Firstly:

It is not permissible for a Muslim man or woman to take a non-Muslim as a close friend or ally, because Allah, may He be Exalted, says:

{O you who have believed, do not take the Jews and the Christians as allies. They are [in fact] allies of one another. And whoever is an ally to them among you – then indeed, he is [one] of them. Indeed, Allah guides not the wrongdoing people} [Al-Ma’idah 5:51]

{O you who believe, do not take as your close friends those outside your ranks; they will spare no effort to cause you mischief; they wish to see you in distress. Hatred has already appeared from their mouths, and what their hearts conceal is far worse. We have made clear to you the signs [of their ill will], if you understand} [Al `Imran 3:118].

What is meant by the word bitanah [translated here as close friends] is a person’s inner circle or closest friends.

Imam al-Qurtubi (may Allah have mercy on him) said: In this verse Allah, may He be Glorified and Exalted, forbade the believers to take a close friend from among the disbelievers, Jews and those who follow their whims and desires, in the sense of consulting them, discussing issues with them and trusting them with some of their affairs.

End quote from Al-Jami` li Ahkam al-Qur’an, 4/178.

Allah, may He be Glorified and Exalted, says:

{You will not find a people who believe in Allah and the Last Day having affection for those who oppose Allah and His Messenger, even if they were their fathers or their sons or their brothers or their kindred} [Al-Mujadilah 58:22].

Here Allah, may He be Exalted, forbade the Muslims from having affection for the disbelievers and taking them as allies and close friends, and He stated that this is not one of the characteristics of those who believe in Allah and the Last Day.

It is proven in the hadith that the Messenger of Allah (Blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “Do not keep company with anyone but a believer and do not let anyone eat your food but one who is pious.” Narrated by Abu Dawud, 4832; at-Tirmidhi, 2395. Al-Albani classed it as sound (hasan) in Sahih al-Jami`, 7341.

It says in Dalil al-Falihin li Turuq Riyadh as-Salihin: This indicates that it is prohibited to take the disbelievers as close friends, have affection for them and be close to them. End quote, 3/229.

The Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) forbade making friends with the disbelievers and hypocrites, because keeping company with them is detrimental to one’s religious commitment.

End quote from Mirqat al-Mafatih, 8/3141.

It is well known that friendship and companionship lead to affection and love, and that may result in the heart becoming inclined towards the friend and approving of his religion. This in turn may lead to disbelief – Allah forbid. As a result of the impact of friendship, a person will be influenced by the character and behaviour of his friend, as it says in the hadith: “A man will follow the way of his close friend, so let one of you look at who he takes as a close friend.” Narrated by Abu Dawud, 4833; at-Tirmidhi, 2378. Also narrated in as-Silsilah as-Sahihah by al-Albani, 927.

Disallowing friendship with non-Muslims does not mean cutting off ties completely – if he is not involved in persecuting Muslims or known to be hostile towards them – especially if he is a neighbour or work colleague. Disallowing friendship does not mean that you cannot show kindness or be generous towards him, accept his gifts, visit him when he is sick and do business with him. Rather all of that is permissible if there is no fear of falling into what is prohibited – without feeling affection for the disbelievers and participating or cooperating in anything that is prohibited – especially if it is done with the intention of calling him to Islam and showing him the beauty of the faith.

Allah, may He be Exalted, says:

{Allah does not forbid you to deal kindly and justly with those who do not fight you because of your religion or drive you out of your homes, for verily Allah loves those who are just } [Al-Mumtahanah 60:8].

Shaykh as-Sa`di (may Allah have mercy on him) said: That is, Allah does not forbid you to show kindness, uphold ties, and to be fair and just towards the polytheists among your relatives and others, if they are not involved in waging war against you or driving you out of your homes. So there is no blame on you if you uphold ties with them, because there are no reservations about upholding ties with them in this case, and doing so will not lead to bad consequences. This is similar to what Allah (st) says about polytheist parents, if their child is Muslim: {But if they endeavour to make you ascribe partners to Me of which you have no knowledge, then do not obey them. But keep company with them in this world kindly} [Luqman 31:15].

End quote from Tafsir as-Sa`di, p. 856.

The scholars of the Permanent Committee for Ifta’ were asked: Is it permissible for a Muslim to make friends with a Christian, travelling with him, visiting him and studying with him, and so on?

They replied: It is permissible for a Muslim to interact with a disbeliever who is not hostile towards Muslims or involved in persecuting them, by treating him kindly, returning his favours, and exchanging gifts with him, but not taking him as a close friend to the point that he loves him.

