al-Taqiyya/Dissimulation (Part III)

Some people have fallen victim to confusing al-Taqiyya with hypocrisy, when

in fact they (al-Taqiyya and Hypocrisy) are two opposite extremes.  al-

Taqiyya is concealing faith and displaying nonbelief; while Hypocrisy is

the concealment of unbelief and the display of belief.  They are TOTAL

opposites in function, form, and meaning.

The Quran reveals the nature of hypocrisy with the following verse:

     "When they meet those who believe, they say: `We Believe;' but when

     they are alone with their evil ones, they say: `We are really with

     you, we (were) only jesting [2:14]."

The Quran then reveals al-Taqiyya with the following verses:

     "A Believer, a man from among the people of Pharaoh, who had CONCEALED

     his faith, said: "Will ye slay a man because he says, `My Lord is

     Allah'?....[40:28]" (Emphasis Mine.)

Also:

     "Any one who, after accepting Faith in Allah, utters unbelief, EXCEPT

     under compulsion, his heart remaining firm in faith -- but such as

     open their breast to unbelief, -- on them is Wrath from Allah, and

     theirs will be a dreadful Chastisement [16:106]." (Emphasis Mine.)

And also:

     "Let not the believers take for friends or helpers unbelievers rather

     than believers: if any do that, (they) shall have no relation left

     with Allah except by way of precaution ("tat-taqooh"), that ye may

     guard yourselves ("tooqatan") from them....[3:28]"

Moreover:

     And when Moses returned unto his people, angry and grieved, he said:

     Evil is that (course) which ye took after I had left you. Would ye

     hasten on the judgment of your Lord? And he cast down the tablets,

     and he seized his brother by the head, dragging him toward him.

     (Aaron) said: "Son of my mother! Lo! People did oppress me and they

     were about to kill me. Make not the enemies rejoice over my

     misfortune nor count thou me amongst the sinful people. [7:150]"

Now, we see that Allah (SWT) Himself has stated that one of His (SWT)

faithful servants CONCEALED his faith and pretended that he was a follower

of the Pharaoh's religion to escape persecution. We also see that Prophet

Aaron (Haroon) observed Taqiyya when his life was in danger. We also

observe that al-Taqiyya is CLEARLY permitted in a time of need. In fact,

the Book of Allah instructs us that we should escape a situation which

causes our destruction for nothing:

     "and make not your own hands contribute to your destruction [2:195]"

Reason and Logic

Aside from the instuctions of Quan and Hadith on the permissibility and

necessity of Taqiyya, such necessity can also be derived from a logical

and rational standpoint.  It is apparent to any discerning observer that

Allah (SWT) has bestowed upon His (SWT) creation certain defense mechanisms

and instincts to protect themselves from impending danger.  What follows

are some examples that serve to illustrate the above point.

The following quote is taken from the Grolier Multimedia Encyclopedia

(1992) under the topic of "Instinct:"

     "Instinct is inherited, essentially unlearned, and generally adaptive

     ANIMAL BEHAVIOR that is typical to each species. Instinct is prominent

     in aggression, courtship, and mating, and in various social behaviors,

     although learning, maturation, growth, or circumstance can modify the

     behavior. Human behavior is mostly a product of learning, whereas the

     behavior of a moth, a snail, or a bird mainly depends on instinct."

     "Behaviors that are most instinctive include reproduction,

     concealment, defense, escape, threats or warnings, and aggression, all

     of which are essential to the survival of the species."

     "A species' instinctive behaviors appear similar in form: chickens and

     turkeys seek a high place to roost at night, cats stalk prey in a

     characteristic manner, and dogs mark their territories in a species-

     specific method.  Typical behavior patterns appear even in animals

     that are raised isolated from other members of their own species, a

     situation in which learning by observation, imitation, or instruction

     cannot occur.  Many, but not all, birds sing the songs of their

     conspecifics (other members of their species) even though they are

     removed from the nest before hatching and are raised in a quiet room.

     Others sing a simplified version of the species' song."

It is apparent then that instincts play a crucial role in the animal

kingdom, as well as the human one.  Furthermore, the above quote asserts

that: "Behaviors that are most instinctive include reproduction,

CONCEALMENT, DEFENSE, escape, threats or warnings, and aggression, all of

which are essential to the survival of the species." (Emphasis Mine)

Given the above, we may suggest that although al-Taqiyya is a learned

behavior, it nonetheless originates from the survival instinct that is

innate to creation.  That is, out of fear and the instinct to survive, one

conceals that which may jeopardize his well-being.  It is a fact that one

CAN overcome the fear within him, and utter the truth even if it

jeopardized him; but one must also set priorities and judge WHEN the

telling of the truth will serve a noble purpose, and WHEN it won't make a

difference. If a person is about to be slaughtered because he is a Shi'i,

then his concealment of his beliefs is of utmost importance, IF that

concealment does NOT serve as an injustice to someone else. For example, if

I, a Shi'i, deny my beliefs to protect myself; and, as a result, an

innocent man is blamed instead, then I must come forward, at the risk of

death, to protect that man; but when my denial serves no injustice

whatsoever, then I MUST conceal my beliefs to protect myself.

