Research › Fiqh and daily practice
77 answers in 43 recordings, 2014 to 2025. 59 with a checked position in his own words.
Indexed so far: 259 of 1,859 recordings (1,904 answers, 2014 to 2025). Anything below may change as the rest are indexed. Limits of the data
Oldest first. A checked position shows what he holds, then the sentence he says, word for word from the transcript, with its moment. Years without one list the answers that have not been checked yet. Recordings not yet indexed may hold more.
· How should I choose which madhhab to follow?
Mufti Abu Layth says that to him personally all madhhabs are in essence upon the truth, but asks what could be greater than the school transmitted in Madinah, later known as the school of Imam Malik.
“to me personally all mhbs are as has been clearly documented in essence upon the H however what could be greater than the school or the perspective upon the de which was transmitted in Madina itself”
12:44TranscriptCite 2014-03-12-S04corrected
· Which scholars have allowed trimming or shaving the beard?
Mufti Abu Layth says that the view that trimming or even shaving the beard is at most makruh and not haram has been held by Maliki and other classical jurists and by many modern scholars, some of whom were themselves trimmed, goateed or clean-shaven.
“many of these have all written very clearly that it is not Haram to trim or even shave but especially to trim right down the beard they've not considered it haram”
5:51TranscriptCite 2014-04-12-S02corrected
· Why did Mufti Abu Layth choose the Maliki madhhab?
Mufti Abu Layth says the Maliki madhhab emphasises keeping things natural, as a theme running throughout the school.
“the Maliki m is really big on keeping things natural and you'll see this as a as almost like an U an underpinning theme that goes right throughout the”
8:21TranscriptCite 2014-07-02-S02corrected
· Why is al-Andalus so important to Muslims?
Mufti Abu Layth says he feels the Maliki madhhab was instrumental in the survival of al-Andalus.
“I do believe that having the Maliki maab as almost its you know as one of its kind of driving forces in shaping the society was instrumental in its survival”
14:10TranscriptCite 2014-07-02-S04corrected
· What does Mufti Abu Layth hope to achieve?
Mufti Abu Layth says he feels the outlook of the school of Madinah, the Maliki madhhab, is greatly needed in the West.
“I feel that this is a perspective or an outlook on the dean which is so needed in the west”
26:10TranscriptCite 2014-07-02-S08corrected
· Is it a bid'ah to pray extra prayers on a fixed day every week?
Mufti Abu Layth says that, from the Maliki perspective, the intention of a person can render their own action from a good and rewarding thing to something discouraged.
“so the intention of a person can render his own action from being a good and rewarding thing to something discouraged and something that should be avoided”
23:10TranscriptCite 2015-03-03-S04corrected
· Do Maliki scholars accept good bid'ah?
Mufti Abu Layth says that good bid'ah practices crept into the Maliki world around the 600s Hijri and, he would even say, became the majority practice by the 700s.
“and then by the 600's it's definitely there definitely by 700s I would even say becomes the majority practice”
25:01TranscriptCite 2015-03-03-S05corrected
· Should I avoid practices that people call good bid'ah?
Mufti Abu Layth says his personal opinion is that it is always safer to stick with the Sunnah, the understanding in Medina at the time of Imam Malik.
“my personal opinion is that it is always safer to stick with the Sunnah and that was the understanding in Medina at the time of man Malik”
30:11TranscriptCite 2015-03-03-S06corrected
· Do I have to wear my trousers above my ankles?
Mufti Abu Layth holds that a man letting his garment hang below the ankles is not haram unless it is done out of arrogance and is at most makruh otherwise, adding that in present-day societies covering the ankles is normal and is not a sign of arrogance.
“so that's once again in summary it is permissible as long as it is not done with an intention of arrogance which once again in our societies seldom exists”
12:34TranscriptCite 2015-03-20-S01corrected
· What is Mufti Abu Layth currently teaching?