End quote from Fatawa al-Lajnah ad-Da’imah, 26/89.

For more information, please see the answers to questions no. 23325 and 129664.

Secondly:

The basic principle with regard to financial transactions and business between Muslims and non-Muslims is that they are permissible – so long as the transaction itself is permissible and within the guidelines of Islamic teachings, and there is no differentiation between one who is hostile towards the Muslims and one who is not when it comes to buying, selling, lending, borrowing, renting, hiring and so on. The Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) used to do business with the polytheists and the Jews, buying and selling.

It is soundly narrated from `A’ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) that she said: When the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) died, his shield was held in pledge with a Jew for thirty sa`s of barley. Narrated by al-Bukhari, 2916.

Al-Hafiz Ibn Hajar (may Allah have mercy on him) said: It is permissible to do business with the disbelievers so long as the item being traded is not prohibited.

End quote from Fat-h al-Bari, 5/141.

Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may Allah have mercy on him) was asked about doing business with the Tatars: Is it permissible for the one with whom they do business? He replied: As for doing business with the Tatars, it is permissible in everything that is permissible with people like them, and it is prohibited in everything that is prohibited with people like them. So it is permissible for a man to buy their livestock, horses and the like, just as it is permissible to buy livestock and horses from the Turkmens, Bedouin and Kurds. And it is permissible to sell to them such food, clothing and the like that is permissible to sell to others like them. As for selling to them and others that which helps them to do prohibited things, such as selling horses and weapons to those who use them to fight for prohibited causes, this is not permissible…

End quote from Majmu` al-Fatawa, 29/275.

Thirdly:

Based on the above, there is nothing wrong with a Muslim lending money to a non-Muslim – meaning a goodly loan [in which no interest is charged] – so that he can pay his tuition fees, especially if that is in return for his favours and help to you in the past.

But strive to make friends with pious believers who will remind you of Allah if you forget Him, and will help you to obey Allah, may He be Exalted. And do not refrain from showing kindness to non-Muslims who are not hostile towards the Muslims and do not harm them and persecute them.

And Allah knows best.

Firstly:

We praise Allah, may He be exalted, for having guided you to the straight path, as you say, and we ask Him, may He be glorified, to complete his blessing upon you, and to rectify your affairs and the affairs of your children and family, for He is All Hearing, Ever Responsive.

Secondly:

Undoubtedly living in a Muslim country has a good impact on a person in terms of his obedience to Allah, worship and raising his children, just as living in a non-Muslim country has a bad impact, and may even be destructive sometimes, especially for young people who grow up in that country. Overcoming this impact requires an immense effort, along with good planning, raising children properly, and cooperating with other Muslims there to create a righteous environment in which boys and girls can grow up.

It is most unfortunate that moving to Muslim countries is very difficult for many people, because of their own circumstances or because of the situation in those countries and their systems having to do with migration and settlement.

Thirdly:

Residing in a non-Muslim country may sometimes be permissible, sometimes encouraged (mustahabb) and sometimes haraam, depending on the individual’s situation, the purpose of his residing there, and the extent to which he is able to practice his religion openly. We have discussed this in answers several times, but here we will quote for you a detailed discussion by Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen (may Allah have mercy on him), who said:

With regard to residing in the lands of the disbelievers, it poses a great danger to the Muslim’s religious commitment, morals, conduct and etiquette. We and others have seen immense deviation on the part of those who lived in those countries, then they returned different from when they went. They have come back as evildoers, and some of them have come back having apostatized from their religion, disbelieving in it and in all religions. We seek refuge with Allah. Some of them reject religion entirely, and mock the faith and its people, both the earlier and later generations. Hence it is essential , rather it is a must, to guard against that and set out some conditions and guidelines which will protect one from ruin and destruction.

There are two essential conditions that must be met before residing in a non-Muslim country:

The first condition is that the individual should be secure in terms of his faith and religious commitment, meaning that he should have sufficient knowledge, faith and strong resolve to guarantee that he will remain steadfast in his religion and will beware of deviating and going astray. He should harbour in his heart resentment towards the disbelievers, and should keep away from taking them as close friends and allies, and loving them, because taking them as close friends and allies and loving them are things that are contrary to faith. Allah, may He be exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning):

“You will not find a people who believe in Allah and the Last Day having affection for those who oppose Allah and His Messenger, even if they were their fathers or their sons or their brothers or their kindred” [al-Mujaadilah 58:22]

“O you who have believed, do not take the Jews and the Christians as allies. They are [in fact] allies of one another. And whoever is an ally to them among you – then indeed, he is [one] of them. Indeed, Allah guides not the wrongdoing people.

