti Abu Layth 173 (at 1:17:16)

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 1:17:16 · Open the segment

Why does the Quran talk about something as small as the Prophet's dinner guests?

2020-07-14T00:00:00Z

Why does the Quran talk about something as small as the Prophet's dinner guests?

They are not trivial: the verse teaches that small transgressions like imposing on people matter, and such etiquettes build a healthy society. Mufti Abu Layth says the verse on the Prophet's dinner guests shows that micro-transgressions such as imposing on people are not to be disregarded, and that these etiquettes are building blocks of a healthy society.

Answer from 14 July 2020 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Monday Nights with Mufti Abu Layth 173 (at 1:06:38)

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 1:06:38 · Open the segment

Is al-Zamakhshari's tafsir al-Kashshaf worth reading?

2020-07-14T00:00:00Z

Is al-Zamakhshari's tafsir al-Kashshaf worth reading?

Mufti Abu Layth praises al-Kashshaf as linguistically overwhelming and al-Zamakhshari as a legend, while noting the Mu'tazili oddities in it; the Mu'tazila were great scholars, often over-demonised. Mufti Abu Layth says some scholars over-demonise the Mu'tazila, who were in their own right great and intelligent scholars of Islam, though some of their views were a bit warped.

Answer from 14 July 2020 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Monday Nights with Mufti Abu Layth 173 (at 45:21)

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 45:21 · Open the segment

What do Illiyyin and Sijjin mean in the Quran?

2020-07-14T00:00:00Z

What do Illiyyin and Sijjin mean in the Quran?

They refer to a record or place of the righteous and the wicked; he takes afterlife imagery as symbolic and promises more next week. Mufti Abu Layth says that, to him, the descriptions of the afterlife are more symbolic, an approximation of something we can never conceptualise.

Answer from 14 July 2020 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Monday Nights with Mufti Abu Layth 173 (at 38:24)

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 39:04 · Open the segment

What is the main theme of Surah al-Kahf?

2020-07-10T00:00:00Z

What is the main theme of Surah al-Kahf?

Mufti Abu Layth agrees consumerism is destructive and reads Surah al-Kahf as also being about identity and belonging.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Shaykh Omar Baloch | Cynicism, Consumerism & the Catch 22 of Riba | Mindtrap with Mufti #30 (at 1:21:06)

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 1:21:06 · Open the segment

Does the Quran say every city will be destroyed before Judgement Day?

2020-07-10T00:00:00Z

Does the Quran say every city will be destroyed before Judgement Day?

The guest reads Quran 17:58 as a sign that humanity is headed for trouble; Mufti Abu Layth points to verses of blessing and God's lack of need to punish.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Shaykh Omar Baloch | Cynicism, Consumerism & the Catch 22 of Riba | Mindtrap with Mufti #30 (at 1:02:24)

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 1:02:24 · Open the segment

Does the Quran predict that modern industrial society will collapse?

2020-07-10T00:00:00Z

Does the Quran predict that modern industrial society will collapse?

The guest reads Quran 10:24 as a warning that oil-based modern life will collapse; Mufti Abu Layth expects human knowledge to find new energy.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Shaykh Omar Baloch | Cynicism, Consumerism & the Catch 22 of Riba | Mindtrap with Mufti #30 (at 50:17)

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 50:17 · Open the segment

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

2020-06-26T00:00:00Z

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

Is al-kitab the same book given to every prophet?

2020-06-26T00:00:00Z

Is al-kitab the same book given to every prophet?

The guest says owning a slave is shirk, that kawthar means abundance rather than a pool, and that al-kitab is the one divine law sent to every prophet, whose goal, peacemaking, is secular while iman is distinct.

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 2:29:34)

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 2:29:34 · Open the segment

How does the guest's number 19 differ from Bible numerics, and how does he read 74:29-31?

2020-06-26T00:00:00Z

How does the guest's number 19 differ from Bible numerics, and how does he read 74:29-31?

The guest says 19 is a test most people fail, distinguishes his system from Ivan Panin's Bible numerics, and retranslates 74:29-31 as describing a precise, obvious mathematical structure rather than scorching the skin in hell.

