The Ruling on Living in Lands of Disbelief
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
Question : May Allah reward you. A questioner says: A question for Shaykh Muhammad ibn Uthaymeen (may Allah preserve him and benefit us with his knowledge) from one of the Muslim communities in the lands of the disbelievers. The question is: Does the hadith of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) apply to us, in which he said, “I am innocent of any Muslim who resides among the disbelievers,” given that we hold Friday prayers and congregational prayers and we maintain the matters of our religion?
Answer : It is obligatory that a Muslim not resort to the land of disbelief for the purpose of permanent residence. However, one who goes to the land of disbelief for study or trade, that is permissible with conditions. The first condition is that he must have knowledge with which to repel doubts, because our enemies want to cast doubts upon us regarding the religion, the Messenger, and the Lord, Mighty and Majestic.
So you must have knowledge with which to fortify yourself against doubts. The second condition is that he must have religion that prevents him from desires, because the door to desires is open there. If you want to commit unlawful sexual intercourse, it is available. If you want to commit sodomy, it is available. If you want to drink intoxicants, it is available. If you want to use hashish, it is available. All lewdness and open sinfulness is present in the lands of the disbelievers.
So if a person does not have strong religion that prevents him from desires, it is not permissible for him to travel. The third condition is that there must be a dire necessity for it, such that there are specializations in the land of disbelief that have no equivalent in his own country. But if there is an equivalent in his own country, he does not travel to the land of disbelief. As for these communities, if they are able to return to their own countries, it is obligatory for them to return to the land of Islam. And if they are not able to, and they are residing while maintaining the religion, then they may be excused in this matter. Yes.
Answer : It is obligatory that a Muslim not resort to the land of disbelief for the purpose of permanent residence. However, one who goes to the land of disbelief for study or trade, that is permissible with conditions. The first condition is that he must have knowledge with which to repel doubts, because our enemies want to cast doubts upon us regarding the religion, the Messenger, and the Lord, Mighty and Majestic.
So you must have knowledge with which to fortify yourself against doubts. The second condition is that he must have religion that prevents him from desires, because the door to desires is open there. If you want to commit unlawful sexual intercourse, it is available. If you want to commit sodomy, it is available. If you want to drink intoxicants, it is available. If you want to use hashish, it is available. All lewdness and open sinfulness is present in the lands of the disbelievers.
So if a person does not have strong religion that prevents him from desires, it is not permissible for him to travel. The third condition is that there must be a dire necessity for it, such that there are specializations in the land of disbelief that have no equivalent in his own country. But if there is an equivalent in his own country, he does not travel to the land of disbelief. As for these communities, if they are able to return to their own countries, it is obligatory for them to return to the land of Islam. And if they are not able to, and they are residing while maintaining the religion, then they may be excused in this matter. Yes.
Source
قناة «فضيلة الشيخ محمد بن صالح العثيمين»، حكم العيش في بلاد الكفر — youtube.com
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.