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Taqiyah “to save life, honour or property (either one’s own or of other believer/s)
by hiding one’s belief or religion.(2)
Is Taqiyah Hypocrisy ? -Extract of Book Itmmam ul hujjah (
completion of arguement ) |
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Taqiyah
By: Sayid Saeed Akhtar Rizvi
from http://al-islam.org/taqiyah/
He who disbelieves in Allah after his belief in him,
(is the liar) except he who is compelled while his heart remains
steadfast with the faith (has
nothing to worry). But he who opens his breast for
infideli8ty\, on these is wrath of Allah, and for them is a
great torment. (1)
This verse of Qur’an refers to incident when “Ammar
bin Yasin (May Allah be pleased with both) had to utter some
words against Islam to save himself from the Quraishite
infidels.
It clearly allows hiding one’s true faith when one is
in danger of one’s life. This rule is called taqiyah.
Question
1:
What is the meaning of “Taqiyah”?
Answer: Its literal meaning
is to safeguard; to defend; to fear; piety (because it saves one
from the displeasure of Allah.
This gist of above is that the word tiqayah means
to be on guard, to fear, to be pious.
The dictionary as Surah says:(Tiqayah,
Tuqat: = piety)
Question
2:
What is its significance in Islamic terminology?
Answer:
In Islamic terminology it means “to save life,
honour or property (either one’s own or of other believer/s)
by hiding one’s belief or religion.(2)
Question
3: Is it something peculiar to the Shi’sm, because I have
heard many people accusing the Shi’as because of taqiyah?
Answer: Every society,
religion and group practices it and has prac5ticed it at one
time or the other. You will find so many examples of taqiyah
in Old and new Testaments, and even in the lives of the Holy
Prophet of Islam, hi9s Companions and many Sunni Scholars.
Question
4:
But is this practice allowed in Islam?
Answer: Yes. Allah has
allowed it in the Qur’an; and reason too shows the wisdom of
this permission.
Shah “Abdu ‘1-‘Aziz Dehlawi writes: It should be
known that tiqayah is, infact, allowed by shari’ah, by
authority of Quranic verses, “except when you have to guard
against”, and “except he who is compelled while his heart
remains steadfast with faith.”(3)
Famous Sunni scholar, “Allamah Wahidu ‘z-zaman Khan
of Haydrabad (
India
) says: “Taqiyah is proved from Qur’an, “except
when you have to guard against them”; and ignorant people
think that tiqiyah is something peculiar to the Shi’as,
while it is allowed in the Sunni faith also at times.”(4)
Question
5: if you hide your belief and declare yourself to
believe in some anti-Islamic tenets, won’t you automatically
go outside the pale of Islam and become a ‘Kafir’?
Answer
: Belief and faith as well as
the disbelief or rejection of faith (in short, Iman and Kufr)
are basically the matters of “heart”. That is why Allah
rebuked those newly-converted Arabs who claimed to be
“Believers”:-
The desert Arabs say: We believe”. Say (unto
them): “You believed not; rather say “we accepted
Islam”, because the Faith has not yet entered your hearts.(5)
The declaration by tongue has a very minor role in it. A
belief without declaration is acceptable but a declaration
without bel4eif is condemned in the Qur’an in severest terms:-
When come unto thee the hypocrites, they say: “ we
bear witness that verily you are the Messenger of Allah”; and
verily Allah knows that you are certainly His Messenger and
verily Allah bears witness that the hypocrites are certainly the
lairs. (6)
Now remember that the life of a Muslim is very precious
in the eyes of Islam. The importance attached to even one life
is seen in this verse:-
And he who saves it (i.e., a human life) shall be as
though he has saved the whole mankind.(7)
And a Muslim is bound to save a life from unlawful
destruction, whether it is someone else’s or his own:-
And cast not yourselves with your own hands into
perdition.(8)
It is for this reason that suicide has been declared a
capital sin just like murder; and it is for this reason that Shi’a
Shari’ah does not allow starting a jihad (war)
without permission of the Prophet, Imam or their especially
appointed deputies or in defence.
