Continuation of the explanation of the words of Imam al-Nawawi (may Allah have mercy on him) regarding what he quoted: "."
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The Shaykh : In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful:
We have previously discussed the hadith of 'Umar ibn al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him), from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him):Sahih al-Bukhari 1, and we explained that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) used migration as an example, which is a person leaving his land, a land of disbelief, for a land of Islam. The Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) intended to give an example, not to restrict the ruling to that alone. That is to say, whoever’s migration is for the sake of Allah and His Messenger, and whoever’s prayer is for the sake of Allah, and whoever’s fasting is for the sake of Allah, and whoever’s Hajj is for the sake of Allah—all acts of worship, according to a person’s intention. If he does them for the sake of Allah (Mighty and Majestic), then he is the sincere monotheist. If he does them for other than Allah, seeking nearness to the servants of Allah with what is used to seek nearness to Allah, then he is one who associates partners with Allah, and it may reach the level of major shirk. And if he intends thereby the world, then his deed is also nullified.
We promised that we would speak about migration. Migration can be for the deed, for the doer, and for the place.
As for migration of the place: it is for a person to move from a place where sins are abundant and open sinfulness is prevalent, and it may be a land of disbelief, to a place where that does not exist. The greatest of these is migration from a land of disbelief to a land of Islam. The scholars have mentioned that it is obligatory for a person to migrate from a land of disbelief to a land of Islam if he is unable to manifest his religion. However, if he is able to manifest his religion and is not opposed when he establishes the rituals of Islam, then migration is not obligatory for him, but it is a recommended practice. Based on this: traveling to a land of disbelief is greater [in sin] than remaining in it. So if the land of disbelief is the person’s homeland and he cannot establish his religion there, he must leave it and migrate from it. Likewise, if a person is from the people of Islam and from the lands of Muslims, it is not permissible for him to travel to a land of disbelief because of the danger therein to his religion and his morals, because of the waste of his wealth therein, and because of the strengthening of the economy of the disbelievers therein. We are commanded to weaken the disbelievers by all means we can, as Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He) said:[At-Tawbah 9:123], and He said: [At-Tawbah 9:120]: So the disbeliever, whoever he is, whether he is from the Christians or from the Jews or from the atheists, and whether he calls himself a Muslim or not, the disbeliever is an enemy to Allah, to His Book, to His Messenger, and to all the believers. No matter what he adorns himself with, he is an enemy. Therefore, it is not permissible for a person to travel to a land of disbelief except with three conditions:
The first condition: that he has knowledge with which he can refute doubts, because the disbelievers bring up doubts for the Muslims; doubts about their religion, doubts about their Messenger, doubts about their Book, doubts about their morals, doubts about everything. They bring up doubts so that the person remains doubtful and wavering. And it is known that if a person doubts in matters where certainty is required, he has not fulfilled the obligation. Faith in Allah, His angels, His Books, His Messengers, the Last Day, and the divine decree, its good and its evil—faith in these must be certain. If a person doubts in any of that, he is a disbeliever. They—meaning the disbelievers—introduce doubt to the Muslims, until some of them state it openly. One of their leaders said: "Do not try to take the Muslim out of his religion into the religion of the Christians, but it is enough that you make him doubt his religion, because if you make him doubt his religion, you have stripped him of the religion, and that is enough. So you take them out of this enclosure that has dominance, honor, and dignity, and that is sufficient." As for trying to make him enter the religion of the Christians, which is built on misguidance and foolishness, that is not possible, because the Christians are misguided, as came in the hadith from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). And even if the religion of Jesus (peace be upon him) was a true religion, it was a true religion in its time before it was abrogated by the message of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). But after its abrogation, the abrogation of the Shari'ah of 'Isa, guidance and truth are in what the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) Muhammad brought. One must have knowledge with which to refute doubts.
The second condition: that he has a religion that protects him from desires, because a person who does not have a religion, if he goes to the lands of disbelief, will sink, because he will find the adornment of the world: desires such as intoxicants, unlawful sexual intercourse, sodomy, all crimes exist in the lands of disbelief. So if he goes to these lands, it is feared that he will slip into these muds, unless he has a religion that protects him. So a person must have a religion that protects him from desires.