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 1:38:44)

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 1:38:44 · 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

What was Fadak and why did it matter?

2020-02-28T00:00:00Z

What was Fadak and why did it matter?

Fadak was fertile land near Khaybar that came to the Prophet as fay', without war, and he used its produce for travellers, his household and public needs. Mufti Abu Layth says Fadak came to the Prophet as fay', land obtained through a truce rather than through war.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Fadak between Fatima (r) & Abu Bakr (r) Detailed Overview | Mufti Abu Layth (at 4:33)

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 4:33 · Open the segment

Does the Quran forbid Muslims from being friends with non-Muslims who challenge Islam?

2019-12-12T00:00:00Z

Does the Quran forbid Muslims from being friends with non-Muslims who challenge Islam?

The verse about not loving those who oppose Allah was revealed when tribes were confederating to attack the Muslims and concerns loyalty to them, not friendship with non-Muslims. Permission to marry Christians and Jews shows love and friendship with non-Muslims are allowed. Mufti Abu Layth says the verse that believers will not be found loving those who oppose Allah and His Messenger was revealed about Muslims who kept ties with tribes confederating to attack the Muslims, and that it does not forbid friendship with non-Muslims, as the permission to marry Christians and Jews shows.

Answer from 12 December 2019 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: My Thoughts on Mohammed Hijab & His Approach | Mufti Abu Layth (at 2:40)

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 2:40 · Open the segment

Is a prayer mark on the forehead a sign of piety in Islam?

2019-10-11T00:00:00Z

Is a prayer mark on the forehead a sign of piety in Islam?

A burn mark on the forehead from prostration has nothing to do with Islam and is not a sign of piety. The verse about the believers' mark on their faces refers to a glow of commitment, and an early report rebukes a man who bore such a mark. Mufti Abu Layth says that a burn mark on the forehead from prostration has nothing to do with Islam and is not a sign of piety, and that the verse about the believers' mark on their faces refers to a radiance and visible commitment rather than a burnt forehead.

Answer from 11 October 2019 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Sajdah Mark on Forehead | Mufti Abu Layth (at 0:01)

A more recent answer on fiqh/prayer 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

What does Quran 65:4 say about the waiting period for women whose periods have stopped?

2019-07-25T00:00:00Z

What does Quran 65:4 say about the waiting period for women whose periods have stopped?

Women who have despaired of menstruation wait three months, a rule Mufti Abu Layth reads as addressed to men who are unsure whether a woman has reached the menopause, so that pregnancy can be excluded; the pregnant wait until childbirth. Mufti Abu Layth holds that the doubt in 65:4 is the men's doubt about whether a woman has reached the menopause, in which case her iddah is a flat three months so that pregnancy can be excluded.

Answer from 25 July 2019 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: A Reply to Abdullah Sameer's Allegation: The Quran Teaches Paedophilia | Mufti Abu Layth (at 15:33)

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 15:33 · Open the segment

What does the Quran say about how a divorce should end and about a divorced woman's future?

2019-07-25T00:00:00Z

What does the Quran say about how a divorce should end and about a divorced woman's future?

At the end of the iddah the couple must either reconcile or part with kindness before witnesses, and Mufti Abu Layth reads the promise that God makes a way out and provides from unexpected places as reassurance to the vulnerable party that she need not accept oppression for shelter. The objector, he says, skips all of this. Mufti Abu Layth holds that the promise in 65:2-3 that God makes a way out and provides from unexpected places is addressed to the vulnerable party in a divorce, who need not accept oppression for the sake of shelter and food.

Answer from 25 July 2019 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: A Reply to Abdullah Sameer's Allegation: The Quran Teaches Paedophilia | Mufti Abu Layth (at 10:20)

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 10:20 · Open the segment

What is the iddah after divorce and why does the Quran require it?

2019-07-25T00:00:00Z

What is the iddah after divorce and why does the Quran require it?