And it is to save the life of a believer that one is
allowed to utter a lie and save that precious life.
Question
6: All Right. You saved a life; but you committed one of the
greatest sins, i.e. lie. So, spiritually you are doomed to
disgrace in either case. Then, why not tell the truth and let
the enemies kill you if they want?
Answer: When a person is in
such a situation that no matter which ever course of action he
chooses he has to commit an evil, then the reason says that he
should select the lesser evil.
Or if he is forced to destroy or damage one of his two
possessions, then surely he would damage or destroy the
less-expensive item to save the more precious one.
Imam Fakhru’d-din ar-Razi says commenting on the events
of the Prophet Musa (a.s) and Khidr (a.s.) mentioned in Surah
al-Kahf:-
When one is confronted by two damaging alternatives, it
is wajib to bear the lesser one in order to ward off the
greater one; and this was the principle followed in the three
action (done by Khidr).(9)
Islamic Sheri’ah abounds with examples of this
principle. Prayer is the most important pillar of Islam. But if
you are praying and a child falls down in a well, and there is
no one else to save the child, the Sheri’ah commands you to
leave your prayer and try to save the child. If you ignored this
command, that prayer would not be accepted, and you would be
guilty of neglecting to save a life.
Now, suppose the unbelievers are determined to kill a
Muslim, not because he has committed any crime but just because
of his faith. The said Muslim goes into hiding and you know
where he is. The unbelievers come to you and ask you whether you
knew where that person was. You are caught between two evils:
either you say “No” and become a liar, or you say “Yes”
and cause the murder of an innocent Muslim. The reason says that
telling a lie in that situation is preferable than the truth
which would lead to murder.(10)
Now suppose that the unbelievers have caught a Muslim and
that Muslim happens to be “You”. They put two alternatives
before you: Either renounce Islam or be killed. If the flame of
true Faith is lightning your heart, mere words of tongue cannot
extinguish it at all. Those words of disbelief will be just like
a dark cover to hide the light of your faith from the
unbelievers, but they can have no adverse effect on the flame
itself.
And if you do not hide that flame behind that cover, your
life will be forfeited and with that you will lose the
possibility of serving Islam at some other time.
In short, by uttering a few false words against Islam you
will save your life as well as your faith; and by not uttering
those words your life will come to its end and with it will
vanish all chances of Islamic services, which you could have
rendered had you been alive. Allah, therefore, has allowed you
to save your life by uttering a few false words against
Islam.(11)
Question
7: Say whatever you like, but the fact remains that “taqiyah”
is just another form of Nifaq (hypocricy).
Answer:
Far from it. In fact taqiyah is opposite of Nifaq.
Remember, Iman and Kufr, when seen with their
‘declaration’, can be divided in four categories only:-
(1) Correct belief of Islam by heart
and its declaration in words. This
open Iman (faith)
(2)
Belief
against Islam by heart and expression of that anti-Islamic
belief in words.
This
is open Kufr (infidelity). These two categories are
opposite to each other and cannot combine in one place.|
(3)
Belief
against Islam in heart but declaration ofd Islam in words.
This is Nifaq (Hypocricy).
(4)
Correct belief of Islam by heart but
declaration of anti-Islamic belief in words.
This is taqiyaq, and these categories (Nifaq
and Tiqiayah) are, likewise, opposite to each other
and can never be found in one place.(12)
Question
8: You claimed above that many companions of the Holy
Prophet practiced it. Can you give an example?
Answer: We have mentioned in
the very beginning the example of “Ammar bin Yasir (r.a.): The
Quraishites brutally martyred Yasir and his wife Sumaiyah jhust
because of their faith. They were the first martyrs of Islam.
When the parents were killed, “Ammar pretended to renounce
Islam, and thus saved his life. Someone told the Prophet that
Ammar had become Kafir. The Prophet said “Never; verily the
flesh and blood of “Ammar is saturated with true faith.”
