Anyone who observes with a discerning eye the current political and socio-economic situation of the world and the particular demographics of the millions of Muslims living in the West and the challenges they are facing, will realise the fallacy of Hijrah as proposed by certain individuals and groups.
According to a new report by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life, 1.57 billion of the 6.8 billion world population today are Muslim. The report finds that there are approximately 317 million Muslims in non-Muslim countries living as minorities. In India for example, there are 161 million Muslims making up 13.4% of the total Indian population; in Ethiopia there are 28 million Muslims making up 33.9% of the population; in China there are 22 million Muslims making up 1.6% of the population; in Europe there are approximately 38 million Muslims - the UK having the 6th highest population of Muslims in Europe with 1.65 million Muslims making up 2.7% of the British population.
With this huge number living as minorities in non-Muslim countries, the idea of calling people to make Hijrah (migration) to ‘Muslim countries’ becomes silly. Where will they go? Which Muslim country will host them? It is not practical nor is it wise to maintain this position. It goes against the Maqsad (objective) of our existence on this planet as vicegerents or witnesses unto the rest of humanity of the Oneness (Tawhid) and Islam as a complete way of life.
Islam calls people to be socially and politically productive, to better their condition in their communities - and in order to do that, they must change the way they think and behave. Those who have the fairytale notion of returning or migrating to a Muslim country once they are financially or otherwise comfortable, will not be proactive in establishing institutions and relations with other communities to better serve the Muslim community in Britain. The implications are that they do not integrate but isolate themselves and become insular with the hope and anticipation of one day migrating to a Muslim country.
In order to rectify our weak situation around the world and here in Britain we must be socially and politically active. Just recently a Channel 4 programme illustrated how powerful the Israeli lobby is in influencing British policy, we too must be in a situation where our voice is heard and can influence British politics. This can only be achieved by getting rid of the idea of migration from our minds and being active citizens of Britain.
Scholars stipulate two situations wherein migration is prescribed:
1. Muslims are in needof those who are to migrate to them. This was the situation in Madinah at the time of the Prophet. Therefore, Hijrah [from Makkah] to Madinah was prescribed for all the Muslims. This is applicable where there is an Islamic state, which is absent at the moment - even then, the political, demographic and practical factors will play a role in determining whether or not to migrate.
2. Muslims are in need of security in the practice of their faith, so they migrate to a country where it is safe, even if that land is a non-Muslim country as well. Muslims migrated from Makkah to Abyssinia, even though it was a Christian kingdom, because it was a place where they would be safe. The Muslims who migrated there remained for nearly ten years. This can be applied in our current context where many people seek asylum from dictatorships in non-Muslim countries, where they are freer to practice their faith than in many so called Muslim countries.
There is a Hadith (tradition) where the Prophet is reported to have said, “I am free of every Muslim who lives among the Mushrikin.” When asked, “Why is that, O Messenger of Allah?” The Prophet replied, “Their fires should not be visible to one another”(Abu Dawud). This should be interpreted, as mentioned by the scholars, as a special or unique incident. It was a case where some Muslims, who were living among a Mushrik (polytheist) tribe which Muslims were at war with, were inadvertently killed by the Muslim army. This and other similar Hadiths prohibiting Muslims living among non-Muslims should be looked at from their proper political and historical context and not as a general rule.
Therefore, there is no general religious prohibition for Muslims to live in, and consider themselves to be a part of British society. Muslims must strive to practice their religion to the best of their ability and live as part of the wider British society. According to the ‘Muslims in Europe Charter Project‘ this entails the following:
- Muslims of Europe respect the laws of the land and the authorities that uphold them. This should not prevent them from individually or collectively defending their rights and expressing their opinions based on their specific concerns as a religious community or any general matter that concerns them as citizens. Whenever there is a conflict with regards to certain laws and matters that are specific to religion, the relevant authorities should be approached in order to arrive at suitable and viable solutions.
- Muslims of Europe adhere to the principle of secularism based on the neutrality of the state regarding religious affairs. This means just dealings with all religions and allows those who hold religious values to express their beliefs and practice the rites of their religion either as individuals or groups in both the general and specific matters, as is specified in European and international human rights charters and treaties. On this basis, it remains the right of Muslims, as religious communities, to establish mosques, religious, educational and welfare institutions to practice their religion in day-to-day affairs in virtue of diet, clothing and other needs.
- As European citizens, Muslims of Europe regard that it is their duty to work for the good of society and their enthusiasm in this endeavour should be no less than their enthusiasm in demanding their rights. They are required to play an active role in society, in contributing, taking the initiative and striving to bring benefit to others.