The following quote is taken from the Grolier Multimedia Encyclopedia

(1992) under the topic of "Insect:"

     "Most insects try to escape when threatened and some insects "play

     dead," for example, some beetles fall to the ground after folding up

     their legs, giving the appearance of a clump of dirt.  Many insects

     use shelters ranging from burrows in the ground to elaborate shelters

     constructed of various materials. Insects also employ camouflage. Many

     are so colored that they blend into their background, such as moths

     colored like the bark of trees.  Some insects bear a close resemblance

     to objects in the environment, such as inchworms, which resemble

     twigs. Other insects will cover themselves with debris or excrement.

     Chemical defenses often involve distasteful body secretions, repellent

     secretions, or poisonous injection into an attacker.  The use of the

     sting is probably the most effective and often a severe method.  The

     only stinging insects are Hymenoptera (bees, wasps, and some ants)."

The following quote is taken from the Grolier Multimedia Encyclopedia

(1992) under the topic of "Mammal:"

     "The name pangolin is from a Malay word for "round cushion" and refers

     to the animal's DEFENSE of curling up into a ball.  As a further

     defense, the pangolin will spray urine and anal gland secretions on a

     persistent intruder." (Emphasis Mine)

The following quote is taken from the Grolier Multimedia Encyclopedia

(1992) under the topic of "Coloration, Biological:"

     "Both the ringed plover chick and its egg are cryptically colored.

     Plovers are shore birds that dig shallow nests in the open ground; the

     coloration acts as camouflage, helping the young blend with their

     surroundings as protection against predators."

The following quote is taken from the Grolier Multimedia Encyclopedia

(1992) under the topic of "Bear:"

     "The polar bear, Thalarctos maritimus, travels great distances along

     arctic coasts.  Its white fur furnishes camouflage against snow and

     ice."

The following quote is taken from the Grolier Multimedia Encyclopedia

(1992) under the topic of "Deep-Sea Life:"

     "Fishes of the shallower parts of the deep sea often have very large

     eyes relative to their size, suggesting that they respond to the

     minimal light present in the upper zones. Both fishes and

     invertebrates in these zones also often possess complex organs capable

     of producing light (see BIOLUMINESCENCE).  These organs frequently

     exist in definite patterns on the body and may be important in species

     and sexual recognition, in the attracting of prey or repelling of

     predators, in camouflage, or in other ways not yet understood."

Other examples of naturally-occurring defense mechanisms include, but are

not limited to, the thorns on certain flower stems and the poisonous

chemicals in plants to protect them from danger.

It is clear from the above quotations that defense mechanisms are Allah's

(SWT) mercy to His (SWT) creation, such that He (SWT) has not left them

unprotected.  As such, al-Taqiyya, I contend, is an instinctive defense

mechanism that Allah (SWT) has endowed humans with.  The ability to use

one's tongue to escape persecution is indeed a supreme example of defense.

I read once in a Sufi book that "Islam is truth without form."  Indeed,

that is so; and Islam is Allah's (SWT) NATURAL religion, it is the

Primordial Truth, it is the ONLY religion that conforms to man's instincts

and natural inclinations.  Given that, al-Taqiyya, I contend, is a truism

because it satisfies an instinctive need to survive and prosper.

Comments

It has been demonstrated under the section of "Sunni Sources In Support of

al-Taqiyya" that it is permissible to lie to save oneself, as al-Ghazzali

asserted; and that it is legitimate to utter words of unbelief as al-Suyuti

stated; and that it is acceptable to smile at a person while your heart

curses him as al-Bukhari confirms; and that al- Taqiyya is an INTEGRAL part

of the Quran itself, as has been shown under the section of "The Quran

Speaks: al-Taqiyya vs. Hypocrisy;" and that it was practiced by one of the

MOST notable companions of the Prophet (PBUH&HF), none other than `Ammar

Ibn Yasir (May Allah Reward him GENEROUSLY); and we have seen that al-

Suyuti narrates that al-Taqiyya is permissible until the Day of Judgment;

and that a person can say anything he wants, even to badmouth the Prophet

(PBUH&HF) if he is in a dangerous and restrictive situation; and we have

also seen that even the Prophet (PBUH&HF) himself practiced al-Taqiyya in a

manner of diplomacy that served to advance good relations among the people.

