Imam Fakhru 'd-din ar-Razi says commenting on the events of...

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 by Khidr)’ [^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 taqiyyah is just another form of Nifaq (hypocrisy). Far from it.

In fact taqiyyah is opposite of Nifaq .