Mufti Abu Layth says he believes the principles of the school of Madinah would lend the deen an angle that makes it comfortable for people in the West to embrace it themselves.
“because I do believe it would lend a an angle it would let lend some type of light to the dean that would afford great com comfortability almost for people to embrace the Deen themselves”
54:21TranscriptCite 2015-04-06-S14corrected
· Do women pray differently from men in the Maliki school?
Mufti Abu Layth says the Maliki school draws no distinction in principle between the salah of men and women, with only advisory guidelines that a woman may be more mindful of modesty in ruku' and sujud.
“the school of Medina the Maliki maab from a principal perspective it does not highlight any differences between men and women in Salah”
35:05TranscriptCite 2017-04-02-S06corrected
· How should I stand in congregational prayer, and should my feet touch my neighbour's?
Mufti Abu Layth says that in congregation one stands naturally shoulder to shoulder in a straight line without joining heels or touching feet, and that the Maliki school pays no attention to how far apart the feet should be.
“how far apart should your feet be the school of Medina does not pay any attention to these kind of things”
38:17TranscriptCite 2017-04-02-S08corrected
· What do I do if I forgot to perform sujud al-sahw after my prayer?
Mufti Abu Layth says a forgotten sujud al-sahw should be performed as soon as it is remembered, even after some time has passed while one is still in the mosque, and is simply left if a considerable time has lapsed.
“just do it there and then followed by Salam even if a certain amount of time has lapsed but not an immense amount of time”
40:12TranscriptCite 2017-04-02-S09corrected
· Who has the right to tell other Muslims off for doing something haram?
Mufti Abu Layth holds that commanding good and forbidding evil (hisbah) belongs to legitimate authority and to qualified scholars, only in matters that are clearly agreed upon, and not to individuals acting on their own.
“they are only four people in legit authority to take to task they are not for you and me to just go around and command the good and forbid the evil”
13:18TranscriptCite 2017-09-29-S05corrected
· Is an Islamic mortgage any different from a conventional mortgage?
Mufti Abu Layth holds that conventional mortgages and bank loans are not the riba the Quran condemns, and that so-called Islamic mortgages are the same thing under another name, a play on words of the loophole kind the Maliki school has never liked.
“To me, a conventional mortgage and Islamic mortgage or whatever mortgage are all the same in my understanding.”
53:14TranscriptCite 2017-10-19-S12corrected
Mufti Abu Layth says the school of Madinah distinguishes hadith from Sunnah, embracing the Sunnah while remaining critical of individual hadith, and that Imam Malik did reject several hadith when the practice of Madinah did not reflect them.
“I said that the school of Medina in mal Malik differentiates between hadith and Sunnah we wholeheartedly embraced the Sunnah we are critical when it comes to hadith”
17:03TranscriptCite 2018-02-21-S06corrected
· Are witnesses required for a nikah in the Maliki school?
Mufti Abu Layth says the Maliki school does not require witnesses for a valid nikah, only witnesses or a public announcement before the marriage is consummated, and that many of the Prophet's marriages were not witnessed.
“many of the prophets marriages were not witnessed and people like the school of Medina the the whole Maliki method says you don't need witnesses for a marriage”
5:06TranscriptCite 2018-02-28-S03corrected
· What do the classical Maliki books say about witnesses in a marriage?
Mufti Abu Layth says the standard Maliki texts, including al-Kafi, the Mudawwana as quoted by Ibn Yunus, and later authorities, state that a nikah without witnesses is valid provided it is not meant to be secret, witnessing being a condition of consummation rather than of validity.
“that this is the measure of our method that it is not a condition in the Maliki method for the validity of getting married”
16:50TranscriptCite 2018-02-28-S04corrected
· Do Muslim women have to wear the niqab?
Mufti Abu Layth says that, as far as religion is concerned, he does not consider the niqab to be part of the religion at all.
