The Shaykh’s response to those who opposed the fatwa on the emigration of a Muslim from a country where he is subjected to harm, and the clarification that emigration is obligatory from a country where sins are prevalent, let alone a country where disbelief and atheism are manifest.

The Shaykh : On the occasion of the entry of two of our brothers and their greeting us with a complete greeting, something occurred that is not of the Sunnah in any way. As for the complete greeting, it is the well-known Islamic greeting, "Peace be upon you," and its completion is the handshake. As for the third thing, it is the kissing of one of those being greeted. What I want to say is not this, but rather, in connection with that uproar that some malicious, envious, and jealous people stirred up against us for our repeated statement of the obligation of Muslims emigrating from a country where they are subjected to severe torment—and this is not all, nor is this my intention in speaking—but rather the following: they are influenced by the atmosphere in which they live. They are influenced by the prevailing atmosphere that has settled in some Islamic countries. So we say that emigration is obligatory, either as a flight from torment, or a flight from being led astray in religion, or a flight from being influenced by the corruption surrounding them in that country or those countries. Now, I do not want to say that in the phenomenon I referred to earlier there is something of that corruption, but I want to mention how the atmosphere, whether it is good, bad, or in between, affects those who are in it. That is the problem: it affects the people who live in that atmosphere, whether that atmosphere is influenced by customs different from those of other countries—all of which are Islamic countries—or whether they are influenced by customs that may be disliked or may be forbidden. In every country, and perhaps if we want to be cautious, in every region, there are its customs and traditions, as it is said, "If I forget, I will not forget." When I was a professor at the Islamic University, and some of those present now, especially those who graduated from the Islamic University as doctors, know that the Islamic University had people from various Islamic nations, including Pakistanis, Muslim Indians, and Africans from different regions. You would find that each of these peoples had its customs and traditions. I remember, and here is the point, that some of the students, when we would sit with them and discuss with them, were among the strongest students we had seen at the university. They had come for only two things: the first was to strengthen themselves in the Arabic language, and the second was to strengthen themselves in the Prophetic Sunnah. Despite that, they had a broad understanding of the rulings of Islamic jurisprudence. But some non-Shari'ah customs prevailed over them, even though they were customs contrary to the school of jurisprudence they had studied in their books. So one of them, and here is the point, when he came to greet a supposed Shaykh like me, would bow to him like this. This bowing is not prescribed by the consensus of scholars, and it is explicitly mentioned in the hadith narrated by al-Tirmidhi and others from Anas ibn Malik, in which a man said: "O Messenger of Allah, when one of us meets his brother, should he bow to him?" He said: to the end of the hadith. Despite that, these students, who were among the strongest in jurisprudence and knowledge, and the most steadfast in adhering to Islamic manners and the etiquette of respecting scholars, because the prevailing custom in their countries was to respect scholars by bowing to them, they came to the Hijaz where this custom is not known, but they were influenced by the custom of their country. So they would greet the Shuyukh with this greeting that is contrary to Islam in general and to their jurisprudence in particular. This is an example of how the atmosphere affects those who are in it: if it is good, it is good; if it is bad, it is bad. And between good and bad, there are levels and degrees.
Now we return to what we were discussing. Earlier, two men from the same region entered, but one of them had lived in a new region and was influenced by the custom. So when he entered and saw the Shaykh standing or sitting, he had to greet him with a special greeting, which is the kiss. I am not investigating the ruling on this kiss now, because it is not the main point of my speech. But the other was content with the handshake, and this is the Shari'ah. Why did they differ when they are from the same region? Because one of them changed his region and lived in another region, so he adapted to it. Glory be to Allah, if this region were a licentious region, would it not affect its inhabitant? The answer is yes. And from here came the hadiths in succession to say: The hadith came: The hadith came: ; that is, the blacksmith . Those who stirred up that deaf, dumb, and blind fitnah do not pay attention to anything except the insistence on holding onto the land, even if it is a land full of disease. They do not pay attention to these Shari'ah realities at all. And I gave an easy, simple example from the perspective of ; so take it as a lesson that the environment affects, either for good or for bad. Therefore, the exegetes said in their interpretation of His saying—Exalted is He—: They said: If there is a land in which there are sins, and another land in which those sins do not exist, emigration from that land is obligatory. Not as a flight from disbelief, atheism, and heresy, but as a flight from the land in which those sins exist and do not exist in another country. All these meanings were not considered by those who cause fitnah and corruption on earth. What did they consider? The insistence on holding onto the land. And this is another contradiction; because Allah—Mighty and Majestic—says: , and He says, and this is more explicit regarding what we are discussing now: . So the insistence on holding onto a diseased land is not of Islam in any way. And this is a reminder, and the reminder benefits the believers. And now return to what you were doing.