I say: This hadith contains some rulings relating to calling the disbelievers to Islam. Among them is that they are granted security if they fulfil what Allah has made obligatory for them; another is that they must separate themselves from the polytheists and migrate to the lands of the Muslims. There are many hadiths on this subject, all of which urge anyone who embraces Islam to separate himself from them. Among them is his saying, peace and blessings be upon him: “I disavow every Muslim who resides among the polytheists; their fires should not be visible to one another.” Some reports state that the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, stipulated, in accepting the pledge of allegiance from some of them, that they separate themselves from the polytheist. Others report his saying, peace and blessings be upon him: “Allah does not accept any deed from a polytheist after he has embraced Islam, unless he separates himself from the polytheists and joins the Muslims.” There are other hadiths besides these. I have documented some of them in al-Irwa’ (5/29–33) and earlier under no. 636.
What is especially regrettable is that those who embrace Islam in the present age—despite their large numbers, praise be to Allah—do not respond to this ruling requiring separation and migration to the lands of Islam, except for a few of them. I attribute this to two causes. First, their avid pursuit of worldly life and the ease of obtaining the means of living and comfort in their countries, since they live an enjoyable material life, devoid of spirit, as is well known. It is therefore usually difficult for them to move to a Muslim country where, in their view, the means of a decent life may not be available to them. The other—and more important—cause is their ignorance of this ruling. In this they are excused, since they have not heard of it from any of the callers whose talks are broadcast in translation into certain foreign languages, or from those who go to them in the name of da‘wah, for most of them are not scholars of jurisprudence—especially the Tablighi Jama‘at. Indeed, they become even more attached to their countries when they see