“in this part it becomes then a religious statement and as far as religion is concerned I do not consider the niqab to be at all part of the religion”
3:51TranscriptCite 2018-03-08b-S01corrected
· If reason judges religion, whose reason counts, and what about rituals?
Mufti Abu Layth says that the concept of ritual rather than its details must accord with reason, that the shared judgement of a healthy mind is the standard of reason, and that following the Maliki school does not make one a cult member, since Malik taught that everyone's words may be rejected except the Messenger's.
“the concept of ritual is what you make sense of as to the actual rituals it's fine”
1:14:51TranscriptCite 2018-04-09-S16corrected
· What did the Maliki scholars say about women travelling with a safe group?
Mufti Abu Layth says the Prophet's calling two travellers devils was religious rhetoric used in that age to safeguard people in hostile territory.
“now you tell me why is the prophet calling two people traveling Devils this was religious rhetoric too kind that was used in the day and age to safeguard them because there was hostile territory”
34:29TranscriptCite 2018-04-22-S08corrected
Mufti Abu Layth says tattoos are permissible in his understanding, because the hadith condemning tattooing addressed the branding and disfigurement of slaves and cattle in its historical context rather than beautification, while noting that most scholars held them haram and some Malikis only makruh.
“so it's very important to understand the context in which the Prophet spoke when he said these things were Haram now”
7:08TranscriptCite 2018-05-03-S01corrected
· How should Muslims decide which hadith to accept and which to reject?
Mufti Abu Layth holds that the ummah must return to Imam Malik's method of accepting some hadith and rejecting others, accepting a report only if it does not clash with reason, the Quran, the corroborated Sunnah such as the practice of Madinah, or a principle of Islam.
“the reason I'm doing this is to show we need to return to the methodology that was taught to us by Imam Malik”
16:00TranscriptCite 2018-08-03-S04corrected
· Is my prayer valid if I pray in a bikini or swimwear?
Mufti Abu Layth says he personally feels Qadi Isma'il and the Malikis have a strong point in holding that covering oneself in salah is a separate obligation, not a condition of the prayer.
“i personally do feel that ismail and the malikiah the school of medina have a strong point on what they've said that covering yourself in salah is a separate obligation”
8:22TranscriptCite 2019-03-04-S01corrected
· Why does Mufti Abu Layth follow the Maliki school rather than the Hanafi?
Mufti Abu Layth says he follows the Maliki school of Madinah because it is built upon welfare and rooted in evidence and made the most sense, and that the Hanafi school, though Abu Hanifa was a legend, has long been hijacked and become a controlling school that is the antithesis of its founder.
“the Maliki method is known as the school of Medina it is the most awesome school of law there ever is because it is built upon welfare and firmly rooted in evidence”
3:39TranscriptCite 2019-03-22-S02corrected
· What did Imam Malik and the Maliki jurists say about boys wearing earrings?
Mufti Abu Layth says that Malik's reported preference against gold earrings for boys concerned the gold rather than the earring, and that the Maliki theft rulings of al-Lakhmi and Ibn Abi Zayd about earrings stolen from boys show that boys commonly wore them and the early generations did not treat earrings as restricted to women.
“but look at this being a common issue that boys wearing earrings so this ruling”
25:59TranscriptCite 2019-07-24b-S07corrected
· Which scholars held that music is permissible, and what did Imam Malik's school say?
Mufti Abu Layth holds that there is no sahih hadith prohibiting music, citing al-Shawkani, Ibn Hazm, Abu Bakr ibn al-Arabi and al-Fakihani, and that since only Allah and His Messenger are authorities in religion, anyone refuting him must bring a sahih hadith.
“there isn't a single sahi hadith that you can bring in this pub Allah at least bring me a sahi hadith”
2:41TranscriptCite 2019-09-18-S02corrected
· Why is everything permissible by default in Islamic law unless proven haram?
Mufti Abu Layth holds, as he says many Malikis of the school of Madinah did, that everything is conclusively permissible by default, because Allah created everything for us and pardoned what He was silent about, and that this certainty can be removed only by certainty, so when he calls something halal he is not making it so.
