Living in a non-Muslim land

The fiqh of residence has apparently opposite texts: a hadith disavows the Muslim "who dwells among the polytheists" (reported, Abu Dawud 2645), and the Quran requires justice even with non-belligerents (Quran al-Mumtahana 8). The scholars reconciled them through conditions.

Conditions of lawful residence

• Being able to practise one's religion: prayer, fasting, raising children in the faith, accessible halal: the major condition; the hadith targeted the one who can no longer perform his religion without harm.
• The residence covenant: visa, permit, laws of the country: the resident commits to them and honours them (Quran al-Isra 34: "the covenant will be questioned"; the Prophet: "the Muslim is bound by his conditions", at-Tirmidhi 1352): trafficking and document fraud are forbidden.
• Justice with the host: not betraying the city that protects: betrayal of trust (abusing benefits, tax fraud, complicity) is forbidden; honest cooperation is the norm (see the page work with non-Muslims).
• The contemporary method: the European Council for Fatwa and Research, established in Dublin in 1997, made the fiqh of Muslim minorities a method: staying or leaving is judged by the ability to practise, by the honesty of the covenant and by the usefulness of the presence; its resolution No. 2/4 (4th ordinary session, Dublin, 1999) admitted, as a need, for Muslims living in non-Muslim countries, resorting to a mortgage for the purchase of the residence home, under strict conditions.

When leaving is advised

• Religious incapacity: if the environment imposes renouncing the practice or threatens the children's faith: emigration to a place of freedom becomes an obligation; contemporary jurists judge this case rare in countries that guarantee freedom of worship.
• The project of faith: staying with intention (working well, witnessing through conduct, serving society): the Muslim presence in the West is an opportunity for reminder by example (hadith: "the best of you are those who benefit people", reported by at-Tabarani).
• Return or back-and-forth: lawful and sound: contemporary scholars describe residence as a right and a duty joined together, not a fatal exile.

Duties of the resident

• Respect of laws and neighbours: fiqh imposes neighbourly courtesy (the neighbour hadiths), fiscal probity, abstention from any abuse of the system.
• Transmitting the faith: educating children, building structures (mosques, schools), and preserving identity without confinement: this is the project of the Muslim generations of the West.
• Civic engagement: voting and participating: the jurists of minority fiqh encourage it as a common interest (maslaha), without sacralizing any platform.

Practical note

The residence decision grid: (1) can I practise fully? (2) are my covenants honourable? (3) does my project serve my faith and the people? Three yes: the residence is a land of faith and service, and it is fully valid.