The Role of the Thesaurus in Discovering the Meaning of the Dhanb of the Prophet and Istighfar of the Prophet in the Qur'an (Based on Verse 2 of Surah al-Fath) by Comparing the Views of Tabatabaei and Tabari

The extent of the infallibility of the Holy Prophet is one of the controversial topics of Shia and Sunni commentators, which is discussed based on some verses that deny infallibility, such as verse 2 of Surah Fath. This verse clearly tells about the existence of the human's sin and God's forgiveness for the Holy Prophet. This paper, through using a descriptive-analytical method, has compared the views of Ayatollah Tabatabaei and Tabari, two of the prominent commentators of Fariqain, in discovering the meaning of the word in the verse, and similar verses. As a result, despite the differences in the principles of belief, both commentators believe that "Dhanb (sin)" and "Istighfar (The act of seeking forgiveness from Allah)" mentioned in the verse have a different meaning compared to other similar verses. Based on external evidence, from the narrative of Ayesha and ordering the Prophet to seek istighfar, in verse 3 of Surah Nasr, without direct connection with the literal meaning, Tabari interprets it as a level of gratitude that a new interpretation of the word is according to the mystical term. Based on the context of the verses, Tabatabaei considers the sin mentioned in the verse as the idea of the polytheists' sin towards the Holy Prophet and considers its forgiveness to mean erasing the results of enmity and the consequences of polytheists' hatred towards the Prophet, which is in accordance with the root meaning of the word in literature.