Are Khulafa infallible?
Introduction
The meaning of infallible is a person who is unable to make mistakes. The belief of Infallible Imams is that of the Shia, as per the ahadith of Ahlus Sunnah, even Prophets are not infallible however they are masoom(incapable of sin). The belief of the Khulafa about themselves has been that they are not infallible.
Hazrat Musleh Maud(RA) explains that Khulafa are not Infallible
Reference # 1
A question was asked to Hazrat Musleh Maud(RA) whether can a person disagree with a Khalifa on a Fiqhi Issue. Musleh Maud(RA) responded:
مسائل فقہ میں خلیفہ سے اختلاف ہوسکتا ہے
سوال: کیا ایک شخص مسائل میں اختلاف رکھ کر خلیفہ سے بیعت کر سکتا ہے؟
جواب: مسائل فقہیہ میں سوائے نبی کے ہر ایک شخص سے اختلاف ہو سکتا
ہے۔ حضرت ابوبکرؓ، حضرت عمر، حضرت عثمان ، حضرت علی سب سے اپنے اپنے صحابہ بعض باتوں میں اختلاف رکھتے تھے۔ ہمیں کئی مسائل میں حضرت خلیفہ اول سے اختلاف تھا مثلا حضرت خلیفہ اول کا یہ اعتقاد تھا کہ نبی قتل نہیں ہوسکتا مگر ہمارا یہ اعتقاد ہے کہ نبی قتل ہوسکتا ہے اور خود حضرت مسیح موعود علیہ السلام نے بھی لکھا ہے کہ حضرت بھی قتل کئے گئے۔ گو یہ بات کہی جاتی ہے کہ وہ الزامی طور پر لکھا ہے مگر یہاں الزام کی کوئی بات نہیں۔ پس اصولی بات میں اختلاف نہیں ہوسکتا۔ یہ نبی ہی ہوتا ہے جو کہتا ہے یہ بات یوں ہے پھر خواہ وہ سمجھ میں نہ آئے مانی پڑتی
ہے۔
الفضل ۵ فروری ۱۹۲۴ء جلدا انمبر ۶۱)
There can be a difference of opinion in Fiqhi Masial with the Khalifa
Question: Can one person in Masial have a difference in an opinion from a Khalifa he has done Bayah to?
Response by Musleh Maud: In Masial Fiqhiyah, except for a Prophet, you can have a difference of opinion with every person. Hazrat Abu Bakr(RA), Hazrat Umar(RA), Hazrat Usman(RA), Hazrat Ali(RA) with all of them their own sahaba had iktilaaf(difference of opinion) with some topics. I myself in many masial have differences with Hazrat Khalifa Awwal(RA), for example Hazrat Khalifa Awwal(RA) had the belief that Prophets can not be killed however my belief is that Prophets can be killed and Hazrat Masih Maud(AS) himself wrote that Yahya(AS) was killed. Some people say that Masih Maud(AS) said this in an Ilzaami Jawaab fashion however here there is no talk of ilzaam. Thus, in usooli topics there can not be a difference of opinion. It is only a prophet who says that this thing is like this and then even if you don’t understand you have to follow it.
Fatawa Musleh Maud Hisa Awwal page 12-13
The Example of Yahya(AS) being killed or not is an example of such Furui iktilaaf. Hazrat Maulvi Noor-ud-Deen(RA) and Khalifa Rabay(RH) believed that Prophets can not be killed, while Hazrat Musleh Maud(RA) and Hazrat Maseeh Maud(RA).believed that Yahya(RA) was killed. While both opinions are valid and grounded in Quranic principles, an Ahmadi Muslim would follow the Khalifa of the time. Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad(ABA) has stated that his belief is same as Hazrat Maseeh Maud(AS) and Hazrat Musleh Maud(RA)
Death of Hazrat Yahyaas and Hazrat Zachariahas
Someone wrote to Hazrat Amirul Momineen, Khalifatul Masih Vaa and asked, “Were Hazrat Yahyaas and Hazrat Zachariahas murdered, or does ‘murder’ denote the destruction of their message?”
