Mufti Abu Layth Archive: society/education-and-madrasas/how-to-study-islam

Is studying religious knowledge better than voluntary prayer?

Fri, 10 Mar 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Is studying religious knowledge better than voluntary prayer?

Imam Malik taught that devotion to learning is not lesser than voluntary worship, the paths to God being many, and Mufti Abu Layth urges not underestimating it. Mufti Abu Layth says one should not underestimate the value of devotion to learning, or think voluntary prayer is somehow more valuable to God.

Answer from 10 March 2023 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: The Legendary Imam Malik Ibn Anas | Mufti Abu Layth (at 42:25)

A more recent answer on history/scholars-and-imams/imam-malik exists (19 April 2023): Did Imam Malik reject the hadith he did not act on?

Watch on YouTube at 42:25 · Open the segment

Where can I learn the Maliki school in English?

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

Where can I learn the Maliki school in English?

Mufti Abu Layth suggests the translations of Aisha Bewley, Hamza Yusuf's recorded lessons on a basic Maliki text, Shaykh Ali Laraki's translation, and teachers such as Abdalhaqq Bewley.

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 1:50:03)

A more recent answer on fiqh/maliki-school exists (19 April 2023): Why does the practice of Madinah matter more than a single hadith?

Watch on YouTube at 1:50:03 · Open the segment

What has Yasir Qadhi said about challenging the giants of the Islamic tradition?

Sun, 14 Mar 2021 00:00:00 +0000

What has Yasir Qadhi said about challenging the giants of the Islamic tradition?

A clip circulated by a critic shows Qadhi saying that even the giants' views should not matter to a true researcher and that scholarship has become regurgitation. Mufti Abu Layth notes that the critic accuses Qadhi of exactly what Qadhi accuses Mufti of.

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 57:59)

A more recent answer on society/education-and-madrasas/how-to-study-islam exists (10 March 2023): Is studying religious knowledge better than voluntary prayer?

Watch on YouTube at 57:59 · Open the segment

Has Yasir Qadhi said that the views of great scholars should not bind a researcher?

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

Has Yasir Qadhi said that the views of great scholars should not bind a researcher?

Mufti Abu Layth plays a clip of Qadhi urging researchers to break from inherited scholarship, and notes that the critic sharing it accuses Qadhi of the modernism Qadhi charges others with.

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 2:01:49)

A more recent answer on society/education-and-madrasas/how-to-study-islam exists (10 March 2023): Is studying religious knowledge better than voluntary prayer?

Watch on YouTube at 2:01:49 · Open the segment

How did Shaykh Atabek Shukurov become a scholar?

Fri, 29 Jan 2021 00:00:00 +0000

How did Shaykh Atabek Shukurov become a scholar?

The guest traces his path from a Soviet childhood through Karachi and Saudi Arabia to eight years in Syria, where he learned to compare inherited cultures with the classical texts.

Answer from 29 January 2021 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

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

Recording: Shaykh Atabek Shukurov | Mortgages, Madhabs & Molvi-ism | MindTrap 48 | Mufti Abu Layth (at 6:17)

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

Watch on YouTube at 6:17 · Open the segment

Can a woman become a mufti?

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

Can a woman become a mufti?

Yes: anyone, a woman included, can become a mufti, but must persevere through often dogmatic institutions, in a field he says is neglected and lacks support. Mufti Abu Layth says a woman can become a mufti, that the field of Islamic scholarship is neglected and attracts little talent because it lacks support, and that anyone who wants to become a mufti must persevere through often dogmatic institutions.

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 56:57)

A more recent answer on society/education-and-madrasas/how-to-study-islam exists (10 March 2023): Is studying religious knowledge better than voluntary prayer?

Watch on YouTube at 56:57 · Open the segment

Should I study at Dar al-Mustafa in Yemen or at al-Azhar?

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

Should I study at Dar al-Mustafa in Yemen or at al-Azhar?

Mufti Abu Layth would not go to Yemen now because it is unstable; al-Azhar is still an option, and short stints abroad after local study may be best. Mufti Abu Layth says Yemen is not a very stable location right now and he does not think it would be very wise to go there.

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

Kind: answer to a specific questioner

Recording: Monday Nights with Mufti #197 | Q&A Unscripted & Unrestricted! 😉 | Mufti Abu Layth (at 1:24:32)

A more recent answer on society/education-and-madrasas/how-to-study-islam exists (10 March 2023): Is studying religious knowledge better than voluntary prayer?

Watch on YouTube at 1:24:32 · Open the segment

Should I go to Madinah University or a madrasa to study Islam?

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

Should I go to Madinah University or a madrasa to study Islam?

The guest advises open-minded, critical thinkers against a traditional madrasa, which he says selects, programmes and isolates its students from current scholarship, citing his own rejection by Madinah University.

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 6:44)

A more recent answer on society/education-and-madrasas/how-to-study-islam exists (10 March 2023): Is studying religious knowledge better than voluntary prayer?

Watch on YouTube at 6:44 · Open the segment

Is it better to study Islam at a madrasa or at a Western university?

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

Is it better to study Islam at a madrasa or at a Western university?

The guest says he chose the critical academic study of Islam over al-Azhar, considering it superior, though he took two years of al-Azhar's online programme and recommends combining traditional and academic study.

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 3:37)

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

Watch on YouTube at 3:37 · Open the segment

Why did a medical doctor choose to study religion at Harvard?

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

Why did a medical doctor choose to study religion at Harvard?

The guest describes training as a physician and then turning to Arabic and Islamic studies at Berkeley and Harvard, where he is now a PhD candidate in the study of religion, despite his family's initial unease.

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 0:04)

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

Watch on YouTube at 0:04 · Open the segment

Can I learn Islam properly on my own alongside a degree?

