Infallibility ('Ismah)

Infallibility is the inability to be wrong. Its importance and meaning is debated in epistemology and major religions.

166099

Infallibility ('Ismah) . Imam Ali b. Abi Talib . Treaty of Hudaybiyyah

How can one respond to the argument that Ali (as) is not infallible based on his refusal to erase what the Prophet (s) had told him to do during the treaty of Hudaibiyya?

Sayyed Mohammad Al-Musawi, Sayyed Mohammad al-Musawi is originally from Iraq and heads up the World Ahlul Bayt Islamic League in London. Other than being involved in various humanitarian projects, he frequently responds to... Answered 2 years ago

When the Prophet of Islam (SAWA) had the Treaty or the Trues with Mushriks of Makkah, they did not accept the writing of Hazrat Ali a.s who wrote that this is a Trues between Mohammad the Messenger of Allah and the people of Quraish. They said : If we accept you as a Prophet we would have never fought against you. So they wanted Ali a.s to omit the word Rasool Allah. Ali as did not accept and did not obey the Mushriks and said : I will never remove it . then the Prophet of Islam himself for the sake of safety of Muslim removed it. There is no question of the Prophet (sawa) ordering Ali a.s to do something and Ali a.s disobeying him because the Prophet (sawa) has clearly said in authentic hadiths that Ali a.s is with the truth and truth is with Ali a.s, and said also: Ali a.s is with the Quran and Quran is with Ali a.s. So, no possibility at all that Ali ibn Abi Talib a.s does anything away from th obedience of Allah and the Prophet sawa. The enemies of Ali a.s wanted to create doubt about this Incidence of Hudaibiyya but they are trying to play mischief and not going through the real authentic narration about what happened in Hudabiyya Ali a.s never disobeyed the Prophet saws but he kept the respect of the Prophet sawa being the greatest and the final Prophet sawa of Allah and he did not omitted the word of the messenger of Allah, then the Prophet sawa omitted it himself for the safety of the Muslim Ummah. that is what happen in Hudaibiyyah.
Wassalam

157335

Imamah . Infallibility ('Ismah)

What evidence is there for the infallibility of the Imams who came after Imam Hussain (a)?

The Prophet Muhammad (SAWA) did mention the names of all the twelve Imams (AS) as the real successors of the Prophet who will lead and guide the whole world as the Prophet was leading and guiding. As Allah (SWT) Has ordered us to obey Him, the Prophet and our divine leaders, Infallibility is necessary for them otherwise how can we obey Allah in obeying a person who can commit sins, which leads us to sinning which is against the obedience of Allah.

'Every infallible Imam has clearly mentioned who will be the Imam after him, which keeps the whole chain of Imams fully authentic and all of them are infallible.

'Wassalam.

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Women . Infallibility ('Ismah) . Ahl al-Bayt . Sayyida Fatimah al-Zahra'

Why is Fatima Al Zahra (as) the only infallible female? Are women considered inferior in the eyes of God, which is why the majority of infallibles are men?

No question of inferiority of women in Islam at all. Fatima (AS) was the lady who was granted the highest rank above all human beings including all the pious men and she is the third greatest human being after her father the Prophet Muhammad (SAWA) and her husband Ameerul Mo'mineen (AS).

Wassalam.

136969

Ahl al-Bayt . Infallibility ('Ismah)

Are all the siblings of any Imam (a) also automatically considered to be from the Masoomeen due to their father being an Imam?

Not at all. Only the Imam is Infallible and not all his sons or brothers.

Wassalam.

121496

Sin . Prophets . Dua Mashlul . Infallibility ('Ismah)

In an English translation of Dua Mashlool there is a verse saying Allah (SWT) forgave the sin of David (as). Is this translation correct because the Prophets are righteous and never choose to sin?

It is a wrong translation. All the Prophets are infallible and no Prophet committed any type of sin. Some acts from the prophets are not accepted by some people and called by some as sinful acts but it is in fact never sinful acts according to Allah.

Wassalam.

120962

Prophets . Infallibility ('Ismah) . God (Allah)

If Prophets are sinless then why did Prophet Adam (as) go against Allah's order?

Prophet Adam (AS) never went against Allah's order. We need to take the meanings of Quranic verses from the Prophet (SAWA) and not from others. The blame on Adam and other prophets has come from non Muslims through Israelites to some Muslims. Authentic Hadeeth states that Adam was been advised to avoid that tree but he was never been ordered to avoid it. There is a big difference between the order which is obligatory to be obeyed, and the advice which is recommended to be taken.

We have many books in this regard e.g. Tanzeeh al-Anbiyaa' by al-Shaikh al-Mufeed and Tanzeeh al-Anbiyaa' by al-Shaikh al-Murtadha and many other books.

Wassalam.

106033

Hadith al-Kisa' . Qur'an . Imamah . Infallibility ('Ismah)

I understand that Ayah Tathir establishes the infallibility of the Ahl al-Kisa (AS), but where in the Quran does it say that the other Imams (AS) are infallible as well? If this belief originates from Hadith then where can the evidence be found?

