خلاصة:
In the previous parts of this series, the importance
of Imamate in Shi‘i Islam was discussed. In doing so, narrations
of the Prophet regarding the necessity of simultaneously holding
on to the Qur’an and the Ahlul Bayt (a) were presented. Using
mainly Sunni sources, both the meaning and authority of Ahlul
Bayt were studied. In this part, we will examine one of the
characteristics of divinely appointed leaders including both
prophets and Imams, that is, infallibility. With respect to the
Prophets, both Shi‘a and Sunni scholars agree on the necessity of
infallibility with respect to the delivery of the message, but there
are differences of opinions with respect to their personal life and
the period before the prophethood. The Shi‘a believe in the
Prophets’ and Imams’ infallibility during and before their
mission both in their public and private lives
ملخص الجهاز:
"Some Muslims believe that the prophets were infallible only during their spreading of the message although they may have committed some minor sins and/or mistakes in their personal lives.
But the great Shi‘a scholar and prolific author Allamah Hilli in his B b al-H di ‘Ashr (The Eleventh Gate) describes the creed of the Shi‘a as follows: Truly, the prophets are infallible from the beginning of their lives till the end, because the hearts of the people do not tend to obey those whom they have witnessed previously committing different types of minor and major sins and hateful or unpleasant acts.
Sheikh Muhammad Rida Muzaffar, author of Aqaid al-Im miyyah (The Faith of Shi‘a Islam), says about ‘ismah: The reason for the infallibility of a prophet is that if he commits a sin or mistake, we are to choose between two alternatives: either we obey his sins and mistakes, and eventually do wrong, or we must not obey his sins and mistakes, which too is wrong, because this is contrary to the concept of prophethood where obedience is necessary.
The Shi‘a thus highly esteem prophethood; they believe that the Prophets were pious and pure throughout their entire lives and that they are completely immune from committing sins or other acts which drive others away from them.
The non-Shi‘a may believe in the possibility that the prophets may have committed mistakes and sins in their personal lives before and during their prophethood."