- Muslims are urged to positively integrate with their respective societies, on the basis of a harmonious balance between preservation of Muslim identity and the duties of citizenship. Any form of integration that fails to recognise the right of Muslims to preserve their Islamic personality and the right to perform their religious obligations does not serve the interests of Muslims nor the European societies to which they belong.
- Muslims of Europe are encouraged to participate in the political process as active citizens. Real citizenship includes political engagement from casting one’s vote to taking part in political institutions.
- Muslims of Europe emphasise their respect for pluralism and the religious and philosophical diversity of the multicultural societies they live in. They believe that Islam affirms the diversity that exists between people and so is not discomforted by this multicultural reality. Rather Islam calls for members of society to appreciate and enrich one another through their differences.
Br abdullah, thank you for your interesting article.
1. I would like to know if Hijrah, as practiced by the prophet of Allaah saws is a concept that doesn’t apply to the muslims today (due to the huge numbers of muslims that may have to migrate)? I’m sure, you are not suggesting that the sahaaba that migrated to madina had it easy flying into the airport business class under air con? I believe some died on this difficult journey. They were required to give up their families, their homes, land and everything.
2. Do you suggest that the difficulty and or the impracticality in performing hijrah is sufficient grounds for abandoning it?
3. Do you then argue that the muslims should seek to establish khilaafah in their hosting non muslim countries? I wonder what is more impractical or silly. Hijrah or khilaafah in Britain. (maybe our brother Obama is the key)
I’m not suggesting that it is easy to do hijrah nor that it is waajib. I just don’t think the grounds that you outlined were valid.
If your not saying its Wajib, then you agree with the author of the blog.
Jzk brother for raising another important discussion here.
I agree, ‘Hijrah mentality’ for Muslims in the West can be counter productive when there are ample opportunities available to further the cause of Islam and general dawah in the west. Many Muslims have a defeatist hijra mentality, whereby all their energies are spent on planning to move to a Muslim country, Dubai, Saudi, even Pakistan as if the society or conditions are any better!
Hijra has a very specific place in Islam, a migration from the land of Kufr to the land of Islam but do we really have a land of Islam (dar al-Islam/Khilafah/Islamic State) to even consider Hijra??
1.) you say:
“2. Muslims are in need of security in the practice of their faith, so they migrate to a country where it is safe, even if that land is a non-Muslim country as well. Muslims migrated from Makkah to Abyssinia, even though it was a Christian kingdom, because it was a place where they would be safe. The Muslims who migrated there remained for nearly ten years. This can be applied in our current context where many people seek asylum from dictatorships in non-Muslim countries, where they are freer to practice their faith than in many so called Muslim countries..”
Makkah was a pluralistic society and not an islamic state. I feel, it is a weak argument. Muslims either migrated from a pluralistic pagan society into a religous society OR from a pluralistic pagan society into an islamic state. There was never a situation, from what little i know and understand, in which muslims migrated from a muslim society into a non muslim society. Am i correct in what i Say??
2. The charter is excellent. However, it is too vague for the common person. In my opinion there needs to be some sort of tafseer for each point which explains the quran and sunnah behind this. It might be detailed but khateebs and community leaders can use it in further understanding and committing to the objectives and goals that the charter seeks to achieve. They can help the people to understand.
Please let me know if i am in error.
br tariq, you may have misunderstood.
If one of the two conditions put forth by br Abdullah arises, would he still propose that the ummah has grown so much since the sahaabah that it would be silly to migrate.
get it?
Maybe they should fight? LOL…
Sorry one more thing,
I feel as though there is a grave fallacy in the logic of the article. In order to strengthen your argument you must not confuse Seerah and Sunnah. The difference is that the sunnah is a legislative authority in the shari’ah and has a bearing on our spiritual well being whereas in the seerah, the prophet S acted within the opportunity, situation, and environment that he was presented with.
Finally the issue of citizenship is far more complex and simple premises can lead to a non-logical argument.
If i am wrong please correct me. Allah knows best.
Br Abdullah, you said
““I am free of every Muslim who lives among the Mushrikin.”…It was a case where some Muslims, who were living among a Mushrik (polytheist) tribe which Muslims were at war with, were inadvertently killed by the Muslim army.”
If you believe in the maqaasid and relvance of the context as I do, then wouldn’t you say that the only difference between then and muslims living in the west now is the absence of the prophet/khilaafah?
In light of the maqsad/spirit and context of the quoted hadeeth, one could argue that muslims are living likewise amongst the enemy, the enemy of the majority of the muslims, the enemy who are at war with much of the muslim world and islaam?
