Research › History and the Prophet's life
14 answers in 11 recordings, 2014 to 2021. 12 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.
· 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
· 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
· Which hadith are used to justify killing apostates, and were the scholars who used them right?
Mufti Abu Layth says that scholars who ruled that apostates be executed unless they returned to Islam were clearly and categorically wrong, being products of an age that placed little value on human life.
“but they got it wrong if they said that they were wrong clearly clearly and categorically”
24:58TranscriptCite 2018-05-10-S06corrected
· 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 Ibn al-Arabi write about a classmate who was both bearded and breasted?
Mufti Abu Layth says that in the past, it seems, people who were stuck, such as those who were homosexual or bisexual without an apparent outlet, and presumably khuntha too, found a loophole with servants and slaves.
“in the past it seems to be wherever people were kind of stuck they found a loophole if you like with servants”
12:04TranscriptCite 2019-08-02b-S03corrected
· Was it haram for the Ottomans to turn the Hagia Sophia into a mosque?
Mufti Abu Layth says the medieval conversion of churches into mosques was not haram but the politics of the time, though he does not think it was a good thing.
“if they did it in the past I'm not saying it was haram it wasn't I suppose they've kind of conquered and this is what they did I don't think it was a good thing”
1:23:42TranscriptCite 2020-07-14-S20corrected
· Was it haram for Muslims to turn the Hagia Sophia into a mosque after the conquest?
Mufti Abu Layth says the medieval conversion of churches into mosques and of mosques into cathedrals was the politics of men, neither encouraged nor prohibited by Islam, so the original conversion of the Hagia Sophia was not haram but was not a good thing.
“i'm not saying it was haram it wasn't i suppose they've kind of conquered and this is what they did i don't think it was a good thing”
8:42TranscriptCite 2020-07-16-S03corrected
· Who was Ibn Rushd (Averroes)?
Mufti Abu Layth says it is a shame that Muslims ignored Ibn Rushd, since he was such a legend in philosophy.
“you see it's a shame that Muslims because he was such a legend in philosophy Muslims kind of turned a uh they they kind of ignored him”
2:07:04TranscriptCite 2021-01-19-S27corrected
· Why did Ibn Rushd fall from favour with the caliph?
Mufti Abu Layth says he is not sure the report that Ibn Rushd doubted the reality of a Quranic story is true, but that it is believable he said such things because his views were very philosophical.
“I'm not sure whether that's true but it's believable that he could have said things because his views were kind of very philosophical”
2:10:51TranscriptCite 2021-01-19-S28corrected
· 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
· 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
· Do Muslims whitewash their own historical heroes?
Mufti Abu Layth says that of course everybody, Muslims included, whitewashes their historical figures.
“mufti do you think we whitewash muslim historical figures of course of course everybody does you know in these kind of things”
39:43TranscriptCite 2021-03-02-S08corrected
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.
Cite a statement by its id: Mufti Abu Layth Archive, segment id, with the date and the address of its page. Citation formats
