(Series of Answers by the Scholar Ata Bin Khalil Abu al-Rashtah, Ameer of Hizb ut-Tahrir, to Questions from Visitors to his Facebook Page)
To Abu Muhammad Al-Sawalamah
Question:
Assalamu Alaikum Wa Rahmatullahi Wa Barakatuh,
The eminent scholar Ata Bin Khalil Abu al-Rashtah, may Allah protect you.
I hope your heart and time are spacious enough to kindly answer the following questions:
"The Jordanian Minister of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs and Holy Sites stated that the Messenger (saw) practiced Taqiyyah, and that it is mentioned in the Quranic text and the noble Hadith. He claimed there is a misconception that it belongs only to the Shi'a school of thought. He cited the text of the Ayah, 'Except one who is forced while his heart is secure in faith,' and the saying of the Prophet (saw), 'Indeed, in ma'arid of speech, there is a mandoohah from lying.' He argued that the Messenger (saw) practiced Taqiyyah when a Bedouin asked him, 'Where are you from?' and he (saw) replied, 'From water,' meaning from maa' maheen (despised fluid). He asked the judges, 'Is this not Taqiyyah?' The Minister also emphasized his refusal to declare Shi'as as disbelievers (takfir), affirming they are Muslims as long as they testify that there is no god but Allah and Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah.
He said the difference between Shari'i Taqiyyah and Shi'a Taqiyyah is that the latter is considered a fundamental of the Deen and a necessity of belief—rather, there is no religion or faith for one who has no Taqiyyah—whereas Shari'i Taqiyyah is a matter of branches (furu'), not fundamentals (usul), and there is no harm if a Muslim abandons it."
Question:
Is his citation of the Ayah and the Hadith regarding the issue of Taqiyyah correct?
Is what he said about the difference between Shari'i Taqiyyah and Shi'a Taqiyyah correct?
Allah (swt) says:
لَا يَتَّخِذِ الْمُؤْمِنُونَ الْكَافِرِينَ أَوْلِيَاءَ مِنْ دُونِ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ وَمَنْ يَفْعَلْ ذَلِكَ فَلَيْسَ مِنَ اللَّهِ فِي شَيْءٍ إِلَّا أَنْ تَتَّقُوا مِنْهُمْ تُقَاةً
"Let not the believers take the disbelievers as allies rather than the believers. And whoever does that has nothing with Allah, except when you take precaution against them in caution." (QS. Ali 'Imran [3]: 28)
Ibn Jarir said: "Taqiyyah mentioned by Allah in this Ayah is only Taqiyyah from the disbelievers, not from anyone else." Sa'id ibn Jubayr said: "There is no Taqiyyah in Islam; Taqiyyah is only for the people of war (Ahl al-Harb)."
Is what is meant by the noble Ayah Taqiyyah?
Is it possible to say that all Shi'as are Muslims despite some saying the Quran is distorted, cursing the Rightly Guided Caliphs (ra), and deifying our master Ali, may Allah honor his face...?
All thanks and appreciation to you.
Answer:
Wa Alaikum Assalam Wa Rahmatullahi Wa Barakatuh,
The Minister has mixed three matters together, placing them in one mold for a purpose in his own mind; we do not wish to say more!
The first matter: Taqiyyah in the noble Ayah:
إِلَّا أَنْ تَتَّقُوا مِنْهُمْ تُقَاةً
"...except when you take precaution against them in caution."
The second: The noble Ayah:
إِلَّا مَنْ أُكْرِهَ وَقَلْبُهُ مُطْمَئِنٌّ بِالْإِيمَانِ
"...except for one who is forced while his heart is secure in faith."
The third: The Hadith of the Messenger (saw) which was narrated by Abu Bakr al-Bayhaqi (d. 458 AH) in Shu'ab al-Iman, on the authority of Mutarrif ibn Abdullah, who said: "We came with Imran ibn Husayn from Basra to Kufa, and he used to say: 'Indeed, in ma'arid there is a mandoohah from lying.' This is the correct version as a mawquf report." It was also narrated by Ibn al-A'rabi (d. 340 AH) in his Mu'jam as a marfu' report (attributed to the Prophet): "...from Imran ibn Husayn that the Prophet (saw) said: 'Indeed, in ma'arid there is a mandoohah from lying.'"
Each of these three matters has its own context, and it is not permissible to force any of them into the place of another. To clarify this, we say:
First: As for Taqiyyah that is Shari'i-permissible, it is between a Muslim and the disbelievers if the Muslim is living among them under their authority and is exposed to extreme harm if he does not show loyalty and love to them. If that is the case, it is permissible for him to show affection to them with his tongue but not his heart. However, it is not permissible for a Muslim to show a Muslim the opposite of what he conceals, regardless of who that Muslim is—whether he is from the general public or a specific individual like an unjust ruler. This is not permissible in Shari'ah.
