# Why did Abdullah ibn Abi Sarh leave Islam for a time?

*Why did Abdullah ibn Abi Sarh leave Islam? Incentives, not a crisis of faith*

- URL: https://muftiabulayth.org/r/b1ooltqtptw/s/12/
- Date: 2021-03-02 · Kind: question · Transcript tier: machine · Recording: Monday Nights with Mufti #204 | Q&A Unscripted & Unrestricted! 😉 | Mufti Abu Layth (59:58–1:03:51)
- Status: general teaching
- Watch from the start of the segment: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b1OOltqtPTw&t=3598s
- Recording page: https://muftiabulayth.org/r/b1ooltqtptw/

**Topics:** The companions; Apostasy and blasphemy; The life of the Prophet

**Question as asked:** Was Abdullah ibn Abi Sarh's [?] apostasy due to doubts about the Quran?

**Summary (not a quotation; machine-made, unchecked):** Not doubt about the Quran: he feels the man was incentivised by the Makkans and rewarded for intelligence about Madinah, and he later returned to Islam and governed in Egypt.

**Checked position (checked by two independent reviews, not by the channel):** Mufti Abu Layth says he feels the apostasy asked about was not a theological crisis but a case of being incentivised by the Makkans.

**Evidence, his words at 1:01:16:** “he is rewarded generously for some of the intel that he provides and i feel that that was the situation it was just human all too human you know it wasn't a theological crisis” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b1OOltqtPTw&t=3676s)

## Longer summary

Mufti Abu Layth reads a super chat, garbled in the transcript, about the apostasy of a man he later describes as becoming a governor in Egypt, taken here to be Abdullah ibn Abi Sarh [?]. He refers to his video on this and says the claim that the man left because he lacked certainty in the Quran rests on stories without any established chain, and is unlikely given that he became Muslim again. He feels it was human, all too human, not a theological crisis: converts often stayed in touch with Makkah, and he was incentivised, went back to Makkah, shared secrets about how volatile Madinah was and its weak points, and was rewarded generously. He compares the famous poet al-A'sha [?], who was on his way to embrace Islam when the Quraysh paid him camels to delay a year, fearing his celebrity, and who died within the year. He says this is why the Prophet deemed the man an enemy of the state and a serious threat, though he did not have him executed, and that he later played a powerful role as a governor in Egypt.

## Sources and names cited

- Abdullah ibn Abi Sarh [?]
- al-A'sha [?] (the poet)
- Quraysh

## Transcript (machine tier, 59:58–1:03:51)

[59:20] from that time when i did that but inshallah line years to come when it when it turns full circle you know papi here we're a bit sinful yet that in the words of that that but i feel that you know when a time inshallah in life at some point that it will go full circle that i will go back to the prophet's mass because my journey the religious journey

[59:58] began from there but yeah so um yeah i mean that's my thoughts on all of this cool let's take a look somebody says i've missed a super chat let me take a look clear you're doing it with the stars shukran shukran much love uh abdullah ibn apostasy due to um i have answered uh about this on my uh in my video clip

[1:00:36] um on rcrb so if you do watch that i do reply to it there um i go through it that look that's not true abdullah um i mean there's this there's some stories they're not with a any established chain or anything but there's an incident that he claims that oh it was his lack of certainty in the quran if that's the case how you know he became muslim later on again it seems very likely that he because when he leaves medina he goes back to makkah and he is

[1:01:16] quite um um he is rewarded generously for some of the intel that he provides and i feel that that was the situation it was just human all too human you know it wasn't a theological crisis it was just you see it's like many people when you embrace something sometimes you know you you don't look weird people could have embraced the faith all day life and still have doubts now he embraces it he's still in touch many people were still in touch with the people of makkah and he is incentivized that look if he's come back

[1:01:55] will give you you know will will kind of make it worth your while and there were many cases where people did do that you know there's the famous story of allah the famous poet from the who was on route to embrace islam they say and he was then kind of motivated and then they cut him a deal they rewarded him you know generously paid him camels and many and all kinds of things that okay can he delay it at least a year is because they were worried he was a celebrity and his celebrity status would glorify islam and he agrees to delaying

[1:02:34] a year and he actually dies a natural death within that year before the you know before that deadline is up so there were incidents like this and i feel that that's simply all it was that he was incentivized he does go to makkah he does share a lot of kind of secrets about medina how volatile it is the weak points and and hence he is rewarded generously um and this is why he was deemed an enemy of the state by the prophet but the prophet didn't actually have him um you know executed or anything but he was deemed a a threat

[1:03:13] a serious threat but then you know and he goes on later on to play a very powerful role in islam as well he goes on to become one of the i believe the governors in egypt but yeah so that's that right people i think we need to move on to our below it ah below it people are below it all right people are right so what we have is there has been or below it

[1:03:50] has made a post saying look the dramas of refutations the dramas people the the dramas of refutation saying what's all this drama what's all this refutation why are they refuting why do people want to refute me refute the idea goddammit refute the idea not the person

## Cite

Mufti Abu Layth Archive, segment b1OOltqtPTw/s/12. https://muftiabulayth.org/r/b1ooltqtptw/s/12/

Not a fatwa: these answers were given to specific people at specific times. Ask a qualified scholar about your own situation.