Behold, those whom the angels gather in death while they are

still sinning against themselves, [the angels] will ask, "What was
wrong with you?'' They will answer: "We were too weak on earth."
[The angels] will say: "Was, then, God's earth not wide enough
for you to emigrate (from the domain of evil)?" For such, then,
the goal is hell - and how evil a journey's end! [Quran: 4: 97]

Dedicated to
Those innocents who are unaware of the gravity of immigrations and citizenships,
Who are unknowingly setting out to bear great burdens of sin
not just their own but those of their children
And who, simply because of their lack of information and awareness,
Are laying the groundwork for the destruction of their future generations
Not realizing that they will be held responsible for this cycle of degeneration
Because ignorance is not an excuse

So ask the people of the message if you do not know.

(Quran: 21: 7)

May Allah guide us to the right decision for our mere 6-7 decades stay in this world, of
which our prime is only about 3 decades, and our final years are wasted away as in the
Quranic verse below no matter where we reside.

And among you is he who is reduced in old age to a most abject state, ceasing to know
anything of what he once knew. (Quran: 22: 5)

* I am free of any Muslim who lives among polytheists - Abu Dawud

Permissibility

Permissible

Refuge from
war/starvation

Not permissible

Conditional

Dawah

Treatment

People who travel solely for

the sake of Dawah live like
travelers wherever they go,
and have little interest in
worldly comforts.

Education

Trade/Business
trips

Worldly gain

Subject to the conditions that:

- One will not be affected nor let ones
family be affected by the surrounding
fitna, having thoroughly built up ones
defenses in terms of strong Iman and
knowledge of the Deen.

This includes settling long

term in non-Muslim
countries in the hopes of
improving ones standing
in society, securing ones
future and increasing
ones livelihood.

- One will return home on completion of

the task.
The above diagram summarizes the reasons that Muslims travel to non-Muslim countries, categorized according to Islamic
education
In terms
permissibility. This-The
is merely
with
regards to the permissibility of travel. However, taking oaths for non-Muslim
governments in order to obtain their citizenship is unanimously agreed upon as impermissible. For details, please read on.
4

Buy visit visa

Send child to study

in desired country,
as a spring board

Visit desired
country a few
times, returning
home each time

Make final noreturn visit, then

reside illegally
for several years

Child graduates but

doesn't return; gets
a job to spend more
time in desired
country

Pool up savings
and sell property
for immigration

Collect required
amount of
money to obtain
a business visa

OBTAIN
CITIZENSHIP FOR
BETTER LIFE

OBTAIN
CITIZENSHIP FOR
BETTER LIFE

Child finally sponsors

parents and the rest
of the family

Burn all bridges

in home country
to settle in
desired country

Apply for
citizenship once
enough time has
passed

OBTAIN
CITIZENSHIP FOR
BETTER LIFE

OBTAIN
CITIZENSHIP FOR
BETTER LIFE

The majority of our class of Muslims use one of the above four procedures to obtain foreign citizenship,
usually after years of planning, for the sake of a better life i.e. a few material comforts and an imagined
better education. Can this be denied? Our ability to collect the means required for immigration testifies to
our having no Islamically justifiable excuse for migrating to non-Muslim countries. In contrast, below is the
reality of those whose search for a better life in non-Muslim countries is justified and permissible in Islam.
They are denied basic services and
their movements are severely
restricted3 In Myanmar, they are
subjected to forced labour, have no
land rights, and are heavily restricted

The UNHCR says more than 2,500 people

have died trying to reach Europe so far in
7.6 million
Syrians, homeless inside their
2015, not including Thursday's
deaths.
1

own country, now make up a fifth of all

But the year of his violent ouster, 2011,internally displaced people (IDPs) in the
saw a sudden spike, and Libya's descentworld. 2
into chaos since 2012 has had a
dramatic effect.

In the past three years, more than

120,000 Rohingyas have boarded
In 2014, more than 170,000 migrants
ships to flee abroad, according to the
4
arrived in Italy, the largest influx
one
UN refugee
agency. It says 25,000
The into
Israeli-Arab
wars in 1948-49
and 1967
country in EU history. 2
migrants
left
caused the Palestinian exodus which saw Myanmar and
Bangladesh in the first quarter of this
respectively
about 725,000 and
250,000
Perilous routes through
Africa to
year, about
double the number over
Europe
Palestinians to flee their homelandthe same period last year. Between
40-60% of the 25,000 are thought to
5

his is a monstrous irony given

the fact that the majority of
Muslims who are swearing on
oaths for citizenship in the West are those
whose own grandparents fought against the
very same powers, forsaking their comforts,
properties and lives. They braved
tumultuous calamities until they finally
wrenched off the shackles of slavery
imposed by the colonizers. They paid for
our freedom with their own blood. But
today, just two generations down the line,
we are running blindly right back to the
same powers, voluntarily begging to be
enslaved again.

LIST OF SCHOLARS/COMMITTEES ................................................................................................................. 8

INDEX OF FIGURES ........................................................................................................................................ 8
WHY ARE CITIZENSHIP OATHS IMPERMISSIBLE FOR MUSLIMS TO TAKE? .................................................. 9
Sample texts of citizenship oaths for major countries ............................................................................. 9
Dear Muslim ............................................................................................................................................ 10
What about making the citizenship oath just to fulfill legal formalities, while not agreeing with the
laws of Kufr in my heart? .................................................................................................................... 15
What about when the same sins happen in Muslim countries? ....................................................... 16
What about moving to non-Muslim countries for benefits such as medical treatment, education,
and better jobs? .................................................................................................................................. 18
What about moving to non-Muslim countries out of necessity? ...................................................... 23
What about moving to non-Muslim countries for Dawah/preaching? ............................................ 23
FATAWA (ENGLISH) ..................................................................................................................................... 26
Important rule in taking Fatawa ............................................................................................................. 26
Fatwa 1 .................................................................................................................................................... 27
Fatwa 2 .................................................................................................................................................... 28
Fatwa 3 .................................................................................................................................................... 29
Fatwa 4 .................................................................................................................................................... 30
Fatwa 5 .................................................................................................................................................... 31
Fatwa 6 .................................................................................................................................................... 32
Fatwa 7 .................................................................................................................................................... 34
Fatwa 8 .................................................................................................................................................... 35
Fatwa 9 .................................................................................................................................................... 36
CONCLUSION............................................................................................................................................... 39
FATAWA (ARABIC) ....................................................................................................................................... 41

Dr. Muhammad Muwaffak Al Ghaylany, Assembly of Muslim Jurists of America (AMJA), U.S.A. ............. 27
Sheikh Ahme d Yahya An-Najmi, Saudi Arabia. .......................................................................................... 28
Sheikh Rabee bin Hadi al-Mudkhalee, Saudi Arabia. ................................................................................. 29
Dr. Salah al-Sawy, Assembly of Muslim Jurists of America (AMJA), U.S.A. ................................................ 30
Sheikh Salih al-Fawzan, Saudi Arabia .......................................................................................................... 31
Sheikh Munajjad Salih al-Munajjad, Saudi Arabia ...................................................................................... 32
Sheikh Ibn Uthaymeen, Saudi Arabia.......................................................................................................... 32
Dr Abdullaah Al-Faqeeh, Qatar ................................................................................................................... 34
Dr Abdullaah Al-Faqeeh, Qatar ................................................................................................................... 35
Mufti Taqi Usmani, Pakistan ....................................................................................................................... 36
Mufti Ebrahim Desai, South Africa.............................................................................................................. 36

CRITERIA FOR THE PERMISSIBILITY OF TRAVEL TO NON-MUSLIM COUNTRIES............................................ 4

CURRENT TRENDS OF MUSLIMS TRAVELING TO & SETTLING IN NON-MUSLIM COUNTRIES, FOR A BETTER
LIFE ................................................................................................................................................................ 5
THE MYTH OF A BETTER EDUCATION (1) ................................................................................................... 21
THE MYTH OF A BETTER EDUCATION (2) ................................................................................................... 22

In some cases, USCIS allows the oath to be

taken without the clauses:
". . .that I will bear arms on behalf of the United
States when required by law; that I will perform
noncombatant service in the Armed Forces of
the United States when required by law. . ."

Presented below are the words of the oaths

that must be taken in order to obtain
citizenship in some of the major non-Muslim
countries. These are solemn declarations of the
sovereignty of non-Muslim rule, and of loyalty
to its Islamically-opposed laws, over and above
the sovereignty of Allah and His Laws. These
oaths are Haram for a Muslim to take.
U.S. OATH OF ALLEGIANCE FOR
CITIZENSHIP
I hereby declare, on oath,
o

that I absolutely and entirely renounce and

abjure all allegiance and fidelity to any
foreign prince, potentate, state, or
sovereignty, of whom or which I have
heretofore been a subject or citizen;

that I will support and defend the

Constitution and laws of the United States
of America against all enemies, foreign and
domestic;

that I will bear true faith and allegiance to

the same;

that I will bear arms on behalf of the United

States when required by the law;

that I will perform noncombatant service in

the Armed Forces of the United States when
required by the law;

that I will perform work of national

importance under civilian direction when
required by the law; and

that I take this obligation freely without any

mental reservation or purpose of evasion; so
help me God.

AUSTRALIAN OATH OF ALLEGIANCE

From this time forward, under God,
I pledge my loyalty to Australia and its people,
whose democratic beliefs I share,
whose rights and liberties I respect, and
whose laws I will uphold and obey.

In solemnly making the aforementioned oaths,

you declare that you renounce all allegiance to
any sovereignty apart from that country whose
citizenship you seek. This includes renouncing
the sovereignty of Allah, al-Haakim, the True
Sovereign and Maker of Divine Law. You
solemnly swear allegiance and loyalty to those
who betray Allah, while claiming to worship
Him.

NEW ZEALAND OATH OF ALLEGIANCE

"I [your name] swear that I will be faithful and
bear true allegiance to Her Majesty Queen
Elizabeth the Second, Queen of New Zealand,
Her heirs and successors according to law; and
that I will faithfully observe the laws of New
Zealand and fulfil my duties as a New Zealand
citizen. So help me God."