The iddah is a waiting period of one to three cycles after a divorce which establishes whether the woman is pregnant and prevents suspicion and conflict, and during it she keeps the right to stay in the home. Mufti Abu Layth reads this as the opening of the passage the objector quotes from. Mufti Abu Layth holds that the iddah in Surah al-Talaq serves to establish pregnancy and to prevent suspicion and conflict after a divorce, and that the divorced woman is entitled to remain in the home during it.

Answer from 25 July 2019 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: A Reply to Abdullah Sameer's Allegation: The Quran Teaches Paedophilia | Mufti Abu Layth (at 6:26)

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 6:26 · Open the segment

Did the Prophet restore the original rituals of Ibrahim at the Kaaba?

2019-07-08T00:00:00Z

Did the Prophet restore the original rituals of Ibrahim at the Kaaba?

No: nothing was in Makkah when Ibrahim arrived, and although he and Ismail built the house of remembrance, Safa and Marwa are never linked to him. The Quran presents them only as symbols for remembering God, so there is no point guessing at older origins. Mufti Abu Layth says the Prophet could not have restored original Abrahamic rituals of Safa and Marwa, since nothing was in Makkah when Ibrahim arrived and the Quran presents Safa and Marwa only as symbols for remembering God, without linking them to Ibrahim.

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 24:46)

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 24:46 · Open the segment

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

2019-01-14T00:00:00Z

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

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

2018-12-24T00:00:00Z

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

Does Islam punish someone for leaving the faith?

2018-05-10T00:00:00Z

Does Islam punish someone for leaving the faith?

Islam gives freedom of belief: the Quran says there is no compulsion in religion and leaves belief to choice, and neither the Quran nor the established Sunnah says an apostate must be killed. Mufti Abu Layth says Islam gives freedom of faith and condemns coercion, and that neither the Quran nor the established Sunnah says an apostate must be killed.

Answer from 10 May 2018 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Apostasy has NO punishment in Islam: A Qur'an & Sunnah Analysis by Mufti Abu Layth (at 0:00)

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 0:00 · Open the segment

Did Musa beat Pharaoh's magicians with stronger magic?

2018-04-20T00:00:00Z

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

If jinn do not possess people, what is ruqya for?

2018-04-15T00:00:00Z

If jinn do not possess people, what is ruqya for?

The Quran is a cure for what is in the hearts, meaning disbelief and superstition, not a medical treatment. Ruqya and the du'as taught against omens are a scaffolding that steadies a person's faith until it can stand on its own, because the mind clings to ritual. Mufti Abu Layth holds that the Quran's healing is for what is in the hearts, meaning disbelief and superstition, and that ruqya and the du'as taught against omens are a scaffolding, like a walking frame, that steadies people's iman because the human mind clings to ritual.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Jinn: Myth and Reality in Islam by Mufti Abu Layth (at 44:33)

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 44:33 · Open the segment

Does the Quran's riba verse prove that Satan can possess people?

2018-04-15T00:00:00Z

Does the Quran's riba verse prove that Satan can possess people?

No: Mufti Abu Layth says the verse is imagery, read by the commentators as describing how riba-takers rise on the Day of Judgement or as a picture of consuming greed, and the Quran uses such images, like the zaqqum tree's heads of devils, because humans have imagination. Mufti Abu Layth holds that the riba verse's image of one driven unstable by Satan's touch is Quranic imagery drawing on human imagination, read by commentators as describing the resurrection or greed, and is not evidence for possession, just as the zaqqum tree's 'heads of devils' is not.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Jinn: Myth and Reality in Islam by Mufti Abu Layth (at 7:47)

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 7:47 · 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

Does the verse about Jesus speaking as a kahl prove he will return?

2018-03-15T00:00:00Z

Does the verse about Jesus speaking as a kahl prove he will return?

No: kahl means mature adulthood from about thirty or forty, and al-Razi says Jesus reached that age on earth. The reading of the verse as the second coming first appeared with a scholar who died in the 280s AH, not among the salaf. Mufti Abu Layth holds that kahl in the verse means mature adulthood, which Jesus reached on earth as al-Razi states, and that the reading of the verse as a prophecy of his return originated with a scholar who died in the 280s AH and was unknown to the salaf.

