INEFFABILITY OF PROPHET
Mood:  bright
Topic: Infallibality
It has been said that misunderstanding of the role of the Prophet has been, and still is, one of the greatest obstacles to Westerner's appreciation of the Muslim interpretation of Islamic history and culture (Rahman, 1979).



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Annemarie Schimmel, in her book And Muhammad is His Messenger, gives us insight into the viewpoint of the average Muslim regarding Muhammad. This in turn gives us insight into how other prophets are viewed. Schimmel covers the view that Muhammad was only a man and that his only prerogative other than this was that he received revelation. As Surah 6:50 states; "Say; I do not say: 'With me are the treasures of God' and I do not know the invisible, and I do not say that I am an angel-I follow only that which is revealed to me." Also Surah 28:56 "You cannot guide on the right path whom you want. It is God who guides!" It is accepted that God's revelation to Muhammad was a gift of grace that he did not deserve, but which had elected him as its vessel. The Qur'an admonishes him: "Verily if We wanted We would take away what We have revealed to you, and then you would not find for yourself a defendant against us."

In Islamic prophetology the Prophet is sent to a people as a messenger and a Warner, Surah 10:48. Rahman describes Muhammad as a Warner to the people and by extension the other prophets as well. He uses the stories of the prophets as seen in the Qur'an to substantiate this claim (Rahman, 1979). The Meccans asking him when the Day of Judgement would be is given as an example. When asked he would reply that he was called to warn, but didn't know when the Day of Judgement was anymore than they did (Schimmel, 1985).



The Qur'an contains the names of twenty eight, but nothing has hindered Muslims from acknowledging prophets who are not mentioned by name in the Qur'an, but may have appeared in the Far East or the Americas to teach the people of those areas the message of God, (Schimmel, 1985).

A more modern approach to Muhammad, and by extension, prophethood can be found in the writings of Fazlur Rahman. Rahman, as a believing Muslim, takes for granted the reality of prophethood, but adds modern historical perspective to assist in explaining it, (Rahman, 1979).

Rahman states that in order to counteract later allegations of epilepsy it was important to stress the normalcy of Muhammad's revelations. To do so the voice of revelation was assigned to an outer voice, a physical angel, to safeguard the "objectivity" of the revelation. At the time when this was going on there were compelling reasons for attempting to explain revelation in such a light. It was during this time that many of the Hadith that claim that Muhammad was seen talking to angels came about. This despite the fact that it is contradicted by the Qur'an which states "We have sent him (the Angel) down upon your heart that you may be a Warner", XXVI, 194. The idea of the angel has become so ingrained in common Muslim thought that any other explanation has become anathema (Rahman, 1979).

As stated earlier, Rahman describes Muhammad as a Warner to the people and by extension the other prophets as well. This is a common enough claim in orthodox Islam, but where Rahman differs is in his focus on the inner workings of Muhammad as opposed to the traditional focus on externals as seen in most biographies of the prophet. He points to the fact that prior to receiving His first revelation Muhammad had been tormented by thoughts regarding the situation and destiny of man. These thoughts drove Him into periodic retirement and contemplation. It is from the throws of this agonizing search, according to Rahman, that revelation emerged. This is alluded to in the Qur'an, XCIV, 1-3; "Did We not open up your breast and relieve you of the burden which broke your back?" Later writers attempted to actually interpret this passage literally and there are legends of the Angel Gabriel literally opening the prophets breast and cleansing His heart, (Rahman, 1979).

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. He is quoted as saying, "I ask forgiveness from God seventy times a day. This seems to fly in the face of the concept of isma,.

Muslims are forbidden to distinguish between the prophets and in one tradition tafdil, i.e. preference, is strictly forbidden. In this tradition Muhammad commands the followers; "Do not place me above Yunis ibn Matta, and do not make any comparisons or preferences among the prophets, and do not prefer me to Moses."



Later Muhammad's "spiritual experiences were united into the doctrine of a singular physical experience, the ascension, of Muhammad into heaven, this was developed by the orthodox on patterns similar to the ascension of Jesus. This view of a physical explanation appears to be contradicted by the Qur'an which states, "The heart has not falsified what it has seen; shall you doubt what it has witnessed, LIII, 11-12.



Prophets are also considered to have immediate knowledge of everything, granted to Them from God. In Arabic this is called 'ilm laduni.' This idea contradicts the Quranic statement that even Muhammad could not boast the knowledge of future events (Surah 6:50), but it shows that even in early times it was taken for granted that the Prophet's knowledge was greater than the limits of human acquisition, (Schimmel, 1985).