Haram
Surely Allah enjoins justice, kindness and the
doing of good to kith and kin, and forbids all
that is lewd/shameful, evil and oppressive. He
exhorts you so that you may be mindful.
[Quran: 16: 90]
Do not even approach fornication for it is an
outrageous act, and an evil way.

U.K. OATH OF ALLEGIANCE

[Quran: 17: 32]

I, (insert full name), do swear that I will be

faithful and bear true allegiance to Her
Majesty Queen Elizabeth, her heirs and
successors, according to law. So help me God.

As for those, who like that indecency should

spread among the Believers, they deserve a
painful punishment in this world and in the
Hereafter, for Allah knows and you do not
know (its consequences).
[Quran: 24: 19]

CANADIAN OATH OF ALLEGIANCE

The Ayah above warns about the fate of those

who propagate obscenity amongst Muslims.
What of Muslims who willingly decide to
surround their own selves and their
impressionable children in an environment that
is drowned in obscenity, to the extent that it is
virtually impossible to escape?

I swear (or affirm) that I will be faithful and

bear true allegiance to Her Majesty Queen
Elizabeth II, Queen of Canada, Her Heirs and
Successors, and that I will faithfully observe the
laws of Canada and fulfil my duties as a
Canadian citizen.

While prohibited by Allah, it is legally

permissible in these Western countries to
10

[Quran: 26: 160 - 173]

produce and consume all kinds of obscenity

and pornography, and to dehumanize women
and display obscenities in public. You uphold
this, and support, defend and bear true
allegiance to this.

And when Our command came to pass, We

turned the town upside down, and rained on it
stones of baked clay, one on another
[Quran: 11: 82]

A direct result of this obscenity that is accepted

and promoted by Western law is the numerous
rapes that occur throughout the West, every
single minute. Zina (adultery and fornication)
are also perfectly legal activities according to
the governments of these countries. They are
not officially recognized as an offense to the
institution of the family, nor as a criminal
violation of loyalty to one's spouse and
children. You support and bear full allegiance to
all of these laws, although they are all Haram
and you, being a Muslim, know this very well.

Homosexuality is at the apex of ripping apart

human society, but different European
countries have legalized homosexual marriages.
The U.S. Supreme Court has also followed suit
and just declared them to be perfectly legal,
and the West has celebrated this move with
tears of joy. In addition to imposing underage
exposure to homosexual behavior in primary
schools - as per government policy, the U.S. has
banned therapy services for young homosexual
people who want to be straight. You swear you
uphold this and support, defend, and bear true
allegiance to it, over and above your allegiance
to Allah and His Messenger
. Even non-

Haram
The people of Lot rejected the Messengers,
branding them liars. Recall, when their brother
Lot said to them: "Have you no fear? I am a
trustworthy Messenger to you. So fear Allah
and obey me. I seek of you no reward. My
reward is with none but the Lord of the
Universe. What, of all creation will you go to
(fornicate with) the males, leaving aside those
whom Allah has created for you as your mates.
Nay, you are a people that has transgressed all
limits." They said: "O Lot! If you do not desist,
you will be one of those expelled (from our
towns)." He said: "I am one of those who abhor
your practice. My Lord, deliver me and my
family from their wicked deeds." Then We
delivered him and all his family except an old
woman who was among those that stayed
behind. Thereafter, We utterly destroyed the
rest, and We sent upon them a rain, an evil
rain that fell on those who had been warned.

Muslim natives of these regions, such as Kim

Davis5, are getting imprisoned for wanting the
freedom to oppose homosexuality. But you,
despite being a Muslim, are absolutely in
concordance with this filth, and on having it
imposed on the minds of small children in
primary schools.
After having made homosexuality not just legal
but above reproach, the next perversion that
will go legal is pedophilia, whose destigmatization is already in the works. You are
prepared to fulfill your oath and bear allegiance
to these future developments as well. This is
the law under which you are prepared to bring
up your children and your future generations.

11

Haram

[Quran: 6: 151]
Do not kill your children for fear of poverty: it
is We who shall provide sustenance for them as
well as for you. Verily, killing them is a great
sin.

Believers! Intoxicants, games of chance,

idolatrous sacrifices at altars, and divining
arrows are all abominations, the handiwork of
Satan. So turn wholly away from it that you
may attain to true success.

[Quran: 17: 31]

[Quran: 5: 90]

Rather than making every possible effort to

serve the sick, assisting suicide is legalized
under the law, under the fancy term
"euthanasia". Included in the assisted suicides
are very often old patients, usually one's own
parents. Pointlessly killing off babies is also
legally allowed, and is considered the right of
the mother, with the U.S. holding one of the
most liberal stances about this. Therefore
allowing one's sick parent or unwanted child or
other family member to be killed off out of
desperation, hopelessness or selfishness is
legalized by the governments of these
countries. You uphold and bear allegiance to
these laws that assist suicides and needless
abortions, despite being a Muslim who knows
the laws of your Lord, Allah the Exalted. The
only deaths allowed for Muslims are those that
the Shariah stipulates on the basis of serious
crime, after due legal process, or abortions
where more than one life is at stake. Everything
else is pure murder. You vow to uphold this
murder.

The open production and consumption of

alcohol is allowed for the masses by the
governing laws of these countries.
The
consequences permeate every corner of these
societies, in broken homes, broken hearts,
illegitimate children, and reckless abortions.
You uphold all of this, defend it, and swear
allegiance to it.
Gambling in these countries is not something
that takes place underground, but is accepted
and supported legally by the government, and
openly facilitated for the masses. Casinos and
lotteries are commonplace. You willingly
support and defend all of this.
Haram
Do not kill yourselves. Surely Allah is ever
Compassionate to you.
[Quran: 4: 29]
He who slays a soul unless it be (in
punishment) for murder or for spreading
mischief on earth shall be as if he had slain all
mankind.

Haram
Oh believers! Remain conscious of God, and
give up all outstanding gains from usury, if
you are [truly] believers; for if you do it not,
then be apprised of war from God and His
Apostle

[Quran: 5: 32]
And do not take any human being's life-[the
life] which God has declared to be sacred other than in [the pursuit of] justice.

[Quran: 2: 278 - 279]

12

These men, our own

Allah the Exalted has
Bearing
true
allegiance
to
any
entity
people, have taken
declared open war on
others
as
gods
those who persist in also entails befriending its friends and
beside Him: why do
dealing with interest. bearing hostility to its enemies. You they not bring any
Interest is one of the
evidence that
therefore vow to befriend the cause of clear
most
powerful
they indeed are
gods? Who can be
illegal
Israel,
which
is
supported
by
all
instruments used to
ensure that the poor major Western governments, and you more unjust than he
who foists a lie on
get poorer and the rich
vow to view Israel's enemies (i.e. Allah?
get richer. Commercial
[Quran: 18: 15]
policies in non-Muslim Muslims) as your enemies.
countries
have
It is well known and
necessitated that you deal with interest in
openly documented that several thousands of
order to purchase such things as your home
dollars are spent on brainwashing the soldiers
and your car. You willingly agree with this and
of the armies of these countries against Islam.
bear true allegiance to it, and with no
These armies are then sent out to your
reservation you invite Allah's war upon
homelands to make a blood bath of your
yourself.
innocent brothers and sisters. You support this,
uphold it, bear true allegiance to it, and hereby
absolutely renounce and abjure any fidelity to
Haram
your own homeland and to your Ummah.
And who could be more wicked than he who
invents a lie about Allah or belies His signs?

The media and government go hand in hand in

successfully creating and promoting the most
twisted and obscene lies and propaganda
against Islam, against your Prophets and your
Allah. This "freedom of speech" is enshrined in
democratic law. With no reservations, you
willingly support, uphold, defend and bear
allegiance to this.

[Quran: 6: 21]
Who is more harmful than he who invents a lie
about Allah or belies His verses?
[Quran: 7: 37, Quran: 10: 17]
Who is more harmful than he who invents a lie
about Allah
[Quran: 6: 93, Quran: 11: 18, Quran: 29: 68]

Haram

Who is more harmful than he who, without

knowledge, invents a lie about Allah to mislead
people?

The believers may not take the unbelievers for

their allies in preference to those who believe.
Whoever does this has nothing to do with
Allah

[Quran: 6: 144]

13

[Quran: 3: 28]

actually swearing to be subservient to them, to

be ruled by them, and to become them.

(those) who take the unbelievers for their

allies in preference to the believers. Do they
seek honor from them? But surely honor
altogether belongs to Allah alone.

The Prophet
said, I am not responsible for
any Muslim who stays among polytheists.
They asked: 'Why, Apostle of Allah? He said:
Their fires should not be visible to one
another.

[Quran: 4: 139]
Believers! Do not take the Jews and the
Christians for your allies. They are the allies of
each other. And whoever among you takes
them for allies, shall be regarded as one of
them. Allah does not guide the wrong-doers.
Yet you see those afflicted with the disease of
hypocrisy race towards them, saying: 'We fear
lest some misfortune overtakes us. It may be
that Allah will either bring you a decisive
victory or something else from Himself, and
then they will be regretful for what they kept
secret in their hearts.

He (peace be upon him) said, Who joins the

polytheists and lives with them then he is like
them. (Abu Dawud)
Abdullah ibn Amr said, "Whosoever lives in the
lands of the non Arabs and celebrates their
New Year and festivals and imitates them until
he dies in that condition, will be resurrected
with them on the Day of Resurrection.
(Bayhaqi)

[Quran: 5: 51 - 52]

Bearing true allegiance to any entity also entails

befriending its friends and bearing hostility to
its enemies. This is what the contract of
citizenship entails. You therefore vow to
befriend the cause of illegal Israel, which is
supported by all major Western governments,
and you vow to view
Islam also allows Muslim
governments
to
have No one forced you, but you freely Israel's enemies (i.e.
Muslims,
first
and
alliances with non-Muslim
chose your Haakim to be one
foremost the Palestinians
entities, as citizens of the
whose
every
Amr
is
opposed
to
themselves) as your
world, for foreign relations
and peace treaties. But the the Quran and Sunnah, and with enemies. The U.S. and
vast majority of us are not legal permissibility of sins such European governments
have offered financial
diplomats or international
that you cannot fulfill your
grants to people wanting
relations policy makers. We
obligation
of
raising
your
voice
to settle on the stolen
are regular civilians, and we
land of Palestine. And
are not just opting for against them.
while governments do
alliances as we solemnly
offer loans to other governments, many of the
give our words through these oaths, but we are
Islam allows us to have cordial and respectful
relations with non-Muslim civilians who happen
to be in our surroundings. It does not tell us to
go and voluntarily surround ourselves with
them and abandon our own people.

