Mufti Abu Layth Archive: relationships/marriage

Is child marriage legal in Western countries?

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

Is child marriage legal in Western countries?

No: Mufti Abu Layth says Western ages of consent cluster around sixteen and do not allow an adult with a child, and imams should condemn child marriage with one voice. Mufti Abu Layth says Western age-of-consent laws do not permit adults to marry or have relations with children, and that imams should speak with one voice in condemning child marriage.

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 2:01:53)

A more recent answer on fiqh/marriage-contracts exists (10 December 2022): How did Abu Hanifa solve the case of two brides sent to the wrong grooms?

Watch on YouTube at 2:01:53 · Open the segment

Did the Prophet say a wife should prostrate to her husband?

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

Did the Prophet say a wife should prostrate to her husband?

The report is not authentic: it was probably put into circulation to support the family hierarchy of a patriarchal society. The report urging violent jealousy over female relatives is likewise fabricated. Mufti Abu Layth says the report that the Prophet would have ordered wives to prostrate to their husbands is not authentic and was probably circulated to support the family hierarchy of a patriarchal society, and that the report urging violent jealousy over female relatives is likewise fabricated.

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 49:54)

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 51:13 · Open the segment

What can I do if I can't afford to marry but want to avoid zina?

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

What can I do if I can't afford to marry but want to avoid zina?

Mufti Abu Layth has no easy answer: religion is failing people here because scholars and cultures will not discuss options, and marriage has become too costly for the young. Mufti Abu Layth says religion is failing people on this, not because it lacks the inbuilt mechanisms, but because scholars are not ready to have that conversation.

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 1:17:06)

A more recent answer on fiqh/sexual-ethics exists (22 February 2023): Did some Muslim scholars say homosexuality is not haram?

Watch on YouTube at 1:17:35 · Open the segment

Is a secret nikah allowed?

Mon, 24 Aug 2020 00:00:00 +0000

Is a secret nikah allowed?

A secret nikah that deceives the woman is exploitation he condemns, but a low-commitment marriage both adults openly agree to is, he says, permissible. Mufti Abu Layth says that a low-commitment marriage that both adults understand and are comfortable with is, he would feel, permissible.

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 2:22:34)

A more recent answer on fiqh/polygamy-and-mutah exists (22 February 2023): Is there an LGBTQ push in media and schools?

Watch on YouTube at 2:23:11 · Open the segment

Is it haram to kiss my wife in public?

Thu, 12 Dec 2019 00:00:00 +0000

Is it haram to kiss my wife in public?

A greeting kiss on the cheek or forehead in public, as is common in the Gulf and seen in the Haram, is no problem because it is affectionate rather than sensual. A passionate kiss in public would be a problem. Mufti Abu Layth says a greeting kiss on the cheek or forehead in public, such as those exchanged in the Gulf and seen in the Haram between men and their wives or mahram women, is not sexual and is no problem, whereas a passionate kiss in public would be.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Is It Haram to Kiss in Public? -Mufti Abu Layhth (at 0:00)

A more recent answer on fiqh/gender-interaction exists (13 April 2021): Does a community gathering have to be gender segregated?

Watch on YouTube at 0:00 · Open the segment

Why is celibacy praised despite a hadith against it while music is condemned without one?

Wed, 18 Sep 2019 00:00:00 +0000

Why is celibacy praised despite a hadith against it while music is condemned without one?

A sahih hadith condemns the vow never to marry, yet unmarried scholars are praised in books like Abu Ghudda's, because celibacy fits the picture of religion as self-denial; music, which fits the opposite picture, is condemned although no clear sahih hadith names it. The default law remains that everything is permissible unless proven otherwise. Mufti Abu Layth says celibacy was praised in the tradition despite a sahih hadith condemning it, because it fits people's picture of religion as suffering and self-denial, whereas music, which has no sahih hadith against it, is condemned.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: In Depth: Is Music allowed in Islam? | Mufti Abu Layth (at 1:00:02)

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 1:00:02 · Open the segment

Why is it harmful when religious influencers present a fake perfect life?

Thu, 01 Aug 2019 00:00:00 +0000

Why is it harmful when religious influencers present a fake perfect life?

Mufti Abu Layth says their private lives were their own business, and that the harm lay in preaching standards they could not live by and selling an unattainable ideal of marriage in God's name.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Umm Abdullah & Hasanat Scandal | Mufti Abu Layth (at 4:26)

A more recent answer on society/technology-and-media/social-media exists (15 May 2021): What can ordinary people do about the Palestinian crisis, and do social-media posts help?