Huzooraa, in a letter dated 11 August 2020, gave the following guidance:
“Just as there is a difference of opinion found in the books of history and sirah and among the views of the classical scholars regarding the murder of Hazrat Yahya and Hazrat Zachariah, peace be upon them, so is there also a difference of opinion in the Jamaat on this among the Khulafa-e-Ahmadiyyat in light of their reasoning from the verses of the Holy Quran and their interpretation of ahadith.
“My view in this regard concurs with the opinion of Hazrat Musleh-e-Maudra. In light of the Holy Quran, the ahadith of the Holy Prophetsa and the guidance given by the Promised Messiahas, I hold the position that the first and last prophet of any dispensation or a prophet about whom Allah has promised that He would safeguard him from the reach of the people, cannot be killed. Apart from them, being killed is not a bad thing per se for the rest of the prophets and it does not tarnish the honour of a prophet because being killed is also one way of being martyred. However, being killed in a state of failure does not behove prophets. Hence, when a prophet has completed his work, then there is nothing wrong with him dying naturally or being martyred by someone else because no one is astounded at someone’s death in a state of success and neither does the enemy rejoice in such a death.
“Thus, Hazrat Yahyaas and Hazrat Zachariahas were not the first or the last prophets of any dispensation, nor is there any promise of God Almighty mentioned somewhere about them that He would certainly safeguard them from the hands of the enemy. Moreover, we believe that when these prophets were martyred, they certainly must have fulfilled their responsibilities which, Allah had entrusted to them, in the best possible manner.”
AlHakam 31st December 2021 Answers to Everyday Issues – Part XXVI: Usul al-fiqh, praying for non-Muslims, Eid al-Adha, death of Hazrat Yahya & Hazrat Zachariah, and nikah & talaq
Reference # 2 and #3
Hazrat Musleh Maud(RA) states:
There is no one on earth who does not make mistakes. Hazrat Muhammad(saw) says I am a human and sometimes I can make a wrong decision. Then who can be greater than Muhammad(saw)? Only Allah does not make mistakes.
Taluq Billah Time stamp 27:08 – Hazrat Khalifatul Masih Sani(ra)
Hazrat Musleh Maud(RA) said this because:Muhammad(SAW) said that he can err on non-revelation matters
قَالَ مَرَرْتُ مَعَ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم بِقَوْمٍ عَلَى رُءُوسِ النَّخْلِ فَقَالَ ” مَا يَصْنَعُ هَؤُلاَءِ ” . فَقَالُوا يُلَقِّحُونَهُ يَجْعَلُونَ الذَّكَرَ فِي الأُنْثَى فَيَلْقَحُ . فَقَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم ” مَا أَظُنُّ يُغْنِي ذَلِكَ شَيْئًا ” . قَالَ فَأُخْبِرُوا بِذَلِكَ فَتَرَكُوهُ فَأُخْبِرَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم بِذَلِكَ فَقَالَ ” إِنْ كَانَ يَنْفَعُهُمْ ذَلِكَ فَلْيَصْنَعُوهُ فَإِنِّي إِنَّمَا ظَنَنْتُ ظَنًّا فَلاَ تُؤَاخِذُونِي بِالظَّنِّ وَلَكِنْ إِذَا حَدَّثْتُكُمْ عَنِ اللَّهِ شَيْئًا فَخُذُوا بِهِ فَإِنِّي لَنْ أَكْذِبَ عَلَى اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ ” .
I and Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) happened to pass by people near the date-palm trees. He (the Holy Prophet) said: What are these people doing? They said: They are grafting, i. e. they combine the male with the female (tree) and thus they yield more fruit. Thereupon Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) said: I do not find it to be of any use. The people were informed about it and they abandoned this practice. Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) (was later) on informed (that the yield had dwindled), whereupon he said: If there is any use of it, then they should do it, for it was just a personal opinion of mine, and do not go after my personal opinion; but when I say to you anything on behalf of Allah, then do accept it, for I do not attribute lie to Allah, the Exalted and Glorious.
Sahih Muslim 2361
When Prophets (AS) can make mistakes on things that haven’t told to them by direct revelation (remember prophets can sometimes misinterpret revelations such as the dream of doing Hajj in Makkah but led to the Treaty of Hudabiyah), then Khulafa who are of a lesser rank than Prophets can make mistakes on things that haven’t be told to them by direct revelation.