In any case—whether we single out this motive or include them all—the person who undertakes hijrah for worldly profit or for the woman he hopes to marry is driven by a low, debased, and ignoble intention, wholly unlike the first man who emigrated for the sake of Allah and His Messenger, peace and blessings be upon him.

Categories of hijrah

Hijrah may relate to (1) the deed itself, (2) the person performing it, or (3) the place.

First category: hijrah of place. This is when a person moves from an area where sin and depravity are rampant—perhaps even from a land of disbelief—to a land in which such corruption is absent. The greatest example is leaving a land of disbelief for a land of Islam. The scholars have stated that it is obligatory for a believer to migrate from a land of disbelief to a land of Islam if he is unable to manifest his religion openly.

If, however, he can practice his faith, establish the rites of Islam, and faces no opposition, then hijrah is no longer compulsory, though it remains recommended. On that basis, travelling to a land of disbelief is even graver than remaining in it. Thus, if a land of disbelief happens to be a person’s homeland and he cannot practice his religion there, he is required to leave it and make hijrah.

Accordingly, when someone belongs to the people of Islam and resides in Muslim territory, it is impermissible for him to travel to a land of disbelief. Doing so endangers his religion and his morals, squanders his wealth, and strengthens the economy of the unbelievers. We are, in fact, commanded to vex the disbelievers by every lawful means, as Allah—may He be exalted—has said