|
|
Chapter 1
|
|
What is 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 worry). But who opens his breast for infidelity; on these is wrath of
Allah, and for them is a great torment. [1]
This
verse of the Qur’an refers to the incident when 'Ammar bin Yasir (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).
Al‑Munjid
says:
This
gist of above is that the word taqiyahmeans to be on guard, to fear, to be
pious.
The
dictionary as‑Surah says, (Taqiyah, 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 believers)
by hiding one's belief or religion". [2]
Question
3: Is it
something peculiar to the Shi'ism, because I have heard many people accusing
the Shi'as because of taq'iyah?
Answer: Every society, religion
and group practices it and has practiced it at one time or the other. You will
find so many examples of taqiyahin the Old and the New Testaments, and
even in the lives of the Holy Prophet of Islam, his 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
`Abdul `Aziz Dehlawi writes: "It should be known that taqiyah is,
in fact, allowed by shari`ah, by authority of the Qur’anic
verses, "except when ;you have to guard against them" ; and
"except he who is compelled while his heart remains steadfast with the
faith.” [3]
Famous
Sunni scholar, `Allamah Wahidu 'z‑zaman Khan of Haydarabad (India) says:
"Taqiyah is proved from the Qur’an, "except when you
have to guard against them"; and ignorant people think that taqiyah
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" be cause 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 belief 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
this Messenger; and verily Allah bears witness that the hypocrites are certainly
the liars.
[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 some
one 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 defense.
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 whichever 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 (as) and Khidr (as), 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 actions (done byKhidr)’. [9]
Islamic
Shari`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 a well, and there is no one else to save the
child, the Shari’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 lighting 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 (hypocrisy).
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
is 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 of Islam in words.
This
is Nifaq (hypocricy).
(4)
Correct belief of Islam by heart but declaration of anti‑Islamic belief
in words.
This
is taqiyah, and these two categories (Nifaq and Taqyah 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 (ra): The Quraishites brutally
martyred Yasir and his wife Sumaiyah just 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 the 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 choice of 'Ammar (ra). 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 (has
nothing to worry). But he who opens his breast for infidelity, on these is
the wrath of Allah, and for them is a great torment. [13]
All
commentaries of the Qur’an narrate that it was revealed concerning the
above incident of 'Ammar (ra). [14]
Question
9: Is there
any other verse sanctioning such a cause of action?
Answer: Yes. See the following
verse 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 it, 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 faith inside your heart is un‑impaired, then Allah is
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, taqiyah and tuqat both are
synoynmous.
as‑Suyuti
writes inter alia under this verse:
"And
Ibn Jarir and Ibn Abi Hatim have narrated through al‑`Awfi from Ibn
'Abbas (that he said about this verse): `So taqiyah 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 heart 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‑Hasan (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 taqiyatan'; and `Abd ibn Hamid has narrated from Qatadah that he
was reciting (likewise) .... taqiyatan with ya”. [16]
Imam
Fakhruddin ar‑Razi has mentioned some rules concerning taqiyah
under this verse, some of which are given here:
"Third
Rule: Taqiyah is allowed in matters related to manifestation of
friendship or enmity; and it is also allowed in matters connected to professing
(their) religion. But it is certainly not allowed in matters which affect
other persons, like murder, fornication, usurpation of property, perjury,
slander of married women or informing the unbelievers about the weak points in
the Muslims' defence.
"Fourth
Rule: The Qur’anic verse apparently shows that taqiyah is
allowed with dominant unbelievers. But according to the madhhab 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
(from 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 (saw) has said: `The sanctity of a‑Muslim's
property is like the sanctity of his blood'; and also he (saw) 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, wudhu'
does not remain wajib and one may pray with tayammum to avoid
that small loss of property; so why should 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 harm 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 hale to guard yourselves against them for fear
from them’. And it is Taqiyah.
....
And Hassan (Basri) said: `Taqiyah is upto the Day of Resurrection ....
And the Prophet (s.a:w.) said: `Deed are according to intention. [18]
As‑Sayid
ar‑Radi (the compiler of Nahj ul Balaghah) writes, inter alia, in
explanation of the 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 bas permitted in this situation (when one is afraid of ahem)
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 the 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 a no sin on him; verily Allah is Forgiving, Merciful'. [20]
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.
The
same principle will apply if safety of life depends on uttering a few false
words.