Besides, why do you speak of political ’suppression’, lack of islamic freedom in the muslim world when like the brothers of this blog, as long as you do not call for state sanctioned sharee’ah, establishment of khilaafah and or jihaad fisabilillah, you are free to do as you wish in these countries?
we do not call for these in the UK, why in egypt or syria or saudi? e.g. Jamat Tabligh work in huge number in the mideast, they are organised, albiet loosely. They hold many seminars and gatherings in full islamic segregation and garb.
If you agree with this, then you must also agree that the general ‘islamic’ condition of some of the muslim communities abroad are better than that of the UK muslims…
So the only obstacle remaining is material progress.
Br Abdullah, you said
““I am free of every Muslim who lives among the Mushrikin.”…It was a case where some Muslims, who were living among a Mushrik (polytheist) tribe which Muslims were at war with, were inadvertently killed by the Muslim army.”
If you believe in the maqaasid and relvance of the context as I do, then wouldn’t you say that the only difference between then and muslims living in the west now is the absence of the prophet/khilaafah?
In light of the maqsad/spirit and context of the quoted hadeeth, one could argue that muslims are living likewise amongst the enemy, the enemy of the majority of the muslims, the enemy who are at war with much of the muslim world and islaam?
Besides, why do you speak of political ’suppression’, lack of islamic freedom in the muslim world when like the brothers of this blog, as long as you do not call for state sanctioned sharee’ah, establishment of khilaafah and or jihaad fisabilillah, you are free to do as you wish in these countries?
we do not call for these in the UK, why in egypt or syria or saudi? e.g. Jamat Tabligh work in huge numbers in the mideast, they are organised, albiet loosely. They hold many seminars and gatherings in full islamic segregation and garb.
If you agree with this, then you must also agree that the general ‘islamic’ condition of some of the muslim communities abroad are better than that of the UK muslims…
So the only obstacle remaining is material progress?
Assalamu Alaikum sidi Salman,
I pray you are well.
JazakAllah khair for taking time out to read and understand the basic premise of the post. Please take some time out to listen to a lecture by Sh Haytham on the issue of hijrah. It covers many of the issues I raised in my post and clarifies to the audience many of the questions they may have.
http://maqasid.wordpress.com/2009/11/22/hijrah-should-i-stay-or-should-i-go-sh-haytham-al-haddad/
Wassalam
@izzuddeen
if you believe that muslims living in britain are at war with the british government, and you live in britain, why dont you just live? Its simple as that. Final words!
I think the point was the matter isn’t as simple as saying that living in Britain is the same as living in any non-muslim country. Rather that the British government is one at war with Muslims in the ummah and occupying Muslim lands. Your inference br Tariq that this means Muslims in Britain are at war with the British Government is your own inference, as Muslims living here are doing so based on a shar’ee agreement/ahd, just as non-muslims would be allowed to live amongst Muslims under an agreement/ahd even if they were theoretically at war with Muslims and would be allowed the priveleges based on their agreement.
The fact that someone is living here is no room to stifle and suppress a point being made. Much like when someone says smoking is haram, but another say it is not because you the claimant are smoking yourself…the deduction process is reverse to what it should be…
Overall however, I do agree that hijrah is not feasible nor wajib (nor even recommended for some) for the entire population today, and Sh Haitham’s series is clear in that. Still, some further notions need to be thought over…another time inshallah…
yes, the topic is quite complex, but I’m weary of brushing the hijra thinking away completely. I’m weary that things won’t always look so good for muslims in the west especially given the way things have occurred in history like our own prophet’s hijra , and perhaps then the ’suppressive muslim countries’ will look better. So let’s not prepare ourselves to get too comfy in the insistence that things must occur as we want them to. They might, but it our job to be at least mentally prepared for all options, and the qadr is in Allah’s hands.
on a small note of advice, Sh Haitham’s series show he doesn’t think hijrah is realistic today, but he
doesn’t refer to the pro-hijrah opinion as ’silly’ as does this blog. So in the interests of the oft-quoted adab/manners of ikhtilaaf, I would recommend that we avoid using such belittling
descriptions when disagreeing with shar’ee opinions.
@OK
Assalamu Alaikum,
I dont have much time to reply to the comments but your comments were spot on. May Allah increase in your adab and knowledge.
wasslam
@ahmed
so when are you going to do hijraa? I agree with you the author probably shouldnt have used the word ’silly’ so people like you may misunderstand. But, sheikh haytham haddaad should not mock those who propogate hijraa. (kabsha comments….)
c ya
Save the irrelevant and childish remarks. These comments do not tackle the issue at hand but seek to disparage the author of their comments.
