The Myth of Infallible Imams
Published in July 17, 2018
Translated by: Ahmed Fathy
Introduction:
1- We have received this message via email; we publish it here followed by our reply because it reflects the mentality of most Muhammadans, especially the Shiites among them; in fact, the male sender of this message is a Shiite young man who regularly reads our writings and comments on them via email messages; we have responded privately to most questions he has sent to us.
2- Here is the message: (... Dear Sir, ... Since you consider yourself as an infallible author and thinker, what is the use of all your views and writings then?! ... You can make mistakes like any other authors and writers, you know ... Some people may find all your views as wrong; your ijtihad and ponderings regarding the Quran are yours alone and representing your own mentality and NOT the Quran per se, as your foes assert; I'm afraid that you might change your views later on; you might regret your refuting notions like......... and you will readily admit that you were in the wrong; hence, you and your views never represent Islam; Islam is based on the Absolute Truth; what you derive and infer from Quranic verses are your own subjective views; one cannot base one's religion and faith on mere surmises and conjectures, you know ... Hence the Shiite idea of Imamism or infallible imams is very helpful here; the Muslims are to follow certain imams who have been guided by God and sent by Him to guide the Muslims everywhere regarding how to understand the Quran and Islam ... I do believe you cannot refute my argument here; what do you think? ... Thank you ...).
OUR REPLY:
Firstly:
1- When we used to be a professor at Al-Azhar University, we left Cairo at one time to visit our native village, Abou Herez, and we saw there that candidates within Parliamentary elections showed the alliance between the MB organization and Al-Ahrar Party and held conferences to address the villagers; we talked to one of the candidates who claimed that the MB members represent Islam; we refuted his claim; neither he nor the MB members, his allies, represent Islam; we told him no human beings can make such a claim; Islam is greater than being represented or embodied by any persons, institutions, or organizations; we told him that despite our field of specialization and our upbringing, we ourselves do not embody Islam; God's Religion is represented only by the Quran. Muhammad himself never embodied Islam; he followed only the Quran; some Quranic verses has rebuked and reproached him; this means he was never infallible; no human beings (prophets and non-prophets) are to be deemed as infallible; the only Truth that can never be wrong is the Quran and all God's previous Scriptures.
2- Within our lectures and speeches delivered in Egypt, we typically uttered the phrase (we say, and we might be wrong, that......). Once within a forum held within a civil society linked to an NGO in Cairo, Egypt, we delivered a speech about women's rights in Islam and we quoted many Quranic verses; many of the attendees admired what we have said; an elderly man told us that he never heard what we have said by anyone else; he felt as if he heard the Quranic verses we recited for the first time though he is a Muslim and he has read the Quran several times; yet, he disliked the phrase (we say, and we might be wrong, that......) and told us not to utter it so as not to let others cast doubt on our words; he told us to be keen on winning people to our side since we preach Quranic facts that undermine and refute falsehoods of the Sunnite fiqh; he told us that clergymen, sheikhs, and imams vomit their myths so confidently and assure others that their lies were embodying Islam so that the masses would not question them; if these clergymen would use the phrase (we say, and we might be wrong, that......), the masses will never believe them and will reject them for sure. We thanked this elderly man and told him that we do not talk in the name of Islam; no mortals represent Islam; we utter our views inferred from our pondering the Quranic text; we must use the phrase (we say, and we might be wrong, that......) to catch the attention of the audience so as they are urged to check the Quranic verses and search for the Truth themselves; this is the major aim of seekers of guidance. We told him we hope that people would wake up from their state of heedlessness and to reread the Quran within new light; they must stop their discarding and abandoning the Quran; we told him he has sensed that as if he heard the Quranic verses for the first time because no one ever pays enough attention to the Quran because of Sunnite lies (hadiths, fiqh, etc.) and other fabrications of clergymen. This applies to most of the masses; the Quranic facts are never heeded by them because they are brainwashed so as to be deceived and readily/willingly discard and abandon the Quran even if they are unaware of this because they read it blindly without pondering; hence, our speeches would urge them to check the Quran and see if our views are right or wrong; using the Quran as the Only Criterion is a religious duty, but it is unheeded by the majority of people; this is the chance to urge the people to re-check the Quran and rediscover it.
