The Concept of Papal Infallibility in Christianity and ‘Iṣmah (Sinlessness) in Islam: A Comparative Study
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.31436/jia.v19i2.1110Keywords:
Church, Christianity, Islam, Infallibility , ‘Iṣmah, Kalām, Pope, ProphetAbstract
The issue of papal primacy remains debated among Christian churches. The definition of papal infallibility made in the First Vatican Council through Pastor Aeternus has been an obstacle to the unification of churches. The doctrine of ‘iṣmah of prophets has been crucial concerning the concept of prophethood. Both papal infallibility and ‘iṣmah of prophets denote that Pope and prophets were being preserved from sins and errors. This study, therefore, examines concepts of papal infallibility and ‘iṣmah of prophets in understanding, theory and practice. Similarities and differences in these concepts are examined based on how the adherents of religions perceive them. Debates from selected denominations and theological schools in both religions: Catholicism, Protestantism and Eastern Orthodox for Christianity and Shiites, Mu’tazilites and Ash’arites for Islam are focused. Since the study is theoretical, it relies on materials from classical to contemporary sources. Although both concepts seem similar, the findings convey that many differences are found, with few similarities between the two concepts.
References
Al-Gharbāwī, Ḥasan Ḥamīd ‘Abīd. Al-‘Iṣmah fī al-Fikr al-Islāmī. Damascus: Dār Ṭaybah, 2008.
Al-Ḥaramayn, Imām. Al-ishrāf ila qawāti‘ al-Adillah fī uṣūl al-I‘tiqād. Cairo: Maktabah al-Khānjā, 1950.
Ali, Abdullah Yusuf. The Holy Qur’an, Text, Translation and Commentary. USA: Amana Corporation, 1980.
Al-Jurjānī, ‘Alī ibn Muḥammad al-Sayyid al-Sharīf. Mu‘jam al-Ta‘rīfāt. Cairo: Dār al-Faḍīlah, n.d.
Al-Mahdalī, Muḥammad ‘Aqīl ibn ‘Alī. Dirāsah fī al-Nubuwwāt (‘ilm al-Kalām). Brunei: Dār al-Hadīth,1991.
Al-Murtaḍā’, al-Sharīf. Tanzīh al-‘Anbiyā'. Najaf: Al-Maṭba‘ah al-Ḥaydariyyah, 2nd edn., 1960.
Al-Muzaffar, Muḥammad Riḍā .‘Aqā’id al-Imāmiyyah. Najaf: Maktabat al-Amīn, 1968.
Al-Razī, Fakhr al-Dīn. ‘Iṣmat al-Anbiyā’.Cairo: Maktabat al-Thaqāfah al-Dīniyyah,1987.
Al-Sābūnī, Muḥammad ‘Alī. Nubuwwah wa al-Anbiyā’.Damascus: Maktabat al-Ghazālī,1985.
Başaran, Reyhan Erdoğdu. “For the Sake of An Infallible Authority: An Analysis of Sectarian Approaches to The Belief In ‘ismah,” Uṣūl İslam Araştırmaları 34, (2020).
Brandi, S. M. When is the Pope Infallible? The North American Review, 155 (433), 1892.
Brown, Stephen F and Anatolios, Khaled. Catholicism & Orthodox Christianity. New York: Facts on File, 2002.
Dave Jenkins, “What Does it Mean that the Bible Infallible? What is Biblical Infallibility?” Christianity.com, < https://www.christianity.com/wiki/bible/what-does-it-mean-that-the-bible-is-infallible-what-is-biblical-infallibility.html> accessed 24 November 2020.
Donelson, Dwight M. The Shiite Religion: A History of Islam in Persia and Iraq. London: Luzac & co., 1933.
Faruki, Kemal. Tawḥīd and The Doctrine of ‘Iṣmah, Islamic Studies, 4 (1), 1965.
Fazli bin Adam, “The Concept of Khilāfah According to Selected Sunni and Shi’i Qur’anic Commentaries,” PhD thesis, University of Leeds, 2001.
First Vatican Council, Pastor Aeternus, <http://catholicplanet.org/councils/20-Pastor-Aeternus.htm> accessed April 25, 2021,
Ḥasan, Ahmad. The Concept of Infallibility in Islam. Islamic Studies, 11 (1), 1972, 1.
Ibn Aḥmad, ‘Abd al-Jabbār. Sharḥ Uṣūl al-Khamsah. Cairo: Maktabah Wahbah, 1996.
Ibn Taymiyyah, Kitāb al-Nubuwwāt. Riyadh: Maktabah Aḍwā’ al-Salaf, 2000.
Küng, Hans. Infallible? An Inquiry. New York: Doubleday & Company, inc., 1971.
Lateran Council III, accessed April 3, 2021, <https://www.papalencyclicals.net/councils/ecum11.htm>
Nicholas III, Exiit qui seminat, accessed April 25, 2021, <https://www.papalencyclicals.net/nichol03/exiit-e.htm>
O’ Collins, Gerald and Farrugia, Mario. Catholicism: The Story of Catholic Christianity. New York: Oxford University Press, 2003.
O’Malley, John W. A History of the Popes: From Peter to the Present. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield Publ. 2011.
Online Dictionary Etymology, s.v. “ex-cathedra,” <https://www.etymonline.com/word/ex%20cathedra> accessed June 24, 2020,
Online Dictionary Etymology, s.v. “Infallible,” <https://www.etymonline.com/word/infallible#etymonline_v_6428> accessed November 10, 2020
Online Dictionary Etymology, s.v. “Pope,” <https://www.etymonline.com/word/infallible#etymonline_v_6428> accessed April 3, 2021,
Peterson, R. Dean, A Concise History of Christianity. United States: Thomson Wadsworth, 2007.
Powell, Mark E. Papal Infallibility: A Protestant Evaluation of an Ecumenical Issue. Michigan: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2009.
Rahman, Fazlur. Major Themes of the Qur’an. Kuala Lumpur: Islamic Book Trust, 1999.
Saḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, al-Adab al-Mufrad, Trans. Rafiq Abdur Rahman. Beirut: Dār al-Kutub al- ‘Ilmiyyah, 2015.
Saḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, Vol. 1, Book 8, Chapter 31, Ḥadīth 401, (Trans) Muḥammad Muḥsin Khan. Riyadh: Darussalam, 1997.
Schatz, Klaus. Papal Primacy: From Its Origin to the Present. Minnesota: The Liturgical Press, 1996.
Second Vatican Council, Lumen Gentium, http://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/vatii_const_19641121_lumen-gentium_en.html> accessed April 25, 2021,
Sunan Abū Dāwūd, Vol. 4, Chapter 3, Ḥadīth 3646, (Trans) Nasiruddin al-Khattāb. Riyadh: Darussalam, 2008.
Tierney, Brian. Origins of Papal Infallibility, 1150-1350: A Study on the Concepts of Infallibility, Sovereignty and Tradition in the Middle Age. Leiden: E. J. Brill,1972.
Walsh, Michael. Roman Catholicism: The Basics. Abingdon: Routledge, 2005.
