Ismah

Incorruptible innocence, immunity from sin, or moral infallibility in Islamic theology

‘Iṣmah or ‘Isma (عِصْمَة; literally, "protection") is the concept of incorruptible innocence, immunity from sin, or moral infallibility in Islamic theology, and which is especially prominent in Shia Islam. In Shia theology, ismah is characteristic of prophets, imams, and angels. When attributed to human beings, ismah means "the ability of avoiding acts of disobedience, in spite of having the power to commit them". An infallible (معصوم) is someone who is free from error in leading people to belief, in perceiving divine knowledge, and in practical matters. Prophets must be immune from all errors and sins in order to perform their mission of upholding and promoting the divine religion, interpreting the Qur'an, and establishing a wholesome social system. According to Twelver Shia, The Fourteen Infallibles (معصومون) "divinely bestowed free from error and sin" include Muhammad, his daughter Fatimah, and the Twelve Imams. Ismaili also attribute ismah to Ismaili imāms and Fatimah, daughter of Muhammad, while Zaidis do not attribute the quality to the Zaidi imams. The doctrine of ismah has been rejected by some Muslims, such as the Kharijites who cited Quran 48:2 as evidence for the rejection. Sunnis interpret ismah to mean that prophets are immune from telling lies (intentionally or unintentionally), of being Kafir (infidel) before or after their assignment, and of being unable to commit other sins intentionally. In other aspects, opinions diverge. Most Sunnis believe that it is possible for the prophets to unintentionally commit sin, while the minority believe that it is not. The purity of Ahl al Bayt, the family of Muhammad, is manifested by the verse of purification in the Qur'an. The development of Shi'ite theology in the period between the death of Muhammad and the disappearance of the Twelfth Imam extends this concept of purity and originates the concept of ismah. The concept of the immunity from sin (ma'sum) of the imams, the Imamiyyah, perhaps began in the first half of the second century AH. to support his claim. To Al Raghib al Isfahani and Murtada al Zabidi, Ismah also involves perfection of intellect and the lack of deficiency in knowledge.

From a Shia theological perspective, ash Shaykh al Saduq argues that Ismah is a quality peculiar only to the Twelve Imams; it is a natural state of immunity from sin which is seen as a miraculous gift from God. An infallible is regarded as preserved from sin because of his or her supreme level of righteousness, consciousness, love of God, and thorough knowledge of the consequence of sin. An infallible is considered immune from error in practical affairs, in calling people to religion, and in perception of divine knowledge, so that their followers do not fall into error. Nasir al Din al Tusi has said that the infallibility of the Imam does not exclude the capacity to commit sins. According to Tabatabaei, there is a quality of man that protects him from committing sin or error. An increase in knowledge means increased obedience to God. In ordinary people with imperfect knowledge, virtue can be overpowered and tainted by desires and vices. Ismah does not nullify the Prophets' free will to choose whether to commit sin or not.

Ismah is regarded by Shi‘ites as being bestowed as a blessing from God upon infallibles, and that this blessing has both voluntary and involuntary aspects, the voluntary aspect being the efforts of infallibles to act according to God's orders, the involuntary aspect being inheritance and training, not acquired through effort, but as a special favor from God (allah).

Among the doctrines that arose from the mid 2nd century AH (8th century CE) onwards is that "Ismat al anbiya" (the protection of the Prophets) means God's protection of the prophets from sin and error. This doctrine seems to have originated from among the Shia, but is embraced, in one way or another, by almost all Muslim sects and theological and legal schools. A major dispute deals with, whether prophets are sinless from the beginning, or if they are only sinnless after they started their prophetic mission. Among non Shi‘ites, Ashari theologian Fakhr ad Din ar Razi is one of the supporters of the idea of the ismah of the prophets. He stated his view is as follows: "According to us the best view is that, owing to their prophethood, there is neither a grave nor a small sin or error (dhanb)." Besides investigating the subject in his Commentary on the Qur'an, he wrote a separate book titled Ismatu'l Anbiya (The Sinlessness of the Prophets), and championed the cause of this dogma being a part of Sunni theology. Over the course of history, Sunni views varied to the extent of protection, distinguishing between major sins (al kaba'ir), minor sins (al sagha'ir), inadvertent error (sahw) forgetfulness (nisyān) and lapses (zallāt). F. Some of them argued, it is necessary to commit mistakes to teach people how to repent. The notion that prophets are generally sinless was first pushed by Asharites and Maturidites, but not accepted by Hanbalites. Annemarie Schimmel believed that "The absolute obedience owed to the Prophet is meaningful only if Muhammad is free from any faults and could thus constitute an immaculate model for even the most insignificant part of life." Shia and some Sunni scholars believe that the prophets were given ismah even before their assignment to the prophecy, and that it covered every aspect of their life including the emotional, behavioral, personal, social, intentional and unintentional. Tabatabaei also said that if the prophets' actions contradict their words, setting one example by their actions but preaching something else, this would obscure the truth, which would undermine the religious mission of the prophets, therefore, that the Ismah of the prophets in delivering the message of Allah depends upon their Ismah with regard to their inability to sin. Another argument from him was that all the prophets were guided by God, that everyone who is guided by God never sins, and that the prophets were therefore free from error.