Secondly:
1- During Muhammad's lifetime when the Quran was being revealed, Muhammad never gave his own views regarding the Quranic verses or religious issues; there was not any notion about an infallible imam appointed by the Lord God. Muhammad's only mission was to deliver the Quranic message to his contemporaries; he was commanded to follow the Quran only and nothing else; God has said the following to Muhammad (and to all believers in all eras as well):"A Book was revealed to you, so let there be no anxiety in your heart because of it. You are to warn with it - and a reminder for the believers. Follow what is revealed to you from your Lord, and do not follow other allies beside Him. Little you recollect." (7:2-3). Hence, since Muhammad was never infallible, no other mortals can be deemed as such; otherwise, those who deem any mortals as infallible are deifying them as gods besides Allah: this is utter polytheism.
2- God has made the Quranic verses easy to understand and to remember by all people; this fact is mentioned several times in the Quranic text. Guidance-seekers will find it easily in the Quran if they believe that the Quran is God's Word and if they adhere to the testimony of monotheism: (There is no God but Allah). Hence, real monotheists never sanctify/deify any creatures or mortals (prophets or non-prophets) and never believe in myths that deify any persons; they know that their faith and their acts of worship are to be dedicated only to the Lord God; this is the natural, innate instinct inherent into our psyche and inscribed into souls of all human beings in the Barsakh level of existence before they are born on earth. This instinct of monotheism is revived ONLY by the Quran; this does not need much talk or explanation; in contrast, polytheists cover such instinct of monotheism and ram it deep inside them and are oblivious of it because of their belief in myths that deify mortals. Using logical thinking, one realizes the absurdity of deifying/sanctifying creatures/things/mortals; how come that one would deify some human beings (or their mausoleums/tomb) who got ill, urinated, defecated, had sex, consume food, etc. like all mortals?! Hence, the innate, inherent instinct of monotheism, revived by the Quran, is the main source of guidance; the Quranic miraculous features include its verses being made simple, clear, and lucid for all minds to understand and that it contains deeper levels of ponderings by those knowledgeable persons who wish to delve deeper into Quranist research. There is ample room for this by able, neutral researchers (this excludes high- and low-rank clergymen of Satan or holders of PhD among atheists and Quran-hating people, of course); their views can be discussed and are human views that might be right or wrong.
3- God's Word, the Quran, is the Absolute Truth and it is never distorted or false; there is no room for fabrications, lies, and mistakes in the Quranic text; whims are bound to exist alongside with facts within human views and word. The Almighty Lord God has revealed the Book and will use it as the Criterion to judge them on the Day of Resurrection; hence, those who follow their whims while talking about the Quran/Islam will be judged severely and punished in Hell; those whose views of ijtihad are true will be rewarded by God for striving for the sake of His Religion. No mortals have the right to judge other mortals on earth. God will judge all human beings on the Last Day.
4- We ourselves have begun searching for forgotten facts of Islam since 1977; our mind was laden with tons of lies, myths, falsehoods, and fabrications of Sunnite, Sufi, and Shiite religions; even the imam Mohamed Abdou who headed Al-Azhar University and died in 1905 A.D. wrote shortly before his death that he was still cleaning/cleansing his mind from the dirty lies and myths of Al-Azhar; he died before he had the chance to tackle all Quranic facts; we have begun from the point where he stopped because of his premature death; Al-Azhar is the quagmire of Sunnite, Sufi, and Shiite myths of Satan; we cleansed/cleaned our mind from them within a gradual process since 1977 until now. This is hardly surprising; we have inherited deep-rooted myths that has existed for 13 centuries and formed the basis of earthly/terrestrial religions, clergymen, theological States, and political/economic networks of interests of so many people, past and present. We consider ourselves as a successful thinker; God has helped us to re-discover forgotten and discarded tens of thousands of Quranic facts of Islam (never tackled before by ancient and modern authors) for the first time in Muslim history of intellectual endeavors; God says the following about those who ascribe lies and falsehoods to God and to His Religion: "And who commits graver injustice than he who fabricates lies and attributes them to God, or calls the truth a lie when it has come to him? Is there not in Hell a dwelling for the disbelievers?" (29:68); God says the following about those who strive hard to ponder the Quran: "As for those who strive