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concept of Ismah

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Isma means Sinless and counted as an attribute of imams.[1]Ismah literally means protection and in terminology it means that a special grace or lutf of God to a person which enables the person to preserve himself from sins by his own free will.Such a person is called ma'sum.[2] But the Grace or lutf does not disable the ma'sum from committing sins.Ma'sum refrains from sins and mistakes by his own power and will. The Imam is the legatee (wasi) of the prophet and is infallible (ma'sum) in all his deeds. The only difference between the prophet and the Imam is that the latter does not transmit a divine scripture.[3]

The impeccability and infallibility (isma) of the prophets and Imams is of fundamentals in Shi'a doctrine. Neither the term nor the concept of ismah is in the Qur'an or in canonical Sunni hadith. It was apparently first used by the Imamiyyah, perhaps about the beginning of the second/ eighth century, maintained that the Imam must be immune from sin (ma'sum). Perhaps the evolution of this doctrine, as Donaldson suggests, caused Shi'a scholers establish the claims of the Imamat against the claims of Sunni caliphs.So the doctrine was expanded and elaborated.[4]

Ibn Babuyah states, Shi'a believes that the prophets (anbiya'), apostles (rasuls), Imams and angels are infallible (ma'sum); purified from all defilements (dhanbs), and that they do not commit any sin, capital or minor. They do not disobey God in what He had commanded ; they obey God perfectly. The one who denies their infallibility (in every aspect)is ignorant of them, and he is a kafir (unbeliever). We believe that they are infallible, perfect ( for entire life), with a thorough knowledge about universe and man. Defects (naqs) cannot be attributed to them, nor disobedience (cisyan), nor ignorance (jahl), in any of their deeds(ahwal).[5]

Al-Mufid defines ismah in his Tashih al-ictiqad as follows: Ismah is a grace and favour(lutf)of Allah to his Hujjats(Imams), by which they are secured against faults (dhunub) and errors. Ismah is the grace(tafaddul) of God to those who has the ability of being ma'sum. It does not enforce people to do good or to prevent wrong. But God knows to whom give this power, the one who never chooses to disobey him.[6]


For Ibn al-Mutahhar the Imamate is a universal authority (riyasah) over the religion and world, which distinguishes it from the dominion of judges and vicegerents. He holds that the Imam must be, like the prophet, impeccable and infallible. It seems this argument is in support of political philosophy of al-Farabi and the Ikhwan-i Safa. Ibn al-Mutahhar's argues : Because of the various needs,man cannot live alone,so he is social naturally. Therefor he can not be satisfied out of society. Although he needs the co-operation of others, pushed by egotism and greed, he also covets what others possess and seeks to dominate over them. Conflict would thus be unceasingly arise unless there would be an Imam who is infallible in his judgments and deeds to judge between them. Only in this way of the rights of all the people is defended, the legal penalties of the divine law applied, and peace and order guaranteed to the community. In al-Alfayn, a work devoted to a detailed discussion on the reasons for the infallibility of the Imam, he repeatedly emphasizes the need for a fuler(ra'is) to interpret and preserve the shari'a, to prevent men from committing aggression against each other, to restrain tyrants and to help the oppressed. Without a leader chaos would ensue and the Qur'an and the sunnah would not be observed. Inevitably there must be an Imam, immune from error and sin, appointed by God, to clear the dimensions (ahkam) of shari'a.[7]



If imam would not be infallible, he would err and be incapable of leading Ummah to straight path.[8] Imams are the proofs of God's existence and paragons of inerrancy.[9]

In the book of "al-Islam Wa al-’Aql -- Islam and Reason”, by Muhammad Jawad Mughniyah,the concept of Isma (Infallibility) is misinterpreted. What he means by that concept is that a prophet, by virtue of his prophet-hood, has a pure soul.[10]

For Shi'a the concept of Ismah is as fundamental as the concept of Imamah and welayah.[11]The imamate is usually considered to have supernatural qualities and abilities such as infallibility.[12]

According to Shi'as, Imams are sinless in leadership and infallible in interpreting the Quran.[13]

Shi'a believes that the Imams are infallible in their thoughts, deeds and faith.[14]

All Shi'as but Zaydis, attribute Ismah to Imams.[15]

The Shi'as believe that the twelve Imams like the holy prophet are ma'sum i.e. infallible, free of sins, errors and mistakes. This purity of sinlessness is essential for the protection of Islam and guidance of Muslims.[16]

Regarding the conception of Ismah in Shi'a doctrine, Imam has a more central role comparing kaliph in Sunni political theory; .[17]

The imam's infallibility, beyond beliefs and ethical practices, extends to all public utterances .[18]

Shi'a believes that Sunna (tradition) is related to the conception of Isma.they believe, unlike the Sunnis, the Sunnah is with regard to the words and deeds of infallibles.[19] Shi'a shari'a is based on the genuine traditions reported from divinely appointed and infallible imams.[20] Also Abu Hayyan Tawhidi rejected the doctrine of Ismah as a Sunni Philosopher.[21]