In the perspective of Shi‘ites, Verse 4: 64 of the Qur’an expresses an absolute order to follow the messengers, so they must be infallible. In other verses, He orders: Then do not obey the deniers (68: 8), And do not obey every worthless habitual swearer (68: 10), do not obey from among them a sinner or ungrateful [disbeliever] (76: 24). So, the messengers are to be obeyed, the sinners are not to be obeyed, the result is that the messengers are not sinful. The verse of purification implies that it is the will of Allah to purify none but the Ahl al Bayt as free of any kind of sin, error, and defilement. Abundant traditions in Shia and Sunni hadith state that, by the term Ahl al Bayt, the Five Pure People—or the Ahl al Kisa, not including the prophets' wives—are meant. Shia interpretation of the verse of purification is based on the Hadith of Ahl al Kisa’, which is an account of the Prophet gathering his four family members under his cloak. This is in accordance with scholars such as Wilferd Madelung, Momen, and Kardan, who claim that the verse of purification is proof of the purification of the Ahl al Bayt. The status of Imams as "proof of Allah to mankind" serves as an argument for their infallibility, and the words of the Household of the Prophet are complementary to the religious sciences, and authoritative and inerrant in the teachings of Islam, in the perspective of Shi‘ites. Provided that the obedience is compulsory, it may be concluded that the apostles and Ulil Amr (أُولي الأَمـر) are sinless. Many verses in the Qur’an order men not to obey the unjust. Instead in the Qur’an Allah orders the believers to follow the apostle and the Ulul Amr, and joins that obedience to obedience to Him, with the condition that no difference of opinion exists between Ulul Amr and the Messenger, in any matter: "O you who have believed, obey Allah and obey the Messenger and those in authority among you. And if you disagree over anything, refer it to Allah and the Messenger, if you should believe in Allah and the Last Day. That is the best [way] and best in result."

According to Shi‘ites, people know that they are possessed by Allah, but that acting while under that possession, without His permission, is evil. If they are to gain His favor, but can not be sure of the righteousness of their actions, there must be a prophet to give that permission, and to inform them of that which they do not know and of the rewards of obedience and punishments of disobedience. The prophets teach that which is needed to live a righteous life. Therefore, Allah does not guide via authoritative texts (i. e. the Qur'an and Hadith) alone, but also through specially endowed individuals known as Imams. Shi‘ites believe that status and authority attributed to Imams would have been senseless if they were prone to the same weaknesses found in ordinary people, To be required to follow a prophet who commits sin is a contradiction. Al Hilli argued that man is naturally urban and cannot be satisfied out of society. Thus, conflict would unceasingly arise without an infallible to judge men. In Al Alfayn, he emphasized the need for a ruler (ra'is) to preserve shari'a, to prevent men from committing aggression against each other, to restrain tyrants, and to help the oppressed. Without a leader, the Qur'an and Sunnah would not be observed. Inevitably there must be an Imam, immune from error and sin, appointed by Allah to specify the dimensions (ahkam) of shari'a. He said that a prophet is immune from sin from the first day of his life until the last day, because people do not like and trust someone who has perpetrated an immoral deed, even in the past; and it is clear that everyone likes to follow the sinless rather than the sinful,
According to ‘Ali Tabatabaei, human beings should have a true vision of the real nature of man and the world, in order to identify and perform their true duties, and that there should be a religious government to execute the Islamic orders till the people can worship only Allah and enjoy personal and social justice, and that this goal is achieved only by an infallible person who is protected against faults by Allah. Motahhari regarded Ismah as necessary for the supreme authority in the religion. In other words, according to him, the Imam must be followed, and his words and actions are as an example and proof for others. Others believed that physical descent from the Prophet was never enough to make an Imam, but that Ismah or impeccability was a vital criterion for him.

Isma‘ilites also attribute Ismah to Imāms and Fatima Zahra, daughter of Muhammad. He preached that "infallibility is borne by faith. If one has faith in Allah, and if one sees Allah with the eyes of his heart, like the sun, it would be impossible for him to commit a sin. In front of an armed powerful [master], infallibility is attained." Nasr Dabashi argues that Khomeini's theory of Ismah from faith was connected to his theory of Islamic government by guardianship of the jurist. If the truly faithful possessed Ismah, and if Khomeini and the most learned and pious Islamic jurists were truly faithful, than this would reassure Shi'ites hesitant about granting the same ruling authority to Khomeini and his successors that Shi'ites traditionally believed was reserved for the 12th Imam (Mahdi) on his return. According to Dabashi, Khomeini's theory helped "to secure the all important attribute of infallibility for himself as a member of the awliyah (friends of God), by eliminating the theological problems of undermining the expectation of the Mahdi. " According to Mesbah Yazdi, there is an intellectual argument that if getting to the ideal is impossible or difficult, then be satisfied with the less ideal concerning a matter. This argument is called "gradual degradation".