Furthermore, the Prophet did not disclose his mission for the first three

years of his prophethood, which was, in fact, another practice of al-

Taqiyya by the Prophet to save the young Islam from annihilation.

Now, the question to our opponent is: If your MOST authentic books

explicitly advocate al-Taqiyya, as has been demonstrated above, why then do

you mock the Shia and accuse them of hypocrisy?  By Allah (SWT), who is the

hypocrite now?

Apparently now, there is NO difference between the Sunnis and Shia vis-a-

vis al-Taqiyya, except that the Shia practice al-Taqiyya for fear of

persecution, while the Sunnis don't.

The Shia HAVE TO practice al-Taqiyya as part of the persecution that they

have suffered from day one of the death of the Mercy to Mankind, Muhammad

(PBUH&HF).  It is enough to say "I am a Shi'i" to get your head chopped

off, even today in countries like Saudi Arabia.  As for the Sunnis, they

were never subjected to what the Shia have been subjected to, primarily

because they have always been the friends of the so-called Islamic

governments throughout the ages.

My comment here is that Wahhabis themselves do indeed practice al-Taqiyya,

but they have been psychologically programmed by their mentors in such

a way that they don't even recognize al-Taqiyya when they do actually

practice it. Ahmad Didat said that the Christians have been programmed in

such a way that they may read the Bible a million times, but will never

spot an error! They are fixed on believing it because their scholars say

so, and they read at a superficial level.  I say that this also applies to

those who oppose al-Taqiyya.

Dr. al-Tijani wrote a short event where he was sitting next to a Sunni

scholar on a flight to London; they were both on their way to attend an

Islamic Conference. At that time, there was still some tension due to the

Salman Rushdi affair. The conversation between the two was naturally

concerned with the unity of the Ummah. Consequently, the Sunni/Shia issue

introduced itself as part of the conversation. The Sunni scholar said: "The

Shia must drop certain beliefs and convictions that cause disunity and

animosity among the Muslims."  Dr. al-Tijani answered: "Like what?"  The

Sunni scholar answered: "Like the Taqiyya and Muta' ideas." Dr. al-Tijani

immediately provided him with plenty of proofs in support of these notions,

but the Sunni scholar was not convinced, and said that although these

proofs are all authentic and correct, we must discard them for the sake of

uniting the Ummah!!! When they both got to London, the immigration officer

asked the Sunni scholar: "What is the purpose of your visit sir?"  The

Sunni scholar said: "For medical treatment."  Then Dr. al-Tijani was asked

the same question, and he answered: "To visit some friends."  Dr. al-Tijani

followed the Sunni scholar and said: "Didn't I tell you that al-Taqiyya is

for all times and occasions!" The Sunni scholar said: "How so?"  Dr. al-

Tijani answered: "Because we both lied to the airport police: I by saying

that I came to visit some friends, and you by saying that you are here for

medical treatment; when, in fact, we are here to attend the Islamic

Conference!" The Sunni scholar smiled, and said: "Well, doesn't an Islamic

Conference provide healing for the soul?!"  Dr. al-Tijani was swift to say:

"And doesn't it provide an opportunity to visit friends?!"

So you see, the Sunnis practice al-Taqiyya whether they acknowledge the

fact or not. It is an innate part of human nature to save oneself, and most

often we do it without even noticing.

My comment again is: Who, in Allah's (SWT) Name, is this Scholar to state

that although the proofs provided to him by Dr. al-Tijani are ALL

authentic, they must be discarded for the sake of uniting the Ummah???!  Do

you truly believe that the Ummah will be united by abandoning Allah's (SWT)

commandments?  Does the above statement represent scholarly merit, or pure

rhetoric, ignorance, and hypocrisy on the part of that scholar?  Is a

scholar who utters such words of ignorance worthy of being obeyed and

listened to? Who is he to tell Allah (SWT), the Creator of the Universe,

and His (SWT) Messenger (PBUH&HF) what is right and wrong? Does he know

more than Allah (SWT) about al-Taqiyya? Exalted be Allah (SWT) from being

insulted by those who lack ALL forms of intelligence to interpret His (SWT)

religion.

al-Imam Ja'far al-Sadiq (AS) [The Sixth Imam of Ahlul-Bayt] said:

     "al-Taqiyya is my religion, and the religion of my ancestors." He (AS)

     also said: "He who doesn't practice al-Taqiyya, doesn't practice his

     religion."