for Us - We will guide them in Our ways. God is with the doers of good." (29:69). We have the courage to admit that we were in the wrong; we have changed many of our previous views after they have been proven wrong by further Quranist research; for instance, we used to assume that the four pre-Umayyad caliphs were good people and that the Arab conquests were great feats; later on, the Quran as a Criterion has proved to us that such Arabs and caliphs were criminals/sinners and that the Arab conquests are heinous crimes and atrocities condemned by the Quranic verses. Besides, in the late 1970s, we used to accept some Sunnite hadiths while assuming that they do not contradict the Quran; yet, with further Quranist research, we came to realize that all hadiths are falsehoods that contradict the Quran either by adding to Islam useless details/myths or by undermining and refuting many Quranic facts. Thus, we have correct many of our previous views within a gradual process of discarding deep-rooted myths and as we delved deeper into Quranist research. For further information about this topic, we refer readers to this article in English titled "Let Us Be the Generation of Dialogue to Make our Progeny Be the Generation of Choice" (http://www.ahl-alquran.com/English/show_article.php?main_id=16851). This article of ours was the first one to get published in Arabic in the Cairene Al-Akhbar newspaper in 1989. This article is still readable and valid until now; we are still on the coast of Quranic knowledge; we are still among the generation of dialogue; we are not an infallible person; no one is or will be infallible one day; the other generations after our death will choose for themselves; we urge all readers, now and in the future, to use the Quran as the Only Criterion to judge all views and everything.
5- The Shiite, Sunnite, and Sufi imams/sheikhs/clergymen of the Muhammadans are ignoramuses; they need temporal authority to protect their falsehoods and fabrications from being questioned and discussed; we never sought to use our intelligence, talents, and research skills to make money and get ill-gotten wealth by being appointed as a Sunnite imam/sheikh; those clergymen conceal and distort the Truth; i.e., meanings of the Quranic verses, and spread falsehoods/hadiths as if they were 'facts' of Islam (see our article, in English titled "Quranic Terminology: Conceal", parts 1, 2, and 3), and they are millionaires who consume ill-gotten money as they repel people away from the Path of the Lord: the Quran itself. Clergymen of Satan have millions of followers; they use their intelligence to dupe and deceive such gullible, naïve followers; every true Muslim/monotheist is entitled to use one's mind and intelligence to seek the guidance and to defend the great religion of Islam while seeking to gratify the Lord God and seek to be among the Paradise-dwellers; this is what we do within or career as a thinker. As for unrepentant clergymen of misguidance who use their intelligence to repel people away from the Quran, their billions of US$ and millions of gullible, naïve followers (or masses/mob) will never be of any use to them in the Hereafter on the Day of Judgment when they will enter into Hell forever.
Lastly:
1- The above points pertain to Islam, which is God's Celestial, Divine Religion for the guidance of all humanity. In contrast, within earthly/terrestrial fabricated religions of Satan, clergymen/imams of several ranks must exist and they act as gods and owners of such false religions and they expect blind obedience from their followers/adherents/believers. Pious monotheists believe in the testimony of (There is no God but Allah); in contrast, the polytheistic followers of clergymen never ponder the Quran and accepts – blindly and unquestionably – any falsehoods, lies and fabrications uttered/written by clergymen of the Muhammadans about the Quran. These verses describe the Hell-torment of such polytheistic followers if they die without repentance: "The Day when their faces are flipped into the Fire, they will say, "If only we had obeyed God and obeyed the Messenger." And they will say, "Lord, we have obeyed our superiors and our dignitaries, but they led us away from the way." (33:66-68).
2- By the way, this query is raised: Are these verses very clear, lucid, and easily understandable to those who are willing to be guided only by the Quran? Yes, of course.
3- Another query is raised: Why do the Muhammadans disregard these clear verses?!
4- The answer is in these verses: "When you read the Quran, We place between you and those who do not believe in the Hereafter an invisible barrier. And We drape veils over their hearts, preventing them from understanding it, and heaviness in their ears. And when you mention your Lord alone in the Quran, they turn their backs in aversion." (17:45-46).
5- Of course, the verses 17:45-46 are easy to understand and very clear and lucid; besides, all Quranic verses have ample room for more contemplation, reflection, and pondering for those who delve deeper within Quranist research.