Then “Ammar came to the Holy Prophet bitterly weeping that he
had to utter evil words against Islam so that he could slip away
from the clutches of infidels. The Prophet asked him: “how did
you find your heart”? Ammar said: Steadfast in Faith”. The
Holy Prophet told him not to worry and advised him to repeat
those words if the infidels again asked him to do so.
And it was not only the Holy Prophet who liked the choise
of “Ammar (r.a.) Even Allah confirmed his action in the verse
which has been written in the beginning:-
He who disbelieves in Allah after his belief in Him (is
the liar) except he who is compelled while his heart remains
steadfast with the faith (his nothing to worry). But he
who opens his breast for infidelity, on these the wrath of
Allah, and for them is a great torment.
All commentaries of Qur’an narrate that it was
revealed concerning the above incident of Ammar (r.a.).(14)
Question
9: Is there any other verse sanctioning such a cause of
action?
Answer: Yes. See the
following verses which says:
Let not the believers take the disbelievers as \their
friends rather than the believers: whoso shall do this then he
has no relation with Allah – except when you have to guard
yourselves against them for fear from them; but Allah cautions
you of Himself for unto Allah is the end of your journey. Say,
whether you conceal what is in your hearts or manifest, Allah
knows it; and He knows all that is in the heavens and all that
is in the earth; and verily Allah has power over all things.(15)
The reason of this permission is given in this very
Aya: “Say whether you conceal what is in your hearts or
manifest it, Allah knows it”.
Here Allah assures the Muslims that Faith is a spiritual
thing, connected with heart; and if your fatith inside your
heart is un-impaired, then Alla his pleased with you whether you
manifest that faith or hide it. It is all the same with Allah,
because He knows your hidden secrets, and even when you
hide your faith from unbelievers, Allah knows it and recognizes
it.
As explained in reply to Question No. 1 tiqiyah
and tuqat both are synonymous.
as-Suyuti writes inter alia under this verse:
“An Ibn Jarir and Ibn Abi Hatim have narrated through
al-‘Awfi from Ibn ‘Abbas (that he said about this verse):
‘So tiqiyah is by tongue. Whoever is compelled to say
something which is disobedience of Allah and he speaks it
because of those people’s fear while his hearts remains
steadfast in the faith, it will do him no harm; verily taqiyah
is with the tongue only.’
“……. And ‘Abd ibn Hamid has narrated from
Al-Hassan (Al-Basri) that he said: Taqiyah is lawful upto
the day of resurrection. And ‘Abd (ibn Hamid) has narrated
from Abu Raja; that he was reciting, illa an tattaqu minhum
tiqiyatan’: and ‘Abd inb Hamid has narrated from Qatadah
that he was reciting (likewise) …. tiqiyatan – with ya.’”
Imam Fakhruddin ar-Razi has mentioned some rules
concerning taqiyah under this verse, some of which are
given here:
“Third Rule: Tiqiyah is
allowed in matters related to manifestation or friendship or
enmity; and it is also allowed in matter connected to professing
(their) ( religion. But it is certainly not allowed in matter
which affect other person, like murder, fornication, usurpations
of property, perjury, slander of married women or informing the
unbelievers about ht weak points in Muslims’ defence.
“Fourth
Rule: The Qur’anic verse apparently shows that taqiyah
is allowed with dominant unbelievers. But according to the
madh-hab of Imam Shafi’I (May Allah be pleased with him) if
the condition between (various sects of) the Muslims resembles
the condition between the Muslims and the polytheists, then taqiyah
(form the Muslims too) is allowed for the protection of one’s
life.”