The evidence for this is the text of the noble Ayah and its subject matter. As for its text, Allah (swt) says:
لَا يَتَّخِذِ الْمُؤْمِنُونَ الْكَافِرِينَ أَوْلِيَاءَ مِنْ دُونِ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ وَمَنْ يَفْعَلْ ذَلِكَ فَلَيْسَ مِنَ اللَّهِ فِي شَيْءٍ إِلَّا أَنْ تَتَّقُوا مِنْهُمْ تُقَاةً وَيُحَذِّرُكُمُ اللَّهُ نَفْسَهُ وَإِلَى اللَّهِ الْمَصِيرُ
"Let not the believers take the disbelievers as allies rather than the believers. And whoever does that has nothing with Allah, except when you take precaution against them in caution. And Allah warns you of Himself, and to Allah is the [final] destination." (QS. Ali 'Imran [3]: 28)
As for the subject of the Ayah, it is clear from its text: it is about the believers taking the disbelievers as allies, meaning showing friendship to them. The text is: "Let not the believers take the disbelievers as allies rather than the believers." If an Ayah or Hadiths are revealed regarding a specific subject, they are specific to that subject and do not encompass others.
The Ayah was revealed regarding the condition of the Muslims who did not migrate and remained in Makkah under the authority of the disbelievers of Quraish, being overpowered. If they showed them enmity and a lack of loyalty, they would be subjected to severe harm. Thus, the noble Ayah made an exception for them. The meaning of the Ayah is:
The severe prohibition of believers taking disbelievers as allies in any form of alliance, and the prohibition was emphasized by His saying: "And whoever does that has nothing with Allah." Then the Ayah exempted one case, which is the case similar to the situation of the Muslims who did not migrate from Makkah and remained under the authority of the Quraish disbelievers, being overpowered; they feared harm from them if they showed them enmity and lack of loyalty. This is the exempted case.
Based on this, showing love to a Muslim ruler out of fear of his harm—while he is an unjust transgressor who rules by kufr—is haram. Likewise, showing love to a Muslim who disagrees with your opinion while concealing hatred for him is haram. Pretending not to be bound by Islam or not caring about it in front of a disbeliever or an unjust transgressor is not permissible. All of this and what resembles it is hypocrisy (nifaq) which the Shari'ah has forbidden for Muslims. This is because the subject of "except when you take precaution against them in caution" is restricted to the reality of the situation of the Muslims who were in Makkah among the polytheists, meaning it is restricted to the case where Muslims are under the authority of the disbelievers and have no power to remove their authority, i.e., they are overpowered.
Al-Tabari (d. 310 AH) said in his Tafsir regarding the interpretation of "Let not the believers take the disbelievers as allies" until His saying "except when you take precaution against them in caution": "Abu Ja'far said: This is a prohibition from Allah (azwj) to the believers from taking the disbelievers as aides, supporters, and backs. Except if you are under their authority and fear them for yourselves, so you show them loyalty with your tongues... but do not follow them in the kufr they are upon, and do not aid them against a Muslim by any action."
Accordingly, what they call Taqiyyah—which is for a believer to show the opposite of what he conceals in front of an unjust ruler, a powerful transgressor, or one with a differing opinion, or the like—is negated. Its practice is prohibited because it is hypocrisy, and all hypocrisy is haram.
Second: The noble Ayah:
مَنْ كَفَرَ بِاللَّهِ مِنْ بَعْدِ إِيمَانِهِ إِلَّا مَنْ أُكْرِهَ وَقَلْبُهُ مُطْمَئِنٌّ بِالْإِيمَانِ
"Whoever disbelieves in Allah after his belief, except for one who is forced while his heart is secure in faith." (QS. An-Nahl [16]: 106)
Its subject is the matter of disbelief after faith, i.e., the subject of apostasy from Islam. The condition is the fear of death, which jurists call Ikrah Mulji' (compelling duress), and it alone is the duress considered in Shari'ah in all cases where the ruling is lifted from the coerced person. The duress that is exempted in Shari'ah is Ikrah Mulji', which is the state of certain fear of being killed. It was revealed regarding Ammar ibn Yasir (ra); they took him, tortured him, and killed his mother and father because they refused to disbelieve. They tortured Ammar ibn Yasir with severe torture until he was close to death like his mother and father. At that point, Ammar spoke the word of kufr. Al-Tabari said: "Ibn Abd al-A'la told us: Muhammad ibn Thawr told us from Ma'mar from Abd al-Karim al-Jazari from Abu Ubaydah ibn Muhammad ibn Ammar ibn Yasir who said: 'The polytheists took Ammar ibn Yasir and tortured him until he conceded to some of what they wanted. He mentioned that to the Prophet (saw), and the Prophet (saw) said: "How do you find your heart?" He said: "Secure in faith." The Prophet (saw) said: "If they return, then return."'" Thus, the reason for the revelation of the Ayah was the incident of Ammar, and its subject is apostasy from Islam. The specific case for it is the certain fear of being killed. This alone is sufficient to confirm that it has no connection to the Ayah: "except when you take precaution against them in caution."