It is also believed that the prophet had a primordial existence. As the Turkish poet Ashiq Pasha put it:

Adam was still dust and clay—
Ahmad was a Prophet then,
He had been selected by God—
Utter blessings over Him!

And yet, according to tradition, Muhammad denied that He would produce any miracle except the Qur'an, (Schimmel, 1985).

The theological manuals exactly define the qualities of the prophet. The Sanusiyya, a widely used handbook of dogmatics that dates back to the Middle Ages, states that the prophet must possess four necessary attributes. He must be truthful, (sidq). He must be trustworthy, (amana). He must proclaim the Divine Word, (tabligh). And He must be sagacious and intelligent, (fatana). It is impossible for Him to lie, (kidhab), or be treacherous, (khiyana). He cannot be stupid, (balada).
In addition to the above, al-Hilli lists other "problems" regarding prophethood. The first is the necessity of the prophetic mission. The prophetic mission is necessary because it encompasses the grace required for the responsibilities which are enjoined on man according to reason. The second concerns the necessity of infallibility. Infallibility is necessary for the prophets in order to gain humanity's confidence and thus attain the prophet's purpose, and because of the necessity for humanity to follow him and of repudiating the acts of sinners.
There are differences of opinion regarding this point. The Mu'tazila concede the possibility of minor sins to the prophets, either through forgetfulness, or on the basis of interpretation. The Ash'arites hold that minor and major sins, other then unbelief and lying, are possible for the prophets. The Imamiyya maintain that they must have infallibility from all sins.

Ahlul bayet are not infallible
Mood:  a-ok
Topic: Infallibality
Impeccability is the absence of sin. Christianity believes this to be an attribute of God (logically God cannot sin, it would mean that he would act against his own will) and therefore also an attribute of Christ Impeccability is sometimes confused with infallibility,specially by shia alims,who never stop to examine basic definitions.
Let us first examine Christian infallibility. Jesus comes followed by his followers,. He is hungry, that whole bunch is hungry. They come to a fig tree, and the fig tree is not in season. It is not its fault, but Jesus gets so angry that he condemns the fig tree, he curses the fig tree. Now, how is this possible? On the one hand he says, "Love thy enemy as thyself." On the other hand he cannot even forgive a fig tree which has no fruits because it is not the season.
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He says, "God is love," but still God manages a hell. If God is love, the first thing to be destroyed should be hell; hell should be immediately burned, removed. The very idea of hell is of a very jealous God. But Jesus was born a Jew, lived a Jew, died a Jew; he was not a Christian, he had never heard the word "Christian." And the Jewish idea of God is not a very beautiful idea.
The Talmud says--the declaration is made in God's own words--"I am a jealous God, very jealous. I am not nice! I am not your uncle!" This God is bound to create hell. In fact, to live even in heaven with such a God who is not your uncle, who is not nice, who is jealous, will be hell.
On a lighter note.All religions are against women in relegion.No woman is a prophet or any religious leader in any relegion. Buddha was against women, he was not willing to initiate women. He said that his religion would have lasted five thousand years, but because finally he agreed to initiate women his religion would disappear within five hundred yearsmoment Buddha died all the men started quarreling--ideological wars. Thirty-two sects were immediately born, the same day! Buddha's body was not yet even totally burned and thirty-two philosophical schools, thirty-two interpretations arose.
Now the shias infallibility.
he question of the 'isma of Prophets and Imams has been discussed for a
long time by Shi'i theologians.

Firstly, it should be noted that being a ma'sum does not mean that one
cannot do evil. Rather, a ma'sum can perform evil but chooses not to do
so. Thus he/she keeps away from all forms of sins and acts of
inadvertance.

Shaykh al-Mufid's definition of 'isma includes not only grave sins but
also small sins and acts of inadvertance. He states categorically on page
69-70 in his Awa'il al-Maqalat that the 'isma of the Prophet is complete
at all times. He never commited any sin either intentionally or
inadvertently. On page 74, al-Mufid states that the Imams occupy the
position of the Prophets in so far as they implement the shari'a laws and
protect the shari'a and guide people. They do not commit small sins nor
do they commit acts due to inadvertance (sahw).

In particular, al-Mufid disagreed with his teacher al-Saduq (also called
Ibn Babawayh) who had said that the Prophet (SAW) inadvertently (sahw)
forgotten a part in his prayer. Al-Mufid wrote a treatise correcting his
teacher on this and other issues. However, Ibn Babawayh also states that
the Prophets and Imams are preserved from defilment, major and minor
sins.

