Why did He(as) not Perform Taqiyyah?

Objection Five: Why did He(as) not Perform Taqiyyah?

We read in Tadhkirathul Khawwas page 156:

“Ibn Abbas replied a letter of Yazeed saying ‘I can never forget the fact that you forced the grandson of the Prophet (s) to leave Madeena and seek refuge in Makka. I also can’t forget that that preparations of Ibn Ziyad the Governor of Kufa to implement your order to kill Husayn, Yazeed you has sent your troops to kill Husayn in Makka”

As we can see Yazeed had not care for the pure soil of Makka and sent troops to kill the Imam (as) there.

Reply One:

The order to practice taqiyya is a common one, whereas the order to fight Yazeed was a specific edict.

1. Al Bidayah wal Nihayah (urdu), Volume 8 page 163 Dhikr Husayn
2. Tareekh Ibn Asakir Volume 4 page 332 Dhikr Husayn
3. Tareekh Kamil by Ibn Atheer Volume 4 page 21 Dhikr Husayn
4. Asad’ul Ghayba Volume 2 page 21 Dhikr Husayn
5. Maqathil Husayn page 217 Part1
6. Tareekh Khamees Volume 2 page 197 Dhikr Husayn
7. Ya Nabi al Mawaadah page 336 Chapter 61

Al Bidayah:

“Whilst making preparations for Iraq, Husayn said ‘I witnessed my grandfather the Prophet in a dream, he gave me an order, and said that I must act upon it, and I cannot disclose this order to any Kufan, until I pass through this matter”

Ya Nabi al Mawaddah:

When efforts were made to dissuade Imam Husayn from leaving for Iraq, his brother Muhammad bin Hanafeeya tried hard, the Imam said ‘I witnessed my grandfather in a dream, he ordered me to travel to Iraq, and said ‘Allah desires that you are martyred on his path covered in blood. Muhammad Hanafeeya said, ‘If this is the case, then why are you taking women with you?’ The Imam said ‘My grandfather had also told me that Allah (swt) desires that his Deen is protected via the imprisonment of these women”

If Nasabi still refuse to accept this line of reasoning then we will point out that when mass opposition turned into rebellion against Khaleefa Uthman, and he was pressured into abandoning his post, so mush so that the Sahaba on Madeena constantly told him to resign, he replied ‘The Prophet told me not to remove the Shirt of Khilafath, even if it means me being killed’. If these Nasabi wont accept the words of Uthman then they will likewise not accept the word of Imam Husayn (as).

Reply Two:

The scholars of Islam are fully aware that the knowledge of Usul (principles) that if general ruling is overtaken by a specific ruling, that specific ruling takes precedence. We will provide an example:

“If a teacher says to his teacher ‘You can all go home now, the lesson has finished’ they will all leave, BUT if he says to one of those students ‘You can’t go’ the first order is a general one, the second is specific, that referred only to that student that had been asked to stay.

The order to practice taqiyya is a general one, whilst the order to be slain to protect the Deen of Allah (swt) at Kerbala, was an order specific to Imam Husayn (as). It is clear that when the Prophet (s) told Imam Husayn to make his way to Kerbala and be slain there, then any Nasabi objection as to why taqiyya was not utilized becomes redundant.

Reply Three:

Imam Husayn (as) was a divinely appointed Imam whose task is to protect the religion of Allah(swt) and guide the people and making their faith alive or more strong. Had Imam Husayn (as) practiced Taqiyyah at that time, the said purpose would have not been achieved, Islam would have been perished and Kufr would have been spread. The task which was given to him by Allah(swt) and the expectation Holy Prophet (s) had from him(as) about the protection of the religion of Allah(swt) would have been foiled. Imam Husayn (as) practicing taqiyyah at that time means that he could have given bayah to Yazeed making all of his immoral and anti Islam acts lawful while everyone know that Yazeed [la] used to commit acts which were totally against the teachings of Allah and his Prophet(s). Had Imam Husayn (as) practiced taqiyyah at that time, kufr would have re-emerged making all the efforts of Holy Prophet[s null and void.

There is a difference between the things permissible for followers and the duties of a Imam or guide. We read in history that:

The non-believers once caught Ammar-bin-Yaser (ra) and they forced him to say praise their false gods and to condemn Prophet Muhammad (s). They forced him to an extent that Ammar bin Yasir (ra) gave in an exceeded to their demands. After that, when he returned to the Prophet Mohammed (s), Ammar (A.S) narrated the whole story to him (s). Prophet Muhammad (S) asked him, how do you feel in your heart? To which Ammar (A.S) replied, I am fully content with Allah's religion in my heart. To this Prophet Mohammed (S) said, if non-believers ask you to say the same again, say it.

1. Tareekh Kamil, Volume 2 page 24

2. Tafseer Durre Manthur Volume 4 page 132, (Cairo edition)

Hence we came to know that Holy Prophet (s) gave clear permission to Ammar Yasir(ra) for practicing taqiyyah but Prophet (s) himself didn't perform taqiyyah during that particular time as he(s) was divinely appointed Imam of the time and practicing taqiyyah would have foiled all of his previous efforts for Islam.