What is your opinion of those who say that it is not permissible for a non-Muslim to work in the Arabian Peninsula, meaning Saudi Arabia?
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The questioner : Well, Shaykh, what is your opinion of some of the shaykhs who say that it is not permissible for non-Muslim servants to work in the land of the Arabian Peninsula, meaning the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia or the Arabian Peninsula?
The Shaykh : It is the same answer. The Muslims have continued to deal with them and approve of their working with them. We know, for example, some reports in the Sunnah that 'Ali ibn Abi Talib hired himself out to a Jew to draw water from the well there, in exchange for one date for every bucket. This is established. However, regarding the shaykh you are referring to, whose news was published in the newspaper, it appears that newspapers publish very brief, concise news. It is supposed that there is detail and explanation that was not transmitted from him; therefore, we cannot judge the truth of what that noble shaykh said. But in reality, the Muslims have continued to deal with others from the beginning of time to the present under the Islamic conditions that were set for them.
The questioner : Even if this shaykh renewed the fatwa again in a media interview with him; that is, a journalist, for example, goes to the Kingdom and conducts an interview with him, and it is established that the fatwa he issued regarding the work of a non-Muslim in the Arabian Peninsula is not permissible?
The Shaykh : We have not seen the text of the fatwa that was issued by him, nor his evidence regarding the Islamic reality from the beginning to the present? How is that interpreted?
The questioner : He only says that it is not permissible for two religions to coexist on the land of the Arabian Peninsula.
The Shaykh : We do not disagree, but has this been applied or not? First: it should be defined which Arab land in which two religions do not coexist; is it the entire Arabian Peninsula, which is bounded, for example, by Syria to the north, Yemen to the south, and the Gulf to the east? This is a matter that requires great consideration; because the reality of the Muslims is contrary to that. And what concerns us now, so that we do not wrong people, is to see the text of the fatwa, and unfortunately, we have not seen it.
The Shaykh : It is the same answer. The Muslims have continued to deal with them and approve of their working with them. We know, for example, some reports in the Sunnah that 'Ali ibn Abi Talib hired himself out to a Jew to draw water from the well there, in exchange for one date for every bucket. This is established. However, regarding the shaykh you are referring to, whose news was published in the newspaper, it appears that newspapers publish very brief, concise news. It is supposed that there is detail and explanation that was not transmitted from him; therefore, we cannot judge the truth of what that noble shaykh said. But in reality, the Muslims have continued to deal with others from the beginning of time to the present under the Islamic conditions that were set for them.
The questioner : Even if this shaykh renewed the fatwa again in a media interview with him; that is, a journalist, for example, goes to the Kingdom and conducts an interview with him, and it is established that the fatwa he issued regarding the work of a non-Muslim in the Arabian Peninsula is not permissible?
The Shaykh : We have not seen the text of the fatwa that was issued by him, nor his evidence regarding the Islamic reality from the beginning to the present? How is that interpreted?
The questioner : He only says that it is not permissible for two religions to coexist on the land of the Arabian Peninsula.
The Shaykh : We do not disagree, but has this been applied or not? First: it should be defined which Arab land in which two religions do not coexist; is it the entire Arabian Peninsula, which is bounded, for example, by Syria to the north, Yemen to the south, and the Gulf to the east? This is a matter that requires great consideration; because the reality of the Muslims is contrary to that. And what concerns us now, so that we do not wrong people, is to see the text of the fatwa, and unfortunately, we have not seen it.
Source
www.al-albany.com
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.