Is it not said that migration from the lands of Palestine to Islamic lands is not valid, especially since most of them are not governed by the law of Allah (Glorified and Exalted)?

The questioner : My master, I certainly see that what you said is a legal ruling and there is no discussion about it, but the Palestinian land, as we call it in this age, is Islamic land.

The Shaykh : Okay.

The questioner : And abandoning it and migrating from it to a country we claim is an Islamic land is, in reality, a means of facilitating foreign colonial control over Islamic land by virtue of reality and by virtue of history.

The Shaykh: Yes.

The questioner : Then, the countries to which the Palestinian Muslims will migrate are the Arab countries, and as you know and we all know, they are not governed by the law of Allah. So, we have fled from one evil to another evil. Therefore, I see that standing firm in the Islamic land—let us drop the word "Palestinian"—the Islamic land, I see that this is a right and a sacred legal requirement, and that neglecting it, in my view, is neglecting the religion. May Allah reward you with good.

The Shaykh : Are you finished?

The questioner : Yes, O my master.

The Shaykh : I say: Your words do not differ from the words of our previous brother except that you claimed that those who migrate from Palestine to Islamic lands are moving from one evil to another evil. But do you not feel with me that there is some exaggeration in this statement? Do you not see that there is a difference between, for example, Palestine occupied by the Jews and, for example, the Saudi country, which is governed by those who govern it today, and they declare that they govern by Islam, and we hear from them words that are, of course, from Islam, and so on.
And I do not want to say in this that they govern by Islam one hundred percent, but I want you to agree with me in modifying your statement that those who migrate from Palestine to other Islamic lands have moved from one evil to another evil. Do you see that equating staying in Palestine with staying in Saudi Arabia, for example? Even though I say: if it becomes easy for him, because unfortunately, this staying is not something that becomes easy for everyone, but if it becomes easy for him, would his staying in Saudi Arabia be like his staying in Palestine under the rule of the Jews? Do you see them as equal, for example?

The questioner : In my view—and here I appeal to my view, only rational thought—that staying in Palestine is jihad, perpetual jihad.

The Shaykh : You did not answer me. My question is: Do they become equal, for example, after this brief explanation?

The questioner : Yes, they are equal, and this is dressed in Islamic attire, but it is not Muslim in its application of the rules of Islam.

The Shaykh : Allow me a moment, I am asking you a more precise question than this: Is the one who resides in Amman equal to the one who resides in Makkah?

The questioner: No.

The Shaykh : May Allah forgive you! Do you not see that you are rushing in your answer? Is Makkah not part of Saudi Arabia? Let us go down a level, are they equal?

The questioner : ... .

The Shaykh : Allow me, is the one who resides in Amman equal to the one who resides in al-Madinah al-Munawwarah? You will also say: No, even though this is a rank below the first; so how do we speak so loosely and say that there is no difference between the one who resides in Palestine and the one who resides in other Islamic countries?

Another questioner : Especially, Professor Abu 'Abd al-Rahman, our brother the professor is preparing his doctorate in Arabic.

The Shaykh : [The Shaykh laughs!] What Allah willed!

Another questioner : It must be precise and very precise.

The Shaykh : What Allah willed! Good.

The questioner : Is the one who lives in Amman equal to the one who lives in Jerusalem?

The Shaykh : They are not equal; his residence here, from the aspect we are discussing, is better for him than residence in Jerusalem, and better for him than residence in Bayt al-Maqdis; because you know now that those who pray in al-Aqsa Mosque are being pursued, and they are not allowed to pray there, and al-Aqsa Mosque is trampled there by the feet of the Jews, and so on. Therefore, it is of great wisdom that a person’s view not be idealistic but realistic. Do you see, if Bayt al-Maqdis, or rather al-Aqsa Mosque, were converted into a church, into a place of worship for the Jews where they worship Allah, would we still say that prayer there is better than here?

The questioner : ... our exit from it will lead to this which ... .

The Shaykh : My brother, I see that you are not answering the question, and we have enough in Islamic history in one book called "Al-Haydah," so we do not need to compose other treatises named Al-Haydah, so if you answer me about the question, you will be at ease and put me at ease.

Another questioner : You need to answer the question you are asking.

The questioner : My master, I am asking.

The Shaykh : You say: This is the cause of that. The question that was directed to the brother returns: Since the states existing today around Palestine, what do you see will be the fate of those residing in Palestine? And if the matter remains as it is in reality today, what will be the outcome? I am asking you a direct and political question: What will be the outcome of throwing stones at the Jews and the Jews shooting the Muslims with bullets and rifles, and so on? What do you think the outcome will be? Is it not the eradication of the Muslims in those lands?

The questioner : You see that, and I see the exact opposite, in the long term.

The Shaykh : My brother, I beg you to be realistic.

The questioner : I am realistic ... .

The Shaykh : Okay, in our years of schooling, we learned that "an eye does not match a needle," what do you think of this statement? Is it sound or imaginary?

The questioner : But this cannot be applied to nations.

The Shaykh : Is he not answering?!

The questioner : This is an answer.

The Shaykh : My dear, but the professor is recommending you and saying you read Arabic, you study Arabic, but it requires a statement that needs correction, and what is being corrected, and I am asking you a question and you say "but"? Where is the answer to the question? An eye facing a needle? Say: Yes, say: No, Glory be to Allah!

The questioner : The answer here is clear, but I ... .

The Shaykh : No, it is not clear to me; because if it were clear, your answer to my question would also have been clear. When I asked you what you think if the resistance in Palestine continues, the Jews resist the Muslims with bullets and bombs, and so on, and the Muslims face them with stones, what will be the outcome? You answered me the opposite of what I imagined the answer from you would be, and therefore I brought you the proverb to perhaps clarify to you this opposite that you went to; an eye facing a needle? You say: But! But this is a correction of what? Finally, you said—and this is good—the answer is clear. I wonder if it is clear by your standard or by my standard? If it is clear by your previous standard, it means an eye faces a needle, but if it is by my standard, no, Professor; an eye does not face a needle; it means the eyes that want to resist a needle will all become blind, and their outcome will be loss. You do not take issues—may Allah bless you—by emotions.

The questioner : May Allah reward you with good.

Another questioner : We are at a second point regarding the first question, there was a second point we did not answer.

The Shaykh : Please, ah, beautiful, I told you: Postpone it, right?

The questioner: Yes.

The Shaykh : Okay; bring it now.