Tue, 04 Aug 2020 00:00:00 +0000

Can I learn Islam properly on my own alongside a degree?

Mufti Abu Layth advises keeping the career and studying Islam on the side; those at a madrasa must keep their critical faculties alive themselves. Mufti Abu Layth says that someone focused on a career can learn Islam on the side and does not need to abandon secular studies to become a full-time madrasa student.

Answer from 4 August 2020 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Monday Nights with Mufti Abu Layth #176 *Q&A Unscripted & Unrestricted!* 🤣 (at 1:04:18)

A more recent answer on society/education-and-madrasas/how-to-study-islam exists (10 March 2023): Is studying religious knowledge better than voluntary prayer?

Watch on YouTube at 1:04:18 · Open the segment

Should I give up my career plans to study full time at a madrasa?

Tue, 04 Aug 2020 00:00:00 +0000

Should I give up my career plans to study full time at a madrasa?

Mufti Abu Layth would maybe not advise leaving a career for a madrasa: it offers structure and companionship but dumbs students down. Mufti Abu Layth says the drawback of going through the madrasa system is that, unfortunately, it dumbs you down.

Answer from 4 August 2020 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Monday Nights with Mufti Abu Layth #176 *Q&A Unscripted & Unrestricted!* 🤣 (at 51:41)

A more recent answer on society/education-and-madrasas/how-to-study-islam exists (10 March 2023): Is studying religious knowledge better than voluntary prayer?

Watch on YouTube at 54:07 · Open the segment

Who is Dr Khalil Andani and how did he come to study Islam academically?

Fri, 03 Jul 2020 00:00:00 +0000

Who is Dr Khalil Andani and how did he come to study Islam academically?

The guest describes leaving a career in accountancy to study Islamic studies at Harvard, where he finished a PhD and now teaches religion at a US college.

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

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

Recording: Prof. Dr Khalil Andani | The Oral Text & the Ontology of The Quran | Mindtrap with Mufti #28 (at 3:01)

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

Watch on YouTube at 3:01 · Open the segment

How should someone approach studying Islam with an open mind?

Sun, 19 Apr 2020 00:00:00 +0000

How should someone approach studying Islam with an open mind?

The guest urges viewers to study sincerely, without bias or partisanship, across all books; Mufti Abu Layth says the transparency of the early scholars is badly needed today.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Shaykh Kashif Khan | Policing thought, Pornography & Pandora's box | MindTrap with Mufti #15 (at 2:54:03)

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

Watch on YouTube at 2:54:03 · Open the segment

Why talk publicly about permissive opinions if it might encourage people?

Sun, 19 Apr 2020 00:00:00 +0000

Why talk publicly about permissive opinions if it might encourage people?

The guest says knowledge cannot be hidden in the internet age and that people lose trust when scholars conceal it, so it is better to tell them the recorded opinions.

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

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

Recording: Shaykh Kashif Khan | Policing thought, Pornography & Pandora's box | MindTrap with Mufti #15 (at 2:23:40)

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

Watch on YouTube at 2:23:40 · Open the segment

Who should I listen to about political ideas in Islam?

Mon, 03 Sep 2018 00:00:00 +0000

Who should I listen to about political ideas in Islam?

Anyone speaking about ideas in Islam should at least be a scholar; he warns young people away from caliphate groups and points to Hamza Yusuf's lecture calling the caliphate a myth. Mufti Abu Layth says anyone who wants to speak about ideas within Islam should at least be a scholar, though they can still be wrong.

Answer from 3 September 2018 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Response to Abdullah al Andalusi (at 18:31)

A more recent answer on society/education-and-madrasas/how-to-study-islam exists (10 March 2023): Is studying religious knowledge better than voluntary prayer?

Watch on YouTube at 18:31 · Open the segment

Is it worth studying at a madrasa?

Thu, 15 Feb 2018 00:00:00 +0000

Is it worth studying at a madrasa?

The madrasa is an excellent place if you bring critical thinking to it, and dogmatising if you do not; studying with several denominations, as he did, helps you see the good and the bad in each. Mufti Abu Layth says the madrasa is an awesome place if one can bring critical thought, evaluation and application to it, and that otherwise it will further dogmatise one.

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

Kind: general teaching

Recording: The Maulana/Madrassa crisis & Why my views appear to be different? - Mufti Abu Layth al-Maliki (at 15:16)

A more recent answer on society/education-and-madrasas/how-to-study-islam exists (10 March 2023): Is studying religious knowledge better than voluntary prayer?

Watch on YouTube at 15:16 · Open the segment

How can young Muslims be made interested in their faith?

Wed, 21 Dec 2016 00:00:00 +0000

How can young Muslims be made interested in their faith?

Learn some Arabic and get to know the scholars as the fascinating, humorous people they were, presenting the deen as appealingly as it truly is. Mufti Abu Layth says everybody should on some level be learning Arabic.

Answer from 21 December 2016 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Islam in the 21st Century | Mufti Abu Layth | Ha Meem Foundation (at 40:05)

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

Watch on YouTube at 40:05 · Open the segment

How did Mufti Abu Layth become a mufti?

Wed, 02 Jul 2014 00:00:00 +0000

How did Mufti Abu Layth become a mufti?

It was not planned: an interest in Arabic and the Quran grew step by step, taking him from self-study to Syria and then Pakistan, where he trained as a mufti.

Answer from 2 July 2014 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Insights to a personal journey: An interview with Mufti Abu Layth (at 0:11)

A more recent answer on wellbeing/personal-stories exists (18 October 2025): Is there a middle way between rejecting all hadith and accepting every hadith?

Watch on YouTube at 0:11 · Open the segment