Chapter Twenty: Knowledge of What has been Narrated Regarding Dissimulation (Taqiyya) and Observing the Outward (Iqamat al-Zahir)

[175] Narrated by 'Ali ibn 'Abdullah, from Muhammad ibn Sinan (peace be upon him), who said: My Master Abu 'Abdullah [Al-Sadiq] (Mighty is His Might) said:

"Whoever has known the Inner (Al-Batin) and remained steadfast upon it, and has not fallen short in the rights of his brethren, he is truly free; he has emerged from the bondage of slavery, and the burdens and shackles have fallen away from him. Therefore, you must safeguard the Outward (Al-Zahir) and observe it in the presence of the common folk (Al-'Ammah), so that you do not become captives in their hands—where if they wish, they grant you safety, and if they wish, they do not.

Does any of you find it acceptable to walk in the market naked? He is not of us who dwells in a tribe of forty men and his outward [conduct] is not more devout (awra') than theirs.