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al-Taqiyya/Dissimulation (Part II) al-Taqiyya According to the Shia The Shia did NOT innovate or concoct anything new, they simply followed the
injunctions of Allah (SWT), as stated in the Quran, and the custom of the
Seal of Prophethood, Muhammad (PBUH&HF).

Nonetheless, one must
also examine
what the Shia themselves say about al-Taqiyya:

al-Shaykh Muhammad Ridha al-Mudhaffar in his book, Aqa'id al-Imamiyah,
wrote that:

al-Taqiyya should conform to specific rules
vis-a-vis the situation
wherein eminent danger is present; these rules, listed
in many books
of Fiqh (Jurisprudence), along with the severity of the
danger
determine the validity, or lack of, al-Taqiyya itself.

It
is not
mandatory to practice it (al-Taqiyya) at all times; on
the contrary,
it is permissible, and sometimes necessary, to abandon
it (al-Taqiyya)
altogether; as in the case where revealing the truth
will further the
cause of the religion, and provide a direct service to
Islam; and
(when the revealing of the truth is such that it
constitutes) a jihad
(striving) for (Islam's) sake; (verily,) in such a
situation, wealth
and life should be forsaken.

Furthermore,
al-Taqiyya is prohibited in
instances wherein the killing of innocent people and
the spread of
corruption will result; and in cases wherein the
marring of the
religion will result, and/or a significant harm will
befall the
Muslims, either by leading them astray or corrupting
and oppressing
them.

Either way, al-Taqiyya, as the Shia uphold it, does not
make of the
Shia a secret cooperative that seeks to destroy and
corrupt, as the
enemies (of the Shia) wish to present them; (these
critics launch
their verbal attacks) without really heeding the
subject (of al-
Taqiyya); and (without even) laboring to understand our
own opinion on
the matter (of al-Taqiyya).

Nor does it (al-Taqiyya) mandate that the religion and
its injunctions
become a secret of secrets that cannot be disclosed to
those who do
not subscribe to its teachings.

How so, when
the books of the
Imamiyah (the Shia) that deal with the (subjects of)
Fiqh, Kalam, and
beliefs are in abundant supply, and have exceeded the
limits (of
publications) expected from any nation professing its
beliefs.

Imam Khomeini in his book, Islamic Government, also presents his
view on
al-Taqiyya.

He believes that al-Taqiyya is permitted only when one's
life
is jeopardized.
Whereas in cases wherein the religion of Allah (SWT),
Islam, is in danger, it is not permitted even if it leads to one's death:
The Imams, may peace be upon them, imposed on the
jurisprudence very
important ordinances and committed them to shouldering
and preserving
the trust.

It is not right to resort to
dissimulation on every issue,
small and big.

Dissimulation was legislated
to preserve one's life or
others from damage on subsidiary issues of the laws.

But if Islam in
its entirety is in danger, then there is no place for
dissimulation
and for silence.

What do you think a
jurisprudent should do if they
force him to legislate or innovate?.

If
dissimulation forces on us
to jump on the sultan's bandwagon then it should not be
resorted to
even if such refrainment leads to the death of the
person concerned,
unless his jumping on the bandwagon constitutes a real
victory for
Islam and the Muslims, as in the case of Ali Ibn Yaqtin
and Nasiruddin
in al-Tusi, may Allah have mercy upon their souls.

In his book, Shi'ite Islam (translated into English by Sayyed
Hussein
Nasr), the Shi'i scholar Allama Sayyid Muhammad Husayn Tabatabai defines
Taqiyya as the situation where a person hides his religion or certain of
his religious practices in situations that would cause definite or probable
danger as a result of the actions of those who are opposed to his religion
or particular religious practices.

He goes on to define the nature of
the
danger:

The exact extent of danger which would make permissible
the practice
of Taqiyya has been debated among different Shia
scholars.