“Fifth
Rule: Taqiyah is allowed for protection of life. The
question is whether it is allowed for the protection of
property; possibly that too may be allowed, because the Prophet
(S.A.W.W) has said: ‘The sanctity of a Muslim’s property is
like the sanctity of his blood’; and also He (S.A.W.W.) has
said: Whoever is killed in defence of his property, is a
martyr’; and also because man greatly needs his property; if
water is sold at exorbitant price, wadhu’ does not
remain wajib and one may pray with tayammum to
avoid that small loss of property; so why shall not this
principle be applied here? And Allah knows better.
“Sixth
Rule: Mujahid has said that this rule (of taqiyah)
was valid in the beginning of Islam, because of the weakness of
the believers; but now that the Islamic government has got power
and strength, it is not valid. But ‘Awfi has narrated from al-Hasan
(al-Basri) that he said. Taqiyah is allowed to the
Muslims upto the day of resurrection.’ And this opinion is
more acceptable because it is wajib to keep off all types
of harms from one’s self as much as possible.”
Imam Bukhari
has written a full chapter, Kitabul Ikrah, on this
subject of compulsion, wherein he writes, inter alia:-
And Allah said ‘except
when you have to guard yourselves against them for fear for them’.
And it is Taqiyah.
…. And Hassan
(Basri) said: Taqiyah is upto the Day of Resurrection
…. And the Prophet (S.A.W.W.) said: ‘Deeds are according to
intentions.(18)
As-Sayid
ar-Radi (The compiler of Nahjul-Balaghah) writers, inter-alia,
in explanation of verse 3:28-29:-
“Then Allah
made an exception (in this rule of not keeping friendship with
the unbelievers) and that exception is the situation of taqiyah;
so he said” and it is also
read (taqiyatan), and both words have the same meaning.
“It means
that Allah has permitted in this situation (when one is afraid
of them) to show their friendship and one’s inclination
towards them ‘with tongue’ but not with intention of
heart.”(19)
Also, there are
four verses in Qur’an which allow eating unlawful food when
one is starving to death and no lawful food is available: One of
them says:
Verily,
verily, He has but prohibited that which dies of itself and
blood and swine-flesh and whatsoever has other name than
Allah’s invoked upon it; but whoever is forced to it without
the desire (for it) not to transgress (the limits) then it is no
sin on him; verily Allah is Forgiving, Merciful.(2).
The same thing has been repeated in 5:3, 6:145 and
14:115
As explained earlier, the life of a believer is the
most precious thing. And it is for this reason that one has been
allowed to eat such abominable things as dead body or pork when
life depends on it.
That same principle will apply if safety of life
depends on uttering a few false words.
That is why the Prophet (S.A.W.W.) has
categorically said:(He who has no taqiyah has no religion).(21)
And Imam Muhammad al-Baqir 9a.s.) has said:(Taqiyah is my religion and the religion of my
forefathers: He who has no taqiyah has no faith).(22)
Question
10:
Though this practice is allowed in the
Qur’an and hadith, nevertheless it is something evil. I do not
believe that Allah would like us to resort to it even if it is
allowed.
Answer:
You have just now seen that taqiyah is not
only allowed but even wajib in some cases. Do you think
that Allah would make something wajib without taking
liking it. Also, the prophet (S.A.W.W.) makes taqiyah
synonymous with religion, and Imam Muhammad al-Baqir (a.s.)
confirms it in clear words.
However, if you ponder on the Qur’an you will see that
the Holy Book of Allah presents taqiyah in a very
commendable light. In the verse 40:28 Allah says:-
“And said a man who was a believer from among the
people of Pharaoh: who used to conceal faith……”(23)
It shows that Allah was well pleased with that hiding
of the faith because it had great benefits, as Abu Talib kept
his Faith secret because it had great benefits. Just because Abu
Talib did not announce his Faith, he was able to protect the
life of holy Prophet (S.A.W.W.). Likewise, that believer from
the family of Pharaoh was able to protect Prophet Musa (a.s.) by
not declaring his Faith openly.
Any how, faith based on taqiyah was so pleasing to Allah
that he was counted as a “Siddiq” (Most Truthful).
