Anonymous user
Istighfar: Difference between revisions
→Istighfar of the prophets and other Infallibles
imported>Shakeri |
imported>Shakeri |
||
| Line 145: | Line 145: | ||
* Some verses (12:97-98) imply that it is permissible to resort to others (such as prophets or Imams) to ask for divine forgiveness, because when the Prophet [[Ya'qub (a)]]'s children asked him to ask God to forgive them, he promised them to ask Him so in the future. | * Some verses (12:97-98) imply that it is permissible to resort to others (such as prophets or Imams) to ask for divine forgiveness, because when the Prophet [[Ya'qub (a)]]'s children asked him to ask God to forgive them, he promised them to ask Him so in the future. | ||
==Istighfar of | ==Istighfar of The Prophets (a) and Other Infallibles (a)== | ||
Most of the relevant | Most of the relevant Qur'anic verses are concerned with the istighfar of ordinary people. However, in one case the Qur'an refers to the istighfar of "rabbiyyun", by which are meant people who do not engage themselves with anything other than God. And some verses talk about the istighfar of the prophets and angels. | ||
Since prophets are [[Infallibles]], their istighfar does not mean asking God to forgive their sins. According to Shiites and many jurisprudents from the schools of [[Malik]], [[Abu Hanifa]], and [[Shafi'i]], all prophets are infallibles and they never commit even minor sins, since all people are commissioned to follow their lead, which is incompatible with their being fallible. Moreover, the | Since prophets (a) are [[Infallibles]], their istighfar does not mean asking God to forgive their sins. According to Shiites and many [[jurisprudent|jurisprudents]] from the schools of [[Malik]], [[Abu Hanifa]], and [[Shafi'i]], all prophets are infallibles and they never commit even minor sins, since all people are commissioned to follow their lead, which is incompatible with their being fallible. Moreover, the Qur'an has described prophets as "mukhlasun". According to the Qur'an, 38:82-83, there is no way for the Satan to tempt and deceive "mukhlasun". Thus istighfar in the case of prophets (a) should be explained in different ways. | ||
===Istighfar of | ===Istighfar of Prophets (a)=== | ||
* Istighfar in the case of prophets is a way of teaching people how to ask for divine forgiveness. | * Istighfar in the case of prophets is a way of teaching people how to ask for divine forgiveness. | ||
| Line 159: | Line 159: | ||
* Prophets might practice istighfar in order not to commit sins, rather than asking for the forgiveness of something they did. | * Prophets might practice istighfar in order not to commit sins, rather than asking for the forgiveness of something they did. | ||
* The prophets' missions had effects that seemed wrong to many people. Thus they asked God to cover those effects from people. For example, people of [[Mecca]] thought that the Prophet (s) was an aggressive person who overlooked the traditions. However, after the [[Hudaybiyya peace treaty]] and the [[conquest of Mecca]], they learned the truth. And about the Prophet [[Musa (a)]], the | * The prophets' missions had effects that seemed wrong to many people. Thus they asked God to cover those effects from people. For example, people of [[Mecca]] thought that the Prophet (s) was an aggressive person who overlooked the traditions. However, after the [[Hudaybiyya peace treaty]] and the [[conquest of Mecca]], they learned the truth. And about the Prophet [[Musa (a)]], the Qur'an, 26:14 says: "they hold a sin against me", although it was not a sin for Musa (a) to kill the man from Copts, since it counted as a case of helping an oppressed person. However, it was considered by people as a sin, and thus Musa (a) asked God to forgive him, in the sense of covering the deed from people so that they no longer consider him as sinful. Likewise, according to the Qur'an, 7:129, "they [that is, [[Israelites]]] replied: 'we were hurt before you came to us, and after you came to us.'" Thus they blamed Musa (a) for their troubles. | ||
* For their natural lives, the prophets had to spend part of their time meeting their bodily needs, such as eating and drinking, and thus they were disconnected from the divine world during such engagements. So they asked God to forgive their having to engage in such activities. | * For their natural lives, the prophets had to spend part of their time meeting their bodily needs, such as eating and drinking, and thus they were disconnected from the divine world during such engagements. So they asked God to forgive their having to engage in such activities. | ||
| Line 167: | Line 167: | ||
* Since prophets always ascend to higher levels of spirituality, whenever they reach a higher level, they ask God to forgive their being in a lower level. | * Since prophets always ascend to higher levels of spirituality, whenever they reach a higher level, they ask God to forgive their being in a lower level. | ||
These interpretations of istighfar by prophets also apply to that by [[Imams (a)]] and other [[Infallibles (a)]], since they also asked for God's forgiveness, such as [[Imam | These interpretations of istighfar by prophets also apply to that by [[Imams (a)]] and other [[Infallibles (a)]], since they also asked for God's forgiveness, such as [[Imam 'Ali (a)]] in the [[Supplication of Kumayl]] and [[Imam al-Sajjad (a)]] in the [[Supplication of Abu Hamza Thumali]]. | ||
===The | ===The Viewpoint of Sunni Scholars=== | ||
According to some Sunni scholars, the fact that prophets asked for divine forgiveness makes it probable that they committed some [[major sins]], and so they asked God to turn their major sins into minor sins or asked Him to make them immune from insistence on minor sins. Some other Sunni scholars reject that they commit any major sins, but they think that they asked God to forgive some minor sins they committed before or after their prophecy. Others maintain that prophets asked God to forgive their unintentionally committed sins. | According to some Sunni scholars, the fact that prophets (a) asked for divine forgiveness makes it probable that they committed some [[major sins]], and so they asked God to turn their major sins into minor sins or asked Him to make them immune from insistence on minor sins. Some other Sunni scholars reject that they commit any major sins, but they think that they asked God to forgive some minor sins they committed before or after their prophecy. Others maintain that prophets asked God to forgive their unintentionally committed sins. | ||
==Istighfar by angels== | ==Istighfar by angels== | ||