How can a teacher appointed in a distant country balance dutifulness to his parents with spreading knowledge?

Question : This questioner says: Honorable Shaykh, you know that an appointment in the field of teaching may be in a town far from my hometown, and going to that town entails a harm, which is that I am separated from my parents and do not show them dutifulness, especially since they have no one else but me. How can one reconcile bringing about the benefit, repelling the harm, and spreading knowledge?

Answer : First, we say that if the parents have no caretaker other than this teacher who is being sent away from them, then he must take one of two paths.
Either he tries to move his parents to his location, though he does not know what the benefit in that might be. Perhaps his appointment in this town is a blessing for him and his family. This town may not have scholars or students of knowledge, so Allah may benefit people through him, and he can open study circles in the mosque and go to the notables and prominent people to guide them to good. Many people have achieved this; we now know of people who went to remote lands and much good resulted from them. A person does not come to a place where there are no benefits. Or, if it harms the parents to go with him and there is no one else to take care of them, he submits a letter to the authorities with evidence and proofs indicating this necessity. He should not expect the authorities to refuse to approve his request if they know of his necessity.