Br Shafi, would you say that the prophet and the sahaaba migrated purely to flee from torture? Didn’t they believe that Islam is to be applied at every level and that their efforts in ethiopia were unable to achieve this aspect (even though it allowed them to give da’wah in ‘moderate’ ease)?
Hence, the sahaabah sought out madeenah. I would like to know if the brothers visiting this blog agree that muslims today (unlike the sahaabah) should be satisfied that they are able to preach their religion freely, in safety? That this is the purpose of hijrah and khilaafah?
Doesn’t this idea resign islaam to an individual sphere of life? Besides, how can one say that their faith is safe. Or that they have freedom of religion when we know that some parts of Europe are and have banned the observing of hijaab. They enforce compulsory sex education to minors. They illegalise the preaching that homosexuality is prohibited. They illegalise those that speak of jihaad or call for khilaafah. Your islaam is challenged every minute on an ideological level atleast.
Freedom of religion? Sure…
I again assert that I am not qualified to suggest that hijrah is waajib or practical, (even though it wasn’t waajib on all muslims pre habasha, nor practical for them)…
AA,
Do we see the rules and recommendations of the Qur’an and Sunnah as guidelines for achieving success, in the dunya and in the akhirah? Is it possible to reduce the deen to a handful of fard actions, and expect that our practice would rank us amongst the best of Muslims? For each and every issue in our lives, do we take from Allah and His Messenger?
There are different reasons for why a Muslim living in the West should reconsider, and they don’t emerge from logical reasoning…..they emerge intact from the directives in our deen.
1. Certain places on the Earth are beloved to Allah……blessed lands referred to in multitudinous ahadith. These are Mecca/ Medinah, Sham (incorporating Palestine, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon) and Yemen. I could list some of the ayaat/ ahadith, but there is a good link, where the chains of Hadith are also listed.
http://www.livingislam.org/mshsh_e.html
2. Apart from choosing to live in these blessed lands for the sake of Allah’s pleasure, we should consider that in these places, amongst others, the native language is Arabic, the inhabitants Muslim, and the culture largely influenced by Islamic tradition. True, the Arabic language of the Qur’an and scholarly texts is formal, and the spoken, not, but by far these places are better for learning the deen and language than anywhere in the West…..because these people have inherited the deen, and while many have gone by the wayside, some care greatly about their deen. Language is nothing without culture, other than akin to mathematical formulae. I lived most of my life in the West, and embraced being a practicing Muslim there. But when I moved, I realized that my practice actually consisted of a list of rules taken from a translated fiqh book. I had and have a lot to learn from the people where I live now. Imam Shafi’i actually considered it fard to know Arabic, and any serious student of Islam would not separate the deen from the language. If we are ever to bring the ummah to recovery, the Arabic language will be an indispensable component. Do I want to learn it, and put my children and grandchildren, and future generations in a place where it can become their native language? Yes.
3. I am a product of Western thinking. As dilapidated as the Muslims have become, they still retain a great deal of Islamic attitude and behaviour. I am realizing that my own attitudes are quite selfish, compared with the generosity, hospitality and magnanimity that surrounds me. My children too, adopted many western thoughts, despite attending Islamic school and being good at reading Qur’an. What kind of culturization to I want for myself and my children? If I were to remain in the West, all the time with the option of making hijrah, and never, at the very least even pay lip service to it…..wouldn’t I really be giving my children the message that all is well over there? And as the future generations deteriorated, would I one day be answerable for having had a hand in that, when I had the option of something better for them….not necessarily ideal, but better?
If our deen is the single most important thing to us, then why would look to see where the lines of haram are? Is it a fard to make hijrah in these circumstances? I’m not sure. Is it better to make hijrah? I am sure.
So do we want to do the minimum so we can get by? Or should we instead ask, what is the best I could do for my deen? After all, it’s only the akhirah that’s at stake. The Sahaba ra used to stay way back from the lines of haram, so that if they fell, they would still be safe. Is this our attitude?
Was it hard? Yes. Did Allah help and support us? Yes. Why would He punish us for taking such difficult
steps just to please Him?
Oh, and one last thing, a man came to Umar ra, while he was Amir al Mu’mineen, and said (I paraphrase) “What would happen if this and this and this were to happen?” Umar ra replied “has it happened?” The man replied “No” and then Umar ra said “Ok, come back when it does and we’ll talk.” So, as for the issue of the whole of the Muslim ummah getting up and making hijrah and how unfeasible it would be, let’s worry about that when it happens. Meanwhile let reconsider the future for myself and you for yourself, because the whole of the Muslim ummah won’t be standing answering for you Yaum al Qiyamah….it will just be you.
4.