"If I changed my appearance, my following would increase?" | Mufti Abu Layth

Yeah, this is more personal. What if do you think if you wore like a thobe and a turban and everything and become like a mufti in the eyes a proper mufti Of course. gain followers and like masses would they follow you? Yeah, I I think I think you know Oh, go ahead. Please, go ahead. No, so I I think yes.

I would I won't lie to you. I think if I let's say I keep all my you know what people say I've got wacky wacko views I've got fringe opinions I've got like crazy whatever let's say wacko. I keep all my wacko views. Even if I kept my laughter I keep my laughter. But I wear an imamah.

I grow the side of the beard out a bit. Like let's just say even if I don't grow it massive but I grow it out a bit. I can keep this beard the same length let's say but I just grow this out a bit. And I wear a thobe. Now, I in my heart of hearts believe that yes my if it was for following my following would I feel it would easily triple.

Um easily because the religious crowd there would be several people amongst them that are happy then to kind of share my things and to to do stuff because they would just say okay just ignore his jokes but look you know mashallah look what he's saying. But you know I want to say something. Okay. There's two two things here.

One right is you see primarily the people that I want to connect with I want to connect with. This is a first thing I want to say and then the the second most important thing. That the first thing I want to say the people I want to connect with the majority of Muslims like at least 80 85 possibly 90% are actually disenfranchised Muslims.

They're not that religious crowd. Okay? They're the voiceless majority of Muslims. Who feel that they can't relate to Islam because to relate to Islam you need to look like that. Right. So, that So, to me these people are much more important. The religious people have got the You know, they've got hundreds of thousands of molanas.

Yeah. So, that's that point. The second most important point. I honestly, if I did that, it's not difficult. You know, I could just slap I've got thobe. I could or a kameez. I could slap that on and put a hat on my head and say, "Okay, I suppose I can't keep growing the beard out every time." But, okay. Let's say I grew it out. It's no big deal. Beards are in anyway. It's fashionable now to have beards.

The truth would be that I know in my heart of hearts that this is just an act. Yeah? I am just doing this to gain a following or to have people accept what I'm saying. Now, what will happen is when people because I'm not being genuine to myself, I'm not being sincere, you know, Allah first of all says that akhalisu lahu din.

You know, this is the thing. Be sincere. Be true to you about his din. Right? Whatever that din is to you, be true to it. Now, what will happen is people who Let's say people who do have an issue with me. This is where the drama will begin. That, "Oh my god, look, we caught him out looking like this. We caught him out doing this. We caught him out You know, you're pretending to be this this pious person that you're that you're that you're not.

You just be real. Be who you are." People Some people will hate you. Some people will like you. Some will listen to you. Others won't. It's okay. People can look at me and say, "Look, you know what? He's a nutcase. I don't want to listen to him." It doesn't bother me. But, at least if they do listen to me, they they will they're not in for any surprises.

You know, I'm not this this closet kind of like I'm pretending to be pious and then you're going to come, "Oh my god, you know what? I saw him. I saw him the other day with this t-shirt on and he's doing like this and he's laughing his head off and he's what the hell?" You know, I'm I'm being like that in public. So, you can say to me, "Look, oh I don't like you." and I'll I'll walk away now. That's absolutely fine. But, to me, at least I'm being real. I would have lived my life.

Look, when we reach, you know, there's been a very I've shared this before. There's been a very fascinating study done with the you've got certain people in palliative care towards the end of their life. Uh they've, you know, unfortunately, they you know, they're suffering from terminal illnesses or whatever. And they're about There's been studies done where some researchers have asked them, "What are some of the greatest regrets they've had in life?" Right.

Now, what and they've kind of summarized them into the top five. But, one of the the greatest regret that people had in life was they said, "I wish I didn't care as much about the opinions of others and I was just more true to myself." They you know, now that life with me is has reached its end.

Like these people had something like five weeks left to live, six weeks left to live. Like they were they were they they were dying. And and they said that I wish I I did that. Like I I cared like Look, people care about the opinions of people who don't even know them. I don't even like Come on. Like Like if you got thousands of viewers let's say you wouldn't and you've got haters thousands even know them like they have no input in your life.

If I was to care about them that much that I become fake. I would rather just live happy live my way laugh my head off have my understandings and when that time comes that life is coming to an end at least I will feel that you know alhamdulillah at least I I lived happily you know I I lived in my way I was true to me you know whether and people around me I you know it was good.

Like whether somebody living 5,000 miles away from me who didn't who didn't even really know me whether he hated me or not I don't care. You know it's like to me and like what what what difference does that make you know some guy who I don't even know. So yeah I hope that shed some light. Right so your point is you don't want to reach you just want to reach the specific masses that audience I mean that's that's part of the point.

The other point is I feel that it wouldn't be genuine. Like I feel that it wouldn't and there there is a a little add-on point you could put there. The add-on point is part of the shock factor does once again bring Islam back to its roots. Because the truth is that in the prophet's time they didn't have this uniform. They didn't have this you know you would have seen like if you brought some of the companions today like in all honesty they wouldn't be allowed in some of these mosques.

You know they always they were allowed in it'd be just about tolerated to only just pray and leave. Come on like the companions had like braided hair some of them walked around topless you know like they just wore a a sarong kind of thing they just they wouldn't be allowed to sit on a mimbar and and preach in the mosque. I people won't even be allowed in the mosque. Yeah, they they won't be. That's right. They they had like the the Salaf had like ponytails and they you know they they had like the braided hair, loads of different plats and things like that.

You think these people today would allow them in the masjid? Or they might allow them to pray and then they would ask them they'd never allow them to sit on a mimbar. So you see this facade of Islam with this turban and this kind of thobe, it's not from the prophet anyway. So why why sacrifice who you are for something that isn't even from this deen? The deen began a strange something that was not you know but al-Islamu ghariban and it will return to that state.

So I feel that yeah, like people look at me and they find it odd that how can you be a mufti looking like that? But it's in that oddness that if they can manage to withhold their judge being judgmental nature, they will find the trueness of Islam. So that's my uh kind of message but Shirazi it's been absolutely