What is your opinion on the issue of obtaining a passport from a non-Islamic state, even if it is only in name, and the loyalty and other matters that follow from it?

The questioner : In fact, I got into a discussion with some of the brothers. I went to America for two years for my studies, and, praise be to Allah, my Lord (Glorified and Exalted is He) granted me the success to return with the least amount of sins possible.

The Shaykh : Praise be to Allah.

The questioner : One of the problems the brothers faced there was the issue of obtaining the American passport and residency there, and marriage, in many cases, if not to American women, then to non-Muslim women at least. So what is your opinion on the issue of obtaining a passport from a non-Islamic state, even if it is only in name, and the loyalty and other matters that naturally follow from it?

The Shaykh : I understand, my brother. This is the strongest manifestation of a Muslim’s loyalty to a disbeliever: that he acquires their citizenship. The texts of the Book and the Sunnah are replete with warnings against loyalty to disbelievers. And as He (Blessed and Exalted is He) said: . The tragedy is that Muslims today, except for a few, conduct their lives and societies based on the Jewish principle that "the end justifies the means." They do not think about the rulings of the Shari'ah at all. For example, if someone finds some difficulty in his country, for the most trivial reasons, he says, "I will go and acquire any European, American, or Canadian citizenship." He does not realize that this is the ultimate in submission, obedience, and humiliation to the disbeliever whose citizenship he acquires. In my opinion, and in the opinion of any Muslim who thinks a little, these disbelievers who issue passports and facilitate the means do not do so for the sake of Allah, for they have no deity they worship other than themselves. Rather, it is in the spirit of the common Syrian proverb, "Scratch my back and I will scratch yours," meaning an exchange of interests. And without a doubt, their interests are much stronger than the interest of this poor Muslim who humbled himself to this disbeliever and acquired his citizenship. The other day, a letter came to me from Ireland from a Muslim man—I swear to Allah, I forgot, a Somali. He said: "I was forced to reside there, and now I want to obtain Irish citizenship, but they impose conditions. This is the first time I have heard of this, and it weighed heavily on me. How can people accept being naturalized with these disbelieving nationalities? It may be specific to Ireland, or it may be general for every state, but this news is the first time I have come across it. This Somali says he is forced to acquire Irish citizenship. We are upon the Sunnah. Do you want to start with the oath from your side? Yes. And you give the oath? Yes. So he told me: They have a condition in Ireland that they give the passport to the personThe student : who swears that he will obey the British Queen and her law and system. By Allah, as I was informed of this, since you were afflicted and lived there recently in America, have you heard of it?

The questioner : I do not know.

The Shaykh : I have not heard of it. Anyway, the story of this man is that he says: Sometimes the oath is collective. That is, there are several applications, and they ask them to swear that they will submit to the British Queen and her system and law, and that they will not let it go. They must swear and raise their voices. He says, but I, he says about himself, this dervish, he says, "I will join the group, and when they raise their voices in the oath of loyalty, I will recite the Qur'an or some dhikr." But out of his goodness and simplicity, what does he say? He says: "But they must all stand up, they must stand to give honor to this sacred oath." This alone is enough for us to know that it is not permissible for a Muslim, may Allah reward you with good, to acquire a foreign nationality, because this is the complete loyalty. And if it is not as strong as that, it is like stripping oneself of one's religion to the religion of the Christians.

The questioner : There is more to it than that.

The Shaykh: Go ahead.

The questioner : They require that he change in the passport from Muslim to Christian.

The Shaykh : Yes.

The questioner : Yes, in the passport that is issued here, until he finds work there. There are people who do it. They tell you it is just...

Another questioner : We asked Shaykh Salih, and he said...

Another questioner : People came and said they did it because...

Another questioner : their wives are foreign.

Another questioner : When he goes there, and here he is Muslim, he changes the passport from Muslim to Christian. When he goes there to apply for work to work...

Another questioner : But he alters his name a little.

Another questioner : Even if he changes his name, for example, if his name is Muhammad, he calls himself Peter. Is that permissible?

The Shaykh : Who says it is permissible?

The questioner : Like Jihad, for example, George.

The Shaykh : This is, as I said, some of the shaykhs...

The questioner : Where are you, Shaykh?

The Shaykh : No, give me a paper.

The questioner : A paper, a paper.

The Shaykh : Well, some of the shaykhs in our country used to say that imitating the disbelievers is not permissible, and the worst of imitation is the hat. He wears a jacket, he wears trousers, he puts on a tie, and on top of that he puts on a hat. This is the cover of disbelief. This is the end. There is nothing more than this. If he also wants to be called Peter or George or Antonius, Allah is Greater! Are there people who are doing this?

The questioner : Yes, yes, yes. And there, in order to marry an American, even to get, they require, in order to give them the citizenship, they must marry an American or a woman from the country. So they must require that he is not married, or if he has a wife, he divorces her. He intends to divorce her. He comes here and takes the woman to the Shari'ah judge and divorces her with a formal divorce, and he takes the official divorce to there to obtain the passport. And the shaykhs in the courts do that.

The Shaykh : Also.

The questioner : Yes.

The Shaykh : This is from two perspectives: the end justifies the means. Allah is Greater!

The questioner : O Shaykh, they have, they have, the Muslim's country is more important to them than money. They mean, they want to empty the Levant of Muslims. There was a period when the people of Palestine, they just wanted to enter immediately, to get an American visa, to enter immediately, to empty it, meaning.

The Shaykh: Allahu Akbar.

The questioner : Because they consider the Christians in the Levant more important than the Christians in America and in Europe.

The Shaykh : Allah is Greater! Ignorance, materialism, and the love of money have blinded the hearts of the Muslims. And therefore came the warning in the famous hadith: , . They said: "Or is it because of our fewness at that time? Are we few, O Messenger of Allah?" He said: . Allah is Greater! How great is this prophecy! . How many millions, two million Jews, the millions of Muslims were unable to do anything; !
. They said: "And what is the weakness, O Messenger of Allah?" He said: . This is the fatal disease today. My goal is modest. At that time, the believers will rejoice.

The questioner : We ask Allah that it be near.