Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) Is Infallible

First, my rebuttal to Pro's 5 points: 1. "... the Qur'an states that Allah had purified the Prophet (pbuh) & members of his household: "Allah intends only to remove from you the impurity [of sin], O people of the [Prophet's] household, and to purify you with [extensive] purification." (33:33)" This does not support Muhammad's infallibility as a prophet because not only does it extend to non-prophets (members of his household), but Muhammad must first have the impurity of sin for it to removed/purified. 2. "The Qur'an also clearly & unequivocally confirms the inerrancy of the Prophet (pbuh): "Your companion [Muhammad] has not strayed, nor has he erred, Nor does he speak from [his own] inclination. It is not but a revelation revealed" (53:2-4)" This is probably the most explicit description of Muhammad as being infallible in Pro's list of points. Just a bit later, I will detail how these types of claims are fundamentally fallacious in nature. 3. These Scriptures basically state that Muhammad is worthy of Allah's blessings, that he should be respected, honored, and is worthy of being followed. None of these claims mean he is necessarily infallible. 4. This verse basically states that Muhammad is a man of "great moral character." Again, this does not necessarily denote infallibility. 5. This last point attempts a very minuscule distinction via word play: allegedly, Muhammad was indeed infallible, yet not perfect as Allah is. I would call this making a distinction without a difference, as well as trying to have it both ways. The admission that Muhammad is not perfect actually helps to support my counterpoint. In fact, I was originally planning to use this same verse to support my position! These sorts of arguments for Muhammad's alleged infallibility fundamentally resort to bare assertions and circular reasoning. As a syllogistic argument: P1: A prophet of God must be infallible for various reasons. P2: Muhammad was a prophet of God. C: Therefor, Muhammad was infallible. Premise 1 is not necessarily true, and Premise 2 is merely a bare assertion. Here is a self-reinforcing argument for Muhammad's infallibility, which is the sort of reasoning relied upon to support Pro's Point 2: The message contained in the Quran is completely correct because Muhammad said so, and Muhammad was completely correct ("nor has he erred") about this because the Quran says so. The circular reasoning invoked in that summation should be obvious to even the least skilled thinker. Now, while my rebuttal above should be enough to cast the veracity of Pro's argument into reasonable doubt, I will also posit a counter argument. I will accomplish this by positing four questions regarding the alleged infallibility of Muhammad: A. Would a reasonable, non-Muslim person consider Muhammad to have been infallible? B. Do Muslims universally consider Muhammad to be infallible? C. Was Muhammad infallible according to the very standards of Islam itself? D. Was Muhammad infallible according to himself? I will proceed to show how the most likely answer to all these questions is "No." A. Would a reasonable, non-Muslim person consider Muhammad to have been infallible? -He was married to a barely pubescent girl, Aisha, at the age of 53. (1) -He had many wives, the exact number of whom is disputed, but at least 15. (2) -He took female captives in wartime as personal slaves. (3) -He authorized the execution of hundreds of prisoners after the Battle of the Trench. (4) While this is not even an exhaustive list, it is plenty to lead a reasonable, non-Muslim person to conclude that Muhammad was not infallible. He was a flawed individual, just as we all are, really. B. Do Muslims universally consider Muhammad to be infallible? "Some Muslim scholars recognise that Muhammad was not sinless: Commenting on Q.40:55, where Muhammad is told by Allah to ask forgiveness for his sin, Yusuf Ali states that "every mortal according to his nature and degree of spiritual enlightenment falls short of the perfect standard of Allah ... and should therefore ask Allah for forgiveness." The former head of the Australian Federation of Islamic Councils, Dr Ameer Ali admitted that Muhammad was not the "perfect model" as most Muslims believed. Asked if the prophet had character flaws, he replied: "Of course - you must look at him as a human being also."" (5) C. Was he infallible in a way consistent with Islam's own standards? -Islam limits its male followers to four wives, but Muhammad had at least 15. (2) -He failed to designate a successor, the chief cause of the Sunni/Shiite rift which continues to this day. (6) D. Was he infallible according to himself? Muhammad described how Allah commanded him to pray for forgiveness of his faults: "Know, therefore, that there is no god but God, and ask forgiveness for thy fault, and for the men and women who believe." Surah 47.19 "Verily We have granted thee a manifest victory: that God may forgive thee thy faults of the past and those to follow; fulfil His favour to thee; and guide thee on the Straight Way." Surah 48.1-2 Muhammad prayed: "O Allah! Forgive me my sins that I did in the past or will do in the future, and also the sins I did in secret or in public." (Sahih Al-Bukhari 9:482) (5) Conclusion: Clearly, Muhammad was not infallible by any standard other than the dogmatic assertion supported by circular reasoning, which is no support at all. Sources: (1) https://en.m.wikipedia.org... (2) https://www.quora.com... (3) http://www.independent.co.uk... (4) https://en.m.wikipedia.org... (5) http://mecoglobal.com... (6) https://en.m.wikipedia.org... (7) https://www.clearquran.com...