The Shaykh's advice to Muslims residing in lands of disbelief to migrate to the lands of Islam.

The questioner : A final question regarding what I mentioned, which is that the answer to it might be lengthy, but I know that you have spoken on this topic repeatedly and over and over again. It is, in fact, advice regarding those who live in lands of disbelief and consider it permissible, saying for example that life in lands of disbelief is better than life in the lands of Muslims. This is because the lands of Muslims are full of deception, lying, fraud, bribery, nepotism, and other such matters, whereas these are absent in lands of disbelief. If a concise advice could be given, knowing that as you said, you have spoken a lot on this topic, for us who are afflicted with life in these lands. May Allah reward you with good.

The Shaykh : By Allah, the advice is that a person must first free himself from desire. Then, either he engages in 'ilm al-kalam, which is philosophy, or he offers theoretical and personal justifications that contradict the texts of the Shari'ah. This is a position that a Muslim should not take, because it completely contradicts the saying of Allah (Mighty and Majestic): These people who make this claim look with a very limited perspective, as it is said, "He does not look beyond the tip of his nose," or "He looks with one eye and not the other." Every Muslim knows that the most dangerous thing for a Muslim is disbelief and shirk (associating partners with Allah), and it is not so with sins and transgressions, for they may be forgiven because the one who commits them is a believer in Allah and His Messenger, as is known from the saying of the Exalted: So why do they look at these advantages I mentioned earlier and not look at the reality that has befallen many of those Muslims who have lived a long time in those lands, where some of the elderly have become Christians, let alone their families? Why do they not look at this outcome, which is no worse than it is, and ignore it, while mentioning some benefits that they think do not exist in the Islamic lands? If a Muslim and his family remained in the Islamic lands and did not benefit from them except that he preserved his Islam, that would be more beneficial. This is also a theoretical response to that philosophical or 'ilm al-kalam theory. However, the principle is that the Muslim should stand by the text of the Shari'ah, as we mentioned the verse earlier. The hadiths that came from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) regarding the prohibition of staying in the lands of disbelievers and polytheists are numerous, praise be to Allah, and are well known in the books of the Sunnah, such as his saying (peace and blessings be upon him): And I do not want, of course, as I hinted, to lengthen this issue, because we have spoken about it a lot, and very much. These people increase the number of disbelievers; if we assume they are not affected by their traditions and customs, this is a matter that cannot be accepted. It is not possible to accept that they are not affected. Now, I will give an example, and do not hold me accountable, O Abu 'Abdullah. I used to be surprised when you speak in Arabic and then you make a pause that is characteristic of the foreign language, is that right or not?

The questioner : Correct.

The Shaykh : This is not haram (forbidden), but just as one acquires such a habit unconsciously, one may also acquire something that affects either his character or his belief. I once gave an example when it was decreed for me to travel to Britain, and I was told that there is a village more than 120 kilometers from London where there is a Muslim preacher, Indian or Pakistani. I learned at that time that he was from the group of Maududi (may Allah have mercy on him). So I went to him. It was actually the time of Ramadan, and I felt at ease with him, and my heart inclined toward him. He had the demeanor of a bearded Muslim and spoke Arabic with some eloquence and clarity, along with the accent that does not leave people like me. So I said in my heart, "Birds of a feather flock together." But what caught my attention was that he had a tie around his neck. I reminded him, saying, "By Allah, with this demeanor and Islamic appearance, how do you wear this?" Out of his kindness, and since we were at the iftar table in Ramadan, as I mentioned earlier, he immediately reached out and threw it on the ground. I was pleased, but I soon regretted it when he said the following: "By Allah, O Shaykh, we live here with these English or British people, and they look at the Palestinians with contempt. The Palestinians have a custom of not wearing ties and leaving the buttons of their shirts open here, so they look at them with contempt. So that the British do not look at me with that same contempt, I wear it so that they respect me, meaning so that they look at me with reverence and honor." I said to him, "I wish you had not said this. You are measuring the look of these disbelievers toward our Muslim brothers with this perspective. May Allah forgive you." The man was affected by the atmosphere, and he is a preacher, so he put the tie on. Why? So that the British do not look at him as they look at his Muslim Palestinian brothers. And so the environment affects, just as a physical environment does; if it is healthy, it affects health, and if it is infected, it affects with disease. And the spiritual effect, as is clear to everyone, is more intense and subtle, such that a person cannot guard against being affected as he can guard against contracting a physical disease. Therefore, we advise, whenever a person contacts me saying, "I am from Britain, from Germany, from Holland, or the like," I say to him, "My brother, who has established you in this land? This is a land of fisq (open sinfulness), lewdness, zina (unlawful sexual intercourse), and indecency. There is maysir (gambling) and it is facilitated. This alone is sufficient to tip the scale in favor of the Islamic lands, despite the things I mentioned earlier. But evil, fisq, and lewdness have spread as is the case in those lands. Therefore, we say to these people: Leave this philosophy and submit your affairs to the Shari'ah of your Lord, and you will be happy, if Allah wills, in this world and the Hereafter.