What is the advice for those who travel abroad during vacations?
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Question:
Many young people travel abroad during the summer vacation, and some may travel for the purpose of tourism without committing any evils. What is your opinion, Your Eminence?
Answer:
I have written about this topic more than once and warned against it more than once. Traveling abroad during holidays and vacations carries a great danger. It is obligatory for our students to be cautious of this, and that this vacation be spent in what benefits them: studying, writing, reviewing books in libraries, and attending to other needs.
As for traveling for tourism in wicked lands, among disbelievers and among the owners of intoxicants, fornication, and open sinfulness, this is a great danger. How many a traveler has returned without religion, or with less of his religion! There is no power or strength except with Allah.
Therefore, it is obligatory to be cautious and not to travel to lands of disbelief, lands of freedom, and evil. Rather, one should praise Allah who has spared him from that, and protect himself and his religion. Let him work in his own country, or travel to a land where there is no evil, such as Makkah and al-Madinah, for worship and drawing near to Allah, or to another land where there is no evil.
The point is that in lands where there is evil and the prevalence of disbelief and corruption, one must be cautious of that so as not to fall into falsehood, except for one who possesses knowledge and strives for good to the extent that he goes to calling people to Allah with his knowledge, his excellence, and what Allah has given him of knowledge, and he does not fear for himself from fitnah (trial, discord or temptation); in that case, there is no harm if he is qualified for da'wah (calling others to Islam), so he calls to Allah, guides people to good, and stays away from evil, and there is no blame on him in this regard from the perspective of calling to Allah . And if he fears for himself from that—from the prevalence of evil and the scarcity of good—let him be cautious, and let him not risk his life or his religion, and Allah is the One to be sought for help.
This is regarding young men. As for women, it is not so; the danger is greater. The danger of women traveling is greater and more evil. If it is obligatory for men to be careful and cautious, then for women it is more severe and more dangerous. There is no power or strength except with Allah.
Many young people travel abroad during the summer vacation, and some may travel for the purpose of tourism without committing any evils. What is your opinion, Your Eminence?
Answer:
I have written about this topic more than once and warned against it more than once. Traveling abroad during holidays and vacations carries a great danger. It is obligatory for our students to be cautious of this, and that this vacation be spent in what benefits them: studying, writing, reviewing books in libraries, and attending to other needs.
As for traveling for tourism in wicked lands, among disbelievers and among the owners of intoxicants, fornication, and open sinfulness, this is a great danger. How many a traveler has returned without religion, or with less of his religion! There is no power or strength except with Allah.
Therefore, it is obligatory to be cautious and not to travel to lands of disbelief, lands of freedom, and evil. Rather, one should praise Allah who has spared him from that, and protect himself and his religion. Let him work in his own country, or travel to a land where there is no evil, such as Makkah and al-Madinah, for worship and drawing near to Allah, or to another land where there is no evil.
The point is that in lands where there is evil and the prevalence of disbelief and corruption, one must be cautious of that so as not to fall into falsehood, except for one who possesses knowledge and strives for good to the extent that he goes to calling people to Allah with his knowledge, his excellence, and what Allah has given him of knowledge, and he does not fear for himself from fitnah (trial, discord or temptation); in that case, there is no harm if he is qualified for da'wah (calling others to Islam), so he calls to Allah, guides people to good, and stays away from evil, and there is no blame on him in this regard from the perspective of calling to Allah . And if he fears for himself from that—from the prevalence of evil and the scarcity of good—let him be cautious, and let him not risk his life or his religion, and Allah is the One to be sought for help.
This is regarding young men. As for women, it is not so; the danger is greater. The danger of women traveling is greater and more evil. If it is obligatory for men to be careful and cautious, then for women it is more severe and more dangerous. There is no power or strength except with Allah.
Source
binbaz.org.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.