Taqiyyah – prudential dissimulation, means concealing one’s identity as a Shi’ah under conditions thought to be dangerous, either for the Imam [AS] himself, for the Shi’i community as a whole or for one’s own person. The utility of this practise one may say was demonstrated in the short run by the Imams after Imam Jaffer al-Sadiq [AS]. Their fragile and hazardous position was made tenable in part by the practise of taqiyyah. However a problem arises, the observance of taqiyyah by the Imams themselves means that not all of their recorded utterances are to be taken as expressing their true opinions.
1Last time looked at Imam Jaffer al-Sadiq [AS] the sixth of the twelve Holy Imams [AS]. His accomplishments in general and then with particular regards to the development of Shi’ism. Broke off with the consideration of the doctrine of Nass – the insistence that each Imam [AS] must have been nominated by his predecessor – in a witnessed nomination and preferably set down in writing. This process was retrospectively claimed by Imam Jaffer al-Sadiq [AS] to have occurred with each of the Imams [AS], and if in the case of Imam Ali [AS] the First Imam [AS] this had not occurred then it is because of the denial of the request of the Prophet [sAW] on his deathbed that writing implements be brought forth in his presence. It may be assumed or it is assumed by Shi’i authors for him to dictate once again his intentions for Ali [AS] to succeed him as the Imam [AS].
1Imam Muhammad al-Baqir [AS] laid emphasis on the following factors – firstly his choice inherited from his father of political quietism, that is to say his refusal openly to contest rule by the Umayyads. And secondly as a corollary to that a growing emphasis upon the transmission of a unique body of knowledge as constituted the essence of the Imamate. Thirdly a clarification of specific details on which the emergent law of the Shi’ah community differentiated itself from the legal precepts of the surrounding Sunni Community, for example in the call to prayer the inclusion of ‘haya ‘ala khair al-‘aml’ ‘Hasten to the best of deeds’ included by Shi’ah Muslims but omitted by Sunni Muslims – it was Shi’ah belief that it was blocked by the second caliph ‘Umar.
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