The Holy Prophet (S.A.W.W.) has said:
“There are three siddiqin: (1) Habib Najjar; (2)
The Faithful from the family of Pharaoh and (3) ‘Ali bin Abi
Talib”.(24)
Not only “the Believer from the Family of Pharaoh”
but, according to Al-Baidawi, even the Prophet Musa (a.s.) had
spent a considerable period of his life in taqiyah. See
his commentary under the following Ayat:
Said (Pharaoh): Did we not cherish you amidst us as a
child? And you did dwell amidst us for years of your life.(25).
Coming back to the time of the Holy Prophet of Islam, we
know that the Holy Prophet kept his
Mission
secret for 3 years; and we have seen how ‘Ammar bin Yasir
resorted to taqiyah. This way in Meccan period. Even
after Hiujrah there remained in Mecca many believers whose Islam was unknown to others. When the peace
of treaty was concluded in Hudaibiyah in 6 A.H. many Muslims
were displeased with its terms.
Hadhrat Umer bin Khittab was so incensed that he
protested to the Holy Prophet (S.A.W.W.) and in later days he
used to say:-
(I did not entertain any doubt – about the Prophet hood
of the Holy Prophet – Since I accepted Islam except on the day
of Hudaibiyah).(26)
Replying to that group, Allah explains one of the reasons
of that treaty and one of the causes why war was not waged at
that time:-
And were it not for the believing men and believing
women, not having known them you might have trodden them down; a
crime would have afflicted you because of them without (your)
knowledge.(27).
This verse clearly says that there were believing men and
believing women in Mecca whose Islam was unknown, not only to the pagans but even to the
Muslims of Medina. And Allah describes such practicers of taqiyah
as ‘believing men’ and ‘believing women’.
In short, these verses, traditions and incidents clearly
show and demonstrate that if one is in danger of one’s life
because of his faith, then it is allowed to utter words against
one’s true belief of Islam, to save the life which is more
important and that ‘lie’ will not be counted against him.
as-Sayid ar-Radi says:-
“……. and we know that taqiyah affects only
externally (i.e., its effect is only on the tongue) and not
internally (on the heart, spirit, soul). When someone forces an
other one to do something, (and that thing happens to be
connected with heart) then the oppressor has not way of knowing
that his wish has been complied with, except through some
uttering's by the tongue from which he will conclude that he has
succeed in changing the heart of oppressed. Therefore, the best
course of action at the time of taqiyah is to show the
friendship with the unbelievers by words, to mix with them and
live with them with good manners – but the heart must remain
firmly with the previous feelings towards them, of hidden enmity
and the belief of aloofness from them.
“And such a man (who finds himself in such a situation)
should – as far as possible – use dissimulation and double
– entendre (i.e. words and sentences that admit two
interpretations – one correct, one wrong; the speaker intends
correct meaning and the unbelievers take it to mean the other
meaning).’(28).
Tawriyah
Question
1: What is the meaning of the last paragraph of as-Sayid
ar-Radi quoted here?
Answer: He has alluded here
to the best way of taqiyah, which is called tawriyah.
Sometimes a sentence or phrase may be used in such a way
that the hearer takes it to conform with his own ideas, while
the speaker takes it to mean a quite different thing. A good
example of tawriyah is found in a talk of the “believer
from the family of Pharaoh.”
Islamic traditions say that he was a cousin of Pharaoh.
When his partiality towards Prophet Musa (a.s.) became known,
some courtiers of Pharaoh told him that his cousin was a secret
follower of Musa and did not believe in divinity of Pharaoh.
Pharaoh was naturally furious and asked his cousin to
explain it. The court was full. “The believer from the family
of Pharaoh” asked them:
The Believer : Tell me who is your Lord?
Courtiers: Pharaoh.
The Believer:
Who is your creator?
Courtiers: Pharaoh.
The Believer: Who is your sustainer, who
guarantees your livelihood and removes your trouble?