The meaning of inerrancy in prophet

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According to Shiite, a prophet of God must possess the quality of inerrancy or Ismah. Shiite believes that a prophet of God must be innocent of sins and errors in three stances: in receiving the revelation from God, in guarding it and in making possible its reaching the people.[22]


God referd to inerrancy of prophets in Quran.[23]


For Shiite the proof given to demonstrate the inerrancy of prophet, also demonstrates the inerrancy of Imams.[24] in other word,The infallibility of Imams is confirmed by the dictum of the infallible prophets.[25]

Notes

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  1. ^ (Blank & 1380AP, p. 362)
  2. ^ (Sayyid Saeed Akhtar Rizvi 1987, p. 14)
  3. ^ (Lambton in Nasr 1989, p. 98)
  4. ^ (Lambton in Nasr 1989, p. 99)
  5. ^ (Lambton in Nasr 1989, p. 99)
  6. ^ (Lambton in Nasr 1989, p. 99)
  7. ^ (Lambton in Nasr 1989, p. 102)
  8. ^ (Ibrahim & 1387AP, p. 176)
  9. ^ (Akhavi in Esposito and Shahin 2013, p. 178)
  10. ^ Ali, Abbas, Shiite encyclopedia, retrieved 5 August2014-08-05 {{citation}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  11. ^ (Paya in Mughteder Khan 2006, p. 127)
  12. ^ (Scot Aghaei in Cornell & 1385AP, p. 114)
  13. ^ (Braswell 2000, p. 63)
  14. ^ (Petrushevsky 1985, p. 202)
  15. ^ (Moosa 1987, p. 98)
  16. ^ (Sheriff & without history, p. 29-30)
  17. ^ (Gleave in Martin 2004, p. 351)
  18. ^ (Cassini & 1380AP, p. 296)
  19. ^ (Weiss 2006, p. 46)
  20. ^ (Peters & 1387AP, p. 179)
  21. ^ (Al Qadi in Wilferd Madelung, Farhad Daftary, Josef W. Meri & 1382AP, p. 142)
  22. ^ Tabatabaei 1975, p. 126
  23. ^ Tabatabaei 1975, p. 127
  24. ^ Tabatabaei 1975, p. 160
  25. ^ (Weiss 2006, p. 46)

References

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  • Paya, Ali (2006). "Chapter:7:recent development in Shiite thought,a brief introduction to the views of the three contemporary Shiite thinkers". In Mughtader Khan, M.A (ed.). Islamic Democratic Discourse: Theory, Debates, and Philosophical Perspectives. Lexington Books. pp. 123–148. ISBN 0-73910-645-7.
  • Moosa, Matti (1987). Extremist Shiites: The Ghulat Sects. Syracuse University Press. ISBN 0-81562-411-5.
  • Gleave, Robert (2004). "Imamate". In Martín, Richard (ed.). Encyclopedia of Islam & the Muslim World, Volume 1. Granite Hill Publishers. pp. 350–351. ISBN 0-02865-603-2.
  • Braswell, George (February 1,2000). What You Need to Know about Islam & Muslims. B&H Publishing Group. ISBN 0-80541-829-6. {{cite book}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  • Cassini, Charles (Aban 10, 1380 AP). Islam: Claims and Counterclaims. iUniverse. ISBN 0-59520-355-8. {{cite book}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  • Weiss, Bernard.G (2006). The Spirit of Islamic Law. University of Georgia Press. ISBN 0-82032-827-8.


  • scot Aghaei, Kamran (Dey 9, 1385 AP). "Chapter 10, the passion of Ashura in Shiite Islam". In Cornell (ed.). Voices of Islam. Greenwood Publishing Group. ISBN 0-27598-732-9. {{cite book}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  • Peters, F.E (Dey 21, 1387 AP). Islam: A Guide for Jews and Christians. Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-69112-233-4. {{cite book}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  • IBRAHIM, MIR MUHAMMAD (Farvardin 29, 1387 AP). SOCIOLOGY OF RELIGIONS. PHI Learning Pvt. Ltd. ISBN 8-12033-359-4. {{cite book}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  • Sheriff, Ahmed.R (without history). Leadership by Divine Appointment. Bilal Muslim Mission of Tanzania. {{cite book}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  • Akhtar Rizvi, Sayyed Saeed (1987). prophethood. Bilal Muslim Mission of Tanzania. ISBN -997695-617-7.
  • Blank, Jonah (Farvardin 26, 1380 AP). Mullahs on the Mainframe: Islam and Modernity Among the Daudi Bohras. University of Chicago Press. ISBN 0-22605-676-7. {{cite book}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  • Akhavi, Shahrough (2013). "Chapter:11, Ali Shariati". In John, Esposito; Shahin, Emad El Din (eds.). The Oxford Handbook of Islam and Politics. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19539-589-1.
  • Lambton, Ann K. (1989). "Chapter 7, Political Theory and Practice". In NAsr, Seyyed Hussein (ed.). Expectation of the Millennium : Shiìsm in History. State University of New York Press. ISBN 9780585078496.
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