Assalamu alaikum. I made hijrah from a kafir country with my family at the cost of great personal sacrifice and hardship. Some brothers now claim that it would have been more beneficial to stay in the kafir land and that there is no compulsion to make hijrah because, they say, the hadith in which Muhammad sallallahu alaihi wa sallam says, "I am free from any Muslim who lives among the mushriks. Their two fires should not be seen by each other," is weak. Your advice and comments would be appreciated. Jazakallah khayr.

All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger.

The Prophetic narration which you referred to in the question is authentic and it is narrated by Abu Daawood and At-Tirmithi . There is no doubt that there are many disadvantages resulting from residing in a non-Muslim country, and many harms affecting one's religion and especially one's family's religion, and this is a well known matter. What you did by migrating from that country was the correct course of action to take, so you should be delighted with it, and we ask Allaah to bless you, your wife and children with piety and righteousness.

As regards the statement that migrating from that country is not an obligation and making this a general case, then this is not correct; as the ruling about migration differs according to different circumstances as explained in Fataawa 86405 and 81642.