14

"loans" offered to Israel from Western

countries are not loans at all they need never
be paid off. Against your own people, you are
swearing allegiance to all of this. Not to Allah,
His Messenger
and the believers, but to

denounce God - freely and willingly, without

the aversion that this Ayah stipulates as the
condition on which such oaths are allowed. Let
alone aversion, you wait anxiously and
impatiently for the day that you receive can
make these oaths.

Western governments and Israel, without any

reservations or purposes of evasion
whatsoever.

Secondly, in Islamic jurisprudence, there is no

consideration for solemn oaths made for fun.
Oaths in Islam are not considered mere
formalities. They have a solid legal existence,
and certain statements cannot be undone.
Once you make an oath, you are obliged to
either abide by it or to pay penalties.

Q: What about making the citizenship oath

just to fulfill legal formalities, while not
agreeing with the laws of Kufr in my heart? A:
Islam allows superficially agreeing with Kufr
under force. What force are you under?

This is true even in secular law. The solemn

oaths you make in public are statements
against which you can be held to account in a
court of law.

As for anyone who verbally denounces God

after having once attained faith-and this, to be
sure, does not apply to one who does it under
duress, while his heart remains true to his
faith, but [only, to] him who willingly opens up
his heart to a denial of the truth-: upon all such
[falls] God's condemnation, and tremendous
suffering awaits them.

This is why you are required to make such

oaths to obtain citizenship a life-long
relationship of allegiance to a sovereign.
Because whether or not you admit it, these
oaths are contracts that carry immense weight.

[Quran: 16: 106]

Firstly, this Ayah is meant for those who are

making statements of Kufr under duress, to
save their lives and security. For example, if
someone threatens your life based on your
faith, you are allowed to make claims of
renouncing allegiance to Islam just to save your
life. Are you in such a situation?

Let us remember that such life-altering events

as entering and leaving the religion of Islam
itself are also based on mere verbal
statements. All it takes for one to become a
Muslim is to make the statement: I bear
witness that there is no God but Allah and
Muhammad
is His Messenger.

On the contrary, you take these oaths that

Let us remember that such life-altering events as entering and leaving the
religion of Islam itself are also based on mere verbal statements. All it takes
for one to become a Muslim is to make the statement: I bear witness that there
is no God but Allah and Muhammad
is His Messenger.
15

Then under what code of ethics can a Muslim

claim that such oaths are a trivial matter,
without serious consequences?

own grandparents fought against the very same

powers, forsaking their comforts, properties
and lives. They braved tumultuous calamities
until they finally wrenched off the shackles of
slavery imposed by the colonizers. They paid
for our freedom with their own blood. But
today, just two generations down the line, we
are running blindly right back to the same
powers, voluntarily begging to be enslaved
again.

Can a believer be a coward? He

said, Yes,
he can be a coward. Then it was asked
whether a believer could be a miser. He replied,
Yes, he can be a miser. It was then asked
whether a believer could be a liar. He replied,
No, a believer cannot be a liar. (Imam Malik,
Mishkaat)

Q: What about when the same sins happen in

Muslim countries? A: They are still illegal in
the governing law of Muslim countries.

Lastly, you are not agreeing with the rejection

of Allahs laws only in words. By opting to be
ruled by Western laws, you are actually
conceding to them in practice. Even when the
natives of non-Muslim lands revert to Islam,
they are recommended by scholars to migrate
to places where their faith is safer. If they have
no means to migrate to a Muslim land, they are
asked to at least migrate to a land of less
severe Kufr. There is no question about
Muslims born in Muslim lands migrating to
countries that are ruled by the laws of Kufr.

All of the above breaches of Allahs

laws are not respected and
celebrated by the governments of
Muslim countries. They are still
recognized to be sins, as per Islam.
They are not legally considered permissible or
morally neutral. If they are practiced, then this
is often an underground issue by sinning
individuals or groups, but it is not celebrated or
imposed at a mass level, nor are you supporting
it. In fact, if caught, these sins are often
constitutionally punishable by the law.

In addition to the verbal allegiance offered at

immigration, Muslims are also offering
concrete, financial support to all of the above
glaring violations of the Laws of Allah, via their
taxes to non-Muslim governments.

When living in a Muslim land, Islam does not

hold you responsible for what happens inside
peoples homes. Mind you it does hold you
responsible in public for enjoining the right and
preventing the wrong. This is not only the
states responsibility but every individuals as
well.

Help one another in goodness and piety, and

do not help one another in sin and aggression;
and be careful of (your duty to) Allah; surely
Allah is severe in requiting (evil).
[Quran: 5: 2]

This is a monstrous irony, given the fact that

the majority of Muslims who are taking oaths
for citizenship in the West are those whose

But when you opt to live in non-Muslim lands,

you can no longer enjoin the right and oppose
16

the wrong. On the contrary, you are supporting

sin, because these sins are enshrined in their
law and celebrated publicly. Opposing them
can land you in jail. This is the same law you
vow to uphold and defend when you take the
oaths of citizenship.

On

For the sake of what you imagine to be a

"better life", you consider the Laws of Allah to
be insignificant.

But you are choosing to have (i) a Kafir ruler,

and on top of that, (ii) not just a Kafir ruler but
one whose entire law is a manifestation of
Kufre bawwaha, against whom you were
actually supposed to revolt had you been in a
Muslim land!

the

other

hand,

the

Prophet

commanded that we obey our Muslim ruler

even if he is a Habashi, and that we cannot
disobey his laws until he does Kufre Bawwaha
(open, manifest Kufr). In the case of Kufre
Bawwaha we then revolt against the leader.

You opt for this freely and willingly.

Say to them: The enjoyments of this life are
brief. The World to Come is far better for the
God-fearing.

You are going through all this rebellion against

Allah for a few years of imagined material
comfort.

[Quran: 4: 77]
There shall be no share in the Life to Come for
those who sell away the covenant of Allah and
their oaths for a trivial gain. On the Day of
Resurrection Allah will neither address them,
look at them, nor will He purify them. A
painful chastisement lies ahead of them.

You are not being tortured by red hot iron

bars (as Khabbaab bin Arat
was), or
with large baked rocks rammed against your
chest as you lie on burning desert sand (as
Bilal
was), or with each of your legs
being tied to different horses to tear your
body apart (as was done to Sumayya
).
Yet these Sahaba did not give in, they bore all
of this torture in their insistent refusal to
accept a Kafir as their ruler.

[Quran: 3: 77]

You opt for your ruler to be Kafir. No one

forced you to accept the Kafir as your head of
state. But you freely chose your ruler to be one
whose every Amr is opposed to the Quran and
Sunnah, with its legal permissibility of
fornication, adultery, gambling, liquor,
homosexuality, vulgarity, and much more which are all so openly practiced that - by the
law that you opted for - you cannot even raise
your voice against them. The rulers you choose
to obey are those who imprison or ban entry to
public speakers for merely voicing facts such as
the impermissibility of homosexuality.

By the grace of Allah, you are safe and sound.

No one is forcing you to choose a Kaafir for a
ruler and surround yourself with Kufr as a way
of life

17

women in order to get nationalities, instead of

showing loyalty to their own Muslim women
and families. They leave their homelands and
sit in waiting for several years in illegal
residence in order to spend enough time in to
be able to apply for citizenship. So many years
of lives are wasted in waiting for paperwork.

How can a Muslim, who has

pledged loyalty to Allah, then
pledge fawning loyalty to rulers who
are opposed to Allah? How can a
Muslim voluntarily choose to be
ruled by rejecters of Allah?

Is this really a better life? Are a few medical

facilities and courses really worth the cost of
(i) ones Iman, and (ii) tossing ones future
generations onto the path to Hell? Cases of
what have happened to masses of Muslim
youth in the West are widely known, bitter
facts. Exceptions always exist of course, but
rules are not made on exceptions, and no one
has any guarantee that their children will be
that precious exception.

Q: What about moving to non-Muslim

countries for benefits such as medical
treatment, education, and better jobs?
Islam allows even the consumption of Haram
for medical treatment. There are no differences
of opinion among scholars here, although they
do encourage pure and wholesome treatment.
However, medical treatment and education
have nothing to do with long term living and
seeking citizenship in non-Muslim countries.

For the majority of migrants to non-Muslim

lands, the Islamic lifestyle becomes alien to
their youth. Islam becomes so insignificant in
daily life that new questions arise.

As for education, this is usually sought for the

purpose of a better life. But all around us, we
can see what the price of this education has
been. Under the pretext of education,
multitudes of people have remained for years
in non-Muslim lands, promising their parents
that they will return the next year, and the
next, and the next. That next year never comes.
Several people have even broken their families,
just for that nationality! Many have broken off
relationships just to marry local, non-Muslim

Can we read simply the translation of the

Quran instead of the Quran itself? Can we pray
all 5 prayers together? Can we pray in the car?
Even Friday prayers are gradually lost to
migrants, simply because of their intimate
exposure to non-Muslim lifestyles and their lack
of exposure to Islam. The entire concept of
Hijab, so integral to an Islamic society,

The Prophet
already defined a better life. The best place for a man is to be
in the first row behind the Imam, before the first Takbeer. Do we really believe
we are leading a better life when we have given up even praying regularly?
The Prophet
condemned those who worship wealth at the expense of their
Hereafter, which is the true life that we ought to be aiming to make better.
18

degenerates. If it remains at all, the Khimaar

becomes reduced to a small scarf around the
head, which doesnt even cover the neck, let
alone the upper part of the body. And the
Jilbab usually disappears entirely. And this is
the state of most of those who claim to be
religious. Is this a better life?

He

also taught us the dua:

)(
Oh Allah do not let the dunya be our greatest
concern!
(At-Tirmidhi)

Self-created fatwas abound. And then Muazzins

and Imams are given visas to serve these
Muslim communities in non-Muslim countries
in the capacity of scholars. While exceptions do
exist and there are certainly some genuine
people, it must be said (with due respect) that
many of these scholars turn out to be people
who themselves are excited to migrate to the
West for their own better lives.