In our
view point, the practice of Taqiyya is permitted if
there is definite
danger facing one's own life or the life of one's
family, or the
possibility of the loss of the honor and virtue of
one's wife or of
other female members of the family, or the danger of
the loss of one's
material belongings to such an extent as to cause
complete destitution
and prevent a man from being able to continue to
support himself and
his family.

Tabatabai cited two verses from the Quran in support of al-Taqiyya:
except for precaution and
dissimulation that you may protect

yourselves against them.

(Quran 3:28) :

For the above verse, the great Sunni scholar, Mawdudi, has a commentary in
support of Taqiyya.
Notice that in the above verse, the words tattaqu
and
toqat have exactly the same root as Taqiyya.

The second verse is the following:
Any one who becomes unbeliever after being
believer, EXCLUDING the
one who is under compulsion and force while his hurt is
firm in faith,
but the one go on in disbelief, Wrath of Allah is on to
them and they
will have a dreadful penalty, (Quran 16:106) Then Tabatabai explained:
As mentioned in both Sunni and Shi'ite sources this
verse was revealed
concerning 'Ammar Ibn Yasir.

After the
migration (hijrah) of the
Prophet, the infidels of Mecca imprisoned some of the
Muslims of that
city and tortured them, forcing them to leave Islam and
to return to
their former religion of idolatry.

Included
in this group who were
tortured were Ammar and his father and mother.

Ammar's
parents refused
to turn away from Islam and died under torture.

But Ammar, in order
to escape torture and death, outwardly left Islam and
accepted idol
worship, thereby escaping from danger.

Having become free, he left
Mecca secretly for Medina.
In Medina
he went before the Holy
Prophet--upon whom be blessings and peace--and in a
state of penitence
and distress concerning what he had done, he asked the
Prophet if by
acting as he did, he had fallen outside the sacred
precinct of
religion.

Then Prophet said that his duty
was what he had
accomplished.

The above verse was then
revealed.

The two verses cited above were revealed concerning
particular cases
but their meaning is such that they embrace all
situations in which
the outward expression of doctrinal belief and
religious practice
might bring about a dangerous situation.

Besides these verses, there
exist many traditions from the members of the Household
of the
Prophet, ordering Taqiyya when there is fear of danger.

Some have criticized Shia by saying that to employ the
practice of
Taqiyya in religion is opposed to the virtues of
courage and bravery.

The least amount of thought about this accusation will
bring to light
its invalidity, for Taqiyya must be practiced in a
situation where man
faces a danger which he cannot resist and against which
he cannot
fight.

Resistance to such a danger and failure to practice
Taqiyya in such
circumstances shows rashness and foolhardiness, not
courage and
bravery.

The qualities of courage and
bravery can be applied only
when there is at least the possibility of success in
man's efforts.

But before a definite or probable danger against which
there is no
possibility of victory--such as drinking water in which
there is
probably poison or throwing oneself before a cannon
that is being
fired or lying down on the tracks before an onrushing
train--any
action of this kind is nothing but a form of madness
and contrary to
logic and common sense.

Therefore, we can
summarize by saying that
Taqiyya must be practiced only when there is a definite
danger which
cannot be avoided and against which there is no hope of
a successful
struggle and victory.

Please refer to Shi'ite Islam
Allamah Sayyid Muhammad Husayn Tabatai
Translated by Seyyed Hossein Nasr
pp 223-225 It is apparent then, from the above quotes, that the Shia are NOT advocates
of hypocrisy, secrecy, and cowardice, as some of the Wahhabis, among
others, purport.
The following is from the book of Moojan Momen, which is entitled An
Introduction to Shi'i Islam: History and Doctrines of Twelver Shi'ism,
When discussing the sixth Shi'i Imam (successor to the prophet), Imam
Ja'far al-Sadiq (AS), he writes:

The doctrine of Taqiyya (dissimulation) was widely used
at that time.

It served to protect the followers of Imam al-Sadiq at
a time when al-
Mansur [the caliph] was conducting a brutally
oppressive campaign
against the Followers of the Members of the House of
Prophet and their
supporters.

End of Part 2 of 3