Is it permissible for a young man to get engaged or to perform the marriage contract (Aqd al-Qiran) before traveling to study in a non-Islamic country, and what is the ruling on communicating with the fiancée or wife via the internet or phone during the engagement period or after the marriage contract and before the wedding, with the condition that one of her Mahrams is present during the phone conversation?

If you fear temptation (fitna) for yourself by residing in a land of disbelief, then it is not permissible for you to reside there. Engagement or a marriage contract alone does not secure your chastity unless your wife lives with you. If you are unable to marry a girl who will live with you there, or to marry a girl from that country, and you fear temptation, then it is obligatory for you to leave your studies there. The lands of Muslims provide means for acquiring knowledge. Preserving one's religion takes precedence, and whoever gives up something for the sake of Allah, He will compensate him with something better. And know that a fiancé is a stranger to his fiancée, and it is not permissible to converse with her except within the limits of Islamic guidelines.