Evidently the cause of their fearing and trembling is that...

Evidently the cause of their fearing and trembling is that hidden and treasured knowledge which nobody is aware of and which is the fountainhead of "bada'". If someone wishes to know the details of the different kinds of "bada"', "qada", "qadr" and the "lawh mahw" and the "lawh ithbat", he or she should read the first volume of our book "ad-Din aw l-Islam". We have there gone into these topics in great detail.

Taqiyah (pious dissimulation or concealing one's faith in dangerous circumstances) In the matter of taqiy ah also the Shi'as are very much defamed and the reason for that is that ordinary people are quite ignorant of its reality. A careful consideration will show that the taqiyah in which the Shi'as believe is not peculiar to them alone. Rather, it is a logical necessity and a natural demand. There is no commandment of the shari'ah which is inconsistent with wisdom and learning.

In every problem, knowledge and wisdom appear together . If one assesses innate human tendencies, one has to admit that everyone has a natural disposition to defend himself: life is dear. Of course, if there is a matter of honour at stake, or a question of protecting the truth, then, even though life is dear, it is not given any relative importance. But if circumstances do not reach such an extreme, what sane man would be prepared to endanger his own life just so that the world may laugh at him?

What is more, to court danger is against the counsel of wisdom and religion. Thus the Holy Lawgiver has permitted the Muslim who is surrounded by danger and who risks his or her life or his or her honour to hide his or her belief outwardly although he or she must continue to observe his or her religion inwardly.

There are also verses in the Holy Qur'an suggesting the same thing and the story of 'Ammar, his parents and some other companions of the Prophet shows that when he was suffering the persecutions of the idol-worshippers, he professed unbelief. There are of course rules for taqiyah.

They are three: if life will be lost for no purpose, then it is an obligation; if expressing the truth would serve some useful purpose, then it is optional; if atheism (kufr) is gaining the upper hand, people are being led astray, and their is danger of cruelty and oppression, then taqiyah is forbidden.