The Shaykh’s mention of the Muslim consensus that no one is infallible after the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him)
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The Shaykh : Therefore, the scholars of the Muslims have agreed that no individual among the Muslims is infallible after the Messenger (peace be upon him), ever, not even the best of people after the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), namely Abu Bakr al-Siddiq, let alone anyone else having that infallibility, as some people claim that Ali is infallible and the Imams of the People of the House are infallible. This is a claim that has no basis in the Book of Allah or in the hadith of the Messenger of Allah; rather, this claim arose from narrow sectarian fanaticism.
This is said with regard to the people of the Sunnah who affiliate themselves with these four schools of jurisprudence, but they differ from those others in that they do not claim infallibility for these four imams in terms of their statements. Those others openly declare that they are infallible, whereas the followers of the four imams do not claim infallibility for any of these imams in their statements, and praise be to Allah. When I say "in their statements", I mean that many of them claim infallibility for them in their actions, because if you confront one of them with a verse from the Book of Allah or a sound hadith of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) that contradicts the position of the imam, he will err and insist on adhering to the imam's statement, disregarding the Book and the Sunnah, and unfortunately treating them as if they were of no account. These people say, "No, because they are not infallible." If that is the case, why do you cling to their statements as if they were revealed in the Book or came in a hadith of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)?
In summary, the Muslims are in agreement that infallibility does not belong to any individual scholar, no matter how high his status in knowledge, after the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). Thus, when these followers of the Imams affiliate with an Imam, each of them affiliates with an Imam who is not infallible.
A fortiori, you should note that those who affiliate in this era with a person named such-and-such or with a group named such-and-such, and this group ultimately returns to one person, a fortiori you should know that this affiliation, regardless of the name, we are not concerned with the name as much as we are concerned with the named entity. In reality, they do not affiliate with anything but a person or a number of persons, but this number of persons does not equate to infallibility in the Book of Allah or in the hadith of the Messenger of Allah. Compare this with affiliation to the righteous Salaf, and the difference between the two affiliations will become clear to you: affiliation to the infallible group, as attested by the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), who does not speak from desire; it is nothing but a revelation that is revealed, when he said But he did not say that so-and-so does not fall into misguidance, i.e., into error, nor did he say that the group that affiliates with such-and-such a group or such-and-such a person does not agree on misguidance. Therefore, all Islamic groups, regardless of their names, should share with us in this affiliation: affiliation to the righteous Salaf, because it is an affiliation to infallibility. And it is not obligatory for us to affiliate with the person or group to which they affiliate, because they do not affiliate with infallibility. And thus the difference between the two affiliations becomes clear. And as was said long ago: “And this difference between us is sufficient, and every vessel emits what is in it”.
This is said with regard to the people of the Sunnah who affiliate themselves with these four schools of jurisprudence, but they differ from those others in that they do not claim infallibility for these four imams in terms of their statements. Those others openly declare that they are infallible, whereas the followers of the four imams do not claim infallibility for any of these imams in their statements, and praise be to Allah. When I say "in their statements", I mean that many of them claim infallibility for them in their actions, because if you confront one of them with a verse from the Book of Allah or a sound hadith of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) that contradicts the position of the imam, he will err and insist on adhering to the imam's statement, disregarding the Book and the Sunnah, and unfortunately treating them as if they were of no account. These people say, "No, because they are not infallible." If that is the case, why do you cling to their statements as if they were revealed in the Book or came in a hadith of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)?
In summary, the Muslims are in agreement that infallibility does not belong to any individual scholar, no matter how high his status in knowledge, after the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). Thus, when these followers of the Imams affiliate with an Imam, each of them affiliates with an Imam who is not infallible.
A fortiori, you should note that those who affiliate in this era with a person named such-and-such or with a group named such-and-such, and this group ultimately returns to one person, a fortiori you should know that this affiliation, regardless of the name, we are not concerned with the name as much as we are concerned with the named entity. In reality, they do not affiliate with anything but a person or a number of persons, but this number of persons does not equate to infallibility in the Book of Allah or in the hadith of the Messenger of Allah. Compare this with affiliation to the righteous Salaf, and the difference between the two affiliations will become clear to you: affiliation to the infallible group, as attested by the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), who does not speak from desire; it is nothing but a revelation that is revealed, when he said