“that by default everything is conclusively permissible Allah has ordained everything to be permissible he says in the Quran”
32:38TranscriptCite 2019-09-18-S07corrected
· Is slavery haram in Islam, and did Muslim scholars ban it before the UN?
Mufti Abu Layth holds that slavery is categorically haram today, that Maliki and other scholars forbade it by fatwa long before the UN resolution, and that the Quran's rulings on slavery set a trajectory towards its prohibition once human ethics developed.
“obviously these things don't really exist today so it's this is just a theoretical kind of discussion on it these things would all slavery would be categorically Haram I have explained that”
0:00TranscriptCite 2020-04-28-S01corrected
· What parts of the body count as 'awrah for men and women?
Mufti Abu Layth says he goes with the school of Madinah's understanding that a woman's core 'awrah is her private parts and the area from beneath the navel to the thighs, the rest being extended 'awrah whose uncovering in prayer does not invalidate it.
“that would be my understanding that I would go with the the understanding that the school of Medina presents that the core aura is really the woman's kind of private parts”
36:32TranscriptCite 2020-07-14-S06corrected
· Can I wear perfume that contains alcohol?
Mufti Abu Layth says perfume with an alcohol base is pure and there is nothing to worry about.
“is it pure or is it nudges it's pure absolutely there's nothing to worry about”
1:50:34TranscriptCite 2020-07-14-S31corrected
· Is it halal to eat crocodile?
Mufti Abu Layth says crocodile meat is halal in the school of Madinah, in which only pig is categorically haram.
“crocodile meat is halal in the school of Medina all kind of marine life in a sense all anything that's from the sea”
1:52:30TranscriptCite 2020-07-14-S32corrected
· Is it haram to eat dog meat?
Mufti Abu Layth says dogs are not haram to eat according to the school of Madinah, though people do not really eat them.
“it's not Haram in the Sharia to eat it so dogs are not Haram but people don't really eat dogs”
1:55:35TranscriptCite 2020-07-14-S33corrected
· Is it okay to celebrate the Mawlid?
Mufti Abu Layth says that if people want to celebrate the Mawlid he feels why not, though it is not really established as part of the religion.
“Yeah, sure. I think people can if they wanted to. Uh it's not um it's not really established as part and parcel of the religion but if people want to celebrate it I feel why not.”
46:21TranscriptCite 2020-08-04-S10corrected
· Why did Imam Malik prefer the practice of Medina over hadith chains?
Mufti Abu Layth says that in Imam Malik's time the chain was still subservient to the living tradition.
“Now the issue is the chain in this stage is still subservient to the living tradition. So the isnad exists but we have more trust in the inherited living tradition of Islam.”
2:07:02TranscriptCite 2020-08-04-S25corrected
· Why do Salafis ignore Imam Malik's Muwatta?
Mufti Abu Layth says he feels that deep down Salafis struggle with Imam Malik, who is an unquestionable authority in hadith yet rejects hadith that go against certain practices.
“i feel that the selfies because they i think deep down the salafi struggle with imam malik”
0:01TranscriptCite 2020-08-23-S01corrected
· Doesn't the practice of Medina show that music is haram?
Mufti Abu Layth says the living tradition does not necessarily indicate that music is prohibited.
“no not necessarily in fact what's interesting you see what's interesting is even though imam malik i accept he didn't like music”
28:39TranscriptCite 2020-08-24-S09corrected
· Are tattoos haram, and can I work as a tattoo artist?
Mufti Abu Layth says being a tattoo artist is not haram by default.
“so is being a tattoo artist a halal occupation yeah i mean it's not haram by default”
6:56TranscriptCite 2020-10-01-S01corrected
· Why criticise Sahih al-Bukhari but not Imam Malik's Muwatta?