Courtiers: Pharaoh.
Then
the believer declared: “O King ! I keep and all these present
as my witness that \their Lord is my Lord, and their Sustainer
is my Sustainer; and the One who looks after their lives and
livelihood is the One who looks after my life and livelihood. I
have no Lord or Creator except their Lord, Creator and
Sustainer...”
Pharaoh’s
anxiety vanished and the backbiters were severely tortured and
put to death.(29)
But,
inspite of the joy of Pharaoh on this declaration, the real
intention of “The Believer” is quite clear.
Also two
examples from New Testament come here to mind:
Tawriyah of Jesus Christ:
St.
Matthews reports: n
went the Pharisees, and took counsel how they might entangle him
(Jesus) in his talk.
And
they sent out unto him their disciples with the Herodians,
saying: Master, we know that thou art true, and teachest the way
of God in truth, neither carest thou for any man: for thou
regardest not the person of men.
Tell us
therefore, What thinkest thou? Is it lawful to give tribute unto
Caesar, or not?
But
Jesus perceived their wickedness, and said, why tempt ye me, ye
hypocrites?
Show
me the tribute money. And they brought unto him a penny.
And
he saith unto them, whose is this image and superscription?
They
say unto him, Caesar’s. Then saith he unto them, Render
therefore unto Caesar the things which are caesar’s, and unto
God the things that are God’s.
When
they had heard these words, they marveled and left him and went
their way.(30)
Taqiyah of St. Paul
St.
|Paul was brought before a gathering of the Jews who wanted to
punish him for his faith in Christianity. Now read the accounts
from the ‘Act’:-
But
when Paul perceived that the one part were sudducces, and the
other Pharisees, he cried out in the council, men and brethren,
I am a Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee; to the hope and
resurrection of the dead I am called in question.
And
when he had so said, there arose a dessension between the
Pharisees and the Sadducees: and the multitude was divided.
For
the Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, neither angle,
nor spirit: but the Pharisees confess both.
And
there arose a great cry: and the Scribes that were of the
Pharisees, part arose, and strove, saying, We find no evil in
this man.(31)
Many
examples of this kind of taqiyah could be quoted from
Shi’a sources. But, as many of them entail explanations of
Arabic grammar, I prefer not to write them here. However, one is
given here to complete this topic.
A
preacher was asked during his sermon: “Who was the supreme
most after the Holy Prophet? Abu Bakr or Ali? He replied:
It may be
interpreted as “He whose daughter was in His (i.e.
Prophet’s) house.” i.e. Abu Bakr.
And
may as easily mean “He that His (Prophet’s) daughter was in
his house”. i.e. Ali.
When taqiyah is not allowed
Question
12:
If Taqiyah is allowed by Islam, when
why did not Imam Hussain (a.s.) restore to it? Why did he
sacrifice his all on the altar of truth instead of taking refuge
in taqiyah?
Answer:
Taqiyah is based on the principle of opting for the
lesser evil. Telling a lie is not a big sin as destroying a
life. Therefore, lie is preferable to putting oneself in danger
of life.
Now, if safety of one’s own life depends upon putting
another believer’s life in danger, then by the same reasoning,
taqiyah is not allowed, because one believer is going to
die in any case. So it is better for you to die than to cause
the death of another believer.
By the same reasoning, if there is a likelihood that
one’s taqiyah may destroy the belief of other
believers, then taqiyah is forbidden to such a person.
Take for example the case of Imam Hussain (a.s.). The
character of Yazid is well known and we need not go into its
details here. Such a person demands allegience from Imam Hussain
(a.s.), the grandson of the Holy Prophet of Islam and symbol of
Islamic values and religious uprightness. Yazid had written to
his governor of Madina to demand allegience from Imam; and if,
Imam refused, then the governor was to send his head to
Damascus
.
