The Ruling on Traveling Outside Islamic Countries

Q: Many people have been afflicted with traveling outside Islamic countries, where they do not care about committing sins, especially those who travel for what they call the honeymoon. I ask the Shaykh, may Allah preserve him, to please offer advice to his Muslim sons and brothers, and to the authorities, so that they may be aware of this issue.

A: Praise be to Allah, and may peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah, and upon his family and his Companions, and upon whoever follows his guidance. After that:
There is no doubt that traveling to the lands of disbelief carries a great danger, whether during the time of marriage and what is called the honeymoon, or at any other time. It is obligatory for the believer to fear Allah and beware of the causes of danger. Traveling to the lands of the polytheists, and to countries where there is freedom and no forbidding of evil, carries a great danger to his religion and his morals, and to the religion of his wife as well if she is with him. It is obligatory for all our youth and all our brothers to abandon this travel, turn away from it, and remain in their own countries during the time of marriage and at other times, so that Allah (Exalted and Majestic is He) may protect them from the evil of Satan’s whispers.
As for traveling to those countries where there is disbelief, misguidance, freedom, and the spread of corruption such as unlawful sexual intercourse, drinking intoxicants, and various types of disbelief and misguidance, it carries a great danger for the man and the woman. How many a righteous person traveled and returned as an open sinner, and how many a Muslim returned as a disbeliever. The danger of this travel is great. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: And he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: The meaning is: until he separates from the polytheists.
It is obligatory to beware of traveling to their lands, whether for the honeymoon or otherwise. The scholars have explicitly stated the prohibition of this and warned against it, except for a man who has knowledge and insight who goes there to call people to Allah, to bring people out of darkness into light, to explain the merits of Islam to them, and to teach the Muslims there the rulings of their religion, while guiding them and directing them to various types of good. For such a person and his like, great reward and immense good are hoped for, and he is generally not in danger because of the knowledge, piety, and insight he possesses. If he fears fitnah for his religion, then he is not permitted to travel to the lands of the polytheists, in order to preserve his religion and seek safety from the causes of fitnah and apostasy.
As for going for the sake of desires and fulfilling worldly needs in the lands of disbelief in Europe or elsewhere, this is not permissible because of the worldly danger, the dire consequences, and the contradiction of the authentic hadiths, some of which we have mentioned. We ask Allah for safety and well-being.
Likewise, traveling to the lands of shirk for the sake of tourism, trade, visiting some people, or the like, all of this is not permissible because of the great danger in it and the contradiction of the Sunnah of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), which prohibits it. My advice to every Muslim is to beware of traveling to the lands of disbelief and to every land where there is apparent freedom, apparent corruption, and no forbidding of evil. He should remain in his own country where there is safety and few evils, for that is better for him, safer, and more protective of his religion.
And Allah is the One who grants success and guides to the straight path.