Is ʿAli al-Akbar (a) infallible? And what is the reality of his infallibility?

Peace be upon you, and the mercy of Allah and His blessings.

We have discussed in detail, in several places, what is called the lesser infallibility (al-ʿisma al-sughra), a term formulated by the eminent early scholars to distinguish it from the infallibility of the prophets, the Twelve Imams and al-Zahraʾ (a), which they designated the greater infallibility (al-ʿisma al-kubra). We have established the reality of the lesser infallibility as being (complete infallibility), and not what is called acquired [infallibility], which is shared with other people, such as scholars who have reached stages of piety such that nothing forbidden issues from them in practice. The infallibility under discussion is the one that encompasses several pioneering and pivotal figures in the course of the Islamic religion other than the well-known Fourteen Infallibles, such as ʿAli al-Akbar, the son of Imam al-Husayn; his brother ʿAbd Allah the infant; Lady Zaynab; al-ʿAbbas ibn ʿAli; and Fatimah, the daughter of Musa ibn Jaʿfar (a); and others like them.

We have established that the infallible figures have, with respect to relative excellence and distinction, several aspects:

1- The aspect of infallibility, as the basis of integrity and purification.

2- The aspect of the Imamate and the station of being a proof (hujjiyya).

3- The aspect of personal merit.

4- The aspect of special characteristics.

Through these stations, a large group of narrations that spoke of relative excellence and distinction among the prophets, the Imams and the other infallible figures can be addressed, removing the confusion found in some treatments.

The station of ʿAli al-Akbar, son of Imam al-Husayn (a), in the detailing of these stations, is that:

1- He ranks in the station of complete infallibility, because he is encompassed by divine selection, as his father (a) alluded to at his killing, and because he is encompassed by the Verse of Purification, as in the contents of his ziyarahs.

2- In his personal station: he supported Imam al-Husayn in the project of the great martyrdom, declaring from the outset that he did not care; he has the station of the martyrs of al-Taff, and he is the first martyr from Banu Hashim.

3- In the station of special characteristics: he was the person who most resembled the Messenger of Allah; his grave is with the grave of his father al-Husayn (a); and his ziyarah is part of his father's ziyarah,

4- As for the station of being a proof: he is subordinate to the Imamate of the Fourteen Infallibles (a), so the probative authority of his conduct derives from theirs.

It appears from this that there is no obstacle to the existence of infallible figures alongside the infallibles who are proofs, just as there was no obstacle to the existence of Imam ʿAli (a) alongside the Messenger of Allah (s), nor to the existence of al-Hasanayn alongside their father ʿAli (a), nor to the existence of Imam al-Husayn alongside his brother Imam al-Hasan (a), since it was accepted that there is a speaking Imam and an Imam who follows him, while accepting the latter's infallibility.

And Allah is the guardian of knowledge

Sayed Mahmoud Al-Mosawi