Those verses that seem to contradict the prophets’...

Those verses that seem to contradict the prophets’ infallibility are either conditional propositions that do not indicate that they have sinned or they pertain to the believers, not the prophets. With respect to the prophet Adam (ع), in whose infallibility many have doubted, the following can be said.

First, the proscriptions in the verses related to this discussion are irshadi (advisory) in nature, not mawlawi (a command issued by a superior to an inferior with the hopes that the command will be obeyed). Second, even if they were mawlawi imperatives, they do not indicate that a failure to fulfil the commands is tantamount to a sin, but rather that Adam chose a lesser of two permissible paths.

Third, the world in which Adam was living at the time was not a world entailing legal responsibility toward Allah (awj). In such a world, disregarding a command cannot be considered a true sin. If we see occasionally that Allah (awj) addresses the prophets with a sharp tone, this is because they are, after all, men with the faculties of anger and lust and the needs of animals.

Therefore, they also require constant admonishment and guidance in such a way that if they were left to themselves for an instant they would be destroyed. Detailed Answer Let us begin answering this question by defining the term infallibility ( ‘ismah ).

’Allamah Tabataba`i defines infallibility as “the presence of a quality in a person that prevents him from committing any impermissible act such as a sin.” Al-Fadil al-Miqdad, a ranking Shi’i theologian, presents a more thorough definition, when he says, “Infallibility is a trait bestowed by Allah to a legally accountable individual (mukallaf) in such a way that the presence of this trait negates in this individual any motive to disobey or commit a sin while he remains capable of doing so.

This bestowal is a consequence of the person’s acquisition of a moral habit (malakah) of refraining from sin. In addition, this person is aware of the reward earned through obedience and the punishment incurred through disobedience and is apprehensive of forgetfulness and failing to perform the better of two praiseworthy acts.” It is essential to note that infallibility never compels a person to obey nor prevents him from disobeying.

Rather, his faith, knowledge, and perception of Allah’s greatness has reached a level where they do not allow him to commit a sin or disobey Allah (awj).