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Shiavault - a Vault of Shia Islamic Books A Survey Into the Lives of the Infallible Imams Introduction: A Comparison between Imam al-Husayn’s (‘a) Path and That of Other Imams (‘a) Dissimulation [Taqiyyah] The comparison between Imam al-Husayn's1 approach and that of other Imams is a topic worthy of research and discussion.

Many view Imam al-Husayn’smethodology as being contradictory to that of other Imams, such as Imam al-Hassan2 ( ‘a )3 , Imam al-Sajjad4 ( ‘a ), Imam al-Baqir5 ( ‘a ), Imam al-Sadiq6 ( ‘a ) and even that of Amir al-Mu’minin7 , ‘Ali ( ‘a ), suggesting that the rest of the Imams followed a dissimilar doctrine to Imam al-Husayn( ‘a ).

This belief ultimately triggered problems and created confusion in the hearts of the believers; given that they needed to know who to follow in their deeds and practices, it is necessary for the follower to know which doctrine he must refer to. To clarify this topic of discussion, I must add that “dissimulation” [ taqiyyah ] 8 is the attribute by which the Shi‘ahs have been recognized and that it is something which has been advocated by the teachings of the Divine Imams.

It is perceived as an exclusive characteristic of the Shi‘ah. So much so that the terms “Shi‘ah” and “dissimulation” as well as “Hatam al-Ta’i” 9 and “generosity”, are conceded as implicants of each other. All of the Imams acted in accordance with dissimulation during their lifetime, except Imam al-Husayn who did not dissimulate and instead chose to rise up against the corrupt government.

If dissimulation was justified, why then did Imam al-Husayn choose not to act upon it, even though all the necessary grounds were laid for him to do so? And if dissimulation was not justified, why did the rest of the Imams dissimulate and order their followers to do so? Moreover, this in itself is a fundamental debate regardless of whether the methodologies of the Imams were similar or if they differed.

Assuming that they all followed one methodology, all chose to dissimulate or none did so, this in itself must be debated, taking into consideration the principles of jurisprudence10 and Islamic theology (including whether or not dissimulation corresponds to Qur’anic teachings and logic). Although widely attributed to the Shi‘ah branch of Islam, dissimulation is also present among non-Shi‘ahsit is on the same level as the belief that alterations to the Qur’an are part of the Shi‘ism.