Infallibility of Imams: Difference between revisions

The '''infallibility of the Shiite Imams''' (or '''ʿiṣma''') (Arabic:{{ia|عِصمَة الأئِمَة}}) and their immunity to any sins, errors, and forgetfulness is, according to the [[Imami]] and [[Ismaili]] perspectives, a requirement of [[Imamate]] and an attribute of the Imams. The infallibility of the Imams is an exclusive [[Twelver Shiite]] belief, upon which there is [[consensus]]. According to [[Abdollah Jawadi Amuli]], just as the [[Imams (a)]] are [[infallible]] in their conduct, [[Knowledge of Imam|their knowledge]] is also immune to error.

Shiite scholars have appealed to numerous [[Quranic verses]], such as the [[Verse of Ulu l-Amr]], the [[Verse of al-Tathir]], the [[Verse of the Trial of Abraham]], the [[Verse of al-Sadiqin]], the [[Verse of al-Mawadda]], and the [[Verse of al-Salawat]], to argue for the infallibility of the Imam. In hadith sources, there are numerous traditions transmitted in this regard. [[Hadith al-Thaqalayn]], [[Hadith al-Aman]], and [[Hadith al-Safina]] are among those cited to establish the infallibility of the Imams (a). Despite the numerous arguments for their infallibility, [[Wahhabis]] and [[Ibn Taymiyya al-Harrani]], a leader of [[Salafism]], have denied it and raised objections. Shiite scholars have responded to these objections.

Books have been written on the infallibility of the Imams, including ''A study of the knowledge and infallibility of Imams'' by [[Jafar Subhani]], ''The infallibility of Imams in Imami intellectual history until the end of the fifth century AH'' by Muhammad Husayn Faryab, and ''The infallibility of Imams from the perspective of reason and revelation'' by Ibrahim Safarzadeh.

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; Qafārī, ''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/eleventh century, while not requiring infallibility for Imamate, believed in the infallibility of [[Ali (a)]] and attributed this view to the [[Mu'tazila|Mu'tazilite school]].<ref>Ibn Abī l-Ḥadīd, ''Sharḥ Nahj al-balāgha'', vol. 6, p. 376, 377.</ref>

[[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]].<ref>Subḥānī, ''Manshūr-i jāwīd'', vol. 4, p. 244, 245; Bādhilī, ''Ilāhī būdan-i manṣab-i imāmat'', p. 9-45.</ref> 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,<ref>Subḥānī, ''Manshūr-i jāwīd'', vol. 4, p. 239.</ref> and thus, the Imam is not divinely appointed.<ref>Subḥānī, ''Manshūr-i jāwīd'', vol. 4, p. 239-242.</ref>

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.<ref>Muballighī, ''Mabānī-yi kalāmī-yi uṣūl wa bahragīrī az ān dar nigāh wa rawish-i Imām Khomeiniī'', p. 149.</ref> 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.<ref>Ḍīyāʾīfar, ''Taʾthīr-i dīdgāh-hā-yi kalāmī bar usūl-i fiqh'', p. 323.</ref>

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]],<ref>See: Ṭūsī, ''al-Tibyān'', vol. 3, p. 236; Ṭabrisī, ''Majmaʿ al-bayān'', vol. 3, p. 100; Baḥrānī, ''Manār al-hudā'', p. 113, 114; Ṭabāṭabāʾī, ''al-Mīzān'', vol. 4, p. 391.</ref> the [[Verse of al-Tathir]],<ref>Sayyid Murtaḍā, ''al-Shāfī fī al-imāma'', vol. 3, p. 134; Baḥrānī, ''Manār al-hudā'', p. 646, Subḥānī, ''al-Ilāhīyāt'', vol. 4, p. 125.</ref> and the [[Verse of Trial of Ibrahim]],<ref>See: Sayyid Murtaḍā, ''al-Shāfī fī al-imāma'', vol. 3, p. 139; Ṭūsī, ''al-Tibyān'', vol. 1, p. 449; Fāḍil Miqdād, ''al-Lawāmiʿ al-ilāhīyya'', p. 332, 333; Muẓaffar, ''Dalāʾil al-ṣidq'', vol. 4, p. 220.</ref> interpreting them as implying the Imams' infallibility. However, there are numerous hadiths that directly address their infallibility.<ref>See: Ṣadūq, ''Maʿānī l-akhbār'', p. 132, 133; Khazzāz al-Qummī, ''Kifāyat al-athar'', p. 16-19, 29, 36-38, 45, 76, 99, 100-104; Ibn ʿUqda al-Kūfī, ''Faḍaʾīl Amīr al-Muʾminīn'', p. 154, 155, Baḥrānī, ''Manār al-hudā'', p. 665-675.</ref>

*'''Theologians' definition:''' 'Adliyya (i.e., [[Imamiyya]]<ref>Mufīd, ''Taṣḥīḥ al-iʿtiqād'', p. 128; Sayyid Murtaḍā, ''Rasāʾil al-sharīf al-Murtaḍā'', vol. 3, p. 326; Ḥillī, ''al-Bāb al-ḥādī ʿashar'', p. 9.</ref> and [[Mu'tazilite]]<ref>Taftāzānī, ''Sharḥ al-maqāṣid'', vol. 4, p. 312, 313.</ref>) theologians have defined infallibility in terms of [[Principle of Lutf|lutf]].<ref>Fāḍil Miqdād, ''al-Lawāmiʿ al-ilāhīyya'', p. 242; Rabbānī Gulpaygānī, ''Imāmat dar bīnish-i Islāmī'', p. 215.</ref> According to this view, infallibility is a grace bestowed upon the servant by God, enabling the servant to refrain from wrongdoing or sin.<ref>Sayyid Murtaḍā, ''Rasāʾil al-sharīf al-Murtaḍā'', vol. 3, p. 326; Ḥillī, ''al-Bāb al-ḥādī ʿashar'', p. 9; Fāḍil Miqdād, ''al-Lawāmiʿ al-ilāhīyya'', p. 243.</ref> In contrast, [[Ash'arites]] have defined infallibility as God's act of not creating sins within the infallible individual.<ref>Jurjānī, ''Sharḥ al-mawāqif'', vol. 8, p. 280; Taftāzānī, ''Sharḥ al-maqāṣid'', vol. 4, p. 312, 313.</ref>

*'''Philosophers' definition:''' Muslim philosophers define infallibility as a psychological disposition that prevents an individual from committing sins.<ref>Ṭūsī, ''Talkhīṣ al-Muḥaṣṣal'', p. 369; Jurjānī, ''Sharḥ al-mawāqif'', vol. 8, p. 281; Ṭabāṭabāʾī, ''al-Mīzān'', vol. 11, p. 162; Jawādī Āmulī, ''Waḥy wa Nubuwwat dar Qurʾān'', p. 197; Misbāḥ Yazdī, ''Rāh wa rāhnamāshināsī'', p. 285, 286.</ref> This definition is said to be grounded in philosophical principles regarding the [[Unity of acts (tawhid al-af'al)|unity of acts]], according to which human actions, by mediation of their soul with free will, are ultimately attributed to God.<ref>Rabbānī Gulpaygānī, ''Imāmat dar bīnish-i Islāmī'', p. 216.</ref>