Are prophets absolutely infallible?

We do not look at prophets as being absolutely infallible. As human beings prior to revelation, they may have committed some mistakes. For instance, prophet Adam (عَلَيْهِ السَّلاَمُ) - the first man and the first of the prophets - ate from the tree before he became a prophet. However, once a prophet was chosen, their message was protected from any error because they were to be guidance for mankind.

Therefore, the message had to be protected in order to protect people from all forms of misguidance. Even when revelation came, the prophets did commit some errors - errors of judgement between what was good and what was better and not sins and major acts of disobedience. We have verses and chapters in the Qur'an which address some of the errors of judgement of Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ).  In the case of the verse of the Chapter Abasa [1], we find Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ) being corrected by Allah for turning away from the blind man Ibnu Maktoom, who came and asked him to teach him something of Islam but he delayed explaining to him, putting him aside because he was busy in the process of meeting heads of the Quraysh and explaining Islam to them.  He saw that as his priority and delayed explaining to the companion.

However, Allah corrects him that it is better for him to clarify to the blind companion. Also, in Chapter Anfal,[2] verse 67 Allah tells the prophet (ﷺ) that it is not befitting of him to take prisoners after the battle of Badr before establishing Islam in the land. The Prophet (ﷺ) took prisoners after the first battle against the pagans and had them ransom themselves. He freed some of them after they taught the Muslims how to read and write because they had no other means. He was supposed to have executed them because they had executed Muslims in Makkah and they would have continued the torture and execution of Muslims who were not able to leave Makkah.

So, in order to put fear into the hearts of these pagans, the proper choice would have been to execute them as suggested by some of his companions. But, in any case, Allah overlooked that misjudgement of the Prophet (ﷺ) because it is out of his own mercy and kindness that he released them rather than execute them. But, as I have said, whatever misjudgement happened on the part of the prophets, these errors have been clarified for the people, so that even errors of judgement became the means of guidance for the people.

Therefore, their errors of judgement are not considered to be as on the level attributed to them in the stories of the Old Testament.

References:

[1] Quran, 80:1 – 2

[2] Quran, 8:67