A Critique of the Orientalist's Viewpoints about Infallibility of the Prophet

Like other theological and ideological subjects, the Prophet’s infallibility has become more prominent with emergence of theology and, with regard to different theological sects of different ideas in the field, it has become more precisely scrutinized. In addition to the Quranic verses which stipulate infallibility of the prophets especially the beloved Prophet of Islam, there are lots of narrations and historical events suggesting that early Muslims of Islam believed in Prophet’s infallibility. The pretext of some writers of infallibility entries in the Quran and Islam encyclopedias such as Sam Simon, Paul Walker, and Jeffrey is those narrations which undermine the Prophet’s infallibility. This study attempts to respond the orientalists’ claims about the Prophets’ infallibility through citing theological, rational, historical, and philosophical reasoning. The reason of their reliance to these narrations and outward of the verses is due to lack of proficiency on religious sciences and rules of inferences of Islamic teachings. Incomplete information from Islamic historiography, interpretation rules, philosophical and theological principles, and Islamic culture as well as comparison of Islamic teachings with Christian’s have brought about misinterpretation of orientalists.