Infallibility of Imams: Difference between revisions

The Imam's infallibility and the evidence for it are among the major Quranic and theological issues.<ref>Subḥānī, ''Manshūr-i jāwīd'', vol. 4, p. 239.</ref> According to [[Twelver Shias]], [[infallibility]] is a requirement and attribute of [[Imamate]], and the infallibility of the Shiite Imams (a) is one of their fundamental beliefs.<ref>See: Ṭūsī, ''al-Iqtiṣād fīmā yataʿallaqu bi l-iʿtiqād'', p. 305; Ḥillī, ''Kashf al-murād'', p. 184; Fayyāḍ Lāhījī, ''Sarmāya-yi imān'', p. 114; Subḥānī, ''al-Ilāhīyāt'', vol. 4, p. 116.</ref> [['Allama al-Majlisi]] states that the Imamiyya have consensus over the infallibility of the Imams (a) from all [[Grave Sins|major]] and minor sins, whether intentional or unintentional, and from any errors or mistakes.<ref>Majlisī, ''Biḥār al-anwār'', vol. 25, p. 209, 350, 351.</ref> It is said that [[Ismailis]] also require infallibility for Imamate.<ref>Ḥillī, ''Kashf al-murād'', p. 184; Jurjānī, ''Sharḥ al-mawāqif'', vol. 8, p. 351.</ref> In contrast, [[Sunni Muslims]] do not require infallibility for Imamate,<ref>Qāḍī ʿAbd al-Jabbār, ''al-Mughnī'', vol. 15, p. 251, 255, 256, vol. 20, p. 26, 84, 95, 98, 215, 323; Jurjānī, ''Sharḥ al-mawāqif'', vol. 8, p. 351; Taftāzānī, ''Sharḥ al-maqāṣid'', vol. 5, p. 249.</ref> as they have consensus that the [[first three caliphs]] were Imams without being infallible.<ref>Jurjānī, ''Sharḥ al-mawāqif'', vol. 8, p. 351; Taftāzānī, ''Sharḥ al-maqāṣid'', vol. 5, p. 249.</ref> Instead of infallibility, they require [[Justice (fiqh)|justice]].<ref>Qāḍī ʿAbd al-Jabbār, ''al-Mughnī'', vol. 20, p. 201; Jurjānī, ''Sharḥ al-mawāqif'', vol. 8, p. 350; Taftāzānī, ''Sharḥ al-maqāṣid'', vol. 5, p. 243-246.</ref> However, Sibt b. al-Jawzi, a Sunni scholar of the seventh/thirteenth century, accepts the infallibility of the Imams.<ref>Sibṭ b. al-Jawzī, ''Tadhkirat al-khawāṣ'', vol. 2, p. 519.</ref> [[Wahhabis]] reject the infallibility of the Shiite Imams (a), restricting it to [[prophets (a)]].<ref>See: Ibn Taymīyya, ''Minhāj al-sunna al-nabawīyya'', vol. 2, p. 429, vol. 3, p. 381; Ibn ʿAbd al-Wahhāb, ''Risāla fī l-radd ʿalā l-rāfiḍa'', p. 28; Qifārī, ''Uṣūl madhhab al-Shīʿa al-imāmīyya'', vol. 2, p. 775.</ref> As [[Ibn Abi al-Hadid al-Mu'tazili]] reports, Abu Muhammad al-Hasan b. Ahmad b. Mattawayh, a Mu'tazilite theologian of the fifth century AH, while not requiring infallibility for Imamate, believed in the infallibility of [[Ali (a)]] and attributed this view to the [[Mu'tazila|Mu'tazilite school]].

[[Ayatollah Subhani]] suggests that the disagreement between Shiites and Sunnis stems from their differing beliefs about the Imamate and the [[succession of the Prophet (s)]]. Shias believe that the Imamate, like [[prophethood]], is a divine position that must be determined by [[God]]. In contrast, Sunni Muslims regard the Imamate as an ordinary position, with the Imam chosen by the people. According to Sunnis, the Imam's knowledge and justice are akin to those of ordinary individuals, and thus, the Imam is not divinely appointed.

The infallibility of the Imams (a) is considered a theological foundation in the Shiite science of the [[principles of jurisprudence]]. This is because, by proving their infallibility, the tradition of the Imams (their speech, deeds, and [[Taqrir|approvals]]) is recognized as a source of inference in jurisprudential principles. However, if the Imam's infallibility is not established, then the Imam's tradition cannot be referenced in the deduction of religious rulings. Furthermore, it is said that, according to Shiite scholars, the criterion for the authoritativeness of consensus is the Imam's infallibility. They believe that, as the Prophet's (s) successor, the Imam (a) is infallible, and consensus is valid only when it reflects the view of the Infallible. In contrast, Sunni scholars of the principles of jurisprudence hold that the infallibility of the Islamic nation as a whole is the criterion for the authoritativeness of consensus.

The infallibility of the Imams is not explicitly mentioned in the [[Quran]], but Shiite scholars have cited verses such as the Verse of Ulu l-Amr, the [[Verse of al-Tathir]], and the [[Verse of Trial of Ibrahim]], interpreting them as implying the Imams' infallibility. However, there are numerous hadiths that directly address their infallibility.