with his tongue of speech and affirmation, the contrary of what is in his heart of doubt and denial, in order to avert from himself, by what he manifested with his tongue, the ruling of God, mighty and majestic, that is binding upon whoever is in a state of denial like his, had he not manifested with his tongue what he manifested of affirmation and acknowledgment - namely, killing and captivity. So that is his deceiving of his Lord and the people of faith in God.

So if a questioner says: How can the hypocrite be a deceiver of God and the believers, when he only manifests with his tongue the contrary of what he believes out of dissimulation (taqiyya)?

It is said: The Arabs do not refrain from naming one who gives with his tongue other than what is in his conscience out of dissimulation to escape from what he fears, and thereby escapes from what he feared - a deceiver of the one he saved himself from by what he manifested to him out of dissimulation. Thus is the hypocrite; he is named a deceiver of God and the believers by his manifesting what he manifested with his tongue out of dissimulation, by which he saved himself from killing, captivity, and immediate punishment, while he conceals other than what he manifested. And that action of his - even if it is a deception of the believers in the immediate world - he is thereby deceiving himself by his action, because he manifests to it (his soul) by that action of his towards it, that he is giving it its desire, and making it drink the cup of its joy, while he is leading it thereby to the basins of its destruction, and making it gulp thereby the cup of its punishment, and making it visit from the wrath of God and His painful punishment what it has no power to bear (1). So that is his deceiving of himself, thinking - despite his wronging it in the matter of its Hereafter - that he is doing good to it, as He, may His praise be exalted, said: "and they deceive not except themselves, and they perceive not," as a notification from Him to His believing servants that the hypocrites, by their wronging themselves in angering their Lord through their disbelief, doubt, and denial - are neither perceiving nor aware, but rather they are persisting in blindness regarding their affair.

And similar to what we said regarding the interpretation of that, Ibn Zayd used to say.

320- Yūnus b. ʿAbd al-Aʿlā narrated to me, he said: Ibn Wahb informed us, he said: I asked ʿAbd al-Raḥmān b. Zayd about the statement of God, may His mention be exalted: {They seek to deceive God and those who believe} until