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40 answers in 23 recordings, 2014 to 2023. 21 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 respond to Islamophobia?
Mufti Abu Layth says Muslims should respond to Islamophobia by beginning with themselves: learning so as not to misstate Islam, keeping links with the ulama as the community's lifeline, and improving how they communicate.
“we need to correct our own understanding I feel that we do need to all Muslims need to be proactively engaged in learning”
47:24TranscriptCite 2015-04-06-S13corrected
· How can young Muslims be made interested in their faith?
Mufti Abu Layth says everybody should on some level be learning Arabic.
“everybody on some level should be doing Arabic everybody should on some level be learning Arab it's not a difficult language”
40:05TranscriptCite 2016-12-21-S07corrected
· Why don't most scholars say what Mufti Abu Layth says?
Mufti Abu Layth says that scholars who turn out articulate, charismatic and able to meet the challenges of the time usually do so in spite of having gone through the madrasa system, not because of it.
“people who turn out like that are usually they turn out like that in spite of having gone through the system not because of having gone through the system”
3:03TranscriptCite 2018-02-15-S01corrected
· Why do so many maulanas think the way they do?
Mufti Abu Layth says one would be naive to think that the past of young maulanas, who hardly interact with women, does not influence their decisions when women come to them with questions.
“is it okay for me to wear nail polish is it okay for me to cut my hair do you not think that their past will influence their decisions you've been naive to think that it doesn't”
13:58TranscriptCite 2018-02-15-S02corrected
· Is it worth studying at a madrasa?
Mufti Abu Layth says the madrasa is an awesome place if one can bring critical thought, evaluation and application to it, and that otherwise it will further dogmatise one.
“bring some of those qualities of thinking critical thought evaluation application these kind of things to the table if you can do that motherís a is an awesome place if you can't it will further just dogma ties you”
15:16TranscriptCite 2018-02-15-S03corrected
· 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
· If obscene lyrics make music haram, what about the classical Arabic poetry taught in madrasas?
Mufti Abu Layth says classical Arabic poetry, such as that of Abu Nuwas, the Hamasa and the Mu'allaqa of Imru' al-Qais, is full of violence, alcohol and sex much like rap lyrics and is taught in major madrasas, so treating rap differently is a double standard, and parents may set their own rules without attributing them to God.
“so my question is today this it's it's a kind of form of double standards look I get it look I get the fact that you don't like something”
46:07TranscriptCite 2019-09-18-S08corrected
· Should I give up my career plans to study full time at a madrasa?
Mufti Abu Layth says the drawback of going through the madrasa system is that, unfortunately, it dumbs you down.
“the cons or the negative the drawbacks of going to a madrasa system through a madras is that it dumbs you down unfortunately because a lot of the assata are so insecure”
57:25TranscriptCite 2020-08-04-S12corrected
· Can I learn Islam properly on my own alongside a degree?
Mufti Abu Layth says that someone focused on a career can learn Islam on the side and does not need to abandon secular studies to become a full-time madrasa student.
“if you are focused on a career then go for it and you can just learn this stuff on the side. You don't need to abandon your secular studies and become a full-time Madrasa student.”
1:06:05TranscriptCite 2020-08-04-S13corrected
· How common is sexual abuse in madrasas?
Mufti Abu Layth says he would never recommend that young boys go to a madrasa in Pakistan.
“This is why I would never recommend for young boys young um to ever go to a madrasa in Pakistan ever. Ever.”
1:19:23TranscriptCite 2020-08-04-S15corrected
· Don't madrasas expel students for sexual abuse?
Mufti Abu Layth says he thinks madrasa teachers' heightened response to sexual abuse in recent years comes from worry about trouble with the police, not personal conviction.
“they're worried they will get into trouble with the police. It's not because of their personal conviction.”
1:31:30TranscriptCite 2020-08-04-S19corrected
· Is it OK for Quran teachers to beat students?
Mufti Abu Layth says that beating students in the way he saw teachers do it is categorically haram.
“the stick would break give me another stick bang bang bang whoa it was crazy man and it's categorically haram these things”
46:10TranscriptCite 2020-08-24-S12corrected
· Should I study at Dar al-Mustafa in Yemen or at al-Azhar?
Mufti Abu Layth says Yemen is not a very stable location right now and he does not think it would be very wise to go there.
“is not a very stable location so um i don't i don't think it'd be very wise going there and you'd probably just be stuck”
1:25:11TranscriptCite 2021-01-12-S21corrected
· What do you think of the Muslim community in Birmingham?
Mufti Abu Layth says the youth are not listening to the scholars because the scholars are irrelevant and outdated.
“but the truth is because you guys are irrelevant okay you are outdated”
27:31TranscriptCite 2021-01-19-S08corrected
· Why don't you open an Islamic academy?
Mufti Abu Layth says he feels institutions and academies suck the soul and life out of an individual.
“you see institutions acmy they I feel kind of suck the soul and life out of an individual”
1:35:18TranscriptCite 2021-01-19-S23corrected
· At what age should children start learning about Islam, and what should they learn?
Mufti Abu Layth says that, as far as he can tell, it is fine for young children to learn only the basics, such as reading the Quran, the prayer and the stories of the prophets, with deeper teaching when they are older, while admitting he is unsure and that it depends on the child.
“when they get a bit older then maybe teaching them things about islam and a more deeper insight that's what i'm thinking”
39:21TranscriptCite 2021-01-26b-S08corrected
Mufti Abu Layth says a woman can become a mufti, that the field of Islamic scholarship is neglected and attracts little talent because it lacks support, and that anyone who wants to become a mufti must persevere through often dogmatic institutions.
“anybody can become a a mufti um you know but it does require going through the studies and then you got a soldier through it”
1:04:27TranscriptCite 2021-01-26b-S15corrected
· Why is Pakistan so full of religious extremism?
Mufti Abu Layth says the CIA and the war against the Russians played a facilitating, enabling role in boosting the extremist tradition in Pakistan and the Islamic world, though they are not solely responsible.
“the cia and the war against the russians you see you can't ignore the role that these people played now it's not entirely their fault they're not re solely responsible for the phenomenon but they played a facilitating enabling character”
1:57:10TranscriptCite 2021-02-09-S24corrected
· Why are some clerics so harsh in their rulings on women?
Mufti Abu Layth says that many clergy issue harsh rulings, especially towards women, out of sexual deprivation and frustration, and that their rulings would change if they lived normal lives.
“if these moolas had access to, if they lived a normal life and had normal, healthy sexual relationships and enjoyed life, you'd see the rulings would start radically changing.”
1:16:13TranscriptCite 2021-04-06-S12corrected
· Will traditional religious institutions survive if they do not adapt?
Mufti Abu Layth predicts that denominations which refuse to adapt, including many Deobandi institutions in the UK, will become fossilised, while those that adapted, as many Barelvis have, remain approachable to young people.
“five years from today some of these very kind of neanderthal kind of like uh denominations will just be absolutely fossilized they'll either have to adapt or they'll just become fossils”
1:01:14TranscriptCite 2021-04-13-S15corrected
· Is studying religious knowledge better than voluntary prayer?
Mufti Abu Layth says one should not underestimate the value of devotion to learning, or think voluntary prayer is somehow more valuable to God.
“there is something about the Legacy about being devoted to learning that don't don't don't don't as underestimate its value”
45:25TranscriptCite 2023-03-10-S10corrected
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
