What is the difference between the land of Islam and the land of disbelief, and how do we distinguish the land of war from the land of Islam?

The Shaykh : This is the answer to the first question. As for the answer to the other question: in reality, it is not easy to answer, because the jurists differed greatly in defining the land of war and the land of Islam. However, it appears to us that the matter is as Ibn Taymiyyah (may Allah have mercy on him) mentioned in some chapters of his fatwas: "The land is not defined by the walls, but by the inhabitants. If the majority of the inhabitants of a town and their system are Islam, then it is the abode of Islam," even if they may be governed by a system that is not purely or exclusively Islamic. Conversely, if a disbeliever rules and occupies Muslim land, there is no doubt that if there were a Muslim state, it would raid the lands ruled by the disbelievers, as happened in the past when the Christians occupied Palestine and Salah al-Din fought them. If the land were defined solely by the inhabitants, it would not have been permissible for Salah al-Din to fight them. However, these Muslims who are the original people of the land should not remain in that town. This relates to the issue of migration (hijrah); they should not remain in the town occupied by the disbeliever, so that if the disbeliever is defeated in the occupied land, the Muslims who are the original inhabitants of the land are not struck by the swords and weapons of the Muslims who raided the occupying disbelievers. In summary: it is not possible, to the best of my knowledge, to give a comprehensive and exclusive definition of the land of war or the land of Islam, as that varies according to the time... Is that all, my brother?

The questioner : May Allah reward you with good, O Shaykh.

The Shaykh : And beware of that.