Recordings › Monday Nights with Mufti #183 | Q&A Unscripted & Unrestricted! 😉 | Mufti Abu Layth · 22 Sep 2020 › Segment 13 of 29
Is it right to build very elaborate mosques?
masjed masaajid masajid muftisWhich mosque does Mufti Abu Layth attend, and are elaborate mosques needed?
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This segment1:14:37 to 1:17:16 · 2 min 39 sGeneral teaching
The answer in brief
machinesummary, machine-writtenMufti Abu Layth says there is little need for so many lavish mosques, and that mosques should suit their local surroundings.
In more detail
Asked which masjid he goes to, Mufti Abu Layth jokes about whether a masjid could contain him. Mufti then takes a super chat asking about extremely elaborate mosques and whether their designs are borrowed from Byzantine structures. He says the grandeur comes more from the aristocracy that entered the Islamic empire, especially in the Abbasid era and with signs under the Umayyads. He understands people wanting a prestigious masjid, but doubts the need for a hundred of them each done up, since every sect wants its own, and says mosques should have structures that harmonise with the local geography rather than looking as if they came from Pakistan, Bangladesh or India.
Question as read aloud · questioner not identifiedWhat are your thoughts on extremely elaborate mosques, assuming their costs in time and resources are in line with Islamic principles, or are they borrowed ideas from Byzantine structures?
Position stated
Mufti Abu Layth says mosques should really have structures that harmonise with the local geography.
“whereas really they should have structures that harmonize with the local local kind of geography”
Category: other
Kind: general teachingTranscript
machine1:14:37 to 1:17:16 · click a time to seek · dotted terms open the glossary
would want this from her child and he said that i couldn't not tolerate my child going to a mosque like he said that that's just to me like taking the piss now you see that that's looking at things from the lens of sobriety so this is why i do say to people that you know have a reality check before you think these things through if you think it's fine then so be it right somebody said muftisab which masjid are you
in do i look like a masjid could contain me [Laughter] so right what is going on people what is going on right so right let's move on to sorry i was just trying to see the comments um yep claire jones doing it is you doing it you're doing it margaret you're doing it right so
um what are your thoughts zaid saying the super chat i will take a look what is the super chat that i've not rami has sent in want to know your thoughts on extremely elaborate mosques assuming their costs both time and resources are in line with islamic principles or are they borrowed ideas after the byzantine structures we are from the byzantine and not so much i mean that's where it comes in it's more to do
with um the aristocrat you know the the aristocracy that enters is the islamic empire especially during the abbasid era and i suppose some signs are there during the umayyad dynasty as well i mean it's here now it's uh i don't think there's you know i understand people want a prestigious masjid i get that um i don't know if there's a need really for having a hundred masjids and each one done up in that way but
then muslims don't have unity and the problem is this sect wants their mask and this sect wants their mosque and then they all want to turn it into something that looks like it's out of pakistan bangladesh or india or in the middle of the uk whereas really they should have structures that harmonize with the local local kind of geography but yeah that's um i hope that makes some sense let me what did i miss another i answered that super chat about the enemies aisha answered her super chat
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Cite this segment
Stable id, transcript version and tier are part of the citation. Every change to a transcript is logged.Mufti Abu Layth Archive, segment 2020-09-22-S13, auto-transcribed, may contain errors. https://muftiabulayth.org/r/jtyem-eee78/s/13/ (accessed 1 November 2026)
- APA 7
Mufti Abu Layth. (2020, September 22). Is it right to build very elaborate mosques? [Video, segment 2020-09-22-S13, auto-transcribed, may contain errors]. Mufti Abu Layth Archive. Retrieved November 1, 2026, from https://muftiabulayth.org/r/jtyem-eee78/s/13/
- Chicago author-date
Mufti Abu Layth. 2020. "Is it right to build very elaborate mosques?" Video, segment 2020-09-22-S13, auto-transcribed, may contain errors. Mufti Abu Layth Archive. Recorded September 22, 2020. Accessed November 1, 2026. https://muftiabulayth.org/r/jtyem-eee78/s/13/
- BibTeX
@misc{abulayth-2020-09-22-S13, author = {Mufti Abu Layth}, title = {{Is it right to build very elaborate mosques?}}, year = {2020}, month = {9}, date = {2020-09-22}, howpublished = {\url{https://muftiabulayth.org/r/jtyem-eee78/s/13/}}, url = {https://muftiabulayth.org/r/jtyem-eee78/s/13/}, organization = {Mufti Abu Layth Archive}, urldate = {2026-11-01}, note = {Segment 2020-09-22-S13, auto-transcribed, may contain errors} }
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