So you see those in whose hearts is disease hastening into [association with] them, saying, ‘We are afraid a misfortune may strike us.’ But perhaps Allah will bring conquest or a decision from Him, and they will become, over what they have been concealing within themselves, regretful” [al-Maa’idah 5:51-52].

It is proven in as-Saheeh that the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “Whoever loves a people is one of them” and “A man will be with those he loves.”

Loving the enemies of Allah is one of the greatest dangers to a Muslim, because loving them implies agreeing with them and following them, or at the very least not denouncing them. Hence the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “Whoever loves a people is one of them.”

The second condition is that he should be able to practice his religion openly, meaning that he can perform the rituals of Islam without any impediment. So there should be nothing to prevent him from establishing prayer, Jumu‘ah and prayers in congregation, if there are others with him who pray in congregation and establish Jumu‘ah prayer; and he should not be prevented from giving zakaah, fasting, performing Hajj and other rituals and symbols of Islam. If he will not be able to do that, then it is not permissible for him to reside there, because in that case it becomes obligatory to migrate (hijrah) from that place.

It says in al-Mughni (vol. 8, p. 457), in a discussion listing the categories of people with regard to migration (hijrah): The first category is those for whom migration is obligatory. This refers to those who are able to migrate, and are not able to practice their religion openly or establish the obligatory duties of Islam whilst residing among the disbelievers. In this case, migration becomes obligatory, because Allah, may He be exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning):

“Indeed, those whom the angels take [in death] while wronging themselves – [the angels] will say, ‘In what [condition] were you?’ They will say, ‘We were oppressed in the land.’ The angels will say, ‘Was not the earth of Allah spacious [enough] for you to emigrate therein?’ For those, their refuge is Hell – and evil it is as a destination” [an-Nisa’ 4:97].

This is a stern warning, which indicates that migrating is obligatory in that case. Moreover, establishing the obligatory duties of Islam is obligatory for the one who is able to do that, and migrating is essential to fulfilling that obligation and completing it; whatever is it essential to carrying out an obligation is also obligatory.

End quote from Sharh al-Usool ath-Thalaathah by Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen (may Allah have mercy on him), included in Majmoo‘ al-Fataawa (6/132).

The completion of Ibn Qudaamah’s discussion in al-Mughni is:

The second category [of people, with regard to migration] is those for whom migration is not obligatory. This refers to those who are unable to migrate, either because of sickness, or because they are compelled to stay, or because of weakness, in the case of women, children and the like. These people are not obliged to migrate, because Allah, may He be exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning):

“Except for the oppressed among men, women and children who cannot devise a plan nor are they directed to a way

For those it is expected that Allah will pardon them, and Allah is ever Pardoning and Forgiving” [an-Nisa’ 4:98-99].

It is not regarded as being recommended (mustahabb) either, because they are not able to do it.

The third category is those for whom migration is recommended, but is not obligatory. This refers to those who are able to do it, but they are able to practice their religion openly whilst residing in the land of disbelief. It is recommended in their case, so that they may be able to strive in jihad, increase the numbers of Muslims (in the Muslim land) and support them, and stop the numbers of the kuffar from increasing, and (not) mix with them, and (not) see evils committed among them. Migration is not obligatory for them, because they are able to establish the obligatory duties of Islam without migrating.End quote from al-Mughni (9/236).

Then Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen (may Allah have mercy on him) said:

If these two conditions are met, then residing in the land of disbelief may be divided into several categories:

The first category is residing there for the purpose of calling people to Islam and promoting it. This is a type of jihad, and it is a communal obligation for those who are able to do it, on condition that da‘wah is possible, and that there is nothing to prevent it or prevent people from responding to it, because calling people to Islam is one of the obligatory duties of the religion, and it is the way of the Messengers. The Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) enjoined conveying the message from him in every time and place, as he (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “Convey from me, even if it is one verse.” End quote.

Hence it is known that there is the possibility that the Muslim’s residing in that country may be permissible, or even recommended, if he can practice his religion openly and call people to it; and he has sufficient Islamic knowledge to ward off doubts and specious arguments; and he takes people as friends for the sake of Allah and as enemies for the sake of Allah. But there remains the danger posed to him by the surrounding environment and its impact on him and his children. This, as noted above, requires working with other Muslims so that they will have an [Islamic] centre to call people to Islam, that is filled with remembrance of Allah, and will attract the sons and daughters of the Muslims to learn about Islam and spread guidance.

We ask Allah to help and guide you, to make you righteous and rightly guided, and to fulfil your wishes for goodness and success for your children.

And Allah knows best.