# Why did Mufti Abu Layth challenge hadith in BukhariGate, and can the Prophet be called the most beloved of creation? *The Prophet's honour, interruptions, and whether 'most beloved of creation' is a lie against God* - URL: https://muftiabulayth.org/r/onzjd7xmdhe/s/10/ - Date: 2025-10-18 · Kind: discussion · Transcript tier: machine · Recording: Br Muhammad MFG | Quranist Only Belief - A Dialogue | MindTrap #82 - Mufti Abu Layth (43:36–50:49) - Status: latest answer on its topic; general teaching - Watch from the start of the segment: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ONzjD7XMDhE&t=2616s - Recording page: https://muftiabulayth.org/r/onzjd7xmdhe/ **Topics:** Quran-only movement; Sahih al-Bukhari (BukhariGate); Guest conversations **Summary (not a quotation; machine-made, unchecked):** Mufti Abu Layth says his hadith criticism, including BukhariGate, was driven by reports that insult the Prophet, whose honour comes before Muslims' own; the guest says calling the Prophet the most beloved of creation is unprovable and a lie against God, and that the Quran favours Abraham, whom Muhammad is told to follow. ## Longer summary Mufti Abu Layth says he assumes people have been harsh with the guest and strawmanned him, but asks him to understand that to countless Muslims the Prophet comes first and foremost before anything: his own challenges to hadith narratives, including BukhariGate, were made because those hadith insulted the honour of the Messenger of Allah, whose honour and life come before Muslims' own, and he does not want the discussion to go down the road of remarks such as what would be special about the Prophet had he sat at home. The guest says the Quran teaches not to fear the blame of a critic and that Quranists speak of Muhammad as Mufti speaks of Moses and Jesus; he complains that Mufti keeps interrupting and that he will use his own tactics if not heard, and Mufti asks to dissolve the us-versus-them talk and speak as brothers. Returning to his point, the guest says going outside the Quran leads to forms of idolatry and incorrect statements, that Mufti cannot prove the words 'most beloved of all creation' and is therefore saying a lie against God, citing the verse asking who is more oppressive than one who invents lies about God, and that only 'some guy in history' said so. Mufti says the guest does not accept the Prophet as the best of creation though he agrees there is one, which all Muslims believe; the guest replies that all Christians believe Jesus died on the cross. An exchange follows over the guest's phrase 'your books' and 'your Muslim tradition', Mufti asking why he speaks as if he were not a Muslim and the guest saying he is a submitter who dislikes labels, and the guest concludes that the Quran gives more favour to Abraham than to Muhammad, since the supposedly most beloved man is instructed to follow Abraham. ## Sources and names cited - Br Muhammad (MFG, MuhammadFromGod channel) - Sahih al-Bukhari - Ibrahim (Abraham) - Isa (Jesus) - Musa (Moses) ## Transcript (machine tier, 43:36–50:49) [43:19] so obviously that's prophet Muhammad sitting at prophet Muhammad if he sat Muhammad let's steal man your case you know this thing what I don't want to do look I want you to understand something and this whole opportunity is because you said look people um I'm not aware way. But I'm assuming people have been very harsh with you. They've straw manned your arguments. They've hurt your sentiment. [43:45] I mean, from last week what you said. Sorry. Or I understood. So I I would like this opportunity to kind of allow to listen to people from their hearts. But I want you to understand something. Please look. The prophet Muhammad sallallahu alaihi wasallam to countless Muslims throughout the world is the first and foremost before anything. Sallallahu alaihi wasallam. My whole discussion my whole discussion please don't try to just you know just just for the sake of it try to be silly with a remark there. [44:18] Look, the the my whole reason and objective behind when I said uh challenged certain hadith narratives, when I presented Bkari gate, when I did all of these things was that they were hadith that insulted the honor of the messenger of Allah sallallahu alaihi wasallam. And the messenger of Allah's honor is before our own honor. [44:41] His life is before our life and we love him and we and and he is as the Quran describes him. I understand that some Muslims might not share that and you may not share that right. Please let's leave that out of it because I don't want to hurt you know that kind of discussion that's going to put the prophet down. Sallallahu alaihi wasallam. [45:06] How am I putting the prophet down? No, I'm just saying, you know, this I don't want to elaborate on things like that because look, I just saying that I'm steering it away from that. I'm steering it away from that. Okay? I'm trying to keep it on point about the whole hadith sunnah as opposed to, you know, this thing of saying, look, if the prophet just sat there in his house, did nothing, what's so special about him, things like this. I don't want to take it down that road just out of respect for you, out of respect for us, out of honor for the messenger of sallallahu alaihi wasallam. [45:37] So sticking to this argument just saying but it might come off like that and I this is why I don't I I would never believe any Muslim as the Quran states we don't care about the blame of a critic. This is in the Quran and we stick to it. So we say the truth and if there's critics that don't like what we're saying that's fine. We God says in regard to the messenger. So we're