generally among most human beings. Rather, a Muslim may be held captive or be alone (1) in lands of disbelief, with no one compelling him to utter a word of disbelief. He does not utter it, nor does he say with his tongue what is not in his heart. He may need to adopt a conciliatory manner toward some disbelievers so that they think he is one of them. Even then, he does not say with his tongue what is not in his heart; rather, he conceals what is in his heart.

There is a difference between lying and concealment. A believer conceals what is within him when Allah excuses him from openly declaring it, as did the believer from Pharaoh’s household. As for one who utters disbelief, he is excused only if he is coerced. A lying hypocrite is never excused under any circumstances, but equivocal expressions provide a way to avoid outright lying.

That believer who conceals his faith may thus live among disbelievers who do not know his religion. Yet even while among them he remains a believer, and they love and honor him, because the faith in his heart requires him to treat them with truthfulness, trustworthiness, sincere counsel, and goodwill, even though he does not agree with their religion. This is how Joseph the Truthful dealt with the people of Egypt, although they were disbelievers. Likewise, the believer from Pharaoh’s household concealed his faith, yet he honored Moses and said:

“Would you kill a man merely because he says, ‘My Lord is Allah’?”

[Surah Ghāfir: 2].

As for a Rāfidī, he never associates with anyone without behaving hypocritically toward him. The corrupt religion in his heart drives him to lie, betray trust, deceive people, and wish them harm. He spares no effort to bring about their ruin and commits every evil against them that lies within his power. He is detested even by those who do not know him. Even if someone does not know that he is a Rāfidī, the marks of hypocrisy appear on his face and in the tenor of his speech. Thus, one finds him behaving hypocritically even toward the weak and toward people from whom he needs nothing, because of the hypocrisy in his heart, which weakens it.