What is the ruling on studying at the Islamic University in Medina and other universities, whether Islamic or scientific, given the presence of the wrongs and violations that you know of and hear about?

The questioner : What is the ruling on studying at the Islamic University in Medina and other universities, whether Islamic or scientific, given the presence of the wrongs and violations that you know of and hear about?

The Shaykh : The best answer that comes to mind for this is the hadith that al-Bukhari narrated in his Sahih from the hadith of al-Nu'man ibn Bashir (may Allah be pleased with him). He said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: . He said (peace and blessings be upon him): .
This is an example of the community that was likened to a ship, and an example of the wrong that occurs in this community, which was likened to digging in the bottom of the ship. It is not hidden that if these people who wanted to rest the others by an unsound means—by digging from the bottom of the ship—are left alone, there is no doubt that water will enter the ship and they will all drown. Therefore, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)—I imagine he is addressing our current problem. We are in a community that has harms. I said earlier that whoever is in a community where judgment is not based on what Allah has revealed, originally, must move to a community where Islam is applied, even if with some shortcoming. Evil is not all on the same level. If this Islamic community has evils, sins, and wrongs, the solution is not to break this community, destroy it, or create confusion, turmoil, harm, or fitnah. Rather, it is as the Messenger (peace be upon him) indicated in this hadith: enjoining good and forbidding evil. Then this hadith insisted and dwelt on the first level of the levels of enjoining good and forbidding evil, which is changing by hand. He said (peace and blessings be upon him): to the end of the hadith. So they took hold of their hands. This is the first level of enjoining good and forbidding evil, as it is in the famous hadith: .
In this hadith, it is explicitly stated that the levels of forbidding evil and enjoining good are three. It is not permissible for the sincere Muslim to cling to the first level and turn a blind eye to the second and third levels. Because this means—may Allah forbid it—believing in part of the Book and disbelieving in part. And then, the one who is hesitant, for example, to participate in seeking knowledge in Islamic universities, or if he is a professor with a specialization in some sciences and is hesitant to teach in them, he finds an outlet in the rest of this hadith. He must first forbid the wrong with his hand; this is the highest level of enjoining good and forbidding evil. But if that is not possible—and unfortunately, the more corruption intensifies, the more the performance of this level diminishes—but that does not mean that disbelief comes after it. There is forbidding in the second level: .
Here we say: Is there a Muslim in whom faith is still alive in his heart? Is there a Muslim in whom faith is still alive in his heart? And I say and mean what I say: Is there a Muslim in whom faith is still alive in his heart who does not forbid the wrong with his heart? I cannot imagine it. I cannot imagine a Muslim in whom faith is still abounding in his heart that he does not forbid the wrong, even with his heart. And this is the lowest degree of faith, as we said. So I say: If the feeling of the wrong dies—and this is unfortunately present in some people who were tried by the world and its desires, and competed for its pleasures—these people hardly forbid a wrong, even with their hearts.
And I give an example of this: how hearts become dark and not a grain of faith remains in them. Because they ignored what Allah has prescribed and became accustomed to the life of wrong. There is no doubt that wrong, practically, has degrees. We find in Syria some appearances that attract the attention of people like us. We find, for example, a girl walking in the street who is at the lowest degree of immodesty. Another woman passes by her who is less immodest than her. She is immodest, she is displaying her adornment, but she is less immodest than the first one. But the difference between the first and the second is that the first adopted the modern appearances of immodesty, while the second adopted the old appearances of immodesty. Meaning, the fashion became old-fashioned. For example, in the past they used to wear the sheet or the short jilbab to the middle of the leg. Now all that has fallen and it has become to the knees, and perhaps above the knees. So if one of these passes by the one who still keeps the old hijab, which is not Sharia-compliant, the first one passes by her. When she passes her, the other turns around, thinking that she is holding fast to the Sharia. She turns to look with disapproval. This suggests to us what? That the feeling of the wrong she is in has died. This is a very serious matter. And she was only occupied with the greater wrong. This feeling only is what is still alive in her. As for the feeling that she has exposed her legs and exposed something of her hair, and perhaps her neck, this has not... anything mentioned in her heart. Therefore, if the Muslim who is eager for enjoining good and forbidding evil, he must not stop, by Sharia, at the first level. If he looks and cannot manage to forbid from the first level, he has a space. Allah has made a space for him to forbid with his tongue. And if we suppose that his mouth is stopped—also—and he cannot forbid the wrong with his tongue, Allah does not hold him accountable. Because all Sharia rulings are tied to ability, including these stations and levels. It was explicitly stated: if he cannot, if he cannot, .
