# If the Safiyya story is in Sahih al-Bukhari, why question it? *'But it is in Bukhari': conflicting reports, past scholars bound by their age, and Einstein's changed answers* - URL: https://muftiabulayth.org/r/dper6y4mgwa/s/11/ - Date: 2018-02-21 · Kind: lesson · Transcript tier: machine · Recording: The Story of Safiyya: the Prophet's Jewish wife -Mufti Abu Layth al-Maliki (40:25–45:34) - Status: general teaching - Watch from the start of the segment: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dpeR6Y4MGwA&t=2425s - Recording page: https://muftiabulayth.org/r/dper6y4mgwa/ **Topics:** Sahih al-Bukhari (BukhariGate); Legal theory and method; The wives of the Prophet **Summary (not a quotation; machine-made, unchecked):** Because Bukhari's own narrations of the incident conflict, all rest on Anas, and Anas himself says nobody witnessed a marriage and they only assumed one from her being veiled. Earlier scholars were great but shaped by their times, and loyalty to them should not come before the Prophet's honour. **Checked position (checked by two independent reviews, not by the channel):** Mufti Abu Layth holds that a report being in Sahih al-Bukhari does not settle the matter when Bukhari's own narrations of it conflict and rest on one companion's assumption, and that Muslims are not bound by earlier scholars' understanding, shaped by their age, when the Prophet's honour is at stake. **Evidence, his words at 41:11:** “we are not held to account by the understanding of people before us they were amazing legends they were great geniuses but their own culture their own age influence their perception” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dpeR6Y4MGwA&t=2471s) ## Longer summary To the objection that the story is in Sahih al-Bukhari, Mufti Abu Layth answers that Bukhari itself holds many conflicting narrations of the incident, that it all comes from one companion, and that Anas himself says in Bukhari that they were unsure whether the Prophet had married her because there were no witnesses, deciding that if he covered her she was his wife, which Mufti calls an interpretation. To those who ask which scholars held this understanding before him, he says we are not held to account by the understanding of those before us: they were legends and geniuses, but their culture and age shaped their perception, and some may have heard the story and, in a brutal world, not thought to question it; that is no reason to turn a blind eye today, when attacks on Islam must be revisited in the light of our own understanding, since Allah addresses us in the Quran and asks whether we do not use reason. He tells the story attributed to Einstein who set his students the same exam as the year before because the answers had changed, meaning that perspectives change with time. He says one should not stop at 'Ibn Hajar said it is fine'; he respects and has read such scholars but will not blindly follow and throw the Prophet's honour away out of loyalty to a sect or group, since the honour of the Messenger and of Islam comes first. He closes saying he has spoken too long, that watching the clips hurt him since Muslims do Islamophobes' work for them, and that he hopes viewers will share this understanding. ## Sources and names cited - Sahih al-Bukhari - Anas ibn Malik - report: if the prophet veiled safiyya she was a wife and if not she was what his right hand possessed - Safiyya - Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani - Albert Einstein - creed cannot be blind-followed ## Transcript (machine tier, 40:25–45:34) [39:53] taking her having her on that night this is not true you are degrading you throwing the ginger of God off you know his honor off a cliff so have just pause and think for a moment what you are doing just think about it these things will lie they are not acceptable they are not acceptable if any other man was to do them you would be up in arms so why are you ascribing them to the Prophet and he said yeah but it's same Buhari but there's so many [40:32] conflicting narrations in Buhari about this incident and all this incident only comes from one company he telling me the prophet got married and nobody but honest knew only Anna snoozer and even Anna's himself in Buhari in his narrations is saying oh we weren't sure did he get married didn't he get married because there were no witnesses so he says I don't know let's he says let's wait if he covers her up then that will be it that means it's his wife no it doesn't mean that that may have been an interpretation so I hope insha'Allah this makes some sense and we have to [41:11] look afresh at things people will say look people will say that oh I want to know all the scholars that have agreed with this understanding this narrative before you look we are not held to account by the understanding of people before us they were amazing legends they were great geniuses but their own culture their own age influence their perception to some people they may have heard this story and thought well okay rather than questioning it they may have thought well because a thousand years [41:50] ago twelve hundred years ago the world was a brutal place so they may have thought a year so it doesn't matter but it does matter so just because they didn't choose to question certain things it doesn't mean it doesn't mean that you turn a blind eye we today are so desperately need wallahi to to review and revisit any attacks on Islam in light of our understand we need to do these things Allah is addressing us in the Quran after light happen do you not have [42:29] reason forget about them what about you let me relay a story to you you know they say about Albert Einstein that in 1942 he was a professor in Oxford University and he had a senior class of physics students and he gave them an exam and after the exam his assistant said to him he said to him you know professor he said am I not wrong in understanding that that was exactly the same exam you gave these students last [43:07] year and Einstein said he said yes it is and he goes well Einstein professor eyes how can you do them how can you do that how can you give these senior physics students the same exam they had last year and he said oh but the answers have changed you see this this is the thing because the time had changed what he meant is that we today have certain perspectives on certain things that [43:46] maybe we didn't last year so don't be projecting and don't we look stop this dogma and sectarian don't just say to me Oh even the Hajer said it's ok so it's ok I've respected Mahajan I may love him from that academic sense you know I've read up on his things I love these scholars no we called the yet but I'm not you know we don't have to be sheep and blind follow and throw the honor of the Prophet just for all royal tea to a sect or to a group or to [44:23] know so the honor of the messengers the honor aslam comes first okay then you can beat that's what we loyal to first and foremost people I've taken way too long today I just thought this was really important of a topic I you know I heard losing my voice now I heard this and wallah he I'm being on it hurt me to watch that I had to actually just switch it off I saw these clips and I thought to myself we don't need Islamophobes to [45:00] attack Islam Muslims have done such a great job of it themselves so it really bothered me and then some people had reached out to me with the similar question and I thought it's definitely it's necessary to kind of shed some understanding that I have perhaps you know it will make sense to you in the hope that you guys can use sha la pot this further take you to others inshallah ## Cite Mufti Abu Layth Archive, segment dpeR6Y4MGwA/s/11. https://muftiabulayth.org/r/dper6y4mgwa/s/11/ Not a fatwa: these answers were given to specific people at specific times. Ask a qualified scholar about your own situation.