Concepts, Islamic Culture, Side Feature

Q&A: Taqiyyah

Question:

Assalamu Alaikum our honorable Sheikh, may Allah bless you and help you to cope with us, and may He keep you until you witness the Khilafah.

My dear brother, it is mentioned in the Shakhsiyya book [Islamic Personality] regarding the subject of befriending the disbelievers that it is prohibited and not allowed except in one situation; where the Shara’ allowed “Taqiyyah” in the subject. And here poses the question: is the befriending to disbelieving individuals or to disbelieving system? What are the limits of befriending, especially in our situation being in their country where they have domination over us? Either for a disbelieving individual or the system, is that measured [applied] on the countries of the Islamic world because of what is known of the disbelieving rulers and also the system? And do the tools of the disbelieving regimes such as their security services take their rule even if they are Muslims?

Allah bless you and your patience on us. Your brother and your son from America.

From Abo Yousuf


Answer:

Wa Alaikum Assalam wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh,

Allah سبحانه وتعالى 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 friends instead of believers, and whoever does that is not of Allah in anything except if you fear from them something to be feared. And Allah warns you against Himself and to Allah is the return”

(Al-i-Imran: 28)

The meaning of the Ayah is a decisive prohibition for the believers from taking the disbelievers as friends for them, and that they seek their assistance and depend upon them, and that they befriend them and there be love between them. So, it forbids the believers from befriending disbelievers instead of believers, and then excluded one situation from this, which is the situation where there exists fear from them when they are under their authority. In that case, it is allowed to display love for them and to befriend them to prevent their evil and harm. That is, it is allowed to take them as “Awliya” i.e. friends in the situation where there exists fear from them when they are under their rule. Apart from that it is absolutely not allowed. This is for the disbelievers only in relation with the believers as the ayah was revealed in the affair of the believers who had relations friendship with the polytheists in Makkah. It prohibited those in Madinah from befriending the polytheists in Makkah and it prohibited all believers but excluded from that the believers who were in Makkah who were defeated in their affair. So, it excluded them due to the existence of fear of the harm of the disbelievers near to them. This is the subject of the ayah and this is its meaning, and this is the Shari’ah rule deduced from it which is the forbidding of the believers befriending the disbelievers in all types of befriending, for support, friendship, assistance etc. as the word (Awliya) came general in the ayah covering all its meanings, and the permission of befriending them in the situation of fearing them i.e. fearing their violence and harm when the disbelievers are victorious over Muslims and the Muslims are defeated in their affair exactly like the situation of the Muslims in Makkah with the polytheists. There does not exist any other meaning in the ayah nor any rule other than this rule deduced from it.

As for what some say that “taqiyyah” is that a Muslim display opposite to what is hidden before any person from whom he fears harm or fears his knowing his reality and what is in his soul whether that person is a disbeliever or believer, this statement is pure error; the ayah does not indicate anything of this, because the exception inإِلَّا أَنْ تَتَّقُوا مِنْهُمْ تُقَاةً  “Except if you fear from them something to fear (tuqat)” was revealed on the subject of Muslims who were in Mecca under the rule of disbelievers of Quraysh and did not emigrate, so if they displayed enmity to the disbelievers, the disbelievers killed or tortured them. And the ruling in a particular subject remains applicable to the same subject, that is, believers befriending disbelievers when they are under the rule of the disbelievers.

Muhammad bin Jareer At-Tabari said in his tafseer: “The view in interpreting His statement: لَا يَتَّخِذِ الْمُؤْمِنُونَ الْكَافِرِينَ أَوْلِيَاءَ Let not the believers take the disbelievers as friends instead of believers” until His statement: إِلَّا أَنْ تَتَّقُوا مِنْهُمْ تُقَاةً  “Except if you fear from them something to be feared (tuqat)”. Abu Ja’far said: This is a prohibition from Allah سبحانه وتعالى for the believers not to take disbelievers as helpers, supporters and assisters. Accordingly, He made (kasr) for “yatakhidhi” (to take) in the position of making the prohibition decisive but He made (kasr) for the “dhal” together with it due to the “sakin” which meets a “sakin”. The meaning of this is “Do not take, O you believers, the disbelievers as assisters and supporters befriending them, instead of Muslims, upon their religion and assist them against Muslims and direct them to their (Muslims’) weaknesses. For whoever does that then he is not from Allah سبحانه وتعالى in anything which means that he has been absolved from Allah سبحانه وتعالى and Allah سبحانه وتعالى is absolved from him by his apostasy from His Deen and his entering into Kufr إِلَّا أَنْ تَتَّقُوا مِنْهُمْ تُقَاةً “Except if you fear from them something to be feared (tuqat)” (i.e.) except if you are in their authority and fear them for your lives then show friendship by your tongues and hide your enmity from them but do not be partisans for what they are upon of kufr and do not help them against a Muslim by action”.

Nor is it said that if befriending disbelievers in the situation of fear of them is allowed then appeasement (mudarat) of the unjust or transgressor ruler with power is of greater precedent. This is not said because that which is of greater precedent is the sense of the speech and this is not from it nor is related any connection with it. It is not of the same manner (qabeel) of the Supreme’s statement: وَمِنْهُمْ مَنْ إِنْ تَأْمَنْهُ بِدِينَارٍ لَا يُؤَدِّهِ إِلَيْكَ “And among them is he who, if you entrust him with a (Dinar) [single] silver coin, he will not return it to you” [Al-i-Imran: 75]. Nor is it of the manner (qabeel) of the Supreme’s statement: وَمِنْ أَهْلِ الْكِتَابِ مَنْ إِنْ تَأْمَنْهُ بِقِنْطَارٍ يُؤَدِّهِ إِلَيْكَ “And among the People of the Scripture is he who, if you entrust him with a (Qintar) great amount [of wealth], he will return it to you.” [Al-i-Imran: 75]

Accordingly, (taqiyyah) is rejected when it is a believer showing opposite to what he hides in front of unjust ruler or powerful transgressor or opponent in the opinion or similar, and doing it is haram as it is hypocrisy and all hypocrisy is forbidden. Above all that, the accounting of the unjust ruler over his injustice is obligatory and it is not allowed to leave it for fear of the ruler over money, interests or harm, nor is (taqiyyah) allowed therein. It contradicts the authentic Ahadith which came about rejecting upon the leaders and rulers if they are unjust or transgressors and the authentic Ahadith which came regarding the obligation of accounting them over their actions an opposes the obligation of exposing the truth without taking into account, for the sake of Allah سبحانه وتعالى, the complaint of a plaintiff. Accordingly, with regard to the (taqiyyah) of the unjust and transgressor ruler, or the strong usurper (mutasallit) among the wicked (fujjar) or the one opposing you in the opinion, there came texts of Ayat and authenticated Ahadith contradicting that and encouraging the obligation of acting contrary to that, which emphasizes that it is haram, on top of its being hypocrisy which is not allowed for the Muslims.

 

Your brother,

Ata Bin Khalil Abu Al-Rashtah

22nd Rabii al-Akhir 1438 AH

20/01/2017 CE

The link to the answer from the Ameer’s Facebook page:

https://web.facebook.com/AmeerhtAtabinKhalil/posts/578494022347673:0

 

The link to the answer from the Ameer’s Google Plus page:

https://plus.google.com/u/0/b/100431756357007517653/100431756357007517653/posts/R7V52nM65zs

 

The link to the answer from the Ameer’s Twitter page:

https://twitter.com/ataabualrashtah/status/823854899402313729