How does the Shaykh respond to some people who criticize him for leaving his country and residing in Jordan?

The questioner : Some people criticizeThe Shaykh : him for leaving his country and residing in Jordan, so how does he respondThe Shaykh : to that?

The Shaykh : He responds by saying that he did not leave his country; he is still in his country. Of course, this is a rhetorical response to the question. From here, I will elaborate and clarify the question, as it must be precise and clear. Who said that al-Sham is my country, or that Damascus is my country? Who said that? My country is Shkodra, meaning Albania. Why has no one asked why he left his original country, which is, as they say, my birthplace? No one has asked this question, and this is more worthy of being asked. I say, if they had asked me, I would have said: My father migrated with me from those lands to a land better than them. So if someone asked me why I left Damascus and came to Amman, I would give the same answer. But that action was performed by my father, while this action was performed by me. And I say, may Allah reward him with good. I have often said that, although my father was against my calling and was a rigid Hanafi who would speak ill of me among the people there, saying, "Wake up, my son is misguided," despite all of this, I say, in stating the truth, if my father had no merit over me other than that he first migrated with me and the rest of my family to Damascus and saved us from the land of ignorance and misguidance, Albania, and if he had no other merit other than that he taught me the trade of repairing watches, because this trade enabled me to seek knowledge and study it, whereas when I first graduated from primary school, I learned carpentry and worked as a carpenter. If I had remained a carpenter, I would have remained a donkey who understands nothing. Why? Because he is tired all day with carpentry, sawing, splitting wood, and so on. Where would he find the time to be able to seek knowledge and study it, let alone go to the Zahiriyyah Library to devote himself to the arts there? If he had only these two traits, meaning these two merits, that would be sufficient reward for him with Allah (Mighty and Majestic). So how is it when every child is covered by the favor of his father over him? The point is that he migrated us to Damascus. As for me, I migrated from Damascus to Amman on my own. Why? In the path of Allah, because I initially imagined it would be so, and then the outcome was better than I imagined and better than what I had imagined. I gained more fame there than here by a great deal, so my home was knocked on more than now, as you see, whether by phone or in person, if that expression is correct. So I said, I have many scientific projects. If things continue like this, I will have to devote myself to receiving people and leave the scientific projects. Receiving people is also a service, but I was not created for this; I was created to devote myself to research and verification. So I migrated from Damascus to here to devote myself. And then we were surprised by what was not expected. My brothers said, "We want a lesson." I used to make excuses, saying, "I want to buy land, I want to choose land that is suitable for the money I have saved, that is cheap." Then I said, "I want to build. Wait for us, the group, until I settle in the house." I gave the promise, and we held the first lesson and the second lesson. One lesson per week. Before the third lesson came, the intelligence service came from here to the intelligence service in Syria, then intermediaries worked, and they allowed us to enter, but on the condition that we do not hold lessons. I said, "By Allah, every harm has a benefit." Why did I migrate from Damascus to here? To devote myself to knowledge. And the door I fled from opened here. The government, with its injustice, closed the door on me. If it had been permissible for me to thank them, I would have thanked them, but... So now I know, the answer remains.

The questioner : Thank you.