'Allama Hilli also shares this comprehensive 'isma of the Imams.(See his
Bab al-Hadi Ashar). However, as Shaykh al-Mufid acknowledges in the
Awa'il, some followers of the Imams (notably the Banu Nawbakht) did allow
for small acts of inadvertance to be performed by the Imams. This was a
minority view which has not prevailed. Since their books are no longer
extant, their precise reasoning is not known.
(ulu’l-amr): Just means people of knowlegde. It doesn't in anyway imply infallibility from an arabic lingustic point of view.



003.144
003.144 Muhammad is no more than a messenger: many Were the messenger that passed away before him. If he died or were slain, will ye then Turn back on your heels? If any did turn back on his heels, not the least harm will he do to Allah; but Allah (on the other hand) will swiftly reward those who (serve Him) with gratitude.


The verse in arabic says "Wa ma Mohamed Illa Rassul"
In the arabic language, when ever 'Ma' and 'Illa' are used it is considerd the strongest way of emphasising a point.
So God is saying Mohamed is nothing but a messenger. In otherwords he is fallible.
Also God repremands Mohamed (saaws) IN Surat Aabatha when it says "Aabatha wa tawala...."

080.001
080.001 (The Prophet) frowned and turned away,
To the rest of the SuraThe word Imam in Arabic comes from the root or meaning 'In front' or 'Front-most/formost'. The imam would just mean those formost amongst you in knowledge. There really is no mystical meaning here at ALLThis Hadeeth (conversation) took place between the Prophet (sws) and one of his companions Mu‘adh Ibn Jabal (rta) at the time when the latter was being sent by him to govern the territory of Yemen:
[The Prophet asked:] ‘How will you judge the cases [that come to you]?’ He replied: ‘I will judge according to the Book of Allah’. ‘But if you do not get anything there, what will you do?’, the Prophet (sws) asked. He said: ‘I will refer to the Sunnah of the Prophet (sws)’. ‘But if you do not get it even there, what will you do?’, the Prophet (sws) asked again. He replied: ‘I will exercise my judgement.’ Hearing this the Prophet (sws) patted Mu‘adh (rta) on the shoulder and said: ‘Praise be to Allah who has guided the Messenger of His Messenger to what pleases His Messenger’. (Nisa’i: No. 1327).
This is the official shia position.
The Shia believe that the Imam, who has been appointed by Allah, must be infallible. Allah says:
Surely, I will make you an Imam of men. Ibrahim said, 'and of my offspring?' My covenant does not include the unjust, said He. (2:124)
And whoever goes beyond the limits of Allah, he indeed does injustice to his own soul. (65:1)
And whoever exceeds the limits of Allah those are they that are the unjust. (2:229)
Infallibility was a condition for the divine Imamate and it was limited, after Prophet Muhammad (s), to the Twelve Imams for no one else was infallible other than them according to consensus. In addition to this, the Qur'anic verse; Allah only desires to keep away uncleanness from you, O People of the House, and to purify you with a thorough purification. 33:33, confirms that Imam Ali, Imam Hasan and Imam Husayn were infallible. Many



prophetic traditions also confirm the infallibility of the Twelve Imams (peace be upon them).
The previously mentioned verse provides proof of the infallibility of the Prophet's family. It also shows that their purification is from Allah and is not a legislative matter, because the legislative will of purification from uncleanness does not concern the Prophet's family alone, but includes all people. The legislative will also concerns one's own actions whereas this Qur'anic verse shows that Allah's will in purifying these persons from any uncleanness is His creative will. Allah says,
"His command, when He intends anything, is only to say to it, 'Be,' and so it is." (36:82)
Of course, what is intended by uncleanness is not bodily uncleanness, but the internal uncleanness which is blasphemy, disbelief, guilt, disobedience, and everything sinful.
If one says that the purification might mean that Allah would forgive their sins. I would answer that forgiveness does not purify uncleanness from the soul of the disobedient, but it takes the punishment away from him. Besides, forgiving a sin would not exist unless the sin had been committed. So, the sinful is not purified during committing the sin, while the Qur'anic verse indicates a complete purification
ANSWER.
First see the way in which impeccability is confused with infallibility.Second,is the old argument that these are ayahs of wives,shia claim a sudden change to ahlul bayet.They argue that the gender is masculine,forgetting that the third masoom is a woman.lol.Even agreeing with shia,then allah wishes to purify,the deed is not done.And if once done by allah,does,nt mean immunity for life.
You see there are two infallibilities.One is practicall,in this we are all infallible at one time.eg.I say 2+2=4.I am infallible at that moment,I cannt be wrong.
The other is essential infallibility.for life.Problem is if I say I have pain in leg,I am infallible,because although I cannt prove I have pain,you also cannt disprove it. And what of Imams not yet born,does the ayah say it is also giving them infallibality.
I have shown that infallibility of 14 cannt be proven by shias,at best they can say they were infallible at some time not essential