Can this be a Jihad? A chasing after selfcreated standards to the extent that we
cannot even stop to pray in congregation?
The Prophet

already told us what

constitutes a better life. The best place for a

man is to be in the first row behind the Imam in
congregational prayers, even before the first
Takbeer.

Let us be honest with ourselves. Perhaps we

are simply more willing to risk our childrens
eternities than dare to tear ourselves out of
our comfort zones?

Do we really believe that our life is better when

we dont so much as interrupt our work for
prayers, let alone pray in congregation? When
we lose our sense of modesty (which the
Prophet
said is a part of faith) when the

As for remaining under Kufr governments for

the sake of better jobs - yes, earning Halal
wealth is Jihad, as the Prophet
said. But
Halal wealth. Not unnecessary wealth of selfdefined standards that comes at the cost of
ones faith.

Hijab disappears when we passively accept in

our environment those very sins that we once
cringed at? For the most part, even in many
Muslim countries where sins are rampant,
there is still a massive difference in the
environment in terms of vulgarity, compared to
Western countries. When we live in Western
countries, how can we possibly protect our
eyes from the viewing of other peoples bodies
what should not be seen, when those bodies
are openly on display, in every direction? How
reasonable is it to expect a person to shield
their eyes and maneuver their way through life
with their gaze fixed on the ground, 24/7? Why

The Prophet
condemned those who
worship wealth at the expense of their
Afterlife.

Wretched is the slave of the dinar and the
dirham (i.e. money)!
(Sahih Bukhari)

19

choose to live in such an atmosphere in the first

place where it is virtually impossible to
protect the eyes from what is Haram for them?

parents to literally lose their children. These

children become part of a society that is full of
elderly nursing homes because people no
longer consider their parents worth their time.
Is this a better education? Do not assume your
children will be safe from the fitna of this
education. None of the multitudes of parents
who lament over their childrens changed
attitudes anticipated it either. If parents are so
hell-bent on having their children oppose them
and on sending them down the road to
destruction, then why spend so much money,
time and effort in foreign lands? Their
characters and Afterlives could easily be ruined
at home, too, free of cost.

Lets step back and consider earnestly whether

the education we want to offer our children
truly makes for a better life or not. This is an
educational system that produces youth with
cookie-cutter mindsets, who spout out the
same ignorant arguments against Islamic laws
and lifestyles and consequently against their
own Afterlives. Over and over they are trained
in their schools to fall victim to the same old
run-of-the-mill vices:

erosion of modesty and an immunity to

vulgarity, based on over-exposure to it,
starting from primary school, where small
children are exposed to adult material
erosion of respect and sanctity for religious
ideas, based on liberal media and school
assignments, seminars and debates that are
not merely agnostic but actively opposed to
religion and the person of the Prophet

The Western system of education that many of

us Muslims drool over is so repulsive that even
non-Muslim, native Western parents have
organized into groups to oppose it. They switch
their childrens schools and even take their
children out of the system entirely, opting to
homeschool them. These parents do this at the
risk of being held back or fined by the
government. And yet so many of us Muslims
are so blinded by our inferiority complexes in
comparison to the West that we are ready to
give up our life savings and our faith for this
better education.

erosion of the respect of elders, based on

bloated ideas of self-importance
erosion of the ideals of kindness, selfsacrifice and compromise in relationships,
based on secular ideals of independence,
freedom
and
A distinction must be made
materialism

This is the education that

we are willing to leave our
homelands for and sacrifice
years of our lives and
relationships, waiting for
paperwork. An education
that encourages many

between temporary stays in

non-Muslim lands, and
permanent settlement. There
are no diverging opinions
about settling long term in
non-Muslim lands. It has been
agreed upon as Haram.
20

This writer knows many,

many people, personally or
indirectly, who migrated to
the West just to bring their
children up there. Not one
of them has succeeded in
truly securing a better life
for their children. No doubt,
once children have grown

up at home and then gone to the West only to

obtain university degrees, then a number of
them do indeed fare well in terms of careers,
albeit many still lose much of their faith. But
the vast majority that migrates in childhood

and grows up in Western schools only slaves

away in mediocre jobs. Most people dont get
ahead in life any more than they would have in
their homelands.

These statistics are based on the Muslims who participated in a survey of students attending four-year
accredited colleges/universities throughout the United States, in 2001.
Source: http://www.thefyi.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/FYI-Inforgraphic_no-coming-soon.jpg

21

Boy, 13, rapes girl after sex

Obama: Sex Ed for

education class so
he can
'try
it'6 if they take their
Parents
to be
fined
A teenage
boy raped
hisout
female
Kindergartners Is
the
children
of sex lessons8
7
classmate
after aBysex
education
Laura Clark
for the Daily Mail
Right Thing to Do
Daniel Noe
August 31, 2013 at 6:01pm

Updated:
09:49 GMT, 6 November 2009
class in their Welsh
school,
prompting an investigation

Parents will face fines if they remove 15-year-old children

from sex education lessons as they become part of the
national
curriculum
for
the
first
time.
Lessons in relationships and sex will begin at five, with
prescribed content for each age group

The Chicago Public Schools this

year are mandating that the
districts kindergarten classes
include sex education, fulfilling a
Mothers and fathers risk being
proposal President Barack Obama
anti-truancy laws.
Top story supported in 2003 when he served
in the Illinois state senate and later
defended when he ran for Thousands Oppose Kathleen
# 1 NWOpresident
Hatr says: in the 2008 election
Wynne's Sex-Ed Indoctrination9
November
21, 2014
at 10:26 &
pmStudents on
cycle.
Parents
strike: one week no school,
hasThe curriculum is 96% identical to the one
proposed when she was Education Minister in
That would be pedophiles behind this
been sharing flyers online inviting
2010, which caused such outrage among
agenda.
people
in
Ontario
to
help
stop
parents that Premier Dalton McGuinty was
They should be in prison for even
implementation
of
the
curriculum.
forced to withdraw the program.
suggesting it.
Students from elementary to high
Thousands of Ontarians have pressed the
school are invited to strike against
faithy says:
to recall the curriculum through
the22,program
as pm
well May 4 togovernment
11.
November
2014 at 4:10
petitions, protests, and even keeping their
all i have to say is thank God i dont have
kids and probably never
will.disgusting!!!
Mama Bears says:
November 22, 2014 at 6:33 pm

fined and prosecuted under

10

children home from school in a week-long parent

strike. 160K signatures on petitions have so far

been delivered
to Queen's Park.
Quebec
to introduce
sex ed
pilot project with 'no
exemptions'11

A pamphlet distributed at the

session suggested different
In Ontario, they are pushing the
depraved Sex-Ed program for K-12
things children can do together,
starting September 2015.
The province is rolling out a new pilot project in including, bathing together,
which sex education, like French and mathematics, shaving each other, wearing
The individual who composed the Sex- will soon become mandatory for all students from
Ed program was arrested sometime last kindergarten to the last year of high school, each others underwear, role
year for luring an adolescent girl for the regardless of the religious or personal convictions playing, buying an extra-large
of parents across different cultural communities...
pair of pajama bottoms to sleep
purposes of manufacturing child
The material will be integrated into regular classes
12
pornography.
(such as Math or French) or will be the subject of in together, lap dances and strip
activities.
FOR teases,
IMMEDIATE
RELEASE
KOIN
reports.12
By Jocelyn Richer, The Canadian Press | Posted: Aug 30,
2015 3:54 PM ET

Fury at school plan to force teenagers to share unisex

toilets: Girls as young as 11 will use same bathroom
facilities as 16-year-old boys13

- Plans for Towers School in Ashford, Kent, condemned by Esther Rantzen

- The ChildLine founder said it was 'one of the worst ideas I've ever heard'
- Parents fear pupils will have sex in toilets but teachers defended move

The Satanic Temple to Distribute

Educational Religious Materials in
Florida Public Schools14
NEW YORK, NY September 15, 2014 In response to a recent School Board
decision in Orange County

22
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2581933/Fury-school-plan-force-teenagers-shareunisex-toilets-Girls-young-11-use-bathroom-facilities-16-year-old-boys.html#ixzz3mUJPqzS6

In any case, a distinction must be made here

between temporary stays in non-Muslim lands,
and permanent settlement. We would like to
clarify that scholars do allow temporary stays in
non-Muslim lands for the sake of acquiring
benefits such as treatment and education, if we
feel we will be safe from fitna. Have we
carefully equipped ourselves against fitna? Do
we have any guarantees that we will be safe?

Afghanistan, Serbia, Bosnia, Syria, Palestine,

and impoverished countries in Africa.

However, there are no diverging opinions

about settling long-term in non-Muslim lands,
just for the sake of living there. It has been
unanimously agreed upon as Haram.

The Shariah does allow migrations to nonMuslim lands for the purpose of teaching Islam
to the Muslims of those regions, and the
Muslims of those regions are usually native
converts.

No. I am able to secure my familys survival

in Muslim countries but for a few subjective
conveniences and perhaps a few more dollars, I
choose to dismiss the laws of Allah.
Q: What about moving to non-Muslim
countries for Dawah/preaching?

Q: What about moving to non-Muslim

countries out of necessity? A: What lifepreserving necessity are you facing?

However this is a job for people who are

actual scholars and preachers, and Muslim
governments or groups usually send or invite
specific people for these purposes. And these
people usually return home after their tasks.
Those who remain there are usually already
natives of those lands, such as Sheikh Hamza
Yousuf, Yousuf Estes, or Abu Tawbah. They did
not take oaths to Kafir rulers in order to settle
there, leaving their Muslim countries of origin.

Islam does give allowance to move to such

places in dire circumstances, such as for people
who are being persecuted and have no means
to move anywhere else.
As for yourself, is there any dire necessity
because of which you are trying to migrate?
Yes, my family is being persecuted, the
way the Rohingya Muslims are.

Are you a scholar?

Yes, I have tried but could not feed my

family in any of the worlds fifty Muslim
countries.

Yes, I am a qualified scholar.

No I am not a scholar, just a regular
person. I have not even studied Islam rigorously
for a number of dedicated years in order to
protect myself and my family from fitna.