Mufti Abu Layth says the debate over al-Bukhari does not apply to Imam Malik's book because Imam Malik himself teaches in it that a hadith with a good chain may not be acted upon.
“the reason this debate does not apply to the motto of imam malik is because imam malik himself in the mother is teaching you to reject hadith”
0:32TranscriptCite 2020-10-21-S01corrected
· Which hadith book is the most authentic?
Mufti Abu Layth says he would not single out a particular hadith book, taking each hadith on its merits, but if anything he supposes he would call the Muwatta of Imam Malik the most authentic.
“I would not advocate a particular book uh I would say if anything the the most classic book we have of hadith is the m of IM Malik”
19:16TranscriptCite 2021-01-05-S06corrected
Mufti Abu Layth says that in Islam everything in the sea is halal, according to the school of Medina.
“so in islam everything in the sea is halal okay that's according to the school of medina”
45:58TranscriptCite 2021-01-12-S10corrected
· Why do you call yourself a Maliki?
Mufti Abu Layth says the school of Medina placed the Quran centrally, gave precedence to the inherited practice of Medina and held reason to be vital.
“in the school of medina it was about placing the quran centrally and then the inherited practice of medina took precedence and reason was always vital in determining that”
1:42:06TranscriptCite 2021-01-12-S27corrected
· How should I deal with the misogynistic things some scholars wrote about women?
Mufti Abu Layth says contemporary misogyny should not be allowed to hijack one's Islam, and that past scholars' writings about women reflect their own age and do not confine Islam, which each age reflects in its own way.
“when you read things of the past just know that this is their day and age this is not a reflection it doesn't um you know it doesn't capture or imprison islam within it”
1:08:47TranscriptCite 2021-01-26b-S16corrected
· What do you think of Imam al-Shatibi?
Mufti Abu Layth says al-Shatibi really brought the objectives of the Sharia to life, so that everybody after him is indebted to him, and that he absolutely loves him for that.
“it may have existed, but he really brings it to life and everybody after him is just indebted to him. So, yeah, I absolutely love him for that aspect.”
1:19:37TranscriptCite 2021-02-02b-S13corrected
· Is pork the only meat that is haram in the Maliki school?
Mufti Abu Layth says that in the Maliki school no meat is haram to eat in and of itself except the pig.
“but in and of themselves no meat was haram on earth whether it was from the sea the land or the sky nothing is haram bar pig in the maliki method”
30:36TranscriptCite 2021-02-09-S05corrected
· Did Maliki scholars really allow fines instead of hudud punishments?
Mufti Abu Layth says the fatwa on punishing with wealth that he cites was acted upon as the law and understood as the sharia for hundreds of years.
“but some great people have said this and it was acted as the law it was understood as the sharia for hundreds and hundreds of years”
3:14:58TranscriptCite 2021-02-09-S35corrected
· How did the Maliki school spread to North Africa and Spain?
Mufti Abu Layth says the Maliki school had spread in Imam Malik's lifetime all the way to the Iberian peninsula, through North Africa.
“the maliki method had spread in imam malik's lifetime all the way to the iberian peninsula which was spain it went through via north africa”
1:50:00TranscriptCite 2021-02-16-S34corrected
Mufti Abu Layth says playing chess is not haram.
“no playing chess is not haram um yeah chess wasn't there in the time of the prophet not amongst the immediate arabs”
1:51:49TranscriptCite 2021-02-16-S35corrected
· Are insects haram to eat in the Maliki school?
Mufti Abu Layth says that in the Maliki school almost everything is halal to eat except pork and what is sacrificed to other than God, that carrion is avoided for health, that insects are not haram, and that ritual slaughter applies only to domesticated livestock.
“So similarly, people generally don't eat insects. But insects are not haram. Okay, that doesn't make it haram.”
1:56:20TranscriptCite 2021-04-06-S20corrected
· Why does the Muwatta contain hadith that Imam Malik did not follow?