Watch on YouTube at 4:26 · Open the segment

Can a jinn fall in love with someone or break up a marriage?

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

Can a jinn fall in love with someone or break up a marriage?

No, in Mufti Abu Layth's view: jinn, if they exist, would be as different from humans as extremophile bacteria, and nobody thinks a bacterium is jealous of their marriage. Relationships end through human behaviour, and people should own that rather than blame the jinn. Mufti Abu Layth holds that even if the jinn exist they would belong to a domain of life as remote from humans as archaea, so the idea of a jinn falling in love with someone or wrecking a marriage is absurd, and people must take responsibility for their own relationships.

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 58:57)

A more recent answer on belief/unseen-beings/jinn-possession exists (26 April 2021): Do obscene or blasphemous thoughts during prayer ruin my salah?

Watch on YouTube at 58:57 · Open the segment

What should a couple agree before marriage about registering and money?

Mon, 05 Mar 2018 00:00:00 +0000

What should a couple agree before marriage about registering and money?

Have an open conversation before marriage about registration and finances, and if the marriage is not registered the woman should keep her own work, income and property. Saying a woman may not work is cultural and backward, not Islam. Mufti Abu Layth advises an open conversation before marriage about registration and finances, encourages women to keep independent income and property, and condemns as cultural and un-Islamic the attitude that a woman may not work.

Answer from 5 March 2018 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Zina, Marriage and Relationships - Mufti Abu Layth al-Maliki (at 18:10)

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 18:10 · Open the segment

Should I register my nikah as a civil marriage?

Mon, 05 Mar 2018 00:00:00 +0000

Should I register my nikah as a civil marriage?

Mufti Abu Layth is not sure civil registration is the answer, because he objects to needing the state's permission to leave a relationship. He accepts the financial arguments on both sides, the man's fear of losing half his property and the woman's risk of being left with nothing. Mufti Abu Layth says he is not sure civil registration is the solution for Muslim marriages, because he objects to needing the state's permission to leave a relationship, while acknowledging the financial arguments on both sides.

Answer from 5 March 2018 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Zina, Marriage and Relationships - Mufti Abu Layth al-Maliki (at 13:02)

A more recent answer on fiqh/divorce exists (10 March 2023): Why was Imam Malik flogged?

Watch on YouTube at 15:37 · Open the segment

Does an exclusive boyfriend-girlfriend relationship count as a nikah?

Mon, 05 Mar 2018 00:00:00 +0000

Does an exclusive boyfriend-girlfriend relationship count as a nikah?

Mufti Abu Layth does not endorse the idea but calls it a good question that the ulama should discuss. He says the past had simple marriage, unstigmatised divorce and other accepted outlets, whereas Muslims today have only a culturally dramatised, expensive nikah. Mufti Abu Layth holds that in the past marriage was simple, divorce was not stigmatised and other outlets were accepted, so earlier scholars never stressed this topic, whereas Muslims today have only a culturally dramatised and expensive nikah; he leaves the question whether an exclusive relationship amounts to nikah for the ulama to discuss.

Answer from 5 March 2018 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Zina, Marriage and Relationships - Mufti Abu Layth al-Maliki (at 10:25)

A more recent answer on fiqh/sexual-ethics exists (22 February 2023): Did some Muslim scholars say homosexuality is not haram?

Watch on YouTube at 10:25 · Open the segment

Why is it so hard for young Muslims to marry, and what are they supposed to do about desire?

Mon, 05 Mar 2018 00:00:00 +0000

Why is it so hard for young Muslims to marry, and what are they supposed to do about desire?

Men of eighteen or nineteen are generally not ready for marriage but have strong sexual needs, and Mufti Abu Layth says current religious teaching offers no real solution. He calls advice to fast and lower the gaze inadequate and asks scholars to acknowledge the problem. Mufti Abu Layth holds that men of eighteen or nineteen are generally not ready for marriage yet have strong sexual needs, that the usual advice to fast and lower the gaze is inadequate, and that, unlike in the past, Islam today has no solution to offer to this problem, which scholarship should acknowledge.

Answer from 5 March 2018 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Zina, Marriage and Relationships - Mufti Abu Layth al-Maliki (at 5:10)

A more recent answer on fiqh/sexual-ethics exists (22 February 2023): Did some Muslim scholars say homosexuality is not haram?

