Taqiya & Raj'at: Precautionary Dissimulation & The Return of the Dead back to the World (Shi'a Islam Doctrinal Series)

The Shi’a Islam Doctrinal Series is an attempt at a comprehensive treatment of Shi’a Islam from an emic or inside perspective from within Shi’a Islam itself, as opposed to the perspective of orientalism, or of comparative religion, or sociology, or some other branch of the humanities with its modern Western perspectives, all of which are philosophical approaches (in the sense that they have philosophical rather than religious underpinnings and bearings) and therefore do not, strictly speaking, deal with the religion itself as it is understood by the clerisy of its practitioners, but do so from a perspective and ideological framework that is alien and indeed antithetical and at times hostile to it. There is a severe dearth of source material which the English-speaking reader can rely on to provide him or her with the proper understanding of Shi’a Islam based on the self-understanding of the religion itself. The Shi’a Islam Doctrinal Series (as well as other series) of the Lion of Najaf Publications hopes to do its part in filling the lacunae that exist, thereby firstly providing Moslems who have emigrated to or have been born outside of the Islamic heartland with reliable material for them to gain a better understanding of their religion; and secondly, to provide non-Moslems who are interested in learning more about Islam, and about Shi’a Islam in particular, with first-hand and dependable resources which are sourced from the heart of Islamic civilization.In the first essay of the present book, precautionary dissimulation (taqiya) in the Sacred Law of Islam is discussed both with respect to Sonni and Twelver Shi’a perspectives. The author then provides a typology for precautionary dissimulation under the following headings: prudential dissimulation from unbelievers; prudential dissimulation from Moslems; prudential dissimulation in acts of devotion; prudential dissimulation in the issuance of fatwas; prudential dissimulation in political matters. In the second essay, Raj’at (The Return of the Dead back to the World), first raj’at is defined and the status of belief in raj’at is discussed. Next a three-stage proof for raj’at is provided: 1. The stage of proving the possibility of raj’at; 2. The stage of proving that the belief in raj’at t does not conflict with other Islamic beliefs; 3. The stage of proving the reality of raj’at in the future of the Islamic community. And finally, misconceptions and spurious arguments about raj’at are examined and rejected, including the belief that raj’at encourages one to sin, the belief that raj’at entails belief in reincarnation, and the belief that raj’at causes the influx of syncretic beliefs from the Judaic tradition.