Furthermore, the Ayah: "except for one who is forced while his heart is secure in faith" is Makki, revealed regarding the subject of faith (Iman), while the Ayah: "except when you take precaution against them in caution" is Madani, revealed regarding the subject of the prohibition of believers taking disbelievers as allies and the exception of the case we explained. Therefore, this is different from that; one does not enter into the other, and they are not linked due to the difference in the situation and subject. If a Muslim is under the authority of disbelievers and is overpowered by them, it is not permissible for him to apostatize from Islam outwardly to appease them; rather, he must migrate if he cannot perform the rules of his Deen. This is in contrast to taking them as allies with his tongue but not his heart, which is permissible. However, if a Muslim fears for his life with certain death and is forced into kufr, then it is permissible for him to show kufr and conceal Iman. The clear difference between the two noble Ayat is obvious.
Third: The Hadith of the Messenger (saw), both marfu' and mawquf: "Indeed, in ma'arid there is a mandoohah from lying." This is reported regarding the subject of Tawriyah (allusion/equivocation). It does not fall under the category of lying or showing what one does not conceal; rather, it falls under the category of truthfulness. One uses a word that has two meanings: one distant and one near. The near meaning comes to mind, but the intended meaning is the distant meaning of the word. This is the meaning of ma'arid.
It is stated in Mukhtar al-Sihah: "And at-ta'reed is the opposite of at-tasreeh (explicit statement), and from it is al-ma'arid in speech, which is at-tawriyah (alluding) to something by using something else." As for al-mandoohah, Abu Ubaydah said it means "amplitude and space." The meaning, therefore, is that the use of ma'arid or tawriyah is a way to stay away from lying. The Prophet's (saw) answer to that old man when he asked him, "Where are you from?" and the Messenger (saw) said, "We are from water," this was tawriyah and not Taqiyyah. It is mentioned in the Seerah of Ibn Hisham:
"The Messenger (saw) and Abu Bakr were identifying news of the Quraish... then he stopped near Badr, and he and a man from his companions rode: Ibn Hisham said: The man was Abu Bakr al-Siddiq. Ibn Ishaq said as Muhammad ibn Yahya ibn Habban narrated to me: Until he stood before an old man from the Arabs, and asked him about the Quraish, and about Muhammad and his companions, and what had reached him about them. The old man said: I will not tell you until you tell me where you two are from? The Messenger of Allah (saw) said: If you tell us, we will tell you. He said: This for that? He said: Yes. The old man said: It has reached me that Muhammad and his companions left on such-and-such a day, and if the one who told me was truthful, they are today in such-and-such a place—referring to the place where the Messenger of Allah (saw) was. And it reached me that the Quraish left on such-and-such a day, and if the one who told me was truthful, they are today in such-and-such a place—referring to the place where the Quraish were. When he finished his news, he said: Where are you two from? The Messenger of Allah (saw) said: 'We are from water,' then he departed from him. The old man said: What 'from water'? Is it from the water of Iraq?" Ibn Hisham said: It is said that the old man was Sufyan al-Damri.
When the Messenger (saw) said to that old man in response to his question "Where are you from?", "We are from water," he used tawriyah and ma'arid of speech. The word maa' (water) has the meaning of ordinary water and it has the meaning of the water of life, i.e., the nutfah (sperm drop) from which the embryo is created. The old man's mind jumped to the idea that the Messenger (saw) was from a village or a region near a specific water source, as the Arabs used to do by settling near such-and-such water. The Messenger (saw) did not use Taqiyyah because Taqiyyah is only permissible in the case of a Muslim living overpowered under the rule of disbelievers to repel their evil and harm. In any other case, it is not permissible because it would be lying and hypocrisy, and far be it from the Messenger (saw) to do that; he (saw) is the Truthful and the Believed.
That Minister has done wrong by saying that the Messenger (saw) used Taqiyyah. Perhaps he will read this answer and seek forgiveness from Allah (swt) and repent to Him. We hope he does, for we love for every Muslim to be guided to the truth and repent from error, as he (saw) said: "Every son of Adam is a sinner, and the best of sinners are those who repent" (Tirmidhi).
As for the Shi'as who follow the Ja'fari school, they are fundamentally Muslims. However, whoever says that the Quran is distorted or deifies Ali (ra), then he is a disbeliever (kafir) and is not counted among the Muslims.
Your brother, Ata Bin Khalil Abu al-Rashtah
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