Library Islam Faith and Reason Brief Answer
Brief Answer
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Brief Answer
The answer to these questions can be summarized in the following points:
1. Infallibility is a state of the soul that makes an infallible person shun sins or any unpalatable acts and protects him from mistakes and forgetfulness without negating his free will.
2. The secret behind the infallibility of the prophets lies in their direct vision and intuition of reality, their perfect faith and certainty, and their deep love for Allah (awj); along with their profound awareness of Allah’s (awj) majesty and the realization of His attributes. In addition, through infallibility, Allah (awj) strengthens the prophets against the deceptions of Satan and the desires of the carnal soul.
3. Numerous rational proofs confirm the necessity of the infallibility of the prophets. The clearest of these proofs is the fact that Allah’s (awj) purpose in creating man can only be fulfilled through their infallibility.
4. If some verses of the Qur`an seem at first glance to contradict these rational proofs, we must examine those verses more carefully, reflect deeper on their apparent meaning, and uncover their true meaning.
5. Numerous verses affirm the existence and even the necessity of infallibility, although the term “infallibility” has not been used. We cite below some examples:
a. Some verses describe a number of the prophets as mukhlasin (those who have been purified). For example, see 38:45-48. In these verses, one who is mukhlas is one who has not been and cannot be misguided by Satan.
b. Numerous verses explain that the prophets have been guided by Allah (awj). For example, see 6:84-90. It is inconceivable that someone who has been guided by Allah (awj) could be misguided or make a mistake.
c. In many verses Allah (awj) has unconditionally commanded people to obey the prophets. See 3:31-32 and 4:80 and 24:52. It is clear that such an unconditional command from Allah (awj) requires that they be infallible.
d. The verses 72:26-28 indicate that Allah (awj) protects his prophets from all perspectives.
e. The Verse of Purification (ayah al-tathir) found in 33:33 clearly indicates the infallibility of Prophet Muhammad (ص).
1. Those verses that seem to contradict the prophets’ infallibility are either conditional propositions that do not indicate that they have sinned or they pertain to the believers, not the prophets.
2. With respect to the prophet Adam (ع), in whose infallibility many have doubted, the following can be said. First, the proscriptions in the verses related to this discussion are irshadi (advisory) in nature, not mawlawi (a command issued by a superior to an inferior with the hopes that the command will be obeyed). Second, even if they were mawlawi imperatives, they do not indicate that a failure to fulfil the commands is tantamount to a sin, but rather that Adam chose a lesser of two permissible paths. Third, the world in which Adam was living at the time was not a world entailing legal responsibility toward Allah (awj). In such a world, disregarding a command cannot be considered a true sin. If we see occasionally that Allah (awj) addresses the prophets with a sharp tone, this is because they are, after all, men with the faculties of anger and lust and the needs of animals. Therefore, they also require constant admonishment and guidance in such a way that if they were left to themselves for an instant they would be destroyed.