So I cannot imagine a zealous Muslim who enters the university to learn or teach, and the opportunity is available for him to teach what he believes to be the truth from the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), that he does not engage in this teaching because he sees the wrongs. Allah (Mighty and Majestic) has made a treatment for these wrongs for individuals: change the wrong if you can with your hand, otherwise with your tongue, otherwise with your heart. And that is the weakest of faith.
And fleeing from reality does not save him. Meaning, if he is not satisfied with himself to enter the university, for example, to learn or teach because he cannot forbid with his hand, and he cannot even forbid with his tongue, there is no difference between his being in the university from this perspective and his being outside the university. We are surrounded by wrongs wherever we go and wherever we settle. So what is the way out? The way out is the hadith itself with its three levels. Therefore, we do not see a face in the Sharia for using the spread of wrongs in schools and universities as an excuse to sever ties with them and differ from them, as long as the levels of forbidding are clear and they are three, as we mentioned. Yes, some people may feel weakness in themselves and fear fitnah for themselves. I say in that case: For this person who fears fitnah for himself—not that he fears he cannot forbid only, but that he fears he will deviate with the deviants and be misled with the misguiders—we say to you, also: Fear Allah as much as you can. If you fear for yourself, stay away from the places of fear. But do not make that a Sharia, and do not make that a system that you impose and obligate upon all Muslims. Because people are not equal in that. We know, for example, that among the advice of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) to Abu Dharr, he said to him: ; do not be an emir and a leader over two. Why? He has a weakness of personality. And the one who wants, or who should be an emir, should be decisive and strong-willed. So for every situation, there is its appropriate attire.
If one of us fears for himself that he will enter a specific society containing evils, not because he is unable to forbid them at the first or second level, then he has no excuse after the Lawgiver has made it possible for him to forbid evil, even with his heart. However, if he fears that he will be led astray and go down the path of misguidance along with the misguided people he suspects, then we tell him: this is his personal matter. But to make this a methodology and a call that he imposes on people, that leads to the ruin of both worldly life and religion at the same time. For these universities, no matter how much deviation or evil exists in them, their system remains Islamic, and the least that can be said about them is that the good in them predominates over the evil. And so it is with the world; the entire world contains both good and evil. The righteous society is the one in which good predominates over evil, and the opposite is the opposite. As for a person seeking, especially in the last of times, a society completely free from evils, there is no way to achieve that. For this reason, he (peace and blessings be upon him) said—meaning to clarify what I stated regarding the distinction between fearing for oneself, which is his personal matter, and imposing that on others, which he has no right to do—he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: .
This mixing with people requires struggle, without a doubt. Part of the struggle is to protect oneself from deviation, and part of the struggle is to enjoin good according to the previous details. So, whoever cannot maintain his own protection and fears for himself, he may confine himself to the mosque and not leave it except for his home. Because it is not obligatory for all people to be callers to Allah and to be active; this is a collective obligation, not an individual obligation that is required of every individual Muslim. So, the one who fears for himself, that is his personal matter, but he does not impose that on others. Reality refutes this assumption, as is the case with many people, and I am among them. I lived in the university and was not affected by it; rather, I had an effect on it. And others are still the same. So why do we impose on people matters that some of us feel, and then imagine that all people are the same? I believe this is a very serious deviation with consequences that follow it.
We ask Allah (Mighty and Majestic) to protect us from it and from its like.
Other than that?