The Ruling on Traveling to the Lands of Disbelievers for Study

Question:
Your Eminence, the questioner says: What is your advice for the one who has been sent abroad? To one of the lands of the disbelievers to study with them. Does the hadith apply to him: “Whoever associates with the polytheists is like them”?

Answer:
We have spoken about this before. It is permissible to travel to the lands of the polytheists. This is travel, not residence. This is travel to the lands of the polytheists for the purpose of learning something that is not available among the Muslims and which they need, such as medicine, such as matters of weapons, training in weapons, and things that they are skilled in and we need. So it is permissible for a person to travel in order to learn them so that he can perform them among the Muslims. This is permissible on the condition that he holds fast to his religion. As for “associating” (mujaama’ah), it means residing and settling among them. As for merely passing through for a need, a purpose, or temporary study, this is not considered associating or residing. Yes.