# Were some of the great imams autistic?

*Were some great religious figures autistic?*

- URL: https://muftiabulayth.org/r/l4n4wd2jjps/s/7/
- Date: 2021-02-09 · Kind: question · Transcript tier: machine · Recording: Monday Nights with Mufti #201| Q&A Unscripted & Unrestricted! 😉 | Mufti Abu Layth (47:04–49:37)
- Status: general teaching
- Watch from the start of the segment: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l4n4wD2jjps&t=2824s
- Recording page: https://muftiabulayth.org/r/l4n4wd2jjps/

**Topics:** Scholars and imams of the past

**Question as asked:** Don't you think a lot of religious figures were autistic?

**Summary (not a quotation; machine-made, unchecked):** Mufti Abu Layth says he feels Imam Ahmad and Imam al-Shafi'i were autistic, and suspects Ibn Taymiyya had bipolar or a psychotic disorder.

**Checked position (checked by two independent reviews, not by the channel):** Mufti Abu Layth says he feels people like Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal and Imam al-Shafi'i were autistic.

**Evidence, his words at 47:04:** “they definitely were i feel that uh people like imam ahmed ibn hambal imam shafi'i i feel they were autistic people” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l4n4wD2jjps&t=2824s)

## Longer summary

A chat question suggests that many religious figures were autistic. Mufti Abu Layth agrees, saying he feels Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal and Imam al-Shafi'i were autistic: highly intelligent but not always reading social cues, which can do damage when such people become leaders who are emulated. Mufti says he does not get the impression Ibn Taymiyya was autistic, but thinks he may have suffered from bipolar disorder or some psychotic disorder.

## Sources and names cited

- Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal
- al-Shafi'i
- Ibn Taymiyya
- Ibn Rushd (Averroes)

## Transcript (machine tier, 47:04–49:37)

[47:03] abu safura savage what is going on what have i missed many times yeah i've covered that in my discussion on ibn rush i should have they are autistic side but don't you think a lot of religious figures were autistic they definitely were i feel that uh people like imam ahmed ibn hambal imam shafi'i i feel they were autistic people i mean that doesn't mean many autistic people

[47:40] are geniuses but uh so many key professors and you know people like that are autistic but they're incredibly intelligent and super clever but they're not uh you know they don't um sometimes get social cues on the same level and the worst thing could be i suppose it's not a worse thing but i mean the the i have to reword that it's not the worst thing but the the the kind of damage that it could cause some damage in the sense when they become then leaders because they are then emulated but what

[48:20] you don't understand is that they probably didn't understand certain social interactions so um yeah but i mean people like uh i i don't i don't know if ibna tamiya was autistic i i don't get that impression he was autistic but i get the impression he suffered from maybe bipolar or um or some kind of um you know yeah i think bipolar but definitely if not some psychotic disorder

[48:58] uh maybe some form of schizophrenia or something but yeah it's because it's definite that's what i would think with ibn mia are you scared of peer success [Laughter] are you talking to me why would i be scared of beer sake so yes sacha angels in disguise i don't know what that even means ah mufti what

[49:36] caste are you castism ethnicity a cha cha cha we are jut jata molaj art that's how that's how it is people that's how it is i don't why don't you we hija khadi on shirk has yasir khadi done something on shirk

## Cite

Mufti Abu Layth Archive, segment l4n4wD2jjps/s/7. https://muftiabulayth.org/r/l4n4wd2jjps/s/7/

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