Yes, my status is that of a refugee, and I

and my family are refugees who need political
asylum just like those from Kashmir,

If our intention were indeed to preach Islam, why only select places like Canada,
America and Europe for our preaching? Why not the villages of Mexico and
Africa, or Cuba and Vietnam, or Nepal and Papua, Indonesia?
23

Even if you happen to keep yourself engaged in

teaching Islam at some school or community,
what about the rest of your families there? Are
your children also preaching? On the contrary,
your children are at a terrible risk of falling for
the evils rampant in the environment. A few
children have indeed found guidance in nonMuslim countries, but the vast majority has
gone astray and many have become heartaches
for their parents.

travelers and are constantly on the move,

abandoning the comfort of their homes, their
rooms, their beds and their family routines, day
in and day out, on different dawah
expeditions, campaigns, and preaching tasks,
very often unpaid, entirely for the sake of
Islam.

Believers, guard yourselves and your families

against a Fire whose fuel is human beings and
stones, a Fire held in the charge of fierce and
stern angels who never disobey what He has
commanded them, and always do what they
are bidden.

No. I want to settle down to have as

convenient and comfortable a life as possible.

Is that the kind of life you are migrating for?

Yes.

The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: Indeed

actions are but by intention, and each will be
rewarded according to his intent. So whose
goal is to migrate for Allah and His Messenger,
his migration is for Allah and His Messenger,
and whose aim is to migrate to some worldly
gain or to take the hand of a woman in
marriage, his migration is to that which he has
sought. (Bukhari and Muslim)

[Quran: 66: 6]

On top of that, are you really migrating with the

sole intention to teach Islam? Be honest with
yourself.
What is your real reason to migrate or get a
citizenship in a non-Muslim country?

The most well-known preachers and scholars

amongst the Muslim Ummah, such as Mufti
Taqi Usmani, Abul Hasan Ali Nadwi, Tariq
Jameel, Dr. Zakir Naik*, and so on it is their
kind of dawah that is referred to when it is said
that traveling to non-Muslim countries for
dawah is permissible. These types of preachers
travel often to non-Muslim countries for their
preaching, on 3-day conferences, week-long
trips, or 40-day visits, and so on but they
never choose to settle down there and offer
solemn pledges of loyalty to non-Muslim
governments.

To have a better, comfortable life.

To improve my status/prestige/career.
For certain conveniences that I personally
like in non-Muslim countries.
To earn more money.
As a backup plan so that I can escape in
case something goes wrong in my country.
To preach Islam.
Those who move to non-Muslim countries
purely for the sake of Islam have a noticeably
different lifestyle. They live their lives like

* This writer is not necessarily in agreement of methods, or has

any affiliation, with these personalities.

24

their dedication to their faith. These are true

preachers.

These people cannot be equated to

those who use dawah merely as an
excuse to continue lingering in nonMuslim countries.

As for us there are so many innocent nonMuslims who deserve to hear the message of
Islam. In fact, there are several thousands even
within our own Muslim homelands. There are
Christian, Sikh, Hindu and pagan communities
in Pakistan, a huge population of Coptic
Christians
in
Egypt,
poverty-stricken
Indonesians who turned to Christianity because
of the financial support offered by missionaries,
migrant Hindus and Christians from India and
the Philippines living in Saudi Arabia and the
UAE, and so on. Have we spared them a
thought in our dawah campaigns? Charity
starts at home. Forget the non-Muslim
communities in our homelands, how much
Islam have we secured in our very own homes,
for our relatives, spouses and children?

It is true that the responsibility of spreading

Islam to the world is on the shoulders of the
Muslim Ummah.
Then why, when we live in Canada, America
and Europe, do we focus most of our dawah on
Muslims only? That too when we claim that
Muslims in the developed world are so pious
that Islam is flourishing there better than in our
own homelands? Why arent we going to nonMuslim communities to spread Islam? And why
not reach out to the non-Muslims in the villages
of Mexico and countries in Africa, and Nepal
and Papua, Indonesia, and the cities of Vietnam
and Cuba? Are the people of these places less
deserving of Islam? True preachers of Islam do
go to such places, to the far corners of the
world, and live in areas so rugged,
uncomfortable and unfamiliar that the natives
of those places do not even wear clothes.

Why are we so selective in our preaching of

Islam that we choose only to preach in those
countries where conveniently, we imagine the
betterment of our lives and our childrens
education?

Even when many of us seek

knowledge of Islam, what is our
true purpose? Do we seek the
jurisdiction and the knowledge of
Fiqh in order to protect ourselves
from disobedience to Allah and His
Messenger ? Or do we seek it in
order to dish out (or invent)
justifications to disobey Allah's
orders, and to make permissible
precisely those things that He
prohibited?

What is more there are many white Western

natives who choose to leave their countries and
travel to these places as Christian missionaries
or for humanitarian causes. In other words, the
natives of those places that we want to settle in
(with the claim that we would like to preach
Islam) those natives head towards the very
homelands that we are leaving, to preach their
faith to our people. They settle happily in
places so poverty-stricken that even clean
water is hard to come by, yet remain firm on

25

As the Prophet

There are no differences of opinion over the

permissibility of the pursuit of treatment is
definitely allowed (and treatment does not
entail citizenship).

said,

But all scholars agree upon the impermissibility

of leaving Muslim lands to gain citizenship in
these countries, or settling long term, for the
sake of a better life, while being fully able to
survive in Muslim lands, even if in the absence
of a few personal conveniences.

Sin is whatever keeps creating unease in your

heart.
(Sahih Muslim)
You may not have thought this far or this
deeply about the issue of immigration and
citizenship, but others have. There are many,
many Muslims around the world who have
worried about this grave matter and have
asked for rulings from scholars.

Emphasis and explanations have been added to

the original Fatawa below.
IMPORTANT RULE IN TAKING FATAWA
Before presenting the Fatawa, a very important
reminder for the reader15:

We present below a number of these rulings,

from different scholars around the world. Three
of them are translations of original Arabic
Fatawa, which are present in a compilation of
Arabic Fatawa that has been included at the
end of this document.

The questioner consults a Mufti because

he/she trusts his knowledge and piety. If the
questioner is perplexed by two answers, he
does not have the right to choose as he wishes
but he should follow a kind of preference. This
preference returns to the knowledge and piety
of the Mufti. Ash-Shaatibi may Allaah have
mercy upon him, who said: The questioner
does not have the right of choice between
answers, because in case of choosing there will
be elimination of obligation. Since we give
imitators [followers] the right to choose the
belief of scholars, they will follow their desire in
that choice. Shareeah (Islamic Law) depends
on one matter: the verdict of Allaah. The
questioner, like the Mufti, does not have the
right to prefer one view to another without
returning to consensus (ijma) in this
preference.

In order to save time and space, only a few

Fatawa from around the world have been
included. In summary, scholars differ upon the
permissibility of moving to the lands ruled by
Kufr for a limited time, in order to acquire
certain benefits, such as education and Halal
business. Please note that Halal business in this
context refers not to settling in non-Muslim
countries and doing business there, but to
temporary business activities such as business
and trade trips and the meeting of buyers and
sellers, after which the businessperson returns
to their home countries.

26

Discrepancy in Jurisprudence is a fact. The

questioner should not think that such a fatwa
can legalize what he has asked about. In case of
hesitation, the questioner knows what is
inside him and knows if the Mufti is well
known for his inadequate knowledge or for
tricks and licenses which disagree with the
Sunnah. Thus, the questioner should not
consult him to be licensed to do what is not
permitted; he should fear Allaah.

In the name of Allah the Beneficent the

Merciful
Peace, blessings and mercy of Allah be upon
you.
Praise be to Allah, prayers and peace be upon
His kind Messenger, family members,
companions and followers.
The basis in the affairs of a Muslim is that he
should live in Muslim lands in order to achieve
his religions tasks and duties, but if he is
compelled to leave his country of origin, for
fleeing with his religion or to seek knowledge or
Halal business, then there is no problem for
him to do that, on condition that he fears Allah
about himself, and his family, and if he thinks
that he could not fulfill his religious tasks and
obligations, like fearing that his kids would be
tempted, then he must return back to his
Muslim country of origin, and not to seek
material and worldly gains there in the West.
Therefore, it seems that there is no general
necessity to get a foreign citizenship. However,
if he could not return back to his country for
security reasons, then getting a foreign
citizenship is a necessity to protect himself and
his family from evil at home. Necessity is
estimated according to its esteem, and
everybody knows well his needs, so, consult
yourself even if advisors counsel you. Allah
says: "Nay, man will be evidence against
himself, Even though he were to put up his
excuses", (Quran, 75:14-15). Allah knows best.

FATWA 1
Fatwa from: Dr. Muhammad Muwaffak Al
Ghaylany, Assembly of Muslim Jurists of
America (AMJA), U.S.A
Publication date: Jan 2, 2006
Question: In the name of Allah the Beneficent
the Merciful
Peace, blessings and mercy of Allah be upon
you.
Is it acceptable by Shari`ah to get some
country`s citizenship if it is necessary to take
the pledge of allegiance of that country`s laws
which are non-Islamic? And how can we make
this go with Allah`s saying: "Any one who, after
accepting faith in God, utters unbelief, except
under compulsion, his heart remaining firm in
faith but such as open their breast to unbelief,
on them is wrath from God, and theirs will be a
dreadful penalty", (Quran, 16:106)?. Jazakum
Allahu Khairan.
Answer:

27

FATWA 2

foolishness. How can such a country (be good

for them) which proselytizes its people into
Kufr, atheism and apostasy; where vices are
spread far and wide; where vulgarity is
indulged in openly, destroying the youth, boys
and girls, in parks, public places and roads
and no one can stop all this! And how can
(anyone stop it) when the whole West
preaches Darwinian ideologies (which deny the
existence of God) in schools, and when the
youth takes it all in happily as their way of life?
They are teaching them Kufr, secularism, and
denial of a Creator. How can these countries be
good for his children? Completely impossible!

