Mu' meneen Brothers and Sisters,

As Salaam Aleikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh.  (May Allah's Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon all of you)

 

 

One of our brothers/sisters has asked this question:

A simple question about infallibility. As far as I have been told, or what I understood, various head mullahs claim to be infallible. Islam and the Quran is proof of their power. For example, the Grand Ayatollah and the Rainbow party in Iran has supreme power and they claim infallibility. Mullah Omar and the Taliban claimed infallibility when destroying the 1,400 year old Buddha statues in Afghanistan. The Syedna of Dawoodi Bohra faith claims infallibility, not because of this knowledge and experience and degrees, etc. but because he is the representative of the Imam (and people opposed to him also have not denied him that claim, based mainly on past Shiia tradition, etc. ) The Saudi Arabian religious police being run by the Wahabi hierarchy also claims infallibility. I can go on and on...(part one of question) 

 

Well, my question is that are these various head mullahs infallible, what is the basis of their infallibility, to what areas does their infallibility extend to, to what people, to what disciplines, to what geographic areas. Also, just because a person is a descendant of the prophet does that make him/her infallible too - because of their genes ? (part 2 of question) hope this question does not get lost too ! 

 

(There may be some grammatical and spelling errors in the above statement. The forum does not change anything from questions, comments and statements received from our readers for circulation in confidentiality.)

 

Answer:

 

Are Mullahs infallible?

In the name of Allah, We praise Him, seek His help and ask for His forgiveness. Whoever Allah guides none can misguide, and whoever He allows to fall astray, none can guide them aright. We bear witness that there is no one (no idol,  no person,  no grave, no prophet,  no imam,  no dai,  nobody!) worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that Muhammad(saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.

 

According to the Oxford Dictionary the word infallible when used in the religious sense would mean:  incapable of making a Doctrinal error.

 

Amongst the human beings, only the Prophets of Allah are considered infallible!  That is because the Prophets are under direct guidance from Allah Subhanah, and Allah protects them from making errors. Their duty is to declare the Message of Allah verbatim to the people, and they must lead by example.   If they were to make a mistake or error in any aspect of their life, their mistake would be followed by their followers, and thus they would not be an ideal role model for their believers to follow.   And that is precisely why Allah Subhanah made them infallible and incapable of making a mistake or error.

 

Other than the Noble Prophets of Allah, no other person can claim infallibility for himself!   Whoever amongst mankind, except the Prophets,  claims infallibility,  then he is a confirmed liar!

 

The Messenger of Allah (saws) said in an authentic narration:  “All of you (mankind) are sinners; and the best of the sinners is the one who seeks constant repentance (from Allah Subhanah)”

 

Other than the Noble Prophets of Allah, all amongst mankind are prone to making mistakes or errors.   Obviously, the one who sincerely fears Allah and His Accounting will make less errors or mistakes, than the one who does not fear Allah.

 

Whether the person is a head mullah,  or the grand Ayatullah,  or a Mullah Umar of the Talebaan,  or the Syedna of the Bohras,  or an Imam,  or even the noble companions or wives of the Messenger of Allah (saws);   it is incumbent upon them to follow the guidance of Allah and His Messenger (saws).  And whatever they do or say,  they must give evidence from the Quran and Sunnah for their acts.    None has a right to say something is permissible or impermissible from himself, without evidence from the Quran and Sunnah!  If any of them does, their decision will not be accepted.

 

Only Allah and His Messenger (saws) have a right that they be obeyed unconditionally; others will be obeyed ONLY if they follow the guidance of Allah and His Messenger (saws).   

 

Whatever written of Truth and benefit is only due to Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error is of me.  Allah Alone Knows Best and He is the Only Source of Strength.

 

 

Your Brother in Islam,

 

 

Burhan