abu mohammed wrote:
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Brother Abu Mohammed's answers raise some interesting points for discussion.
I was a young boy when my parents decided to move me from Pakistan. I wasn't asked, and even if I had been asked, I wasn't old or mature enough to make the right choice.
Decades later, my work took me to England, where I stayed for years. I have never really liked England, but it was where I lived and where my family lived. This time, I made the choice to live in England.
Nobody forced me to live in England.
Years later, I worked in Africa and the Middle East. I didn't particularly like living there either, but I made the choice to live and work there.
Nobody forced me to live in the Middle East.
Years later, circumstances made me move back home to the US. There are many things I don't like here either, but again, I have made the choice to live here.
Nobody forced me to live in the US.
As part of making these choices, there are always privileges and sacrifices. I have to enjoy the privileges while also considering the sacrifices I am making. For example, does where I live affect my religion? Does it affect my family?
If the sacrifices become too much, or if conditions become better suited to me somewhere else, I can move somewhere else. Or maybe, at my age and financial level, I will eventually be stuck where I am forever.
If I am genuinely stuck or coerced, then my obligations and duties in Islam change.
Like many people, I am getting older, and I also have to think about retirement and finances. There are pros and cons no matter what choice I make.
Perfect life belongs in Jannah!
Having lived on four continents for years of my life, I know from experience that no place is perfect. Wherever I live, I have to adjust.
Living in Pakistan, I can't expect privacy, rights, ethical considerations, etc.
Living in Malaysia, I can't expect conservative, Sunnah-based Islam in the wider society.
Living in Türkiye, I can't expect conservative, Sunnah-based Islam in the wider society, and I also have to deal with the language barrier when interacting with locals.
Living on the tiny island of the UK, I can't expect open spaces, clean air, nature, etc.
Living in the vast country of the US, I can't expect mosques and halal places to be as prevalent as they are in the UK.
Living in the vast country of Canada, I can't expect the same conservative values or the same higher lifestyle of US suburbia.
Living in the Middle East, I can't expect to always be treated with basic dignity because I am South Asian. No matter my achievements or wealth, I can still be at the bottom of the pile.
However, every one of these places has its own charm and its own privileges. What suits me at one stage of my life may not suit me at another stage, and that is okay.
For example, the close bonds of brotherhood and community relations among Muslims in the UK are fantastic and, in my experience, cannot be replicated anywhere else in the West.
The courtesy and mannerisms of Canadians and Canadian society are fantastic.
The true mix of Muslims in the US, different ethnicities, different creeds, different levels of practice, etc. is fantastic and cannot be replicated anywhere else in the West.
The location of Türkiye and how easy it is to travel around the world from there is fantastic and cannot be replicated anywhere else in the world.
And the intense love and devotion towards the Sunnah in Pakistan is fantastic and, in my experience, cannot be replicated anywhere else in the world.
At the end of the day, every place has its strengths and weaknesses. We have to look at our own circumstances, our families, our religion, our finances, our age, and our priorities, and then make the best decision we can.
Perfect life belongs in Jannah!