Mufti Abu Layth says Imam Malik included in the Muwatta reports he did not practise, and infers from the only report about Jesus there, in which Jesus tells a pig to pass in peace, that Malik had a problem with the reports that Jesus will return and kill pigs.
“I infer from this that he is showing that we have a problem with the narrations that people are saying Jesus will come flag and he will kill pigs.”
2:29:08TranscriptCite 2021-04-06-S25corrected
· Is it obligatory for Muslims to establish a caliphate?
Mufti Abu Layth says there is no obligation in Islam to establish a caliphate system, that classical Maliki scholars held this, so the claimed consensus fails, and that Akram Nadwi takes the same view.
“there's no such thing in islam as an obligation for a caliphate system”
55:26TranscriptCite 2021-04-13-S14corrected
· What does Mufti Abu Layth think of al-Shaybani's critique of the Madinan school?
Mufti Abu Layth says al-Shaybani's book against the people of Madinah failed from its title, since Islam was lived and taught in Madinah and captured by Imam Malik, whose school tries to preserve the practice of Madinah.
“his what i saw as was just an arrogant attempt to respond to imam malik”
3:02:11TranscriptCite 2021-04-13-S45corrected
· Is there a sahih hadith on where to put my hands in salah?
Mufti Abu Layth says there is not a single sahih hadith establishing where the hands are placed in prayer, that sadl is a sunnah of the school of Madinah without a hadith, and that people should not be guilt-tripped over how they hold their hands.
“really as astonishing as this may seem there isn't a single sahih hadith to prove where to place the hands in prayer”
5:49TranscriptCite 2021-10-06-S01corrected
· What did the classical Maliki scholars say about the satanic verses story?
Mufti Abu Layth says the Maliki scholars rightly rejected the satanic verses narrations as fabricated, and that even a sahih report contradicting the Quran would be rejected, let alone weak ones.
“this is why many of the ulama of islam oh sorry especially the malikiah very clearly made it very clear that look all of these things are utterly absurd they have no standing”
1:14:40TranscriptCite 2022-08-19-S15corrected
· What is the difference between a hadith and the Sunnah in the Maliki school?
Mufti Abu Layth says those who follow the school of Madinah are not hadith dogmatists but hadith relativists, embracing a hadith where it correlates with the Sunnah.
“we who follow the school of Medina are not Hadith dogmatists Hadith relativists as in we embrace the Sunnah where the Hadith correlates with the Sunnah”
38:42TranscriptCite 2023-03-10-S09corrected
· Why did Imam Malik never leave Madinah?
Mufti Abu Layth says the Maliki school holds Madinah to be more virtuous than Makkah, while the other schools disagree.
“in the Maliki method we consider Medina to be more virtuous than Makkah the other methods disagree”
47:22TranscriptCite 2023-03-10-S11corrected
· Can we ever be completely certain about religious answers?
Mufti Abu Layth says the ultimate certainty is God alone, and whatever we think is the answer is ultimately limited by our understanding.
“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”
1:01:08TranscriptCite 2023-03-10-S13corrected
· Did Imam Malik reject the hadith he did not act on?
Mufti Abu Layth says, as his own thought, that someone choosing an imam to guide them in a broad methodology should look to legends like Imam Malik.
“you're going to see these names come up again in a very problematic way look to Legends like Imam Malik they were in the time of the salaf”
3:37TranscriptCite 2023-04-19-S01corrected
· Why does the practice of Madinah matter more than a single hadith?
Mufti Abu Layth says he greatly favours the method of the school of Madinah.
“there's so much volumes can be written on how this is why I so favor them the method of the school of matina”
11:42TranscriptCite 2023-04-19-S02corrected
How many of these answers cite each (guest speech left out). Cited means named as evidence or discussed, not necessarily accepted: open the answers to see which.
These answers state a view in order to discuss it, often to reject it. They are never read as his position.
Cite a statement by its id: Mufti Abu Layth Archive, segment id, with the date and the address of its page. Citation formats