The third condition: that he has a need for it, such as being a sick person who needs to travel to the lands of disbelief for treatment, or needing knowledge that does not exist in the land of Islam with a specialization in it, so he goes there to learn, or being a person who needs to trade, so he goes to trade and returns. The important thing is that there must be a need. For this reason, I see that those who travel to the lands of disbelief for tourism only, I see that they are sinful, and that every qirsh they spend on this travel is forbidden for them, and a waste of their wealth, and they will be held accountable for it on the Day of Resurrection when they will not find a place to expand in, or to enjoy in, when they will not find anything but their deeds. Because these people waste their time, destroy their wealth, and corrupt their morals. And perhaps their families are with them. And my wonder is that these people go to the lands of disbelief where the voice of the mu'adhdhin is not heard, nor the remembrance of a rememberer, but only the trumpets of the Jews and the bells of the Christians are heard. Then they stay there for a period, they and their families, their sons and daughters, and much evil occurs in this. We ask Allah for safety and well-being. This is from the trial, this is from the trial by which Allah brings down calamities. And the calamities that come to us, and which we are now living through, are all because of sins and disobedience, all because of sins and disobedience:[Ash-Shuraa 42:30] We are heedless, we are safe in our lands as if our Lord is heedless of us, as if He does not know, as if He does not delay for the wrongdoer until when He takes him, He does not let him go. And people are squeezed in these events, but their hearts are hard, and I seek refuge in Allah. And Allah the Exalted said: [Al-Mu'minun 23:76] We took them with punishment and it descended upon them, and yet they did not submit to Allah, nor did they humble themselves to Him with supplication, nor did they fear His might, but the hearts became hard, we ask Allah for safety, and they died, until the fateful events pass over the heart as if they are cold water. We seek refuge in Allah from the hardness of the heart and the death of the heart. Otherwise, by Allah, if people were in their right minds, in a state of awakening, and with living hearts, they would not be in this situation that we are in now, even though we are in a situation that is considered a state of war, a destructive and deadly war, a war of nerve gases and madness and the like. And yet you do not find anyone stirring, except what Allah wills. This is undoubtedly a danger. People in these difficult circumstances took their families to enjoy themselves in the lands of disbelief, in the lands of open sinfulness, and in the lands of licentiousness, and I seek refuge in Allah. I say a second time: that migration from a land of disbelief where a person cannot establish his religion is obligatory, and if he can establish his religion, it is a recommended practice. And I say: it is not permissible for a person to travel to a land of disbelief except with three conditions:
The first condition: knowledge with which to refute doubts.
The second condition: a religion that protects him from desires.
And the third: a need that calls for it.
But someone might say: What do you say if a person travels to a land of disbelief for the purpose of calling to Islam? Is this permissible?
We say: Yes, it is permissible if it has an impact and influence there, for that is permissible because this is travel for a benefit. In the lands of disbelief, many of the common people have been blinded to Islam; they know nothing about Islam. In fact, they have been misled and told that Islam is a religion of savagery, barbarism, and vulgarity. Especially when the West hears of such events that have occurred at the hands of those who claim to be Muslims, they will ask: Where is Islam? Where is Islam? This is savagery, fierce beasts running at one another and devouring one another. People will be repelled from Muslims and from Islam because of the actions of Muslims. We ask Allah to guide us all to His straight path. This is a type of migration, and if Allah wills, the migration of the worker and the migration of work will come.
We have previously discussed the hadith of 'Umar ibn al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him), from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him):
The reward of deeds depends upon the intentions and every person will get the reward according to what he has intended.
إنما الأعمال بالنيات وإنما لكل امرئ ما نوىWe promised that we would speak about migration. Migration can be for the deed, for the doer, and for the place.
As for migration of the place: it is for a person to move from a place where sins are abundant and open sinfulness is prevalent, and it may be a land of disbelief, to a place where that does not exist. The greatest of these is migration from a land of disbelief to a land of Islam. The scholars have mentioned that it is obligatory for a person to migrate from a land of disbelief to a land of Islam if he is unable to manifest his religion. However, if he is able to manifest his religion and is not opposed when he establishes the rituals of Islam, then migration is not obligatory for him, but it is a recommended practice. Based on this: traveling to a land of disbelief is greater [in sin] than remaining in it. So if the land of disbelief is the person’s homeland and he cannot establish his religion there, he must leave it and migrate from it. Likewise, if a person is from the people of Islam and from the lands of Muslims, it is not permissible for him to travel to a land of disbelief because of the danger therein to his religion and his morals, because of the waste of his wealth therein, and because of the strengthening of the economy of the disbelievers therein. We are commanded to weaken the disbelievers by all means we can, as Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He) said:
O you who have believed, fight those adjacent to you of the disbelievers and let them find in you harshness. And know that Allah is with the righteous.
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا قَاتِلُوا الَّذِينَ يَلُونَكُمْ مِنَ الْكُفَّارِ وَلْيَجِدُوا فِيكُمْ غِلْظَةً وَاعْلَمُوا أَنَّ اللَّهَ مَعَ الْمُتَّقِينَnor do they tread on any ground that enrages the disbelievers, nor do they inflict upon an enemy any infliction but that is registered for them as a righteous deed. Indeed, Allah does not allow to be lost the reward of the doers of good.
