Answer
✅ Answer: 'Tawriyah' linguistically means to conceal one matter and reveal another, in a way that a word or a sentence has two meanings, and one of the meanings is more common and well-known, such that when the matter is said, the well-known meaning comes to the listeners' minds, and the speaker intends to keep their true matter hidden while not lying. Pay attention to its example in the following narration:
قال أَبُو عَبْداللَّهِ التَّقِیَّةُ من دِینِ اللَّهِ عَزَّوَجَلَّ قُلْتُ مِنْ دِینِ اللَّهِ قَالَ فَقَالَ إِی وَ اللَّهِ مِنْ دِینِ اللَّهِ لَقَدْ قَالَ یُوسُفُ أَیَّتُهَا الْعِیرُ إِنَّکُمْ لَسارِقُونَ وَ اللَّهِ مَا کَانُوا سَرَقُوا شَیْئاً وَلَقَدْ قال إِبْرَاهِیمُ إِنِّی سَقِیمٌ وَاللّهِ ما کَانَ سَقِیما
📚 Kafi Vol. 2, p. 217
Abu Basir said: Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: 'Taqiyah' (dissimulation) is from the religion of Allah Almighty. I said: Is it from the religion of Allah? He said: Yes, by Allah, it is from the religion of Allah; indeed, Joseph (peace be upon him) said: 'O caravan, you are indeed thieves,' and by Allah, they had not stolen anything, and Abraham said: 'Indeed, I am sick,' and by Allah, he was not sick.
✅ In another hadith, the Imam said: Joseph did not say 'you have stolen the king's drinking cup.' Indeed, his inner meaning was that 'you stole Joseph from his father.'
📚📚 Al-Burhan Vol. 3, p. 188
✅ The above story is mentioned in Surah Yusuf, verse 70 and beyond, where Prophet Joseph (peace be upon him) said to them: 'You are thieves.' The apparent meaning was that 'you have stolen the king's drinking cup' so that he could keep his brother with him, but Joseph's inner and hidden meaning was that 'you stole Joseph from his father,' and with this 'Tawriyah' and 'Taqiyah,' he both protected himself from lying and achieved his goal.
أَبِی عَبْداللَّه قال قال رَسُولُ اللَّهِ لَا کَذِبَ عَلَی مُصْلِحٍ ثُمَّ تَلَا أَیَّتُهَا الْعِیرُ إِنَّکُمْ لَسارِقُونَ ثُمَّ قَالَ وَاللَّهِ ما سَرَقُوا و ما کَذَبَ ثُمَّ تَلَا بَلْ فَعَلَهُ کَبِیرُهُمْ هذا فَسْئَلُوهُمْ إِنْ کانُوا یَنْطِقُونَ ثُمَّ قَالَ وَاللَّهِ مَا فَعَلُوهُ و مَا کَذَبَ
📚 Kafi Vol. 2, p. 343
Imam Sadiq said: The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) said: There is no lie for a peacemaker. Then he recited this verse: 'O caravan, you are thieves.' Then he said: By Allah, they had not stolen, and Joseph did not lie. Then he recited this verse: '(Prophet Abraham said) Rather, the largest of them did it, so ask them, if they can speak.' Then he said: By Allah, they had not done this, and Abraham (peace be upon him) also did not lie.
✅ In the above hadith, Prophet Abraham, for the purpose of reforming his people, said something whose ظاهر (apparent meaning) seems to be a lie, but the meaning he intended was the truth, and he did this for the purpose of reforming his people. He said: 'The largest of the idols did the act of breaking the idols (if they can speak), so ask them.' Meaning if the idols can speak, their largest one did it, otherwise no.
✅ Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) said in a hadith: When the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) intended to travel to a place (for Jihad), he would use 'Tawriyah' by mentioning another place. (Meaning, for example, he would mention a city that was on his way, while he only intended to pass through that city, and his destination was somewhere else, but for the sake of 'Taqiyah' and keeping the secrets of Jihad, he would use 'Tawriyah'!).
📚 Ma'ani al-Akhbar p. 385
✅ A very important point is that 'Tawriyah' is performed in a place of 'Taqiyah' or 'peacemaking' and is in fact one of the ways of 'Taqiyah', which must be practiced with careful understanding in its proper place, because 'Taqiyah' in a place other than its proper place is considered a sin.
✅ Using 'Tawriyah' in an improper place is a type of deception, trickery, deceit, and lying, and we all must be careful about it.
✅ For example, we are in a place where forbidden food is offered to us, and the conditions for mentioning the reason for our refusal to eat that food are not suitable due to 'Taqiyah'. We say to that person, for 'Tawriyah', for example: 'I am sick, and the doctor has forbidden me from eating this food.' The apparent meaning of our words is the prohibition of a certain doctor, while our inner meaning is the well-known narration that said: 'O people, you are all sick, and Allah, the Lord of the worlds, is the doctor,' and since Allah has forbidden us from this forbidden food, by saying this sentence, we have spoken the truth, but the listener understands something else, and by this act, 'Taqiyah' has been observed, and we have not fallen into the forbidden food!
✅ Other instances of 'Tawriyah' also exist in the narrations, but one must be very careful not to use it for deceiving others in business and so on, or for other bad purposes, but to use it in its correct place of 'Taqiyah' and 'peacemaking' with proper understanding. Insha'Allah.