The Ruling on Living in Lands of Disbelief - Shaykh Ibn Uthaymeen

The questioner says: “May Allah reward you. A question for Shaykh Muhammad ibn ‘Uthaymeen, may Allah preserve him and benefit by way of his knowledge, from one of the Islamic communities living in the lands of the disbelievers. The question is: Does the statement of the Prophet ﷺ apply to us: ‘I am free from any Muslim who resides among the polytheists,’ bearing in mind that we establish Jumu‘ah and the congregational prayers and we safeguard the obligatory aspects of our religion?”

Shaykh Muhammad ibn Sālih Al-'Uthaymeen answers: “It is obligatory that a Muslim does not make the land of disbelief his place of permanent residence. However, whoever travels to the land of disbelief for study or for trade, then this is permissible with conditions.

“The first condition is that he possesses knowledge with which he can repel the doubts, because our enemies cast doubts upon us concerning the religion, concerning the Messenger, and concerning the Lord, the Mighty and Majestic. So it is essential that you have knowledge by which you can fortify yourself against these doubts.

“The second is that he has with him religious commitment that prevents him from following desires, because there the doors of desires are wide open: if you want fornication, it is there; if you want sodomy, it is there; if you want to drink alcohol, it is there; if you want hashish (marijuana) , it is there – every kind of wickedness and sinfulness is present in the lands of disbelief.

“So if a person does not have strong religious commitment that restrains him from these desires, then it is not permissible for him to travel. The third condition is that there is a need for that, such that there are specialisations in the lands of disbelief that have no equivalent in his own country. But if there is an equivalent for them in his own country, then he does not travel to the lands of disbelief.

“So as for these communities: if they are able to return to their countries, then it is obligatory upon them to return to the lands of Islam. But if they are not able, and they are residing while establishing the religion, then they may be allowed in this regard.”

[Source: https://youtu.be/U3s4_KiTLi0 accessed 18/1/26]