That
is why the Prophet (saw) has categorically said:
He who has no taqiyah
has no religion. [21]
And
Imam Muhammad al‑Baqir (as) has said:
Taqiyah is 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 liking it. Also, the
Prophet (saw) makes taqiyah synonymous with religion, and Imam Muhammad
al‑Baqir (as) 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 his 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 the Holy Prophet (saw): Likewise, that believer from the family of
Pharaoh was able to protect Prophet Musa (as) by not declaring his Faith
openly.
Anyhow,
his Faith based on taqiyah was so pleasing to Allah that he was counted
as a "Siddiq" (Most Truthful). The Holy Prophet (saw) has
said:
"There
are three siddiqin: (1) Habib Najjar; (2) The faithful from the family
of Pharaoh arid (3) 'Ali bin Abi Talib". [24]
Not
only "the Believer from the Family of Pharaoh" but, according to Al‑Baidawi,
even the Prophet Musa (as) 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 was in Meccan period. Even after Hijrah 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
Umar bin Khattab was so incensed that he protested to the Holy Prophet (saw),
and in later days he used to say:
I
did not entertain any doubt about the prophethood of the Holy Prophet‑since
I accepted Islam exc;pt on that 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 a: '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 another one to do something, (and that thing happens to be
connected with heart) then the oppressor has no way of knowing that his wish
has been complied with, except through some utterings by the tongue from which
he will conclude that he has succeeded in changing the heart of the 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]
[1]
Qur’an, Surah 16 (an‑Nahl), verse 100
[2]
Shah `Abdu 'l‑`Aziz Dehlawi, Tuhfa‑e‑Ithna‑'ashariyah,
ch. 1, p. 368.
[4]
`Allamah Wahidu'z‑Zaman Khan, Anwaru 'l‑lughah, Bangalor
ed., para 20, p. 84.
[9]
ar‑Razi, Tafsir Mafatihu 'l ghayb, old ed. vol. 5, pp. 746‑750.
[10]
All Muslim sects agree that taqiyah 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 him, 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 it to hide it and to deny any knowledge of him or
it; and this is lawful ‑ rather wajib ‑ lie; because it is
spoken to ward off an oppressor. (See its pages 106, 110, 200 and 325)
Imam
Muslim has written a whole chapter on 'this theme, i.e., The chapter of
unlawfulness of lie and description of lawful lies;
(a)
al `Ayni, Umdatu 'l‑Qari Sharh Sahih al‑Bukhari, Egypt, vol.
5, p. 581; vol. 6, p. 352.
(b) Imam ar‑Razi,
Tafsir Mafatihu 'l‑Ghayb, vol. 6, p. 164.
(c)
`Allamah Wahidu 'z‑Zaman, Nuzulu 'l abrar min fiqhi 'n Nabii 'l‑Mukhtar
vol. 3, p. 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 or 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
iii the heart. A hypocrite 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 that is hidden in the hearts of
all. (Vide Tafsir Mafatihu ‘l ghayb, Egypt, under verse 19:10).)
(a)
as‑Suyuti, Tafsir ad‑Durru 'l‑manthur, vol. 4, p. 132;
(b)
ar‑Razi, Tafsir Mafatihu l‑ghayb;
(c)
az‑Zamakhshari, Tafsir al‑Kashshaf, Beirut, vol. 2, p. 43c).
Practically all books of Tafsir describe this event under this verse.
[16] as‑Suyuti, ad‑Durru l‑manthur,
vol. 2, pp. 10‑17.
[17]
ar‑Razi, Tafsir Mafatihu ‘l ghayb, Beirut, 3rd ed., vol. 7, p. 13.
[18] al‑Bukhari, as‑Sahib. Egypt ed.,
vol. 9, pp. 24‑25.
[19] as‑Sayid ar‑Radi, Tafsir
Haqa'iqu 't‑ta'wil, vol. 5, p. 74.
[21]
Mulla `Ali Muttaqi, Kanzu l‑`ummal, Beirut, 5th ed., 1405/1985,
vol. 3, p. 96, hadith no. 5665.
[22]
al‑Kulayni, al‑Kafi, Tehran, 1388, vol. 2, p.174.
[24]
`ubaydullah Amritsari, Arjahu 'l‑rnatalib, 2nd ed., p. 23
[25]
Qur’an, 20.18; Tafsir al‑Baydawi, Egypt, vol. 1, pp. 112,
396 as quoted in Fulkun‑Najat, vol. 2, p. 103.
[26]
as‑Suyuti, ad‑Durru 'l‑manthur, vol. 6, p. 77
[28]
as‑Sayid ar‑Radi, op. cit, p. 77.
|
No comments:
Post a Comment