What is the ruling on exchanging Egyptian pounds for Saudi riyals in Saudi Arabia to perform 'Umrah, given their unavailability in Egypt and the Egyptian authorities' prohibition of currency smuggling? And what is the ruling on trading in free currencies for an engineer who trades with a financial surplus, rather than as a profession?

There is no harm in exchanging Egyptian currency for Saudi currency, provided that the exchange takes place hand-to-hand in the same sitting. As for currency smuggling, obedience to the state is obligatory if it has a legitimate and religiously valid reason for prohibiting it. Otherwise, obedience to it is not obligatory. This applies to currency trading in the black market.