# Can we ever be completely certain about religious answers?

*Malik's legacy, harmony with the school of Madinah, and 'we have only conjecture'*

- URL: https://muftiabulayth.org/r/vhqvm47pns0/s/13/
- Date: 2023-03-10 · Kind: lesson · Transcript tier: machine · Recording: The Legendary Imam Malik Ibn Anas | Mufti Abu Layth (57:27–1:02:17)
- Status: general teaching
- Watch from the start of the segment: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VhqVM47pNS0&t=3447s
- Recording page: https://muftiabulayth.org/r/vhqvm47pns0/

**Topics:** Imam Malik; The Maliki school; Reason and revelation

**Summary (not a quotation; machine-made, unchecked):** Only God is certain; every answer we hold is limited by our own understanding and that of those we learned from, a humility Imam Malik modelled.

**Checked position (checked by two independent reviews, not by the channel):** Mufti Abu Layth says the ultimate certainty is God alone, and whatever we think is the answer is ultimately limited by our understanding.

**Evidence, his words at 1:01:08:** “the ultimate certainty is just Allah we have to understand that whatever we think is an answer is ultimately our understanding of what we think is the answer” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VhqVM47pNS0&t=3668s)

## Longer summary

Mufti Abu Layth says Malik chose as a young man a path that determined his destiny, and left a lamp in the darkness by showing that the deen can be understood through maslaha, hadith relativism and the distinction between hadith and Sunnah. He says learning Islam's legacy has brought him the joy of affiliation with the school of Madinah, with which he found himself in harmony, his own answers often matching it. He says Malik often repeated the verse that God is sufficient for us, and the verse that 'we only think it is conjecture and we are not certain'. He says people today want certainty, but the ultimate certainty is God alone, and whatever we think is the answer is limited by our understanding and that of those we heard it from.

## Sources and names cited

- Imam Malik
- maslaha (public welfare)
- Quran 3:173 (God is sufficient for us): https://quran.com/3/173
- Quran 45:32 (we only think it is conjecture and we are not certain): https://quran.com/45/32

## Transcript (machine tier, 57:27–1:02:17)

[57:26] foreign as the poet says that these are titles and these are words they don't increase them in any any kind of Value Inn you know we mention it because it gives us a it gives us a pleasure an enjoyment but I I will continue more about uh Imam Malik but what we can see is there was this man who

[58:06] as a very young as a young boy he he chose a path that determined his destiny and he struggled along the way as well he met like all of us we will meet our challenges but he gave us a lamp in the darkness because what he did is what we see why is it important is he showed us that you can understand the Deen in this way that there is this muscle how wealthy that there is this Hadith relativism that there is a difference between

[58:44] Hadith and Sunnah that there are that there is that the Sharia hasid that this is how you can do he taught us that and the person he was his teachings can they can't just they can't just be ignored as in you couldn't just it's not easy to just say well ah it's just it's just Imam Malik he's a legend in Islam so we are very I find myself so it has been one of the joys of learning the legacy of Islam has been this affiliation to the school of Medina

[59:24] that I found myself honestly in harmony with this school that whenever I had an certain a way of let's say without knowing what things would be or what what do I think Islam would say based on my understanding my understanding often my answer was in line with the school of Medina that there was such a Harmony so yeah and he would and it's fascinating that there were certain verses he would often repeat you would often repeat one was like husband Allah often found Imam Malik

[1:00:03] Allah is sufficient for us you know we gotta rely on people let's ride let's rely on why not honestly I sometimes we we are going to ask people for things let's ask Allah just ask God let's see what happens man and and there's another verse that he would often repeat that

[1:00:35] that we that at best all we have is conjecture and we lack certainty in this affair wow that we only but think that all we can bring to this table is but an assumption woman

[1:01:08] that's a huge man that's huge because let that be a reminder we in this day and age people they they get they freak out if somebody says well I think this is the answer I feel that this is oh no you should say they want I get it the people want certainty they wanted but this realm this whole existence is one the ultimate certainty is just Allah we have to understand that whatever we

[1:01:45] think is an answer is ultimately our understanding of what we think is the answer you see whatever we see and understand is limited by our understanding and if we're hearing it from someone it's limited by their understanding and if they heard it from someone it's limited by their understanding so it is ultimately

## Cite

Mufti Abu Layth Archive, segment VhqVM47pNS0/s/13. https://muftiabulayth.org/r/vhqvm47pns0/s/13/

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