What is your opinion on emigrating from the Levant to a country with less corruption?

The questioner : I was speaking on the phone with one of our brothers in Allah from Kuwait, and he said, "The situation has become corrupt in the Levant. We hear a lot about the corruption that has spread in Jordan, the Levant, and the Levant in general." He said, "Why don't you strive and emigrate from this land?" I said, "May Allah reward you, this is a blessed land, the Levant, and the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) encouraged staying in the Levant." It is true that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) encouraged remaining in the Levant and staying in the Levant. Because if the people of the Levant become corrupt, you look for a place—whether in Pakistan or anywhere in the world—where you find a group or people or a faction that worships Allah (Mighty and Majestic) and establishes the limits of Allah (Mighty and Majestic), and you emigrate to it. I do not know what the situation would be for a Muslim if the people of the Levant become corrupt and he finds a country with less harm than this place.

The Shaykh : By Allah, this statement is sound; there is no dust on it.

The questioner: Yes.

The Shaykh : But it is not hidden from you that the Levant is vast and its parts differ from one another. For this reason, I emigrated from Syria to Jordan.

The questioner: Yes.

The Shaykh : I say: As for this brother, you understood from him that he called you from Kuwait.

The questioner: Yes.

The Shaykh : And you are here; you are in it.

The questioner : I am in it.

The Shaykh : Okay, did he act on this advice?

The questioner : He is now arranging his affairs to go to al-Qasim.

The Shaykh : To al-Qasim.

The questioner : Yes, he is a student of knowledge there... Khalifa Isa... Ghanim, if you have heard of him.

The Shaykh : Isa.

The questioner : Isa... Ghanim...

The Shaykh : By Allah, I do not remember. He is a student of knowledge.

The questioner : Yes, a student of knowledge, what Allah willed?

The Shaykh : Does he have writings?

The questioner : I mean, a simple booklet on the reality of the Jews, and he has efforts...

The Shaykh : Yes, he is without doubt, as I told you, his statement is sound. But as we say, even on the occasion of the storm that the man stirred up.

The questioner: Yes.

The Shaykh : We say that it is obligatory for the Muslim to emigrate from the country where he feels he does not enjoy his religious freedom to another country that is better than it. I gave an example of this with Algeria, when one of them called me one night recently and said, "We have been told that you make emigration obligatory for the Algerians and others?" I said, "Yes, but to clarify something to him, which may have reached him distorted or truncated, or so on." I said to him, "Questions come to me about the harassment you find in the capital, where walking around at night is prohibited until five in the morning. I was asked more than once, 'What do we do between five and the sunrise, which is a quarter of an hour later? Do we pray in our homes in the sitting position, or do we delay the prayer until the light in the mosque?'" I said, "Yes, until the light in the mosque, as long as you catch the prayer in its time." I said to the questioner, "Is this what I was asked and answered?" He said, "Yes." I said, "Is this prohibition and this restriction present in all of Algeria, or only in the capital?" He said, "No, only in the capital." I said, "Then it is obligatory to emigrate from it to another country where this restriction is not present." Now, on this scale and this rule and principle, the Muslim who thinks about the future of his life on one hand and the future of his family and offspring on the other hand should choose the best and most upright of countries. But this may not be feasible for every person. I am thinking about this Kuwaiti: do the Kuwaitis have the doors of the Saudis open to them without condition or restriction? It seems so.

The questioner: Yes.

The Shaykh : And it is not so for the other Muslims.

The questioner: Certainly.

The Shaykh : This is what I experienced with the Saudis before the Gulf Fitnah, which was a cause for us to speak the truth on one hand and for the Saudi government to oppose Al-Albani on the other hand. Before this, I had submitted an application allowing me to reside in some of the Hijaz countries, such as Madinah and Makkah. The application went according to the routine, as they say, and reached the King, and from the King to the Minister of the Interior, and it was killed. This is, as they say in the Levant, "What is the guest?" I was satisfied with emigrating here, although I found in the beginning what you know. But now I feel a lot of peace and freedom, especially regarding my old age, so I am in great well-being. If I wanted to go to a country, I do not see anything better than the Saudi country. But this was before. Now, by Allah, I see that Saudi Arabia is following in the footsteps of the other countries that are following them. Also, I fear, and Allah knows best, that Saudi Arabia will be divided into countries, soon or far, to execute a disbeliever's plan to weaken the power of the Muslims on the basis of "divide and rule." Therefore, I am not sorry for the killing of the previous application after we went through these stages. In summary, the man's statement is correct, but the matter differs from person to person, from a Kuwaiti to a Syrian to an Egyptian. The Kuwaiti is satisfied with because of political circumstances and disasters that brought them together, so he is allowed to reside, but it is not so for the others. On this basis, we said regarding emigration.