Allah, the Wise, had sent the Prophets to guide the humanity
towards piety; advise them to do virtuous deeds and abstain from committing
vices and sins. They had to first practice what they preach. There is a
difference between infallibility and incapacity. The prophets and the Pure
Imams could commit sin but they did not do so.
Infallibility of
the Prophets and the Pure Imams is the cardinal principle of the Shiite Islam.
However, other Muslims believe that the prophets did not commit any sin while
delivering the message but in their personal lives they made mistakes. If for a
moment, it is agreed that a prophet commit a sin, then a strange situation will
arise. It would be necessary to obey and disobey at the same time, because Allah says in Surah al-Imran Ayah
31: “(Muhammad), tell them, “If you love Allah, follow me. Allah will love you
and forgive your sins. Allah is All-Forgiving and All-Merciful.” When it has been proved for the Noble Prophet
(s.a.w.a.s.), it must be true for all other prophets because Allah does not
discriminate between His Messengers. On the other hand, it is not allowed to
follow a sinner in his sinful activities.
In order to achieve salvation in this world and the
Hereafter, Allah is directing the humanity to obey Him, His Messenger
(s.a.w.a.s.) and the (Qualified) leaders as mentioned in Surah al-Nisa Ayah 59: “Believers, obey Allah, His Messenger, and
your (Qualified) leaders. If you have faith in Allah and the Day of Judgment,
refer to Allah and His Messenger concerning matters in which you differ…”
In Surah al-Baqarah
Ayah 44, Allah says: “Would you order people to do good deeds and forget to do
them yourselves even though you read the Book? Why do you not think?” When
Shaitan said: “By God, I will make your people to follow the wrong path except
your Mukhlus believers.” Allah said: “The people who will follow you, will be
unbelievers. The righteous people will always follow My Apostle and their
orders.”
When a man commits a sin, he follows his desires not obeying
his Creator’s commands and is misguided and the Prophets are guided by Allah as
stated in Surah al-Zumar Ayah 37: “Who can
mislead one whom Allah has guided? Is Allah
not Majestic and capable to exact retribution? Surah al-Najm Ayah 1-5: “By the star, when descending (in space), your
companion (Muhammad) is not in error nor has he deviated. He does not speak out
of his own desires. It (whatever he says) is a revelation which has been
revealed to him. The Great Mighty One taught him.” The Noble Prophet
(s.a.w.a.s.)’s infallibility is confirmed by the Divine Ayah Tatheer in Surah
al-Ahzab Ayah 33: “O People of the house, Allah wants to remove all kinds of
uncleanness from you and to purify you thoroughly.” This Ayah refers to the
Ahlul Bayt (a.s.) of the Noble Prophet (s.a.w.a.s.) including the Noble Prophet
(s.a.w.a.s.).
Allah provided guidance to the Prophets as mentioned
in Surah Sad Ayahs 45 to 47: “(Muhammad), recall our servants Ibrahim, Ishaque,
and Yaqub all of whom possessed virtuous hands (power) and clear visions. We
gave them this pure distinction because of their continual remembrance of the
Day of Judgment. In our eyes they were of the chosen, virtuous people.”
Similarly, He is clearly directing the people to follow the Messenger as in
Surah al-Imran Ayah 31: “(Muhammad), tell them, “If you love Allah, follow me.
Allah will love you and forgive your sins. Allah is All-Forgiving and
All-Merciful.”
Allah is inviting
people that if they want to be successful then obey Allah and His Messenger as
in Surah al-Nur Ayah 52: “Those who obey Allah and His Messenger, who are
humble before Allah, and who have fear of Him, certainly, be successful.”
Al-Shaykh al-Tusi
(r.a.) said: “Infallibility is necessary for a Prophet so that surety in him is
attained and the purpose of creation is fulfilled.”Moreover, if a Prophet is
not infallible, he will make mistakes and people will not trust him or his
message. The Noble Prophet (s.a.w.a.s.) established his “Trustworthiness” and “Truthfulness”
for 40 years in Makkah among the Polytheists before formally invited them
towards Islam.
Whatever is stated above for the Prophets holds good for the
Pure Imams of Ahlul Bayt (a.s.)
Information obtained from:
The Glorious Qur’an, Faith & Reason by Ayatollah Mahdi
Hadavi Tehrani
No comments:
Post a Comment