In conclusion, I repeat my appeal to you to comprehend what I say in these

discussions.  The Shia are Muslims, NO DOUBT about it. Be your own judge,

and verify what I say here. Better yet, download everything and go to the

scholar that you trust the most; ask him to refute what the Shia claim; and

then judge whether he himself is honest or not. Remember: "Let there be no

compulsion in religion: Truth stands out clear from error: Whoever rejects

Taghoot and believes in Allah, (he) hath grasped the most trustworthy hand-

hold, that never breaks. And Allah heareth and knoweth all things. [2:256]"

Side Comments on al-Taqiyya

A Wahhabi contributor mentiond:

> Taqqiyah means to pretend by doing or saying exactly the opposite of

> what you believe or feel

Not a correct definition. It does not necessarily have to be in exact

opposite, though it might be so in some cases. al-Taqiyya is primarily

concealing the belief. You might want to refresh your memory by reading my

original article in which I mentioned the definition of al-Taqiyya as

"Concealing or disguising one's beliefs, convictions, ideas, feelings,

opinions, and/or strategies  at a time of eminent danger, whether now or

later in time, to save oneself from physical and/or mental injury."

> e.g. to pretend to be nice while cursing the person in the heart

> without a present danger (al-Kafi fi alFrua', Vol. 3, pp. 188-9).

Again you are scrupulously quoting from a 33-page booklet written by "Saeed

Ismaeel". The minimum amount of decency requires you to mention this since

you did not directly looked up the above tradition. I doubt even Saeed

Ismaeel (your mentor) has also touched al-Kafi. He got them from the books

of "Ihsan Ilahi Zahir" and "Mohammad Manzoor Nomani", etc. I have read the

books of these individuals from cover to cover. What I have found was

malicious misquotations or quoting the traditions out of context. Sometimes

they do not even bother themselves to quote the tradition (even partially)

similar to above.

We do NOT have any authentic tradition which sates you may apply al-Taqiyya

WITHOUT PRESENT OR FUTURE DANGER. If you think otherwise, please quote a

tradition which EXPLICITLY states the above. These are all interpretation

of your mentors from the traditions. No tradition explicitly states as

such.

The danger might be present of later in time. Also the danger might be for

oneself our for another person related to you. As such, the Imam may

conceal some information from his own followers, if he knows that if they

do that they will be trapped into the hand of officials. In fact, I have

seen some Wahhabis, to mock Shia in the concept of Taqiyya, refer to

a tradition in Usul Kafi and partially quote it out of context in order to

misrepresent the concept of Taqiyya for the Sunni brothers. The correct

translation of the tradition that they refer to, is as follows:

     Usul Kafi, Tradition #195:

     Zurarah said: I asked Abu Ja'far (AS) a question, for which the Imam

     gave me an answer. Afterwards another person came to the Imam and

     asked him the same question but Imam gave him a different answer.

     Again, a third person came and asked Imam the same question to which

     Imam gave an answer which was still different from mine and the second

     person. When the two had left, I asked "O son of Prophet, two of your

     followers from Iraq asked you a question and you gave them two

     different answers." Hearing this, the Imam replied, "O Zurarah, these

     different answers are in our own interests and they contribute to the

     stability of both (me and my followers). (In such severe moments) if

     all of you present a unite stand, it will enable the people (opponents

     and rulers) to verify the allegiance of yours to us and this will

     endanger and shorten the life of you (Shi'ites) as well as the life of

     ours."

I have seen these Wahhabis that they quote the first part of the tradition

and drop the explanation of Imam to show that Imam applied al-Taqiyya two

his own followers with no reason. From the tradition, it is not clear what

exactly the question of those followers was. However the clarification of

the Imam at the end implies that the question was related to some social

and political actions which were planted by the ruler of the time in order

to identify and trap the Shi'ites. This is exactly what al-Taqiyya is used

for. Note that the Imam is emphasizing that he is PRESERVING the life of

his followers as well as the Ahlul-Bayt.

Another example is explained by another tradition where the Imam attended

the funeral prayer of one of the officials who was a hypocrite form Umayad

Government, in order to fool the authorities which would cause to decrease

the prosecution of Ahlul-Bayt and their followers. These kinds of

diplomacies were widely used even by Prophet (PBUH&HF) himself. Have you

ever thought why Prophet applied al-Taqiyya and did not disclose his

mission for the first three years of his prophethood?  It was because, if

he have done that, Islam would have been destroyed from the very beginning.

