Criteria for Identification of Political Taqiyya Traditions

One of the practical policies of the Infallible Imams intended to preserve the Shi'a Islam was Taqiyya. With regard to the government and the ruling caliph, taqiyyah is called political taqiyyah. As far as the discourse dimension is concerned, and with regard to the Ahl al-Bayt, they are interpreted as narratives of political taqiyyah. Many studies have investigated taqiyya, its goals and types, but there is no clear definition and specific criteria for taqiyya. Shedding light on the criteria of political taqiyyah plays an important role in recognizing the terms used by the Ahl al-Bayt and their true meaning. This article seeks to answer the question whether there are any criteria for the traditions of political taqiyyah in order to distinguish traditions of political taqiyya from other traditions. The author offers a comprehensive definition of political taqiyyah through lexical and narrative analyses. Moreover, by reference to narrative texts and historical sources, criteria such as explicit assertions that indicate the taqiyyah nature of traditions, sociopolitical circumstances at the time of issuing traditions, traditions that praise caliphs, opposition to Shia beliefs, specific titles of traditions as well as the defamation of companions. The result of this study reveal that by understanding the historical and political conditions surrounding the life of the Prophet (pbum), one can obtain specific criteria for identifying political taqiyyah traditions, which in turn helps shed light on requirements on emulating the path of the Infallible. The aforementioned criteria and documents will be elaborated on detail in the article.