The Shia Muslims believe that all the prophets were ma’sum, sinless and infallible; they could commit no sin— neither a major sin nor a minor sin; neither intentionally nor inadvertently; and this applies to them from the beginning to the end of their lives.

This is the belief of the Shí’a Ithna-‘Ashariyyah. Below are three quotations from the Shia scholars of early days to the present century that shows the consistency of this belief among the Shias.

Shaykh Abu Ja’far as-Saduq, a scholar born during the Minor Occultation (ghaybat sughra) of the Present Imam and died in 381 AH, says: “Our belief concerning the prophets, apostles, Imams and angels is that they are infallible (ma’sum), purified from all defilement (danas), and that they do not commit any sin, whether it be minor or major…He who denies infallibility to them in any matter appertaining to their status is ignorant of them. Our belief concerning them is that they are infallible and possess the attributes of perfection, completeness and knowledge, from the beginning to the end of their careers…”

‘Allamah Ibn Mutahhar al-Hilli (d. 728 AH) writes the following on prophecy: “He is immune to sin from the first of his life to the last of it.”

Shaykh Muhammad Rida al-Mudhaffar, a famous Shia scholar of the first half of this century, writes: “We believe that all the prophets are infallible…Infallibility means purity from all sins, both major and minor ones, and from mistakes and forgetfulness.”

Answered by: Sayyid Muhammad Rizvi