Fatwa from: Sheikh Ahmed bin Yahya al-Najmi,

Saudi Arabia
Translated from the Arabic Fatwa in: Al-Masdar
- Fataha Ar-rabbi alwadood fil-fatawa wa arrasaail wa ar-radood
Publication date: 2002
Question: A woman fears for her childrens
lifestyle and akhlaaq in the country which her
husband would like to live in. The mother is
very concerned about her children and is
thinking of sending a message to the
immigration office (without the knowledge of
her husband) to inform know she does not
want to live there.

If he wants to live there just to earn more

wealth, because Sweden is a rich, developed
country, then he is giving preference to his
Dunya over his Deen. He should know that
even if Sweden were his native country, then
it was wajib on him to migrate away from
there if he were a real Muslim.

Will this be considered cheating under the

Shariah?
Answer:
As long as her intention is pure and she wants
to turn her husband away from non-Muslim
countries where Kufr is in power and falsehood
is in the lead, and where Truth is being
trampled over and akhlaaq is corrupted then
this will not be considered cheating, and she
will be rewarded by the will of Allah because of
this pure intention.

And he should read:

Behold, those whom the angels gather in death
while they are still sinning against themselves,
[the angels] will ask, "What was wrong with
you?'' They will answer: "We were too weak on
earth." [The angels] will say: "Was, then, God's
earth not wide enough for you to forsake the
domain of evil?" For such, then, the goal is hell
- and how evil a journey's end!

Her husband does not at all agree to leave nonMuslim countries, saying that the education
and nationalities of these countries will be
incredibly useful for his children.

[Quran: 4: 97]

And Im aware that many of the worlds Muslim

countries have also got falsehood propped up
against the truth, with munkar (prohibitions)
opposing
the
maroof
(righteousness).
However, even if he were in a country that is

The response: I say that this is a clear mistake

and a manifest lie, if not naivety and
28

originally Muslim, but where falsehood ends up

with the upper hand and truth is trampled over,
to the extent that a Muslim cannot follow
Allahs orders as He commands, then it
becomes wajib for him to migrate even from
there (to a better Muslim country)! So how can
the Muslim want to reside in a country that
isnt even Muslim to begin with?

I ask you, Ahmad bin Hanbal and others, and

then Ibn Taimiyah, when they were tortured
and imprisoned, did they run to non-Muslim
countries to save their skins?
BaarkAllahu feekum. The questioner should be
patient, and live in his own country, even if he
is imprisoned. Imprisonment is better for him
than going to Europe and America. Especially
when they are well-prepared and waiting, with
their plans and strategies set in place, to have
Muslims enlisted in their armies. And they do
have plans to convert them to atheism. And
these are old plans, which they are now
implementing. And there are many evil
scholars who are working on their side and
who concede to Muslims joining the troops of
the armies of Europe.

FATWA 3
Fatwa from: Sheikh Rabee
alMudkhalee, Saudi Arabia

bin

Hadee

Translated from the Arabic Fatwa in: Shareet:

Asbab an-nahoodh bil ummati li Fadheelat ashsheikh Rabee bin Hadee al-Mudkhalee
(HafidhahUllah), bi hudhoor ash-sheikh Abdul
Aziz Al-Baree. Silsilah Jalasaat Ramadan.
(1436)

So why do you go to these countries? Why

dont you remain steadfast on your path even
though your governments may be after you?

Date: Ramadan, 2005

Question: There are some young people in
England asking about the ruling of living in nonMuslim countries, in order to escape from the
governments of Muslim countries that are
pursuing them. They also asked about the
ruling for obtaining a British nationality.

The majority of people are migrating to these

countries without this reason. They just go to
eat and drink and to give their services to the
Jews and the Christians in their countries, and
they debase themselves and Islam.

Answer:

BaarkAllahu feekum. It is Allah Tabaarak wa

Taaala Who promises sustenance:

Allah knows, 90% of the people who go to

Europe and America are not going there just to
escape their governments. Even if their
governments are after them, then they should
be patient and remain steadfast on the path of
Allah. When Ahmad bin Hanbal was tortured,
did he go to non-Muslim countries?

Allah will find a way out for him who fears

Allah, and will provide him sustenance from
whence he never even imagined.
[Quran: 65: 2-3]

There is nothing for you to do except to have

Taqwa of Allah, and He will provide you with
29

sustenance from where you cannot imagine. A

person does not die until he gets all the
sustenance that was decreed for him. It is only
Shaytan who beautifies the migration of
Muslims to non-Muslim countries, so that they
may live like animals, in ignominy and desires,
which surround, not only themselves, but their
entire families with trials and dangers.

Muslim troops to fight against other Muslims,

just to keep his nationality and his alliance with
America. This Fatwa was given by Qardawi, who
has abused his position by giving these types of
Fatawa.
BaarkAllahu feekum and how many a Fatwa is
known to be invalid! We ask Allah for
soundness and seek refuge in Allah from these
Fatawa.

When your son reaches six years of age, where

will he study? Will he study in the schools of
the Jews, atheists and Christians while they
go
about
teaching
their
ideologies
indiscriminately, with absolutely no thought
towards what is appropriate for children from
different religions! BaarkAllahu feekum.

In the West they are implementing strategies to

realize and reinforce their goals of having a
Muslim presence in their troops. How can you
go to them in these circumstances?
It is wajib (mandatory) on Muslims to migrate
to their own (Muslim) countries whenever they
hear about these types of strategies and
schemes to integrate them and merge them
into non-Muslim troops and ranks.

Some of the scholars even label the act of

Muslims obtaining the nationality of a Kafir
state as Kufr.
This is because these nationalities cannot be
obtained unless the Muslim is willing and ready
to accept with his whole heart the laws of those
countries, and to take a Kafir as his ruler and
head of state, and to bow down to him and
support him, and to aid him and fight for him
should Muslims come face to face with him in
war because this Muslim has become a part
of the Kafir countrys troops. He has become a
soldier for the enemies of Allah.

FATWA 4
Fatwa from: Dr. Salah Al-Sawy, Assembly of
Muslim Jurists of America (AMJA), U.S.A
Publication date: Sep 8, 2008
Question: My respected Shaykh, I work as an
engineer in Saudi Arabia and my position is
good there, all praise is for Allaah. However, I
am considering immigrating to Canada in order
to obtain citizenship then return back to work
in Saudi Arabia. Is that allowed and am I
accountable if one of my children or
grandchildren immigrated there afterwards
then was led astray because of that?

And (these countries) are preparing Muslims to

battle against Muslim countries, as you can see
has already happened in Afghanistan. So many
of the soldiers were Muslims, in combat with
their own fellow Muslims. Some corrupt
scholars have even given the Fatwa that it is
permissible for a Muslim enlisted in non-

Answer:
30

In the name of Allaah, the Benevolent, the

Merciful. All praise is due to Allaah, and peace
and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allaah,
his family, companions, and those loyal to him.
Whoever has been facilitated with a good and
decent life in a land of Muslims should be
satisfied with what Allaah destined for him and
made easy for him. Immigration to these lands
[non-Muslim lands] should not be allowed
unless there is a valid good reason such as
calling to Allaah, or seeking knowledge that is
not available in Muslim lands etc. Thus for
trivial reasons or to improve ones life then we
do not recommend you to travel at all and let
those who left before be an example to learn
from as their feet slipped off the right way and
Allaah made all that a disaster on them or on
their offspring! There is nothing equal to safety
from sins and trials! We ask Allaah to grant you
and us the safest path and Allaah most High
knows best.

openly practice their religion fully. The only

exception is in the case of necessities such as
medical treatment and similar matters that
too, given that one has the ability to openly
practice Islam, and establish whatever
obligations Allah has made wajib on him,
without hiding and without doubting his
religion, and without delaying in the fulfillment
of whatever Allah has made wajib.
As for residence in the countries of disbelievers,
that is even worse. Residing in the midst of
disbelievers is not allowed in Islam because the
Prophet
forbade Muslims to settle among
them. (See Sunan Abu Dawd [46/3], Tirmidhi
[329-328/5] from the Hadith of Jareer bin
Abdullah, and Nisaai [36/8] from the Hadith of
Qays.)
However, if the persons settlement is for a
valid Sharai reason, such as inviting others
towards Allah (Subhanahu wa Taaala), and his
presence among the disbelievers is effective in
terms of his dawah, the open practicing of his
religion and the spread of Islam then this is
good as it is based on a good cause, i.e. the
invitation to Allah, the spreading of Islam, and
the strengthening of the Muslims already
present there.

FATWA 5
Fatwa from: Sheikh Salih al-Fawzan, Saudi
Arabia.
Translated from the Arabic Fatwa in: Shabkah
Sahaab as-Salafiyyah
Source: Fatawaa al-Fawzaan

But if the settlement of an individual and his

long term residence is to for another, nonSharai reason, then this settlement is not
allowed.

Question: What is the ruling for traveling to

non-Muslim countries for residence and
nationality?

Among the reasons that travel to non-Muslim

countries may be allowed is the seeking of
education such as medical and technical

Answer:
Actually, it is not allowed to even travel to the
lands of disbelievers where one is unable to
31

knowledge which is necessary for Muslims,

but is not available in Muslim lands.

go there temporarily, such as seeking medical

treatment that is not readily available in a
Muslim country.

FATWA 6
Note that whoever gives up a thing for the sake
of Allaah, Allaah will compensate him with
something better, and that with hardship
comes ease, and that whosoever fears Allaah
and keeps his duty to Him, He will make a way
for him to get out (from every difficulty), and
He will provide him from (sources) he never
could imagine. You should also note that
preserving ones capital is better than taking a
risk in the hope of making a profit; the Muslims
capital is his religion, and he should not risk it
for the sake of some transient worldly gain.

Fatwas general supervision by: Shaykh

Muhammad Saalih al-Munajjid, Saudi Arabia
Question: I have been advised by several
muslims who are knowledgable in islam against
living in a kaffir country (America). I am an
American/Arab who has lived in America all my
life but for a few months now was living in
arabic country, however things are getting hard
for me to continue living here (lack of income,
housing etc) and am considering going back to
America, also another strong reason is that the
Health care system is better and free for my
wife who is ill. Please give me as much a
detailed answer from the hadith and quran as
you can as I don't know for sure if I should
strive to continue living here or go back to
America regarding Islam.

