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Shiavault - a Vault of Shia Islamic Books Taharah & 'ismah of the Prophets, Messengers, Awsiya', and Imams (peace Be Upon Them) Translator’s Preface In the Name of Allah, the Merciful the Compassionate One of the most hotly debated topics among the different schools of thoughts of Islam is the concept of Taharah (purification) and ‘Ismah (infallibility) of the Holy Prophets, Messengers, , and divine guides.

Each of these divine roles have its own scope of responsibility, however, they all share one thing in common and that is, divine selection as the representative of God to the people. In such critical role for mankind, it is inevitable that those who assume these fateful roles must be infallible and purified from committing any sin, error, mistake, or inappropriate act.

After all, the prophets, messengers, and successors are sent to the people to set the correct standards for them and serve as exceptional role models and a perfect template for them to emulate. Hence, Allah (SWT) directs this command in the Holy Quran to all believers, "O you who believe! Obey Allah and obey the Messenger and those vested with authority (Ulul-Amr) from among you." (4:59).

This verse indicates the supreme authority given to the prophet and divine guides because they are sinless (Ma`sum) and free from all types of errors and sins. Otherwise, Allah would not have ordered us to obey them unconditionally. Without the existence of this safety margin for these selected divine guides, there is no guarantee that they deliver the message exactly the way that Allah (SWT) intended, or that our obedience to them would be aligned with the obedience of Allah (SWT).

There is no way that one can be assured with complete confidence that these prophets and successors don’t order us to disobey God or that they themselves become misguided due to personal or worldly interests. Also from verse 4:59 it is clear that Ulul-Amr have been given exactly the same authority over Muslims as that of the Messenger, and that the obedience of Ulul-Amr has the same standing as the obedience of the Messenger.

It naturally follows that Ulul-Amr must also be sinless (Ma'sum) and free from any type of error, otherwise, their obedience would not have been joined with the obedience of the Prophet and without any condition.