regarding the ruling on residing in lands of disbelief for the sake of da'wah?
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner : So, is the continuation of da'wah in lands of disbelief through rotation among Muslim individuals?
The Shaykh : Yes, when is it permissible? When the Muslims are dominant and hold the authority; meaning, those who go to lands of disbelief for the sake of da'wah are not persecuted, not killed, and not slaughtered; because there are people behind them who support them and defend them. Today, you know that strong governments send missionaries to weak states; so no one can aggress against them; because there are people behind them who defend them. This was the case in the early period when the Islamic Caliphate was established, so the Muslims would go to lands of disbelief for the sake of trade, but the Muslim, wherever he is, is a caller to Allah. He begins to spread the da'wah, not only in his speech but in his good treatment of those people, and he calls them. So no one dares to take revenge against them, except for incidents that naturally must occur. But the problem today is pressure: do not call the adhan, do not raise your voice, and so on. So when you are in such a state with such power and might... this pervasive corruption in lands of disbelief and the West, and the open sinfulness and lewdness, they were, I mean, still upon the fitrah. The Jewish and Christian women among us in Syria, I knew many of them, their clothing was better than that of many Muslim women today!
The questioner : If he were to object, or if it were said—for example—that one of them who has embraced Islam remains in his country; because he is more aware of the conditions of the country, and he guides them, teaches them, and delivers them?
The Shaykh : O Shaykh—may Allah guide you—you do not speak in theoretical terms. What about his children? Either he leaves them in his country or he takes them with him. His children will be affected if he takes them with him; they will be affected by the environment in which he is living. If he is a man like me—for example—if I go to the lands of the West, what will affect me? The years have taken their toll on me. But if I have children, especially young ones, their nature is to steal; so I will fix others and ruin my own house. So this imaginary, theoretical departure must be restricted greatly, greatly. A man who is old and has no responsibility other than da'wah; so it can be said that he goes to live there; because he will fix things and there is no fear of corruption for him. But if he has his wife, his children, both old and young, and so on; then it is not permissible for him to settle there.
The questioner : May Allah reward you with good, Shaykh.
The Shaykh : Yes, when is it permissible? When the Muslims are dominant and hold the authority; meaning, those who go to lands of disbelief for the sake of da'wah are not persecuted, not killed, and not slaughtered; because there are people behind them who support them and defend them. Today, you know that strong governments send missionaries to weak states; so no one can aggress against them; because there are people behind them who defend them. This was the case in the early period when the Islamic Caliphate was established, so the Muslims would go to lands of disbelief for the sake of trade, but the Muslim, wherever he is, is a caller to Allah. He begins to spread the da'wah, not only in his speech but in his good treatment of those people, and he calls them. So no one dares to take revenge against them, except for incidents that naturally must occur. But the problem today is pressure: do not call the adhan, do not raise your voice, and so on. So when you are in such a state with such power and might... this pervasive corruption in lands of disbelief and the West, and the open sinfulness and lewdness, they were, I mean, still upon the fitrah. The Jewish and Christian women among us in Syria, I knew many of them, their clothing was better than that of many Muslim women today!
The questioner : If he were to object, or if it were said—for example—that one of them who has embraced Islam remains in his country; because he is more aware of the conditions of the country, and he guides them, teaches them, and delivers them?
The Shaykh : O Shaykh—may Allah guide you—you do not speak in theoretical terms. What about his children? Either he leaves them in his country or he takes them with him. His children will be affected if he takes them with him; they will be affected by the environment in which he is living. If he is a man like me—for example—if I go to the lands of the West, what will affect me? The years have taken their toll on me. But if I have children, especially young ones, their nature is to steal; so I will fix others and ruin my own house. So this imaginary, theoretical departure must be restricted greatly, greatly. A man who is old and has no responsibility other than da'wah; so it can be said that he goes to live there; because he will fix things and there is no fear of corruption for him. But if he has his wife, his children, both old and young, and so on; then it is not permissible for him to settle there.
The questioner : May Allah reward you with good, Shaykh.
Source
www.al-albany.com
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.