Shaykh Ibn Uthaymeen (may Allaah have

mercy on him) issued a detailed fatwa
concerning the issue of settling in a kaafir
country, which we will quote here.
Shaykh Ibn Uthaymeen said:

Answer:

Settling in a kaafir country poses a great danger

to the Muslims religious commitment, morals,
behaviour and etiquette. We and others have
seen how many of those who settled there
went astray and came back different from
when they went; they have come back as
evildoers, and some have come back having
apostatized from their religion and disbelieving
in it and in all other religions we seek refuge
with Allaah denying it completely and
mocking the religion and its people, past and
present. Hence we must take measures to
guard against that and stipulate conditions
which will prevent people from following this
path which leads to doom and destruction.

Praise be to Allaah.
The basic principle is that it is haraam to settle
among the mushrikeen and in their land. If
Allaah makes it easy for a person to move from
such a country to a Muslim country, then he
should not prefer that which is inferior [i.e.,
living in a non-Muslim country] to that which is
better [living in a Muslim country] unless he has
an excuse which permits him to go back.
We advise you, as others have, not to go and
live in a kaafir country, unless you are forced to
32

There are two basic conditions which must be

met before staying in kaafir countries:

become regretful for what they have been

keeping as a secret in themselves

The first condition is: that the person must be

secure in his religious commitment, so that he
has enough knowledge, faith and will power to
ensure that he will adhere firmly to his religion
and beware of deviating or going astray, and
that he has an attitude of enmity and dislike of
the kaafirs and will not befriend them and love
them, for befriending them and loving them are
things that contradicts faith. (Editors note:
Enmity here certainly does not mean violence
or misbehavior. Rather it means firm, faithbased disagreement and caution). Allaah says
(interpretation of the meaning):

[Quran: 5:51, 52]

And it was narrated in al-Saheeh that the

Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him) said: Whoever loves a people is one of
them and that A man will be with the one
whom he loves.
Loving the enemies of Allaah is one of the most
serious dangers for the Muslim, because loving
them implies that one agrees with them and
follows them, or at the very least that one does
not denounce them, hence the Prophet (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said,
Whoever loves a people is one of them.

You (O Muhammad) will not find any people

who believe in Allaah and the Last Day,
making friendship with those who oppose
Allaah and His Messenger (Muhammad), even
though they were their fathers or their sons or
their brothers or their kindred (people)

The second condition is that he should be able

to practise his religion openly, so that he can
observe the rituals of Islam with no
impediment. So he will not be prevented from
establishing regular prayer, and praying
Jumuah and offering prayers in congregation if
there are others there with whom he can pray
in congregation and pray Jumuah; and he will
not be prevented from paying zakaah, fasting,
performing Hajj and doing other rituals of
Islam. If he will not be able to do that then it is
not permissible to stay there because it
becomes obligatory to migrate (hijrah) in that
case.
Shaykh Ibn Uthaymeen said explaining the
categories of people who settle in non-Muslim
lands:

[Quran: 58:22]

And He says (interpretation of the meaning):

O you who believe! Do not take the Jews and
the Christians as Awliyaa (friends, protectors,
helpers), they are but Awliyaa of each other.
And if any amongst you takes them (as
Awliyaa), then surely, he is one of them.
Verily, Allaah guides not those people who are
the Zaalimoon (polytheists and wrongdoers
and unjust). And you see those in whose hearts
there is a disease (of hypocrisy), they hurry to
their friendship, saying: We fear lest some
misfortune of a disaster may befall us.
Perhaps Allaah may bring a victory or a
decision according to His Will. Then they will

The fourth category includes those who stay for

an individual, permissible need, such as doing
33

business or receiving medical treatment. It is

permissible for them to stay as long as they
need to. The scholars (may Allaah have mercy
on them) have stated that it is permissible to go
to kaafir countries in order to do business, and
they narrated that some of the Sahaabah (may
Allaah be pleased with them) had done that.

not a necessity for me to become a citizen, but

it has many advantages. However, one of the
things that is required from a person who
wants to become a citizen of Australia is to
affirm allegiance to the Queen of Australia and
affirm to obey the laws of the country. To
affirm means to declare positively or to make a
formal statement but NOT under oath. When I
say such a statement, I shall say it to the
authorities to get the citizenship, but my
intention is to obey the laws of Australia and
defend the country AS LONG AS I AM NOT
ASKED TO DO ANYTHING THAT IS AGAINST
ISLAMIC LAWS. And I do not feel any allegiance
to their Queen, but my allegiance first is to
ALLAH and after that I may have allegiance to
anything that is not haram (such as a country or
family).

The Shaykh said at the end of the fatwa:

How can the believer be content to live in the
land of the kuffaar where the rituals of kufr are
proclaimed openly and rule belongs to
someone other than Allaah and His Messenger,
seeing that with his own eyes, hearing that with
his own ears and approving of it, and even
starting to feel that he belongs there and living
there with his wife and children, and feeling as
comfortable there as he does in the Muslim
lands, even though he and his wife and children
are in such great danger and their religious
commitment and morals are in such peril?

My question is, if I apply for citizenship and

make the affirmation that I mentioned, does
this make my citizenship of Australia Haram?
Also when I become a citizen I shall have the
right to work in the country and to study based
on the fact that I am a citizen. Does saying the
affirmation to get the citizenship make my
working in Australia Haram? and studying in
Australia Haram? I hope that my question is not
too long but I wanted to be accurate. And may
Allah reward you for your efforts.

Majmoo Fataawa al-Shaykh Ibn Uthyameen,

Fatwa no. 388.
And Allaah knows best.
FATWA 7
Fatwa approval by committee head:
Dr Abdullaah Al-Faqeeh, Qatar
Fatwa committee: Scholars from Saudia Arabia,
Yemen and Mauritania.

Answer:
All perfect praise be to Allaah, the Lord of the
worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of
worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad
, is His slave and messenger.

Publication date: 23 Jan, 2001

Question: I am currently a resident of Australia
and I would like to apply for a citizenship. It is
34

Dear brother, First of all you should know that,

in principle, living in a non-Muslim country is

for citizenship of non-Muslim countries

except in a dire need, such as not being able to
practice his religion in his own country or fear
of oppression or being in danger for his life or
the threat of imprisonment or torture in his
homeland and there is no Islamic country
where he can live. In such circumstances one
can apply for citizenship of a non-Muslim
country. If he is obliged to take an oath for
getting citizenship, at that moment one should
try to allude to the words of oath as much as
possible to escape their intended point.

forbidden. Imaam Abu Daawood

narrated
on the authority of Jareer Ibn Abdullaah, may
Allaah pleased with him, he said that the
Prophet
said: "I am free from a Muslim
who lives among polytheists". This is a sound
narration.
So, living among them is forbidden as a general
rule, because it has many negative effects on
the religion of a Muslim. Those persons who
face trials in their own countries or who fear
that they may be imprisoned or killed in their
countries, at that critical moment they may live
in non-Muslim countries and Allaah will forgive
them. The evidence for this rule is the
migration of the weak Muslims from Makkah to
Abyssinia because its king was a good and fair
ruler who was not unjust to anyone.
Living in a non-Muslim country or migration to
it is permissible only if a person cannot find a
Muslim country where he can earn a livelihood
and can practice his religion freely.

However, if he is able to live harmlessly in the

non-Muslim country without taking the
citizenship then applying for citizenship is not
permissible for him. It is forbidden for him to
apply for citizenship of a non-Muslim country if
he is simply aspiring to material comforts or
financial gain.
Allaah Says (what means): {And never will
Allaah grant to the disbelievers a way (to
triumph) over the believers.} [Quran 4: 141].
No doubt, the believer who accepts the
nationality of a non-Muslim country gives nonbelievers an advantage over him to force him to
follow
their
rules
and
regulations.
Allaah knows best.

It is also permissible for Muslim scholars to live

in non-Muslim countries for the purpose of
Da'wah i.e., calling non-Muslims to Islam and
teaching Muslims Sharee'ah rules, provided
they they can do so freely and would not be
subjected to trials or would have to
compromise or leave their religion.

FATWA 8
Fatwa approval by committee head:
Dr Abdullaah Al-Faqeeh, Qatar
Fatwa committee: Comprised of scholars from
Saudia Arabia, Yemen and Mauritania.

All the above mentioned details are related to

the rule of Muslims living in non-Muslim
countries. But the rule for applying and
accepting citizenship of those countries is much
restricted. A Muslim is not permitted to apply

Publication date: 30 April, 2015

35

freedom. Even if you are spared, your children

may not be so in the future, so you should be
careful.

Question: Asalam I live in a muslim country and

when I would be graduated from university
inshallah I d like to move to canada or usa but I
prefer canada .Anyway I want to do so because
I can find better income there, and there are
other opportunities of work there and why not
meet a non muslim woman and convert her in
islam and get married inshallah . as I said I live
in a muslim country and I am not poor ,my
parent have a good income and I have heritage.
And please don't talk to me about temptations
and stuff like that because I live in a muslim
country and I know some friends who invited
me to unlawful places where there is alcohol
and I refused or ask me other unlawful things
to do with them and I refused . And I am not
those kind of people who are social , I always
want to do my routine stuff and get home ,
maybe be friend but when it comes to doing
unlawful things these are the limits for me . so I
wanna know if it is permissible to move there ?

Therefore, if a Muslim does not have a

necessity or need to travel to those countries,
then it is better for him to live among his family
and relatives where he can be dutiful to his
parents, if they are alive, have good
relations with his relatives, be in a country
where he can hear the Athaan (call for the
prayer) five times a day, and observe the laws
of his religion without trouble.
Allaah Knows best.
FATWA 9
Fatwa from: Mufti Taqi Usmani, Pakistan
Mufti Ebrahim Desai, South Africa.
Publication date: Oct 21, 2002.
What is the ruling regarding adoption of the
nationality of a non-Muslim country?

Answer:

Question: Many people who adopt the

nationalities of these countries, or wish to do
so, insist that they do so only because they are
persecuted in their own countries, through
imprisonment, threats and intimidation or
confiscation of their property etc. Others see
no difference between their own countries,
which though Muslim, have no Shariah, and
those of the West. They contend that whilst
both are equal in having no Islamic laws, their
personal rights, property and honour are safer
in their adopted country, and they will not be
imprisoned or persecuted without reason.