So Imam Hussain (a.s.) was well-aware of the consequences
of his rejection of that demand. Still he knew that if he did
swear allegience to Yazid, Muslims would think that Yazid was
the rightful successor of the Holy Prophet (S.A.W.W.) and thus
all the debaucheries of Yazid would become a part of Islam. In
short, Islam would have been completely disfigured if Imam
Hussain (a.s.) had accepted Yazid as the legal Khalifah of the
Holy Prophet.
Thus we come to the conclusion that if someone is of such
a status that if he resorted to taqiyah, other would be
misled into un-Islamic tenets and beliefs, then the basic
principle demands that he should sacrifice his life but save
others from going astray. One or more lives are not as important
as one or more people’s Faith and spiritual deliverance.
In the end, it should be reiterated that taqiyah
is not a specialty of the Shia’as. Every sect of Islam accepts
the principle. Quotations from Sahih Bukhari and Sunni
Commentaries of the Qur’an have been given in this article.
Imam Shafi’i allowed taqiyah even from the Muslims as
well as from the infidels. And all great scholars of Sunni sect,
without any exception, have written that taqiyah is valid
upto the Day of Judgment. Those interested in detailed reference
should see ‘Fulk-un –Najat’ of Maulana Ali Muhammad
And Maulana Amirud-Deen (
Lahore
,
Pakistan
) where scores of references have been given from page 89 to
page 116.
The Sunni scholar, Najamuddin Tufi Hanbali writes:-
“Know that the long arguments for an against taqiyah
are useless… but there is no doubt in its validity and
legality. Of course, common people do not like its name (taqiyah)
because it has been identified with the Shi’as.” Otherwise,
the whole world uses it naturally, through some call it
‘tolerance’, others name it as ‘diplomacy’, and some
call it ‘common sense’. And it is proved by proofs of Sheriah
(Islam).(32)
Question
13: Keeping
in view, all these verses of the Qur’an and the Prophet’s
traditions, and looking at all these historical facts in the
lives of the Holy Prophet (S.A.W.W.), his companions and even
previous Prophets as well as the Sunni scholars, how is it that
the Wahhabis go on accusing the Shi’as of various ridiculous
beliefs and then declaring that even if the Shia’s deny such
beliefs they should not be believed because they practice taqiyah?
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and other countries. There are books on theology, jurisprudence
and social, ethical and philosophical subjects. Some are meant
for our children’s education, others for youths and grown up
people. Let the Wahhabis produce proof from our books in support
of those baseless accusations. Unfortunately, they go on
repeating those foolish things from their own books and think
that they have vanquished the Shia’s!!
What will they say if we start writing that: The Wahhabis
believe that Shaykh Muhammad ibn ‘Abdul Wahhab was their
prophet, and that is why they hate the Holy Prophet, Muhammad
ibn ‘Abdullah (S.A.W.W.) so much and always try to distract
the Muslims from showing love and respect to the Holy Prophet of
Islam (S.A.W.W.) but they do not dare to declare this belief
openly because then they would be turned out of Mecca will they
refute this allegation? What will be their defence when will
reject their words of mouth and their writings, as we will go on
asserting that it was al pack of lies just to safeguard their
hold on the sanctuaries of Mecca and Madina?
Footnotes
(1) Qur’an, Surah 16 (an-Nahl),
verse 106.
(2)
Shah ‘Abdu ‘l-Aziz Dehlawi, Tuhfa-e-Ithna-‘ashariyah,
ch. 11 p-368.
(3) Ibid.
(4) ‘Allamah Wahidu ‘z-Zaman
Khan, Anwaru ‘l-lughah,
Bangalore
cd., para 26, p. 84
(5) Qur’an 49 : 14
(6) Qur’an 63 : 1
(7) Qur’an
5 : 32
(8) Qur’an
2 : 195
(9) ar-Razi, Tafsir Mafatihu
‘l-ghayb, Old ed. Vol.5, pp 746-750
(10) All Muslim sects agree that tiqiyahg is not
only permissible but compulsory (wajib) in conditions like this.