The five Ineffable greatest personalities (The Prophet (SAWA), Imam Ali (AS), Fatima (AS), Imam Hasan (AS) and Imam Husain (AS) have repeatedly said in many authentic Hadeeths that all the nine following Imams are Infallible. Believing in Hadeeth al-Kisa leads definitely to believing that what ever was said by the greatest Five is the absolute truth which is strong evidence that all the twelve Imams are Infallible.

Wassalam.

101600

Al-Abbas ibn Ali . Sayyida Zaynab bt. 'Ali . Infallibility ('Ismah)

Does Hazrat Abbas (ra) and Seyyeda Zeynab (ra) possess some level of Ismah?

The great status of Sayyeda Zaynab (SA) and Hazrat Abbas (AS) is above our thinking, that is why we can not determine their level of Ismah. It is known to Allah (SWT), the Prophet (SAWA) and Ahlul Bayt (AS).

Wassalam.

93315

Ahl al-Bayt . Infallibility ('Ismah) . Sayyida Zaynab bt. 'Ali

Are there any infallibles in Shia Islam other than the 14 members of the Ahl al-Bayt (AS), all the Prophets (AS) and lady Maryam (AS)? Is Sayyida Zainab, daughter of Imam Ali (AS), considered infallible as, unlike anyone else, both her parents are Masoom?

All the Prophets are Infallibles with no exception at all.

The status of the fourteen Infallables ( Muhammad , Ali, Fatimah, Hasan, Husain and nine Imams from Imam Husain) is The highest above all noble human beings. No doubt there are very pious personalities like Lady Maryam Bint Imran and Lady Asiya Bint Muzahim who have got a degree of infallibility which is called by some scholars as minor infallibility. Minor infallibility means a high state of piousness in which the person keeps himself away from sins because of continuous remembering Allah (SWT). This type of infallibility is less than the infallibility of the 14 Ma'soomeen (AS).

Lady Zaynab (AS) and Hazrat Abbas (AS) were best of the best pious people but their status is after the status of the 14 Ma'soomeen. Many scholars call their infallibility as acquired infallibility which is a result of highest degrees of Taqwa and piousness.

Wassalam.

92119

Meaning . Infallibility ('Ismah)

Does the term Ma'soom mean sinless, not able to make a mistake, or both?

Mateen Charbonneau, Sheikh Mateen Joshua Charbonneau achieved a certificate from Harvard University in Islamic Studies. He undertook Howza classes under esteemed scholars since 2013 and has been teaching at Imam Mahdi... Answered 5 years ago

In the book Aqaed al-Haqqa by Ayatullah Sayed Ali Sadr we find infallibility categorized into 3 levels:

1. Ismat ul Kubra which is reserved for the 14 Infallibles. They do not commit sins, mistakes or even tark al-awla (choosing the less preferred method). We as Shia however do not believe that any of the prophets, from their birth until their death, committed any sins at all whether big or small. We see that the honorable Shia scholar, Sheikh Mufid stated that the prophets and Imams never committed sins or even left the recommended actions (mustahab) and that they were perfect in every aspect of their lives.

Another point to bring is that the prophets are not infallible by force. Rather, they are infallible by utilizing their intellectual ability to not succumb to sin. They have the ability to sin, but they choose not to sin. They know the effects and evil disgusting nature of sin and are repulsed by it. An example would be, if we saw an old piece of food that was rotten would we eat that food? Of course not! It is repulsive to us because we see its rottenness. This is how the prophets see sin. They see the rottenness in disobeying God, whereas most of mankind is attracted to the sins because they have been made fair-seeming to them.

2. Ismat ul-Ithbaatiya which is for the general prophets where they do not commit sins, but it is possible for them to do tark al-awla (choosing the less preferred method).

3. Ismat ul- Thubutiya which is an acquired level of infallibility by abandoning sins and continuously doing their responsibilities to Allah and are obedient to Him. They are just individuals and are far away from deviation. We find this type of acquired infallibility in some of the progeny of the infallibles such as Zaynab, Abbas and Masuma (as) and others.

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Infallibility ('Ismah)

How one can determine who is infallible Imam?

The Infallible Imam has the maximum knowledge which is continuation of the knowledge of the Prophet (SAWA) which is from Allah , and has the absolute obedience of Allah (SWT) in each and every act he does and word he alters. Infallible Imam can never be away from the Twelve Imams mentioned by the Prophet Muhammad (SAWA).

Wassalam.

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Prophets . Infallibility ('Ismah)

Did any other Prophets have infallible successors?

Yes, every prophet had a successor who leads his Ummah after the Prophet and all of them are infallible. The Hadeeth لكل نبي وصي is narrated in Shia and Sunni books. Among Sunni scholars who narrated this Hadeeth are Ibn Hanbal in Fadha'l al-Sahabah, Sibt Ibn al-Jawzi in Tathkirat al-Khawaass, Ibn al-Maghaazili in al-Manaaqib, al-Tabaraani in al-Mo'jam al-Kabeer and Ibn Asaakir in Tareekh Dimishq and many others.

Wassalam.