All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the

Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of
worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad
is His slave and Messenger
In general, the conditions in the land of Islam
are incomparable to the conditions in the nonMuslim land (i.e. there is a great difference).
The example that you have mentioned about
your friends is nothing more than a single
incident; the corruption and the temptations of
the desires in the non-Muslim countries on the
other hand are prevalent and common, besides
there being laws that provide absolute

Answer:
36

The issue of emigration to a non-Muslim

country and permanent settlement there, is
one on which the ruling would differ according
to the situation, and the reasons for the
emigration.

unable to find the necessary means to barely

survive, despite extensive effort, having
exhausted options in other Muslim lands, and
have no alternative besides migrating to a nonMuslim land. This doesnt apply to the likes of
ourselves, the majority of whom are doing so
comfortably well that we have wealth and
property which we sell off in order to settle in
non-Muslim countries. The likes of ourselves
spend huge amounts of money on lawyers,
forge documents and concoct numerous lies in
order to fulfill the legal requirements of our selfimposed enslavement to non-Muslim rulers.)

a) If a Muslim is forced by his circumstances to

emigrate, e.g. he is persecuted in his country or
imprisoned, or his property is confiscated etc.,
without his having committed any crime, and
he sees no way out for himself other than to
emigrate to a foreign country, then he would
be permitted to do so in such a case without
any Karahat (abhorrence) whatsoever, as long
as he resolves to protect his faith, and keep
himself away from the widespread evil found
there.

c) If a Muslim adopts the nationality of a NonMuslim country for the purpose of calling its
people towards Islam, or to convey Islamic laws
to the Muslims residing there, and to
encourage them to stay firm on their faith, then
this is not only permissible, but also a source of
reward. Many of the Sahabah and Tabi'een
settled in distant Kuffar lands for this very
purpose, and this action of theirs is counted
amongst their virtues and points of merit.

b) Similarly, if a Muslim is forced to emigrate

due to his financial situation, i.e. he cannot find
the necessary means of subsistence despite
extensive effort and he sees no alternative
other than emigration to a non-Muslim
country, then he is permitted to emigrate
subject to the above conditions. Earning a
livelihood through permissible means is also a
duty for a Muslim, after his other Fardh duties,
and the Shariah has not specified a certain
place for it. Allah Ta'ala says:

(Editors note: The reader cannot correctly

understand this point without being acutely
aware of the situation of the Sahaba and the
Tabieen that the Mufti is referring to.

He is the one who has made the earth

manageable for you. So traverse ye through its
tracts, and enjoy of the sustenance which He
furnishes; And unto Him is the resurrection.

At the beginning, Islam was a fresh, new

religion whose rules had not yet been finalized
since the revelation had not been completed. In
those times, there were very few people in the
entire world who were Muslim, and they
huddled around the company of the Messenger
of Allah
and learnt the religion from him.

(Quran: 67: 15)

(Editors note: It should be stressed that the
point being made here is for those whose
financial situations are such that they are

Many of them were native to various different

37

tribes and since Islam was so new, all tribes

were Kafir at that time.

preaching as an excuse to justify our residence

in the lands ruled by the Kuffar, that too after
pledging our loyalties to them?)

After the rules of Islam had been finalized and

the State of Madina had been established, the
rulers and tribes of surrounding lands were also
invited to Islam. They accepted the invitations
and therefore were now under the Islamic
Khilafah. However, most of the regular people
there were still not Muslim. So when the
Sahaba went back to teach Islam to their tribes
then it can be said that they went to the lands
of Kuffaar. Because outside of Madina, the
whole world was the lands of Kuffaar at that
time, since Islam was so new. And if the
Sahaba and Tabieen did not teach Islam to
their Kuffaar families back home, then no one
else would, and Islam would die out. Keep in
mind that these Kuffaar lands were still under
the umbrella of the Islamic Khilafah. Islam was
still the ruling power, where Allah was the
accepted Sovereign and Law-Maker. The
Sahaba and Tabieen were not traveling to
lands that upheld the Kuffaar as sovereign, nor
were they taking oaths to that effect, and they
certainly had no interest whatsoever in worldly
gains or the education of their children.

d) If a person has enough means of livelihood

available to him in his native country for him to
be able to live according to the (average)
standard of his people, but he emigrates in
order to raise his standard of living and live a
life of luxury and comfort, then emigration for
such a purpose has at least some degree of
Karahat in it, because such a person is throwing
himself into a storm of evil, and endangering
his faith and moral character without there
being any necessity for it. Experience shows
that the people who settle in non-Muslim
countries for luxury and comfort find their
religious restraint diminishing in the face of the
many temptations of evil.
Therefore, it is reported in the ahadith that one
should not live with disbelievers unnecessarily.
Abu Dawood narrates from Samrah bin Jundub
that the Holy Prophet
said: "He who
mingles with a disbeliever and dwells with him
is like him." Abu Dawood and Tirmidhi also
report that the Holy Prophet
said: "I am

Lets repeat this point. Were the Sahaba and

Tabieen there for better lives? Were they
traveling for the education of their children?
On the contrary, their lives were exceedingly
simple. They were dedicated to their cause and
some of them had only one or two ragged suits
of clothing to wear. Their very purpose of
traveling was for the cause of Islam only.

free (i.e. I disavow myself) from every Muslim

who lives with disbelievers." The Sahabah
asked "Why, O Messenger of Allah?" He replied
"The fires of the two cannot co-exist." Khattabi
says in his commentary on this hadith that it
has several meanings. One is that the two (a
Muslim and a Kafir) are not equal in Hukm
(ruling) they both have different rules.

Can this situation of the Sahaba and Tabieen

be compared to people like us who only use
38

Some scholars take this view. Others explain

the meaning as being that Allah has
differentiated between the lands of Islam and
Kufr and consequently it is not allowed for a
Muslim to live amongst disbelievers in their
lands, because when the Kuffar light their fires
he will be seen as one of them. The scholars
also derive from this the ruling that one should
not stay in the lands of the Kuffar when visiting
for trade etc. (Khattabi, Ma'alim-As-Sunan, K.
Jihad, 473 : iii).

Special thanks to Kamal Ziyadi for his

compilation of several different Fatawa in
Arabic from various scholars.
This Arabic compilation is presented below,
after the Conclusion. Three of the Fatawa in
this compilation have already been translated
above. However we have not translated the
rest of them for reasons of time and brevity,
and because their content is the same as what
we has already been presented so far.

Abu Dawood relates from Makhool in his

'Maraseel' that the Prophet
said: "Do not
There are many people who migrate from the
West to the Middle East and other Muslim
countries. Some, both Muslims and nonMuslims, do it because of the wealthy tax-free
life of Middle Eastern countries. But there are
many far-sighted Muslims, often those who
were born in the West and hold Western
nationalities, who make the decision to move
to Muslim countries in order for their children
to have a safer, more morally upright
environment to grow up in.

leave your children amongst enemies (i.e.

Kuffar). (Tahzeeb As-Sunan, Ibnul-Qayyim, 437 :
iii) For this reason, some scholars say that living
in Kafir countries, and increasing their numbers
solely for material wealth, is an action which
damages ones 'Adala (integrity). (Takmila
Raddul-Mukhtar, p. 101, v. I).
Finally, if a person adopts a non-Muslim
nationality solely for the purpose of increasing
his standing in society, and as a matter of
pride, or in preference to a Muslim nationality,
or in imitation of the Kuffar, then all such
actions are Haram without exception, and
there is no need to cite evidence for this.

Many of these Muslims who realize the harms

that the Western environment will do to their
children are not particularly religious.
Unfortunately there are those of us who claim
religiosity and yet have such an enormous
inferiority complex that it compels us to
migrate to the West, and blinds us to the
irrecoverable costs of such a migration. We
become intolerable to hearing any talk against
our ambitions, even from the very religion that
we otherwise wrap our identities in. When
faced with such talk, we flail our arms and try

39

to grab onto excuses such as Dawah or

necessity. We avoid confessing to ourselves
that our true intentions are merely hopes for a
better life, or a better status in comparison to
others, despite comfortably surviving or even
doing very well in our own Muslim countries.
We do not admit to ourselves that we are
prepared to lose our faith and our childrens
faith for such meager objectives.

This document is for awareness and education,

and has no copyrights. Please spread the word.1

Living unnecessarily under governments that

legally and officially espouse disbelief and
consider themselves above God this is sin
enough. But beyond that, the writer must
remind themselves and yourself, that Iman is
far more precious than all of the pleasures and
conveniences of this temporary world put
together, and we urge you at least to save your
faith and not take oaths of citizenship in nonMuslim lands. These oaths are solemn
declarations of a farewell to your loyalties to
Allah, His Messenger (peace be upon him), His
Divine Laws, and your own eternal Hereafter.
Even if you do not intend to live by them, they
will have consequences.

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-34088691
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-32912867
3
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-32740637
4
http://www.migrationpolicycentre.eu/docs/fact_sheets
/Factsheet%20Palestine.pdf
5
http://edition.cnn.com/2015/09/04/politics/kentuckyclerk-same-sex-marriage-kim-davis/
6
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/women/womenslife/11252341/Boy-13-rapes-girl-after-sex-educationclass-so-he-can-try-it.html
7
http://www.westernjournalism.com/obama-sex-edkindergartners-right-thing/
8
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article1225452/Parents-fined-children-sex-lessons.html
9
http://www.p-first.com/
10
http://www.businessinsider.com/common-core-optout-numbers-increase-as-angry-parents-sit-their-kidsout-2015-4
11
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/quebec-tointroduce-sex-ed-pilot-project-with-no-exemptions1.3209189
12
http://www.fromthetrenchesworldreport.com/oregonpublic-school-sex-ed-conference-promotes-sex-toyssexting-and-using-meth-to-11-yearolds/112289#comment-777366
13
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article2581933/Fury-school-plan-force-teenagers-share-unisextoilets-Girls-young-11-use-bathroom-facilities-16-yearold-boys.html#ixzz3mUJPqzS6
14
http://thesatanictemple.com/wpcontent/uploads/2015/05/TST_Literature_Distribution_R
elease-FINAL.pdf
15
Taken from:
http://islamweb.com/emainpage/index.php?page=fatwa
&tab=4
2

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