Were all of the Sahaba capable of committing sins and lying? If they were capable of sinning, could they have committed major sins?
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From which perceptive are you asking and what do you mean by all? According to the Ahl al-Sunnah only the angels and prophets are infallible. The Sahaba as individuals are fallible, however as a group they will not ever be wrong and this is the basis of Ijma' and is based on how Allah has described them and their actions e.g. 3:110, 2:143. 4:115.– UmHAug 25, 2022 at 17:30
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Were individual Sahaba capable of committing sins? If they were, could they have committed major sins?– Kos LoaesAug 25, 2022 at 17:36
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There are examples in the time of the Prophet of people being punished for adultery and things like that which are major sins.– The ZAug 25, 2022 at 17:59
4 Answers
The Sahabah were capable of committing sins including major sins.
There are examples in the ahadith of Sahabah that committed adultery and were punished for it, and adultery is a major sin without difference of opinion. See one example.
But, the agreement of the Sahabah can be considered infallible because it is a form of consensus.
The Sahaba as individuals were not infallible, hence they were able to commit both minor and major sins.
العصمة: بمعنى حفظ الله للمكلف من الذنوب مع استحالة وقوعها منه ... فالعصمة بالمعنى الأول لا تثبت إلا للأنبياء، والملائكة
Infallibility means protection granted by Allah to an accountable person from sins in a manner which makes it impossible for them to commit sins ... and this is not proven for anyone except the prophets and angels
ولم يعصم الله إلا الأنبياء والملائكة
Allah has not made anyone infallible except the prophets and the angels
— islamweb
أن العصمة لا تكون إلا للأنبياء عليهم السلام، وأما من دونهم كأصحاب النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم فليسوا بمعصومين
Infallibility is not (for any human) except the prophets may peace be upon them, as for others such as the Sahaba - they are not infallible
— islamweb
Sahabas are Mahfooz(not masoom) they are capable of commiting sins, but with help of Allah Subhan Wa Ta'ala they wont.
Infallibility is not attributed to any human being. Even in case of Prophets only the divine revelation part if infallible.
Our belief as Muslims is that Allah is pleased with all the companions. We don't mention them except with goodness and we do not discuss the shortcomings.