وَلا يَطَأُونَ مَوْطِئاً يُغِيظُ الْكُفَّارَ وَلا يَنَالُونَ مِنْ عَدُوٍّ نَيْلاً إِلَّا كُتِبَ لَهُمْ بِهِ عَمَلٌ صَالِحٌ إِنَّ اللَّهَ لا يُضِيعُ أَجْرَ الْمُحْسِنِينَThe first condition: that he has knowledge with which he can refute doubts, because the disbelievers bring up doubts for the Muslims; doubts about their religion, doubts about their Messenger, doubts about their Book, doubts about their morals, doubts about everything. They bring up doubts so that the person remains doubtful and wavering. And it is known that if a person doubts in matters where certainty is required, he has not fulfilled the obligation. Faith in Allah, His angels, His Books, His Messengers, the Last Day, and the divine decree, its good and its evil—faith in these must be certain. If a person doubts in any of that, he is a disbeliever. They—meaning the disbelievers—introduce doubt to the Muslims, until some of them state it openly. One of their leaders said: "Do not try to take the Muslim out of his religion into the religion of the Christians, but it is enough that you make him doubt his religion, because if you make him doubt his religion, you have stripped him of the religion, and that is enough. So you take them out of this enclosure that has dominance, honor, and dignity, and that is sufficient." As for trying to make him enter the religion of the Christians, which is built on misguidance and foolishness, that is not possible, because the Christians are misguided, as came in the hadith from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). And even if the religion of Jesus (peace be upon him) was a true religion, it was a true religion in its time before it was abrogated by the message of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). But after its abrogation, the abrogation of the Shari'ah of 'Isa, guidance and truth are in what the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) Muhammad brought. One must have knowledge with which to refute doubts.
The second condition: that he has a religion that protects him from desires, because a person who does not have a religion, if he goes to the lands of disbelief, will sink, because he will find the adornment of the world: desires such as intoxicants, unlawful sexual intercourse, sodomy, all crimes exist in the lands of disbelief. So if he goes to these lands, it is feared that he will slip into these muds, unless he has a religion that protects him. So a person must have a religion that protects him from desires.
The third condition: that he has a need for it, such as being a sick person who needs to travel to the lands of disbelief for treatment, or needing knowledge that does not exist in the land of Islam with a specialization in it, so he goes there to learn, or being a person who needs to trade, so he goes to trade and returns. The important thing is that there must be a need. For this reason, I see that those who travel to the lands of disbelief for tourism only, I see that they are sinful, and that every qirsh they spend on this travel is forbidden for them, and a waste of their wealth, and they will be held accountable for it on the Day of Resurrection when they will not find a place to expand in, or to enjoy in, when they will not find anything but their deeds. Because these people waste their time, destroy their wealth, and corrupt their morals. And perhaps their families are with them. And my wonder is that these people go to the lands of disbelief where the voice of the mu'adhdhin is not heard, nor the remembrance of a rememberer, but only the trumpets of the Jews and the bells of the Christians are heard. Then they stay there for a period, they and their families, their sons and daughters, and much evil occurs in this. We ask Allah for safety and well-being. This is from the trial, this is from the trial by which Allah brings down calamities. And the calamities that come to us, and which we are now living through, are all because of sins and disobedience, all because of sins and disobedience:
And whatever strikes you of disaster - it is for what your hands have earned; but He pardons much.
وَمَا أَصَابَكُمْ مِنْ مُصِيبَةٍ فَبِمَا كَسَبَتْ أَيْدِيكُمْ وَيَعْفُو عَنْ كَثِيرٍAnd We had gripped them with suffering [as a warning], but they did not yield to their Lord, nor did they humbly supplicate, [and will continue thus]
وَلَقَدْ أَخَذْنَاهُمْ بِالْعَذَابِ فَمَا اسْتَكَانُوا لِرَبِّهِمْ وَمَا يَتَضَرَّعُونَThe first condition: knowledge with which to refute doubts.
The second condition: a religion that protects him from desires.
And the third: a need that calls for it.
But someone might say: What do you say if a person travels to a land of disbelief for the purpose of calling to Islam? Is this permissible?
We say: Yes, it is permissible if it has an impact and influence there, for that is permissible because this is travel for a benefit. In the lands of disbelief, many of the common people have been blinded to Islam; they know nothing about Islam. In fact, they have been misled and told that Islam is a religion of savagery, barbarism, and vulgarity. Especially when the West hears of such events that have occurred at the hands of those who claim to be Muslims, they will ask: Where is Islam? Where is Islam? This is savagery, fierce beasts running at one another and devouring one another. People will be repelled from Muslims and from Islam because of the actions of Muslims. We ask Allah to guide us all to His straight path. This is a type of migration, and if Allah wills, the migration of the worker and the migration of work will come.