“Let not the believers take for friends or helpers unbelievers rather than believers. If any do that, in nothing will there be help from Allah; except by way of precaution, that ye may guard yourselves from them” (Qur’an 3:28).
The Sunni Qur’an commentator Ibn Kathir explains that in this verse “Allah prohibited His believing servants from becoming supporters of the disbelievers, or to take them as comrades with whom they develop friendships, rather than the believers.” However, exempted from this rule were “those believers who in some areas or times fear for their safety from the disbelievers. In this case, such believers are allowed to show friendship to the disbelievers outwardly, but never inwardly. For instance, Al-Bukhari recorded that Abu Ad-Darda’ said, ‘We smile in the face of some people although our hearts curse them.’ Al-Bukhari said that Al-Hasan said, ‘The Tuqyah [taqiyyah] is allowed until the Day of Resurrection.'”
This practice is also sanctioned by the Qur’an warning Muslims that those who forsake Islam will be consigned to Hell “” except those forced to do so, but who remain true Muslims inwardly: “Any one who, after accepting faith in Allah, utters unbelief “” except under compulsion, his heart remaining firm in faith “” but such as open their breast to unbelief, on them is wrath from Allah, and theirs will be a dreadful penalty” (Qur’an 16:106). Ibn Kathir explains that “the scholars agreed that if a person is forced into disbelief, it is permissible for him to either go along with them in the interests of self-preservation, or to refuse.”
Moreover, Sahih Bukhari, the hadith collection that Sunnis consider the most reliable, records three times Muhammad’s statement that “war is deceit.” Another hadith has Muhammad saying that lying is permissible “in three cases: in battle, for bringing reconciliation amongst persons and the narration of the words of the husband to his wife, and the narration of the words of a wife to her husband (in a twisted form in order to bring reconciliation between them)” (Sahih Muslim 6303). Muhammad also gave the killer of Ka’b bin al-Ashraf permission to lie in order to deceive Ka’b and lure him to his death.
Another venerable Sunni commentator on the Qur’an, as-Suyuti, says that “it is acceptable (for a Muslim) to eat the meat of a dead animal at a time of great hunger (starvation to the extent that the stomach is devoid of all food); and to loosen a bite of food (for fear of choking to death) by alcohol; and to utter words of unbelief…”
“Kasab is a fidayeen, well trained to misguide: Nikam,” from the Times of India, May 9 (thanks to Puneet):
MUMBAI: Behaviour of Ajmal Amir Kasab and his statements in court prove that he is a ‘fidayeen’, who has been well trained physically and psychologically to even dodge clutches of law, said Ujwal Nikam, public prosecutor of the 26/11 case.
Nikam said Kasab has not only been trained in terror warfare but also given intelligence training to escape the clutches of law by “˜dishonest” means.
“From what he has told the court, it is clear that he is “misguiding”. He has been misleading from time to time in regard to his age so that he can go in for a trial under Juvenile Justice Act, which does not attract rigorous punishment like the one prescribed under IPC,” Nikam said.
“He is unpredictable and says one thing at one moment and totally opposite at some other time. Kasab gave his age as 21 years to the jailor and the doctor who examined him after his arrest but in the court he pleaded he was 17.
After the court inquiry found he was not a minor, Kasab again blurted out that he was 21 when charges were being framed against him in the court.
“This shows the pattern how well he has been trained to mislead. He is definitely a ‘fidayeen’ and knows how to influence people by harping on their psychology. Even his mood patterns indicate this trend,” Nikam added.