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 5:13)

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 5:13 · Open the segment

Verses 4:159 and 43:61: 'before his death' and 'knowledge of the hour'

2018-03-13T00:00:00Z

Verses 4:159 and 43:61: 'before his death' and 'knowledge of the hour'

Neither 4:159 nor 43:61 establishes a return: the early exegetes read 4:159 of each Christian at death, Ubayy's reading is plural, and 43:61 says knowledge, not sign. Mufti Abu Layth holds that 4:159 refers to each Christian believing at death, following Ibn Abbas, Mujahid and Ubayy's plural reading, and that 43:61 says Jesus is knowledge of the hour, not a sign, so neither verse establishes a return.

Answer from 13 March 2018 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: PRELUDE: Why There Is NO 2nd Coming Of Jesus (as) In Islam- Mufti Abu Layth (at 2:11:25)

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 2:11:25 · Open the segment

Verse 3:46 and the meaning of kahl: al-Razi and the origin of the second-coming reading

2018-03-13T00:00:00Z

Verse 3:46 and the meaning of kahl: al-Razi and the origin of the second-coming reading

Kahl in 3:46 means mature manhood, which al-Razi says Jesus reached on earth; the reading of the verse as a second coming began only in the late third century with al-Bajali. Mufti Abu Layth holds that kahl in 3:46 means mature manhood from about thirty or forty, which Jesus reached on earth as al-Razi said, and that reading the verse as a second coming began only with al-Husayn ibn al-Fadl al-Bajali in the third century.

Answer from 13 March 2018 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: PRELUDE: Why There Is NO 2nd Coming Of Jesus (as) In Islam- Mufti Abu Layth (at 2:08:49)

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 2:08:49 · Open the segment

Why did the Quran declare war on riba?

2017-10-19T00:00:00Z

Why did the Quran declare war on riba?

The Quran declared war on riba because of the tyranny of a loan-shark culture in a world of finite money, which modern banking does not resemble. The only similarity is that more is repaid than taken, which banks explain by inflation and motivation. Mufti Abu Layth says the Quran declared war on riba because of the tyranny of a loan-shark culture in a world of finite money, and that modern bank lending, whose only similarity is that more is repaid than taken, is nothing like it.

Answer from 19 October 2017 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Are Mortgages & Bank Loans Haram? - Mufti Abu Layth (at 47:23)

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 49:44 · Open the segment

Does the Quran forbid every kind of excess when it forbids riba?

2017-10-19T00:00:00Z

Does the Quran forbid every kind of excess when it forbids riba?

The definite article in 'Allah forbade riba' points to a specific known kind of riba, not every excess, since most excesses are not haram. Umar wished the Prophet had explained riba, and Ibn Abbas held there was no riba except in delay. Mufti Abu Layth says the definite article in the Quran's prohibition of riba refers to a particular kind of riba already known to its hearers, not to every excess, since riba simply means excess and most excesses are agreed not to be haram.

Answer from 19 October 2017 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Are Mortgages & Bank Loans Haram? - Mufti Abu Layth (at 14:16)

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 14:16 · Open the segment

Does the Quran's verse about the touch of Shaytan prove that jinn possess people?

2017-09-20T00:00:00Z

Does the Quran's verse about the touch of Shaytan prove that jinn possess people?

No: the riba verse describes how usurers will rise on the Day of Judgement or pictures their greed, and the image of Shaytan's touch is drawn from human imagination, like the tree of Jahannam whose fruit is 'like the heads of devils'. It is a misused verse, not a proof. Mufti Abu Layth says the riba verse 2:275 describes how such people will rise on the Day of Judgement or pictures their greed, and that like the zaqqum fruit resembling the heads of devils it is imagery drawing on human imagination, not evidence that possession is real.

Answer from 20 September 2017 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Jinn Possessions: Myth and Reality in Islam by Sh. Akram Nadwi & Mufti Abu Layth (at 58:35)

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 58:35 · Open the segment

The verse on men having a degree over women, read in its passage

2016-03-15T00:00:00Z

The verse on men having a degree over women, read in its passage

The verse about a degree over women is read by one speaker as concerning women in their waiting period, not a general ranking of men above women.

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 5:25)

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 5:25 · Open the segment