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Shiavault - a Vault of Shia Islamic Books Inquiries About Shi'a Islam Infallibility The Shi‘a school of thought maintains the belief that all the prophets of Allah, from Adam to Muhammad, as well as the twelve successors (imams) of the , and his daughter, Lady Fatima al-Zahra were infallible throughout their entire lives and never committed any type of sin that would earn the displeasure of Allah.

The clearest way to see this point is to consider that these people were the examples sent for humanity to follow, and thus, if they committed errors then people would be obliged to follow their errors, thereby rendering the prophets and messengers unreliable. Infallibility means protection. In Islamic terminology it means the spiritual grace of Allah enabling a person to abstain from sins by his/her own free will.

The power of infallibility or without sin does not make a person incapable of committing sins, rather he/she refrains from sins and mistakes by his/her own power and will. Infallibility is essential for the prophets and messengers because their job is not only to convey the divine scriptures of Allah but also to lead and guide humanity towards the right path. Therefore, they must be role models and perfect examples for all of mankind.

Both the Noble Qur’an and conventional wisdom illustrate this point; the Noble Qur’an mentions infallibility thirteen times.

Allah says to Satan, “Certainly you shall have no authority over My servants except those who follow you and go astray.” [^1] Satan thus replied to Allah, “By Your might, I will surely mislead all of them, except Your chosen servants among them (the messengers and the imams).” [^2] There are some verses in the Noble Qur’an which might imply that some of the prophets (such as Adam, Musa (Moses), or Yunus (Jonah)) committed sins.

As for Prophet Adam, he did not disobey the obligatory commands of Allah; the command that he did not honor was a recommended one, not a mandatory one and so—according to Islamic terminology—he did not commit a sin. When speaking about the “disobedience” of Prophet Adam, the Noble Qur’an does not mean disobedience in the literal term; it means that it was not expected from a person like Prophet Adam, who was a leader for humanity, not to adhere to Allah’s advisory commands.

Therefore, such an act is labeled allegorically as a sin in the Noble Qur’an.