Watch on YouTube at 5:10 · Open the segment

Is zina today the same issue it was in the past?

Mon, 05 Mar 2018 00:00:00 +0000

Is zina today the same issue it was in the past?

Much of the inherited social theory on relationships and marriage no longer matches today's reality, and Mufti Abu Layth calls for ulama to re-examine the context with fresh ijtihad. He describes marriage today as costly and idealised, with divorce and polygamy stigmatised. Mufti Abu Layth holds that much of the inherited social theory on relationships and marriage no longer matches today's circumstances and that ulama should re-analyse the context and offer suitable ijtihad.

Answer from 5 March 2018 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Zina, Marriage and Relationships - Mufti Abu Layth al-Maliki (at 0:00)

A more recent answer on fiqh/sexual-ethics exists (22 February 2023): Did some Muslim scholars say homosexuality is not haram?

Watch on YouTube at 1:18 · Open the segment

Did great scholars like Ibn Hajar have private lives that would be condemned today?

Fri, 29 Sep 2017 00:00:00 +0000

Did great scholars like Ibn Hajar have private lives that would be condemned today?

Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani married a woman who had been his wife's slave girl without anyone warning the ummah against him, Mufti Abu Layth says, so such private conduct cannot be called abuse. Words like abuse imply real abuse and are dangerous. Mufti Abu Layth holds that conduct such as Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani's marriage to his wife's former slave girl was never treated as abuse of power or as grounds to warn the ummah against him, and that the word abuse should be kept for real abuse, not the breaking of corporate rules.

Answer from 29 September 2017 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Propaganda against Ustadh Nouman Ali Khan - Mufti Abu Layth (at 30:07)

A more recent answer on history/scholars-and-imams exists (10 December 2022): How did Abu Hanifa become a scholar after starting out as a merchant?

Watch on YouTube at 30:07 · Open the segment

Is it wrong to be attracted to someone because of their status or position?

Fri, 29 Sep 2017 00:00:00 +0000

Is it wrong to be attracted to someone because of their status or position?

Attraction to status and relationships between people who work closely together are natural, not abuse, and Islam leaves consensual relationships to the people involved. Mufti Abu Layth cites Hasan ibn Ali, al-Mughira ibn Shu'ba and Ibn Hazm as figures whose private lives did not disqualify them. Mufti Abu Layth holds that Islam leaves people to their own consensual relationships and does not judge them, and that attraction to status is natural and not in itself an abuse of power.

Answer from 29 September 2017 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Propaganda against Ustadh Nouman Ali Khan - Mufti Abu Layth (at 26:10)

A more recent answer on history/scholars-and-imams exists (10 December 2022): How did Abu Hanifa become a scholar after starting out as a merchant?

Watch on YouTube at 26:10 · Open the segment

Is a relationship between a leader and a follower automatically abuse?

Fri, 29 Sep 2017 00:00:00 +0000

Is a relationship between a leader and a follower automatically abuse?

A consensual relationship between adults is not abuse just because one has status, and Mufti Abu Layth calls the contrary claim insulting to women. Abuse of power is coercion, such as a boss demanding sexual acts to keep a job; Khadijah's marriage to the Prophet who worked for her is his first counter-example. Mufti Abu Layth holds that a consensual relationship between adults is not abuse merely because one party has status, and that abuse of power means coercion such as a boss demanding sexual acts from a worker to keep her job.

Answer from 29 September 2017 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Propaganda against Ustadh Nouman Ali Khan - Mufti Abu Layth (at 23:33)

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 23:33 · Open the segment

Could a jinn fall in love with my spouse and break up my marriage?

Wed, 20 Sep 2017 00:00:00 +0000

Could a jinn fall in love with my spouse and break up my marriage?

No: a jinn, created from fire, would belong to a domain of life as alien to us as extremophile bacteria, which do not fall in love or envy marriages. Blaming jinn or magic for a failed relationship comes from the stigma Muslims attach to mental illness. Mufti Abu Layth says Muslims' stigma against mental illness pushes them to blame jinn or magic, and that jinn, if considered at all, belong to a different domain of life from humans, like extremophile Archaea, so they do not fall in love or wreck marriages.

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 1:48:25)

A more recent answer on belief/unseen-beings/jinn-possession exists (26 April 2021): Do obscene or blasphemous thoughts during prayer ruin my salah?

Watch on YouTube at 1:48:25 · Open the segment