Document Type : Original Article

Author

• Hossein Atrak

University Of Zanjan

Abstract

This paper in the field of Islamic Theology studied the implication of the verse “لاینال عهدی الظالمین” which means “My covenant does not include the unjust” on prophets’ infallibility. According to the verse, God’s covenant, prophethood or Imamt, does not include the unjust people. On religious definition, committing a sin is an instance of injustice. Hence, the meaning of the verse is that who reaches to the prophethood state has never committed a sin. This means infallibility of the prophets. The controversial point here is a man who had committed a sin and then repented of his sin. Does the name of “unjust” includes this man after his repentance? Most of Shiite theologians claim that the word “الظالمین” (unjust) is a general and logically universal word which involves any unjust person who has committed a sin, even if he has repented. The author, is against this reasoning. The word “الظالمین” is a derivative noun. According to the discussion of derivative in Ilm-u Al-Usoul, the true meaning of the derivative nouns is when an instance of that noun has actually that attribute. Accordingly, an unjust person is a person who is unjust now, not a person who had committed a sin but he repented after that and never committed a sin again. In sum, the verse “لا ینال” does not imply on absolute infallibility of the prophets but it just implies that the prophets had not been unjust at the time they reached to the prophethood state.

Keywords

• Prophets
• Infallibility
• the verse “لاینال”
• unjust

Main Subjects

• Islamic theology