> The specific purpose of Taqqiyah is the "preservation of Islam and

> the Shii school of thought; if the people had not resorted to it,

> our school of thought would have been destroyed"

If the Prophet applied al-Taqiyya for the first three years of his

prophethood, and concealed his mission, then why not Shia do that to escape

the prosecutions of so-called Islamic governors?  Was the Prophet a coward?

Or he wanted to preserve Islam from being destroyed?

Also let me give you another example from another prophet who concealed his

belief. Quran states that: Moses (AS) with the order of Allah, assigned

Haroon (AS) as his successor (Caliph) and left his people to him, to go to

MIQAAT (appointment with Allah) for a total of forty days. After leaving of

Moses, all his companions (except very few) turned against Haroon, and were

deceived by Sameri, and became worshipers of a golden calf. (See Quran

7:142, 20:90-97, 20:83-88). When Moses (PBUH) came back from MIQAAT he was

very angry since Allah had informed him that his community went astray

during his absence. Moses came and started questioning his brother Haroon,

that why he did not take action to prevent this corruption. Quran states

that Haroon replied:

     "(O' Moses) people did oppress me and they were about to kill me."

     (Quran 7:150).

If you believe in Haroon as a true prophet of God, you do not allow

yourself to call him coward. Or do you think that Aaron was a Shia? In

fact, he was a Shia (follower) of Prophet Moses (AS). It was his duty to

save his life, though it appears that Wahhabis think he should have killed

himself.

> As Ibn Taymiyyah said, the verse 3:28 about Taqiyyah is applicable in the

> case of a non-believer ONLY under special cases, e.g., a Muslim cannot

> apply it against a Muslim.

A so-called Muslim who prosecute an innocent person, is not any better than

a non-Muslim. If you look around the world, from Saudi Arabia, to Iraq, to

Afghanistan,... the majority of those who prosecute Muslims call themselves

Muslims too. If you look at the History also, they majority of Muslim

rulers who called themselves Muslims and Khalifa, were oppressors and

tyrant (like Umayad and Abbasid Caliphs). Are you suggesting that we should

not safeguard our lives from those tyrants who label themselves as Muslims?

Moreover, by his above saying, Ibn Taymiyyah did not accept Sahih Muslim

as authentic, or else Ibn Taymiyyah has rejected the testimony of Prophet

(PBUH&HF). Even the Prophet (PBUH&HF) himself practiced al-Taqiyya in a

manner of diplomacy that served to advance good relations among the people.

The tradition from Sahih Muslim which I mentioned in my article talks about

MUSLIMS. In the case that there is a dispute between two Muslims to such

extent that it is considered as an eminent DANGER, and if nothing else

works, it is permitted to twist the words in order to make the

reconciliation. You see, there always exists a requirement of an eminent

DANGER for al-Taqiyya. For instance, the danger of divorce for a Muslim

couple who have a dispute. The commentary of the tradition talks about

Muslims too.

 Verse 16:106 is applicable only when a Muslim faces a situation

 smilar to a situation of the great Companion Ammar when he had to

 choose between dying under torture like his parents or pretending to

 be an unbeliever hy tongue These cases are not the basic rule but

 only exceptions

This a basic rule, otherwise Allah would not have mentioned it in Quran in

a number of verses.

 Could you ever trust a Muslim if this were the case?

If a Muslim is not in danger he should not apply al-Taqiyya, the same way

that I do not apply al-Taqiyya behind this terminal. But if I were in a

country like Saudi Arabia, then I would have practiced it.

If a person considers that Iying about Allah, His Prophet (pbuh) and

the Muslims to serve his biased and misguided goals as an essential

part of his bliefs, can we trust him?

Surely not. But who said so?

> The verse (3:28) is not only an exception but also a restricted

> exception. Not only is it forbidden to be used against Muslims but it

> also does not give permission to lie to others. What it means is that if

> you oppose certain behaviors and you are in a situation where

> condemnation would endanger Islam or Muslim community you can keep silent

> but you must avoid Iying. (ibn Taymiyah, Minhaj, Vol. p. 213 and ibn

> Kathir, Tafseer).

Again, the saying of your "clergymen" such as Ibn Taymiyyah and Ibn Kathir

is clearly in contradiction with Quran where Allah stated:

     "Any one who, after accepting Faith in Allah, utters unbelief, except                                      

     under compulsion while his heart remaining firm in faith...  (16:106)

As you see, Quran states "uttering unbelief". This does not mean keeping

silent. Uttering means either saying or acting something in contrary to

belief. What lie is bigger than uttering unbelief?

Also, if the most authentic Sunni collections of Hadith such as Sahih al-

Bukhari and Sahih Muslim advocate al-Taqiyya, then why do Wahhabis insist

to the contrary? Is this not a sign of pure hypocrisy by itself?