Taqiyya and Islam!

Lying, deception, or ‘Taqiyya’ are permissible for the sake of Islam!

Fools do fall for it! There’s a girl named Jannat Zubair who is said to act in Bollywood – though I’m not personally familiar with her. Certain opportunistic individuals showcase her to thousands of others just to gain likes, comments, and views. Yet her style of clothing hasn’t changed; a quick look at her Instagram will confirm that. Just because she wore a particular dress once during a visit to Mecca doesn’t mean she permanently adopted that style – but who besides a certain audience would understand that nuance? The photo on the left is from an old photoshoot, now being falsely circulated as from 2019. Similarly, you’ll find figures like Sayeedi, Azhari, and Zakir Naik claiming that Neil Armstrong saw a massive crack on the moon and heard the call to prayer (Azan) there. However, both NASA and Armstrong himself have publicly denied these claims in statements and interviews long ago.

Actually, in Islam, there is a concept called taqiyya where Islam supports spreading Islam through lies and deception. Those who believe that Islam has always told people to speak the truth have never actually read the Quran or Hadith with their meaning, translation, or tafsir. There are multiple verses in the Quran where Allah himself speaks of lying, deceiving, and tricking. And who did he deceive? A tiny, insignificant group of humans who claim to be his creation! How ridiculous!

Taqiyya is based on the precedents of lying found in the Quran and Hadith. Lying is permissible for the sake of Islam and Muslims. That is to say, Islam did not say you should lie about personal property or murder. This is because Islam has stated that lying is a great sin. One Muslim should never lie to or deceive another Muslim. Islam has ensured the safety of the life and property of Muslims from other Muslims. Therefore, taqiyya is a version of Islam that permits deception, lying, and forgery solely for the sake of the deen (religion). Through this method, a believer can attract a non-Muslim to Islam by saying things that are not in Islam. Or they can use lies and forgery to eliminate a so-called enemy of Islam from the world. It’s not as if these things are only permissible on the battlefield. It has been said in authentic Hadith that the Prophet would easily break a treaty if he saw that there was more benefit in something else.

It is narrated from Aishah (R.A.) that Abu Bakr (R.A.) never broke an oath until Allah revealed the verse about the expiation for an oath. He would say, “I swear an oath, and then if I see something better than it, I do the better thing and pay the expiation for breaking my oath.” (Sahih Bukhari, modern publication- 6160, Islamic Foundation- 6168). After making an oath, if it is seen that greater good lies in breaking the oath than in fulfilling it, then the oath must be broken and the expiation for breaking it must be paid.

From the Quran, we see that Allah approves of Muslims pretending or deceiving in Surah An-Nahl. It is written there, “As for him who disbelieves in Allah after his belief, except for him who is compelled while his heart is firm in faith, but he who opens his breast to disbelief – upon them is wrath from Allah, and for them is a great punishment.” Surah An-Nahl, 16:106 (Revealed in Makkah). This means that if a Muslim’s faith is firm in their heart, yet they are subjected to oppression or fear a negative reaction in a different situation, they can temporarily handle the situation by pretending to follow the beliefs of non-Muslims, and there will be no harm to them. You will see that in the West, politicians from the Muslim community who wear a skullcap and identify as Muslims advocate for democracy, individual freedom, and secularism. These same people, in 90% of Muslim countries, want to establish a state based on Islamic ideology. There is criticism worldwide about this hypocritical attitude of Muslims. How many people know that this hypocrisy is born from verses like this in the Quran? And how many people can identify that this is what “taqiyya” is?

Now see what kind of deception the Quran teaches Muslims: “Let not believers take disbelievers as allies rather than believers. And whoever does that has no relationship with Allah, except when you cautiously guard against them due to fear of harm from them. And Allah warns you of Himself, and to Allah is the final return.” Surah Al-Imran, 3:28 (Revealed in Madinah).

This verse says not to take non-Muslims as friends. But if there is a fear of something bad happening, it is permissible to pretend to be friends! In Europe and America, after a terrorist incident, the local muftis immediately embrace the “infidel” Westerners as friends. They address non-Muslims as brothers and preach brotherhood, all of which is sanctioned by this verse’s permission to pretend. This is what is called taqiyya. It teaches a Muslim to think one thing internally and display another externally. However, an individual can personally feel a sense of brotherhood without religious considerations. A Muslim can genuinely extend a hand of brotherhood to non-Muslims as an individual. And these are purely human qualities of a person. But here we are discussing Islamic taqiyya and whether it truly exists. If such a thing exists, then it’s certain that taqiyya will become academically accepted among Muslims; there is no debate about this. Since Sunnis have acknowledged that taqiyya is prevalent among Shias, it has been proven to some extent that something called taqiyya exists. At one time, no such thing as taqiyya was acknowledged. After a long period of writing, they are now unable to deny taqiyya and are trying to survive by blaming others. That’s not bad either!

