There is a misunderstanding among some people that it is not necessary for a Muslim living in a land which has a non-Muslim government, to obey the laws of the land, because these are “man-made” and not Divine and because the country is not an Islamic Khilafa. That belief is totally false. The first thing to note is what Allahﷻ said in His Book. He said:

يَـٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوٓا۟ أَوْفُوا۟ بِٱلْعُقُودِ

Ma’aida 5:1   O you who believe! Fulfill (your) obligations (oaths, promises).

Any Ayah that begins with a direct address is a Hukm (command) from Allahﷻ. Allahﷻ is commanding us, those who believe in Him, to honor our covenants and fulfill our promises and contracts, no matter who we contracted with.  When we live in any country, no matter for what duration, we enter into an oath or obligation that we will be entitled to enjoy all that the country offers, its freedoms, privileges, benefits, and opportunities, in return for which we will obey the laws of the land and never do anything detrimental to the welfare of that land or its people. This covenant applies no matter what your visa status is. For this we are accountable to Allahﷻ.

`Abdullah ibn ‘Amr (R) narrated that Rasoolullahﷺ said: “There are four (characteristics), whoever has them is a hypocrite, and whoever has one of the four has one characteristic of hypocrisy unless he gives it up: when he speaks, he lies; when he makes a promise, he breaks it; when he makes a pledge he betrays it; and when he disputes he resorts to foul language.” (Bukhari & Muslim)

It is a religious obligation for a Muslim to keep his promises, behave truthfully, and respect other people’s rights. Allahﷻ said:

وَأَوْفُوا بِعَهْدِ اللَّهِ إِذَا عَاهَدتُّمْ وَلَا تَنقُضُوا الْأَيْمَانَ بَعْدَ تَوْكِيدِهَا وَقَدْ جَعَلْتُمُ اللَّهَ عَلَيْكُمْ كَفِيلًا إِنَّ اللَّهَ يَعْلَمُ مَا تَفْعَلُونَ

Nahl 16: 91    Fulfill the covenant of Allah when you have taken it, and do not break oaths after their confirmation while you have made Allah a witness over you. Verily, Allah knows what you do.

It is forbidden (Haraam) for a Muslim to betray anyone to whom he has given a pledge or promise, no matter how small or big we may think it is. For example, someone tells us something in confidence and we listen to that person and promise to keep his secret. Then we go to someone else and say, “I am saying this only to you” and we tell him what the other person told us in confidence. May Allahﷻ save us from ourselves, some people are like CNN on two legs. We don’t consider our action to be anything serious but believe me, this is an enormous sin which can result in severe punishment and humiliation in the Hereafter. Trust is the basis of Izzah (prestige, honor). Trust is the result when we honor contracts and stand by our word.                Ibn Umar (R) reported that Rasoolullahﷺ said:

إِذَا جَمَعَ اللَّهُ الأَوَّلِينَ وَالآخِرِينَ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ يُرْفَعُ لِكُلِّ غَادِرٍ لِوَاءٌ فَقِيلَ هَذِهِ غَدْرَةُ فُلاَنِ بْنِ فُلاَنٍ

When Allah gathers the earlier and later generations on the Day of Resurrection, He will raise a banner for every treacherous person and it will be announced that this is the treachery of this person, the son of this person. (Bukhari: Muttafaqun Alayhi)

The general rule is that a Muslim should obey those in authority as long as they do not command us to commit sins.

Ibn Umar (R) reported that Rasoolullahﷺ said, “Listening to and obeying the leader is an obligation as long as he does not ...