The ruling on disagreement and differing opinions regarding the ruling that a specific country is a land of disbelief or a land of Islam
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The questioner : Yes, yes, Shaykh, may Allah bless you. Those who equate the lands where rulers rule by other than [the Shari'ah] with other lands, Shaykh, what is the extent of loyalty and disavowal that a person should have? Because most of these people, if they were questioned, would not know what they are saying; they are only speaking without knowledge. And if the talk were to increase, perhaps a commotion would occur and aversion would arise in hearts. So, should a person study these topics or leave them alone?
The Shaykh : By Allah, I see that the truth should be clarified. Because if it is a land of disbelief, it entails that we wage war against it. That we wage war against it and make permissible their women and their people, or we obligate its people to emigrate from it. And glory be to Allah, a land where the adhan is called, Jumu'ah and congregation are established, Ramadan is fasted, and all the symbols of Islam are apparent, and its people are Muslims—we say it is a land of disbelief based on the fact that the rulers rule by law. How do we forget the five acts of worship, which are all present and established in this land? And the ruling is not that all laws are contrary to the Shari'ah; some of them are in accordance with the Shari'ah.
The questioner : Shaykh, I mean, brothers.
The Shaykh : We must clarify to them and say: O people, between us and you is the Book of Allah. Do you consider it permissible to wage war on this town? They cannot say yes. If one of the people of this town died, would you inherit from him? From your relatives and many other things. Because it is necessary for us to say that it is a land of disbelief, it is necessary for us to declare the people in it disbelievers, except if they fight the ruler who ruled by laws.
The questioner : If it is predominant in his opinion that he is addressing [them], and the caller is that these people do not respond to him, either because they are ignorant, or because he is hasty.
The Shaykh : That he decides it himself and does not argue, and he decides for those present, some of whom were present, that this is not a land of disbelief.
The Shaykh : By Allah, I see that the truth should be clarified. Because if it is a land of disbelief, it entails that we wage war against it. That we wage war against it and make permissible their women and their people, or we obligate its people to emigrate from it. And glory be to Allah, a land where the adhan is called, Jumu'ah and congregation are established, Ramadan is fasted, and all the symbols of Islam are apparent, and its people are Muslims—we say it is a land of disbelief based on the fact that the rulers rule by law. How do we forget the five acts of worship, which are all present and established in this land? And the ruling is not that all laws are contrary to the Shari'ah; some of them are in accordance with the Shari'ah.
The questioner : Shaykh, I mean, brothers.
The Shaykh : We must clarify to them and say: O people, between us and you is the Book of Allah. Do you consider it permissible to wage war on this town? They cannot say yes. If one of the people of this town died, would you inherit from him? From your relatives and many other things. Because it is necessary for us to say that it is a land of disbelief, it is necessary for us to declare the people in it disbelievers, except if they fight the ruler who ruled by laws.
The questioner : If it is predominant in his opinion that he is addressing [them], and the caller is that these people do not respond to him, either because they are ignorant, or because he is hasty.
The Shaykh : That he decides it himself and does not argue, and he decides for those present, some of whom were present, that this is not a land of disbelief.
Source
قناة «فضيلة الشيخ محمد بن صالح العثيمين»، [5283] حكم الخلاف والاختلاف على الحكم ببلاد معينة أنها بلاد كفر أو بلاد إسلام - ابن عثيمين — youtube.com
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.