Now I will show a very bad example of taqiyya, where it is said to make a promise and then break it! “Allah will not hold you accountable for your thoughtless oaths, but He will hold you accountable for the oaths you have sworn in your hearts. And Allah is Forgiving and Clement.” (Surah Al-Baqarah, 2:225). This means that if you make an agreement with non-Muslims, it’s not a big deal. Because you did not make an oath to Allah. You can break such agreements because they have no value to Allah. For this reason, the kind Prophet said in an authentic Hadith, “By Allah’s will, if I make an oath about something and then later see something better, I do what I consider to be good and do not consider it necessary to keep the previous oath.” (Sahih Bukhari, Book-67, Hadith-427). Is this not the most heinous evidence of taqiyya? Can it still be said with a loud voice that there is no approval for lying, forgery, or deception in Islam? In the Quran, Allah says that He is the best of planners! “And the disbelievers planned, and Allah planned. And Allah is the best of planners.” (Surah Al-Imran, 3:54). Allah says that He is the best of deceivers! “And the disbelievers deceived, and Allah deceived. And Allah is the best of deceivers.” (3:54). In Surah Al-Anfal, Allah calls Himself the best of schemers! “And when the disbelievers plotted against you to imprison you or kill you or expel you, they planned, and Allah planned, and Allah is the best of planners.” (Surah Al-Anfal, 8:30).

Authentic Hadith teaches us to lie and be cunning by concealing the faults of a Muslim. “Whoever conceals the faults of a Muslim, Allah will conceal his faults on the Day of Judgment.” (Sahih Hadith- Bukhari-2442). This cunning or taqiyya must be done to non-Muslims. Because the hadith says to conceal the “faults of a Muslim.” This means one must deceive non-Muslims by concealing a Muslim’s faults from them. And still, it will be said that taqiyya is not prevalent among Sunnis?

The Prophet Muhammad sent a team of assassins to kill two Jewish poets, whom he authorized to use lies or deception. Go and research the hadith with a little effort; what I said is 100% authentic, learn to do some hard work.

“Oh Prophet, why do you make unlawful for yourself what Allah has made lawful for you, seeking to please your wives? And Allah is Forgiving and Merciful. Allah has already ordained for you [believers] the dissolution of your oaths. And Allah is your protector, and He is the Knowing, the Wise.” (Surah At-Tahrim, 66:1-2, Revealed in Madinah). This is another example of inspiration for taqiyya. The tafsir of this verse can be found in Tafsir Ibn Jarir. It is stated there that the Messenger of Allah (S.A.W.) was speaking with his slave girl Mariya Al-Qibtiyyah in the room of one of his wives. At that time, his wife said to him, “What is this you are doing in my house and on my bed?” The Messenger of Allah (S.A.W.), to please that wife, said, “I make her unlawful for myself.” Then she said, “O Messenger of Allah (S.A.W.)! How can what is lawful become unlawful for you?” In reply, he said, “I swear that from now on, I will not have any conversation with her.” At that time, these verses were revealed.

In Tafsir Ibn Jarir, it is mentioned that Hazrat Ibn Abbas (R.A.) asked Hazrat Umar (R.A.), “Who were these two wives?” In response, Hazrat Umar said, “They were Hazrat Aishah and Hazrat Hafsa. The incident was initiated around Umm Ibrahim Al-Qibtiyyah. The Messenger of Allah met with Hazrat Mariya Al-Qibtiyyah in the house of Hazrat Hafsa on her designated day. This saddened Hazrat Hafsa that he met with Mariya in her house and on her bed on her day. The Messenger of Allah, to please Hazrat Hafsa, said, “I make her unlawful for myself. Do not tell anyone about this incident.” Despite this, Hazrat Hafsa disclosed the incident to Hazrat Aishah. Allah informed the Prophet of this news and revealed these verses. The Prophet paid the expiation and broke his oath and met with that slave girl. (Tafsir Ibn Kathir, Volume 17, page number 558, translation by Dr. Muhammad Mujibur Rahman, Publisher: Tafsir Publication Committee).

Here too, documentation is found for making an oath and then breaking it. These are lessons for the Ummah. By searching the entire Quran and Hadith, you will find various versions of deception, lying, and forgery. However, all of them must be for the sake of Islam and Muslims. For these reasons, many people in the West, after hearing many good things about Islam, convert and later, after learning the real truth, abandon Islam. Many of them later said that they were told things about Islam that were not actually true. They were deceived.

A widespread use of taqiyya is seen when Islamic speakers talk about Islam to non-Muslims; they mention the Makki surahs and say that Islam is a religion of peace. But they do not mention the Madani surahs, where there is talk of jihad against people of other religions, of hating them, and of killing them. Islam has never, in any country, been able to build an ideal and advanced society that can be emulated by humans. The so-called golden days of Islam, the Rashidun Caliphs, all but one of them were killed by their own people; there were many riots and murders among themselves to become rulers. No matter how much lying and deceptive rhetoric is used through the practice of taqiyya, the truth cannot be hidden forever. Islam makes people barbaric rather than civilized, which can be considered a great threat to our beautiful way of life.