Research › Fiqh and daily practice › Public law and governance
15 answers in 8 recordings, 2017 to 2021. 10 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 Muslims treat people who leave Islam?
Mufti Abu Layth says that whether a person leaves Islam is between them and God and they should be left alone, and that those who have given a distorted image of the Prophet bear the blame for people's hatred of him.
“to judge the look if a person left Islam that's the that's between them and God leave them alone”
55:15TranscriptCite 2018-05-10-S13corrected
· Is the world today dar al-harb, the land of war?
Mufti Abu Layth says that believing the world is the land of war puts people only a step away from declaring the people around them enemy combatants.
“if we are living in that all harm then we are only a step away from declaring the people here as enemy combatants”
10:08TranscriptCite 2018-09-03-S02corrected
· Are the hadith about the khilafah authentic?
Mufti Abu Layth says every hadith about the khilafah is fabricated.
“every single hadith about the Shelia I'm telling you is fabricated the Prophet in the times of the Arabs they never even used to use this word”
12:04TranscriptCite 2018-09-03-S03corrected
· Did al-Ghazali say Muslims must establish a caliphate?
Mufti Abu Layth says that when al-Ghazali and scholars of his time wrote of the caliph they meant kingship as opposed to anarchy, not as opposed to democracy.
“when those people in the past wrote about rule when what they meant was as opposed to what as opposed to anarchy Khilafah simply meant Kings”
15:57TranscriptCite 2018-09-03-S04corrected
· Who should I listen to about political ideas in Islam?
Mufti Abu Layth says anyone who wants to speak about ideas within Islam should at least be a scholar, though they can still be wrong.
“anybody at least if they want to speak about ideas within Islam then the least is let them be a scholar then they can be wrong still”
22:19TranscriptCite 2018-09-03-S05corrected
· Were the Ottomans representatives of Islam?
Mufti Abu Layth says the Ottoman Empire was nothing more than a dynasty that happened to be Muslim and is not symbolic of Islam.
“the Ottoman Empire was never it was nothing more than a dynasty that just happened to be Muslim it is not symbolic of Islam”
1:27:33TranscriptCite 2020-07-14-S22corrected
· Were the Ottomans the representatives of Islam?
Mufti Abu Layth says the Ottoman Empire was a dynasty that happened to be Muslim and never claimed to be a symbol of Islam, styling its sultans 'Caesar of Rome' and practising mandatory fratricide, so Muslims who romanticise it as representing Islam are mistaken.
“the ottoman empire was never it was nothing more than a dynasty that just happened to be muslim it is not symbolic of islam”
13:13TranscriptCite 2020-07-16-S05corrected
· How was Abu Bakr chosen as leader after the Prophet died?
Mufti Abu Layth says he does not believe it was known among the companions that the leaders would always be from Quraysh.
“There's a a popular understanding that the leaders will always be from Quraysh and somehow the companions all knew this. I don't buy any of that. I don't believe that was known”
11:09TranscriptCite 2020-10-16-S04corrected
· What does rightly guided caliph mean, and did Muawiya see Ali as one?
Mufti Abu Layth says that, in his assessment, Muawiya would have thought that from a political perspective he could run the show better than Ali.
“But from a political perspective, I think Muawia would have thought that he can run the show better than Ali.”
2:00:25TranscriptCite 2021-01-05-S26corrected
· 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
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
