Meaning: Adhere to Dissimulation (Taqiyya).'

And with a chain of transmission, our Master, the Scholar (peace be upon him) said to Abū Muʿāwiya: 'O Abū Muʿāwiya, convey my greetings of peace to my Shia and tell them: Their parable is only like that of the Bee; if it eats, it eats what is good; if it produces, it produces what is good; and if it lands on a branch, it does not scratch it. Yet, if the birds knew what was in its belly, they would eat it. Likewise, if our enemies knew what is in your chests of our knowledge, they would kill you; so do not disclose any secret to them.'"

I say: The People of the Outward (Ahl al-Ẓāhir) affirm that Iblis misled Adam out of envy, and likewise the brothers of Joseph threw him into the depths of the well driven by envy; all of that is a teaching and discipline for us.

Among what indicates the affirmation of the Inward (al-Bāṭin) and the obligation of concealing it is the saying of the Almighty in Surah al-Kahf:

{So send one of you with this silver coin of yours to the city and let him look to which is the purest food and bring you provision from it and let him be cautious and let no one be aware of you. Indeed, if they come to know of you, they will stone you or return you to their religion, and then you will never succeed. And similarly, We caused them to be discovered that they [the people] might know that the promise of Allah is true and that the Hour—there is no doubt about it.