See for example, Sahih Muslim with its Sharh by Nawawi which
says:-
(The
Islamic jurisprudents are agreed that if an oppressor comes
looking for a man in hiding with intention to kill, or looking
for a thing given in trust with an aim to usurp it unlawfully,
and he asks about him or it, then it is wajib on a person who
knows about to hide it and to deny any knowledge of him or it;
and this is lawful – rather wajib – lies, because it is
spoken to ward off an oppressor).
(See its pages 106, 266 and 325).
Imam
Muslim has written a whole chapter on this theme, i.e., the
chapter o unlawfulness of lie and description of lawful lies;
See also
(a) al-‘Ayni, Umdatu ‘l-Qari
Sharh Sahih al-Bukhari,
Egypt
, vol. 5, pg. 581; vol. 6, pg. 352.
(b) Imam
ar-Razi, Tafsir Mafatihu ‘l-ghayb, vol. 6, pg. 164.
(c) ‘Allamah
Wahidu ‘z-Zaman, Nuzulu ‘l-abrar min fiqhi ‘n-Nabii
‘l-Mukhtar vol. 3 Pg. 123.
(11) See the above references to appreciate that
the Sunni scholars unanimously agree that taqiyah is allowed to
save one’s own life, honour and property.
(12) Imam ar-Razi too has clearly described this
contrast in his tafsir in the following words:
This
points to the fact that (in these matters) consideration is
given only to what is hidden in the heart. A hypocritic
who shows faith and hides disbelief is a disbeliever,
while a believer who under compulsion shows disbelief and hides
faith is a believer; and Allah better knows what is hidden in
the hearts of all.
(vide Tafsir Mafatihu ‘l-gayab, Egypt,
under verse 19:10)
(13) Qur’an 16 : 106
(14a) as-Suyuti: Tafsir ad-Durru ‘l-manthur, vol. 4
pg. 132
(b)
ar-Razi, Tafsir
Mafatihu ‘l-ghayb;
(c)
az.Zamakhshari, Tafsir al-Kashshaf,
Beirut, Vol. 2 pg. 430. Practically all books of Tafsir describe this event under this
verse.
(15)
Qur’an
3 : 28-29
(16)
as-Suyuti, ad-Durra ‘l-manthur, vol. 2, pp.
16-17
(17)
ar-Razi, Tafsir Mafatihu ‘l-ghayb,
Beirut
, 3rd ed., vol. 7, pg 13
(18)
al-Bukhari, as-
Sahih
,
Egypt
ed., vol. 9, pp. 24-25
(19)
as-Sayid ar-Radi, Tafsir Haqa’iqu ‘t-ta’wil,
vol. 5 pg. 74
(20)
Qur’an
3 : 173
(21) Mulla’Ali Muttaqi, Kanzu’l-ummal,
Beirut
, 5th ed., 1405/1985, vol. 3 pg. 96, hadith
no. 5665.
(22)
al-Kulayni, al-Kaif, Tehran, 1388, Vol., 2 Pg.
174.
(23)
Qur’an
40 : 28
(24)
ubaydullah Amritsari, Arjahu ‘l-matalib, 2nd
ed., pg. 23.
(25) Qur’an
26 : 18; Tafsir al-Baydawi, Egypt, Vol. 1, pp. 112, 396
as quoted in Fulkun-Najat, vol. 2, pg. 103.
(26) as-Sayuti, ad-Durru ‘l-manthur,
vol.6, pg. 77
(27) Qur’an
48 : 25
(28) as-Sayid ar-Radi, op. cit, pt. 77.
(29)
at-Tabrasi, al-ihtijaj, Beirut, 1403/1983, vol. 2,
pp. 370-371.
(30)
Matth. 22:15-22
(31) Acts, 23:6-9
(32) Tufi, Sharhu ‘l-Arba ‘in an-Nawawi
as quoted in Falkun-Naat, 2nd ed. Lahore, vol.
2 pg. 107.
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