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Taqiyya

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In Shi'a Islamic as well as Druze tradition, Taqiyya (التقية - 'fear, guard against')[1] is the dispensation allowing believers to conceal their faith when under threat, persecution or compulsion. It is based on Qur'an 3:28 and 16:106 as well as hadith, tafsir literature, and juridical commentaries.[2] Some Sunnis assert that Taqiyya is an act of hypocrisy that serves to conceal the truth. According to them, Taqiyya constitutes a lack of faith and trust in God because the person who conceals his beliefs to spare himself from danger is fearful of humans, when he should be fearful of God only.

Definition

Rules

Taqiyya, like any other Islamic tenet, has guidelines and limits. According to many Shia, Taqiyya can only be legally used by a Muslim verbally when he or she is being wrongly persecuted. The situation may be when no matter whichever course of action an individual chooses he has to commit an evil. In that case, he should select the lesser evil.

When one is guilty and is trying to conceal his or her guilt, in Islam, he is not said to be using taqiyya, he or she is considered a debauchee.

Qur'an

Shi'as justify the practice using the following verse from the Qur'an:

"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 Penalty." Sura 16:106

And the following

"[Shakir 3:28] Let not the believers take the unbelievers for friends (awliyaa) rather than believers; and whoever does this, he shall have nothing of (the guardianship of) Allah, but you should guard (tattaqoo) yourselves against them, guarding carefully (tuqatan); and Allah makes you cautious of (retribution from) Himself; and to Allah is the eventual coming."

According to Shi'a interpretation of these verses, 3:28 is telling that believers should not take unbelievers as Walis rather the believers, those who do it will lose the wilayat (5:55) of God, that is unless they are using taqiya/protecting themselves, and doing so with caution. And God knows what is in your heart, so fear his wrath, for nobody escapes God.

Also:

(40:28 by Shakir): And a believing man of Firon's people who hid his faith said...

History

612

The first use of Taqiyya historically during the time of Muhammad when, according to Muslim tradition, the Quraishites began torturing Muslims. Ammar ibn Yasir, a follower of Muhammad, whose friends are said to have been killed for being Muslim by the Quraish, was confronted by a Quraishite. 'Ammar pretended to renounce Islam and thus saved his life. According to a canonical hadith, the prophet Muhammad later gave his permission for him to repeat such an act if he was placed in danger again.

Most Sunnis criticize Ammar for his actions or question the reliability of the story. Sunnis cite the examples of many Muslims who were tortured and murdered merely based on their belief during the time of Muhammad, Umayyad and Abbasids but didn't renounce their faith. For example, Ammar's parents had both been tortured and killed in front of Ammar but didn't renounce the faith. Most Sunnis believe that God decides when someone is going to die. Therefore, for them it's wrong to deny the faith in order to escape torture or death. By contrast, the Shi'a and some Sunnis believe that life is a gift from God and should be preserved. In a life-threatening emergency, the preservation of life takes precedence over anything else, in the same way that it is permissible to eat pig meat during famine.

618

Sa'id ibn Zayd and Fatimah bint al-Khattab were married and both hid their faith from Umar ibn al-Khattab, until Umar found out they were Muslims. Umar also became a Muslim that same day.

Muslim view

Muslims have a mixed view of the practice.

Sunni view

Although Taqiyya is generally thought of as a Shi'a term, according to principles defined by the great Sunni theologian al-Ghazali, lying, including protection of oneself or others, is permissible under certain circumstances:

“Speaking is a means to achieve objectives. If a praiseworthy aim is attainable through both telling the truth and lying, it is unlawful to accomplish it through lying because there is no need for it. When it is possible to achieve such an aim by lying but not by telling the truth, it is permissible to lie if attaining the goal is permissible..., and obligatory to lie if the goal is obligatory. ...One should compare the bad consequences entailed by lying to those entailed by telling the truth, and if the consequences of telling the truth are more damaging, one is entitled to lie…” [3]

On the other hand, most Sunnis generally assert that the Shi'a doctrine of Taqiyya isn't in accordance with its acceptable use (to save one's life). They assert that Shias have been using taqiyya as a tool of deception, not to save their own lives, but to cause strife for the Sunni Calipha (which was resented by Shias) and to legitimize their own minority faith in the eyes of a majority whom it is constantly surrounded by.[4] They point to the prominent Shia work, Al Kafi (v9 p116) as evidence to what they call the Shia misuses of taqiyya, it reads “Mix with them [non-shia] externally but oppose them internally.” They say that although taqiyyah to save ones life can be considered as legitimate at times, the way Shias have applied taqiyyah by misrepresenting historical occurrences and sayings is forbidden.[5] Allegations such as these are found in many Sunni writings, classical and contemporary. For example, in Minhaj as-Sunnah, Shaykh Ibn Tayymiah of the Hanbali school of Sunni jurispudence said to narrate knowledge from everyone but the Shia “because they invent ahaadeeth and adopt them as part of their religion.”

Shi'a view

Taqiyya does not constitute a part of either the Shi'a Roots or Branches of Religion, in the same manner as, for example, the Hijab rules do not.

The practice was a method of self-preservation for the Shi'as who historically were the minority and persecuted by Sunni Muslims. As a result of this persecution, the practice of Taqiyya normalized. In other words, if a Shi'a Muslim's life is in danger, he may lie as long as he holds his faith true in his heart.

Similar concept in the Druze religion

The Druze, a Levantine religion often mistaken as a sect of Islam, allow disguising their Druzeness and the simulation of being Muslim or Christian to avoid frequent persecutions by the local majorities.

See also

Footnotes

  1. ^ The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions. Ed. John Bowker. Oxford University Press, 2000. Oxford Reference Online. Oxford University Press. Accessed 9 June, 2006.
  2. ^ "Taqiyah" Oxford Dictionary of Islam. John L. Esposito, Ed. Oxford University Press. 2003. Oxford Reference Online. Oxford University Press. Accessed 9 June, 2006.
  3. ^ Ahmad ibn Naqib al-Misri, 1997, section r8.2, page 745.
  4. ^ http://www.amislam.com/khutoot2.htm#TAQIYYAH
  5. ^ http://www.raza.co.za/Deviant%20Sects%20&%20Scholars/Deviant_Shia%20Beliefs.htm

References and further reading

  • Bar-Asher, Me'ir Mikha'el (1999). Scripture and Exegesis in Early Imami Shiism. Brill Academic Publishers. ISBN 9004114955
  • Cook, Michael (2003). Early Muslim Dogma: A Source-Critical Study. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0521545722
  • Daftary, Farhad (1992). The Isma'ilis: Their History and Doctrines. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0521429749
  • Emadi, Hafizullah (1998). The end of taqiyya: reaffirming the religious identity of Ismailis in Shughnan, Badakhshan - political implications for Afghanistan. Middle Eastern Studies. 34(3), 103-120.
  • Emadi, Hafizullah (2000). Praxis of taqiyya: perseverance of Pashaye Ismaili enclave, Nangarhar, Afghanistan. Central Asian Survey. 19(2), 253-264.
  • Firro, Kais (1999). The Druzes in the Jewish State: A Brief History. Brill Academic Publishers. ISBN 9004112510
  • Gleaves, Robert (2000). Inevitable Doubt. Two Theories of Shi'i Jurisprudence. Brill Academic Publishers. ISBN 9004115951
  • Misri, Ahmad ibn Naqib al- (1997). The Reliance of the Traveller, translated by Nuh Ha Mim Keller, Amana Publications.
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