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Are city dwellers prohibited from living in the deserts and villages, and what is the reason for that?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

It has been authentically reported from the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, that he said: "Whoever dwells in the desert becomes coarse." This hadith includes a warning against dwelling in the desert, because it is often a cause of ignorance, harshness, and cruelty. This is due to their distance from people of knowledge and their infrequent mixing with others, which makes their dispositions harsh. Some فقهاء (jurists) have explicitly stated the dislike of an Arab Bedouin leading a city-dweller in prayer, even if the Bedouin is a better reciter, due to his ignorance of the Sunnahs and his diminished understanding of the obligation of Friday prayer and the virtue of congregational prayer.

Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026

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