not distinguishing. The same way you guys talk about Moses and Jesus is the same way we talk about Muhammad. [46:04] The same another thing, you know, all this you and us. Let's for a moment, let's just dissolve some of that talk. Let's just talk as brothers here. Yeah. You know, forget all this us versus them narrative. I'm not here to I'm not giving you this platform to kind of berate you and to kind of break you down or something. And and I'm I'm giving you this platform. All the respect at the beginning at the beginning with all due respect at the beginning I I did answer you and I would be quiet but you kept interrupting me time and time again and I'm a person that debate the nature of discussion. [46:38] No right it isn't it isn't it is it's in the nature of a person who wants to be defensive. So I let you be defensive but at the same time then when I am going to get cut off when I was trying to present a point then I'm going to use my tactics that I know as well. It's not about me and you. It's about finding the common ground. But if I'm not going to be heard, then I'm going to defend myself. Right. Look, listen, Muhammad, if I didn't want you to be heard, there wouldn't be a point for me calling you on this conversation. I want you to understand that. Look, the reason I'm saying this is because up until now, maybe everybody that just going by what you're saying, everybody you've gone and spoken to, it's been these tactics. [47:14] You know, you've just they've tried to break you down. You've tried to break them down. Let's get to the gist of this. I I'm talking about the actual meat of the conversation. So you kept I I made a very Let's get Okay, let's let's go back to the point. I can't make that simple point. No, you did. You did. I understood it. That's the point that I wanted to make. No, no. You want to say that if you feel down no before we went down into this whole narrative of mercy. [47:41] Let's get to the point that I was making is that because of people going outside of the Quran and focusing on things outside of the Quran they form they fall into some things of forms of idolatry and then they say things that are not correct. You clearly said the most beloved I don't finish the point man. Look right. Yeah. But look listen you you have finished the point. No no no I haven't. Because I'm telling you, you said the word most beloved of all creation. [48:07] Yet you cannot prove this word and therefore you're saying a lie against God. That's why we cannot accept what you're saying because you have no proof of what you're saying other than so and so said so. It's not God saying so. It's some guy in the history who his own opinion said so. That's the difference. God listen. So Muhammad listen listen. When you're going to make a point about that, okay, you've made your point. Look, you don't accept the prophet as the best of creation. [48:35] Although in principle, you do agree that there is a best of creation, but you just don't believe it's the prophet. That's fine. Most Muslims do believe it is the prophets. All Muslims, actually. I I would argue all Christians believe that Jesus died on the cross, too. So that's that's an irrelevant point. It's a very God says, "And who is more oppressive than the one that makes lies about God?" You made something that you can't prove when you're saying because look because you can't prove it. [49:03] So when you're saying that God made him as the most beloved which is not the case because look because like I said right now sure look you don't you you don't accept that. That's fine but you do agree that there is a most beloved of of Allah which we don't know. We just don't think it's we can also prove from the Quran and from your books as well the books that you guys love. [49:28] Listen, stop this all this and all of this thing because unless you're not a Muslim unless you're not a Muslim because this is accept yes you accept the Muslim tradition. So I'm saying from your Muslim tradition we can also prove why are you Muslim? You're not a Muslim because it's not a tradition that I follow. That's fine. But there's many things in the Muslim tradition that I don't follow. But to say that, oh, it's your your Muslim tradition. [49:56] No, it's our Muslim tradition. Now, there's many of things we may not follow. It's not from the prophet that Right. Right. I never said the prophet's tra the the the only the prophets. The Muslim tradition. It's not from the Yes. Cool. you you keep saying you can say why are you saying but rather than saying because rather than just constantly saying you're your your Muslim tradition as if you're not a Muslim from the Muslim tradition I'm a I'm a submitter I I I don't like these labels but these are the labels that we keep hearing so I'm using the convention so for people to understand but I'm also disassociating away from it quite simply when we look at what is written in the Quran and what people [50:35] state about who prophet Muhammad and Abraham is there is more favor given to Abraham than Muhammad. So if Muhammad is the most beloved according to you, then why is the most beloved man being instructed to follow? That makes no sense. All right. Okay. Sure. So, right. So, that was the argument. Right. Fine. Look, I don't want to just get caught up on one discussion of um more importantly the sunnah of the prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam. ## Cite Mufti Abu Layth Archive, segment ONzjD7XMDhE/s/10. https://muftiabulayth.org/r/onzjd7xmdhe/s/10/ Not a fatwa: these answers were given to specific people at specific times. Ask a qualified scholar about your own situation.